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we-stan-bruce-ban · 4 years

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Unfamiliar - Chapter 0: Prologue

Ok, so! This is sort of a pre-chapter to a new series I’m starting! I was asked to write a Supernatural au for Thruce, and I had so many ideas for it that I actually wanted to go ahead and make it a series! I’m hoping that my creativity won’t burn out before I finish it (or I at least get a pretty decent amount into it), but this first part is just the beginnings of what I have planned for it. I wanted to have a cold open, almost like an episode of the show, so here it is. This also includes and oc who will be in the series later, so I kind of want to test them out and see how you guys like them. Please let me know what you think of it so far and if you’d be interested in seeing the next part(s)!! Feedback is very much appreciated!!!

-O-

To say that Addison wasn’t the biggest fan of their job was an understatement. They were bored--so, incredibly bored--and they were only on hour two of their shift. And, frankly, it fucking sucked. Unsurprisingly, the small-town gas station they were working at wasn’t busy at all at the late hour of ten o’clock. Nothing to do but rearrange the chips aisle. And then the soda aisle. And then clean off the slushie machines. And then go back to the chips aisle again. And then contemplate their existence when they saw that only fifteen damn minutes had passed.

By the time Addison was staring dead-eyed out one of the windows, just wishing with every ounce of their being to go home already, the electronic bell above the door yelled out. Huh. A real, live customer. That was new. Addison stood on their toes and peeked over a display to get a read of the person.

He was tall and thin, with sleek black hair and an equally black jacket around his shoulders. His pale face was void of any emotion, really. He didn’t look frustrated, or chipper, or even tired. Just...nothing. Weird. Most people at this time of night were at least yawning or had tell-tale bags under their eyes. In fact, Addison was sporting a pair of the latter under his own. But here this guy was, looking more like some kind of life-size doll than a real person. Addison just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about this guy. And that something wasn’t good. Not in the slightest.

Their gut instinct told them to keep out of sight. Addison’s gut had been wrong before, but now didn’t seem like the time to doubt it. They decided to hide near the trail mix until the guy left. They could hear him wandering about the store, footsteps clicking throughout the otherwise empty room. Even that sounded weird. Addison knew that it was incredibly stupid to think that the simple act of walking could be too perfect, but here they were.

Addison wasn’t even sure what they guy was buying, but he eventually made his way to the register where their only other coworker was stationed. Barb, she was called. Probably in her mid-sixties or so, with a mess of grey fluff for hair and a cold stare that would give Medusa shivers. It wasn’t that she was intentionally mean or anything, but Addison had learned quickly that she didn’t take any bullshit and really preferred to be alone. What she was doing working retail (kind of), he had no idea. No wonder they seemed to only have her work when almost nobody came in.

Addison stole a glance over by the registers. Barb was eyeing the guy up and down as he placed his purchase on the counter. A cheap lighter, a typical tourist postcard, and a Miller Lite. Weird choices, but okay. Barb took the postcard carefully and turned it over. The beeping of the scanner over the barcode was the only words they needed to exchange, apparently. To Addison, though, the silence was almost maddening. They knew that they shouldn’t be this worked up about some guy they would never see again. So why was their leg bouncing so much?

Barb scanned the beer, still giving that harsh stare. The man didn’t react in the slightest. No words. No movement. Addison couldn’t see his face, but they imagined it was still blank. She went to reach for the lighter--except her hand didn’t stop moving down. Instead, it went inside her hefty jacket.

“Trickster,” she hissed.

“I beg your pardon?” The man’s voice was smooth as silk. There was a hint of amusement to it, like he knew something that Barb didn’t.

“You heard me,” Barb scowled, pulling her hand out of her coat. Addison covered their mouth to keep from audibly gasping. In her hand was a pistol of some kind. They knew that she was a little crazy, but they never thought it was this bad.

“Well, that’s a little rude, now isn’t it? Pulling a gun on a customer.” The guy hadn’t lost his cool demeanor. At least, not on the outside. “You know, you may just be fired for that.”

“Shut up,” she growled. “I know what you are. I used to rid the world of creatures like you.”

Oh, God. Barb had seriously lost it. Addison wanted to run for the door. They should just get out of here and call the cops before things got ugly, right? Right? But they were frozen in place. Mostly out of fear, but they had to admit that they really wanted to see what would happen next, too.

“If you don’t stop speaking to me in such a manner, you may not like the consequences.” The man cocked his head to the side. His fingers twitched behind his back.

“Fucking monster!” The gun clicked and Addison squeezed their eyes shut. Except...that was it. There was no shot after the click. No deafening bang. No blood seeping on the floor. Nothing. They opened an eye. Instead of a dead body and Barb with a wild crazy look in her eye, they were both still standing. Addison saw a swirl of green light in the guy’s hands and a few bullets appeared in between his fingers. Wait. What?

“Looking for these?” He lifted his hand to reveal the bullets. Barb’s eyes went wide and she looked at her gun, then back at the man. The man let the bullets clatter to the floor and held out his hand, pointing his index finger and thumb.

“You should have been a little kinder to me,” he muttered. He pressed his thumb down, and this time a gunshot did ring out. Addison yelped and ducked down. When they looked up, Barb was nowhere to be seen. Addison had a sinking feeling that she had fallen behind the counter after being shot. Shot with that guy’s fucking hand. What the hell was happening?

The guy himself had apparently heard Addison, because he was facing them. Addison went pale and hid behind the display.

“Oh...I didn’t realize we had a friend watching.”

Addison tried in vain to control their breathing. Shut up, you fucking idiot. He’s gonna find you if you don’t shut up. You have to stop it or get the fuck out of here!

Addison opened their eyes and risked trying to see if the guy was still standing over by the register. No one was there. They blinked and squinted, pushing their glasses up the bridge of their nose with a trembling finger. Oh, shit. They turned back towards the exit of the store and was met face to face with the man, whose previously stone face was replaced with a nasty grin.

“Hello, there.”

Addison let out a short scream and scrambled to their feet, sprinting towards the exit of the convenient store. The man simply smiled and watched, not bothering to run after them.

#im really really excited for this guys #also addison is my new bean #i wanna work with them more #my ocs #my fics #unfamiliar #loki #loki laufeyson #marvel #supernatural #supernatural au #avengers #oc: addison lloveras #bruce banner #thor odinson #thor #hulk #thruce #thorbruce

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violxtdreams · 3 years

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I really hope Zombies 3 comes out, so here are some thoughts/theories/predictions/ random stuff I think the film may be like! And some opinions :D.

-I noticed there’s a running gag of Addison speaking a monster language (and failing) so maybe this film will have her speak it perfectly.

-The new creatures will be Aliens, and they’ll have a white, blue and silver color scheme with moon motifs.

-The aliens will be one big metaphor for immigration. Perhaps something happened to their home planet

-or they have a space empire that colonizes galaxies and Earth is next.

-Addison will be adopted,

-Alien hair has special powers that manifest as a blue glow.

-The aliens will have something to do with the moonstone and werewolves

-The alien’s planet will have a fancy name. I think Alextros is nice.

-It’ll be a monarchy, and the king and queen are Addison’s true parents.

-Addison was meant to kickstart an alien invasion since she’s so good at fitting in,

-The moonstone is from the aliens,

-Everything supernatural is linked to the aliens

-The aliens will have their own intergalactic anthem,

-Their powers will be varied, but I think energy bursts, telekinesis, telepathy, mind reading, causing tech to go berserk, and perhaps teleportation are good choices.

-The aliens will be heavily associated with blue moons.

-Addison’s hair powers will go crazy and she’ll run away to control her powers. The aliens may help her.

-The werewolves and zombies will be suspicious of the aliens

-Earth will almost be invaded. Or at least Seabrook

-Addison’s parents will get their fair share of karma,

-Addison will have a new hairstyle. Maybe bangs, braids, or space buns for very subtle foreshadowing of her alien heritage.

-The aliens will all have white hair that can’t be dyed and also glows blue, (did I say that already? Sorry if I’m being redundant!) their hairstyles will mainly include space buns. Because space buns are cute.

-All the alien names start with ‘A’.

-Their will be a main trio of aliens. 2 girls, and 1 boy. I think Alyssa, Amaya, and Axel are pretty names!

-One will be legitimately smart but have a large ego. Another will be shy, a smol bean, and be afraid of humans. Another will be just vibing and brave.

-Addison’s biological parents will look like they came right out of a Sci Fi movie.

-At least 1 UFO will be seen

-SPACE PUNS!

-The alien language will sound East Asian (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, etc.), Greek, or like this “Kiro-Leo monolona zia?” (“What nonsense is this?”) (I made that whole thing up-)

-Star Wars and Star Trek refs

-There will be an alien kid to be Zoey’s friend. Adalie is a cute name.

-The aliens will have peculiar food preferences. Perhaps they like drinking vinegar, eating tin foil, or some other thing.

-The aliens will have a habit of speaking alien instinctually. Example: (“Have a good yia-cozo!” “Oops, I mean have a good day!”)

-The aliens will be prone to space puns. (“I’m over the moon for you!” “What in the universe?” “Hold your comets,” “Get your shooting stars out of here!” “That’s so stellar!” )

-The aliens will mention overthrowing planets and destroying moons like it’s no problem.

-The aliens have beef with the werewolves.

-The humans seem to learn they’re lesson and actually try to be nice.

-Alien abductions

-In every film so far we’ve visited the monster homeworld things (Zombie Town, Wolf Den,) so we’ll see the planet of the aliens.

-Addison will have her identity crisis used against her. (“Join your fellow aliens and be at peace with yourself or stay lost here without a group you belong with”)

-Instead of helping the aliens, the aliens will help Addison.

-Addison will wear alien clothing at some point,

-The aliens will betray everyone and use their powers to start an alien invasion.

-At least one character will do the Vulcan salute 🖖

-Bucky will fail to speak alien and will speak Klingon instead.

-Addison will gain an obsession with space.

-Zed will walk right up to a male alien and tell them to stay clear of Addison.

-Eliza will be incredibly interested in alien technology.

-The werewolves and aliens will fight to see who’s the most powerful.

-One alien will compete against Bree to be Addison’s best friend.

-LASER WEAPONS!

-The ending song will go like this: Cheerleader, Zombie, Werewolf, and Alien

(Time to stop cause at this point it’s just fanfic material)

And now, some opinions ! :D please don’t get mad if you disagree! I apologize in advance if it makes you upset.

-I’ve heard some people say that Addison’s identity crisis isn’t a good idea, but I think it’s actually incredibly interesting and relatable, at least for me!

-Some just want Addison to be an odd human. it may be my astronomy and fantasy obsession but I reallllly want her to be an alien. First, it seems obvious. Second, another clear metaphor. Third, it’ll have a bunch of story opportunities and fanfic potential for the supernatural creatures. Fourth, I just think her being an alien makes more sense than being human. No other human has the glowy, undyeable, white hair that she has. Unless more humans are revealed to have crazy hair colors due to some weird effect, (aftermath of the zombie apocalypse maybe?) I doubt she’s human. Plus, her mom is the mayor and her dad the Z Patrol chief. If she’s not human, then this makes sense because her parents may be keeping her on watch, in case she causes some weird thing.

-I don’t really think the zombies will be ‘lost’ story-wise. They managed to get a good deal of focus in the second movie so I expect the same in the third.

-I think the vampires actually have good story potential. If they decide to make a fourth film, I think it could work with some creativity to come up with a metaphor for vampires.

-I don’t think the film series is a mess :D in fact it’s my favorite DCOM since the first came out,

#zombies #zombies 2 #zombies 3 #disney zombies #z-o-m-b-i-e-s #predictions #theories #guesses #thoughts #aliens #aliens are cool #I might use all this for a fanfic! :D #space buns are cute too ・3・

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inclineto · 3 years

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Books, July - August 2021

The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History - Elizabeth Kolbert

Super Natural Simple: Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes for Real Life - Heidi Swanson [maybe a little too simple (but the pancakes were delicious); I think Super Natural Every Day is her best book overall, although Near and Far has some fantastic beans, and my favorite celery salad is from Super Natural Cooking]

The Hellion’s Waltz - Olivia Waite [the Royal Patent Chiroplast, I regret to say, is not made up]

The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Nghi Vo

Make, Thrift, Mend: Stitch, Patch, Darn, Plant-Dye & Love Your Wardrobe - Katrina Rodabaugh [it’s fair to ask why I read this when her first book irritated me so, but in fact I think this one does a better job of acknowledging that what she’s describing is primarily an art practice, while also providing more usable advice]

Emily Climbs - L. M. Montgomery [this is probably my favorite of the trilogy, because Dean is mostly not in it]

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb - Cat Sebastian

Black Water Sister - Zen Cho

Tommy Cabot Was Here - Cat Sebastian

Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet from Itself - Chloe Angyal [I have, in nearly every way, a Bad Ballet Body - too big, too busty, too inflexible, lacking in grace and according to my teacher even possessed of displeasing elbow joints - which I kept trying to dance with even though I knew very well that I was terrible and always would be, so reading this was both cathartic and possibly a little bit dangerous to my equilibrium. (One of the strange upsides to spending a year recovering from a (not dance-related) broken leg: awful, but at least it gave me the out I needed to never go back on pointe without ever actually having to admit to anyone that my feet couldn’t do it)]

A Fashionable Indulgence - KJ Charles [rounding out last month’s set! I either don’t understand Harry at all or I understand him too well, and I’m never sure which, but either way I do like him.]

