#instead of just trying to listen to the whole podcast episode tomorrow

[residentsocialfailure]

Holy God. I knew from tweets and articles that the last Crit Role episode was intense, but jesus. That was A Lot. I am having emotions and I completely understand why Matt said we may need to take some time to process.

Fuck

#i was trying to avoid spoilers so hard #and I'm glad i did #that was just so much #and why is Liam like that?? 🤣 #has to cause us as much pain as emotionally possible lmao #laughing through my tears #we need Dorian back he's gonna be so upset #the thruple #fucking hell #critical role #crit role #at least 2/3rd of it is still together #im actually glad i watched the YouTube video #instead of just trying to listen to the whole podcast episode tomorrow #because i definitely need some processing time #bells hells

[charissekenion]

Newsletter #51: Writing as if no-one's reading

FYI: this is a very stream of consciousness newsletter. Let me know if you can relate!

Ever feel like you’re weighed down by thoughts and tasks but unable to actually do them? It’s like this weird itchy feeling. You want to do all the things but at the same time you’d rather go back to bed once you’ve done your morning routine of social/coffee/movement - whatever’s applicable to you.

Work that pays the bills always gets done because who wants to add being broke to the list? But once that’s done it’s a rollercoaster ride through, ‘wow if I put energy into this project today and the next 10 days it could be epic. Damn I’m so grateful I can do this sh*t’, via ‘but actually I don’t want to and I’m feeling sad/unseen/ugly/unremarkable anyway so what’s the point?’

This up and down, black or white, this or that vibe is something that only recently I’m learning to accept. It is OKAY to feel sadness even though it’s only 10am! It’s OKAY for that to switch to feeling hopeful a few hours later. Somewhere along the way somebody told us we can only be one thing at one time and actually, you really should decide what you are and stick with that script. So if you’re depressed, cool, that’s your story and no-one should ever ask you how you’re doing today. If you’re a ‘positive vibes only’ type then cool, that’s your story and no-one should ever ask you how you’re really feeling. But sticking with this one story rule means we end up feeling rigid and stuck. That’s when the fidgeting starts because instead we could be saying, ‘I’m feeling a bit sad’ rather than making a statement: ‘I AM SAD.’

The whole reason for this free-roaming newsletter is Dr Susan David, an award-winning pyschologist who recently appeared on Lewis Howes’ School of Greatness podcast. The Doctor focused on the concept of emotional agility; literally being able to move around and through our emotions, rather than succumbing to them and feeling like there’s no way out. This episode really blew my mind and got me through one of the busiest weeks of my life. It reminded me that it’s not about just ‘staying positive’ - it’s more about managing myself and my emotions. Listen to the full episode here:

Moving this concept on a little; while we’re often self-absorbed in our emotions, pretty much everyone else is going through the same thing. What I’m trying to say is: no-one cares.

I don’t mean that no-one loves you.

I mean:

no-one matters and we ALL matter -

so, get on with your day, do the things you want to do, because that is what everyone else is doing.

I’m aware that might come across a little messy because, well, I’m currently writing a couple of podcast scripts, but I truly hope you get it. It’s not about being selfish, it’s about not being self-conscious. Although ‘nobody cares’ is a much-referenced quote from 1993 movie A Bronx Tale, recently it popped up again on a YouTube channel I’ve been loving called Friends & Family. The channel is all about staying creative and individual and while it mostly focuses on musical pioneers old and current, it goes way beyond music and is a must-watch for any creative.

In a recent episode the anonymous host kept using this phrase: ‘performing for no-one’.

He said that literally anyone you admire, in any film, any genre of music originally performed for no-one. Much-imitated artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat did not create their first paintings to be shown in the Louvre; he painted for no-one but himself. Kendrick Lamar might have written his first bars to be heard by someone but initially, he performed for no-one. He was his only critic, his only fan and his only motivation. The work would not get done without him.

So this short message is for YOU; create for YOU. Do it for YOU. You could be gone tomorrow - do it now, even if you feel awkward AF or are worried about your friends or family thinking you’re weird or undeserving. There is no one else quite like you and there never will be again.

BeautyMe Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber at https://beautymenotes.substack.com/.

#newsletter #creative freedom #creativity #friends and family youtube #inspiration

[tennessoui]

I absolutely love your KUWSK snippets and had to read them all after discovering the first part on ao3! (I should also work but I'm non stop giggling instead)

May I ask for: anakin being stressed out (big deadline coming up, handling the kids, work & cooking being too much) so obi-wan wants to help him out? Like he tries to cook for the family for once but I remember you saying that he can't cook to save his life? maybe rope the twins into it as well as a nice bonding moment

hello!!!! i've been meaning to write this for ages and i kept getting side-tracked/didn't have the time to sit and write a proper ficlet, but I did today! Here's 1k now, and I'll post the whole thing tomorrow afternoon(ish) on ao3. I mis-remembered the prompt until it was too late to really change directions, but so this is more of a sick!fic than a stressed out!fic but I do promise KUWSK Obi-Wan does step in even when Anakin is not sick to help with the kids, the clean up after cooking, helping them with homework, keeping the house tidy etc etc

anyways here is the beginning of sick fic! (SET about a month before The Kiss, 2 years after Obi-Wan and Anakin and the twins move in together)

-

It’d be much easier to take care of Anakin when he’s sick if he would actually admit to being sick.

“Skywalkers don’t get sick,” he’d insisted just a day ago. Obi-Wan had raised a very pointed eyebrow towards the twins who are looking quite pathetic, sniffling in their beds and coughing into their fists.

“That’s their Amidala genes,” Anakin had said and then sneezed into his elbow.

Obi-Wan had known at that moment that the next few days would be very awful for everyone involved.

But Anakin is making it much worse than it has to be, he really is. Thank god it’s midterm week, so Obi-Wan can finagle his TAs into proctoring the exams. Thank god he has four TAs for his biggest lecture module, so that they can grade them all too, which means Obi-Wan just has to read through and mark up his capstone students’ midterm essays.

Which he can do from the comfort of his own house turned Emergency Skywalker Walk In Clinic.

The twins had woken up with a fever and a sore throat on Wednesday. They’d never been sick in the two or so years they had all lived together, and Obi-Wan, admittedly, had not known how to handle it.

Anakin, in a surprising twist of fate, had been much more level-headed about the whole thing. He’d called the school to let them know the twins wouldn’t be coming in, and had asked Obi-Wan to run to the pharmacy before his classes to pick up some meds for them. And perhaps a thermometer.

(“I can’t believe you’re forty-four and you don’t have a thermometer.”

“Well, that’s not fair. I have one in the kitchen.”

“That’s different and you know it--”

“Of course it's different, I was just theorizing that perhaps having a kitchen thermometer actually makes up for not having a person thermometer.”

“Yeah, and instead of giving the kids baths and changing their sheets, we can just baste them in their own fever juices too!”

“I’m going, I’m going.”)

He’d calmed down in the face of Anakin’s own composure, but then on the way to the pharmacy he’d listened to a podcast episode about devastating and lifelong effects certain illnesses can have on children, and he had managed to work himself up into a stressful tizzy by the time he parked the car.

The amount of products he’d bought, Obi-Wan can admit now, was a little over the top. Anakin had certainly laughed when he’d come back through the door, not even bothering to take his coat or shoes off--even though the no-shoes-inside rule is his rule--and started unpacking the four plastic bags worth of medical supplies.

“Well, now I’ll feel bad if the kids aren’t sick until June,” Anakin had said, picking up one of the cough syrups to examine the label.

“That kind will make them sleepy, but this kind tastes like grapes,” Obi-Wan had muttered. “And this kind is okay to give to children under four.”

“The kids are--”

“I know how old the kids are,” Obi-Wan had snapped. “This is called being prepared.”

“This is called diagnosable,” Anakin had laughed and then ducked out of the way when Obi-Wan chucks a package of band-aids--he’d panicked, okay--at his head. “Hey,” he’d said after a moment, coming forward and placing his hand on Obi-Wan’s elbow. The contact had burned through the layers of clothing he’s wearing. “They’re going to be fine, Obi-Wan, really. I’ll be home all day taking care of them, and I’ll make chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight.”

“I can make chicken noodle soup for dinner,” Obi-Wan had protested. “You don’t have to do everything.”

“Obi-Wan, they’re already sick,” Anakin had shaken his head with a grin. “The point is to try and feed them something they’d want to at least try to keep down.”

“I hate you,” Obi-Wan had sighed with a quirk of his lips.

“I love you,” Anakin had said, as if that was something he said on the regular, reaching out to take the thermometer from his hand. Obi-Wan’s grip had gone slack though, causing the thermometer to clatter to the counter. “Like a brother,” Anakin had tacked on hurriedly and then winced.

“Right,” Obi-Wan had coughed, wondering why the addendum made his chest feel tight and strange, like missing a step on the stairs. “Well. Yes. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Anakin had said, looking even more mortified.

“Right. Ah. So. I’m. Going to campus. If the twins need anything else, please let me know. I’ll pick up whatever you need for...dinner on my way home. Just text me.”

“Will do,” Anakin had agreed, staring resolutely at the cabinets over Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “Bro.”

And to his credit, Anakin had texted him with a long list of things they’d need from the store.

He’d just also failed to mention his own rapidly declining health. Obi-Wan had arrived home to Anakin coughing up a storm in the dining room and the twins bundled up and bleary-eyed in front of the television.

The chicken soup had not been made that night because Obi-Wan had not allowed Anakin anywhere near the kitchen. Instead he’d fed the children toast and applesauce and let them keep watching their show until bedtime.

Anakin had been left alone for the most part, as Obi-Wan had been convinced that Anakin would see reason himself and stop working as he started feeling progressively worse.

That had, of course, been too much to expect.

“I can’t believe you’re twenty-eight and don’t know how to listen to your body when it’s trying to tell you you’re sick,” Obi-Wan had said, lowering and slowing his voice in a bad imitation of Anakin.

“I don’t sound like that!”

“You’re right, you couldn’t get through that whole sentence without coughing at the moment."

“I’m going to bed.”

“Please do. And for god sakes, Anakin, leave the laptop down here."

“Good night, Obi-Wan."

#asks #KUWSK #the rest of it is just obi-wan trying to care for all of his lil sick baby skywalkers #anakin included

[universalfanfic]

Stutton Spooky Mermaid  AU

I blacked out and wrote almost 8k words of a prequel Stutton spooky mermaid au based off @inkoutsidethelines Mary/Owen au

Sutton flopped back on the bed and let out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead with her free hand.  

“I just got in tonight, Vicki,” she said. “I haven’t even had time to see if anything is weird yet. The hotel receptionist seemed normal?” 

Vicki huffed from the other end of the phone. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get a better feel for the town tomorrow. I’m telling you, there’s something about that place. Disappearances, a body that ‘decomposed’, like, immediately, and not even any local reports on any of it? It’s perfect for the podcast.” 

“I can’t believe I agreed to come here.” 

Vicki laughed.

“I don’t remember you complaining when I told you it was a beach town.” 

“True.” Sutton rolled over and rested her chin on her arm. “Maybe I’ll play hooky one of the days I’m here.” 

“On partially my dime? Try again. I want as much research as you can possibly get. And don’t forget to interview some locals. Personal accounts always sound professional in these true crime things.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Bemoaned Sutton.

She rolled over again and hung up after reconfirming to Vicki her plans and forbidding her from making a podcast episode about her if something happened during her stay. 

That got another laugh. 

---

Sutton emerged bright and early the next day to hit the town. In the light of day it looked even less like a spooky murder town than it still didn’t during the night. Sidewalks boarded the main road, giving pedestrians easy ability to access shops, and there were cheerful sandwich board signs beckoning people in to take a look at gift shop sales and reasonably priced breakfasts. 

She stopped at a local diner first, figuring she might as well eat and fuel up before getting down to business. The building looked like it was in the middle of renovation, with a makeshift menu board and cans of paint in the corner. The woman at the counter proudly explained that she and her boyfriend were trying to get the place up and running. 

“Who knows,” she said with a wink as she rang up Sutton’s order. “If this business works out, maybe I’ll marry him.”

It seemed they were getting a decent stream of customers despite the construction mess, probably due to the fact that there were only so many choices in the area. Perhaps their relationship was in luck.

Sutton sat down in a booth and pulled out some paperwork to look over while she waited. Vicki had printed out everything concerning the weird occurrences in the area, and it still wasn’t much. What spoke more loudly about the oddness of the occurrences was what wasn’t done or recorded. 

For several missing people to have this town be their last known location, it was startling how little investigation there was done by local police. 

Sutton shifted her notes and grimaced as she came across a grainy photo Vicki printed. 

A few months ago they actually found a body a mile or so outside the town. Another police department had photographed the scene before the town’s department had suddenly taken over. 

In the picture, a man laid on the side of the road, like he'd been traveling on foot, and he looked- Sutton scraped her tongue with her teeth- gross. 

Apparently from the time he went missing to when his body was found was only three days, but by that point his body was already... in advanced decomposition? But that didn’t feel right. It looked more- crusty to Sutton. Like a dry sponge. 

Besides, bodies didn’t decompose to that point in three days; even if they were left in the sun.

Ultimately the death was ruled to be due to a heart condition and the case closed. 

Sutton covered the photo and looked for something less disturbing before breakfast. Though, really, there wasn’t much to go off of. They weren’t trying to solve the mystery here, but it’d be helpful to have enough info to throw out some theories for listeners.

--

She finished breakfast and set out to get to work. Speaking to random people was a little intimidating at the moment, so she decided to start at the library to see if there were any records there. 

The library was a bit musty and underfunded. Sutton slipped passed the fiction sections and made straight for the newspaper archives. 

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much there. Sutton had hoped they just hadn’t discovered the internet here, but even their paper records revealed very little.  She sifted through articles on small burglaries, high school sports, and chili cook-offs. Nothing to imply the Hallmark-esque town would have any dark secrets. The best thing she could find was a notice from over ten years ago warning visitors away from partying at some place simply called ‘the lagoon’. But no other references to the location popped up and Sutton brushed it off to focus on other things.  Eventually she gave up with the library and took what meager notes she scratched down as she made her way back out in the town. As awkward as it might be, she was probably going to have to start asking people questions. She stopped in a kitschy gift shop and pretended to peruse the wares. Luckily there weren’t many people inside, and Sutton was grateful she came during the off season. She picked up a conch shell and inspected it before looking up and making eye contact with the clerk at the register. 

“You, ah, have neat stuff!” 

The clerk gave a flat sort of bemused look as they shrugged.

“Thanks? You like shells?” 

Sutton put the shell down. 

“Um, they’re fine. I was thinking for gifts, though.” She moseyed closer to the register as casually as she could.  “What’s popular with tourists?” She asked. “I’m sure you get a lot of people through here.” 

“A bit more in the summer,” the clerk replied. “And people seem to like the wind chimes.” 

“Cool, cool.” Said Sutton. “A lot of people, huh? Any weird customers?” 

The clerk blew air out of their nose.

“I mean, always.”

It wasn’t quite the answer Sutton was looking for. 

“I mean, any good stories? Maybe, I don’t know, strange people hanging around?” 

The clerk’s expression flickered and they eased back as they looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“What?”

Sutton winced. 

 “I just mean, I read there have been some disappearances around-”

The clerk’s expression completely shut down and they stepped back from the register like Sutton was dangerous. 

“Actually,” they said, “I have some things to organize in the back. If you’ll excuse me.” 

They ducked away and Sutton was left floundering alone with even more questions. 

-

Her luck didn’t get any better the rest of the day, and her stomach only churned more with every local who avoided her like the plague after a few polite inquiries. Whatever was going on around here, no one wanted any part of it and Vicki wasn’t going to be thrilled that she went a whole day without anything juicy. 

Sutton felt queasy about the situation. Clearly there was something if everyone looked so freaked out when she even mentioned it. 

She stopped by the diner again for coffee and a snack and decided she wouldn’t ask anyone there about the disappearances in case they refused to serve her afterwards. 

