#and the whole movie I felt that that was the reason why Isabella was so harsh to Mirabel

[sturnslow]

Broken hearts

Part one

Summary: y/n and the triplets grew up together but Matt and her never got along they hated each other but maybe that changes ??

Warnings in this chapter: swearing

I have known the triplets my whole life, I’ve grown up with them. My mom and their mom have been best friends since they were kids and so have me and the triplets, well not Matt. I hated Matt everything about him, the way he would leave the room when ever I would talk or come over, the way he would never be serious even when I needed him to too, the way he smiled, the way he would ruin all my relationships, but mostly I hated the way his girlfriend Isabella was just as bad as him.

I had just got home from work and walked into my house to see my bestfriend andreea, andreea and i have known eachother for 4 years but she was the best thing in my life she was my sister, if I ever needed something it was her who I would go too especially since I move away from home and didn’t have my mom to talk to anymore.

“What you smiling at” I asked her as she stared at me with a grin on her face

“don’t freak out but guess who just got a modelling job for LV” she jumped up

“NO WAY WHAT” I gasped

“yeah and guess who else is gonna be there” she said as I thought for a second, Felix I thought to myself. No she would be freaking out but then who else would It be

“Felix?” I asked her she nodded her then screamed

“OH MY GOD UR GONNA BE DOING MODELLING WITH FELIX YONGBOOK LEE” I shouted hugging her, she’s been obsessed with him for years and I was so happy for her.

A few hours had gone by andreea has already left to go model and I was omw to the triplets house to watch a movie with Chris and Nick maybe Matt depending on if his girlfriend was over she never wanted him in the same room as me, why would she care me and Matt hated eachother I’d never fall for that idiot.

I knocked on the door no answer, I went to knock again and the door opened. It was Isabella she rolled her eyes

“Ugh it’s you” she said fake gagging after, what an ass.

She walked inside grabbing matts arm trying to pull him out of the room, “come on Matt let’s go somewhere that smells nicer” she said giggling to herself. God I hate her too, Matt looked at me and realised I was stood there, he then turns to Isabella and pecked her on the lips “okay baby” he smiled at her then batting an eye at me, ew. They both went upstairs Matt chasing her up making her laugh.

“hey y/n” nick said pulling me into a hug I hugged him back stepping inside taking my shoes off.

“Y/NNNN” Chris shouted pushing me onto the couch “nice to see you too Chris” I laughed.

The room was set nicely I sat between Chris and Nick on the couch as we started to watch Alvin and the chickmunks.

To be honest I couldn’t focus on the movie when I could hear the couple upstairs laughing, could they shut the fuck up.

I lay my head on nicks shoulder we was about an hour in and the door upstairs slammed and we could hear Matt and Isabella shouting

“GET THE FUCK OUT BRO” Matt screamed

“I NEVER DID THAT” she snapped back, they both were now downstairs, they were arguing there always fucking arguing there relationship was toxic, and that’s another reason i hate Matt he can’t keep a stable relationship but he can control mine???

“Isabella you cheated now get out and don’t message me, call me or try to see me again we’re done and this time I’m being serious” Matt spoke angrily, me Chris and Nick had our jaws hung open. She cheated? What? With who? What happened? I had so many questions.

“Fine whatever fuck you matt.” She knocked over a glass of water before storming out slamming the door behind her.

I couldn’t tell if he was hurt or just angry, “you okay” I spoke up breaking the silence.

“I don’t need your pitty” Matt rolled his eyes.

“She’s just looking out for you Matt” Chris then said “and what even happened?” Chris added

“She was sending nudes to some guy she has been for months” he announced looking at the ground, for a moment I felt bad he seemed.. hurt but then again matts an ass but no one deserves to be cheated on

“Sorry bro” Chris responded

“Yeah you can do better” nick added on

“I told him that ages ago” I stated, Chris and Nick laughed

“Shut up ray don’t give dating advice if you don’t even know how to date or even dates anyone” he snapped

“Maybe because you ruin everything I have with any guy by making up lies or blocking them on my account or making them run away” I spat back

“Cause there ass holes” he growled

Why did Matt care, he doesn’t care about me so why stop me from dating ass hole. let’s face it, it’s Matt hes probably never heard of any of the guys I’ve ever had a date with and made up lies to stop me from being happy.

I snapped out of my thought but mad had already left the room and Chris and Nick were back to watching the movie, shortly after my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep.

-

I woke up to music playing, mmm i mumbled opening my eyes looking around, I was asleep on the triplets couch and Matt was in the kitchen getting water his eyes glued on his phone.

“What time is it” I asked. No response he didn’t even look at me and walked upstairs with the glass of water in his hands still staring down at his phone.

I checked my phone I had like 100 missed calls of Andreea, shit I never told her I stayed I didn’t even mean too I fell asleep, i called her back.

-

“Andreea im so sorry i fell asleep” i said as soon as she picked up

“It’s okay but tell me next time I was worried”

“How did the brand deal go”

“Amazing I’ll tell u all about it when ur home come home now pleasee”

“Alright I’ll be home in 15”

We exchanged goodbyes before ending the phone, Chris and Nick were still asleep so I left them a message that I was leaving so they would see it when they wake up. I put my shoes and coat on and headed outside and got into my car,shit I mumbled I was out of gas and I lived to far to walk it. Just go ask him I kept telling myself as I walked back into the triplets house, I knew the answer was probably gonna be no Matt would never give me a ride home he’s a dick.

I knocked on his bedroom door I waited about 10 seconds before he opened it his eyes were puffy and his nose was red, had he been crying?

“You good” I asked “what the fuck do you want Y/N” he said leaning against the door frame “I’m out of gas and I need to get home” I explained.

“No.” That’s all he said staring at me with a blank stare

“Ur such an ass” i responded

“What because I’m not taking you home get over yourself” he spat back

“Whatever matt” I replied “Isabella was a bitch but she don’t deserve you she deserves better and you don’t deserve her you don’t deserve anyone’s love because you can’t show any care to anyone not even someone you have knows you whole life” I spat out walking away.

I walked into the garden of the triplets house about to order an Uber “get fucking in then” someone said I turn around, it was Matt, I didn’t complain I needed to get home I just rolled my eyes and got in the passenger seat.

~~

This is part one done I’ll try update the next one tomorrow hope y’all like it so far also lmk if u wanna be in my tag list

#sturniolo #sturniolo edit #sturniolo imagine #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo smut #sturniolo x reader #nicolas sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #matt sturniolo #smut #sturniolo triplets

[loracarol]

Went and saw Encanto today in the theater - before anyone gets on my ass for seeing it in the theater, I’m vaccinated, I wore my mask, I was the only person in my row, and for other reasons that I’ll put in the tags so as to not spoil the mood, even though there will be some Encanto spoilers ahead. 

Just some thoughts

My sincere headcanon is that Antonio sent the toucan after Maribel to be her friend like how she gave him the stuffed jaguar. Unfortunately, the living toucan still had a mind of it’s own. 

My ridiculous headcanon is that Mirabel has the magical power of Conjuring Musical Numbers, but the Casita freaked out because it couldn’t figure out how to show that on a door, and it panicked. It’s spend every day since then trying to make it up to Mirabel by being her bff. 

Oh also, Isabella's dress is at least partially made out of flowers, and that's why it never rides up or anything of that nature, even when she's doing her Cool Vine Tricks.

Just in general, I don’t think that the Casita, or even the Miracle honestly, is really this omnipotent/omniscient force that knows what it’s doing all the time? Like, it’s doing it’s best, but it’s in it’s way just as “human” as the other Madrigals. 

Luisa hits all the tropes I like for a very specific type of m/f pair oops 

I loved Bruno, but I definitely felt like he was being a bit silly on his sister’s wedding day. I mean, yes, you can argue that she should be able to control her powers, but (1) his whole deal is seeing the future and (2) I want you to not think about an elephant right now. Don’t do it. Don’t think about elephants, whatever you do. Now is a bad time to think about elephants. Cool, did you successfully Not Think About Elephants? Now pretend that it’s your future-seeing brother and he’s told you it’s going to rain. How well do you think you’re going to avoid thinking about rain? Like, Bruno, ILU, but that wasn’t your best plan. |D   

I think that the Miracles going away was probably really good for the town too; they got to learn how to deal with their own problems without going to the Madrigals for everything. Seriously, they can go get their own donkeys. 

This is just my opinion, but I think if I was in Mirabel’s position, I could forgive Abuela? I know that not everyone could, and that’s fine, but IDK, I felt like her backstory explained but didn’t justify her actions, and as long as she was willing to put the work into changing, which we can kind of guess that she did considering the magic came back.... IDK that’s just my opinion. 

Okay that moment though, when she collapses on the ground with her babies. Ugh. That hurt a lot. 

I really liked the songs. 

Mirabel’s freckles are super cute.

I actually really ended up liking the whole family? Like, they’re flawed AF, but I still came out of the movie liking them. 

IDK, I think I need to acquire this movie as soon as I can.  

#encanto #encanto spoilers #anyway I didn't feel safe being at home because my brother w/ anger issues and guns was anger issuing all over the place #and yeah I just didn't feel like being home was the best option today #like the Madrigals #our family is going through some stuff right now #go us

[iniquitycynthian]

I just watched Encanto for the 7 th time today in the last two days and I am absolutely obsessed with it. (Contains spoilers)

First things first is that I *Hate* Abuela. Like I understand that shes been through a lot: she saw her husband die, she lost her home and she was a single mother to three kids, and the whole village basically depended on her. Out of nowhere she was given a miracle which was a second chance for her so she was absolutely paranoid about losing it, which was the reason why she was emotionally abusive to the rest of the family. She forced them to BECOME their gifts to keep the miracle going. But my statement still stands: Just because you have gone through something does not mean you can put others through something bad. I still hate Abuela and I will not change my mind.

As much as Abuela is the main abuser, I think the parents also play a part in what the children go through: Julietta's gift is to heal people with a meal so therefore this makes her the "fixer" of the family which basically means that whenever there is an issue in the family, she believes that it's *her* responsibility to take care of it and solve it and she feels as if she has "failed" if she can't solve something. Also healing is a very laborious task, we can see this kind of mentality in Julietta's kids; they both have very powerful and useful gifts which they have to use to help the village to the point where they overdo it and if they don't, they feel like they have failed. This is very well represented in the song "Surface Pressure" were Luisa basically outright says ' I am pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service' also we see this with Isabella, she had been forced to be the perfect child and make perfect flowers and help the village, even as much as marrying someone for the family. Which we can see in the song " Wha else can I do" later after the song ends she is genuinely happy but we can quickly see that happiness fade away when Abuela comes in and says "Isabella is out of control" . And if we talk about Mirabel, she was just straight up boycotted from her family for not having a gift. The only person shown to care about her were her parents but even then we can see that she felt like she had to do things she couldn't just sondhe could feel part of her family and be seen. This is how I feel that Julietta has till some extent unknowingly passed down her trauma to her kids.

Now if we talk about Pepa, she has been emotionally gaslit throughout the entire movie. As supportive as Felix is as a husband, nobody really validates her feelings. She is basically told to not feel her feelings and never really asked why she was feeling what she was. Whenever she was n a bad mood, she was told by Abuela that she had a cloud and she had to think about clear skies and have the cloud go away. This caused her to extra vigilant of her feeling and emotions to the point that she was paranoid about having feelings. Now, Dolores has a sensory gift: hearing. She can basically hear anything and everything that is going on in the entire Encanto. Having this gift means she is extremely sensitive to noises and has to be very vigilant because she has to know everything that is going on also because everybody expects her to know what's going on. This could be a very big headache-especially for her since loud noises. Her room is probably her sanctuary for when the world gets too loud. Camilo's gift is shapeshifting Camilo is a teen who doesn't know who they are yet, still growing in life and trying different personas. He is the "Entertainer" of the family. He makes people laugh and smile. That mentality could always come from seeing his mom distressed and wanting to make her smile and make her happy so that she can make genuine clear skies instead of faking it or pushing her feelings away. Seeing his mother go through something like that could always cause him to become someone who wants others to be happy and make them happy. And he feels obligated to do so. If we talk about Antonio, he had the weight of the world on his shoulders since he was born! After Mirabel didn't get her gift, all the hopes were riding on Antonio. He as a five year old had to worry about wether the family miracle would die with him... The entire family, the miracle, the family's reputation and the entire village's expectations; he had to shoulder them all. The stress and anxiety of not being "good enough" or "what if I fail" made him second guess himself. The only person who knew about this and actually cared was Mirabel.

Now Bruno, he is the Scapegoat of the family. Anything that went wrong was blamed on him. He was misunderstood and shunned. He was the only one who saw the truth and nobody allowed him to explain himself and but also blamed him for something he couldn't control. He could only see the future and interpret it, he could not say something and make it happen. He was just a very socially awkward person- the mistimed joke about rain about Pepa's nervousness and joy or the unfinished explanation about Dolores's lovelife- just proves that.

All in all, the characters are all amazing (except Abuela) but as a family....just nope.

They do change at the end of movie(as shown) but they still have a long way to go.

The music and song are lit though. (My favourites are surface pressure and we don't talk about Bruno)

Fun fact: Madrigal is actually a sort of music style where a number of different voices sing over each other like the ending of "we don't talk about Bruno"

#encanto #psychology #tio bruno #mirabel madrigal #encanto camilo #camilo madrigal #isabella madrigal #luisa madrigal #julietta madrigal #julietta encanto #abuela alma encanto #abuela madrigal #encanto dolores #antonio madrigal #felix madrigal #tía pepa #pepa madrigal #disney

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi Sarah! My friend and I are starting a bookclub (as much as you can with two people who aren't pressed for deadlines) and I was wondering if you have any recommendations? (That is if you have time to rec anything!) We're starting off with Deathless and have Fitzgerald next in line somewhere but I def want to try to expand the genres we read and tbh from years of following you, I trust your judgement

I don’t...like giving recommendations? At least not directly, it seems like too much opportunity for getting it wrong. Everybody has their own tastes, after all, and even the best of friends don’t necessarily vibe with what you vibe with. (I’ve experienced this with multiple friends, so I know what I’m talking about.) Truly, one of the reasons that my whole “I’m going to get back into reading for pleasure!” push has been so successful is that I only bother with books that interest me, and stop reading when they fail to catch my attention.