Peaces - Helen Oyeyemi [extremely bizarre - it’s Oyeyemi, of course it’s extremely bizarre - but also the only one of her books I’ve ever finished, even though I saw her read during the tour for Mr. Fox and it was great! Strong contenders for the award for Best Mongoose in a Supporting Role.]

Emily’s Quest - L. M. Montgomery

The Very Nice Box - Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett [Part One is lackluster, though good for the horrible party game of deciding which of your coworkers would buy in to which dreadful office morale activity; Part Two slaps]

The Witness for the Dead - Katherine Addison [if it’s been a while, and if you, like me, remember the emotions of books rather than the plots or the settings or the names, may I strongly suggest rereading at least the appendices to The Goblin Emperor first?]

The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker

Malafrena - Ursula K. Le Guin

The Secret to Superhuman Strength - Alison Bechdel

Haikyuu!! Volumes 1-45 - Haruichi Furudate [I refuse to list all of these separately; just assume it was one volume every two to three days, except for a couple of times that I got particularly excited, and then it was more like...four a day (Tsukishima forever.)]

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead - Emily Austin

Light Perpetual - Francis Spufford

#books 2021 #books practical and pleasurable

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tessagracerichards · 3 years

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I saw [TESSA RICHARDS] at a coffee shop in [MANHATTAN] today. I forgot how much [SHE] looks like [ZOEY DEUTCH]. They are a [TWENTY-SIX] year old [CHILD LIFE SPECIALIST] who’s been in NYC for [THREE YEARS] now. Every time we run into each other, they are always [TENDERHEARTED AND NURTURING] but I’ve heard people say they can also be [BLUNT AND GUARDED]. [SHE IS LOVE BY PARACHUTE] reminds me of them every time it comes on the radio. — [saxon, she/her, 26, cst]

Out Of Character

Hello hello bbies! I am Saxon and this is the absolute labor of my love Tessa, please love her even though she doesn’t deserve it! I am very open to connections, ideas and plotting so please, please, please do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to conjure something up with my disaster child!

Also please forgive the mess that is this intro and her Pinterest, she’s been around for years so things have built up and gotten chaotic over time. I really told myself I would shorten her intro but I didn’t manage much, please look away.

Basic Information

Full Name: Tessa Grace Richards.

Nickname(s): Tess, Tessie.

Date of Birth: November 10th, 1994.

Gender: Cisfemale.

Pronouns: She/Her.

Orientation: Heterosexual.

Language(s) Spoken: English, Sign, Spanish.

Background

So Tessa was born to an unwed couple who were in their mid 30′s at the time, her mom thought the two of them were hopelessly in love until Tessa was four and dude just dipped? Her mom came home one day and all his stuff was gone, no note or anything, he emptied their account and they haven’t ever heard from him since.

Her mom is an absolute saint of a woman however (think Lorelai from Gilmore Girls meets Donna Sheridan from Mamma Mia), just an absolute quirky angel of a woman who definitely took in and helped abandoned animals but was also the place all the kids in town knew they could go if they had shitty parents/living situations or just a bad day and they needed a safe place to go? So obviously she stepped up and took down all dudes pictures and just raised Tessa like the single boss she is.

Tessa grew up into like an angel of a kid but oh buddy was she a chaotic one. Total tomboy, full of insane energy and personality, always on the move and exploring and doing things she shouldn’t be. Definitely the type to show up back at home as the suns going down just covered in dirt and bumps and bruises. 100% knocked her own baby teeth out from falling and slamming her face and had two front silver teeth as a little kid.

She was never very girly and because she grew up in this southern town that was just full of very critical asshole kids from more well-off families than her own was, particularly the girls who were very prissy, she definitely ended up clicking more with boys and quickly became ‘one of the guys’. Like undoubtedly had an all male friend group and was definitely the girl that girlfriends would be paranoid about while all the dudes were like confused as to how their girls were jealous because Tessa was just like another guy/little sibling, there was no interest on either end.

Has slight anger management issues? Like she’s chill but when she blows up man does she blow up. Pushed a girl down a flight of stairs at school after she made a remark about a friend, the family pressed charges and Tessa had to go to anger management classes and serve community service hours. She also got kicked out of school and just decided not to go back, went online and just got her GED at seventeen instead.

She realized her hometown didn’t have much to offer her and it wasn’t where she belonged, nor was she ready for college, so she took what money she had saved and instead purchased a sprinter van and began road tripping around the U.S.

At some point along the way, dumbass met a boy that wormed his way into her heart and it was a kind of a slightly unstable relationship because she would try and push away from him and her feelings but he always drew her back? Already has a shitty relationship with love after her father and two not ideal high school romances. Dude tried though and even proposed after like months of them being together and she panicked and ran but still he drew her back and they agreed that they should chill with the idea of engagement/marriage? There was always another girl in the picture though and even though he assured her that his feelings were with her, his actions often seemed to show otherwise.

After yet another break, the two ended up sleeping together but she definitely realized that he wasn’t in love with her at all/anymore so she saved herself the conversation and just dipped before he woke up and ran, spent a solid week just out partying/drinking and ended up sleeping with some stranger and then ended up pregnant with no clue as to which guy was the baby’s father. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, it was the one night stand’s who decided he had no interest in being around.

Obviously she knew she needed to change her course and focus on becoming a mother and setting up a future for herself and her child, but not being financially independent enough, she reached out to a lifelong friend who allowed her to move in and began to figure out school.

She’s always been a big fan of kids (worked for a daycare after school, got involved with a charity that worked with orphans/orphanages while traveling) and so she decided that she wanted to be a child life specialist and is still in school but also working an internship with Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

Ended up having a little girl named Addison (Addi), this child is her whole world and she’s definitely the mom that posts about their kid too much on social media but she’s just turned Tessa’s life around and helped her mature in ways she wouldn’t have without her and she just loves her kid more than anything/anyone else.

Personality

A dork? Literally the biggest dork, the dorkiest of dorks, just a whole friggen dork. This child rambles like you wouldn’t believe and her mouth 100% works faster than her brain so like you never know what to expect but she’s just a happy, friendly, sarcastic little bean with social anxiety and a heart of gold tbh.

Also an aggressive lil’ lady though, like 12/10 chance she’ll throw hands if you want to fuck with or say something about the people she loves.

A chaotic soul as well like down to party and have a good time and will definitely drink a dude under the table, definitely broke her ribs two summers in a row from a drinking game because this child doesn’t know when to slow down or chill out, she’s just trying to live.

But also the mom friend? Like even before becoming a mom, she’s used to taking care of people and making sure everyone’s good like? 100% convinced her friends to do dumb shit as a teenager and then turned around and tended to their wounds. Also if you’re in her house and it’s meal time, you’re eating. It’s not an option, like sit and eat dinner and tell me about your day.

Emotional as hell, like definitely cries during commercials and Disney movies, but like if you’re trying to tap into her serious emotions she’s gonna shut that shit down. She keeps people locked out tbh and just jokes about the serious shit in her life if she does talk about it.

Desired Connections

Friends; could have lived in/visited Texas and met when she was younger, met while she was traveling, met through her charity work or just after her/them having moved to New York recently.

Exes; so her most recent ex is off limits because it’s based off a real connection but like either of her exes from high school? The first one (cheated on her) would have had to have lived in Texas for some time but the latter (only with her on a bet to see how long it would take to get in her pants, she broke dude’s nose when she found out) could have been visiting friends/family for a summer? If anyone has a character that works for these I’m down for the drama.

Hookups; Tessa is very weird about hookups/one night stands so this is a little limited but my girl definitely needs a few.

Half siblings; so Tessa’s dad basically bailed when she was little - maybe he had another family? He could have had a kid before her who he also bailed on, could have started a family during the same time or after, he could have stayed there for them or bailed on them as well? They could know about Tessa, or neither could know about the other? Tessa pry wouldn’t know about them because she made it a point to never bother searching for this man let alone any family but literally I’m down for whatever other ideas you’ve got on this one!

Patients; if anyone has any younger siblings or kids of their own that perhaps Tessa helped or is currently helping take care of through her internship? She does everything from work in the hospital to house calls and works with both the medical and therapeutic aspects of things.

#villageintro

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tessarichardss · 3 years

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new york’s very own tessa richards was spotted on broadway street , with a striking semblance to zoey deutch ! you may know them as @tessarichards or hitting the front page of tmz as ex-reality star rumored to have moved to new york for an internship with hassenfeld children’s hospital . according to tmz , you just had your twenty-fourth birthday bash . while living in nyc , you’ve been labeled as being guarded , but also tenderhearted . things that would paint a better picture of you would be endless nights you’ll never forget, sunflowers, running barefoot through an open field . ( cisfemale + she/her ) + ( saxon , twenty-six , she/her , cst )

Out Of Character

Hello bbies! 🥰 My name is Saxon and I’d like you to meet the absolute labor of my love Tessa and love her even though she doesn’t deserve it! We are always open for connections, ideas or plots so please, please, please do not hesitate to hit me up if you want to conjure something up with this lovable and ridiculous energetic puppy. I look forward to roleplaying with you and your children!

Basic Information

Full Name: Tessa Grace Richards.

Nickname(s): Tess.

Birthday: Febuary 10th, 1996.

Orientation: Heterosexual.

Language(s) Spoken: English, Spanish.

Background

So Tessa was born to an unwed couple who were in their mid 30′s at the time, her mom thought the two of them were hopelessly in love until Tessa was four and dude just dipped? Her mom came home one day and all his stuff was gone, no note or anything, he drained their account and they haven’t ever heard from him since.

This obviously fucked Tessa up young because she has mad issues with love meaning anything and also abandonment, like she definitely doesn’t sleep well at night because she spent years waking up and running to the window every time she saw car lights, thinking it was him coming home.

She had two shitty relationships as a teenager, the first cheated on her because she wasn’t ready to have sex and then the second whom she actually gave it up to, turned out to just be with her on a bet to see how long it would take him to get in her pants? She ended up punching dude in the face when she found out and broke his nose and asshole’s family actually wanted to press charges until Mama Richards shut the shit down.

TW: SUICIDE ATTEMPT MENTION Has slight anger management issues? Like she’s chill but when she blows up man does she blow up. Pushed a girl down a flight of stairs at school after she made a remark about a friend who had tried to commit suicide, the family did press charges this time and Tessa had to go to anger management classes and serve community service hours. She also got kicked out of school and just decided not to go back, went online and just got her GED at seventeen instead.

She was (and still is) very close and attached to her mom, absolute most important person in her life, but she worried about her so much her mom realized she probably wasn’t ever planning on leaving? So her mom got the help of her friends and they actually filled out an application for her to go onto a reality tv show? Seems crazy but each season took place in a different part of the world and her mom knew she wanted to travel but would never make the decision herself so when she got cast her mom was just like “lol here you go bye now”.

She hated it at first because she had grown so used to Texas and the country and her friends and making sure her mom was okay that it gave her a lot of anxiety and stress but she actually fell in love with it? Made a lot of close friends, became a fan favorite of sorts and would you believe it, the dumbass fell in love.

This boy wormed his way into her heart and it was a kind of a slightly unstable relationship because she would try and push away from him and her feelings but he always drew her back? He even proposed after like months of them being together and she panicked and ran but still he drew her back and they agreed that they should chill with the idea of engagement/marriage? He ended up leaving the show after like their fourth messy break up? And she, would you believe it, followed. The two ended up sleeping together but she was overly aware of the fact that he wasn’t actually in love with her anymore so she saved herself any awkward conversation and further heartbreak by just dipping before he woke up.

After this, Tessa returned to Texas and spent a solid week just out partying and drinking with friends and suddenly - BAM, she was having a one night stand with a complete stranger which was rather out of pocket for her and then even more suddenly - BAM, a pregnancy with no clue as to who the child’s father was. Thankfully it ended up being the one night stand’s and he turned out to be an incredible guy and father.

Obviously she never returned to the show and focused instead on becoming a mother and setting up a future for herself and her child.

She’s always been a big fan of kids (worked for a daycare after school, actually helped start up a charity that works with orphans/orphanages while on the show) and so she decided that she wanted to be a child life specialist and started attending school during her pregnancy and the two years that followed.

She ended up having a little girl named Addison, this child is her whole world and she’s 1000% the mom that posts about their kid too much on social media but she’s 100% turned Tessa’s life around and helped her mature in ways she wouldn’t have without her and she just loves her kid more than anything/anyone else.