A few people recognized her and gave her a wide berth as she walked through town and Sutton’s uneasiness only grew. But she was fine, nothing bad was going to happen. She had a can of pepper spray in her purse. 

There was a small park near the main beach, and Sutton stopped and sat on one of the benches to sip her coffee while she tried to brainstorm a new tactic. There were some kids climbing on the jungle gym and a few playing kickball on a small concrete pad. Further down she could see families walking the beach or flying kites. 

It looked so normal. 

A loud, snapping twang startled Sutton out of her observations and she yelped, almost spilling her coffee, as the red kickball the kids were playing with nearly smacked her in the face. 

It just missed and hit the back of the bench before rolling a few feet away. One of the little boys ran over waving his hand in apology as he scooped up the ball. 

“Sorry, lady,” he said. “That almost hit you right in your face!” 

“Yeah,” agreed Sutton. “I’m glad it didn’t.” 

The boy squinted at her for a minute as he swiped some hair out of his face, and then pointed a finger at her. 

“You new around here? I haven’t seen you before.” 

“I’m visiting.” 

An idea struck Sutton and she leaned closer. 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” 

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” 

Sutton rolled her eyes. It was a good practice, just inconvenient when he might be more likely to answer questions. 

“You already were,” she said. “Anyway, I’m Sutton. And I’m not going to offer you anything, like candy or a puppy.” 

“Well that sucks,” he commented. He paused briefly, thinking. “Let me see your ID.”

Oh for pete’s- 

Sutton handed him her driver’s license and the boy studied it with a haughty air before handing it back. 

“Okay, Sutton. You can ask one question and then I have to go. My team is losing the game so they’re already mad.” 

“Alright, -” Sutton paused, then was about to continue when the boy rolled his eyes right back. 

“Harley,” he said. 

“Alright, Harley. Do you know why everyone here gets scared when I ask about missing people?” Little Harley was the first person in the entire town not to go white when she brought up the subject. Instead he shrugged like the answer was simple. 

“That’s easy. It’s ‘cause the lagoon.” 

“The lagoon?” 

But Harley already ran off to rejoin his friends with little more than a backyards wave and a,

“See ya later!” 

Sutton sighed and stood. At least she got something; if the kid wasn’t just making things up. She downed the rest of her coffee and tossed it in a nearby trash. Casting one more glance back to make sure no stray kickballs were headed her way, she started to leave only to freeze. The kids were playing kickball again, but the messy brown hair of Harley was nowhere to be seen among them. 

----

Sutton got a night's sleep and headed back out the next day. At least this time she had something to focus on. The lagoon had come up twice, so it seemed like a safe bet, especially since she had no other leads. 

She packed a bag to take with her, a towel, hat, some water, and her bathing suit. Perhaps Vicki wasn’t on board with the idea of Sutton playing hooky, but if she could kill two birds with one stone, a little down time on a secluded beach and research, then Vicki didn’t need to know. 

Sutton stopped to grab a cheap boogie board as well on her quest to find this mysterious lagoon. Compared to finding answers, it was surprisingly easy to locate. 

It was a lovely spot, even if the hike almost made her wonder if it’d be worth the trek. That might have been part of the reason the article she found warned people from coming down here. If there was a group drinking, they’d have a hard time getting back out. 

But the trek through the brush was worth it. The lagoon was beautiful, with crystalline waters in almost a full circle boarded by nearly white sand. Out in the center of the circle of water was a large rock.

Sutton dropped her bag and set to arranging her stuff to spend the afternoon there. It was, afterall, research. She ought to be thorough. 

It was, of course, then that Vicki called to check in with her. 

“So? Anything?” Vicki asked immediately. 

Sutton sighed. 

“Not much, except more weirdness. No one wants to talk to me.” Vicki’s tone brightened. 

“That means there must be something good! You have to keep digging.” 

“I am! I’m at some spot called The Lagoon. I mean, it’s the best lead I have so far.” 

“A beach? Sutton, really?” 

“It’s a really pretty beach? Looks like something from a movie. Look, I’m going to do a sweep for bodies and then maybe I’ll swim out to the rock that’s out there and see if there are cryptic messages spelled out in the shrubbery or something. Does that make you feel better?” 

Vicki huffed. 

“Only slightly. Send me pics, I can use them for the Insta I’m starting to go with the podcast.” 

“Of course, your highness.”

---

Sutton did a few sweeps of the beach like she promised. There were no bodies or anything of real note. She found a few pairs of sunglasses, a flip flop, and a set of car keys; but nothing that screamed unusual or concerning. 

Like Vicki asked, she snapped a few pictures with her phone and then sent one to her mom just because the place was so pretty. 

While the sun was still up, she decided to swim out to the rock and get a panoramic shot of the full beach. She didn’t want to stay down on this beach by herself when it was getting dark, and she definitely wasn’t going to swim without the sun. Not to mention she hadn’t brought a flashlight for the return hike. 

Sutton put on her hat, grabbed a water bottle and her phone and sat them on the boogie board as she paddled out to the rock. Luckily it wasn’t a long swim, though the water became deep rather quickly. She was halfway to the rock when she thought to wonder if the warning about the lagoon had anything to do with riptides or sharks or something. 

She clambered up onto the rock quickly. 

The view from the water was even better than the view from the shore. It felt more magical, being surrounded by water, and the sand from the beach shone brilliantly in the sun. Sutton took a panoramic shot and then leaned back to let the sun rays soak into her skin. 

It was perfect down here. She wondered why the locals didn’t frequent it even if the hike was a struggle. It would wear down the path and shrubbery if more people came. 

But what in the world could this beach have to do with people disappearing? Even if it was an issue of drowning, that shouldn’t strike the level of fear in the locals eyes as it seemed to. 

Sutton leaned over and splashed her feet in the water, kicking up waves just to see if it summoned anything up. She didn’t even see any jellyfish. 

Given how calm the water was, she decided to risk it and swam a few laps around the rock and tried to open her eyes under the stinging water to see if she could see anything. She kind of wished she’d brought a waterproof phone case with her. But there didn’t seem to be anything other than some barnacle on the rock. 

She climbed back on the rock and sat to rest. There was only the quiet lapping of waves. Not even seagull calls pierced the air. After letting the silence linger, she decided she didn’t like it. It was easy here to forget that this town had multiple disappearances and a questionable death under its belt, but something about the silence of the lagoon brought those thoughts back to the forefront of her mind. 

“Yeah, no.”

Sutton wiped her wet hand on the warm rock and picked up her phone to play some music. 

She wouldn't stay much longer, she decided. There didn’t seem to be anything to help with her research, and if that Harley kid knew what he was talking about at all she definitely wasn’t going to linger around at dusk. 

Sutton tapped her bare feet and hummed along to the music as her thoughts drifted. She might have to try and see if the police station could give her any more information. Though she had a feeling they’d be just as talkative and welcoming to her questions as the townies. 

Leaning back on her hands, she stomped and shuffled her feet more as the music switched and picked up tempo. Sutton threw her head back and sang along with the song. 

“Always looking for a reason to leave Always finding something wrong with the season Your heart has just been hiding from the truth Like a circle always ready to spin Got that green light go all over your skin But the world is never gonna cut you loose  No matter where you go or what you do It’s gonna be there waiting

You keep running away  You keep running away You keep running away You’re gonna need some faster shoes”

She hummed again as she took a swig of water and checked the time. A few songs later she decided it was late enough in the afternoon to start heading back. She turned off the music and finished off the water bottle in preparation to leave. 

Slipping down the rock, Sutton tread water as she reached back for the boogie board and her things. Something about the deep, open water now made her stomach flip. An unexplainable chill ran up her spine and she gripped the board. 

It felt like someone was staring at her. 

Sutton sucked in a breath and scanned the beach, but there was no one there. 

“Don’t be stupid,” she muttered to herself. 

And just like that, in the warm glow of the late afternoon, the lagoon felt incredibly isolated and she, dangerously alone. Her pepper spray was back in her bag on the beach. 

She was halfway back when something grabbed her by the ankle and yaned her under. 

Sutton’s scream cut short as she was dragged down into the water. Her boogie board flipped over in her desperate scramble to keep hold of it, and all her things were plunged into the ocean.

Sutton kicked and struggled, but whatever had her wasn’t letting go. There were fingers around her ankle. Like a human hand. Heat seared at her ankle and she stopped herself from screaming in panic. She opened her eyes, desperate, but the salt burned and she couldn’t see through the bubbles her thrashing created. 

Could see nothing, that is, besides what looked like a pair of glowing blue eyes. 

Sutton fought harder, her lungs aching, and whatever had her let her go. She broke the surface with a coughing, sputtering gasp as she sucked in air and swam like her life depending on it. 

The minute her toes hit sand she was running. She barely paused to scoop up her bag before she dove into the brush and sprinted the hike back to her car. Only when she was back on pavement did she stop and look back. Nothing had followed her, but that didn’t stop the dread from flowering in her gut. 

Her feet were still bare. She’d left her shoes.

Her heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of her right ankle. Black marks curved and swirled around her leg, inky and crisp like a tattoo. She dropped down into a crouch and rubbed at the markings all while the blood drained from her body.

“No. No way. What the heck?”

Oh no. Oh heck no. 

Her eyes darted back to the trail, but still. Nothing emerged. 

Well. She wasn’t going to stick around and wait until something did. 

--

Sutton limped into the hotel lobby. Her feet were cut up, she was dripping wet, and her skin was pale as a ghost.

The receptionist jumped up from their chair and blinked at her with startled concern.

“Miss, are you alright,” she asked. 

Sutton swallowed.

“Actually, I’m going to need to check out early.”

“You- Is something wrong with your accommodations?”

“Something happened.”

The woman at the desk blinked again.

“Something happened?”

Sutton grimaced and adjusted her bag.

“I mean, something came up.

She rummaged through her bag for her wallet to pull out her card and found her hand shook as she tried to pass it over. 

The receptionist grew more concerned. She stepped around the small desk as if to help Sutton to a seat.

“Miss, you look-”

The woman froze and her face went ashen as she took in the puddle of water and spots of blood at Sutton’s feet. Suddenly she backed up and put the desk between them again. Sutton watched as she pasted on a tight smile. The sort of expression you give someone when you’re trying not to let on that something is horribly wrong.

“I’m afraid check out hours are over until tomorrow morning,” she said, voice thin. “You’ll have to come back when the manager is here.”

Sutton balked.

“But-!” 

“Have a good night.” 

And then the receptionist had the audacity to walk away. She disappeared inside the office and didn’t come back out even as Sutton lingered at the desk.

She didn’t get much sleep that night. Her thoughts kept churning over her near death experience, the receptionist’s terrified face, the strange black lines on her ankle. 

The answer to the uninvestigated disappearances hit her with a terrible, near unbelievable, clarity. This town had a monster and the people knew it. And what kind of monster let go of its prey after it caught them?

Sutton tried not to hyperventilate as she pulled the blankets up over her head. 

The kind that toyed with their food. 

--

When she woke up her throat was dry. More than dry. Like she hadn’t touched water in more than a day dry. She stumbled out of bed and gripped the edges of the bathroom sink, drinking straight from the faucet until the feeling died down. Water dripped down her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. She still looked pale and scared. Her hair was curling and frizzing out of control thanks to the salt water and the fact that she hadn’t thought to shower last night. 

To add insult to injury, since her phone was lost to the depths, Sutton had no way of contacting Vicki to let her know what was going on. Sure the hotel room had a landline, but Sutton had never bothered to memorize Vicki’s number after she’d added it to her contacts. 

She actually did know her mom’s home number, but when she tried to call it the phone didn’t have a dial tone. Her heart rate picked up as she tried several times to no avail. 

It was probably a faulty connection. The hotel was old and small. That was it.

The weather turned too, she noted as she packed up her things. Yesterday had been beautiful, but with it being the off season, poor weather was creeping in, and it only made her feel more anxious. 

With her car packed, she hurried back to the reception desk, ready to finally check out. 

“I’m afraid you can’t.”

Sutton blinked. The manager had a pinched look on his face as he stood ramrod straight and refused to make direct eye contact.

“Excuse me?”

He cleared his throat as his eyes flitted about the room. 

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we have a no refund policy. You’re booked until the end of the week, and I’m afraid that can’t be changed.” 

“You have to be kidding me.” 

But he wasn’t. No matter what she argued, he staunchly refused to check her out of her room and Sutton finally snatched back her card with a heated glare. 

“Fine,” she said, teeth flashing. “Email me the bill at the end of the week then.” 

He didn’t respond as she limped from the lobby and out to the parking lot. 

Sutton sat in her car a moment, just giving herself a chance to breathe. Heading out this early, she should be able to get home sometime after dinner if she didn’t make too many stops. She’d get back home and everything would be fine, and Vicki could have a first hand account for her podcast. That would make up for having to pay for the room for the full week. 

Straightening, she put her key in the ignition and turned. 

She waited. 

Nothing. 

Immediately she felt sick. Her car wouldn’t start and that made no sense. It ran perfectly fine before coming here. She’d filled the tank, changed the oil, checked tires, everything. Sutton smacked the dash a couple times and tried again. The engine didn’t even hiccup. 

“No, no, no, no.” 

She threw open her door and rounded the front as she shoved up the hood. Nothing looked wrong or missing, not that she exactly knew much about how engine’s worked. She jostled the battery cables a little and tried to start it again, but it remained dead. 

Dread creeped through her anew. What if-? 

Her gaze flickered to the hotel entrance. 

No. The locals were skittish, but they wouldn’t try to actively sabotage her. Would they? 

Sutton grit her teeth and grabbed her bag. It didn’t matter if they would or not. She was leaving this cursed town today. 

Luckily she had packed more than one pair of shoes, but it didn’t make up for the cuts she still had from running up the trail from the lagoon. The sky was overcast and she had a light jacket, but nothing really waterproof. Everything felt off kilter and skewed. Like she was living in a growing nightmare.

The town had to have a bus that traveled to the next town over. All she had to do was get on one and find a working phone away from this place. She could get her mom and Howard to come pick her up. 

She didn’t know what she was going to tell them about everything yet. Especially about her new unwanted tattoo. Could she even pass it off? It’d been less than a week since she’d last seen her family and weren’t tattoos red and swollen for a little while?

“Miss? Are you alright?” 

Sutton’s head snapped to the side. A police cruiser kept pace with her and a salt and pepper cop leaned slightly to see her through the passenger side window. She eyed him warily. He didn’t look as spooked as the hotel workers. If anything he looked more stern, which seemed natural with his profession. 

Sutton ran her tongue over her teeth. Her throat was already dry again. She only had so many water bottles left. 

“Um, I- actually, I’m trying to find the bus station,” she said. 

She was tempted to ask for a ride, her feet were killing her, but she was too afraid. The cop eyed her back a moment before he put on a look of confusion. 

“Bus station? I could, I suppose. But it wouldn’t do you much good.” 

Sutton’s throat threatened to close. 

“What do you mean?” 

He tipped his head in what she assumed was the direction of the station. 

“It only comes through here once a week, and you just missed it.”

She could cry. She couldn’t believe it. 

“Once a week? Are you serious?” 

The cop shrugged. 

“‘Fraid so. We’re a small town, you know. Hardly worth the gas for them, I suppose. Not unless it’s tourist season.” He gave her a pitying look then, and Sutton forced herself to hold back tears. 

“I suggest you go get a warm breakfast, drink some water. And rest your feet.” 

 He drove off before Sutton could question his statement. 

--

She only went back to the diner because she was at a loss with how to proceed. And she never brainstormed well on an empty stomach. Plus, she really was thirsty again. Unnaturally thirsty. 

She gulped down an entire glass of water and felt some measure of relief. 

But the food didn’t bring her any comfort. She glanced down at her ankle again and wondered if she ought to find a way to cover the mark up. 

No phone, no car, no bus. Sutton stirred her scrambled eggs around her plate. It felt like the only option left was to walk. 

Walk.

Her blood ran cold yet again. The dead guy in the picture looked like he’d been walking. Walking out of town. 

Sutton pushed her plate away and put her head in her hands. 