But I’ve now read at least 60 books in 2020, which is approximately 60 more than I’ve read in the years prior, so I’m happy to share that. Below is my list of recent reads, beginning to end, along with a very short review---I keep this list in the notes app on my phone, so they have to be. Where I’ve talked about a book in a post, I’ve tried to link to it. 

Peruse, and if something catches your interest I hope you enjoy!

2020 Reading List

Crazy Rich Asians series, Kevin Kwan (here)

Blackwater, Michael McDowell (here; pulpy horror and southern gothic in one novel; come for the monster but stay for the family drama.)

Fire and Hemlock, Diane Wynne Jones (here; weird and thoughtful, in ways I’m still thinking about)

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (here; loved it! I can see why people glommed onto it)

Swamplandia!, Karen Russell (unfinished, I could not get past the first paragraph; just....no.)

Rules of Scoundrels series, Sarah MacLean (an enjoyable romp through classic romancelandia, though if you read through 4 back to back you realize that MacLean really only writes 1 type of relationship and 1 type of sexual encounter, though I do appreciate insisting that the hero go down first.)

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden (here)

Dread Nation, Justine Ireland (great, put it with Stealing Thunder in terms of fun YA fantasy that makes everything less white and Eurocentric)

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson (VERY good. haunting good.)

Tell My Horse, Zora Neale Hurston (I read an interesting critique of Hurston that said she stripped a lot of the radicalism out of black stories - these might be an example, or counterexample. I haven't decided yet.)

The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society, T. Kingfisher (fun!)

St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell (some of these short stories are wonderful; however, Swamplandia's inspiration is still unreadable, which is wild.)

17776, Jon Bois (made me cry. deeply human. A triumph of internet storytelling)

The Girl with All the Gifts, M. R. Carey (deeply enjoyable. the ending is a bittersweet kick in the teeth, and I really enjoyed the adults' relationships)

The Door in the Hedge and Other Stories, Robin McKinley (enjoyable, but never really resolved into anything.)

The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley (fun, but feels very early fantasy - or maybe I've just read too many of the subsequent knock-offs.)

Mrs. Caliban, Rachel Ingalls (weird little pulp novel.)

All Systems Red, Martha Wells (enjoyable, but I don't get the hype. won't be looking into the series unless opportunity arises.)

A People's History of Chicago, Kevin Coval (made me cry. bought a copy. am still thinking about it.)

The Sol Majestic, Ferrett Steinmetz (charming, a sf novel mostly about fine dining)

House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune (immensely enjoyable read, for all it feels like fic with the serial numbers filed off)

The Au Pair, Emma Rous (not bad, but felt like it wanted to be more than it is)

The Night Tiger, Yangsze Choo (preferred this to Ghost Bride; I enjoy a well-crafted mystery novel and this delivered)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin (unfinished, I cannot fucking get into Le Guin and should really stop trying)

The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo (enjoyable, but not nearly as fun as Ghost Bride - the romance felt very disjointed, and could have used another round of editing)

Temptation's Darling, Johanna Lindsey (pure, unadulterated id in a romance novel, complete with a girl dressing as a boy to avoid detection)

Social Creature, Tara Isabella Burton (a strange, dark psychological portrait; really made a mark even though I can't quite put my finger on why)

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (slow at first, but picks up halfway through and builds nicely; a whiff of Gone Girl with the staggered perspectives building together)

Stealing Thunder, Alina Boyden (fun Tortall vibes, but set in Mughal India)

The Traitor Baru Cormorant; The Monster Baru Commorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson (LOVE this, so much misery, terrible, ecstatic; more here)

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (epistolary love poetry, vicious and lovely; more here)

The Elementals, Michael McDowell

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (didn't like this one as much as I thought I would; narrator's contemporary voice was so jarring against the stylized world and action sequences read like the novelization for a video game; more here)

Finna, Nino Cipri (a fun little romp through interdimensional Ikea, if on the lighter side)

Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey (engrossing, even if I could see every plot twist coming from a mile away)

Desdemona and the Deep, C. S. E. Cooney (enjoyed the weirdness & the fae bits, but very light fare)

A Blink of the Screen, Terry Pratchett (admittedly just read this for the Discworld bits)

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (not as good about politics and colonialism as Baru, but still a powerful book about The Empire, and EXTREMELY cool worldbuilding that manages to be wholly alien and yet never heavily expositional)

Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller (see my post)

Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan (didn't finish, got to to first explicit sex scene and couldn't get any further)

Prosper's Demon, KJ Parker (didn't work for me...felt like a short story that wanted to be fleshed out into a novel)

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik (extremely fun, even for a reader who doesn't much like Napoleonic stories)

Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone (fun romp - hard to believe that this is the same author as Time War though you can see glimmers of it in the imagery here)

A Scot in the Dark, Sarah MacLean (palette cleanser, she does write a good romance novel even it's basically the same romance novel over and over)

The Resurrectionist, E. B. Hudspeth (borrowed it on a whim one night, kept feeling like there was something I was supposed to /get/ about it, but never did - though I liked the Mutter Museum parallels)

Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang (he's a better ideas guy than a writer, though Hell Is The Absence of God made my skin prickle all over)

Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (fun, very much a throwback to my YA days of fairytale retellings, though obviously less European)

Four Roads Cross, Max Gladstone (it turns out I was a LOT more fond of Tara than I initially realized - plus this book had a good Pratchett-esque pacing and reliance on characterization)

Get in Trouble, Kelly Link (reading this after the Chiang was instructive - Link is such a better storyteller, better at prioritizing the human over the concept)

Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips

Soulless; Changeless; Blameless, all by Gail Carriger (this series is basically a romance novel with some fantasy plot thrown in for fun; extremely charming and funny)

Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James (got about 1/3 of the way through and had to wave the white flag; will try again because I like the plot and the worldbuilding; the tone is just so hard to get through)

Pew, Catherine Lacey (a strange book, I'm still thinking about it; a good Southern book, though)

Nuremberg Diary, GM Gilbert (it took me two months to finish, and was worth it)

River of Teeth, Sarah Gailey (I wanted to like this one a lot more than I actually did; would have made a terrific movie but ultimately was not a great novel. Preferred Magic for Liars.)

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (extremely fun, though more trippy than Gods and the plot didn't work as well for me - though it was very original)

The New Voices of Fantasy, Peter S. Beagle (collected anthology, with some favorites I've read before Ursula Vernon's "Jackalope Wives", "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" "The Husband Stitch"; others that were great new finds "Selkie Stories are for Losers" from Sofia Satamar and "A Kiss With Teeth" from Max Gladstone and "The Philosophers" from Adam Ehrlich Sachs)

#from the bookshelf #Anonymous

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

My Feelings About Bradford Buzzard And His Grandmother

First, If No One Has Seen The Last Episode of The Final Season of Ducktales Reboot with the Last Adventure, do not read this unless you seen that episode first.

okay here goes...

My feelings on Bradford's Grandmother, I don't like her.

she is the reason Bradford became the way he is in the first place.

plus whenever Bradford tried to reason with Scrooge, he got ignored, so of

course he had to use the papyrus to make Scrooge, Della and Donald forget he was ever there. even if he did transform into a monster,

it wouldn't be because he's evil. it would be from the negative emotions and the misinterpretation people have of him, so he isn't truly a villain, if anything he is a victim and that jerk of a Finch is the root of it all.

Even if she is Scrooge's hero, but even he would need to accept that she was a insensitive woman who caused a child trauma that led him to grow-up cold and truly alone.

Yes Bradford made mistakes, but he was blinded.

He tried to keep chaos from going out of control, even if it meant doing something that would hurt a family, which he shouldn't of did and that had crossed a line.

I don't believe that Bradford was truly evil, he was just a broken soul who wanted to stop dangerous adventures and possibly save those like him from suffering the same trauma he suffered since his childhood.

No one has to agree with me, but I just feel that most villains have good in them.

And most of their trauma and suffering are caused by the good guys or the main hero/heroine.

Plus No Hero or Heroine should be above the consequences of damaging someone else's life,

Either they be another hero or villain or a neutral party.

Scrooge wasn't truly at fault for what happen to Della, but if you think about it, it was 100% Della's.

She could of not stole the ship, but she did. and it because she chose to listen to the one who told her of the surprise, she could of chose to ignore it and act surprise later, and not cause her family to end up they it did.

Scrooge didn't mean for to become lost in space, but he isn't excused for some truly heartless things he has done in the past because of his greed before he found the true greatest treasure, which is his family.

He hurt Magica, and I believe the reason why they had that fight so long ago in the series, is because she wanted to get him back for what happen to her brother.

Even if Louie made a good point, that his villains/enemies, made him a better person.

That still doesn't excuse him for purposely not helping someone who asked for help, even saying they give him anything if he help them.

The pain that Scrooge felt when he lost Della, was perhaps the same feeling that Magica felt when she lost her brother and never saw him again.

I believe that the Phantom Blot, might really be Mr Vanderquack, Bentina Beakley's son-in-law,

Who is now a widow, who lost his wife and Bentina's biological granddaughter, before Webby came along.

But the biological granddaughter could of survived, while Edna Beakley-Vanderquack did not.

the reason why Blot wants to destroy all magic and Magica,

might have to do with the fact that he lost his wife Edna and his child.

If the incident happen before Webby was born, then I think Pepper might really be Bentina's Granddaughter.

But all that is just a theory.  if the story picks up in a Darkwing Duck Reboot and reveals that the theory about Phantom Blot being Mr Vanderquack, the widow of Edna, and Pepper being his long-lost daughter is true....then I guess I would be surprised.

But yeah back to the whole Isabella Finch, she is truly not as great as everyone makes her.

She caused Bradford to become who he is, and she couldn't see the damage it would cause later in his life.

Plus I believe that there was a reason why we saw a clone of Bradford, the real Bradford might of known what would happen if he faced Scrooge, so he used that ray thing that makes someone smart or dumb,

Shot it at his clone that looked 100% like him, then sent the clone to deal with Scrooge, while the Real Bradford himself sneaked away unseen by both sides.

If that theory is true, then maybe it will show it in the reboot of Darkwing Duck.  

I hope some of you understand my view on Bradford, at first when it was revealed he was a part of FOWL, I did thought he was a villain. but after the episode that first showed that papyrus, and even showing a bit more of his past...but perhaps not all of it.

I don't view Bradford as someone who is evil, just someone who is deeply hurt and tried to do good but ended up hurting others in his quest to achieve it.

Yes he did wrong in his life, and he was blinded by his ambition that cost him in the end.

And we should try to remember, he wouldn't be that way if it wasn't for that insensitive Isabella Finch.

Once more, no one has to agree with my feelings about it. but I still find that Finch is my least favorite character in the Ducktales 2017 Continuum.

one of the tags for this is “True Monster” and to me,

Isabella Finch was the true monster.

Bradford was her victim, and she couldn’t see that her adventures that she dragged him on, was making him unhappy and would place stress, trauma and fear in his life, and making him go down a dark path just to keep the whole world safe.

Bradford wasn’t even truly evil, just broken and emotionally hurt.

which Della, Beakley, Scrooge and the rest of the family and friends couldn’t open their hearts and eyes enough to see.

it is possible the only one who could see it, was Magica.

because the way she said that he wasn’t a villain.

I can’t agree with the actions of those who are suppose to be “Good”

but end up hurting those who are just hurt themselves.

Discord didn’t even get a proper punishment,

he, Celestia and Luna just made the three scapegoats of his actions, get turned to stone, and Star Butterfly despite the fact that her and her family have misused magic for who knows how long of generations,

she chooses to move the blame from her Mother,

to magic itself, who let me remind you everyone, is not truly at fault, but those like Star and her family who wield it.

and if you misuse that power, it is your fault, not the source of the realm your magic comes from.

at least Lena was able to do better than what Star did, I still love SVTFOE

(and still hope to get a complete dvd collection of SVTFOE someday.) 

and the last episode was still good, but I can’t agree with placing blame on magic, when it was Moon who misused it and caused so many lives to be in danger, and even ended up with Quirky dying.

Steven Quartz Universe, he went through trauma in his life that caused him to end up the way he turned out in Steven Universe Future.

I for one, love both the first series, the movie and Steven Universe Future.

the Steven Universe Future brought out some truth of Steven, that some can relate to and understand but maybe not fully.

because of what was revealed in Steven Universe Future,

about Greg’s past, I see him as both a Good and yet Bad person.

same with how Rose was during her life, as both when she was Pink Diamond,

and then when she reformed as “Rose Quartz”, which I still think that would make her a Trans-Gem, like gems who are normally be made one way, might feel like they are either a Rose Quartz, a Ruby or even a Zircon.

but the episode where we learn a bit more of Greg’s past, like how he felt about his parents and how he viewed their rules and how it seem like a prison to him.

but he might of only seen what he wanted to see, he might not of got the full picture growing up, and I had theorized that one of his parents could of been sensitive to loud music/sound, it is possible that Greg couldn’t understand.

Steven had a right to be mad at Greg, and even disappointed in him too.

Greg had cheered him up, and even made him happy finding out about his father’s old home.

but Greg made his son go back down to his lows again.

it was good that it was revealed that Steven is getting the help he needs.

when he corrupted himself, it was good that no one tried to hurt him

but hugged him when he needed that emotional support.

the kind that shows that those who are his family and friends, are there for him and are sorry they couldn’t see how much pain he was going through.

at times when a character who is normally a villain, and shows no sign of goodness in them (unlike Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and  Tirek showed when they bonded in one episode....who had shown a side of good that was in them.)

they can’t be saved...

I wont force others to agree on my view on all this, just try to respect that is how I see it.

not all villains are evil, some end up being Anti-Villains,

just as how some heroes who aren’t always good, end up as Anti-Heroes.

 even if Isabella Finch was long gone in the world of Ducktales 2017,

but to me she was the root of Bradford’s suffering and trauma.

and that makes her the woman behind the man, and the true villain.    

 now I am gonna just go and sign off and have me time.

I might sign back on later or tomorrow, it depends.

and I really hope some of you will understand how I view Bradford,

yes at first I thought of him as a villain after it turned out he was FOWL.

but then after seeing the other sides of him, I can’t help but understand he was misunderstood and he only wanted to protect the world from danger.

(he just ended up going about it the wrong way, and went too far in the wrong ways to achieve that peace.)

and his grandmother Isabella, Ludwig, Scrooge, everyone, including the rest of FOWL, couldn’t see that.