She assumed her life would remain in Texas until a trip to New York a few months back to visit Alex Morgan (who remarked on the fact that she should move in) ended with her packing up her daughter and her bags within less than a month and landing her in the state for the foreseeable future.

She’s currently continuing her last year of school through online classes in order to get her bachelors while interning at the Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.

Personality

Also an aggressive lil’ lady though, like 12/10 chance she’ll throw hands if you want to fuck with or say something about the people she loves.

Desired Connections

Friends? This is tricky because she was basically in Texas for most of her life and then traveling? But someone who lived in/visited Texas and they met? Someone she met while filming the show in some random country - they were living there or traveling and met while she was out and about one day? Maybe someone she met through her charity work? Someone who has a kid or a younger sibling/niece/nephew/godchild who she took care of at the hospital or even on a home visit and they met her/know her that way?

Exes? So her most recent ex is off limits because it’s based off a real connection but like either of her exes from high school? The first one would have had to have lived in Texas for some time but the latter could have been visiting friends/family for a summer? If anyone has a character that works for these I’m down for the drama, especially the second because Tessa is fully ready to break dude’s nose again.

Half siblings? So Tessa’s dad basically bailed when she was little - maybe he had another family? Could have had a kid before her who he also bailed on, could have started a family during the same time or after, he could have stayed there for them or bailed on them as well? They could know about Tessa, or neither could know about the other? Tessa pry wouldn’t know about them because she made it a point to never bother searching for this man let alone any family but literally I’m down for whatever other ideas you’ve got on this one!

Honestly Tessa needs some guy friends! Like I said she’s always been very much more one of the guys - would rather be drinking a beer watching a sports game and yelling than going on a shopping spree okay she has 0 interest, and since she moved from home she needs a new guy group to cause trouble with but also, who makes a better wing woman than a girl okay? Chaos friend but also mom friend rolled into one because she will get involved in shenanigans but will also call you out for acting dumb too.

Also here’s some open, wanted musing connection ideas; https://tessarichardsmusings.tumblr.com/tagged/tessa-%2B-open

#wealthyhq:intro #i feel like this got long and i only speak in nonsense rambles so hopefully it makes even a sliver of sense

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mercurygray · 4 years

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Band of Brothers: Revolutionary War AU?

okay, nonnie, this was...hard. This was hard. Units in the 18th century are geographically centralized, you fight with guys you know and grew up with, your family might literally be following the army, and 'specialized units' are...in their infancy.

But you know what doesn’t change? Cold.

"They say the old man likes a play," Lewis said distastefully, his cup light in his hand. He's always drinking, Lewis is, cider or rum or this rotgut the farmers around here have the indecency (he says) to call whiskey. Where he gets the money for it no one's asked - but there's a rumor about that his father is in trade down in New Jersey and fat with profit for it. They also say his father's a good friend of William Franklin, and everyone knows what that means - though no one's asked Lewis if it's true. And even if his father is a Loyalist (and no one's saying that he is, mind you) he fights well enough.

Harry laughs, half-coughing in the fug from the fire, but Lewis is adamant. "It's true! While we're sat down here freezing, they're mocking up Cato for His Greatness. His favorite. I saw it once, in York City. 'What a pity it is that we can die but once to serve our country!'" Lewis showed what he thought of that with a hiss and another swig from his cup. "And Lady Washington's come up from Virginia with a fine gammon ham for Christmas supper."

Ham. Christmas. Supper. The words seems strange. These were things they all knew once, though that time seems incredibly remote. Supper tonight will be whatever can be scrounged, beans most likely, boiled until they've burst. Who could say the last time they've had meat - or a decent fire to cook it over? All the wood about is green and ill-seasoned.

Confound this winter camp. It's enough fighting when you have an enemy to shoot - but fighting cold when some of your men don't even have decent boots, or coats? Speaking of which, he has to find the surgeon and see if Toye’s leg can be saved. This frostbite will be the ruin of more men than bullets - if the pox doesn’t get them first.

It runs a man raw worrying. In his tent, there's a letter in Dick's writing case to the Executive Council which he has not had the heart to finish, asking, once more, for money and supplies. I assure you, Sirs, these requisitions of mine are not the result of Choice but of the most urgent Necessity, which will apologize for the trouble they may occasion you.

"You could be up there with 'em, Lew," Dick put in quietly. It's true - Lewis could be up at headquarters for Christmas. Lord knows he knows enough of them, college men that they are. Half of Washington's intelligencers are Yale men, heavy in their books and codes and Greek.

Lewis considered the distant windows of the Potts house, and the merriment therein, the promise of a warm fireside, a game of snapdragons and a cup of hot flip, and turned away, giving them a generous smile. "And what would the fun of that be, when all my friends are here?"

Aw, man, I haven’t spent time in the 18th century for a while, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say writing this was like trying on an old coat and figuring out IT STILL FITS. I’m sure someone talked about Valley Forge while they were in Bastogne, right?

William Franklin is, yes, related to *that* Franklin - he’s Ben’s son, and he’s the last royal governor of New Jersey.

Cato is Joseph Addison’s 1712 play, often cited as a source of inspiration around overthrowing unjust tyrants. It was reputed to be a favorite of several founding fathers.

The head of Washington's nascent intelligence gathering operation, Benjamin Tallmadge, was indeed a Yale man - as was Nathan Hale, with whom Tallmadge had all sorts of hijinks with at school. The line Nixon quotes is purportedly where Hale’s last words came from.

I took the business of McAuliffe's staff getting turkey for Christmas dinner while the front line guys had beans and flipped it a little here; Martha Washington didn't visit Valley Forge until February, though she did, in fact, bring Virginia hams with her.

Snapdragon is a parlor game dating from the 16th century, which involves floating raisins in a bowl of brandy, setting the brandy on fire, and trying to snatch the raisins out and extinguish them by eating them. (Totally an Easy Company game, in other words.)

Flip is an 18th century drink made by mixing beer, rum, and sugar, and warming it by plunging a hot iron into the beaker. Heating the drink causes it to froth, or 'flip', hence the name.

The extract from Dick's letter is actually from a letter George Washington wrote on the 8th of November, 1777, to George Read, the congressional delegate from Delaware.

And Lewis is going to be in a world of trouble at Valley Forge, given the general orders from the first of November, 1777:

The Commissaries are directed to take all the liquors in the hands of the sutlers, at a reasonable price if they can agree, and if they cannot, the sutlers are to carry them away: And no sutler shall be allowed to continue in the camp after the 5th instant.

#I have written a thing #bespoke period aus a specialty #band of brothers au #18th century au #1780s girl gang #all the alternate universes

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nghtmreeyes · 4 years

Text

I'm definitely not new, but I'm newish.

My name is Shyann, but I go by Shy or Lexie. I've been into whump for a while now, but just recently gotten into the community. I'm 21 years old and I love cats. I also love gaming and anime!

Let's see my favorite whump dynamics are: injuries, pet whump, hidden injuries, sick whumpees having to be taken care of, intimate whumpers, drugged whumpees, sensory deprivation, isolation, I could probably go on for a while.

I do tend to write some and i have tons of OCs! I saw someone else post their OC's so I'm going to do mine. Most of my OCs are fantasy medieval but can be placed in any time.

• Zoe is a half elf/half demon. She is an assassin with darkness manipulation who lost her whole family do to a deal gone by between her home kingdom Zariya and another kingdom. Sweet personality that's changes in an instant once she gets the trust of her enemies before she kills them. She can be happy, bubbly, will kill for anyone that hurts her friend once she let's people see the real her. Mostly puts off a serious persona. She has a partner named Deatrick and they have a daughter named Elyssa.

• Evie is a high elf. She is princess to the fallen Zariya. She lost her family in the same bad deal. She is typically soft and sweet, but can sometimes snobby. She traveled a lot growing up and spent most of her time in bars beating men at any card game she could. She has the powers to read minds and take the potential energy stored in an object and convert it to kinetic energy thus “charging” that item with explosive results. (basically like Gambit). She finally found a lone wonderer named Shiroku and reclaimed her kingdom. Her partner is Shiroku and their son is Shinji.

• Elyssa is a half elf/half demon like her mother. She takes after her mother and uses darkness manipulation. She is happy go lucky girl, tho she is definitely a thief (so she can definitely be sneaky) and HUGE flirt like her father. She was born and raised in Zariya after it was reclaimed. Secretly loves Shinji.

• Kai is a full demon and Zoe's biological father. Summoned to protect Zariya by the Evie's past relatives, Kai was ordered to always been locked away to keep him contained and keep the kingdom "powered". Kai almost always has the best intentions while protecting the kingdom, but he comes off the wrong way most of the time. He has a deep compassion for what he considers "his children", despite his compassion to his children, he is very ruthless when he needs to be. Kai for the most part resents Evie and Zoe's parents for locking him away, but he doesn't blame the girls. He will do anything to protect them. Was locked away due to Zoe's stepfather finding out that Kai got Zoe's mother pregnant, which resulted in Zoe.

• Hapi is a human. She is very soft and super compassionate. She loves taking care of others, she has always put others before herself. Hapi comes from a very unloving family. Her mother and father would constantly argue no matter what the topic was, they just weren't truly meant to be, but stayed together for her sake. She would constantly hide in herself from the world to avoid the conflict, until she met her best friend who was going through a much tougher life then herself. She decided from there on that she would dedicate her life to helping others then focus on her home life.

• Remi is a human. From a young age, she was raised by just her father (her mother left when she was young.) who was the mafia boss. She used to be very friendly, but when she got into her teen years, her father passed down the role of being the mafia boss to her. She soon let the power she had go to her head and turned into completely different person. She is super sadistic and very possessive of what belongs to her. She is very controlling as well. She doesn't deal well with people trying to take or succeeding and taking her pet. She very rarely shows her softer side, but when she does people tend to worry about what comes next.

• Zori is a human. She has learned to be a very polite and very patient person when dealing with royalty or people of any sort. She was born to an artist for a royal family. She was born and raised around art. Art is her passion. She travels between kingdoms and paints portraits for the families. She gets paid decently well for what she does, but when the customer acts rudely to her she leaves them a nice note and exits the kindgom before it could be traced back to her. When she was dealing with one of her ruder customers, she lost an eye due to an incident that was out of their control. What she draws can come to life if she allows it, but she normally doesn't.

• Addison/Adi is a human. She doesn't have a voice, she lost it due to dealing heavily in the wrong type of magic. She will occasionally hum when she feels the need to talk, get someone's attention, or is just super happy. She likes to pull pranks on others and loves writing. She can see to a certain point in the future.

• Lia is a human. She has a twin sister named Katherine that she has never met due to issues between her mother and father. Head up in the clouds. Soft and pure bean. Lived with just her mother traveling from place to place learning how to be a perfect healer just like her mother was. Loves with her whole heart. She tries her best to make everyone happy. When she heals she can also see into some recent memories.

• Katherine is a human. She is the exact opposite of her twin sister. She is cold and selfish. She doesn't deal well with others due to trust issues. She never knew her mother or sister, but wants revenge on them for giving her up due to her taking after her father.

• Rosie is a human. She is very timid around men. She was kidnapped and tested on by a group of men which lead her to getting her powers, but at some point the testing went wrong and lead to a large lab fire. They were in the middle of testing on her when the fire broke out and they left her to die. She barely escaped death when she managed to get out of the test tube.

• Eira is a half elf. She is Zoe's half sister. She is super spunky and can be very sneaky when she wants to be, she is very well disciplined and loyal to her cause. She has no true memory of her past or family, but she has pieces of it based on the information she's found out from someone in the underground. She is also married to Faye and has an adopted daughter with her named Hana.

• Faye is a high elf. She is Evie's younger sister. She was locked away in a cell since she was young. She is super skittish at first and not very approachable, but when she finally is able to know and trust everyone she is super soft spoken and can be very spunky at times. She often flinches at the slightest movement or raised voice. She never lets anyone know how she is truly feeling, due to past trauma. She is married to Eira and has an adopted daughter with her named Hana.

• Shinji is half elf/half human. He is very calm and reserved like his father, Shiroku. He is also very sweet and loves helping people like is mother, Evie. He is only three months younger than Elyssa. Elyssa and him are the best of friends and always cause some sort of mischievous together. He is never the instigator, always Elyssa. Secretly loves Elyssa.

• Hana is a human. She was four years old when she was adopted by Faye and Eira. She loves her mother's very much and loves being around Elyssa, Shinji, Rowan, and Kiara. She is most definitely the leader of the pack.

• Rowan and Kiara are half human/half demon. They are the twins of Remi and Kai. They are a true mixture of both of their parents personalities and cause so much chaos for the other children.