What in the world had she gotten into? And how in the world was she going to get out of it?

Could she?

The rain started while she was still picking at her food. Sutton sighed deep in her chest. It might as well. At this point she fully believed she was cursed by whatever was in that lagoon. A rumble came from outside and she lazily looked up to see if some thunder and lightning were being tossed in as well. 

A bus passed the diner and continued down the street towards the main highway. 

Sutton shot up in her seat. 

“That- that-” She shrieked in her throat. “That two-faced liar!” 

She did start crying then. Her lips pressed together even as tears fell. A police officer, a police officer, lied to her face to trap her here. Her breakfast threatened to make a reappearance. 

Every disappearance was from someone out of town. 

‘Human sacrifice’ sparked across her thoughts.

The diner was deathly silent and Sutton realized she was making a scene. Part of her didn’t care. Part of her wanted to scream at them that they wouldn’t get away with this, but it still felt too crazy to say aloud. 

Sutton finished off one more glass of water and went to pay for her food. The woman at the register who had been so friendly the day before now looked petrified. She passed Sutton’s card back, fingers barely touching the plastic, and someone knocked into Sutton’s side as she went to drop the card in her bag. She flashed a glare back, but the person didn’t pause to apologize.

She fled the diner, back out into the rain, and decided to screw it. She was going to go to the bus station and demand a schedule and buy a ticket, and if they really only came once a week then she was going to try her luck walking. 

The rain started to soak through her jacket by the time she found the bus station. There was one elderly man at the ticket booth and she pulled herself together as she faced him. 

“How can I help you, miss?” 

Sutton swallowed back her roiling emotions. 

“I was wondering what the bus schedule is. I was told it was once a week, but I just saw-”

The man leaned back, looking confused. 

“Once a week? Oh, no. That was the schedule years ago. The bus comes twice a day now. You can catch the one this evening.”

If she started crying again, the man kindly didn’t mention it. 

“Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I’ll get a ticket.” 

“One ticket! That’ll be twelve dollars.” 

Sutton dug in her bag for her card, but couldn’t find it blind. She huffed and propped the bag up to properly search through it, but it must have been buried. It shouldn’t be so difficult. She’d dropped it on top of everything in her rush to leave the diner. 

The man waited as Sutton’s search grew frantic. 

“I just had it,” she said. “It- it was in my bag, I swear.”

But it simply wasn’t there. Even when she turned her bag inside out and checked every pocket. It didn’t make sense. She’d paid for her meal, got her card back and- and

And someone had bumped into her. On purpose. 

“I- I think someone may have...stolen my card.” 

The man looked at her with pity. She only had three dollars in cash. 

“I’m sorry, dear.” 

When she stepped outside again the floodgates of heaven opened into a torrential downpour. She could hardly see five feet in front of her, let alone walk the distance to the next town. 

She was a pathetic, soggy mess as she limped back through the hotel lobby, her feet aching and her eyes red. The hotel clerk silently slid her key card back to her over the counter and Sutton grabbed it without a word or even looking at them. 

Nothing felt real. Sutton peeled off her clothes and showered on autopilot. She sat in the room and braided her wet hair back as she tried to process her situation. 

How long until the locals broke down her door and dragged her back to toss her into the lagoon?

She tried the phone again but it was still disconnected. 

Sutton grabbed her can of pepper spray and paced the room. 

---

Hours later she was still winding herself up and trying to talk herself down in a vicious cycle. If she hadn’t braided her hair it would have been standing on end with the amount of times she’d attempted to run her hands through it. 

She was just talking herself down from another frenzy when the worst happened. There was a reverberating knock on her hotel door. Sutton froze. 

Her voice was stuck in her throat, but she wouldn’t have answered even if she’d been able to. 

The knock came again and Sutton rushed to push a chair under the door handle. 

“Um, can you open up? It’s time to go.” 

It was a man’s voice. Deep, if not a little uncertain, and Sutton bit back a scream. This was it. They were coming to drag her away to feed her to a sea monster that she didn’t even believe in twenty-four hours ago. 

“Or, you don’t have to open the door yourself, I guess.” The man said. “Though I know it’s polite to ask.” 

He was taunting her. 

Sutton clutched her pepper spray closer and tried to catch her breath. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

There was a pause and the door handle jiggled. 

“You have to.” The man said. “You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.” 

Sutton went weak at the knees, black spots dancing around her vision.

“I’m not-” she choked trying to force the words out. “I’m not going to just let you drag me back to that lagoon. I won’t be the next person offered up in your sick ritual.” 

“You won’t be offered up,” the man said. He sounded mildly befuddled. “I already accepted the proposal.” 

Sutton bit down on her tongue. He already accepted? What did that mean? He got to be the one to throw her in? 

“You accepted.” She bit back. “So, what? You get the honors of taking me to the ocean then?”

“Yes,” he said. He sounded happy. It was sick. “And it’s an immense honor, believe me. You’re perfect.” 

She pressed a hand against her mouth and tried to breath so her heart didn’t explode. He was psycho and if he had his way she was going to end up like Nicholas Cage in that movie with the bees. 

“I’m coming in now,” he said. 

Her heart raced and she moved without thinking.

There were several loud screeches and groans of metal, and then the door handle snapped. She watched as the door eased open and the chair skidded to the side. The man poked his head in and Sutton only caught a flash of him. 

Tall, blonde, no shirt, incredibly well built. Strong enough to pop open a locked door and clearly strong enough to drag her off to be sacrificed. 

She pepper sprayed him thoroughly the moment he spotted her and opened his mouth to say something. 

He yelled in pain, swiping at his eyes as he stumbled back, and Sutton darted through the opening and out into the parking lot. It was still downpouring, but maybe she could use that to help hide her tracks. 

She ran blindly through the rain. Even with water pelting her in the face her throat still felt raw. Another cry of pain and frustration echoed behind her and sent tingles down her spine. 

“Come back, please!” 

Like heck. Let the sea monster eat him instead. 

--

The sky started to lighten from black to gray and it was still raining. Sutton forgot what it felt like to be dry and warm. She didn’t know where she was and it still didn’t feel like there was enough distance between her and the man she pepper sprayed. She thought she might cry if she didn’t get a drink of water soon and her skin was starting to itch and feel oddly rough given she was soaked to the bone. 

Eventually she crouched down in some bushes and cried into her hands. 

They were going to kill her. The man had confirmed it. 

You’ll be dead by the end of tomorrow.

She didn’t want to die. But she legitimately had run out of ideas of how to escape this wretched town. They’d clearly done this before and had their strategy down pat. Sutton had walked in completely blind. 

Someone cursed nearby and Sutton snapped her head up. It was the man. He stared directly at her and she wondered if she’d actually almost made it away from him, because he looked distressed. He reached her before she could take off running again, and she was so exhausted she wouldn’t have made it far even if he hadn’t. 

“I’m sorry, I should have caught up to you sooner,” he said. “You’re already starting to dry.”

Sutton wiggled in his hold, but he kept a firm, yet gentle, grip on her. 

“Hardly,” she snapped. “What’s it matter anyway? Does the sea monster have a preference with its snacks?” 

That made him still. 

“What?” 

Sutton sneered.

“I’m not stupid. Visitors going missing, the weird locals, my leg, that thing in the lagoon. You’re going to use me as some sort of human sacrifice so whatevers down there will leave the rest of you alone.” 

The man sputtered as he looked down at her. His brows furrowed. 

“What in the world-? That thing in the lagoon was me,” he said. “And I- I’m not going to eat you. I feel like there’s some sort of misunderstanding here.” 

“You?” Sutton tried to pull back but he still wouldn’t let her. “You’re the one that tried to drown me?” 

“I wasn’t trying to drown you! I was leaving the Mark. Accepting you as my wife.” 

Sutton went completely still. Her mind tried to understand what he said, but it felt like whiplash. 

“W- Wife?

He nodded.

“How about we try to start over? I’m Steve.” 

“What are you?” 

She was afraid to ask, but she had to. All this time she had no clue what she was dealing with and she was left scrambling. 

“I suppose you’d call me a merman,” he said. His voice was lighter now, like he was pleased with her finally calmly conversing with him. 

“Merman.” Sutton repeated quietly. 

“Can I know your name?” 

Sutton looked up at him as he stared at her with wide, hopeful eyes. Trusting eyes. 

“Put me down first and I’ll tell you.” 

He didn’t look like he approved of that, and she hurried to press the issue. 

“You’re making me nervous, and I- I just need some room.” 

Slowly, reluctantly, he put her down. His hands hovered over her arms as if she would fall over, but she knew it was more likely in case she ran. 

There was a pause and Sutton knew she only had so much time to stall. 

“I’m Sutton,” she said. 

Steve smiled widely as he repeated her name like it was precious. 

It was all ridiculous. They were both standing out in the rain, hair plastered to their faces, and she was actually believing he was a merman set on trying to marry her. 

“Steve,” she explained slowly, “I’m super honored to meet a merman, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t marry you. I have to go home.” 

He frowned again and his hand flinched. 

“The magic is already set,” he said. “You sang in the lagoon, and your voice called to me. You offered yourself and I accepted. If I don’t get you to the ocean to complete the change, you’ll die.” 

“Change?” 

He raised his brows. 

“Well you can’t exactly survive in the ocean as a human. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed your dehydration. And now look at your poor skin. Nothing will cure that but the ocean itself.” 

She looked down at where he gestured to her arm and noticed the flakey, drying skin for the first time. The itch was only growing and it felt taut like a sunburn. 

“I’m sorry I let it get this far,” Steve continued. “We should go.” 

Sutton took a step back and pulled her arm out of his reach. 

“No. No. I didn’t offer my hand in marriage, I sang along to the radio! I’m going home.” 

Steve sighed. 

“You participated in the magic voluntarily. You can’t be upset that it worked.”

“I didn’t know!”

He looked bemused.

“And not knowing should exempt you? Is that how humans handle their binding agreements?” 

Sutton got the impression he was implying she ought to have read the fine print.

She swallowed and jutted her chin. 

“I should have gotten a warning.” 

“You just said you knew about the disappearances. Was that not warning enough?” 

There were a thousand things she could respond with. That she only came for Vicki’s sake, that she didn’t know the disappearances were due to mermaids, that she could have avoided these “consequences” if the entire town hadn’t conspired against her. 

But they probably wouldn’t help her much. 

She didn’t want to argue with a crazy merman. She just wanted to escape. Her skin was shifting from itchy to painful, and she still felt dehydrated. 

“I don’t care about your magic rules,” she said. “I’m going home.” 

Steve’s jaw ticked before he let out another sigh. Almost like he was resigned. Maybe Sutton actually got her point across.  

“Yes,” he replied. “We are.” 

And then he leaned down, picked her up by the waist, and threw her over his shoulder. 

Sutton shrieked and tried to fight, but she was at an odd angle and she couldn’t get any leverage the way he was holding her legs. He began walking back, uncaring of her struggles. 

“You can’t do this!” 

“I’m not going to let you die. You’ll understand once we get back to the ocean.” 

She hit him in the back with a fist but it didn’t seem to phase him. 

“You can’t heft me like a sack of potatoes. Are you a merman or a neanderthal?”

“If you hadn’t poisoned me, maybe I would have had more time to convince you.” 

“Oh?” She sniped. “But your face called to it, and the pepper spray accepted.” 

Steve deigned not to respond to that. 

He lugged her all the way back to the trailhead of the lagoon and down. Sutton’s resistance was starting to wane. Her throat was bone dry, it was getting harder to breathe, and her skin felt like it might start to split. 

“We’re almost there,” Steve said as he sprinted over the sand. “Just hold on.” 

Sutton saw a few of the sun’s rays on ground as the rain lightened up, and then she was plunged under the water. 

--

She managed to take one last breath before he dragged her under. Sutton flinched as he adjusted his hold on her, straightening her out to face him. But she had her eyes scrunched closed and refused to move. Muscle used oxygen and she couldn’t afford to lose any. 

She also couldn’t afford to not reach the surface. 

“Sutton, you can breathe. That’s part of the change.” 

His voice sounded different underwater, somehow more full, and it startled her that she could understand him enough that she opened her eyes. The water didn’t sting. 

Steve smiled at her, looking relieved, and ran a thumb over her cheekbone. 

“There. You look healthy again.” 

Sutton frowned. Her skin didn’t feel like tearing sandpaper anymore. In fact she felt… good. Her throat didn’t burn. 

But her lungs were starting to. 

She clawed at the water, trying to move up towards the surface, to air, but Steve wouldn’t let her. 

“In through your nose, out through your mouth,” Steve said as he demonstrated. And didn’t he make it so tempting? “You’re going to be okay.” 

The idea of just breathing water went against every survival instinct she had. It wasn’t even just that she didn’t want to, but she couldn’t begin to make herself. 

He might be a merman, but she was human. 

Sutton kicked at him and tried to break free. Steve pulled her closer to himself and wrapped his arms around her. 

“You won’t die.” He said around her thrashing. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“No!” 

She was stupid enough to answer. 

Water rushed into her mouth, down her throat, filled her lungs. Sutton coughed and sputtered and wheezed. 

But she didn’t choke. 

She took in another greedy lungful and- still didn’t die. 

“You can trust me,” Steve said. “I’d never do anything to hurt you.” 

Sutton found herself a bit distracted that she could breathe underwater. Her fingers flexed over his forearms as her eyes darted around.

“Except kidnap me.”

Steve let out an irritated huff and bubbles wobbled around his face. 

“It’s not kidnapping.”

It bothered her that she somehow felt normal again now underwater. It felt like Steve had won an argument. She supposed on that end he had. But it irritated her. 

Her eyes finally focused back on him and found him patiently waiting. 

“I understand it’s an adjustment,” he said. ���But I’m going to be by your side the entire time.” 

“Entire time?” It was stranger still to be able to speak. To hear her voice somehow clearly.  “There’s more?” 

His lips tipped to the side and he put his hands on the underside of her forearms as he began to swim backwards. 

“It’d be difficult for you if you had to live with legs the entire time.”

A thrill ran through her and she looked down. Steve had a tail. 

It shouldn’t have surprised her, but suddenly it was all so real. He had a tail. Mermaids were real. 

His tail was a beautiful rich blue with both darker and paler blues speckled here and there as well as accenting his fins. 

“I’m going to have a mermaid tail.” 

“Soon,” he said. “Your body has to adjust to one change at a time. But you will.” 

He was still swimming on his back as he propped her up and took them further and further out into the ocean. 

“I’m still not your wife.” 

He wobbled his head like he disagreed, but didn’t outright contradict her. 

“I know humans have their own courting rituals. And I’ll do everything I can to prove to you we’re meant for each other.” He gave her a smile as he plunged down back over where more land fell away. 

“After all, you still haven’t heard my song for you yet.” 

#ink tag #thanks for the au ink #i should never have read it again #stutton #mermaid au #my writing #steve fails at introductions #and sutton needs a grace in her life

[g0ldengubler]

chapter 8 ~ the party...

A/N: im sorry for the chapter seeming very rushed and quick. i was mad at myself for taking forever of chapter 2 of positions but get ready for chapter after chapter coming up as a holiday gift :) also thank you guys so so so much for 400 followers and im sorry i’m saying my thanks now. it really means a lot to me :’) i hope u guys are still here and thank u for reading :)

Category: fluff

CW: cannabis use; consumption of alcohol; mentions of sex

Word Count: 2360

before you read | next chapter

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spencer's POV~

We had the whole weekend planned: go fishing, read by the lake, walk through the forest and appreciate nature in all its beauty. But in a bittersweet turn of events, it ended up raining the whole time. So we ended up spending our time inside, reading to y/n in the afternoon while she sipped on her coffee, going out to the balcony at night and look at the stars because that was when the clouds would pull apart until the day came where we woke up to the peaceful sound of rain hitting the windows and the roof. I rambled on and on with what I knew about space and constellations as she let the sensations of the blunt or joint she rolled up take over her body, relaxing her.