I hope that at least such a thing gets resolved in a darkwing duck reboot.

and the Bradford we saw in the very end, turned out to be one of his clones.

because I believe that Bradford deserved better, he was not born that way, he was made that way because of his so called grandmother, who couldn’t see that she was making him unhappy and causing him trauma.

well thanks for listening, and once again no one has to agree about my feeling about Bradford or Isabella Finch,

or the whole theory about Phantom Blot being Bentina’s son-in-law,

who she thought died along with her daughter and granddaughter....

well the granddaughter she had before taking Webby in.

see ya later and keep safe everybody.                                      

#ducktales 2017 #bradford buzzard #isabella finch #theories #true monster

[galaxina-the-pyro]

How would you improve the episode AYA?

...wait...you’re asking me?

I...I didn’t expect this...

The thing is is that I don’t think I could possibly come up with ideas for this better than, say, @authenticcadence18 or @springsfordays because their ideas are just too good (seriously, check them out, they have the literal best ideas for a rewrite of AYA, holy crap).

But if I were to rewrite it...hm...let’s make a checklist for stuff about AYA that just miffed me:

1. Plot B is fine. Plot B was probably the best part of AYA - Doof’s dilemma made sense for his character (and is hilarious), tied in with the name of the episode, and involved fun little shenanigans. My only gripe is that they didn’t go MONDO insane with it at the end, and said ending felt really abrupt.

(I also wish that, somehow, even Doof was involved with that “everyone knew” bit, but we’re gonna be scrapping that joke for this story - that joke is FUNNY, but it’s also degrading to Phineas, and is sorta a nice way of saying “yeah, you’re stupid for not noticing her feelings even though she’s not entitled to them - you’re the problem. It’s not like the episode is trying to hint at you two having switched roles, no, you’re the only one who was being oblivious and stupid.”)

2. We cut out Plot C entirely. Everyone trying to get Phineas and Isabella together was just...ugh. Why? And they had the audacity to compare what they were doing to all the AMAZING things they did when they were younger, like, guys - you set up some tables, decorations, and cooked them what I can assume to be a run-of-the-mill restaurant dinner - that has NOTHING on a rollercoaster through downtown. And their applause at that sweet but ultimately lackluster confession? Hurt. So much. Now that I think about it, it felt condescending, it unintentionally emphasized HOW uninspired this confession (as much as I love it) was, and it felt like they were taking credit for something they didn’t do.

And if we’re NOT gonna cut out Plot C...have Plot C be about FERB? Leaving for COLLEGE? Out of COUNTRY? Cuz I have a hard time believing that Phineas and Ferb are just OKAY with separating at such a long distance - heck, in “Candace Gets Busted”, FERB is the one who assumes that one day he and his brother are gonna own their own place together. It should at least be BROUGHT UP, don’t you think? (I’m conflicted on whether or not I’d keep Montessa in the ring or at least SHOW US how Ferbnessa happened, because I think what’s weirding people out is that they’re assuming that Vanessa literally waited for Ferb to turn 18 to start dating him - when I think it’s more likely that they kinda JUST started dating during the beginning of Summer? But I think stuff like that really SHOULD be explained because even though I don’t think it’s that weird, I understand why OTHER PEOPLE wouldn’t like the idea)

3. I kinda feel like this should have had more songs? I dunno why, I feel like this all could have been improved if we got a fullblown musical out of this (and...this may be me wanting a “What Might Have Been” reprise, lol) - like, make fun of HSM or something, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t have.

4. I kinda wanted to see more of the “where are they now”. Like, Jeremy, Stacey, Little Suzie Johnson, even that one couple with the lady who’s always like “what did you think, an anniversary dinner was just going to fall from the sky?��� - I like stuff like that, it’s so much fun to think about. Also...I legit have so much anxiety over Perry never interacting with him owners ONCE in that episode, and even more anxiety over Pinky never making an appearance at all. Heck, if there was a good time to show us what the HECK happened to Django, now would be a great time.

5. I would have given the episode a unique intro, ala “Night of the Living Pharmacists” and “Last Day of Summer” - like, AYA is as much of a status quo shifter as those two episodes, why was it given the “Phineas and Ferb Get Busted” treatment?

6. Here’s a brilliant thought - NO ONE tells Phineas about Isabella’s crush? How about instead Phineas goes and wants to check in on her, because he really misses her and doesn’t understand why they don’t talk anymore (and he’s tried before, and they’ve nearly had conversations, but Isabella’s just too busy) - did he do something wrong? Is Isabella just too busy now? He needs to know. That should have been his priority, none of this “FrIeNd ZoNe” nonsense.

7. I would have made this into a near movie-length special. With all the topics that this episode brought up, particularly the whole “manipulating the situation” thing, I feel like a longer episode would have given them more time to talk about how stuff like that is...not okay.

[READ THE ACTUAL REWRITE OF THE EPISODE (well, my take at least) UNDER THE CUT!]

Okay, with those out of the way, how I would have written Phinabella the Movie...I mean...Act Your Age (I warn you, it’s not gonna be as good as @authenticcadence18′s or @springsfordays‘s ideas, so if you want quality stuff and not just mushy fanfiction fodder I’d check their stuff out):

I would have sorta made this entire thing take place during the “What Might Have Been” song - what that means is that it’s a collage of memories. How Isabella and Phineas met, how Isabella first got her “crush” (if you can really call it that, girl was full out in love lol), them building stuff with the gang during their canon ages, them going into highschool, Isabella ultimately choosing to give up her crush to maintain her friendship with Phineas (because her choosing to not be as close to Phineas because of a crush isn’t an option), Isabella’s first boyfriend (which probably’s gonna hurt a lot of fans, cuz I envision that to NOT be Phineas; but it’s Phinabella endgame, so relax); the episode just centers on the gang (mainly Isabella since it’s from her perspective) growing up.

Like, yes, all of the memories are gonna be Phinabella centered, but we gotta have SOME side-stories and junk, like maybe how Baljeet gets together with Ginger (and...how they break up...please don’t kill me), what ultimately leads Ferb to want to go back to England for studies (maybe it’s him wanting to be his own person and not wanting people to think he and his brother are just “a pair”), Buford...uh...something with Buford definitely, because I love him and he deserves it. Heck, maybe even the Fireside Girls can have their own arc with a graduation ceremony for their ranks (...what? I’m not linking stuff to the best fanfic ever, noooooo...why would-why would I do that?).

And maybe in this case Plot B SHOULD be different - maybe it should focus on how Doofenshmirtz first got to America, how he first met Charlene, what exactly led him to being evil in the first place, all that good stuff. Though, ultimately, that might be a little angsty - maybe there’s a reason why we don’t see exactly HOW Doof and Charlene divorced, because that could very well be the saddest scene ever, and it’s hard to put that kinda comedic spin on something so tragic (I mean, obviously there are comedies CENTERED on divorce, but like...they always SKIP the divorce part from what I’ve seen). Not to mention that this is a kid’s show, so...I doubt they’d actually show HOW it happened. This is just my thoughts. X’D

Back to the Phinabella.

Phineas and Isabella would have their confession during THIS part of the special rather than the very end (so, like...they’re still in highschool, and Isabella’s already broken up with that other dude in the story, and maybe Phineas had a girlfriend he just wasn’t happy with) - Phineas tries to do something big for Isabella, but it ultimately falls through because of Perry’s current nemesis (we never see who that is, lol), so he settles for something simple (at first he’s scared about it not “being enough” for someone like Isabella, but Ferb’s able to slap that nonsense out of him pretty quickly). He and Isabella spend the ENTIRE DAY together alone, leading to Phineas eventually singing a song he wrote for her to her, and the two have a cute little duet as a result (that has the opposite energy of “What Might Have Been”, so it’s important that somewhere in this episode that “What Might Have Been” is still a thing, it just doesn’t involve Phineas being aware of Isabella’s feelings, and it doesn’t involve Isabella trying to leave somewhere without saying goodbye, this would be more about Isabella, after trying to get over her crush, realizing that she still LIKES Phineas that way). They almost kiss, but they’re ultimately interrupted by Buford being Buford or something, but it implies that Phineas and Isabella are now a couple onwards from here.

Eventually it leads to a small party in the middle of Summer with the gang, with them playing some games and talking about how by the end of Summer, they won’t be seeing each other as much anymore because of college and stuff. They all remanence about the simple times - with Isabella eventually leaving (saying it’s because she needs to check on something, but really it’s because she’s sad that things are ending so quickly and she’s gonna miss everyone especially Phineas), and Phineas going after her to see if she’s alright (he’s oblivious, but he’s always been able to tell if she’s sad for the most part, save for maybe a few instances - but he’s older now, so he’s probably better at telling).

The two go for a stroll outside, and discuss the changes and stuff, how he and Isabella are ultimately going to have to work on a long-distance relationship and how Phineas is going to miss Ferb when he leaves the country, and how he’s gonna miss Isabella. And then they both realize that everything is gonna be okay, because they’ve literally dealt with worse situations and came out stronger for it - Isabella nor Phineas have any doubts in their minds that their relationship with each other or anyone else is going to sever just because of long distance.

Time moves onward, and there are a lot of changes (mainly talking about couples and other stuff - if it were me, there’d be endgame Buford/Gretchen and Ferb/Ginger of all people, and of course Candace and Jeremy would be married by this time). Phineas and Isabella are about to go into their last year of college, and decide to spend one more day together before they, once again, go their separate ways. The gang surprises Isabella by having made an ACTUALLY GOOD AND CREATIVE BACKYARD DINNER for the two per Phineas’ planning (the idea wasn’t bad, the execution was just lame imo), and long story short, Phineas proposes to Isabella. She obviously accepts, and everyone cheers for them as Isabella inner monologues about how change can be scary but it’s okay some mushy stuff about loved ones being there for you when you need them or something.

And finally, we cut to many years later, with Isabella as an adult now, looking out at the backyard of her current home, drinking some tea - this whole movie/special has taken place in this Isabella’s memories (if that makes sense), as she thinks on how she got there. The story ends with a child (we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl) calling to her and calling her “mom”, and Isabella leaving to check on her kid.

And...that’s how I would have written “Act Your Age”. Again, I recommend this and this over my idea (because again, their takes on this episode are perfect, I don’t think anyone can top them), but if you like it then great. This was still fun to write out and stuff, and I hope you enjoyed it regardless. ^^;

#phineas and ferb #pnf #act your age #phinabella #act your age rant #episode rewrite #galaxina rants #not as good of a rewrite as others but i think it's decent at the very least #but i dunno #what do ya'll think #lol

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess episode 7: the episode that had no right to be as good as it was

Come with meeeeeeeeee and you’ll beeeeeeeeeee in a wooooooooooooooooooorld of English Reformation~

-OK I had a lot of thoughts on how this ep handled Protestantism but the TLDR is: they misunderstood the theology of it, IMHO, but they actually were much more balanced than I was expecting.

-Maybe it’s my bias, but the printing press scenes were awesome. 

-the word ‘Protestant’ is being used 30 years too soon- but I get why they’re using it.

-”You’re dead Sassenach” some people have pointed out the guy called that is a Scot but I think the boy’s just using it as an insult and they’re play-fighting so I think he’s pretending his opponent is English Scum just as Hal Stewart’s pretending to be killed

-Accuracy! Thomas More did indeed lead a raid on the Steelyard, IIRC, though again it’s prob happening too soon, and he’s not undersheriff any more. They continue to knit sweaters out of the thread of linear time

-”the answer does not lie in here but in there,” I was highkey worried Henry was going to point at his own testicles.

-Please get Henry a barber. He has superglued a party city wig to his own face.

-”we were going after deer!” he sounds so much like a spoiled child i have to laugh

-the way Georgie says NO i love the inflection so much, I should make it my text alert for my least favourite people.

-”She creates bad humour in our land” “You mean she’s rude about your poetry?” “SO RUDE *sobs*”

-Wolsey has a reputation for relative tolerance and inaction on heresy, but historians seem to be finding that he was more invested in punishing heresy than previous histories and depictions (eg Wolf Hall) have shown. (At least so far as it was his job to do). He’s still hella villainized in this show.

-Allying with Angus? Sounds like Bad Decision #785

-CGI London looks way too big for a city of ~70,000 people

-Lina, I love you, but it has never been safe for a woman to walk around London alone at night. Not in 2020, 1820, or 1520. Especially before the invention of street lamps.

You can tell this episode was written by men

-”an army is for valiant purpose” Oviedo I love you but you’re a soldier, you’ve seen wars fought for political gain and not for moral reasons. Why you only shocked now? You should be more concerned that you’re attacking civilians instead of fellow militarymen.

-”what are you doing in the church?” “bitch i live here”

-”where are your ladies?” good question

-”it’s her own soul she risks, not mine” when you’re so selfish you accidentally become the most religiously tolerant person in the room.

-Wolsey’s face was a joy this episode. I want to make a moodboard of his beautiful sassy faces.

-the way Wolsey said “Thomas...” at More and Maggie looked angry... I think she was thinking “Really? You’re going to steal MY man now?!”

-why’s Henry Pole guarding More?? He’s a baron?? He outranks More??

-”maybe even have some lemon cake” it’s official, Margaret Pole is Sansa Stark

-”bathe me better and I will relax” she is literally a toddler omg

-”I have bathed you for years, no lady could do better” you can say that again, any other lady would have dunked katherine’s head under the water by now

-”to love the king why do you have to hate so many others” 

what happened?? the lines?? are so good?? i am SHOOKETH

-shot of the wavering compass...heavy-handed but i loved it

-Ursula geeking out over her garden :’) i get it girl i got into gardening myself this year.

-”my wife is the only sight I care for” *smooch* the second man in England to have rights! Thank god they’re so in love, given the real couple were married for 40 years. (They totally left the room to go make out, didn’t they.)

-Raiders of the Lost Inheritance Deeds

-WHERE ARE THE BOLEYN GIRLS?? THESE ARE STARTING TO BE THE YEARS THEY’RE AT COURT??

-God Stephenie was amazing this episode. I felt her pain, she became such a more well-rounded character, I’m so glad she got to speak her mind to Catherine instead of continuing to simp for her and excuse her behaviour. If she betrays her secret next episode, her character arc will be complete. Also, after whitewashing Isabella’s actions as Gurl Powah, it’s so refreshing to have Lina call out religious persecution of all flavours, not just against Lutherans. 

-”my own husband?” Lina...did you just... tell Catherine your husband isn’t Christian? Run?