• Haru/Miki is human. She started out as a famous singer and loved her fans. They treated her better than her own friends and family. She did everything for her fans from helping them out during hard times to just hanging out with them. Until a time when she came across the wrong type of fan, Remi, who captured her and did things to her that broke her out of her bubbly caring self. The world missed her, but she was no longer, she was now known as Miki.

#whumper gathering #whumpblr #my ocs #whump #whump community #whump intros #long post #i finally posted my ocs!#deatrick and shiroku belong to my husband

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nockfellblues · 4 years

Note

I don't know if you do these kinds of asks but how about reader pulling a hunger games type moment and confronting Larry before he kills himself saying if you go I do too I won't let someone I love die alone type thing.

All aboard the angst train ♥ written as a mini fic! TW for attempted suicide! Reader is gender neutral.

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and get the help you deserve. Call 1-800-273-8255. If you are like me and are afraid to call, there are also live online chat options as well, located HERE!

You’d known for awhile something was... off with Larry. Ever since Sal had officially moved in with Todd and Neil, Larry had been stadoff-ish on a good day, and on bad days would seclude himself in the tree house, Sanity’s Fall blasting from that tiny stereo so loud you could hear it from your shared basement apartment. To say you were worried about his behavior was an understatement. Especially after you’d begun to notice the pattern of near constant headaches, the fact that he was always saying it was too loud in the apartment, the occasional mutter of, “shut up,” to an empty room when he though you weren’t close enough to hear, and the quickly worsening whip of anger he’d been developing… You were walking on eggshells at any given moment.

Finally, it all hit a breaking point.

You had been helping Larry pack up the remainder of his non-essentials, getting them ready to go over to his new room at Todd’s. It had been a process to pack a lot of his stuff up- it was a whole lifetime to sort through; countless weird knick knacks to decide to keep or not, finding old drawings and sketchbooks from his childhood, finding a random little thing that had been lost years ago tucked away in a dusty corner someplace…

To be honest, it had been more reminiscing about his childhood and the memories about each of the items you both went through than it was actually packing. But it was fun, and the wistful smile he wore as he told you stories of his mother, his missing father and his years of shenanigans with Sal and Todd made every wasted second well worth it.

When you unearthed a little silver puzzle box, you expected a fun story and for him to add it into the donation box for the local second hand shop for some needy kid to enjoy it later. But the simple question of, “Trash or stash?” quickly devolved into an argument about how much you didn’t care about his sentimentality or that it was an important object to him- and it just got worse from there- until you gave up, tossed up your hands, and stated you were gonna bring the box you’d finished earlier over to Todd’s while he cooled off, and walked out.

When you’d gotten there, the first thing you did was tell Sal what was up, hoping maybe he’d have some kind of wise words or what you could have done to set Larry off in the first place. Sally, ever the sweetheart, pulled you into a gentle hug, reassuring you that Larry was probably just having a rough patch and that he would talk to him and see if Larry might open up about it.

Taking Todd up on an offer to stay the night, you threw on a movie and made yourself comfortable on the couch, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Neil woke you the next morning with a killer cup of coffee and a poor mans breakfast of sugar coated pop tarts. Sally had come around not long after, letting you know Larry had texted him, and they’d be headed to the apartments for some, “Ghost hunting.” He seemed kind of tense but reassured you that he’d talk to Larry today, before he met up with Ash. Of course, you’d thanked him, and settled into Larry’s soon-to-be room to start sorting out some of the easier boxes.

—–

You woke up later, sprawled on the couch, to the sound of Todd rummaging in the kitchen. Yawning, you stretched and made your way out to greet him, smoothing out your bead-head.

“Hey Todd, how as class?” You asked, grabbing a seat at the kitchen table.

Todd shrugged, idly stirring an instant noodle cup, “No complaints. How’s Larry’s room coming along? Sal said you were unpacking this morning.”

“Well, I made it through the clothes and some oddball boxes… Did Sally mention anything about Larry by chance?”

Todd shook his head, “No, but he left with Ash almost as soon as he was back, so we didn’t have much time to chat. Knowing Sal, things should be smoothed over. He’s always been able to mellow Larry out like that.”

With that, you decided to head back and see if Larry was feeling any better after some Sally time. It was getting dark, and the thick clouds looming overhead finally opened into a sweeping downpour just after you had left Todd’s. You stopped under a thicket of trees just off the road, hoping the rain would lessen, when your cell phone went off.

Larry: [Name] im rly sry. i nvr meant that shit i said.

[Name]: Dude its all good i know youre stressed lately. Im heading back now.

Larry: stay at todds. and just dont blame urself ok? its my time to go.

[Name]: Larry wtf are you talking about? youre scaring me?

Without waiting for a reply you took off towards the apartments at a breakneck run. Bypassing the front door, you ran around the backside of the building to use the back entrance, when you noticed a light on in the old tree house- Then your gaze trailed down to the baggy with a neatly folded paper pinned to the lower steps on the tree.

You felt your blood run cold. He wouldn’t- no.

“Larry!” You scrambled up the rickety planks, ignoring the note, and all but threw yourself onto the tree house floor. “Larry, don’t!”

Tucked against the wall of the tree house, just under the little window, sat Larry, an old camping lantern lit in the corner beside him. His eyes were puffy and his hair disheveled, evidence that he’d been crying before. Tears welled in your own eyes as you took in his distraught expression and the bottle of whiskey in his hands.

“[Name]..?” He whispered your name, and the way his voice cracked brought you to instant tears, and you all but launched yourself at him, pulling him into a desperate embrace.

“Larry Johnson, you fucking asshole! Don’t you dare- don’t you dare take a sip from that bottle-”

“[Name]-” you cut him off, taking his face into your hands and forcing him to look at you. The circles under his eyes were so deep, and the absolute emptiness in them broke your heart.

“No! You listen here, you fucking string bean- you don’t get to do this. You can’t just… just push me away and expect me not to worry. You can’t just text… text me something like that and not expect me to come running to- to fucking keep you from being stupid! What the fuck am I supposed to do without you?!” You were openly sobbing now, practically screaming at the boy who all but held your entire world in his hands. “You’re all I have! You can’t just-just leave me behind and expect me to move on- who am I without my other half, Larry? Who am I?!”

He scrunched his eyes closed, tears streaming down his cheeks again, as he shook his head.

“If you fucking kill yourself, I’m going with you. And you can’t stop me.” You knew it was a dirty trick to play, guilting him like this when his soul was this ravaged and he was so vulnerable- but you were being honest. What would you do without him in your life? What about Sal? God, what about poor Lisa? He was so dear to you all, so loved, and he was ready and willing just throw it all away-

“[Name], I-I can’t take it anymore- I just- the cult shit, that demon, the ghosts! The fucking whispers- they’re dri-driving me insane! I‘m not like you or Sal- I can’t handle this shit anymore!” He finally breaks down into heaving sobs at that, burying his face into your shoulder, and dropping the bottle in favor of a bone-crushing embrace that you readily return.

You kick the bottle away from Larry, as far as you can get it, and quietly thank whoever will listen when the cap pops the rest of the way off, spilling the amber liquid and the mostly dissolved remnants of pills onto the tree house floor.

“…Why didn’t you just tell me? Or even Sal. Someone. You know we’d do anything for you, Larry, absolutely anything.” He didn’t reply, just shook his head and pulled you closer. What the fuck was was this place doing to him? You had to get him out- get him away- Larry’s phone vibrated from the other side of the tree house, but you elected to ignore it, praying whoever was calling was also smart enough to find you both before things got any worse.

He sniffled, hiccuping into you shoulder, “I’m so sorry, [name]. I didn’t mean anything that I said the other day- or anything I said in those other arguments. I just- This- this place is.. I think I’m going crazy-”

You shushed him, smoothing a hand down his hair and he devolved into body-wracking sobs that shook you both with the sheer force of them. Your soul ached for the boy you had known almost all your life- the boy you grew up with, shared secrets with, made countless memories with, and loved with all your heart.

Why didn’t you see this coming sooner? “I know, Larry, I know. This place- there’s something still wrong with Addison apartments and we’re gonna get you out of here, forever. I promise.”

“I-I’m so, so sorry, [name]. Please... Please don’t leave me.”

The rain continued to pour in violent sheets outside, but you distinctly heard the frantic voice of Sal, calling Larry’s name, as he ran towards the tree house. You had never felt such absolute relief in your life, even with Larry clinging to you like a lifeline, and the stain of his near-death slowly seeping into the floor of the tree house just behind you.

“I’m not going anywhere, Larry. I’m with you, always, no matter what happens.”

—fin—

WHEW. I tried to make it so you could read their relationship as either romantic or platonic, and tried to stay as neutral as possible in gender as well! I hope this is alright, and I hope you like it! I’ve actually never seen the Hunger Games so I kinda went my own way ♥

I’d also like to use this space as a PSA:I’ve struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts and tendencies my whole life- don’t let your depression convince you that you are trapped or alone or unloveable. I know its hard, and there’s no easy fix for it, but there are things in life that make it worth sticking around. Even if its something as silly as looking forward to a new game or story or waiting for a flower you planted to bloom, there are reasons to keep living. Please be kind to yourself and remember, even if we’ve never spoken or interacted or existed in the same space, I know that you are worthy of being loved and cared for and you are not alone.

If ever you feel like you are truly alone in this world, please reach out- there will always be people out here willing to lend a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and a friend to those who feel lost ♥ I know i will always be open to anyone out there in need of a friend so, please, never be afraid to reach out!

#sally face #sally face headcanon #sally face imagines #sal fisher #larry johnson #my writing #reader insert #xreader #larryxreader #i know the link will make this not show in the tag #but i wont take it out #it needs to be there #tw: suicide #tw: Depression

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ghost-nabbers-imagines · 5 years

Text

📱 Found Phone: Larry x reader

I decided to do a lost phone au rather than switched phones au, this just was easier to write and came out way better imo. Hope you like it still. And it is gender neutral♡

My favorite band blared in my ears as the city bus drove down the road. It pulled up to one of the stops collecting two new passengars. The look of these two caught my eye. They both looked like they were my age, one a short blue haired boy wearing a prosthetic face and pigtails, the other a handsome tall guy with long brown hair.

I couldn't help but admire them on the bus ride. The brunette briefly caught my glance smiling at me, I smiled back looking away with a blush. Not too long after they had gotten off at a stop and they were gone just as quickly as they had appeared. I turned my attention to the new song that was playing until we pulled up to my stop. I jumped up and on my way off the bus I noticed a phone sitting in the spot where the brunette had been sitting. Looking around I grabbed the phone before shuffling off the bus.

When I made my way into the cafe my friend Alexis was waiting. I took a seat across from her a smile on my face. The waiter came over taking our orders as I anxiously waited to tell her about the mystery guy and his phone.

"Kay dude what's with the smile?"

"I just met the cutest guy on the bus! Ok well really didnt meet but saw."

"That's great babes. Did you get his number?"

"Well no but he left his phone."

"Dude! Why didnt you turn it into the bus driver?"

"What if, um, if he calls his own cell phone to find out who found it and I answer and we start talking and we fell in love. I mean wouldn't that be a great story? Kind of like a fairy tale for the digital age!"

"Yeah… That does sound great. What if he already has a (boyfriend/girlfriend/partner) and they call helping him look for it?"

"Well then I guess I'll just let them know to come pick it up."

"Ok sounds like a good plan. Before you start picking out wedding China why dont you look through the phone see what hes into first? For all you know he could be a total creep."

"Good idea! This is why we're friends."

I moved over next to her in the booth. It wasn't the latest phone but wasn't the oldest either. It had a crack on the corner but besides that looked in good shape. Luckily he didnt have a password set and we were able to get right into his phone. The lockscreen was a band logo for Sanitys fall and the wallpaper was a photo of him with a group including the blue haired guy from earlier. "Think he's dating the blue haired guy?" I asked observing the photo. "Nah look at the way that guys looking at the chick in purple. They're probably a thing." She suggested.

We opened his gallery next noticing it was full of more photos of the group including some where the blue haired guy and the girl in purple were acting very couple like. "Think this is his mom? Shes pretty." Alexis asked zooming in on the woman. "They do look exactly alike I bet so." I said with a nod. "I dont see any of his dad in here though. She also noticed. We switched albums seeing one labelled art, it was full of pictures of pages from sketch books to full on canvases all of beautiful artwork. "Damn he's pretty good dude!" Ehe exclaimed admiring a portrait of the woman we assumed was his mother. "Hes really talented!" I agreed shocked.

"Let's see who he texts most that will tell us who to call to get him his phone back and get you a date." Alexis suggested. I opened up his messages seeing the name Sally Face up top followed by mom. "Sally is a chick's names what if (she's his girlfriend already/he isnt into guys)?" I asked nervous. She put a comforting hand on my back clicking into the Sally Face convention. We scrolled through quickly realizing Sally was a nickname for a guy names Sal, the one from the bus. "Ok you've found no sound of him dating someone. Call Sal and tell him you found this Larry guys phone and you two need to meetup to get it back to him." Alexis said grinning like a Cheshire cat." I nodded taking a deep breath before pressing call. It rang for a few minutes before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi is this Sal? I found your friends phone on the bus. You were the last person he contacted so."