As the weekend went on, after the first night, I didn't know what I felt about her. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. The way she spoke was like poetry to my ears. When we smoked and just lay out on the couch, the way she would explain her thoughts gave me butterflies. This was all really new to me, falling for a girl and having some kind of a chance that it could happen. Was there a chance there? I'm a profiler and I can read people by their micro expressions, especially when someone's in love. But with her, I couldn't even read her micro expressions. It bugged the hell out of me, but I would let it out through cuddles that happened naturally and little kisses that'd happen out of nowhere.

On the last night, it was pouring down rain, harder than it would the last couple of nights where it would only sprinkle. We had made some popcorn and y/n thought of the idea to listen to old time radio ghost stories that were then put out on the internet as podcasts. While it was playing, she grabbed her grinder and looked inside. We had pretty much finished the last of our stash this morning for what she called a "wake'n'bake", which was definitely a great way to start the day. She quickly grabbed the bong from the kitchen counter and started packing it with what I thought was nothing.

"What are you doing, silly?" I asked.

"Just packing a kief bowl." She said, very nonchalant.

I gave a confused look, then she rolled her eyes and explained, bringing the grinder closer to me. "See all this? This has all the different strains we smoked. With all of this mixed together, we'll be really really gone."

She continued to pack the bowl as I sat there ready. She grabbed the lighter when she was done and explained how she'll smoke half and I'll take the other. I watched as she put the top around her mouth. A huge cloud exhaled out of her as she moved her head up to the ceiling, which then after started coughing up a storm. I offered her water but she pushed it away, trying to say she was fine.

We continued to smoke bowl after bowl a few more times until there was nothing left in grinder. Y/n nuzzled her head onto my chest as we lay on the couch, letting those tingles intensify our senses and our minds wonder. She was right, this was probably the most high I've felt before. Every movement we made was slowed down and I could see that my arm was as if it was split in two, but was transparent like a ghost. I could barely even move as the sensations were too overwhelming in the best way possible, let alone try to figure out if this was what being this high was like or really how the brain can do this, but I also wasn't really trying either and let the waves relax me.

As I played with her hair, I couldn't pay attention to the episode because all of my thoughts were of her. I wanted this all the time, the stillness and calmness that brought peace and happiness to the atmosphere-that she brought to our atmosphere. I wanted her to feel safe in my arms and never let go. Getting to know her like this on a deeper level ever since we first met made me fall in love with her everyday we were together bit by bit. I never want to let go of her.

"Do you ever have the fear of giving your heart to someone?"

Her question shocked me, breaking the process in my head. I didn't know what to say but, "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever given your heart to someone, doesn't even have to be romantically, giving them you're all and love and care, to then suddenly watch them break it bit by bit as if they're breaking down the wall that you had built for yourself, instead of you taking each brick off piece by piece and handing it to them?"

There was silence. No words that I could think of could answer a question like that.

"I've given my heart away to so many people, and I don't know why they break it every time." She moved to where she used her elbow for support in between me and the couch. "Spence, I wish we could stay like this forever. I have these feelings for you that I never really, or truly, felt for another person before. Even though we've only known each other for a short time, I think I'm in love with you. There's just something about you that makes me feel safe. For the first time, it's like all my walls fall when we're together, I have this feeling of giving you my all, my care and support, my love. All of it. I want you, Spencer. And, this feeling I have about all of my protection crumbling down, I'm only just a little bit scared of letting it break."

I pulled her in and kissed her. I let my lips do all the talking, telling her how much I loved her, too and now nothing was going to break her down. We pulled away and she gave me a look of confusion and happiness, as if she was scared to let the happiness show through.

"I feel the same way. Exactly, the same way," I said, "I'm in love with you, too, and it's all new to me also. You're like a beautifully written poem, y/n. I could listen to you day and night and never get tired of it. You have a beautiful mind that I want to explore each and every day. I never want to let you go. Will you stay...with me?"

This time she pulled me in after a moment of pause. Our lips crashed like fireworks, yet moved together in perfect tempo. Without breaking, she moved on top of me slowly. I let my hands wonder all over her body as she cupped my face. We were passionate. We were needy. We were in love. Everything was perfect, and everything felt right.

—

Y/n's POV~

You two had left pretty early in the morning for your adventure back to D.C. Somehow, both of you couldn't sleep at all, even though you were pretty well gone to the point of passing out, so you decided you’ll leave at 5am so then hopefully you’d get back in the afternoon. The whole ride, Spencer held your hand, no matter who was driving. I'm in love. You couldn't wrap your brain around it, but for the first time, it felt like your heart knew better than your head. Nothing about this felt wrong. You had found the one that you had been looking for my whole life. Nothing was going to pull you away from him, and you were not going to allow that in the slightest.

On your way back, Rossi called about meeting up tonight at the bar for drinks, which kind of ruined your plans to stay in and cuddle, but you both figured it'd be nice to see them again. You told him we'd be there and hung up. The rest of the ride was just you listening to Spencer ramble about books he's read in last month. You forgot this man can finish books in half an hour, so the fact that he read more books in a month than the average person was astonishing. He talked about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde and their beautiful works of literature, and you never drifted off to sleep once, your mind didn't even wonder as his soothing voice was in the background. It's quite beautiful hearing someone talk about something they're passionate about.

When you got back to the city, you went to your place so you can grab my things. You told Seth that you’d be back officially tomorrow, gave goodbye kisses to your children, and went back to Spencer's, where you both freshened up and got ready for night. You had an adorable shower that turned just a bit quite naughty. You talked about how you both wanted to tell the others, and while you said you were fine if you told them now, Spencer's response was very well said. "They're very nosy, so I always thought I'd just keep it secret until I felt ready. But this is different. We're on vacation, so Hotch isn't going to have 'the talk' with us until we're back at work. It feels right, everything feels right with you."

Once you were done getting ready, you headed to the bar, where you were told specifically where to park (Garcia had texted saying that she's friends with the owner and that she'd make sure they were safe. She also mentioned that an uber was going to pick them up at around 1am to go back to her place to pass out. She was, for sure, the mom of the group. More than Jj was at that). Right away, you saw the gang sitting in a corner booth, and once they saw Spencer was holding your hand, they all either were speechless with their jaws sitting on the table or ran up to you and gave hugs and congrats. Morgan had to pull Garcia away from you so you could sit down, which thankfully for her, you ended up sitting right in between her and Spencer, so her arms went right back around you.

"How much has she had already?" You asked laughing.

"Well, she started with jager." said Morgan

"Jager?!" You was shocked. "Did she drink the whole bottle?"

"You'd think," said Rossi from the other side of the table. He sat in between Hotch and Emily, drinking his bourbon before continuing to speak, "she's only had two glasses."

"You guys definitely seem to be where the party's at then, huh?"

"You can never go wrong on us for a party." said Emily.

Spencer ordered you two some beers and a couple of vodka shots each. The music wasn't so loud to where you had to yell over one another, but the sound of classic rock filled the building top to bottom. You clanked your shot glasses together and took the shots before taking a sip of your beer as a chaser.

"Look at you, kiddo," Rossi said to Spencer, "where's the Spencer that would get an ice tea or a shirley temple instead of...a beer and shots?"

"Yeah, you can't tell me that all this of this started happening that night at Garcia's?" asked Jj.

The two of you made eye contact and were silent for a moment before bursting out laughing. "So it DID start at my place," said Garcia, "I knew it! I'm such a good cupid." She danced happily in her spot which made everyone giggle.

"You are magic, baby girl." said Morgan.

"So, how did it happen?" asked Hotch, "Don't worry, I'm not your boss tonight but we will have to discuss this once our vacation is over."

"Right," You said nervously, "Well, we hung out after that night after we woke up at Garcia's, and then the next day we went up to my family cabin in Michigan for the weekend, and...that's where we confessed."

"And the rest is history!" said Spencer, sounding like a little kid as he tried to hide the amount of excitement he had.

"Well, we're happy for the both of you," said Morgan as he got up from the table, "I think that calls for a round of celebratory shots, since pretty boy over here has proven in the past week that he can handle them."

When he came back with the shots, you all grabbed them from the tray that the bartender let him use and raised them high. "To having an uninterrupted vacation, and to y/n and Spencer!"

"Cheers!" You all said in unison before clanking them together and letting it go down the hatch. As the night went on, you drank and drank until you were all pretty drunk, even Rossi and Hotch, who you didn't think the whole team has ever seen them like before. When Garcia found out it was karaoke night, she grabbed a few of you, yourself and Spencer included, up to the stage where you sang-or slurred, really-changes by david bowie. Emily and Jj had their arms around each other to hold each other up, and Morgan and Garcia were hogging the mic from everyone, but the whole bar could still hear every one of you. You noticed Hotch in the crowd standing next to Rossi, his phone recording the moment so we wouldn't forget.

The last thing you remember was getting into the uber and Spencer being very touchy on the ride back, making sure that Emily, who sat in the passenger seat, didn't notice that anything was going on in the back. His fingers were ghosting your thighs as he whispered, 'The things I wish we could do right now' before his lips connected to neck.

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #dr. spencer reid #dr.spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #spencer x reader #criminal minds #cm #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid fluff

[brokenbuttonsmusic]

Howard Tate: A Philadelphia Soul Resurrection

This post is a near- transcript of the Broken Buttons: Buried Treasure Music podcast (episode 1, side B). Here you’ll find the narration from the segment featuring the great Philadelphia soul singer Howard Tate, along with links, videos, photos and references for the episode.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Anchor or Mixcloud.

Music history is packed with bands and artists that had the talent, the songs and even the fully realized recordings to make it big, only to be passed over. Some miss their window, or worse, some get their big break, but somehow  self-destruct or fail to capitalize on it. It’s the reason why I decided to do this show. There is so much overlooked and under appreciated music out there to be found and enjoyed.

This next artist doesn’t quite hit any of those scenarios exactly though. Howard Tate got his break and made it happen. Howard Tate hit big and he hit fast. Tate said he came home from work one day and a big limousine was sitting in front of his door. 

“You gotta get in here right away. You gotta get a suit. You’re playing with Marvin Gaye tomorrow night.”

Between 1966 and 1970 Howard Tate had six top 40 R&B singles. And then he disappeared. Plunging into obscurity, almost as quickly as he soared within sight of the summit. Tate never completely crossed over. While he regularly appeared on the R&B charts, the highest he ever placed on the Pop charts was #63. 

Let’s start our dive into Tate, by hearing his highest charting single. One of three top 20 R&B hits in his catalog. This is Ain’t Nobody Home by Howard Tate. 

Ain’t Nobody Home by Howard Tate.

Here’s what the Rough Guide to Soul & R&B has to say about that recording and the chemistry of the whole crew who made it happen.

“With a groove laid down by keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarist Cornell Dupree, bassist Chuck Rainey and drummer Herb Lovell, the production of Ain’t Nobody Home by Jerry Ragovoy both borrowed from and influenced the music coming from Memphis and Muscle Shoals, and set the precedent for Atlantic’s first recordings with Aretha Franklin. While the music was great, however, it was Tate’s vocals that made the record. Sounding like a less overwrought Percy Sledge, Tate’s simultaneously Northern and Southern phrasing was impeccable, and economical use of his falsetto made it all the more effective.”

Tate had the voice, which many compared to Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. He also had a distinctive gospel-blues delivery that sticks with you for days. But the tunes came from somewhere else.

Before his quick ascent, Tate was singing in a group with Garnet Mimms. Mimms was the original singer of the Janis Joplin hit,  Cry Baby. He also introduced Howard to record producer Jerry Ragovoy, who co-wrote Cry Baby. Ragovoy is known for writing Time is On My Side for the Rolling Stones and another Joplin hit, Piece of My Heart. Clearly Janis liked the songwriting of Jerry Ragovoy. In fact, she also performed this Ragovoy composition that you’ve probably come across at one time or another.

That’s Janis Joplin singing Get It While You Can from her massive second album Pearl in 1971. What you might not know is that Get it While you Can was originally performed by Howard Tate, five years earlier in 1966.

Ragovoy was taken with Tate’s voice and began recording him as a solo artist for Verve Records. Ragovoy’s memorable, punchy Northern soul production paired with Tate’s soulful blues phrasing was a perfect match.

Here’s Howard Tate’s version, the original version, of the Jerry Ragovoy penned Get It While You Can.

That was Howard Tate with Get It While You Can from the 1966 album of the same name.

American rock critic Robert Christgau had this to say about Tate and his collaboration with Jerry Ragovoy.

“Tate is a blues-drenched Macon native who had the desire to head north and sounds it every time he gooses a lament with one of the trademark keens that signify the escape he never achieved. He brought out the best in soul pro Jerry Ragovoy, who made Tate's records jump instead of arranging them into submission, and gave him lyrics with some wit to them besides. In return, Ragovoy brought out the best in Tate.”

Despite the magical team up on early singles and a debut album, Tate recorded his second album without Ragovoy, instead working with Lloyd Price and Johnny Nash. Released in 1969, Howard Tate’s Reaction is more uptown soul than the grittier southern soul of its predecessor, but it’s another recognition worthy collection of performances.

Ragovoy and Tate reunited for 1972’s eponymous Howard Tate. This time an Atlantic release. Critics knock this album as being a notch below Ragovoy’s best songwriting, but I think it’s a worthy piece of Tate’s catalog. Tate sounds great, as always, and there are a couple of really explosive, interesting covers. The Band’s Jemima Surrender and this one.

Bob Dylan’s Girl From the North Country. Listen to this voice.

Howard Tate covering Bob Dylan’s Girl From the North County from 1972.

After recording a handful of additional songs—one single for Epic and a few for his own label—Tate retired from the music business. Frustrated with his lack of crossover, but downright bitter about how little he was paid for his successes, which again, included 3 top 20 R&B hits—he quit. Disappeared, really.

But not everyone was ready to forget. And while his name would fade from memories over the coming decades, Howard Tate’s impact was undeniable.

One of Tate’s heroes, BB King, covered Ain’t Nobody Home. So did Bonnie Raitt.

Ry Cooder and Grand Funk covered Look At Granny Run Run

Jimi Hendrix covered Stop

Foghat covered Eight Days on the Road and so did the one and only queen if soul.

And not everyone forgot. Tate’s old partner, record producer and chief songwriter Jerry Ragovoy made many attempts to track down his old friend over the years. He contacted old business associates and got them in on the search. They all came up empty.

A New Jersey DJ named Phil Casden had developed somewhat of an obsession with Tate’s whereabouts. Casden hosted a weekly radio show, spinning soul, blues and R&B and had taken to asking his listeners for any information about the missing (by this time) cult soul legend.

Even Verve, Tate’s old record company, had given up trying to track down the long retired crooner. The 1995 CD reissue of Tate’s Verve sessions included liner notes that flat out said: Howard Tate is probably dead.

''It wasn't sufficient to leave a story like that open-ended,'' Mr. Casden said. ''I had to find out: 'Is the guy alive? Is he dead?' There had to be something more than, 'He just rode off into the sunset.' ''

In 2001 the mystery was solved. Ron Kennedy, singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes recognized Tate at a grocery store and the old pals played catch up after nearly 30 years. They exchanged numbers. Kennedy put the New Jersey DJ, Casden, in touch with Tate. Casden enthusiastically announced the good news to his listeners and the soul fanatics across the internet. Howard Tate was alive! He even put Tate in touch with a lawyer to help him recoup past royalties from his reissues.

Apparently Tate had quite a loyal following overseas. Eventually, a British journalist reached out to Tate’s old partner-producer Jerry Ragovoy for a reaction. The only problem was, Ragovoy didn’t have a reaction to give because he didn’t know Tate had been found. Ragovoy was elated at the news. After reconnecting with his long lost friend and confirming he was doing well, the next thing on his mind: could Howard Tate still sing?

Before we answer that, let’s answer this: where had Tate been all those years after walking away from the music?

After becoming resentful and disheartened by his missing paydays, Tate decided to go missing himself. He didn’t intentionally go into hiding, he just bailed on the industry that he felt wronged had him.