-My theory was correct! TSP!KOA is indeed trying to be her mother!

-”ugly altar boys” Aardvark is on FIRE this episode. Everyone is bringing their snark game.

-good use of spooky strings

-mention of humours! Accuracy point! Also I’m glad that Katherine hanging out in her nightdress with men was called out for being hella sus in the Tudor worldview.

-the whole torture dungeon reveal reminded me of a similar scene in the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, but apart from that, it was perfect. No dialogue, just the camera, the props and Laura, and you tell the whole story with her face. This is why show don’t tell is so important!

-yes i am biased bc i never liked the ship, but the break up scene was great, for both their characters: More’s allowed to explain his worldview and Maggie is able to call him out. Also it answered the question “why Thomas More and not some tutor OC?” I’m not sure the bombshell justifies writing their romance, but at least it explains its existence. At least it built to some Juicy Drama. 

-poor Maggie though. The man she wants to sleep with won’t sleep with her, the man who wants to sleep with her she doesn’t want. Then she befriends both of them, only to lose their friendship when one dies of the plague and the other she wishes died of the plague because he’s terrible. Also her cousins keep being executed, her daughter’s terrified, and her son is way too fond of violence. Give the girl a hug.

-”watch your step” yeah we wouldn’t want you to get a splinter on your way to get your head lopped off. That would really suck. 

-the way the crowd groaned when henry’s letter was read out... they sounded like football fans when their team misses a goal.

-”Henry” just henry? not henry the king? No “PS: I’m so random lol” “PS: blow a kiss to Wolsey” No “Henry ex-oh-ex-oh-ex-oh”

-the obligatory gross thing obvs is the sideways beheading. His head bounces!

TLDR: By far and away, the best ep in the show so far in my opinion. It almost feels like it’s set in the sixteenth century. The history was still dodgy af, and so was much of the dialogue, but the drama was much more solid and less plot-holey, the pacing was good, and the foolish mistakes of Stafford and Catherine had actual consequences for the plot, the actors knocked it out of the park, some of the lines were accidentally brilliant. 

#the spanish princess

[tarlosbuddie]

Summary: It's been years since Eddie, Buck, and Christopher moved to Austin. Leaving Los Angeles and the 118 was hard, but it was the right decision for their family. They are happy at the 126. Tonight, the Diaz are hosting the 126 monthly dinner. It's a family tradition now. It brings back some memories and flashbacks.

Or the one where Buddie and Tarlos are friends and have lots of kids.

This is also part of my collaboration with the amazing @harvestleaves​ 

Word Count: 3470

Chapter : 1/2

Tags: Established relationship, Kid fic, domestic fluff, crossover, future fic

Relationship: Buddie and Tarlos

Read it on AO3

The 126 fire station

The shift is coming to an end and no one is complaining about it. It’s been a long day. They haven’t lost anyone but they barely had any time to catch their breath in between calls and one look at his team is enough for Owen to know they are all taking a nap as soon as the truck parks at the station. He is right, as usual. His son is the only one who’s not heading to the bunk room. He had a big smile on his face all day long.

“What makes you so happy son?” Owen finally asks, wanting to know the reason his exhausted son is looking at his phone, smiling, instead of catching up some well-deserved rest.

“Carlos keeps sending me those pictures” TK replies with a huge grin on his face. “It’s his day off, and his mom insisted on taking the kids shopping.” 

“Rookie mistake” Owen says. He tried once and his ‘quick shopping trip’ lasted for hours.

“They’ve been in the same store for three hours and Isabella has pretty much tried every piece of clothing she could find” the Strand boy adds while showing his dad all the photos Carlos had sent. The first three are very cute and show Bella wearing the beautiful clothes her grandmother picked out for her. Carlos’ mom is behind her with a bright and hopeful smile on her face. TK keeps scrolling to show his dad the rest of the outfits, dozens and dozens of pictures. From the reflection in the mirror, both men can see Mrs. Reyes’ hopes to leave the store slowly disappearing from her face. The last one is the one that melts TK’s heart the most. It’s a picture of his favorite little monster wearing a yellow hoodie and Carlos added the caption ‘She said she wanted to look like her daddy’.

“If they keep going like that, they will still be at the store tonight.”

“Not a chance” TK assures. “Her big brother won’t miss a dinner at the Diaz's for anything in the world.” 

“My little man is not the only one excited about tonight. I can’t wait to see the Buckaroos” says Owen, he looks around them, the firehouse is quiet. His team is sleeping, Michelle is on a call. Something is obviously missing. 

“Yeah, it’s weird here without big Buck” TK admits. Buck and him quickly became friends and not seeing him at work every day is weird, but he knows the blonde will be back at work in no time. He knows the whole team looks forward to seeing the youngest Diaz at the station again. Eddie of all people wants him by side, but he will not admit it in front of the others. His husband has a good reason to stay away from his job a little longer.

“We still have one hour left before the end of shift” the captain says. “You should try to rest a bit. I’m sure Buttercup is already warming up your bed.”

One hour of sleep won’t be enough to get properly rested from the long day they had, so TK decides to help his father filling the reports from all the calls they had. He sits on the couch on the corner of the captain’s office and Buttercup comes to sit next to him. They are halfway done with the paperwork when the shift is officially over. The members of the crew come quickly to let their captain know they are heading home. 

“Go, son, I’ll finish this alone,” Owen says. “I’ll see y’all tonight, guys”.

“See you” Eddie replies as he’s practically running, eager to come home to his family.

“Are you sure dad?” TK never liked paperwork, but he knows they can get it done faster together.

“Sure. I’m sure Bella is going to want to wear one of her new outfits tonight and she might need some help choosing from everything her grandmother bought her”, the kid’s grandfather says. He knows it’s probably true because no one ever spends more money than him spoiling his three grandkids.

“Okay then, see you soon.”

The Strand-Reyes’ house

TK drives back to his place. He doesn’t have a lot of time before they have to leave for the Diaz’s but he will make the most of the time he has with his family. He walks into the living room and kisses his husband before telling him and Matias about his day. The oldest is still too young to understand everything about his dads jobs but he knows they are both heroes who save people. Owen would love to see him being a third-generation firefighter but he will never influence his grandkids. Luis is playing on Carlos’ lap, stretching his arms towards TK for him to hug him. Owen was wrong about something, Isabella only got two new pieces of clothes. A dress, bought by Carlos’ mother, and the hoodie Carlos bought her. TK knows that she decided to wear this one because she’s holding his in her tiny hands.

“Oh, you want me to wear mine too, huh?” he asks his 3-year-old daughter. TK grabs his hoodie and carefully puts Luis on the couch next to his dad. “I’m gonna take a quick shower and we’ll be ready to go.” 

Carlos does not reply. He watched over his baby boy while helping Matias finish the drawing he made as a gift for tonight’s hosts. Owen once told his grandkids to never show to someone’s house empty-handed, and even though the Captain was thinking about the nice bottle of wine he always brings when he’s invited somewhere, he’s glad to see that the boy learned that gesture from him. Matias makes sure to draw something lovely every time, and now the whole team has an original Matias Strand-Reyes drawing on their fridge.

The Diaz’s house

Buck just hang up the phone with Carla. They still facetime from time to time. It’s not the same as having her around, but the Diaz family will always have a soft spot for her. She helped them in so many ways, they won’t ever know how to repay her for everything.

Eddie and the rest of the 126 will be here soon. So Buck sets his phone on the kitchen counter, enjoying the view of his entire family on the screen before opening the recipe he was given last week. He still thinks about Carla and a conversation they had a few years ago.

Buck had come home after a quiet shift. His apartment barely felt like home. He used to love it so much but ended up finding it empty and cold. He was so happy during his shift, smiling while working under the burning LA sun. Somehow, his joy disappeared when he crossed the threshold. He was missing something. He didn’t want to stay at his place, so he texted Maddie but she had plans with Chimney. He texted Carla and she just replied with ‘just get your ass here Buckaroo’. Her husband was working late and she cooked extra food so she didn’t mind having Buck for dinner at her place.

As soon as he arrived, she asked him why he wasn’t with Eddie. The second Eddie’s name left her mouth, she couldn’t place another word. Buck started by explaining the firefighter was having a family dinner with his parents and his Abuela. It was one of those rare times his parents were in town and Buck didn’t want to bother them by coming along, even though Eddie invited him. After explaining that, he never stopped talking. He told Carla about the amazing idea Eddie had at work to save a girl, and then he kept on talking about his best friend. Carla could barely speak. She didn’t mind, she loved that boy. He had a kind heart and she knew it the second he knocked on Abby’s door to help her find her mom. It was getting late and they both knew it because Buck commented on the fact that Eddie and Chris’ dinner was probably done since Eddie had sent him a picture of Chris falling asleep in front of the movie. Helena and Ramon didn’t seem to be there and Buck assumed they went back to sleep at their hotel. Carla looked at him with a huge smile.

 “What?” Buck genuinely asked her, not realizing what she was smiling about.

 “You’ve been talking about Eddie for two hours Buckaroo.”

 “No. I’m-I’m not” he babbled. “I’m just making conversation.”

 “It’s okay. I know you love him.”

 “Of course I love him. I love all my team” he said, trying to control his voice that started to crack.

“That’s not what I mean. You are in love with him, Buck.”

 “I-I’m not. We are best friends. He’s my best friend.” he repeated, more to convince himself to convince her. 

He hugged her goodbye, and spent the next hours in his empty apartment, looking around. He saw Eddie’s key on his key ring, the dishes from the dinner they had together the night before were still in the sink, and the shopping list on his fridge had Eddie’s handwriting on it because he knew Buck always forgot important stuff while shopping, so his best friend adds them on the list to be sure he gets everything he needs. Eddie and his son’s presence is everywhere, from Chris’ drawing next to the shopping list on the fridge, to his bedside table where the framed pictures from the first time they went to see Santa together next to the one of him and Maddie. But none of them were in the room, and that was the reason why his place felt the cold. For the first time in a while, he did not spend his free time with the Diaz boys. 

Carla was right. He needed Eddie like he needed air. He loved Eddie. This realization scared him. He could not love him. His friend would freak out and leave him if he knew Buck loved him. But Buck was the one freaking out and he couldn’t stop himself from picturing every possible scenario in his head. He was about to grab his jacket to go out when he realized he didn’t even take it off after coming back from Carla’s. He took his key and jumped in his jeep.

Buck can barely hear Eddie coming behind him. The blonde is slightly bending on the kitchen counter, cutting vegetables. It’s one of the rare moments where he looks smaller than Eddie. Taking advantage of Buck’s position, the older man rests his head in between Buck’s neck and his shoulder, lacing both his hands around his husband’s waist and watches him preparing their dinner. Eddie’s muscles are tense from work, and the nap in the bunk room didn’t do any good to his body, but feeling the man he loves in his arms is exactly what he needs to feel better. Buck smells like home; the scent of the dinner he’s cooking, the perfume of the kids shampoo from when he gave a bath to Andrea before and the gentle musk of the aftershave they both use. 

It’s their time to host the 126 monthly dinner and Buck wants it to be perfect because he knows these nights are as important for their kids as it is for them. Andrea is always enjoying being around the rest of the kids, and she loves when they are hosting it because she gets to play house and entertain her crowd. Both men know she will be in the kitchen with them in no time, she always is. Eddie notices his husband looks distracted.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” he said, while both his hands are still around him. His fingers are slowly touching Buck to bring him back from the thoughts he seems to be lost in.

His head is still playing back the memories of the day that changed his life forever. 

In front of the Diaz’s door, Buck froze. He turned his back to the door and started walking back to his car. It was late, it was stupid. He should go home. But he moved towards the door again. It was dark and cold outside, and Buck was pacing, not knowing what to do. His heart wanted to go towards Eddie while his head told him to go back home and forget everything Carla told him. But his feet didn’t know who to listen to. He knocked gently on the door before he had time to think about what his mouth was supposed to say.

Eddie looked at him, and smiled before letting him in. He was not really surprised to see Buck at his door. There was always beer in the fridge and his favorite snacks somewhere in case his friend showed up. 

“I don’t want to lose you,” Buck whispered. Eddie was close enough to hear it, but he didn’t understand it. Where was this coming from? None of them were injured during their shift, Eddie had no intention of moving out, things were fine and Buck was not making any sense.

“You won’t lose me Buck. I’m fine, and I’m not going anywhere”.

“But I might lose you,” Buck said, a little louder but he looked more scarred that Eddie had ever seen him. “You might never want to see me again.”

“That won’t happen. Not to us.” Eddie promised him, he meant it. He was never gonna let anything come in between them. “Talk to me, man.”

“I can’t. I can’t do this” Buck was turning his back on him, putting his hand on the door handle to run home and forget this. Eddie placed his hand on Buck’s to stop him from opening the door.

“I can’t risk losing what we have” the blonde said, his back still turned away from his friend.

“Okay, now you are scaring me” Eddie confessed, while he gently forced Buck to turn his face to him. He was not letting him go. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“It’s not my head that’s the problem.”

“What’s your problem?” as soon as the words left his mouth, they echoed with their argument during his first day, but his tone is gentle. Just like this day, Eddie’s eyes won’t leave Buck.

“You’re my problem” Buck replied, and Eddie’s mind is definitely went back to the gym where they had that heated talk. This time Buck’s voice is not angry. He’s almost whispering and his gaze left Eddie’s eyes to look at the hand, nicely rested on his shoulder, his thumb gently pressed on Buck’s neck, slowly coming up to be on his face, and that’s exactly the problem. His heart is racing against his chest and he feels like if the other man comes any closer his heart will beat so hard he will jump out of his chest and crumble on the floor.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“There is nothing wrong with you, Eddie. You’re perfect, you’re too perfect. I l-” he tried to stop himself but it was too late. The words were half unspoken and he had to finish what he started. Carla’s voice was playing on repeat in his head and Eddie was still looking at him. He didn’t know for how long he was silent. The sound of his heart sounded even louder suddenly as Eddie’s left hand mirrored his right one on the other side of Buck’s cheeks. Using his gentle hold on his face to force Buck to look at him, Eddie broke the unbearable silence.

“There’s nothing you can say that could make me love you less” Eddie said. Buck’s lips were finally moving to say something before he fully registered what the other just said.

“Wh-What?” Buck rambled.

“You heard me Buck” Eddie said softly. But if it meant the face in between his hands can finally stop shaking, he was willing to say it as many times as he needed to. “I’m in love with you, you fool. And I’m seriously hoping that that’s what you were trying to say or I will be the fool”.