"Oh great someone found it! Hey Larry come here. "

"Hello? Sal tells me you found my phone."

"Hey yeah you left it on the bus. Is there somewhere we could meet up so I could return it to you?"

"That'd be awesome dude. Can you meet me at Addison Apartments? If not the lake or a restaurant in town would be fine."

"The apartments work. What apartment?"

"Just go out back theres a treehouse there say 6 tonight?"

"Ok see you then. Bye!"

"Bye!"

I hung up the phone smiling at Alexis. She high fived me smiling back. "Ok we're going shopping after this. I'm so excited!" She cheered clapping her hands. "Calm down we still dont know that he'll have any interest in me." I laughed. "Psh unless he's a blind idiot he won't! Now finish eating we have work to do!" She commanded sipping her drink. When we finished our food and paid ahe practically dragged me to the clothing stores near by. After about two hours of shopping I was dressed and looked super hot. At 6 she drove me to the apartments.

"You look great! Now go get your prince charming!" She cheered again. I rolled my eyes hugging her before making my way to the back of the apartments. Sure enough there was a big tree with a handmade treehouse nestled in its branches securely. Sanitys Fall could be heard playing from the top, this was definitely the right place. I climbed up the ladder seeing him sitting in a bean bag chair.

He looked up from his sketch book smiling. "Hey I assume you're the one who found my cell phone huh?" He asked setting his stuff to the side standing up. "Yep that was me." I beamed pulling his phone from my pocket handing it to him. "You're a life saver my dude. I'm Larry but I'm sure you saw that in the phone somewhere." He smiled extending his hand. I shook it smiling. "(Y/n). I'm just glad I found you." I smiled my cheeks probably getting red. "I'm lucky such a cute person found my phone." He winked making me blush more.

The two of us spent hours talking in his treehouse before his mom called him for dinner. When she noticed me she told him to invite me in for dinner as well. It was a lovely meal and I got to know them both pretty well. Larry and I practically kept flirting and had so much in common it was crazy. When he walked me out that night he handed me his phone again. "Put your number in this time cutie." He said with a wink. And that was just the beginning of our long happy relationship.

~Lex💛

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dykes · 5 years

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|| 2 Corinthians 5:10 ||

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10

The story of how Deputy Addison Gully loses herself in the madness of it all.

fandom: far cry 5 / far cry new dawn

warnings: self-harm, implied brainwashing, mental disintegration, post-traumatic stress disorder, scarification, angst.

pairings: none but female deputy/faith seed is heavily implied/referenced.

inspired by something that @athurmorgan was speaking about irt their deputy.

also available on ao3

Gods.

She’d tried so hard she—

If she takes just too deep of a breath she can still smell them; gutted and burning alive out there. Whitehorse, Pratt, Hudson. Gods even Dutch ; this was his bunker.

She’d let them die. She’d killed them all. She did this. She did—

“Do not cry,” the singsong voice comes nearer and nearer, “You truly did the very best you could. If you had but only listened.”

“Stay away from me,” she manages to get out around the tightness in her throat, “You think you’re absolved of tragedy? You let your Brothers die for this. You let Rachel—”

“You forget who it was that pulled those triggers, snake. Rest now. Rest. Awake when you are feeling anew.”

She doesn’t miss the prick of pain in her arm or the buzz in her head.

“Fuck you,” she slurs before succumbing to sleep.

When he does finally release her from the chains on the bed she draws a line down the center of every hall and every room and throws the chalk down beside his scribbling hand.

“Stay on your fucking side and we won’t have any issues.”

“And if I do not?” he asks with vague amusement; like a parent to a child.

She hates him. She hates him. But they already have one dead body and she shudders about the possibilities for getting rid of that.

She won’t kill him. Not yet. She can’t—

“Just. Stay away from me,” she grinds out, stalking away from the communications room to one of the furthest in the bunker, pinning the door closed.

Her hands curled around her head do little to stop the ever-present hum of a hymn she can’t quite remember the words of.

Rachel— Faith— Whoever she was in the end of things; still shows up.

In dreams. In flashes of light. In the mist of tear burdened eyes.

The now ghost sits curled up beside Addison and touches gently at their hand and at their face and begs in fragmented words for forgiveness.

“I could have saved you,” she says, turning to look and soak the image of her former— something in, “I would have torn down the entire valley to save you, you know.”

“I chose my path, Adi,” the image says in soothing tones, “I chose my path.”

She huffs a laugh and slams, perhaps a little too hard, her head back against the wall, “You had your path chosen for you. You weren’t free from the moment he had his psychopathic fingers wrapped around your throat.”

“Do you wish they had been yours instead?”

Addison startles. This ghost. This figure. It’s her own imagination after all. A figment to deal with loss not yet recovered from.

“No,” she says eventually, “Not around your throat.”

“Do you see angels, Deputy?” her bunker mate asks, “Is that who you talk to late in the night? Ghosts and angels and images of the past?”

They don’t talk often. She makes very sure of that. If he enters a room she occupies she moves. And she’s far more in shape than him and can keep the game up for longer.

She’s sure it comes as a surprise when she willingly enters a room with him, clutching two barely heated meals in her hands.

It’s their first real meal together since they entered the damned prison a month before.

“I see— I don’t know what I see,” she all but whispers, scooping up the beans and shoveling them in her mouth. They’re bitter and bland and have awful texture and here she was— stuck with them forever.

He waits in silence. He waits and lets her stew and think and watches her like a hawk. He’s the predator still, even now. Or perhaps. Better put. She is more prey than ever.

“It’s all blurring together,” she admits long after their food is finished and their plates cold.

He’s gone back to reading but looks up with such languid calm movements that it would unnerving if she weren’t so— used to it.

“I see Rachel— Faith. I see Hudson and Whitehorse and Pratt. I see your Brothers. I see me. I see you.”

“It is the burden of Death to see all that she touches.”

“Do you expect me to kill you, Joseph?”

“I expect you to want to try.”

It’s not a real answer. Not really.

It still leaves a sour taste in her mouth as she throws her stained plate in his direction, “Do the washing,” she barks, leaving in a hurry with her proverbial tail tucked between her legs.

A month bleeds into two then three then four.

Faith appears more often than not. Faith now; not Rachel. Not like before, when she could pretend it was still her friend haunting her.

The others she loses in the mess of it all; first their voices go and then their eyes and then their faces. And soon all she sees is specters and horrors that keep her up at night with barely a name left on her lips.

“I don’t remember what they look like anymore,” she quietly admits, curled into the furthest corner of their shared room; lines drawn long forgotten, “I can’t— It’s like they don’t want me to see them anymore. Why would they do that?”

He doesn’t look at her with concern or empathy. He looks instead with the same curious eyes that he always had done; as if she were nothing more than an interesting play thing to him. A toy.

“It’s this place,” she continues, rocking just slightly, “It’s this fucking place. It’s the smell and the taste and the texture of the air. It’s the shadows that move. I hate this place. I hate it.”

“We will leave soon, child,” the calming voice comes, suddenly in front of her.

She doesn't know when he moved. Did he move? Did she? She rocks again. Back and forth. Eyes fluttering shut.

“Soon, child. Soon.”

There were three mirrors in the bunker when they entered.

There are none now. Just shards. Bloodied and broken. Smashed and stepped on and cut into the soles of hands and feet and chest and stomach.

Wrath. Pride. Wrath. Pride.

Carved and crossed out over and over again.

“You carve such ugly sins into yourself,” Not-Rachel speaks from her side, steadying her hand, stopping the sixth or seventh or eighth carving she’s not sure, “Such ugly sins.”

“He was right, you know?” she replies, letting the shard of glass tumble to the floor, shattering on impact, “He was right.”

“Now you see. Now you see what I saw. Go to him. Go to him and he will show you the world you denied yourself for so very long. He will show you a world you never dreamt possible.”

She hums and nods and steps in the broken shards of glass, feeling each pierce through the soles of her worn shoes and into her skin.

Faith, at least, stays and holds her bloodied hand.

God tells you, if I listen to you, it’s good and right, and I can help, and I can save people, and make it right, and everything will be okay.

If I judge as your judge, the judgement is right and just, the judgement is God’s Word.

I see now.

I am so sorry.

If only I had Faith.

Give me a mask, I am afraid, she scribbles, passing off the note to the man beside her.

He reads it once before putting it aside and reaching out, holding his face in her hands and twisting it this way and that.

“Do you believe if they cannot see you, that they will stop their haunting?” he asks, keeping her face held, “You removed your tongue to stop the talking and yet they still come; now you will remove your face?”

She taps the paper again. Insistent. A begging plea.

“Bring me wood and I will fashion you a mask and when it is done, we will emerge as Father and Judge and you will serve under God as I have and through me you will do his bidding.”

She reaches and scribbles out another note.

Thank you, Joseph.

Thank you, Father.

The mask is somehow between heavy and light; weighing like stone in her hands but a feather against her face.

It’s exterior is rough and pitted and if she runs her fingers too fast along the surface her skin catches on barbs and splinters and is left bleeding and raw.

He helps her put it on for the first time; knelt in front of him with her hands pressed up against his hips, eyes begging.

He anoints it too, dipping his own fingers in water and pressing them against the forehead.

She cries. Muted and ugly for her lack of tongue.

She cries and cries and cries; even after he has said his words and disappeared some rooms away.

Faith curling around her does little to quell the ache in her chest.

At first the sun is almost blinding; painful and all encompassing and far too hot.

She is grateful at least, that her mask blocks most of it out.

The Father takes it in stride; chest bare and shoulders flexing.

His people; her people; have awaited their return like the disciples of God and Jesus knelt around the Tomb of Jerusalem.

It’s been two years they say in wondrous adoration, falling to their knees in front of him; in front of her.

“The Prophet has risen,” they sing out in chorus, “The Father has returned to us.”

She turns and watches the image of Faith skip about at her side; white sundress fluttering about in the wind and innocent smile playing about her features.

‘Come on!’ the playful voice cries out, a hand reaching out towards her, ‘ Come play.’

She doesn’t miss the Father watching her watching the ghost. And when she turns to look at him, sees the almost imperceptible nod he gives for her to leave and return as she wishes.

After all, they’re Family now.

As much as he and Faith were. As much as she and Faith are.

So she follows, she reaches out and takes the hand of her former friend and lover; the one she had killed herself and let drown in the mighty river. She reaches out and takes the hand and allows herself the quaint feeling of peace in the wide open fields.

Thank you, Father.

#far cry #far cry 5 #far cry new dawn #fcnd spoilers #faith seed x deputy #kind of lmaom #asjdanhdjgjgk

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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years

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ARC Review: How to Be a Wallflower by Eloisa James

Preorder

Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: March 29, 2022

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestseller Eloisa James, a new Regency-set novel in which a heiress with the goal of being a wallflower engages a rugged American in a scorchingly sensual, witty wager that tests whether clothing does indeed make the man—or the wallflower! Miss Cleopatra Lewis is about to be launched in society by her aristocratic grandfather. But since she has no intention of marrying, she visits a costume emporium specifically to order unflattering dresses guaranteed to put off any prospective suitors. Powerful and charismatic Jacob Astor Addison is in London, acquiring businesses to add to his theatrical holdings in America—as well as buying an emerald for a young lady back in Boston. He's furious when a she-devil masquerading as an English lady steals Quimby's Costume Emporium from under his nose. Jake strikes a devil's bargain, offering to design her “wallflower wardrobe” and giving Cleo the chance to design his. Cleo can't resist the fun of clothing the rough-hewn American in feathers and flowers. And somehow in the middle of their lively competition, Jake becomes her closest friend. It isn't until Cleo becomes the toast of all society that Jake realizes she's stolen his fiercely guarded heart. But unlike the noblemen at her feet, he doesn't belong in her refined and cultured world. Caught between the demands of honor and desire, Jake would give up everything to be with the woman he loves—if she'll have him!

My Review:

★★★★

This was my first book by Eloisa James and it shan't be my last. It was an amusing and engaging romp and I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were relatable and sympathetic, the side characters quite amusing, and the premise just absurd enough to inject quite a lot of humor and shake up the typical regency romance plot. I greatly enjoyed hearing about Cleo's mother and seeing her work through her grief and mixed feelings. I also enjoyed the wardrobes Cleo and Jake created for one another -- and especially Byng's joyful and colorful takeover of the designs. Cleo and Jake's closeness and respect for one another was also quite wonderful. The plot at times felt a bit thin, and the ending a bit contrived. Also, Cleo got over her shame and humiliation just a little too fast to be believable. It felt a bit like the story had to hurry up and conclude within a certain page count. Overall though, a highly enjoyable read and I recommend it. I also look forward to the sequel(s). *Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing an e-arc for review.