He worked as a securities dealer with Prudential for a while and then darkness hit. He lost his 13-year-old daughter in a house fire. In 1981, after 20 years, his marriage fell apart. Soon after, Tate unraveled too. He tumbled into drug addiction and lost everything. He lived on the streets for years, struggling to get by and feed his habit. Finally, in the mid 90s, he started to climb out of the hole. He cleaned up and found god. He became a minister and dedicated his life to helping the poor and homeless.

And that brings us up to the moment of his big reunion with Jerry Ragovoy and loyal fans awareness that Howard Tate was alive and well after all those years. But now more than your die hard R&B/soul enthusiasts were interested.

But did he still have that voice? Could Howard still sing?

Uh, yeah. Jerry Ragovoy was stunned at how strong Tate sounded after decades of being out of the game. And he was REALLY out of the game. Howard claims he never sang a note all those years. Not until Jerry approached him about recording a comeback album and got him into the studio. Tate also says he had no clue that Janis, B.B., Jimi, Ry or any of the others had ever covered his songs or took an interest in his music.

Howard and Jerry recorded a new album in 2003. It’s called Rediscovered. And remember that Elvis Costello quote from the intro to this episode? Elvis called Tate the missing link between Jackie Wilson and Al Green. Tate asked Costello to write a song for his new album and he agreed. 

Let’s here that now. From his comeback album, Rediscovered, more than 3 decades in the making, here’s Howard Tate with Either Side of the Same Town, written by Elvis Costello.

That was Either Side of the Same Town from Howard Tate’s first album after 30 hears away from the music business. But not his last.

Tate had quite the victory lap. He made numerous tv, radio and festival appearances in the ten years after his reemergence. He recorded two more studio full lengths and a live album. On December 2nd, 2011, Tate passed away of complications of multiple myeloma and leukemia.

With a superb first act and a spectacular resurrection that led to the near doubling of his recorded output, there’s plenty of Tate music to check out and enjoy.

Other sources for this segment are listed below.

I referenced several NPR features in this episode, including the obituary they did for Tate. 

Deep Southern Soul - This blog did a great post on Howard Tate. Lots of other good stuff here, but they recently announced they are closing up.

Gadfly Online - Another nice write up on Tate and his back story.

New Jersey new feature - The clip of Howard talking is from this segment. They did a feature on Tate’s rediscovery.

Trunkworthy - Post about Tate and his comeback. This site digs into music, movies and TV you might have missed. They also did a post about the Elvis Costello song featured in this episode. Elvis’ version is on The Delivery Man album. 

New York Times Obituary for Howard Tate

The Guardian Obituary for Howard Tate

Billboard Magazine, July 26, 2003 - Article about Howard’s return after 30 years.

#Broken Buttons #Howard Tate #soul music #northern soul #rare soul #Marvin Gaye #Jackie Wilson #Sam Cooke #R&B #Jerry Ragovoy #David Letterman #NPR #Fresh Air #Al Green #Wilson Pickett #Janis Joplin #Bob Dylan #Aretha Franklin #Percy Mayfield #New Jersey #Georgia

[excelsi-or]

21/02/20 - nightmares (woozi)

w.c. 1k (fluff)

Black Lives Rec: Check out The Terrell Show on YouTube. Terrell does song association on his channel with various artists from gospel to pop to soul. He’s had well known guests like Tori Kelly and Jojo on (I initially found his channel three months ago through Jojo’s episode). But I love the show because of the lesser known artists he brings on like Candice Boyd and Inayah Lamis (her album S.O.L.A.R is fantastic). He also had DeAndre (from American Idol; his album Black Denim is amazing) and Kevin McHale (from Glee). It’s a feel good show and I have a whole playlist dedicated to all the songs and artists that I’ve collected by watching it.

January 10, 2020

February 21, 2020

Running through every door, she weaves through tables and around people. Every window is shut and jammed. She circles around and notes a small hallway that has a door. There’s stomping going on through the entire ship. The two people she’d run onto the ship with have scattered. It’s literally every man for himself.

Cold water... a window... the dock...

Cops... death... screaming...

Dead... dripping wet... eyes gouged out.

With a deep inhale, her eyes snap open. She looks around the dark bedroom. Behind her, she can hear Jihoon snoring softly. She pushes one of the extra blankets they’d been using last night off her to cool down and then tries to sleep again. But her mind keeps conjuring up those dead people with red eye sockets, some mouths open, all of them soaked in ocean water. The image is too vivid to let her sleep again.

So she rolls over to grab her phone. On her side, so that the light doesn’t affect Jihoon, she scrolls through social media.

Fifteen minutes turn to thirty, thirty to forty. And then Jihoon’s arm reaches for her and tugs her closer. This is the first time she’s been awake when he’s done this. She leans her back into his chest, curling into herself to keep the blue light of her phone away from his eyes.

“Are you awake?” he mumbles.

She looks back at him. His eyes are still closed. “Yeah,” she whispers, turning back around. “Had a nightmare. You sleep.”

The arm draped around her slips underneath her shirt and his hand rubs circles against her skin. “Nightmares?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just need to keep my mind off it.”

His voice doesn’t rise louder than a whisper. “Talk to me.”

“You have to go in early.” She pats his hand through her shirt. “It’s okay. Sleep, Ji.”

“I’m not tired anymore. See?” Jihoon opens his eyes wide and she can’t help but roll her eyes in response. She shuts off her phone and tosses it to the edge of the bed. Then she turns under his arm. His fingertips graze her spine, but not even that can calm her right now.

Jihoon notices how tense she is and looks down at her. The room is dark, but he can make out shapes. And he can see her eyes. She’s watching him, gaze on his face. “What?”

“Looking at you makes it easier to not think about the dream.”

“Ah.” His eyes close and he goes back to rubbing her back. “If that makes you feel better.”

They’re quiet for a while. While sleep tries to drag him under, he can’t feel her relaxing in his arms. “What’s keeping you awake?”

“The dead people.”

“Were you listening to your murder podcast again?”

“I stopped listening before bed after last time.”

She’s taken to tracing shapes on his chest and it’s making him drowsier. “I told you studying late would exhaust your brain too much.”

“Midterms and lab reports.”

“Well, it’s Saturday tomorrow. You have all day to study for it.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Jihoon knows. Music always came easy to him. While he had to pull late nights during school, he knew that even if his knowledge didn’t transfer well to paper that the music he was producing would make up for most bad grades. It doesn’t work quite so well in a science degree.

“Study until I get home and then we have that party at Seungcheol hyung’s house. You can relax then.”

She sighs. Whatever she’d been doing had clearly not put her to sleep. It was putting Jihoon to sleep instead. Her arm wraps around him and she squeezes him tighter, her cheek against his chest. He can imagine her forcing her eyes closed, trying to get whatever images in her head out of there.

“You have a fast heartbeat,” she comments.

“Do I?”

“Weird since you sound like you’re going to pass out.”

“Mm.”

Sighing, she starts to wiggle away from him. “I can’t sleep. I’m gonna—”

“If you get up, you’ll never get to sleep.”

“I don’t want to keep you up though,” she whines.

“I don’t mind. Come back here. Tell me about the dream.”

“No, you hate when I talk about stuff like it.”

“Jagi, you need to sleep too if you’re going to study all day tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, she shares the dream, starting with a car chase scene. When she’s through, Jihoon’s pretty awake.

She gauges his expression and rests her forehead against his chest. “Told you, you wouldn’t like it.”

“Well… it makes sense why you can’t sleep.”

She moves higher on the pillow so they’re face-to-face. Her breath is warm over his skin. Gently, he covers her shoulder with the blanket. He has moved the second layer onto his side. While he prefers being toasty, he’s learning that she gets restless in her sleep if she’s too warm.

Now he understands that it’s likely nightmares.

“How often do you get nightmares?”

“Happens more in the winter.” She stretches her right arm over her head and then drops it between them. “And your apartment isn’t as temperature controlled as ours.”

“You mean Gyu likes it warm.”

“Seungkwanie lets me leave it cold at night.”

“Should we sleep at your place until spring?” Jihoon runs his hands up and down her skin, this time her side. The talking seems to be soothing her, because he can feel her relaxing under his touch.

She shakes her head. “You like your bed too. Spring’s almost here anyway.”

“But—”

“This is my first nightmare in a while.” 

He doesn’t tell her that he pulls the blanket off her when she gets restless at night.

“I’ll be fine.”

Jihoon decides to leave her be. He lifts his arm to invite her closer, hearing her words slurring. She scoots towards him, an arm slipping over his side. He breathes deeply, another trick he’s learned works with her. Eventually, her breathing evens out.

All Jihoon remembers before falling asleep is pressing a kiss to her head and the face of Will Smith with his eyes gouged out.

Next: February 28, 2020

#woozi imagines #woozi scenarios #woozi #lee jihoon scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen #svt #tabilrn

[pinkysfaultorbrainsfault]

animaniacs - s1e34.2: bubba bo bob brain

it is 32 degrees celsius outside today and i have nowt to stave off the evils but my wilko tower fan and a diety coke. tomorrow i have a doctor’s appointment to make sure my blood is staying in my body and my ferrous isn’t down to like 12 again. and then i should probably start my disso. kill me.

episode summary: brain becomes a country singer for the sole purpose of putting subliminal messaging into his music. also his leggy long.

the rundown:

we begin our adventure with brain staring at a suspiciously appropriate book.

makes me wonder exactly why acme labs has a book that deals exclusively with sublinimal mind control. that doesn’t work on mice, does it? like, regular mice, that haven’t been blasted with The Big Laser That Makes You Sound Like Maurice LeMarche. if it does, i have no idea what i’ve been doing with my mice all this time, asking them nicely to get into their nice clean cage through the tube, like a fool.

but anyway this is his Most Brilliant Plan To Date. whatever. brain insists that he will “use sublinimal mind control to take over the world,” and then realises that pinky isn’t listening and is instead looking at this horrible woman.

what is wrong with her face???? i made this a gif specifically so you could see it in action. her eyes haunt me, as i’m sure they do her widowed husband. thankfully horrible woman is simply here to introduce Country Megastar Willie Ray Cyrus, so we get to look at his slightly less deformed face instead.

DON’T TELL MY HEAD, MY EMPTY HOLLOW HEAD, I KNOW I WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND YEP YEP YEP YEP AH YEP YEP

YEP AH nope. brain has mind control things to do that pinky absolutely has to know about. why brain insists on taking pinky with him at this point in the series is beyond me, as he hasn’t quite learnt to care about him yet, but i’ll talk to y’all about that when the crisms episode hits.

hm.

still, while brain has recorded his very own sublinimal message (which pinky describes as “a nice mix, but not exactly danceable) he does fall short as to exactly how to get people to listen to it. it’s not like people would tune in specifically to hear a cartoon mouse talk, right? pity nobody made a podcast about that or anything.

still, life finds a way, and pinky turns the tv back on just in time for brain to hear these women thirst over, as of this episode, this happily married man with a bright eyed little baby who definitely wouldn’t grow up to destroy any buildings. they just adore willie ray! they listen to his song twenty times a day!

“are you pondering what i’m pondering, pinky?” “i think so, brain, but burlap chafes me so.”

ok.

so brain spends the next few minutes trying to work out how to become a country music star. he does this in exactly the same way he analysed the Key Horse Situation from last episode, and writes himself a funny little list of Things Country Music People Have.

man, i wish i could remember when computers were green. too bad this episode came out a good four and a half years before i was born.

brain manages most of the things on this list, giving us a sweet little “howdy, y’all” at the end for good measure, before remembering that he is a mouse and not six foot tall.

drat. pinky’s solution is to tie himself up for no reason.

okay it’s not, but i do like these little moments when we can actually see brain’s eyes, so i left this screenshot in. y’all do not know how many screenshots i have, okay? i frame by frame’d this bitch. and brain is just super fucking cute when he’s not frowning all the goddamn time. we know pinky’s cute, pinky knows he’s cute, but as i yell seedily from my open top car as i drive past him on his way to work, brain would be a lot prettier if he smiled.

pinky actually makes brain a really long pair of jeans, which is a lot more helpful. i just want to remind everyone that Long Brain was actually pinky’s idea. okay? maybe brain’s idea was to go into country music, but the Long??? that was all pinky. the memetic value? pinky. god bless.

“onto nashville!” cries pinky, who has been calling brain “bubbity boobah brain” for the past five minutes.

“if i could reach you, i would hurt you,” says brain, and immediately walks into a wall.

good.

conclusion:

it kind of works.

brain Gets To Nashville, which is my favourite everything everything song, and manages to win over the crowd of indifferent looking southerners, even though he plays the tape after the song and not... while he’s singing, which is the whole point, i think, of sublinimal messaging? whatever.

he sells out at the cassette shop! which i guess is a thing that existed back then.

he makes it onto the radio! where the radio man is so lost in the sauce that he plays brain’s song, like, twenty times a day.

he makes it onto tv! and immediately sexually harasses dolly parton. like, immediately. within minutes of sitting down. (”i’d say puberty was inordinately kind to you”, says brain, who hit puberty at twelve weeks old, like a loser.)

he wins the country music award for best vocalist, which... i guess you can only do after you sexually harass enough women.

he’d like to thank his mama and elvis.

and then he makes it to The Grand Ole Opry, where horrible woman comes back! and tells us with her horrible stationary face that she thinks brain is hot.

ew. brain plays on, undeterred.

and it works perfectly! he plays his song, pinky plays the tape, and he has the whole audience (and the rest of the world, apparently) stuck in cartoon swirly eyed hypnosis, repeating the words “whatever he says” over and over in creepy nashville accents.

at this stage in the game, pinky decides to offer brain some encouragment.

“well done, boobity baba brain!”

and what brain chooses to say - upon the attainment of his lifelong goal, and congratulations from his best friend, sidekick, and accomplice -

“do me a favour, and forget my name. in fact, forget you ever knew me.”

nice to know that brain was planning on abandoning pinky as soon as everything worked out for him. unfortunately, the audience are still in “whatever he says” mode, and.... proceed to forget that they ever knew brain, or what his name is.

this is the face of a man who knows he fucked up.

brain: 2 pinky: 2 outside influence: 4

“you found me playing guitar on the porch of my humble pig farm. any questions?”

“just one. when you farm humblepigs, how far apart do you have to plant them?”

#patb #pinky and the brain #a! #animaniacs #i did this whole review and it deleted itself so i completely lost motivation lmao #BUT HERE IT IS AT LAST #PINKYSFAULTORBRAINSFAULT LIVES ON

[delicatejisung]

─── ❝ 나 보고 싶었어? ❞ ───

❃ “hi~, it’s been so long.” she immediately said as soon as the live started

❃ “czennies~”

❃ “czennies should stop missing me too much, a lot are getting mad on bubble. but it’s okay, you guys are cute.”

❃ fan comment: why are you glowing so much?

❃ “me?! really? it’s because of you, a lot are watching this so it’s making me happy [giggles]”

❃ “did you guys see the mv teasers? it’s cute, right?”

❃ fan comment: we’re happy for you

❃ “i am too, czennies will finally get to hear my music!”

❃ “honestly, recently i’ve been spending a lot of time at the dorm. like, not in my room but on our living room and i realized how fun the members are. we have so much fun together, i wish we could spend more time with czennies like that too. just playing games and talking.”

❃ fan comment: did you get taeyong a present?

❃ “i did! i gave him... yeah, i gave him a present.”

❃ “i just realized i didn’t greet him on bubble or vlive like the other members did but i did message him! don’t worry, i value taeyong-hyung so much~”

❃ “i watched johnny-hyung’s vlive the last time where he reacted to youtube edits and it was so much fun seeing their reactions. i’ll try that someday too, with the members so it’s more fun!”

❃ fan comment: please don’t

❃ “why? why can’t i watch???”

❃ fan comment: the shipping videos....

❃ “[laughs hard] cute~”

❃ “it’s fine, i’ve seen them. on twitter, i see a lot of people who ship jaemin with jeno-hyung!”

❃ fan comment: do you ship them?