Buck nodded, still shaking. He didn’t know what else to do, but Eddie was cupping his head his tender hands, and the shaking stopped when Eddie’s lips met his.

They definitely had to thank Carla for that and she was pretty proud to include this in her toast at their wedding reception years later. 

Smiling, Buck fully comes back to reality. Eddie’s body against his is anchoring him to the present. Sometimes it’s still feels like a dream, all of it seems too good to be true. But it is real, as real as Eddie’s breath against the back of his neck.

“I just- I just love you Eddie.” the man declares like it’s the first time. Eddie does not need to hear him say it to know how much his husband loves him. But he will never get tired of hearing those three words.

“And I love you too” he replies while placing a kiss down Buck’s neck. No matter how many times he says these words, he will always feel like the man in front of him is constantly surprised to hear that he is loved. He could repeat them for the rest of their lives if it means to be greeted by the most genuine smile in return. “But this house is soon going to be full of hungry kids” he reminded him before they both lost themselves in the moment “and we don’t want to hear TK bragging about Carlos’ cooking skills.”

 “You wanna turn this diner into a cooking competition, Diaz?” Buck teases.

 “You know you’ve been a Diaz too for the past five years, right?” Eddie asks and there’s suddenly a wide grin on Buck’s face.

“I know, I just love the sound of that.” Buck sighs when he feels Eddie’s hands leaving his body, but his pout turns into another big smile when he feels his fingers taking the knife out of his hand to help him with the cooking. 

Eddie cuts the vegetables left on the kitchen counter when Buck happily starts the rest of the recipe. Andrea appears in between them but has no interest in helping with the dinner. She’s only interested when her dad is making desserts, so she can give a hand and fill her stomach at the same time. By the time Eddie arrived, the cake is already on the oven, so Andrea just hangs with her dads while they do the rest of the boring work. She’s five but she’s already teasing her older dad on his lack of cooking skill.

“Dada” she said while clinging to Buck’s leg, “Don’t let daddy cook. I’m hungry.”

Buck can’t hold his laugh in, and Eddie would be lying if he said he didn’t find it cute. He took her by the hand and guided her towards the cupboard.

“What if you helped me set the table while Dada makes us something we can actually enjoy?” Eddie asked her with a big smile. 

Andrea is not complaining, setting the table is something she really enjoys, it’s something usually the grownups do in their house and she feels like a big girl when she is doing it. Eddie gives her the plastic plates for the kids’ table, and she happily walks towards the table where she’s about to have a great time with her friends. She puts the green plate next to hers because she knows it’s Matias’ favorite color. Bella is going to be in front of her, next to Tucker Ryder. And for the rest of the kids, the smaller ones, they will be on their parents’ lap, at the grownup table. Aside from Bella, the other kids never complained about sitting at another table, they all love to have their secret conversations without their parents being here. 

“Can I help?” Chris asks. His voice is joyful. He loves those dinners too. Especially since, unlike his sister, he gets to be at the adult table. The 14-years-old has known the 126 for a long time, they are his family.

Before Eddie can think of something he could ask his son to do, the door rang.

“Well, you can welcome our guests, buddy,” he says before jogging to the kitchen to see if the dinner is ready.

“Buck, don’t let dad near the food” Chris jokes before opening the door.

In a few minutes the first guests will arrive and the pressure from the day will vanish, and be replaced with love, laughter and happiness. No matter how tired everyone is after a shift like this one, knowing they are together in this will always make things better. 

#buddie #tarlos #my first 911 fic #my first fic in english tbh #this one if more buddie than tarlos #but it has some tarlos in part 2 #and I want to make even more tarlos later #evan buckley #eddie diaz #tk strand #christopher diaz #carlos reyes #owen strand #EmilieLoves911 #my stuff

[watchathon]

The 2nd Day of Christmas

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I watch a movie or TV show with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so.

Right now, I’m doing the 12 Days of Christmas, a 12-day-long Christmas special where each day is a different Christmas movie or special decided by a randomizer. And today... *clears throat*

 On the 2nd Day of Christmas, the randomizer gave to me...

Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation! Boy, between this and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer for the 1st day, we’re really starting off with a bang of nostalgia, aren’t we? Phineas and Ferb was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, and I know the same can be said for a lot of you. 

And seeing as I loved Phineas and Ferb so much, I always looked forward to the Christmas special airing on Disney Channel. It was my favorite cartoon and my favorite holiday, both rolled into one! But does Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation still hold up after all this time?

...Yes. Yes, it does. Before I even watch it again, I know the answer is yes. The rest of the series holds up, why wouldn’t the same be true for this special?

But why does it hold up? What did I miss as a kid that I’ll notice as an adult? Let’s find out as I present to you, my thoughts on Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation:

(NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I wrote this quite a while before the 1st Day of Christmas and all other Days of Christmas, as I didn’t have a copy of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer at the time. Hence why this post uses the old format of me just writing down my thoughts as I go with a separate Final Thoughts section.)

- First things first, the theme song. Oh, I just adore the normal theme song. But this festive variant just sends tingles down my spine, starting with an intro sung in the style of a Christmas carol.

- I never thought as a kid that I would end up relating to Candace so much. I mean, not in terms of gifts for romantic partners (aromantic pride!) but I’ve known my little sister all her life and even I have second thoughts about the Christmas gift I have planned for her. That’s not even getting into Christmas gifts intended for friends...

- Linda really knows how to distract Candace from gift-getting anxiety, huh?

- Aw, Candace, don’t be so mean to your little brothers! Of course they believe in Santa, they’re only... hmm... Maybe, like, ten? Eleven?

- Of course Phineas and Ferb idolize Santa. We’re talking about two little kids who can and will do stuff like building rollercoasters or traveling the entire world in just one day.

- Now I’m just wondering what was on that piece of paper...

- Even the Perry the Platypus theme song is getting into the Christmas spirit!

- D’aww, Perry’s smile is so cute when the snowman comes to life~

- I wouldn’t expect a death in this show, let alone this show’s Christmas special...

- The OWCA Christmas Party looks like a ton of fun.

- Isabella’s stolen catchphrase sense is tingling!

- What Does He Want?: This is a great song about gift-getting stress, and the perfect musical number to give to Candace in a Christmas special. I am so glad that Disney+ has the extended version of this special, ‘cause I couldn’t imagine missing out on this.

- This is just the kind of thing that I’d expect certified cinnamon roll Phineas Flynn and his brother to do for Santa.

- I like the jingle bells in the background of the Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. jingle.

- I Really Don’t Hate Christmas: Boy, this is the perfect villain song for a sympathetic antagonist come the Christmas special. I mean, if he did hate Christmas, it would just be so hard to see him as at all nice. 

Especially if, say, he found himself in a position of authority where he was expected to celebrate Christmas and it was somehow revealed that he (at best) was incredibly irritated about Christmas...

Jokes aside, though, this is a nice Christmas song for Doofenshmirtz. 

-  I like that Phineas and Ferb are getting not only their friends, but the entire town of Danville involved in their plan.

- Candace Flynn, master of deception.

- Wow, that’s really quick delivery on Dr. D’s Christmas wish!

- It’s so sad to see Phineas getting the news that everyone in Danville has been counted as naughty, especially when Candace says that it was his fault for the plan to thank Santa, and that he and Ferb have been naughty all summer.

- Even Perry’s annoyed by the Christmas carols.

- Where Did We Go Wrong?: This song is the big tear jerker moment of the special, right here. Maybe one of the top saddest moments of the whole series.

- I wasn’t expecting the elves to be this small!

- I like this explanation of how the Naughty and Nice Lists work.

- Did Santa get Perry that Sal Tuscany CD just to foil Doofenshmirtz’s plot? How did he know about the plot? Why did the partridge untie the lights around Perry just as Doofenshmirtz turned up the volume, is it, like, a secret Santa agent and that was its cue?

...Okay, I’m so overthinking this.

- I don’t know how I forgot about this, but it makes so much sense: Phineas and Ferb’s solution to Santa not coming to Danville? To take over for him.

- Buford’s Christmas wish is so sweet. I would’ve expected him to wish for some big (and expensive) Christmas present, but at the end of the day, all he really wants is for his friends to think of him as nice.

- Christmas Is Starting Now: This is such a good song for the climax of the special.

- I like this scene of Phineas, Ferb and friends meeting Santa. Much as I enjoyed the idea of them taking over for Santa in Danville, it would’ve felt like there was something missing if they never actually got to meet Santa, if Santa never actually went to the rest stop or saw the giant “Thank you, Santa”.

- This scene of Jeremy and Candace exchanging gifts is so romantic. It’s reminiscent of the old “Gift of the Magi” story, but with a happier ending.

- This is a great song for the end credits. It’s just so wholesome to see everyone celebrating Christmas, even some minor characters that rarely show up like Meap, or running gag characters like the farmer and his wife.

- And we end with the revelation that the snowman didn’t die. He presumably went on to live his whole snowman existence for the rest of the winter, and all that happened before was a close call with a produce truck.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I was positively right about this Christmas special holding up. It has the same laugh-out-loud sense of humor that any episode of Phineas and Ferb does, combined with a healthy dose of the wholesome Christmas spirit.

Nobody has a sad ending in this special. Even Doofenshmirtz, although he lost, got his Christmas wish: A reason to hate Christmas. And that’s something I appreciate, that everybody got what they wanted on Christmas day.

It’s just... pleasant. Watching this special, feeling the spirit of the season with the characters I know and love.

...Though, I am left wondering what’ll happen when I eventually cover Phineas and Ferb for this blog. Maybe I’ll just reblog this?

#Christmas #12 Days of Christmas #Phineas and Ferb #Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation #Candace Flynn #Linda Flynn #Phineas Flynn #Ferb Fletcher #Perry the Platypus #Isabella Garcia-Shapiro #Heinz Doofenshmirtz #Buford Van Stomm

[twilightfansofcolor]

Not A Good Look (Edward Cullen x black OC)

not requested

Naomi and Edward. Edward and Naomi. You couldn’t say one name without thinking of the other, it was impossible to separate the two of them. Naomi Mitchell and Edward Cullen were the most popular couple at Forks High School, and the best looking couple as well. They were goals, but they were extremely lowkey, never really flaunting their relationship except for a few kisses here and there.

Naomi thought they had a good thing going until Isabella Swan came to Forks. She didn’t think much of the chief’s daughter except for the fact that she looked skittish whenever a boy tried to talk to her, but Naomi was on the school’s welcoming committee, so she had the task of showing Isabella, or Bella as she liked to be called, around school and letting Bella sit with her friends. When Naomi left for Seattle with her mom to visit her sick dad, Edward had absolutely despised Bella, but when she came back, he was always talking to her, and everyone was talking about it. It was all her friends were talking about in the group chat. Girl, you really need to talk to Edward, because new girl beginning to be a problem. i’m surprised Jessica and them didn’t fill her in, her friend Larissa typed.

All this talk about Bella Swan was overshadowing her good news she received in Seattle. Naomi had been scouted by one of the biggest model agencies in the world, known for representing the biggest models in the fashion industry like her namesake Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Alessandra Ambrosio, Iman, and Heidi Klum. Naomi typed back, ain’t shit happening between her and Edward, he can’t stand her. now can you, meghan and brie stfu so I can tell yall what happened in seattle? Three dots popped up just as Naomi began to type. homegirl goin around sayin Edward saved her from tyler’s van.

Naomi heard all about the accident from Rosalie who was practically screeching over the phone to her with rage. okay yall i get it, now stfu so i can tell yall what happened in seattle. so me and my momma were in starbucks waiting for our order and this woman came up to us and asked if i ever thought about pursuing a career in modeling and I said, “uh kind of” then she gave me her card and said to call if I was ever serious about it. Right away the group chat was blowing up with reaction pictures and gifs. It happened over a week ago and her mom was still telling people what happened; Ms. Mitchell told anyone who listened: the checkout lady at the grocery store, the woman in Port Angeles who does their hair, even her own clients. In fact, she could hear her mom downstairs doing a client’s makeup and telling the whole story. 

so are you gonna do it? Meghan asked. It seemed like a good idea, but Naomi didn’t think she could go through with it; she loved Edward and she didn’t want to leave him. A message popped up from Brie: bitch, from your lack of response i’m gonna assume that you’re too busy rn practicing your walk for nyfw cuz I know damn well you ain’t giving this shit up because of Edward, and if you are imma beat yo ass. Still Naomi didn’t reply because she knew her friend was right, and knew that Brie would keep her promise. If her mom knew that she wouldn’t take it because of a boy, she’d beat her ass too.

Every time Naomi would watch a rerun of Friends or The Hills, she’d always tell herself that she would not be like Lauren Conrad or Rachel Green who turned down Paris because of an ain’t shit man, and here she is, contemplating doing just that. i’m gonna get ready for bed. i’ll see yall on Monday. When Naomi got out her mom’s car on a gray Monday morning, everyone was staring at her, but not for the normal reason. She always rode with the Cullens, and as she made her way to one of the picnic tables, the whisperings started. “If I was Bella Swan I’d start running.” “Edward Cullen is a dead man.”

Naomi took out her math book and notebook and looked over her homework, anything to avoid the stares of her classmates. “Naomi looked pissed as hell. I would be too if my boyfriend started hanging around another girl the second I left town,” she heard a girl in her history class whisper to her friend. She tried to fight back tears and it took everything in her to not call her mom and tell her to turn around. Instead, she just texted Edward saying they need to talk. As soon as she pressed send, his car pulled into the parking lot and she shoved her books in her bag, relieved that she wouldn’t be waiting too long. Naomi felt like she got punched in the face when she saw Bella Swan getting out of the passenger side of her boyfriend’s car.

What the fuck? Now all eyes were on the three of them, Bella looking like a deer caught in the headlights as she saw Naomi coming to them, Naomi, who looked like she was about to beat Bella’s ass, and Edward who tried to put himself between the two girls; Naomi’s right hand began clenching as she marched over. “Edward can I talk to you? Now?” It began to get darker and a crack of thunder sounded, followed by rain. She didn’t care that her freshly braided her was getting wet and didn’t bother with the hood of her jacket.

“Why haven’t you answered my calls? Rosalie said you were out of town. What’s going on with you?” They were under a stairwell near the boiler room, where students hardly ever go. “I didn't think this was a conversation meant for a phone call or FaceTime.” Naomi’s heart dropped to her stomach, and she could feel the tears again. “W-what conversation? You’re not breaking up with me are you?”