Favorite Quotes

She loathed stubborn men: they were so often underqualified and overpresumptuous.

---

They were a wild and undisciplined people who wouldn’t agree to pay taxes, even for tea. They’d rather drink coffee, simply to avoid taxes.  Which said about everything that needed to be said, given that coffee was a vile drink that tasted like fusty beans.

#eloisa james #how to be a wallflower #historical romance #romance #regency romance #netgalley #arc review #shilo reads

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teacoffeebooks · 6 years

Note

hello! i want to get back into reading but i feel like since school has sucked out all the motivation and joy i get from reading, i don't know what genre i like. So i was wondering if you could recommend me some of your faves or whatever comes to mind. It could be from any genre cause i'm open to new things. Thank you and have a nice day! also, i would just like to say how much i adore your blog & the music playlists you create :))

First of all, Thank you!

Okay. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot

1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series by Meg Cabot

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

All books by Sarah Addison Allen

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

To All the Boys I Loved Before series by Jenny Han

The Secret Life of the Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Pleasure by Brian Teare

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

The Sookie Stackhouse series (except for like the last two books) by Charlaine Harris

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

Night by Elie Wiesel

I hope there are a few on here that you find interesting! And everyone else feel free to comment with your own favorites.

#recommendations #favorites #my-dearest-beloved

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playchoices · 6 years

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Inside Choices | Red Carpet Diaries

Red Carpet Diaries is here! 💃 Our newest Choices book is all about the glamorous (and sometimes not-so-glamorous) world of Hollywood. The path to stardom isn't easy, but with a little luck and the help of your friends, you might just make it to the big screen...

Longtime fans of Pixelberry know of our second game, Hollywood U. HWU has similar gameplay to the original High School Story game, but is set at a university where you learn how to make it in Hollywood. Last April, we released the final quest for HWU. We're really happy that we got to share the adventures of Ethan, Addison, and the rest of the HWU cast with all of you.

Red Carpet Diaries is an all-new and different story than its predecessor. But, we wanted to included a nod to some of our beloved characters from Hollywood U, so you'll be seeing a few familiar faces in Red Carpet Diaries. At the same time, the Red Carpet Diaries team wanted to create a fresh, distinct story of fame and fortune that new Pixelberry fans can get into, too...

To learn more about the new book, I talked to the team behind Red Carpet Diaries -- and as a bonus, Eric, the producer of Hollywood U, as well!

First thing's first. Give us the scoop on Red Carpet Diaries! What's it all about?

Jilly: It’s a thrilling tale of your first job in data entry! Will you finish that spreadsheet on time… or will you have to install Excel on your home computer? Kidding, obviously -- it’s a glamorous story of a rising actress’s first days in Hollywood, her path to fame… and obviously her steamy romantic opportunities (you are in the land of the professionally beautiful people, after all!).

How is Hollywood U linked to Red Carpet Diaries? How is it distinct? And will I get to meet any HWU faves, like Addison and Ethan?

Andrew: Red Carpet Diaries can be best seen as a companion story to Hollywood U, something like a spin-off. It’s not a direct adaptation like HSS; instead, it’s an original self-contained story with its own cast of main characters, but set in the same universe as Hollywood U. HWU fans should definitely expect to see a lot of familiar faces pop up (won’t spoil who!), and we’ve worked in some really fun interactions with that cast.

Here's a question for both Eric and the Red Carpet Diaries team: Both Hollywood U and Red Carpet Diaries depict the path to stardom. To you, what does this type of tale mean to you?

Eric: A path-to-stardom tale is all about potential! I love a main character with nothing to their name but a bag of Cheetos and a dream. It can be really inspiring to see that character start to realize that dream. In Hollywood U, it felt particularly rewarding to have your character’s campus and entourage grow the more famous they became. Envisioning yourself as a star is one thing; finally impressing Thomas Hunt is life.

Jilly: In a lot of ways, Red Carpet Diaries is a classic coming-of-age story, just in a much more glamorous setting. You’re facing the same kinds of challenges any young person would: Can you achieve your dreams, make new friends, and hack it in a new town? But of course that town is Hollywood, so there’s also some seriously awesome wish fulfillment built in!

The glitz and glam of Hollywood, the sweet outfits... there's a lot Red Carpet Diaries has to offer. What are you most excited for readers to encounter?

Jilly: Seriously, the outfits in this book are EVERYTHING. I need to be able to buy a “for me” version of at least half of them. I only wouldn’t buy the rest in real life because I don’t attend that many galas. Or, you know… any. Fashion aside, though, I had so much fun writing the side characters. Since the setting is Hollywood, they can be truly over the top! I want to spend an entire book hanging out with your neighbor Gloria--I feel like she has some seriously interesting stuff going on when she’s not hanging out with you.

Who's date-able in Red Carpet Diaries? Come on, spill the beans.

Jilly: The options are SO GOOD. You can ship with your megawatt costars (yes, plural!), the literal boy next door (who also happens to be a hilarious standup), the up-and-coming assistant director whose talent is only outshone by how incredible she looks in club attire… and yes, I might be partial, but I would say yes to ALL of those options.

Any final advice or tips for readers before they step into Hollywood?

Jilly: Forget tabloids, this is going to be where you find your fashion inspiration for the next few months!

Choosing my #OOTD, like, right now. To those reading along: Can you make it in Hollywood? Find out in Red Carpet Diaries, out now!

-Jessica

#playchoices #inside choices #writer interview #red carpet diaries #hollywood u

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greysfanpage388 · 6 years

Text

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Hey guys- at long last- here is my latest fic, which is the prequel to ‘ Óur Little Princess. ‘ This fic is set in a future timeline, when Omelia have found their way back to each other after their breakup on the show.

I’m sorry for taking so long for this update - real life got in the way- with a conference, work and a knee injury.

This fic is dedicated to @toevenexist who requested for this. :D <3

Special thanks goes out to @jia911 for faithfully setting aside time to help me proofread- you’re really the best!! <3 <3

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!! <3

The sequel,’Óur Little Princess ‘ can be read here:

http://ailingnoor.tumblr.com/post/166784792136/our-little-princess

P.s : I’ve implemented a little of the Obstetrics knowledge I gained during medical school, internship and early residency into this fic ;)

P.p.s I’ve decided to write in first person again after a long time, as I feel like it gives us more insight into what Amelia is experiencing.

Amelia’s POV

Hyperemesis gravidarum. The medical term for an extreme form of morning sickness, characterized by persistent nausea and vomiting, and associated with poor weight gain. This condition may cause dehydration, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances, nutritional deficiencies and in some extreme cases- death. Severe cases require hospital admission. Statistics show that this condition affects 0.3 -2% of pregnant women, but of course, those are just statistics.

This condition affects women from all walks of life. It doesn’t discriminate. Even Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge suffered from this condition for all 3 of her pregnancies. One of the attendings I previously worked with at the John Hopkins Hospital also suffered from that condition and she couldn’t work for the entire first trimester of her pregnancy. I can really empathize with them because I’m currently suffering from the same condition too.

It’s not a fun thing to suffer from, let me tell you. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. You can barely keep anything down, you throw up almost every single thing you eat. The only thing you can tolerate eating is saltine crackers.

The morning sickness started in full force since I was 5 weeks pregnant. I threw up almost everything I ate- day and night. Actually, to call it morning sickness isn’t accurate at all. It should be called whole day sickness.

Initially - I thought it was a very bad case of food poisoning when I started throwing up the entire day. I had eaten the cafeteria food after all and it was known to cause food poisoning occasionally. Furthermore, I was babysitting my nieces and nephew who were also ill with a stomach bug a couple of days earlier. I carried on with my work. However, when the symptoms persisted and I realized that I was 2 weeks late- I knew that it was something more than food poisoning. My heart pounding fast, I had bought a couple of pregnancy tests from the pharmacy and took the tests alone in the bathroom at home. I decided to do it myself this time without Owen next to me, as I did not want to disappoint him again should the test turn out negative. We did agree to try again for a baby a couple of months ago. After I had my tumor removed, we both decided to ‘break-up ‘and start anew. It was like a reset button, a brand new start in our relationship. We started dating each other again and learning new things about each other daily. Every new thing I learned about Owen attracted me even more to him, such as when he told me how he would let Megan tag along with him on his outings with friends and even on his dates. It reminded me of my relationship with Derek, and how I would tag along with him for his dates with Addison.

When both tests turned out positive- I had a mixture of feelings. On one hand- I was overjoyed that I was finally starting a family with Owen. I knew that Owen would be in seventh heaven- it had always been his dream to have a family. On the other hand, there was still this nagging feeling at the back of my mind- what if this baby of ours turned out to be anencephalic as well? What if I can only produce anencephalic babies? Would Owen still love me and the baby? However, now that the tumor had been removed from my brain, I had the ability to think and act rationally. If before, my first instinct would be to run away from all my issues, now I knew I had to face it like an adult. I knew that the chance of me having another anencephalic baby is low- less than 5%, and I knew that Owen would be there to support me regardless.

As expected, Owen was over the moon with the news. His grin when I told him was as wide as a Cheshire cat, and he hugged me a little too tightly, spinning me around. I had to remind him not to tell anyone in the hospital yet until I was further along, at least until my first trimester was over. I knew that if it was up to him, he would be announcing it to the entire hospital, and I didn’t want that.

He started mommy tracking me almost immediately, making sure I downed my breakfast of crackers and oats as It was the only breakfast I could tolerate. He made sure I stayed hydrated. He would make chicken soup for me in the evenings, as it was the only main dish I could tolerate.

When I rushed to the bathroom to throw up, especially in the mornings, he would immediately run to my side, hold my hair up and gently pat my back as I emptied my entire guts contents out.

He had also started calling the baby Bean and had already started talking to the baby. When I told him that Bean was only the size of a bean, and couldn't hear him as their ears weren't fully developed yet, he would claim that he knew Bean could hear him.

It did feel a little weird at first, Owen talking to the baby. During my first pregnancy, Ryan wasn’t there to take care of me or speak to my belly. This was all new to me, but I guess I could get used to this.

_______________________________________________________________

Today has been especially rough. I've jolted out of bed to puke in the toilet several times since 5 am this morning.

I am now hunched over the toilet bowl, dry retching. I have emptied my entire guts contents out and now there’s nothing left to throw up anymore.

Owen is patting my back gently as he holds my hair up like he does when I throw up every morning.

I groan and sink onto the cold bathroom floor. I just don’t have the energy to get up.

Owen flushes the toilet and helps me get up, leading me to the sink where I rinse my mouth. It has been our daily routine every morning for the past few weeks.

He then slowly leads me back towards our bed. I gratefully lie back down on the bed, which seems so welcoming at the moment.

‘You sure you don’t want to call in sick today? ‘Owen asks, a concerned tone in his voice as he soothingly rubs my arm and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I have been throwing up every day for the past few weeks, but never so many times in such a short interval.

‘ No! I’m fine, I’ll be. I’ll take the saltine crackers and some oat later. I’m used to this already. I can’t just call in sick every single day if this continues. ‘ I point out. ‘Besides, I have 5 surgeries scheduled for today and several patients I'm supposed to discharge today.’

Owen knows that when I use that tone of voice- there is no arguing with me. He had tried before- last week, he called Bailey to inform her that I wasn’t going down to work, without consulting me beforehand. I got so mad that I drove my own car to the hospital. The look on his face when I appeared in the ER with scrubs after April paged me was priceless.

‘Amelia, no offense but you do not look good at all. You look really pale. Are you sure you can handle a whole day of work? ‘Owen asks again, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

I know Owen means no harm and is just genuinely concerned for me, but something, I guess my pregnancy hormones, is making my blood boil. He’s not the one experiencing this horrible thing, why does he think he has the right to tell me when to go to work?

‘I’m fine, Owen.’ I say stubbornly as I get up of bed, throw the duvet playfully at him and head to the bathroom to shower.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Owen shaking his head in defeat.

_______________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, there is a tense atmosphere in the kitchen as I try to down my breakfast of oats and saltine crackers in silence. Owen keeps on stealing glances at me, and it's beginning to irritate me.

‘'Whatever you have to say, just say it! ‘ I finally snap at him.

‘I just…..you really don’t look good today, Amelia.’ he says earnestly. ‘ I really think you should at least rest for today, I can help you call Bailey and inform her that you’re sick and unable to work today.’

‘ And what excuse are you gonna give? Food poisoning? The Flu? I have gone to work so many times while having food poisoning without any issues. Please don’t tell me you’re gonna tell her that I’m pregnant. The moment I discover that anyone in the hospital knows, I’m gonna strangle you with my bare hands.’ I say with a serious tone.

‘ But they’re gonna find out sooner or later with your condition. April has been asking me why are you rushing to the bathroom in between consults. You can’t go on like this.’ Owen tries to rationalize.

‘I don’t want anyone finding out- not until my second trimester- once it's confirmed that everything is fine and our baby is healthy.’ I say adamantly.