❃ “[laughs] sure, as long as they don’t make me a third wheel then it’s fine [laughs harder]”

❃ grabs her phone to go on twitter

❃ “ah, so these are the popular ships! jeno-hyung and jaemin, chenle and jisung & mark-hyung and haechan-hyung?”

❃ fan comment: also you and renjun!!!

❃ “...right. me and renjun-hyung. are we a popular ship?”

❃ fan comment: yes!!!!

❃ “[giggles] okay, i’ll tell him that.”

❃ “we practiced today, we just finished. i think the concert’s tomorrow, i’m not really sure.”

❃ fan comment: when is the podcast?

❃ “on saturday! oh right, about that. there were a lot of things that we talked about that i haven’t talked about before, so i hope you guys get to listen to it and get to know me even better.”

❃ fan comment: did you take pictures during the midyear festival? you didn’t post unlike chenle and renjun.

❃ “ah, that. i took A LOT of pictures with the hyungs, geges and other friends but i didn’t post them because i was too tired that night. the next morning, i felt like it already passed so i didn’t post them. [laughs]”

❃ “i’ll post them on their birthdays instead. if i remember [laughs]”

❃ fan comment: nct life spoiler please

❃ “oh, i cried!”

❃ fan comment: that was on the teaser!

❃ “IT WAS?! that’s unfair~ why would they put a clip of me crying on the teaser?”

❃ “i don’t have anything more to spoil, jisung was cute as usual.”

❃ the door suddenly opens and yanna stares at it a couple of seconds before realizing who it was

❃ “jisungie~” she said as jisung walked towards her

❃ “are you joining me?” “just for a bit.”

❃ fan comment: jisung and yanna, tmi please

❃ “jisung likes me too much these days, he borrows my perfume” “i like the smell not you” “oyoyyoyoyooy” “you don’t wear it anyways, you use-“ “YAH”

❃ fan comment: the star road episodes came out already until the telepathy game

❃ “ah, renjun-hyung’s penalty!” “the boyfriend gifs!” “that was really funny...”

❃ fan comment: jisung, have you seen the mv of yanna’s station?

❃ “i have! it’s...wow!” “stop overreacting!” “all members have seen it but you guys just have to wait a bit more”

❃ fan comment: yuta talked about you two recently

❃ “what did hyung say?” “i saw that! he said you did the scissor thing to him last time and he was reminded of trainee days.” “[laughs]”

❃ “i also saw on twitter that someone asked winwin-hyung if he would rather see 5 yannas or 5 year-old yanna” “what did he say?” “he said 5 year-old yanna because he wants to see how small i was back then” “[laughs hard]”

❃ “recently, the hyungs have been watching kdrama a lot but yanna and i can’t be bothered with it.” “i just don’t think i’m the kind of person who can sit through a whole kdrama, so i don’t join in.” “me too, i feel like my attention span... it’s just that i have a lot of things that i want to do instead of just watching a drama the whole day.”

❃ fan comment: yanna, do you still play superstar?

❃ “no~, because i can’t do the hard mode!”

❃ fan comment: how was skiing?

❃ “it was so much fun! our manager-hyung is just, amazing. he’s really good at teaching us.” “it was so much fun”

❃ the door opened once again, making the two look

❃ “CZENNIES~” jaemin yelled out as renjun calmly ran

❃ the two were then joined by both renjun and jaemin beside them

❃ “where are the three?” yanna asked

❃ “our jeno, haechan and chenle are sleeping.” jaemin replied while looking at the screen reading comments

❃ “we have to go in a while to eat” renjun said

❃ “czennies, go to akdong seoul every night!” yanna reminded the fans while jisung could only hold in his laugh and jaemin snickered a bit

❃ fan comment: 8dream comeback?

❃ “we really don’t know anything yet~” “we’re clueless too but we want that as well” “right now, we really don’t know yet” “let’s all hope”

❃ fan comment: yanna, are you good at mandarin now?

❃ jisung: [laughs]

jaemin: [laughs while clapping]

renjun: [tries to hold in his laughs but fails]

❃ “.....i AM good!” “of course you are”

❃ fan comment: renjun and yanna are wearing the same sweater 😂

❃ [cue jisung widening his eyes before laughing]

❃ “aigoo! why are you wearing couple sweaters!” jaemin joked while jisung laughed even harder

❃ “it’s both just black though” yanna said, making renjun pull his cap down to cover his heated face

❃ “let’s say goodbye, do you guys have anything to say to czennies?” “always take care~”

❃ “czennies, you guys should always take care at a time like this. we’ll meet each other again soon so you should be healthy! i love you~” “bye bye~” “bye~” “hyung, tap the end!” “bye~”

#huang yanna #yanna huang #nct dream 8th member #nct yanna #nct 22nd member #kpop female addition #female kpop addition

[jackjots]

#4 Hospitality

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye 30 Day Prompt

(This takes place around the first half of Episode 4)

Day #4 @30daysofwayward

CW: Mention of blood (I do not own any other characters or place names outside of Shelby St. Ranger, this is just for fun)

They say practice makes perfect, and over the years I had crafted the perfect hangover. I made some coffee, grateful I’d brought it with me from my car. My car. I groaned, leaning against the counter as the coffee brewed. I called the shop as soon as it opened, and arranged for my car to be towed. They told me what time I could expect it to be done, and as I hung up I realized I should have asked what their hours were. I pushed the thought away. I should just try to get some work done, and then go get my car. Go to the library. Drop off the book. Come back home and work more. That’s all I should do. 

I poured my cup of coffee and as I looked at the dark abyss I thought of Prism’s dead eyes. I grabbed some milk from my fridge and poured it in to disrupt the abyss. The clouds of white mixing with the coffee almost had a red tint to it, or was I imagining it? I violently opened my drawer and grabbed a spoon, using it to stir the thoughts away and made the coffee a caramel color. I didn’t love the taste of milk in my coffee, but my mouth tasted sour anyway so it really made no difference. 

I sat down at my computer and as soon as the screen blared white at me I turned it off again. I grabbed a pen and paper instead, but regardless of the medium, my head pounded and my words were all dried up. I fetched my mail and didn’t bother opening it. I laid on the couch after taking some pain killers and getting through most of the cup of coffee, and let my thoughts wander back to the night before. I tried to piece together my hunch about Desmond, but once again I was having trouble envisioning him as some sort of criminal mastermind. Also, ripping pages out of a book, slashing tires, and murder didn’t quite line up in my head. And why would it be the chapter on werewolves? It didn’t make sense. 

I thought of the person I’d bumped into and sat up. Fur coat. I groaned as my head hurt again and gently laid it back down. I scolded myself for such a silly thought, and decided I needed some water. 

After a few glasses and more leaning over my sink just in case, I decided to take a shower. I took a small nap and it was as if my normal brain had come back. I had time for a small meal before I had to start my trek back into town to get my car. 

I brought the book, with the intention to return it and be done with the whole thing. 

On my walk, I remembered I was missing the town council meeting, with only a moment of regret from my still lingering curiosity. I turned onto the street that became the main drag of town. They’d towed my car back for me, as an expensive favor, since it would’ve been too far to walk, and I’d already paid over the phone. My car was right where I’d left it, with brand new tires. I got in the car and sat for a moment. The curiosity came back in the stillness and quiet of my car. I couldn’t just leave. I had to know. 

I walked into the Dead Canary, feeling a little queasy at the memory of running in after seeing Prism just the night before.

“Shelby.” Desmond looked as surprised as I felt that I was there. “What can I do for you?”

“Did Truman Hensley get elected?”

“No.”

“No?”

“The Sheriff is running in her brother’s place. You’ll get to vote after all.”

“Good.” 

“And Paul’s doing alright.”

“Paul?” I blinked. “Podcast Paul?”

“You found him last night, with Prism.” He bowed his head gently at her name.

The other body. I had forgotten, in the blur of it all. “Oh. Good. I’m glad he’s not dead.” 

He nodded. “Indeed.”

With a touch of uncertainty, I sat at the bar. “Desmond, what happens if Truman Hensley wins? What happens to this town?”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about that.” He said, but he looked away when he said it.

“I am worried. And I’m not sure why.”

“You feel at home here, and maybe you don’t want that home to change.”

I blinked. “Yes, that’s exactly it. Very astute Desmond.” He couldn’t kill anyone, I thought to myself. Why, because he was being nice to me? Like murderers weren’t nice to people sometimes? I shook my head. “I just can’t get over the feeling that something else is happening here.” 

“You’re starting to sound like those - what did you call them? Podcasters.” He chuckled. “You may just be seein’ things that aren’t there.” 

I sighed and rubbed my face. “Maybe you’re right Desmond. Maybe I’ll just return the book and stop asking why. And just be happy with what I’ve got now.”

“If you keep asking the wrong questions, you’ll keep getting the wrong answers.” 

“The wrong questions?” He didn’t say anything, he just stared at me while cleaning a glass, and I decided it was time to leave. 

The drive to the library felt like it went by faster than normal. I barely saw the scenery as it spilled out before me. It was as if my vision kept being obstructed by big blurry thoughts: being told rather than listened to about Prism’s death, the censorship of werewolf information, Paul being attacked (or exploded? With crystal shards? Which didn’t even make sense?), Desmond’s possible involvement- I didn’t see the car come around the bend and the world went black.

Irony is getting your car fixed only to wake up to smoke coming from the hood. I looked around. I had, very luckily, been pushed to a road shoulder and had crashed into the wall of the hill instead of off of the road to a tree riddled hillside. No one had stopped, so it was a hit and run. An accident. There was a mass of white coming from the steering wheel. The airbag was deployed, and the red on it surprised me. I checked my nose. It was bloody. I almost laughed at the blood on my hands. With wide eyes, I went over my body with soft pats to make sure nothing was broken. I felt okay, albeit shaky. I shuffled around in my glove compartment to get my cell phone. I’d stuck it in there for emergencies such as this one, and waited for it to turn on while my car made unnerving creaking noises. Once it was loaded, I could see clearly there was no signal. I wasn’t close enough to the valley to make it that way, so I decided to walk back to town. 

To say this was a stupid decision was an understatement. The idea of just staying with the car until someone drove by that could help me didn’t even occur to me; I had to move. There was no place to walk on the road. I just clung to the rocky hillside when a car would go by. I was grateful traffic was rather slow, and almost cried when there was a large swatch of road to walk on. By the time I got back to town, the adrenaline had worn off and my whole body felt like someone had punched it. I couldn’t walk home, I decided, I had to just give up at the Dead Canary. It was aptly named. I felt like a freaking Dead Canary.

If Desmond was surprised to see me before, apparently I looked pretty bad this time. 

“What happened to you?”

“Car crash.” I said. And then the world went black, because apparently talking was just too much energy I didn’t have.

I woke up in a strange bed. I jolted up and then shrank back down. “Two for one discount.” I heard from the other side of the room. The drunk lump was erect and I realized he was in a lab coat. I thought I’d heard him referred to as a doctor, which I’d taken as a joke, but with horror I realized Henry actually was a doctor. 

“What?” I asked.

“Desmond got you a room.” I smelled the air as he wobbled closer. “Are you drunk?”

“Hardly.” “Why did you say two for one?” “Paul? Earlier? With the crystals?” “Ah.” “You’ll be fine. Just a broken nose, some bruising probably. I don’t have another lolly pop.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“I’ll be...I’ll be around if you need any more medical attention.” 

Henry left and I was alone in my room. I realized out of nowhere I’d left the book in the car. The car. I groaned and got out of bed. Someone had taken off my shoes, so I put them back on and carefully made my way back to the bar. 

“You’re up quick.” Desmond threw a towel over his shoulder. 

“I left my car-

“Up on the highway, already got it towed.”

“How did you know?”

“Only one way to go really.” 

“True.” I paused as my face throbbed. “Thank you for putting me up.” “No issue.” “How much do I owe you.”

“You stayin’?”

“Probably not.” “How you getting home?”

“Walking.” Even just taking a step now made my body ache and I paused through the pain. “Actually, is it okay if I stay?”

“I’ll charge ya half price.”

I nodded. “Thank you. Can I get some water? And maybe a paper and a pen?”

“What for?”

“I write as a distraction, and I don’t have my notebook or anything with me.” 

“I’ll get that for you. Anything else?” “No.” 

“Just hang tight.”

The sun was setting, and I thought about trying to call someone for a lift home. But the idea of just staying put til tomorrow was too tempting. And something about having been put to bed, and taken care of, was just simultaneously alien and comforting. 

With the paper and pen in my pocket, my glass of water, and some aspirin Henry had fished out of his pocket that I inspected carefully before risking, to my room. I saw a closed door next to mine and wondered who else would be staying there. And then it occurred to me. Of course, Artemis and Paul. The only visitors in this town. I listened in the hallway for a moment, but no sounds were being made. I went into my room and shut the door. 

There was a small mirror and desk set up that I sat down at. My reflection startled me. My hair was tangled, there was bruising around my eyes, and blood still under my nose. Great, I thought. Good thing only Desmond and Henry had seen me. I tried to clean myself up a little bit. There was blood all over my shirt. I took it off, relieved I had been wearing a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve one. My jeans were also spotted with blood, but that was ignorable. I put the pen and paper down on the desk. My head felt a little too wobbly to write just yet, but having the option made me feel better. I’d have to write about the feeling of a broken nose; I knew that would be useful for my main character. I tried to touch it, but winced which made it hurt worse; like a ball of heat in the middle of my face just aching. 

I went back to the bed when I heard talking from my wall. I tried to ignore the urge to listen in for a while as I heard the voices were low, but I finally couldn’t help it and pressed my ear up to the wall. 

“I’m gunna get a drink.” Said a voice, and footsteps.

And then, “I think I’m a werewolf now.” 

First of all, those were really thin walls, but also, what?

What?

#30daysofwayward #waywardguidefortheuntrainedeye #tin can bros #waywardguide #werewolves #fic

[itsnina-bitch]

Podcast part 2

Read the first part first to understand, but a refresher: Bucky and Natasha start a podcast on murder mysteries (CACW and infinity war never happened)

Note: Sorry for any grammar mistakes, English isn’t my first language

Part 1:

https://yagirl-ninaa.tumblr.com/post/623139374579712000/note-i-dont-think-the-revengers-are-a-ripoff-but

“Wanna train?”

Natasha asked

Anyone watching would think they were dancing because of their in sinc

So there they were, dogging each other’s blows

Ducking their kicks, trying to pin each other down

It was about 10 minutes in when Natasha manged to pin the soldier

“I win”

Natasha says while hovering over him, almost touching her

“Let’s see”

Round two, the red head wins again

“What happened Barnes? Forgot your morning coffee?”

After one hour of training, the two of them went their separate ways

But Bucky wasn’t going to let that pass

He will manage to pin her down

I mean how hard can it be?

VERY hard.

I mean extremely hard

But he doesn’t know that yet so shhhh

Though he did win a few times

After a long shower he went on with his daily routine, but this time he couldn’t stop thinking of Natasha Romanoff

Fast forward, he meets with her again to help with the script

“What’s the plan agent?”

Except the slightly above average amount of comments of Sam, Steve, Clint and Tony, they were good

It was around 8 pm when someone knocked on his door

“Bucky, we need to talk”

Said Clint before locking the door

Bucky has no idea what happened or what he was going to say

“It’s about Nat. I can tell you like her”

“Is it that obvious?”

“She still hasn’t figured out, but I’m pretty sure the rest of the avengers ship you guy’s”

“Ship? Like a boat?”

After a while, the both of them were talking about Nat, Clint’s early relationship with Laura and some advice

“But if you hurt her; You. Are. Dead.”

Though Clint doesn’t seem like much of a threat, when it came to Nat it his family he would kill him and everyone else in this planet in the blink of an eye

Bucky quietly nodded, knowing that if he did anything to her, he would never forgive himself

Moments later, Clint was back to give him advice on how to ask her out

“Hey buck, dinner’s ready”

Steve said from behind the door

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t listening to their conversation

Hell, they are SUPER SPYS and can’t hide a conversations

“How long have you been there?”

“Not long...”