“I’m sorry Naomi, but Bella and I.. we... like each other.” “Are you fucking kidding me?! You hated her the second she got here and now you like her?! I was gone for a week. And you don’t even check on me to ask how my dad is doing. You know, the one you met on two occasions and played chess with? They’re thinking about taking him off life support if you’re wondering!” Edward knew that Naomi wasn’t that close to her dad since he left her and her mother for another woman years ago and he immediately felt bad that he hadn’t thought of the girl at all. He tried fighting his attraction to Bella by being mean to her, leaving the state, but it hadn’t worked.

Edward couldn’t hide it anymore, and he knew he had to break Naomi’s heart. “Naomi, I’m so sorry, really. If there’s anything my family can do--” She held up to hand to stop him. “No you’re not, if you were you would’ve answered my calls. If you wanna be with Bella, fine. Do whatever you want, I don’t care anymore.” The bell rung and Naomi ran out the back exit of the school. She didn’t care that she would be missing school, didn’t care that her clothes and backpack with her homework were getting soaked in the downpour. 

Naomi just wanted to get home and back into her warm bed and watch movies all day. She cried the whole ten minute walk home, even as she got into the hot shower and didn’t stop until she got back in the bed. She knew her mom would get a phone call about her attendance and didn't care about the trouble. Naomi just snuggled under the covers and fell asleep in her dark room, hoping it would be a bad dream.

#edward cullen #edward cullen imagines #twilight imagines #twilight fans of color

[bonafidehero]

Bella the Teenage Witch

Summary:  What if Bella Swan was a witch? Taking advanced classes, Bella graduates from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry early. With her mother and Phil traveling so much she decides to move to the sleepy town of Forks and spend some time with her father, who insisted on her attending the local high school to make some "normal" friends. Oh how wrong he would be.

Read on AO3 and FanFiction!

Chapter 3: Slip ups

The week had gone by in a blur. After that weird shit with Edward and then the following days where he didn’t show up for school I was feeling really self conscious and just couldn’t wait for the weekend.

Mike had tried to invite me out to a movie but I’d turned him down, saying I had a lot of studying to do. Jessica and Angela had also offered to hang out but again I declined.

I was feeling really overwhelmed and just wanted to be alone. Even though I’d seen so much with going to a magical school and experienced everything that came with that. I was feeling like regular old high school was kicking my ass.

And I couldn’t stop thinking about Edward. What the hell was that? Why did he act like that? Then disappear?

I don’t even know why it was bothering me so much. Usually I didn’t care what people thought, because people usually thought horrible things.

But I just had a weird feeling about him. He seemed... different.

Besides the inhuman good looks.

So I spent the weekend at home, Charlie had given me money to stock the house with groceries as I’d refused to continue eating take out every night. I’d spent some time unpacking the few things I’d brought with me. I even went on a walk through the woods that surrounded my house to find a spot to read for a afternoon.

Overall it was pretty good.

So by the time Monday rolled around again I felt ready to face Forks High again.

This week would be better.

And I was going to confront Edward and ask him what his problem was.

I’d arrived a bit early Monday, the parking lot was about half way full and kids were spaced about in groups talking.

Wanting to enjoy the silence while I had some, I got out and leaned against the back of my truck and began looking through the book I’d been reading all weekend.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a car pull in and park about 5 spots down from me. It sat there for a minute before the occupants got out.

And of course It was the Cullens. Surprisingly, Edward was with them. They all stood behind the car talking, then they all turned towards me and stared.

Great. Now they all don’t like me. I thought.

What did I do?

But before I could think on it more something smacked me right in the face. I gasped and turned towards the source; Mike was laughing while Jessica, Angela, Ben and Eric shook their heads behind him.

“Bella!” Mike called

I rolled my eyes, looked down and saw a balled up piece of paper. I bent over and picked it up before throwing it back at him. Surprisingly, it hit it’s mark.

Mike blinked before bursting out laughing and the whole group joined him, “C’mon, Bella!” Eric called as they all began to make their way towards the school.

I sighed and put my book back in my bag before slinging it over my shoulder. I chanced another glance at the Cullens, they were still staring.

What the fuck? I thought

I was starting to think I was the freak, which, I guess to some I was.

A magic freak. I laughed and followed slowly behind the group towards the school. Not chancing another look back at the strange group.

The day went by pretty good and I was finally feeling like I was stepping in line with my new friend group. While Jessica was the complete opposite of me, Angela felt like someone I would had made friends with back home.

I was feeling happy. So when lunch came around I told myself I would not look at the Cullens once.

Who cares if they didn’t like me?

Not me.

Even when Jessica tried to bring up the fact that Edward was finally back at school, I ignored her and changed the subject to the latest America’s Next Top Model episode. It worked. But I didn’t really know what I was talking about, I’d only saw it on tv quickly so I didn’t give much input into the conversation from there.

“Who's your favorite model?” Jessica gushed.

“Uh, I actually don't really know the show.” I said slowly, “I just saw it on TV and thought you'd like it.”

Jessica stared at me for a second but recovered quickly, “Oh... what do you like then?” She asked

“Uh, nothing really comes to mind. I haven't seen much recent TV.”

“Why not?” Angela asked, “What did you do in Arizona to pass the time?”

I blanked. These were time when me being a witch really made me stand out to other kids my age.

“Uh, well... the thing is, I went to a boarding school for the past 4 years so...” I said slowly, how much should I say? “Well, it's pretty old fashioned. We didn't have TV's or any electricity for that matter.”

They all stared at me, stunned.

“They didn't have electricity?” Jessica shrieked scathingly, “What kind of a school doesn't have electricity?”

“Did they have running water?” Mike laughed, “I thought rich schools were like the best of the best.”

“It wasn't a rich school and I don't know... its a really old school... it, uh, they like to give you an experience.” I stumbled horribly over my shitty explanation. God, I was not used to having to explain myself to people.

Jessica stared at me, “That sounds really weird. Why would you go to a school like that?”

I tried to quickly think of a reason, I think it was pretty well known around the town how much of a wild child my mom had been. I cringed at what I was about to say but I knew my mom would understand.

“Well, my mom wanted to travel a lot so she sent me there during the year so she could.” I said quietly, trying to sound like it was something I hated.

“Wow, what a bitch.” Jessica blurted out, before her eyes snapped to me. “Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.”

I chuckled, “No, it's cool.”

By the end I said my goodbyes to the group and Mike and I made our way to Biology.

As we walked down the hall towards class slowly, I realized that Edward was following behind. I tensed.

“So,” Mike started, “How was your weekend? I wish you’d gone to the movies with me. Would have been fun.”

“Huh?” I asked vaguely

“Your weekend, you said you were busy. What did you end up doing?” He asked, a little put off by my lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh, uh, studying like I said” I replied flatly.

I knew Mike had a thing for me, I wasn’t blind but I was already getting tired of it.

I was new, so it was kinda understandable. He’d get tired of it soon.

“Oh.” Mike said awkwardly.

I nodded, “Yeah, just that and unpacked all my stuff. Started reading a book.”

“Oh.” He said again, “That’s cool.”

He definitely didn’t sound like he thought it was cool. But I shrugged it off as we walked into the room. I could still feel Edward close behind us, why did I feel like he was trying to listen in?

Mike and I separated going to our respective tables. As I sat I saw Edward standing in the doorway, he stood there for a few seconds before taking a huge breath and then made his way towards his seat.

I looked down at the table top and began drawing aimlessly on my notebook, I didn’t want to attack him right away so I was gonna wait until he’d settled in.

Look casual, I thought.

He finally settled into his chair and pulled out his supplies, placing them gingerly onto the desk top. Sitting stiffly with his hands balled into fists on the table top.

Just as I inhaled to finally ask him what his problem was, he turned towards me and spoke.

“Hello.” He said in a friendly tone.

My head snapped up and I stared at him. Okay... I could feel my cheeks burning as we stared at each other. Why was I blushing?!

Just when I thought he wasn’t going to say anything else his velvety voice rang out again.

“My name is Edward Cullen.” He smiled, “I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan.”

How did he know my name? No one calls me Bella right off the bat.

“Uh, how do you know my name?” I spoke out loud finally, I could feel my nerves making my voice quiver a little. It was like he was a veela and he was pulling me in under his spell.

Fuck. This is embarrassing.

He laughed, “Oh I think everyone knows your name, the whole town’s been waiting for you to arrive.”

I cringed, I had to talk to Charlie about what he talked about with people. What if he slipped up about me being a witch?

“Um, I mean, why did you call me Bella?” I clarified.

His eyebrow quirked, “Would you prefer Isabella?”

“No!” I blurted out, my face heated again.

“I like Bella... I think Charlie calls me Isabella behind my back.” I said with a slight hint of distaste.

“Oh.” He looked away, looking slightly... embarrassed? Weird.

Then Mr. Banner started the class, we both turned to the front and set to work.

It was awkward, but with the start of our assignment we settled into line and actually seemed to start a little bit of banter. He was... odd, but kinda sweet? Why did I keep blushing?!

I even blushed as I thought that. Ugh.

The bell rang and chairs ground against the floor as everyone made their way to leave. I could feel that Mike was sitting in his sit waiting for me to move, hoping for another few minutes of alone time. Blargh.

Edward put his things in his bag and looked down at me as I did the same, “Uh, well, see you tomorrow, Bella.” He said quietly and then left the room quickly.

Mike pounced the moment he left. “Hey! Ready for gym?” he asked with a huge smile on his face.

I stared after Edward, “Uh, sure thing.” I said quietly.

I went home that day feeling much different about Edward Cullen. He was strange. Like he was hiding something. I mean, I was hiding something, but what would he be hiding?

I would have to try and pry a bit, see if I can get some hints. I’d spent the last 5 years in the wizarding world, I think if he was hiding anything worth hiding I would be able to figure it out.

#Bella the Teenage witch #Fic #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Twilight Saga #Twilight #BellaxEdward #Bella Swan #Edward Cullen #Harry Potter #Crossover #myfic

[millie1536]

Different, Not Weird

Well it let me post the ghost thing so hopefully this works this time. 500th times the charm after all

TW: mentions of panic attacks, mentions of meltdowns, mentions of destructive stimming, mentions of child abuse, the documentary ‘Blackfish’ is referenced a number of times (It’s one of Izzy’s hyperfixations) so if that’s triggering for anyone please consider if you are in a place where you can think about that stuff at the moment.

The first time Jane heard Izzy imitating a cat she assumed it was a joke between her and Kitty. The occasional meow that would break the comfortable silence between the two was cute. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that some of Izzy’s behaviour was, well, odd. At times she seemed so much younger than she was and at other times she was far too mature for her age. The queens had chalked it up to her past. The fact that she had never been able to be a kid, that she had been used and abused by men four times her age for the past nine years.

And yet there were still things that bothered Jane. The way Izzy would curl up beside Anne or Kathrine as if trying to merge with them but pull away from even the slightest physical contact with anyone else. How she would wear the same pair of jeans every day no matter how hot or cold it was. It wasn’t that she was jealous, I mean sure, she would have loved to curl up on the couch with Izzy and watch a movie or read a book occasionally but, what worried her was the reason, or rather the lack of.

Izzy had warmed up to everyone a lot quicker than expected. She and Anna would go for bike rides together, anything to get out of the house. Jane was teaching her to cook and bake, something she seemed to be enjoying very much. She had asked Catherine, very anxiously, to teach her Spanish, which the queen was more than happy to do. Cathy had taken on the role of Izzy’s teacher when it became apparent that the girl had an insatiable curiosity. Parr had jumped at the chance to help Izzy catch up on the education she had missed out on and Izzy was proving to be a fast learner.

“Did you know that Cassowaries are the world’s deadliest bird?” She asked over dinner one night.

“Did you know that only one third of the rivets used to build the hull of the Titanic were up to standard? And they were all in the centre third, if they had been used for the bow the iceberg might not have done so much damage.” Was another nights conversation starter.

“Did you know that the flat cap was invented by a golfer?” Izzy’s ability to retain knowledge never ceased to amaze Jane. She often wondered if maybe she was overreacting. Maybe all kids were like this and she just never got the chance to see it before now.

But it wasn’t just her memory or her relationship with Anne and Kathrine that was strange.

Panic attacks weren’t a new thing for the queens and they all knew from the beginning that Izzy would likely succumb to them. However, they seemed off. Some of them weren’t too different from Anne or Kitty’s but some of them seemed to be something else entirely. Izzy’s panic attacks varied from silently shutting down to screaming and fighting.

Jane also failed to see a pattern. Like the others, Izzy had triggers, and yet they had been unsuccessful at identifying all of them.

Loud noises, large groups of people, yelling and shouting, unexpected physical contact.

These were the ones they had picked up on. But they didn’t explain why Izzy would seem to shut down at random times, why her eyes would become distant and she seemed to lose all awareness of where she was.

Jane wanted answers and she was sure the others did too.

 “I just don’t know what’s wrong with her?” Jane sighed, exhausted. Kathrine was upstairs with Izzy and so Jane had taken the chance to talk to the others.

“It’s probably just part of the process, you remember what Kitty was like in the first few months.” Catherine wrapped an arm around Jane’s shoulder, pulling her into a side hug.

“She does remind me a fair bit of Kat, especially the constant movement.” Anna commented.

“Should we get her checked for ADHD?” Jane asked suddenly.

“I mean, if you want, but that’s not really where I was going with that.” Anna shrugged.

“Sorry, I just…” Jane trailed off, resting her head on Aragon’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, I get it. You just want to make sure she’s alright.” Anna smiled kindly.

“I know that ADHD isn’t a disease but I still… I get so worried about Izzy, about not knowing.” Jane was, for the most part, the most level-headed of the group, but when it came to anything medical she began to worry.

“I’ll book an appointment tomorrow.” Aragon gave Jane’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 “But I wanted to read more about Tilikum.” Izzy protested when Anne told her they were heading out.

“I know, but you can do that when we get back, alright?”

“Fine.” Izzy huffed as she grabbed her book from beside her.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Anne asked, holding out Izzy’s coat.

“No.” Izzy said simply before heading towards the front door. Anne shook her head before picking up her own coat and making her way out to the car.

“Aren’t you cold?” Anna asked when the girl got into the car, “It’s freezing.”