‘Ok fine- we’ll keep it a secret first. But can we at least just inform Bailey? So that she can give you a lighter workload or something? She's a mother herself, she would understand.’ Owen suggests.

I place my spoon on the now empty bowl a little too forcefully.

‘ I do NOT need a lighter workload, Owen! I’m pregnant, not handicapped!' I huff.

Owen raises his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender. Good, at least he knows he isn’t going to win this argument.

Just then, I feel a wave of nausea overtake me and bile rising in my throat again. I rush to the toilet to throw up my breakfast.

‘Amelia,’ Owen is beside me in an instant.

‘Just don’t‘ I mumble, pushing him away gently. I’m just sick and tired- sick of throwing up all the time, sick of not being able to keep any food down, sick of the fact that I have to go through all this during pregnancy.

After I think I have nothing left to throw up anymore, I rinse my mouth and storm out of the bathroom.

I grab my car keys, march out of the front door and jump into the car, turning on the engine immediately.

‘Hey, where are you going! You can’t go to work in this condition!’ I hear Owen call out, but I don’t care anymore.

‘ Bye Owen!’ I roll down the car window and wave at him as he stands there on the car porch, hands on his hips, shaking his head.

_______________________________________________________________

‘ Amelia- are you ok? You look really pale. ‘ April asks me after I have finished updating her about a patient I have consulted for persistent headaches. DeLuca, who has been tagging along with me is reviewing another neuro patient, which he'll be presenting to me later.

Owen had been called to the OR a while ago, I’m so thankful I don’t need to face him yet.

‘I’m fine.’ I reply curtly. DeLuca had asked me the same question during the morning rounds on our patients. I am feeling nauseous and have a bad headache, so I’m not in the mood for small talk with her. I have to admit, April is a very nice person and can be a good friend, but I just don’t feel like talking to her today.

She follows me to the nurses counter, where I sign below the patient’s chart and hand it over to a nurse.

‘You don’t look fine to me.’ she notes, tilting her head slightly as she studies me. Gosh, are all red-heads this persistent?

‘I’m fine really…. ‘I reply, as another wave of nausea hits me.

‘Damn it…. Bean……please don’t do this to mommy. Mommy has work to do.’ I whisper internally as I close my eyes and subconsciously rub my stomach.

April’s eyes widen as she puts two and two together. Of course, she’s a mother too, she should know the symptoms. Damn it. The whole hospital is going to know. News spreads faster than wildfire around the hospital.

‘Congrats! ‘she squeals, a little too perkily for my liking.

‘ How far along are you?’ she asks.

I can’t reply her though, as the next moment I’m rushing to the nearest washroom, covering my mouth with my hands. The last thing I need is to throw up in the ER.

I rush into the first cubicle and throw my entire guts contents out, not even bothering to close the door behind me.

I hear footsteps entering the washroom. Damnit.

‘Amelia, is that you? Are you ok in there?’ April’s voice calls out.

I roll my eyes, concluding that yes, red-heads can be very persistent.

The next minute, April appears behind me.

Concluding that I have nothing left to throw up anymore, I flush the toilet and stumble to one of the sinks, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Both Owen and April are right after all- I do look terrible.

April follows me to the sink and touches my arm comfortingly.

‘ I’m sorry, I know that morning sickness can be horrible.’ she says.

‘ More like whole day sickness.’ I mumble.

April smiles and starts to say something, but I can’t focus on what she’s saying. The entire washroom is spinning, April is spinning.

Suddenly, I find myself lying on the floor as I hear April yelling my name.

Then everything turns black.

_______________________________________________________________

When I open my eyes, I’m having a throbbing headache. It takes me a while to realize that I’m lying on a bed in one of the observation rooms in the ER. Wait, why am I lying on a patient bed in the ER, and not reviewing patients?

I blink my eyes as I try to adjust to the bright fluorescent light of the room. I look down at my hands and notice a cannula inserted into the dorsum of my left hand. I trace the IV line attached to the cannula to a pint of normal saline hung on a stand beside my bed.

I sigh. This is the price to pay for my stubbornness, fainting due to dehydration. Owen is going to be so mad at me.

The room door opens, and April enters with Melissa, my favorite ER nurse.

‘Dr. Shepherd, I’ll need to give you a dose of IV metoclopramide to stop your vomiting.’ Melissa says as she injects the drug into my cannula.

Melissa, as much as I love her because of how efficient she is in her job, is also known to be the biggest gossiper in the hospital. The whole hospital will know my secret in record time.

I smile weakly at her, and then turn to look at April who is standing at the other side of my bed, busy filling in my electronic chart.

‘How long was I out for?’ I ask, my voice croaking.

‘ About 10 minutes.’ she replies in a sympathetic tone of voice. ‘ I’ve just paged Arizona down for a consult. It’s most likely…’

‘ Due to dehydration, I know.’ I complete the sentence for her. 'Í’ve been throwing up the whole day for the past few weeks, but it has become more frequent the past week.’

‘ That must suck, I’m sorry.’ April says sincerely as she puts down the chart and holds my hand. ‘I threw up every morning too when I was pregnant with Harriet, but it was just once every morning. I didn't throw up with Samuel though. I guess every pregnancy is different.' she says as she sighs and looks up at the ceiling, probably thinking about Samuel.

' I didn't throw up when I was pregnant with Unicorn Baby too.' I wanted to say, but I remain silent instead and just squeeze her hand.

'It’s amazing how you can still manage to go to work in this condition.’ April changes the subject as she smiles at me.

‘ Owen tried to convince me to stay at home today, but I was too stubborn.’ I admit, chuckling meekly. ‘He’s going to lecture me for this, I know.’

Just then, a flustered looking Owen himself barges into the room.

‘ Amelia, what happened ?! One of the ER nurses entered the OR in the middle of my surgery to inform me that you had fainted. Meredith is now closing up for me.’ he says, a panicked tone in his voice as he walks over to my bed.

‘ Yeah, I just blacked out…’ I reply weakly, in no mood to argue with him anymore.

April walks over to him and whispers something in his ear, before giving him a pat on the shoulder and leaving the room. I wonder what she is saying. Melissa leaves the room shortly after, leaving me and Owen alone in the room.

I swallow hard, expecting Owen to say ‘ I told you so.’ Instead, he walks over to my bed and holds my hand in his without saying a word.

‘ I’m sorry, Owen.’ I say meekly. ‘ I know I should have listened to you, but I didn’t. I’m sorry. I really thought that I could still work.’

Owen sighs in reply. ‘I just hate seeing you so sick like this.’ he says. ‘ I wish I can do something to ease your suffering.’

He kisses me tenderly on the forehead.

‘ Well, you've been doing a great job in taking care of me so far.’ I say as I smile weakly at him.

‘ It’s my duty.’ he claims as he squeezes my hand.

Before I can reply, Arizona enters the room, pushing an ultrasound machine which she leaves at the corner of the room.

‘ Hey guys.’ she greets us in her usual perky manner and cheerful voice. ‘ I hear that congratulations are in order.’

Owen and I exchange looks, knowing that our secret is going to be spread throughout the entire hospital in no time.

‘ Thanks.’ I reply, giving her a small smile. ‘ It’s no fun though, throwing up all the time.’

‘ I know….’ Arizona replies sympathetically. ‘ You fainted due to excessive dehydration from the vomiting. I’m ordering a tds dose of IV metoclopramide and continuing your IV drip.’ she says as she types the orders into my electronic chart. ‘ Also- I’m afraid that you have to be admitted for observation.’

I stare at her wide-eyed, unable to believe what I’m hearing. No, I cannot be admitted! I have work to do, I have patients to attend to and operate on, I can’t possibly be admitted.

‘ No, no….I can’t!’ I say exasperatedly, pushing myself to sit upright on the bed. ‘ I have 5 surgeries today, and I’m holding the pager for Neuro today. Nelson doesn’t know my patients, I can’t possibly let him operate on my patients without knowing their history.’

I look over at Owen, silently pleading to him with my eyes, but he seems to agree with Arizona.

‘ I thought DeLuca was tagging along with you today? He can help to handover your patients to Nelson. Also, I can help you to pass him the pager. He’s still outside, helping you to review another patient. Relax, Amelia. He has got this. You need to have a little more faith in him.’ Owen says, as I scowl at him and rest my head back on the pillow.

‘ Amelia, I know you have work to do, but right now, you’re my patient, and as your doctor, I’m telling you that you need to be admitted to the wards.’ Arizona says gently but firmly. I know that when she uses that tone of voice, there’s no arguing with her.

‘ Fine,’ I sigh in reply.

‘ Amelia, I just want you to take care of yourself. And Bean.’ Owen says as he squeezes my hand and gives my belly a subtle rub.

‘ See, your husband cares so much for you.’ Arizona says, winking at me.

‘I know he does. ‘ I admit, knowing that it is the truth, Owen does indeed care so much for me.

‘So just lie down and relax, Amelia. You need to take care of yourself and your baby first. Stressing out about work isn’t good for your health.’ Arizona says gently, as she touches me lightly on the arm.

I close my eyes and let myself relax. She is right, I should relax and take care of myself and Bean, and not stress out too much about work.

Arizona pushes the ultrasound machine to my bedside.

‘Amelia, I’m going to perform an ultrasound scan on you now, just to make sure that everything is fine. Ok?’ she asks as she gives me a warm smile.

‘ Ok.’ I answer, my heart pounding in anticipation of seeing Bean again. The last time I saw Bean was 3 weeks ago when I first found out that I was pregnant.

‘Have you been taking your antenatal vitamins regularly?’ Arizona asks.

‘Yes, I have.’ I answer earnestly. I’m not going to risk this baby having any sort of deformity just because I neglected my antenatal vitamins.

‘ Are you experiencing any bleeding? Abdominal cramps or discomfort? Diarrhea?’ Arizona asks as she adjusts the settings on the scan machine.

‘’ Nope. No other symptoms besides vomiting.’ I answer.

‘Ok, good. This is going to feel a little cold.’ Arizona says as she squeezes the gel on my abdomen and I wince at the cold sensation.

Owen, meanwhile, is sitting silently beside my bed, holding my hand. His eyes are transfixed on the ultrasound screen. I know that he’s just as excited to see Bean again. I remember the first time he saw Bean, his face lit up like a child on Christmas Day.

‘Ok, are you ready to see your baby? ‘Arizona asks as she smiles at us.

‘Ýes.’ both of us reply in unison, as Owen squeezes my hand in support. I think he can sense that I'm not only excited but anxious as well. All 3 pairs of eyes are now fixed on the screen in anticipation.

Arizona manipulates the ultrasound probe until an image of the fetus appears on the screen. I feel my heart skip a beat at the sight of our baby, part me and part Owen, growing inside me right now.

‘ Ok, here is your baby.’ Arizona announces. ‘You can see the head,' she says as she points at the head. 'It’s still too early to see the other body parts though. I’ll book a detailed scan for you at 14 weeks to detect abnormalities. I’ll measure the crown-rump length first to confirm the gestational age and the EDD.’

‘A head.’ I whisper. ‘ Owen, our baby has a head!’ I know that anencephaly can only be detected during the 14-week scan- I’ve learned that during medical school and internship, and Arizona had discussed it with me in detail during my first visit. But still, seeing that the baby has a head is really reassuring.

Owen, knowing my history of having an anencephalic baby during my first pregnancy, rubs my arm in support and kisses my forehead.

Silence fills the room as Arizona proceeds to measure the crown-rump length of the fetus. No one utters a word. Owen and I are too transfixed on the little blob of miracle that we have created, while Arizona is busy with the measurements.

‘ Crown-rump length corresponds to 8 weeks gestation, which matches your LMP. We’re still sticking to the same EDD.’ she announces cheerfully.

I take my eyes off the screen for a while to look at Owen. He is staring at the screen in awe. I know his heart must be leaping with joy.

Our eyes meet and we exchange a joyful grin.

‘ Wanna hear the heartbeat?’ Arizona asks. ‘ Yes, please.’ Owen replies as I draw a deep breath and say a silent prayer to the powers above. Please let this baby be ok.

Arizona further adjusts the scan settings and soon the ‘lub dup’ sound of the baby’s heartbeat fills the entire room.

I release the breath that I don’t realize I’m holding. A wide smile forms on Owen’s face.

‘ Here’s the baby’s heartbeat. It’s strong. Everything seems fine.’ she says, smiling cheerfully.

‘ Hear that, Amelia? Our baby’s heartbeat is strong, and everything is fine.’ Owen repeats reassuringly to me as he bends down to kiss my cheek. Tears inadvertently spring to my eyes. Maybe I can actually have a healthy baby after all?

‘ Our baby is fine.’ I whisper, more to myself, daring myself to believe it.