He said as the two avengers stare at him

“Long...”

The blond man admitted

“So you and Nat huh?”

After dinner, James told his best friend the whole story, from the red room and hydra to podcasts

Well, most of it

A few details were too intimate, and others were something he wanted to keep to himself

But he didn’t want Steve to feel guilty he couldn’t save him, so he didn’t talk about the pain, the suffering, the flashbacks that crawl at the back of his head

So he ended up just like Clint; he thought it was only an affair, a one time thing, when in reality, he couldn’t be more wrong

“I just hope you’re happy now, with her”

Later that night, the clock read 3:26 am

James couldn’t sleep, as usual

His PTSD was unbearable, and he had to get some fresh air

As he walked out of the compound and into the small garden Wanda instead they should have, feeling the fresh air, he noticed someone was following him

Stopping midway to see who

“Natalia? What are you doing here”

“Natasha, please. Same thing as you I guess”

The widow said

“You know, I’m having these flashbacks, of hydra, the red room... and you”

You could see the pain in his eyes, the fear, but also the slight happiness, of knowing that someone he loved was there with him

But again, in past tense

“You know, I like you too”

Confessed Natalia, or Natasha

“What?”

“Steve is a horrible liar”

“Punk”

Bucky muttered under his breath

He stepped closer to her, and cupped her cheeks with his flesh hand and wrapped her waist with his metal one

“You know Natalia, I missed you. I missed holding you.”

“I missed you too”

And then she kissed him

Though they haven’t kissed in years, it felt natural, but very passionate

Hungrily kissing each other, their tongues exploring each other, and they dove deep in to the kiss

Pulling apart for a moment to catch some air

“I also missed kissing you”

After a hot making out session, they decided to head back inside, and maybe watch a movie

As they sat down on the couch, Nat asked:

“What do you want to watch, James”

Making sure to say James in a casual way, but enough to turn him on

“I don’t know, Natalia. Come here, I have a blanket”

As she crawled over to cuddle, she was surprised as he grabbed her shoulders and pined her down still on the sofa, and started to kiss her

But after a while they decided to watch the movie

The 2 hour 3 minute helped them finally get some sleep

The downside was that Steve and Sam always had a early morning run at around 6 am everyday

So if they didn’t want to get caught, they had to leave early

**2 months later**

That routine continued for a while

Their secret dating went well, nobody knew

Let’s just say that they did more than just kiss now...

Anyways, their relationship was going well, until one day Bucky is seriously hurt in a mission

He had to stay away for a week, so sleeping goes back to being hard, no Bucky for her to cuddle with

She did stay with him at the hospital a lot, speaking mostly in Russian so that the others don’t understand

But one day Thor showed up

“трудно спать без тебя, надеюсь, ты скоро поправишься” (it’s hard to sleep without you , I hope you get well soon)

“Да, я тоже” (yeah, me too)

“так ты в отношениях”

Thor said, leaning in the doorway

“You understand Russian?”

“Yes I do, by are you courting each oth-“

“Yes but don’t tell anyone”

Natasha sighed

“Your secret is safe with me”

Out of nowhere, Tony apears;

“What secret?”

“I do not know, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to new Asgard”

Luckily, Thor saved them, but they would rather not be teased by their friends, so it’s still a secret

The podcast is still going strong, but tomorrow when Bucky gets out of the hospital they will record an episode and film it live

Meanwhile, Steve and Sam are talking about their new routine: a morning run at 5:30 am twice a week, starting tomorrow

Fast forward to the next day 3:35 am, they decided to watch a 1 hour 58 minute movie

What could go wrong?

“Hey Steve, let’s go.”

“Have you seen my shoes?”

“Check the living room”

When he gets there, he sees Bucky and Nat cuddling, watching the sunrise, with the tv still on

“So you two are together?”

Fuck.

A/N: hey! So I’ll leave this part to your imagination, but my headcanon is that they are now officially together, first they tell the avengers then the podcast. My other headcannon is that the avengers all have sound proof rooms bc it is often for someone to wake up screaming...

This is my second fic so sorry it’s bad! But pls give me suggestions! And personally I prefer the first one but I hope you like this one too! Thanks!

[btssavedmylifeblr]

Writing For Fun In November

Trying to cultivate a healthy writing practice one day at a time.

November 30th

- Launched my new BTS fic recs blog. There are many more stories to be added there, but I got the navigation all set up, along with ten of my favorite stories. 

November 29th

- Added my own fics to my new fic recs blog. I am pretending that it is because I need to make sure the navigation system is set-up correctly and it is easiest to do that with my own fics, but really I’m just a self-centered asshole. 

- Once I figured out the navigation system, then I added a bunch of fics from AO3. I’ll share the new fic recs blog tomorrow for my blog-iversary! I’ll be adding a bunch from Tumblr tomorrow after it is live too. 

November 28th

- Worked more on Tongue Tied. Had a bit of crisis about not having updated in too long and made a couple of friends read the first half for reassurance. Let my beta reader talk me into adding even more smut. 

- Began setting up a fic rec blog that I’ll take live on Friday for the two-year blogiversary.

November 27th

- Week 6 Day 4 of the Couch to 80k

- Did more Void 4 free writing

- Transferred Tongue Tied from Google Docs to Scrivener to make it easier to navigate and figure out how many scenes I have left. (I have written 6, there are 6 more)

November 26th

- planned too much Superstar BTS and did nothing productive. Am too busy trying to clear the Thanksgiving Feast.

November 25th

- Planned the blogiversary and started work on updated fic recs

November 24th

- Week 6 Day 3 of the Couch to 80k

November 23rd

- worked on Tongue Tied early in the morning

November 22nd

- worked on Tongue Tied early in the morning

November 21st

- worked on Tongue Tied early in the morning

November 20th

- Week 6 Day 2 of the Couch to 80k

- first drafting a scene in Void from Jungkook’s perspective so I know how I want it to play from the reader’s POV. 

November 19th

- Week 6 Day 1 of the Couch to 80k

- free writing about the ending of Void that I’ve had buzzing in my head for a week

November 18th

- went to see Burn the Stage the Movie! Calling it #important research

- One of my beta readers read scenes 4 and 5 in Void 4 and helped me figure out a thing that was bothering me about it.

November 17th

- spent my afternoon doing writing sprints and chatting with friends. Finished the third drafts of the fourth and fifth scenes in Void 4. 

November 16th

- struggled with some personal things and some seasonal affective disorder, played Superstar BTS, watched the BTS stage performance compilation and answered asks to decompress from the week

November 15th

- Week 5 Day 6 of the Couch to 80k 

November 14th

- played WIP ask game

November 13th

- had a bunch of thoughts about the ending of Void in the shower and on the morning commute.

- had too much fun chatting with friends this evening and never got any writing done, but it was worth it. 

November 12th

- Week 5 Day 5 of the Couch to 80k 

- Second drafted the third scene of Void 4 (Hoseok and the OC in the lab)

- Got halfway through the second draft of Jungkook’s haircut in Void 4

November 11th

- Week 5 Day 4 of the Couch to 80k

- Finished the third draft of the second scene of Void

- Made my beta reader read the first half of Tongue Tied and the first two scenes of Void 4. Beta reader was very enthusiastic about all of it.

November 10th

- Week 5 Day 3 of the Couch to 80k bootcamp, which focused on how writing about traumatic events can be healing

- Did some end-of-story storyboarding for Tongue Tied

November 9th

- Was going to write this morning, but got suckered into watching this vlog about BTS at the MGA awards instead. Because this is my writing for fun month, I’m calling that #important research.

- Rearranged my Void 4 storyboard because I really want to include this one scene that I was originally going to hold for Ch. 5, but I think it really belongs in Ch. 4. Panicked when I realized that Ch. 4 might be even longer than Ch. 3. 

- Played a very goofy and fun ask game as a way to decompress from the week.

November 8th 

- Week 5 Day 2 of the Couch to 80k boot camp, which led to a rough draft of an  scene between Yoongi and the OC before the events of Void begin.

- Beta read Chapter 8 of Raw Temptation and Joint Obsession by the talented @trilluvium. It continues to be a terrific story. 

November 7th

- spent 45 min in the early morning working on the scene with Jin and the OC in the kitchen in Void 4

November 6th

- Did Week 5 Day 1 of the Couch to 80k boot camp.

- finally emptied my inbox.

- daydreamed a whole bunch about Void and Yoongi

November 5th

- answered this ask about food in Void

- read a bunch of articles about whether or not astronauts are allowed to drink in space

- began working on the third draft of the second scene in Void 4, where the OC talks to Jin and Jungkook in the kitchen post-Yoongi hookup.

November 4th

- edited the end scene of Void 3 cause there were a few phrasing things that were bugging me.

- finished the third draft of the opening scene of Void 4. Deepened my crush on Void Yoongi.

November 3rd

- had too much fun answering a bunch of asks that I’ve been wanting to get to for days: X, X,  X

- caught with some fics I’ve been wanting to read for a week: X, X

November 2nd

- Did Week 4 Day 6 exercise in the Couch to 80k boot camp.

November 1st

- Did the Week 4 Day 5 exercise in the Couch to 80k boot camp. 

- Listened to this episode of the Death of 1000 cuts podcast on procrastination on my commute to work. It had a lot of good advice.

#writing for fun

[janesviews]

Stranger Things 3 or Why Do We Mourn Abusive Men?

Another season of Stranger Things has come and gone and I have lots of thoughts and in this piece, all of them are going to be pretty negative. That doesn’t mean I didn’t like the season. I actively enjoyed it. But I want that joy somewhere else, somewhere far from here where I scream and shout and ask the vital question of why we are asked to mourn abusive men?

SPOILERS (and Scoops) AHOY for the whole of Season 3!

Listening to a recap podcast of the show before the season aired, there was a prediction that Billy would become the villain in season 3. This gave me pause as I had been under the assumption he had already been the villain. From the moment we’re introduced to him in season 2, he’s presented as intensely aggressive, and as the season progresses, he is physically violent towards almost everyone, racist and manipulative. Sure, he may not be a supernatural demon from another dimension, but is that what it takes to classify someone as a villain? He’s a quantifiable piece of shit. We get about 30 seconds of backstory on him, he’s had an abusive childhood himself, but is that 30 seconds enough to ignore/erase/forgive his actions? In my books, no. Despite this tiny peek into Billy’s past, we’re really only ever given one side to his character. We never get a glimpse of any sort of multi-facet he might possess. On the other hand, a character like Steve Harrington, who at first was presented as a one-dimensional douche (and we expect him to remain in this archetype as it’s an archetype we’re familiar with, especially in this 80s world we’re living in), evolved and shifted and has been on a continuous character growth spurt. Billy on the other hand is narrowly written and poorly defined. There is no nuance.

By the end of season 2, he’s been brought down, maybe by a peg, by his sister Max, and seems slightly cowed by her assertiveness towards him. However, once season 3 starts, he’s back to his old ways, screaming and fat-shaming a young boy at the pool where he lifeguards, manipulating married women into affairs and just being physically menacing. He is very shortly thereafter ‘corrupted’ by the Mind Flayer, thereby becoming the supposed villain I believe he always was.

I’m not going to get into his whole trajectory throughout the season only to say that it continues to be one-note. It’s hard not to think that this would just be the way Billy would be behaving had he not been possessed, maybe minus the drinking of chemicals. His real self vs. his Mind Flayer self are hardly different. He’s just as maniacal, only now he has super-strength and sweats profusely (a side effect of getting possessed by the Mind Flayer during an Indiana summer).

By the end of the season, after literally torturing people and killing many others, Billy decides to sacrifice himself because El says some words about him surfing as a child, and much like the universally panned segment in Batman v. Superman (Martha???), those words seem to snap him out of his haze long enough to get gutted by the Mind Flayer. This action does momentarily distract the Mind Flayer from ripping El to pieces just as Joyce closes the gate, vaporizing everyone near the Russians’ machine (including Hopper, who I will get back to) and killing the Mind Flayer, but the moment lacked any emotional depth or feeling. This heart-to-heart probably would have been better served from Max, the original target of Billy’s ire, instead of someone Billy mind-melded with for a minute. And this ‘heroic’ act of self-sacrifice is somehow supposed to balance out every other shitty thing we’ve seen him do for the past two seasons? I don’t think so. All I felt after it was all said and done was a mild sense of relief.

Max is BEREFT at the loss of Billy, her psychotic step-brother, and again, there is nothing to substantiate this reaction. They have literally never had a positive interaction and it is not fair to the viewer to have us pretend that this makes sense with no backstory to support it. It’s also disrespectful that now we are being told through music cues and Max’s reaction that WE are also supposed to be bereft by this loss. Billy may have done one selfless act in the 17 episodes we’ve seen him in but I will not mourn him. I will sing no requiem for the man who caused physical harm to his sister, almost ran over some pre-teens to scare his sister, violently assaulted his classmate until he had to be subdued by his sister… no. I will not be told to mourn that.

That brings me to the other major death we had this season (that is, if you believe he’s actually dead, which, with the current evidence we have, is not certain, but I’m going on the assumption that he is). Breaking the rule that if your name starts with the letter B, the Duffer Brothers have it in for you, Jim Hopper bites it in spectacular fashion. After finally getting rid of the Russian monkey on his back, he is stuck next to the deadly machine that is opening up the gate to the Upside Down. With no way of getting back to safety, Hopper solemnly nods to Joyce and she vaporizes him and closes the gate, saving the day. This loss is definitely a bigger one, Hopper has been a huge part of all three seasons of Stranger Things, and integral to the story. However, for some reason, this season he just sucks. What came off as loveable grump in the first two seasons is now coming off as raging asshole in the third. As the legal guardian of El, admittedly rightly perturbed by the physicality and closeness that has developed between El and Mike, Hopper begins the season by flipping his lid. El and Mike are preteens swapping a lot of spit and that’s a lot for Hopper to take. I get that. I, as the viewer, found myself more than once hoping the kissing scenes would get cut short. This begins Hopper’s tirade of aggression throughout the season. He is seemingly unable to use his words thoughtfully and must resort to threats to separate Mike and El. It only goes downhill from there where he assaults the corrupt mayor of Hawkins and almost chops his finger off in a cigar cutter. Later in the season he shoots down a bunch of Russian soldiers for no other reason then he was tired of waiting for Murray (a welcome surprise to the season, and almost made me forget how much I hate Brett Gelman’s character in Fleabag) to calm them down. We’ve seen people casually killed in Stranger Things before. El has killed her fair share of people before in acts of self-preservation. However, all of this seemed more and more extreme with Hopper. Last season we see him almost exclusively fighting supernatural creatures and for him to turn that aggression on people felt scary. It didn’t help that most of this season found him yelling at someone for things not going his way. He began to come off as petulant with a gun.

So by the end of the season, when Joyce is left with no choice but to destroy him for the greater good, I was again left with a hollowness. My sadness was not for the loss of Hopper but for those who had lost him. Had Hopper been axed last season, it would have had a much greater resonance. He had just begun to become the father that El needed, he was the friend that Joyce wanted and though he may have screwed up here and there, you always felt that he was trying. There was always an underlying goodness. To have that loss last season would have been a gut punch. To have it delayed to the end of this season and to see his character shift so negatively, it felt shallow instead.

There were so many positives this season, like the evolution of El’s and Max’s friendship, the introduction of the intriguing Robin, bringing back fan-favourite Erica for a larger role, any and all Steve content… Unfortunately, I felt the season was weighed down by aggressive men and the unrealistic belief that we should come to care for them. The show may be set in the 80s, but it’s 2019. It’s time to stop relying on this trope. Now that those two characters are out, what will season 4 bring? Murray as a main character? More Mr. Clarke (who was criminally underused, but shone in his scenes)? No adult men at all? We play the waiting game once more to see what Hawkins ‘86 has to offer.

And tomorrow… my top 10 moments from Stranger Things 3.