“No it isn’t, it’s like 19 degrees.”

“Exactly,” Anna responded, “It’s cold.” Izzy just shrugged.

“Seat belt on.” Jane said from the front passenger seat. She didn’t have to look to know that Izzy wasn’t wearing her seat belt.

“But it’s annoying.” Izzy argued.

“You know what else is annoying? Dying in a car accident.” Catherine raised her eyebrows at the girl, watching in the rear view mirror as she relented and buckled her seat belt.

“Miaow.” Kathrine looked down at the girl resting against her shoulder.

“I thought I was the cat.” Kitty said feigning confusion. Izzy shrugged, a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

“Cathy?”

“Yes?” Parr turned around to give Izzy her full attention.

“Why are they called quadratic equations when there are only two answers?” Izzy asked, the question had been bothering her for weeks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Izzy sighed, not understanding why the woman didn’t get it, “Quad means four but there are only two answers so why are they called quadratic equations if there are two and not four answers?” Cathy thought for a moment.

“I don’t know, kid. I’ve never thought of that before.”

“Why not?”

“I just haven’t.” Izzy wasn’t sure how anyone could live so long without asking such a question.

The queens had gotten used to Izzy’s questions. The way she would ask the most obscure things at the strangest of times.

 When they arrived at the paediatrician’s office Izzy stayed in her seat. She knew where they were going but being there made it real.

“What’s going on inside your head?” Anne asked gently.

“I don’t like doctors.” Izzy almost whispered.

“It’s alright, they just want to talk to you. No needles or anything like that, I promise.” Anne waited for Izzy to nod before leading her into the building. Izzy felt her nose scrunch up at the smell, a mixture of cleaning chemicals and coffee. The lights, too, put her on edge. They were bright and made a buzzing sound that seemed to drill through Izzy’s skull. The third light from the left in the waiting room flickered occasionally. Izzy tried to spot a pattern but there was none. Kitty, it seemed, had also noticed the light and had positioned herself so that it was behind her. Izzy considered her options for a moment before getting out of her seat and climbing onto Kitty’s lap. It wasn’t uncommon for her to use affection as a mask to hide what was actually happening.

Kathrine smiled when the girl began nuzzling into her shoulder, an occasional whimper sounding from her throat. The whimper wasn’t one of fear, instead it was a ‘I want to snuggle’ kind of whimper. Kathrine wrapped her arms around Izzy who immediately fell still, melting into the embrace.

“Isabella?” A woman’s voice called from the doorway. Kathrine felt the girl tense in her arms.

“It’s alright, we’ll be right there with you the whole time.” Kathrine felt Izzy nod against her shoulder before she uncurled herself from her spot and stood up. She held tight onto Anne and Kitty as they followed the doctor into her office.

“I’m sorry it’s a bit crowded,” The woman said as she sat behind her desk, “We don’t usually have so many people in here at once.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Anna waved the woman’s apology away.

“This is quite the family you’ve got.” The woman, who had introduced herself as Doctor Morgan, smiled at Izzy who did her best to hide under Anne’s arm.

“She’s a bit shy.” Jane said, not wanting the doctor to think she had done something wrong.

“Izzy, sweetie, can you sit up please?” Anne asked gently, full prepared for Izzy to tighten her hold. She was a little surprised when Izzy sat up slowly, leaning into Anne and holding her arms to make sure she didn’t let go.

“Izzy?” Doctor Morgan asked, having noticed the nickname, “Is it alright if I have a chat with your- uh, with the grown-ups?” Izzy shrugged.

“Can I watch tv?” Izzy asked Jane, who pulled out a pair of wireless headphones and her phone. Izzy grinned as she put on the headphones and snuggled closer against Anne.

“Noise cancelling headphones?” The doctor asked after a moment.

“Yeah, she struggles with loud noises.” Catherine informed her.

“What about light? Does she struggle with that too?”

“Yes, actually. Bright lights hurt her eyes and flickering lights give her head aches.” Anna said.

“And sometimes they trigger panic attacks,” Kitty added, “Too much light or noise scares her.”

“And temperature?”

“Doesn’t seem to feel the cold, but she’s really sensitive to heat. If she’s too hot she starts to feel sick.”

“What kind of sick?”

“Nauseas, I think.” Cathy answered.

“And how is she socially?” Doctor Morgan asked, “Does she make eye contact?”

“Rarely, but we’re working on it.” Anne pressed a kiss to the top of Izzy’s head, “She’s come a long way with it since she came to live with us.”

“You didn’t raise her?” Doctor Morgan looked surprised.

“Unfortunately.” Kitty muttered, a mixture of hate and anger filling her eyes.

“No, she’s been with us for almost 4 months now.” Anna added. The doctor nodded, typing some notes on her computer.

“What about her parents?”

“Her mother died when she as about 5 and there’s no record of who her father is.”

“Who was she living with prior to you?” Kathrine gave a dry, spiteful laugh.

“Her uncle.” Jane said before Kathrine had a chance to say anything. Doctor Morgan nodded, again writing down some notes before moving on.

“What about her peers? Does she have many friends at school?”

“Actually, I’m home schooling her for the moment.” Cathy said, seemingly a little nervous.

“We’re hoping to get her into the local public school once she’s caught up.” Catherine gave Parr’s knee a gentle squeeze.

“Caught up? Does she struggle academically?”

“No, not at all.” Anna couldn’t help the slight laugh the accompanied her words.

“No, she’s a very quick learner, but she never got the chance to go to school. She was… uh, her uncle he…” Cathy didn’t want to tell the woman, a complete stranger, about Izzy’s history but she didn’t know if she needed to.

“I see.” The doctor gave a sad smile. Cathy doubted that she did in fact ‘see’ but was grateful that they didn’t have to go into it.

“Does she respond to you? Does she notice when you’re trying to talk to her?”

“For the most part, but if she’s reading then it can take a few tries to get her attention.” Jane said.

“Usually we just have to say her name before whatever it is we want to say and she listens, I think she often assumes we’re talking to someone else if we don’t say her name.” Anna added.

“Any issues with sleep?”

“Night terrors.” Kathrine sighed, she hated watching Izzy toss and turn each night with no way of putting an end to it.

“But that would be connected to her uncle?” She asked cautiously. All six women nodded. “What about her temper? Does she tend to get angry?”

“More at herself than any of us, and she usually locks herself in her room when she’s like that.” Anne said, remembering the last time Izzy had gotten like that, “She can get a bit uh… Aggressive? I don’t know if that’s the right word, Violent? I really don’t know how to explain it. She’s never hurt anyone but often when she comes back out of her room after getting really angry it’ll look like a hurricane has gone through it.”

“Or covered in scratches and bite marks.” Catherine said quietly. The doctor made a few more notes.

“And she does it to herself? The biting and scratching?”

“Yes, we’re trying to get her to stop but…” Cathy sighed, not knowing how to explain.

“How is she with touch? Is she alright with physical contact? And what about textures, are there any that bother her?”

“Well, she can be quite the snuggle bug with those two,” Jane nodded at Anne and Kathrine, “But she’s still a bit more wary of the rest of us.”

“She’s starting to get comfortable with me.” Cathy said.

“And she has no problem with me carrying her, but she’s still a bit unsure when it comes to hugs.” Anna added, it was a common sight to see Anna running around the backyard with Izzy clinging to her back.

“And textures?

“She likes soft things. She tends to rotate between the same three or four outfits, I think the more she wears them the softer the materials get.” Catherine said.

“Some foods too. She doesn’t like things like pasta bake because there are too many textures in it.” Jane told her. Doctor Morgan wrote down a few more notes before looking up.

“Do you think Izzy would be willing to answer some questions?”

“You can try, but she really doesn’t like stopping something before she’s finished it.” Kitty said.

“Izzy? Can you pause that for a minute, please? Doctor Morgan wants to ask you some questions.” Anne said, gently removing Izzy’s headphones.

“But they just got to the bit about Kasatka.” Izzy whined.

“Who’s Kasatka?” Doctor Morgan asked, hoping to engage Izzy in a conversation. Cathy, who could see what the doctor was trying to do jumped in with,

“She’s a whale.” She knew how Izzy would react to hearing that and she felt a little bad for setting her up like that but it paid off.

“No she isn’t. Kasatka is a dolphin. Orca aren’t whales but everyone thinks they are because their common name is ‘killer whale’ which is ridiculous because all recorded encounters with wild orca report that they are very gentle and very playful. The only time they’ve ever shown aggressive behaviour is in captivity and that’s because, unlike land mammals, it’s almost impossible to mimic aquatic habitats and they just end up sitting in concrete tanks their whole lives and they end up with depression and are bored out of their minds and lash out.” Izzy crossed her arms and leant back against Anne before adding quietly, “It’s not their fault.”

“You know a lot about orca.” Doctor Morgan commented.

“They’re interesting,” Izzy shrugged, “Plus, animals make more sense than people.” The offhand comment was just what the doctor was waiting for.

“How so?”

“Well, they’re easier to understand. They don’t say one thing but mean another. It’s simple. They do what they have to in order to survive and they only attack when threatened or distressed and not for the sake of hurt someone else, for the most part anyway.”

“What kind of things do people do that don’t make sense?” Izzy thought for a moment before answering.

“Well, sometimes Annie makes jokes when she’s sad, or Kitty will say she’s okay when she’s not.” This took the queens by surprise; they hadn’t realised just how observant the young girl was. “And Anna and Jane always tell everyone not to bottle up their feelings but they do it too. Catherine pretends to be angry with Bessie but she isn’t because she’s always making sure she’s alright and Cathy says it’s not good to isolate yourself from your family but she spends as much time alone as she can get.” The queens exchanged subtle glances at this. They hadn’t been expecting Izzy to call them out like that, but hey what were kids for if not brutal honesty.

The rest of the appointment passed in a similar manner, with Doctor Morgan would ask Izzy a question and Izzy would answer with a bit too much honesty.

 That night Izzy was far more talkative than usual, which to be honest was an achievement.

“And they got some marine biologists in to study the sound Kasatka was making and they were long distance calls.” Izzy finished sadly.

“But they brought her baby back, right?” Jane asked, her heart breaking at the thought of being forcefully separated from a child. Izzy shook her head.

“The higher ups didn’t care. All they cared about was money. They didn’t even bother to learn about the animals. If they had they would have known that calves stay with their mothers their entire life, even when they’re adults. The females stay beside their mothers the whole time but the males end up pushed to the outside of the pod because it’s a matriarchal society but they’re still in the same pod and still near their mothers. Also orca have multiple languages, well scientists are hesitant to admit that any species other than humans have languages but they do. Different pods speak different languages and yet Sea World told everyone that the orcas were with their families when they weren’t. They were with a bunch of other orca that they couldn’t understand and in a confined space so of course they fought with each other. They were frustrated and didn’t have any other way of communicating.” Izzy slumped back against the couch; her arms folded across her chest.

“And on that note,” Anne put an arm around Izzy’s shoulders, “It’s time for bed.” Izzy considered protesting but the thought of curling up under the blankets with Anne and Kitty was rather appealing and so she said goodnight to the others and made her way to bed.

“How does she remember all of that?” Catherine asked once they heard the door shut upstairs.

“I don’t know.” Anna shook her head in disbelief.

“If only she could remember her times tables.” Cathy joked.

“So she remembers all of that but not her times tables?” Jane asked.

“It’s probably because it’s something she’s interested in; trust me she hates maths.”

 Three days later and the queens were sitting in the living room, minus Kathrine who was upstairs with Izzy.

“ASD, ADHD combined and Anxiety.” Cathy read aloud from the email she had up on her laptop.

“I know what half of that means.” Cleves said bluntly.

“Anxiety, I doubt I have to read the explanation of that one.” Cathy sighed, “ADHD combined, both Attention deficit and Hyperactivity present.”

“So just ADHD then?” Cleves asked, still unsure of what the email was saying.

“I think it’s possible to have one and not the other,” Cathy said, “Like Kitty and Maggie both have ADHD but Kitty’s is more hyperactive and Maggie’s is more the attention deficit, I think.” Cleves nodded slowly, trying to make sense of it all.

“And ASD?” Anne asked.

“Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

“Autism?” Catherine asked, her god daughter nodded.

“Jane?” Cathy had noticed how Jane seemed to pale at the news, “What’s the matter?” Jane shook her head, biting the inside of her lip to stop herself talking.

“Hey, come on,” Anna said gently, “You remember what Izzy said, right? We both need to take our own advice.” Jane was silent for a minute before she spoke.

“I don’t want to lose her.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, “I can’t lose her.”

“We aren’t going to lose her, Jane.” Anne gave Jane’s hand a squeeze.

“But what if… What if they come and take her away? What if they lock her up somewhere?” Cathy set her laptop aside and knelt in front of Jane.

“No one’s going to take her, I promise.”

“But-“

“Jane, listen to me.” Cathy cut her off, “We understand so much more than we did back then, Izzy won’t be locked up because she’s different.”

“Yeah,” Anne brushed some hair from Jane’s face, “She’s the same Izzy as before, but now we have a better understanding of how to help her.”

“I can’t lose her.” Jane repeated, her voice stronger this time.

“You won’t. Izzy is going to stay with us and we are going to look after her and she is going to grow up knowing that she is loved no matter what.” Anne pulled Jane into a tight hug, if she was being honest Anne would have to admit that the same thoughts had been spiralling through her own mind but as they sat there holding tight to one another she knew that what she had said was true.

Izzy was a part of their unconventional family now and nothing would ever change that.