‘ The 14-week ultrasound will confirm any abnormalities, but yes your baby seems fine.’ Arizona says in a reassuring tone. ‘ I’ll give you two some privacy now. I have booked a private room for you on the Obs floor, Amelia.’ she adds. ‘ They’ll transfer you up there as soon as the room is ready.’

‘ Ok, thanks Arizona.’ I say gratefully as she nods at us and leaves the room.

Once we’re left alone in the room, Owen and I exchange a smile as our eyes meet. We do not need to say anything as our eyes communicate it all. We can read each other perfectly through our body language and the expression in our eyes. His eyes are showing so much love and joy, it is contagious. I can’t help but feel overjoyed too. I think my eyes must be reflecting extreme relief. There is always this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that this baby might be anencephalic too, but both scans have been fine so far, and Owen has been so supportive and helping me to ease my anxieties.

Owen climbs on the bed beside me and holds me tight as I snuggle up to him, relishing in the warmth and comfort of his embrace.

I take his hand and place in on top of my still flat lower abdomen, where our little Bean is safely nestled inside. I then rest my hand on top of his. Nothing is going to get in the way of our happy little family.

_______________________________________________________________

Over the next few days, Owen would leave my room only to get some food for us or to get a new change of clothes from home. He has taken an emergency leave just to be by my side. He even makes it a point to cook some soup and porridge for me whenever he manages to go home. He makes sure that I finish all my food, claiming that I have been losing so much nutrients from all my throwing up the past few weeks, and it wasn’t good for me or Bean. My appetite is slowly returning, and I am not throwing up anymore thanks to the IV metochlopramide. However, Arizona has advised me not to take solid foods in the meantime until I am fully recovered.

Meredith, Maggie and the Shepherd kids come to visit me daily, bringing me get well soon cards and drinks. Meredith has brought me more saltine crackers, claiming that it was the only thing she could tolerate too, while pregnant with Ellis. Zola is over the moon with the prospect of having another cousin. She has never met her existing cousins before, so this is the first cousin she’s going to get to be close to. She has brought me a huge teddy bear, which she claims is a gift to both me and Bean. Bailey has presented me with a handmade get well soon card. Both gifts bring tears to my eyes.

Andrew DeLuca has also visited me several times, to update me about our patients and how the surgeries went, which I really appreciate.

April, Alex and several other attending colleagues have also visited me after their shifts, staying for a while to keep me company while Owen goes out to get some food. Webber and Bailey have also visited a couple of times. When they visited me during the time I had my tumor removed, it was the first time since I arrived in Seattle that I actually felt like I belonged. It was then that I realized that my home is here, in Seattle. Them visiting me and caring for me now just cements this fact. I am so grateful for the people I call my family.

Owen has offered to help me call my mom a few times, but I refuse, saying that if she wasn’t here for the wedding or the tumor ( I had called her while recovering from the surgery and she didn't come), she certainly doesn't deserve to be here for my morning sickness.

According to him, she needs to know that she has another grandchild on the way. I finally concede, agreeing with him that she deserves to know that, but I want to wait until my detailed 14-week scan before I announce it to her.

_______________________________________________________________

It has been 5 days since I was admitted. The vomiting has ceased and my appetite has returned. I have been bored out of my mind the past 5 days. Although I really appreciate all the company and support I’m receiving, I cannot get used to lying on the bed, watching sappy TV shows and reading boring journals or cheesy novels all day. I miss the adrenaline rush of reviewing patients in the ER and operating on patients in the OR. I am so ready to get back to work.

I open my eyes from my nap to find Owen curled up in bed beside me, one hand resting automatically on my belly as he snores softly. I look at him sleeping peacefully, wondering how did I get so lucky to find a man who really cares so much about me.

I shift slightly, causing him to open his eyes. He looks at me full of love.

‘Hey,’ he whispers, as he kisses me on the cheek. ‘ How are you feeling now? How is Bean treating you today?’

‘ I’m feeling much better.’ I reply, smiling at him.

‘ Good.’ he says earnestly. ‘ It breaks my heart to see you so sick like this.'

‘ I know. I don’t enjoy it very much either.’ I joke feebly.

Owen then places his hand on my lower abdomen, tracing the outline of my still flat belly, which is being covered by my hospital gown.

‘ Hey Bean, please be good to your mother. Try not to make her sick again ok? She’s ensuring that you grow healthy and stay safe inside, so do her a favor and don’t make her throw up again ok? She needs to take enough food and nutrition for the both of you.’ he says gently.

‘I hope this works. Maybe Bean only listens to you. I’ve been trying to tell Bean to stop making me throw up for ages but it doesn't work.’ I admit as I place my hand on top of his.

‘ It’ll work.’ Owen says as he releases his hand from my belly and kisses me on the lips affectionately.

We cuddle close together, just feeling the warmth of each other's embrace.

Arizona now enters the room, a wide smile on her face.

‘ Hey guys.’ she greets us cheerfully, holding my electronic chart in her hand. ‘How are you doing today Amelia? Everything ok?’

‘ No more vomiting, I can finish my food, no abdominal cramps or spotting.’ I answer before she could ask the routine questions. ‘ Now can I be discharged?’ I ask her, winking.

She chuckles at my enthusiasm.

‘ Good. From your vitals and charts, everything seems to be fine. So yes, you can be discharged today.’ she says.

‘ Yay!’ I pump my fists in the air in celebration as both Owen and Arizona laugh at me.

‘ Thanks, Arizona.’ I say as I hug her tightly. ‘ Thanks for taking good care of me.’

‘ It’s just my job.’ she replies, reciprocating the hug. ‘ I’m gonna go sign your discharge papers now. You need to rest at home first for the next few days before you return to work. If you feel the symptoms coming back, give me a call or a page immediately.’

‘Ok.’ I reply as I smile at her.

‘ Hear that Bean?’ I say, rubbing my tummy affectionately as soon as Arizona leaves the room. ‘ We’re going home!’

‘ I’m gonna go home to set the thermostat and prepare your favorite meal.’ Owen announces as he kisses me on the cheek.

‘ My second homecoming?’ I joke, winking at him. It reminds me of when I had my tumor removed and Owen finally convinced me to go home with him after I had been staying with my sisters for several months prior to that. He also prepared my favorite food and set the thermostat to a temperature I was comfortable with that time.

‘ Well- hopefully, your next homecoming will be with our baby.’ he says, winking back at me as I giggle.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, I’ll be able to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy, surrounded by my loving husband and caring family, and we’ll have a healthy baby. I now am full of hope.

Ok, this is it guys- I really hope you enjoyed it! Comments, reblogs, reviews and messages are very much appreciated. I would really love to know what you guys think!! I love hearing from you all!! <3 <3

I have a few more fluffy Omelia fics planned- which is what we need after the recent development on the show. Do stay tuned! ;)

#owen hunt #amelia shepherd #omelia #omeliafics #omelia fanfiction #omelia fanfics #ailing's fics #grey's anatomy

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Howard Schultz Biography and Profile

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Howard Schultz Biography and Profile

I (Howard Schultz) was born on 19 July 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, to Fred Schultz and Elaine Schultz. Like so many Americans, our ancestors were immigrants. My paternal great grandfather, Max, arrived in the United States from Eastern Europe in 1892 with $10 in his pocket. He spoke no English and made his living as a tailor. My maternal great grandfather, Morris, came to America in the early 1890s. He was a barrel maker.

I was three years old when my family moved us into a small apartment in one of Brooklyn’s public housing projects in Canarsie, which really was the last stop on the “L” train from New York City. I grew up in those projects, the oldest of three kids, and with a best friend who lived next door.

Neither of my parents finished high school, and after my father returned from World War II, he spent his life working low paid jobs as a laborer. He and I had a complicated relationship, and the best memory I have of my dad is sitting with him at Yankee Stadium, watching our hero Mickey Mantle play baseball.

The most indelible image I have of my dad is of him lying on our couch in a cast, distraught. I was about seven years old. It was winter, and he had a job delivering cloth diapers. He’d fallen on a patch of ice and broken his hip and ankle. He was fired from his job and had no health insurance, no workers compensation, and no savings. The image of my father on the couch, helpless, stuck with me.

Most people called my mother Bobbi. She was a fierce believer in the American Dream, and it was my mom who gave me the confidence to believe that I could one day build a better life for myself.

Our family rarely had enough money to pay the bills, and there was a lot of angst in our seventh-floor apartment. I escaped the family chaos by sitting in the stairwell between floors and imagining a better life. My other escape was sports. The playgrounds of the projects became a second home, and as a teenager I spent most of my free time playing basketball and football on its concrete courts.

In high school I played football, and I saw the sport as a potential path out of the projects. In 1971, I arrived at Northern Michigan University—a world away from Canarsie—with the hope of getting a football scholarship, but it never materialized. I stayed at NMU and paid my way through school with student loans and part-time jobs. I even sold my blood for cash when things got really tough.

In 1975, I became the first in my family to graduate college. Unfortunately, my parents could not afford to attend the graduation ceremony, but I knew my mother was proud.

My first job after college was selling office equipment door-to-door. Each day I made up to 50 cold calls. I liked talking to people and was pretty good at sales. I always gave half of my paycheck to my parents. My first job led to others until I worked for a European company that made housewares. One of our customers was a small coffee company in Seattle, Washington, named Starbucks. In 1982, I went to visit the founders. Within a year, I was heading up marketing for Starbucks and had moved to Seattle with my wife, Sheri.

Howard Schultz – CEO Starbucks

Sheri and I had married in 1982. She was and remains the love of my life. We met on a beach, and I quickly fell in love with her intelligence, her wit, her beauty, and her generous spirit. She grew up in a small town in Ohio, and her father had built a successful industrial laundry business. Sheri planned to go to law school, but instead, she followed her passion and studied interior design. In the summer of 1982 we packed all our belongings in the car, and with our dog Jonas we headed west, to Seattle.

In 1983, I was on a business trip to Italy when I walked into an Italian café and tasted my very first espresso. I was captivated by the beverage, the barista who prepared it and the romance of the café atmosphere. At the time Starbucks stores only sold whole bean coffee and had no seating. I had a vision of creating specialty coffee stores that integrated the romance of espresso and provided a place for community. The founders of Starbucks, however, weren’t interested in my idea.

I left Starbucks to open my specialty coffee stores. But I had no money. For a year, Sheri and I lived off of her salary while I tried to raise funds. I heard “no” more than 200 times, but eventually, enough people believed in my vision that they invested in me, and in the business. It was an incredibly challenging and exciting time! By 1987 we had 3 espresso bars named Il Giornale.

I never set out to build a global business. I set out to build the kind of company that my father never had a chance to work for. One that treats all people with dignity.

The image of my father immobile on the couch, after his accident, stayed with me. So did the fear of not having healthcare. Not long after he passed away, in 1988, Starbucks became one of the first companies in America to give health insurance to all its employees—including part-time workers, a benefit that was unheard of at the time, especially in retail.

As a kid, I also knew what it felt like not to have money. My parents never owned anything, or had any savings. In 1991, Starbucks became the only company we knew about to give stock options to all employees. We called it Bean Stock. Since its inception in 1991—and after Starbucks went public in 1992—Bean Stock has generated more than $1.5 billion in pre-tax gains for the company’s baristas and managers, helping some put down payments on homes, finance cars, pay off loans, even pay for weddings.

We did those two things in the late eighties and early nineties, and never stopped trying to be a different kind of company.

One of my favorite benefits has been the Starbucks College Achievement Plan. In 2014, Starbucks and Arizona State University created the first-of-its kind program to give employees a tuition-free college education. By spring of 2019, more than 3,000 Starbucks partners (employees) will have graduated. Twenty percent of those who have participated in the program are like me, the first in their families to go to college.

My Family As Starbucks grew, Sheri and I grew our family. Our son, Jordan, was born in 1986, and our daughter, Addison, in 1989. Today, Jordan is a sports journalist and Addison is a social worker. I am most proud that they have grown into kind, generous, hard working adults. Each married someone who shares their values—and, luckily, a love of dogs. Our close-knit family continues to grow.

Sheri is not only a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother, but for years she has been the heart and force behind the Schultz Family Foundation, which focuses on helping young people, veterans, military families, and others to access opportunities like education and employment. The two of us have lived the American Dream, and we see it as our responsibility to help others do the same for themselves and their families.

Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks and His Family

Looking Back We transformed the business to sustainable growth and profit, while maintaining our core values. Growing a business takes teamwork, and there were always tough decisions and difficult periods. In 2000, I stepped down as CEO and became chairman, but I returned in 2008, when the company was having troubles. In 2018, Starbucks ranked fifth on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies 2018 & 2019.

In 2018, I officially left Starbucks and became chairman emeritus, but the three million people who have worked for Starbucks over the decades are never far from my mind. Together, we built a public company that achieved the fragile balance between profit and responsibility that my parents would be proud of.

Howard Schultz Biography and Profile (Howard Schultz)

#Biography and Profile #Howard Schultz #Howard Schultz Biography and Profile #US

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