#tv: stranger things

[surveyjunkie]

Is there a bus stop near your house?: I’m not sure, I don’t take the bus anywhere

Do you prefer red wine or white wine?: White wine for sure

What’s the last airport you were at? Why were you there?: I was at CVG because I was coming back from vacation

Who do you live with?: My boyfriend and his brother

Do you read Reddit? If so, how often and what subreddits do you like?: No. I think I’ve been on there like four times and I never understood the appeal. The layout is so messy and confusing, but maybe that’s the point, Idk. < Yeah, I’ve been on there a few times too but I agree, the layout is really messy and old-school. < same

Have you recently broken up with a significant other or even just a friend?: no

What’s the weather like today? Is it nice enough to go outside?: it’s hot and sunny. it’s nice enough to go outside but not stay outside for too long unless you plan on going to the pool.

Do you know anyone who’s had a baby recently?: my coworker’s daughter just had a baby, if that counts?

Have you used a pen or pencil today? What did you write down?: i used a pen to write down events in my brand new PLANNER

What does your last text message say and who is it from?: “i love you :)” - josh

Can you count how many times you’ve seen your favorite film?: i have a few favorites, i’ve seen them all at least 30 times each

When was the last time you ate marshmallows?: probably the last time i made hot chocolate...so back in April?

Do you listen to any podcasts? How do you listen to them?: sometimes! i listen on my phone but also sometimes on my computer

How old will you be in the year 2030?: 38....vomit

How often does the kettle in your house get used?: we don’t even have a kettle, if we want tea we just boil or microwave water

Does your skin bruise easily? Do you have any bruises right now? What from?: i do, but i’m not sure if i have any right now or where they are

What was the last thing you spent $150 or more on?: a car payment

Do you prefer yes or no questions or more open-ended questions?: open-ended

What brand of toilet paper do you usually buy?: the cheapest brand, but never the store brand bc it sucks.

If I knocked on your door right now, would you be acceptably dressed?: i’m at work...so go right ahead.

Why did you leave your last job?: they weren’t giving me any hours after i got a second job, so it made more sense to just go full time at the second place and quit the first. also, i was kind of sick of retail.

What color were the last socks you wore?: black.

Are you studying currently? What level of education and what do you study?: in the fall i’m starting my 1st year of grad school in health informatics (aka bio-statistics) so i can finally start making some real money

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and left without paying?: no

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?: there was a funny situation that just happened at work

What’s your favorite scent of air freshener?: i have one in my car right now that i really like called bay breeze or something like that. it’s just one of those little tree air fresheners.

How many weddings have you ever been to?: 7 i think??

Do you know anyone named Nora?: yes, that’s Josh’s grandma’s name

Are your hands and feet in good condition or could you do with a mani-pedi? I just painted my nails but I need to go over them again, and my toes need painted.

Have you ever been to a festival for beer or other types of alcohol?: many times

Do you own a record player and/or vinyl?: no

When was the last time you went out for drinks?: unless you count grabbing beers with dinner, a few weeks ago is the last time i went out to a “real” bar. Have you ever been to a strip club?: i’ve only gone twice in my whole life

What’s your favorite kind of smoothie?: mango or strawberry banana

Do you know anyone with a ‘virtue name’? (Google it): yep

Would you ever wear real authentic leather?: nah

Have you taken out the trash today?: no but thanks for reminding me bc it’s being picked up tomorrow lmao How often do you wear make-up?: like, once a week if that

What’s your opinion on The Simpsons?: it’s not really for me, i’ve watched a few episodes with Josh and found them funny but i probably wouldn’t watch it on my own time

Do you prefer horizontal or vertical stripes?: horizontal

What’s your favorite brand of deodorant/antiperspirant?: i just found a new one i love but i forget the name, it comes in a green matte container

Do you know anyone who has been through a divorce?: yes

If you had the money, would you take taxis everywhere instead of driving?: i live in a small town so there’s no need for taxis, but if i lived in the city then maybe

Have you ever done a juice cleanse?: no

Do you have any friends who you can’t decide if they’re attractive or not?: honestly, yes Is the inside of your fridge clean right now or does it need a cleanout?: it could do with a cleanout

When was the last time you washed the dishes?: Josh takes care of that, he washed them all on Saturday but we’ve been eating out since then. 

Are there any magazines that you read on a regular basis?: sometimes i read Game Informer but that’s literally it

Do you have to pay for parking in most places in the town/city you live in?: nope.

What’s the first thing you tend to do when you have a headache?: lay down or take an ibuprofen, drink lots of water

Tell me about your responsibilities at work: i’m a patient registrar at a doctor’s office, i check people in, verify their information/insurance, collect payments, scan orders, all that good stuff.

Can you hear lots of traffic from your house? Does it bother you?: no, it’s really quiet where i live. Have you ever had proper Canadian poutine with the squeaky cheese?: i’ve had poutine, but i don’t know what squeaky cheese is so i guess it wasn’t proper Canadian?

Do your parents know how to operate smartphones and/or computers?: yes

How old are your parents, anyway?: my dad is 56 and my mom is 57

Are you allergic to anything? What do you have to do to prevent them?: mosquitos, i don’t do anything

What song is stuck in your head at the moment?: shooting stars by....i forget the artist. 

Do you hate it when people try really hard or do you kinda like it?: it bothers me a bit

What’s your boss’ first name? Do you call him/her by that name?: amy. yes.

When was the last time you wore a uniform of any kind? What color was it? i’m wearing one right now, it’s a blue long-sleeved sporty looking collared shirt. 

Do you complete a survey before taking this one? Will you take one after?: nah this is my first. it got really slow at work and i needed something to do. Have you ever lost enough weight to drop a dress size?: yep. my weight fluctuates really bad. i go back and forth between a size 4 and a size 8 depending on the type of job i have. right now, i have a desk job so i’m chunky again. 

What’s your favorite kind of bread?: french

When was the last time you got pizza? What toppings did you get?: i can’t remember

Do you own Monopoly? Is it the original or a special version?: no

What was the last thing you said out loud?: bless you, cause someone sneezed

You have to choose one: cats or dogs?: dogs

Would someone being either a cat or dog person affect you dating them?: no, i love both cats and dogs. i’m just biased towards dogs right now.

How do you travel to and from work?: car

Do you primarily use cash or card for your purchases? Why?: card

Have you ever been to a stadium concert?: yuuup

#survey

[canaryatlaw]

okay, well today was fine but I’m in a bit of a funk now about job related stuff that’s just kinda got me discouraged. I didn’t get till bed till fairly late last night and I was dead exhausted, so I just let myself sleep in for a while, lol, so I think it was like 3:14 when I actually got out of bed. Had some breakfast (”breakfast”), and the first order of business was contacting stubhub about the mess that unfolded with the tickets yesterday, so I got them on the chat function on their website and then tried to explain and they were like “well it shows here that we contacted you and you never responded so the order was cancelled” and I was like “actually I did respond and I have screenshots showing so, as well as a timestamped email that I already sent those screenshots to you” so I had to send them all my proof and ultimately prove that the issue was on the buyer’s end and I did everything I was supposed to do, which they eventually agreed with and reversed the decision not to give me the money from the sale, which honestly I was kinda surprised actually happened because I was pretty sure they were just gonna be like “tough luck” so I was pleased to see that was not in fact the case. After that I accomplished some random around the house stuff for a bit, listening to podcast episodes, including our latest episode of the batwoman podcast we recorded last week and got released today. I was dismayed to find out I talk too fast for me to be able to use my speed listening podcast app that I use on every other podcast I listen to 😂so I guess that’s a sign that I need to slow down (I’m from New York, we talk fast) before starting on dinner, which was a dorito chicken casserole, basically crushed doritos on the bottom and top of a mixture of chicken and cheese and like sour cream and cream of chicken soup, plus a few more other things lol. but the chicken of course had to be cooked before that is put together and the recipe called for 2 cups of chicken, so I consulted the internet about how much in ounces I should make and it said 8 ounces, and the internet lied to me and when I had the chicken cooked and shredded it only made one cup, so I had to quickly cook another 8 ounces (which is obnoxious because I was just going to make 16 oz to begin with) so I basically just threw it in the pot without defrosting it lol which took a little longer but ultimately was pretty quick, so I was able to get it in the oven by like 6:15. A little while after that Jess showed up and we soon had dinner and watched the new legends episode. To be perfectly honest I was a bit underwhelmed with the episode, I felt like we didn’t accomplish all that much storyline wise and being that next week is the season finale I feel like more should’ve happened by now. The actual episode was fine, I just feel like we’re not at the point where the season is ready to be over next week, I feel like there’s way too much for them to try to wrap up in one episode which probably means the finale’s going to be somewhat disappointing so I’m kinda annoyed about that, but I guess we’ll have to see. I still love Legends of course, but it’s been hard seeing this season not quite live up to how good season 3 was. And I mean I know this happens with pretty much every tv show, it’s just how it is sometimes, but it’s still disappointing, especially being that Legends had progressively been getting better from seasons 1 to 3, so this is the first time the quality has actually declined. Jess headed out after Legends because she was tired like a little bitch (I’m just dragging her for when she searches this post for her name) and I continued watching for the Arrow season finale. so.....this episode was definitely like, intended to be the finale of the actual series, and for Oliver to die in the crossover next year, so I’m kind of ???? about what next season is going to be?? I’ve heard that it’s supposedly going to be all of the next gen, but that doesn’t really explain how any of the crisis stuff is going to fit into it, so that’s all a bit unclear at the moment. The actual episode though I really enjoyed, I think it was the first time I really got into the future plot and was like, on the edge of my seat when they were flipping back and forth between Oliver and Mia saving the day in their respective time periods, which was a very well shot and directed scene, so kudos for the crew on that. Seeing them officially wrap Emily Bett and knowing she’s not coming back is sad, but it is what it is I guess. So that was a lot. After that was over I watched The Fix, which I also don’t know how they’re going to sum up by next week’s season finale, especially if they aren’t renewed for a second season (I have no clue if they are or not). Watched that into the news and then Jimmy Fallon because Jimmy Kimmel was a repeat I’d already seen, ended up watching pretty much all of his show before showering and getting ready for bed, and now I’m here, While I was watching the news and Fallon I started looking at job applications because I had meant to do that today but I slept most of the day instead, and I ended up just feeling really shitty and discouraged about all of this. The major trigger for this was seeing that OPG had listed that they were hiring for GAL positions on the job listserv from my school which was really just a punch in the gut, because I still want that so badly, and knowing they have openings but they already turned me down is just really discouraging. I sent a couple applications in for random jobs, nothing too interesting, but I kinda just felt shitty about the whole thing and am starting to really loathe the entire process. I’m just so tired of all of it, I just want to be done with it already. I can feel my depression creeping in during the time I’m alone, it’s fine generally when I’m hanging out with people and having fun, and it’s definitely not at the point where I’d be willing to mess with my meds (I do have a psych appointment on Wednesday but at this point I’m not taking the chance of fucking with my meds and making it worse given what happened last time). It’s just so frustrating knowing at this point that whatever job I end up in very likely isn’t going to be one I actually care about, and they’ll probably want me to be totally committed to it when it’s always just going to be nothing more than a job to me, not a life because it’s not where I want to be. I haven’t heard back from legal aid about that one application I thought I’d be really good for, I’ve thought about following up with them but at this point I’m not sure what good it’d actually do. Sigh. so I’m just feeling really shitty about all of that and I’m so tired of being trapped in my apartment all the time with nothing to do, I just want things to go back to normal, it’s been way too long. Sigh. I guess that’s it for now, it’s almost 2 am and I have to wake up to go to the allergist (not like, early, but earlier than I would’ve naturally woken up) before the chiropractor tomorrow so I should probably be getting to bed, so I think I will do that now. Goodnight dearies. Hope your Monday didn’t suck.

#daily journal #May 2019 #Jess tag #Rachel watches Legends of Tomorrow #Rachel watches Arrow

[pbandjesse]

I'm back home at my apartment. I'm really glad to be back in my own space for a little while. I'm very tired. Today was a pretty long day. But it was nice day too.

I went to bed pretty quickly last night. And when we got up at 9 we were both dressed pretty quickly. I put all of our clothes in the washing machine and then Dad got back and me James mom and dad went to Bob Evans for breakfast.

First day we went to my old neighborhood. The one where I grew out. And we pointed out our house to James. Jim said it was my superhero origin story. And that he liked learning all of these things about me and all the places that were important. I'm really glad I got to show him those things.

I really love the Crepes at Bob Evans and I was kind of disappointed to find out they no longer have them. I got a blueberry pancakes instead and it was almost as good. I miss the vanilla pudding but the pancake was still very nice. I was very tired though and not as engaged as I think I wanted to be. It was nice to see my parents and James talking. We had a really nice breakfast even though the food took a little while to come out. The waitress was actually so upset that it took so long that she comped the entire meal. Which I thought was crazy. Very nice of her. She actually remembered me from all the other times are coming over to the exact same thing over and over again. So that was very funny.

We left Bob Evans and went home. We put our clothes in the dryer. And then me and James have it over to Target. We got so much toilet paper. And the whole lot of paper towels. And just cleaning stuff. Then wandered around a little bit trying to find flash drives. We did finally find one that wasn't $25. But it's still ten bucks and it's really obnoxious. So I'm hoping that Franks will change their policy so that this won't keep happening. I really want to be having to get a physical flash drive, or a writable CD which I don't even have a CD drive on my laptop, is making it not very accessible. So when we got back I wrote on the back of my application requesting that they look into different ways of doing it. Because this whole thing was very annoyed. I hope they take what I said to heart.

We finish packing and I loaded up sweet pea in his carrier and then we gave hugs and we left. On the road.

We drove down to Philly and went to Frank first to drop off my application. Quick and easy. Then over to Franklin Fountain to say hi to everyone again. This time I tried the mint chocolate chip ice cream and something called paw paw custard. The mint chocolate chip was great the other one was weird. But my sense of taste is still very messed up so I'm not surprised I didn't like it. James really liked it so that was cool. I got hugs from a bunch of his friends. And we got a whole lot of apple cider to share. It was hot and perfect. I picked up another thermos when we were at Target and so I put the cider in that. Well James did because I would have spilled it everywhere. It was very very good and I was very pleased to have it.

We made two more stops at the other places that he knew people on the Block. Hugs and chats. Everyone telling me how great James is. It was very cute. But we are both a little bit concerned about Sweet Pea being in the carrier for so long so we only waited for a moment for one of his surroundings and then decided to leave. As we were getting ready to go that we saw him come out of the alley so James to get say hi to him. And that was nice.

James let me be in charge of the entertainment. I wanted to listen to the new last podcast episodes about the West Memphis Three. I don't know how much James actually liked it. But I really enjoyed it. He got kind of stressed out because of traffic a few times. By the end of the trip we were both very tired and want to not be in the car anymore. We made better time than we did on Friday but we took an exit that was backed up for like 8 miles. We were barely moving. And everyone was just kind of driving like idiots. And James was getting very stressed out because he felt like he made a bad decision to go that exit. But I just kept telling him it was fine. I wasn't going anywhere. All I want to do is go home and sleep I didn't mind having to wait a little bit longer for it. But eventually we got to Baltimore. And James took me to my apartment. He helped me drop everything off and bringing all my bags and things. And then he went home.

I got changed and put everything away. Let sweet pea out and he's been very lovey all night. Enough that it's been annoying. But it's fine. I laid down pretty immediately. And I slept in till 7. I was very exhausted. I got up and work on paperwork for my new job. I don't have to go to the BMI tomorrow so I have the whole morning off. But I do have to go to Wildwood to do paperwork and some training stuff at 1. Which will be good practice for me getting out there in the middle of the day. I took a bath and did a face mask. And now I'm just watching videos and getting ready for bed. It's been a really nice day. And I hope tomorrow is good too. I'm hoping to do groceries in the morning. And then go to work for the hour and a half I have to be there. And then I'm going to go try to get fingerprints for the background checks which is all the way on the Reisterstown. So that's only like a $40 left. But I'm hoping it'll still be a nice day. I hope you guys all sleep well tonight. Finally feels like fall. And I'm really excited about that. Good night

#ootd #boy #good day #monday #roadtrip #happy #naps