#six #six the musical #six fanfiction #anne boleyn #anna of cleves #catherine of aragon #Catherine Parr #jane seymour #kathrine howard #autism #adhd #anxiety

[elliepassmore]

After Anthology Review

4/5 stars Recommended for people who like: anthologies, dystopia, apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, survival stories, end of the world The Segment 5/5 stars It’s been a while since I’ve read this entire anthology through, normally I just pick out the stories I like and read those, so I’d forgotten this story was in the book and I’d actually given up on ever finding where I’d read it. I love this one. It gives a nice twist to what media might look like in the future, and though it was written in 2012, it certainly gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘fake news.’ The story has a post-apocalyptic dusty vibe to it, where it’s rough and tumble, but no one is exactly miserable, and the characters definitely have the ‘fend for yourself’ that’s typical for the genre. Something I think is unique is that society hasn’t collapsed and it’s not pretending to be a dystopic utopia, it’s just society and this is merely how it’s turned out. It’s definitely one of my favorites in the anthology and the twist(s) at the end are fantastic and hard to see coming. After the Cure 5/5 stars This is another one of my favorites and is actually the story that I usually skip to first. I thought for years that this was a zombie story, but this reread I noticed that the protagonist suggests they’re vampires…but they still seem to be zombies, so we’re going with zombies. I don’t like zombies. Ever. I avoid all books, movies, and TV shows about them, but this short story is so bloody fantastic (and the zombie part actually minor enough) that it’s one that I reread about once a year. The story follows a cured zombie-vampire-whatever and the weird sociolegal space she finds herself in after being rehabilitated. Thought short the story explores who the monsters really are as well as whether being cured is always something to be desired. The former is something that you see a lot, but I don’t see a ton of the latter and I enjoy how Ryan looks at the sense of community that comes with being a zombie-vampire-whatever and how that community (as well as the hunger) lingers and is something the cured still feel and desire. Valedictorian 4/5 stars I always find this story a bit confusing, though I think I’ve read it enough now that it makes some sense. It’s set about a century after humanity’s war with androids and now the bottom 10% of high schoolers and the top 1% are taken outside of the Firewall (which isn’t explained, but I’m assuming it’s a virtual, code-based electric fence). I’m not sure how I feel about the story itself, but I do like the main character, Zinhle, who strives for excellence even knowing the consequences and allows herself to be angry. The story is a bit of a ‘tired of smalltown’ story, but sci-fi and more like a slice-of-life than Chris Pine’s version of Captain Kirk, who proceeds to go on and have adventures. Zinhle feels more real. Visiting Nelson 3/5 stars This one’s set in a post-apocalyptic London after flooding has turned it into a wasteland. It’s written dialectally, which is interesting and adds a nice element to the story, but even though I felt connected to the world, I wasn’t drawn to the characters or even the plot, really. I liked the idea of the characters going to see this person/thing they called Nelson (who is Nelson from “Kiss me Hardy!” and the Battle of Trafalgar, not Nelson Mandela). The bits where Charlie, the narrator, talks about the floods and the way London has changed are also interesting, but the main part, about Morris and nirv and the Hairies were not all that interesting to me, though Langrish did a decent job worldbuilding. All I know of Freedom 4/5 stars TW sexual assault This story starts one way and then does a switchback and begins going another way. In the beginning, it seems like the story will be about a future where society’s regressed and gone back to the whole ‘rich kidnap/buy foreign kids for labor’ sort of thing, but then it ends up being a cult story. The slave part of the story is brief and reminds me a bit of The Little Princess, but the interesting bits come later on, when it turns into a cult story. The narrator is about 12- or 13-years old and stumbles across the cult on accident, though she quickly becomes an insider. I liked seeing the different perspective a kid has of a cult than what an adult would have and the manner in which the narrator makes her decision about going to Proxima Centauri with the cult or staying on earth. The Other Elder 4/5 stars I will say, I really really liked Revis’ Across the Universe series when I first read it, but I tried rereading it again recently and just found the whole thing too creepy for my liking. This short story is a prequel to those, and like most prequels, you needn’t’ve read the originals to understand this one. Weirdly enough, I actually find this story less creepy than the original trilogy, even though it deals more with the nitty gritty of mind control and the ‘need’ to have everyone conform. I think my favorite part of this short is how well Revis shows that the things we adamantly believe in as a kid don’t hold true as an adult, and how sometimes our adult selves would disappoint and anger our younger selves. I will say though, I would’ve liked a scene in the middle where it becomes clear why Elder changed his mind—I mean, I can guess and I’m sure there’s a decent chance I’m right, but sometimes I like direct answers. The Great Game at the End of the World 3/5 stars This is another confusing one. I think something similar to the rapture occurred, though it also involved the semi-destruction of the world into a bunch of fragmented floating pieces. I liked the Before/Now switching of the scenes, which served to help explain some of the other creatures/characters in the story, but also to give background on the narrator and his sister as well as the world before. I can’t really pinpoint why I’m not a fan of this one, because the setting and other creatures/characters are interesting and pretty unique, but I just don’t vibe with this story. Reunion 5/5 stars I like this one, though I can’t put my finger on what exactly it is I like so much about it. It seems to take place almost immediately after the overthrow of a dictator, with an older sister and a mother looking for their missing little sister/daughter. The story is largely told through dialogue, with Mama or Isabella explaining to the young ‘Maria’ what the truth of her family is, how she got taken, how they tried to find her, and so on. While it’s clearly a form of telling exposition rather than showing it, the dialogue is full of enough imagery that I have no trouble picturing what’s occurring and it doesn’t feel like I’m being ‘told’ anything. Isabella in particular intrigues me. She’s rather rough and tumble, having worked with/for the partisans to overthrow the government and I wish there was a longer story exploring Isabella and her life, either before or after the government overthrow. Blood Drive 5/5 stars TW shootings This story is a sort of ‘what if safety laws were repealed in the US’ sort of thing, where labor laws stopped being a thing, church is mandatory (and I’m guessing Christian), and everyone carries a gun. I’ll be frank, after the Parkland shooting when people were talking about having teachers carry, this was the story I thought of. This story is in part about the guns, but it’s also about living normal life under extremism. The way the story is written, you’re following a normal citizen who goes to high school and has a girlfriend and tries to figure out what she’s going to do after high school. I think I like the story so much because it’s somewhat of an unusual storyline—most stories that take place in extremist countries have the protagonist as a rebel—and it has a soft ending. Reality Girl 4/5 stars TW f-slur This is another story that has to do with media, but with a lesser focus on it than the first story had. In this one, something’s happened in the US that’s triggered its collapse and left the streets and waterways unsafe and UN Peacekeepers maintaining ‘temporary’ patrols and charity tents in the country. I like the concept of a truly destroyed US that wasn’t destroyed by infighting or even by war. Pure water is precious and the price for making the money to have access to it is exposing yourself to radiation and biohazards, meaning the risks of life after the end are never far away. I love the dystopian/apocalyptic genre and there are a lot of good writers in it that make the worlds real, but it’s hard to make the threats and consequences in them seem real sometimes, but I feel Bowes does a good job of that in this. There is a weird moment at the end, though, that definitely feels like a ‘and everyone clapped’ moment, which I wasn’t fond of. How Th’irth Wint Rong By Hapless Joey @ Homeskool.guv 3/5 stars Yeah…not a fan of this one. It’s written like it was written by someone who is largely illiterate, which is fine. It adds some authenticity to the piece and it actually isn’t hard to understand what’s being said. On the surface at least. I just don’t understand what the story is about. Or why. This kid is writing an essay about how the world ended for some contest and the contest is a scam, but there’s zero reason for me to care about this kid or this world and it’s really just something to read to get to the next story. Rust with Wings 4/5 stars I remember this story fairly well, though I think this is the first time I’ve reread it in several years and I’ll admit that it ends differently than I remembered it. In this one, some bugs have taken over Arizona and New Mexico and these bugs eat metal and are attracted to things that send out electromagnetic waves. I believe this is a prequel to another series by the author, but don’t quote me on that. I really enjoyed this one and the ingenuity the characters showed getting away from the bugs. Faint Heart 3.5/5 stars This one felt more like a novella than a short story, with a decent amount of background for each character and multiple POVs. It feels a bit more like a fantasy novella than a post-apocalyptic/dystopian one, but it’s still well-written and the world is vibrant. As lovely as the background and world-building is, the characters fall somewhat flat, I find. I don’t care at all about Tor, so I mostly tried to just speed through his POV. Yvain was interesting, but I would’ve liked it better if there’d been more of him back when Persie was alive, as his later self is just kind of a dick. Roz was actually interesting and I liked her character, she’s a bit of a trope, but at least she had vibrancy and personality to her where the others didn’t. If it had just been her, and the story continued through the trials, I’d’ve been more interested, I think. Also, a story about Miri and Dareus would be interesting, they were also deserving of more page time. The Easthound 4.5/5 stars Like most of these, I like the concept of this one. It’s a twist on the ‘lycanthropy virus’ where the virus sets in when people hit puberty, but not before (and if you’re already an adult then you get infected). I even like the characters in this one, each of them seemed to be pretty well fleshed out and even if they act silly in the beginning it doesn’t feel out of place. I love the twist at the end too and the fact there’s so many hints before that, but you still don’t see it coming until you’re there. My only real complaint is that I wish the story was longer. Gray 2/5 stars This one was a poem. Which is fine, I like poetry, but it isn’t even a very good poem and it certainly doesn’t fit with the rest of the theme of the anthology. Before 5/5 stars This is another one that takes the past and twists it a little to make it the future. In this one, a little Indigenous girl has been stolen from her parents by invaders who experiment on her in an attempt to find the cure for a manufactured disease. I really liked the focus on naming and storytelling in this one. The storytelling not only tells us something about the narrator, but it also serves to show aspects of the narrator’s culture, and the naming aspect has a poignancy to it that I rather enjoy. Fake Plastic Trees 3/5 stars I don’t dislike this one, but I also don’t like it either. It’s set after a breach at an MIT lab lets loose nanobots that turn about 70% of the world to PVC. For some reason, it took the arm/National Guard seven years to find any other survivors. When you have places like Montreal and San Francisco surviving, the fact that the surviving portion of Jacksonville doesn’t know about the rest of the world and its new technology feels somewhat like a plot hole. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the narrator. But the narration style is interesting, it goes right along with that ‘purposefully narrating’ and unreliable narrator stuff I like so much in other stories. You Won’t Feel a Thing 4/5 stars This is a prequel (companion prequel?) to Nix’s series Shade’s Children. I think the concept is interesting, with people 15+ disappearing one day and some alien/monster things coming and mutating kids. It even has the pocket of resistance/survivors thing I like in other survival stories. There was plenty background information so nothing about the world was confusing, but I’m still left feeling like the story was about that damn toothache more than anything else and what I want to feel is the opposite, so I knocked a star off. The Marker 4/5 stars This is another pretty good one that I’ll come back and reread on its own sometimes. I like the dystopic!Roman feel of the story, with the people who ensure the health and continued growth of the population known as Paters. I also found the color and DNA system interesting as well, and while the DNA is explained, the color never is. The characters don’t interest me too much, but I like the mood and tone of it.

#book #book review #anthology #short story #lgbtq #characters of color #dystopia #dyslit #post apocalyptic

[cbraxs]

Warped [Time Warp Trio Fanfiction] - Chapter 10

Snow fell lazily outside of the Olympia diner where Joe, his friends, and Anna gathered to eat greasy fried food and work on homework. Snowflakes hit the window and melted into droplets upon contact, streaming down the glass pane. Outside, everything was washed out like winter itself was sucking the color out of everything with its last breath. The streets of Brooklyn were dead, as if the frigid weather itself was slowing down time, bringing it to a freezing halt.

Joe turned his attention to the blank paper in front of him, chewing on his eraser in thought. “How about,” he cleared his throat then said with extra bravado, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the audience! We are proud to present to you for the first time today the marvelous, mind-blowing, mesmerizing,—”

“Maddeningly mind-numbing…” Anna muttered, her eyes not leaving her book.

Joe was about to say something slick, when Sam cut in, “Hey, I got an idea for you! Now hear me out, why don’t you try working on your homework for a minute?”

“C’mon Sam,” Joe complained. “This is important. The talent show’s a few weeks away.”

“Yeah, and the homework’s due on Friday.”

Joe motioned to Fred, whose eyes were glued his phone screen, his earbuds plugged in his head. “How come you never say anything about him slacking off?”

Sam glanced at Fred and shook his head. “He always slacks off. At this point, I’m learning to accept it.”

“Hey!” Fred protested, pulling the earbud out. Joe was shocked that he could even hear them with his music blasting. “I’m doing my work.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Izzy looking up the answers for you doesn’t count.”

Izzy glanced up from the history textbook and smiled innocently. “It’s okay. I don’t mind helping him.”

“See Sam?” Fred smirked. “She doesn’t mind helping me.”

That did it. They went back and forth; Sam yelled at Fred to do his own research, Fred insisted that he learns better this way and bonked Sam on the forehead with an onion ring, blah blah blah. Joe tuned them out and tapped his temple with his eraser.

The talent show was coming up soon. He and Izzy got the trick down so now the only thing left for them to do was to tighten up their act, pick out their costumes, paint their trick box, finish his script… Okay, so there was a lot left to do, but the talent show was a few weeks away and they were making good progress.

“How about, ‘Prepare to feast your eyes on the—’”

“Is this whole act gonna be you shouting for six minutes,” Anna asked, “or will Izzy get the chance talk, too?”

Hearing her name, Izzy stopped apologizing to Sam and Fred to join their conversation. She smiled shyly and scratched the back of her head. “I don’t think I need to. It’s not that I’m shy—”

She’s so shy, Joe thought.

“—but speaking in front of a crowd is super nerve-wracking. I don’t know how Joe can do it.”

“His big mouth helps.”

Joe stuck his tongue out at Anna, but they both laughed.

“Are you gonna be okay on stage?” Fred asked, ditching his argument with Sam. “The talent show is gonna be more than the three of us… mostly because it’s mandatory.”

“Iz is gonna do great,” Joe said. “Anyway, are there any more comments from the peanut gallery, or can I get some actual input on my script?”

“Script?” Anna snorted. “You got, like, two lines.”

Joe huffed and ignored her. Looks like he’d have to come up with more “m” words by himself.

He considered what Anna asked him. Joe looked at Izzy comparing answers with Sam… then he realized he was staring at her and shot his eyes back down at his paper. Should he give Izzy some lines? Knowing her, she’d agree to it but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

He, Sam, and Fred spent the past few days trying to do the opposite. They’ve studied together after school every day to keep her company and planned to see a movie this weekend (even though there was nothing good out in theaters) in an attempt to distract her from what went down on Monday.

Joe glanced back at Izzy laughing at something Anna said and smiled. At least she wasn’t thinking about what happened on Monday constantly.

~*~

Monday’s events were constantly on Izzy’s mind. Of course she thought about other things, but everything that happened was always spinning around in the back of her mind, never still enough for her to fully processed them.

Even after sharing what happened with her friends it still felt too surreal. She sat at the breakfast bar and fidgeted with her napkin, swinging her legs and avoiding eye contact.

Fred was the first to break the silence. “That’s crazy, man. How does your mom know Mad Jack?”

An excellent question. Izzy would like to know the answer, too. And what about her dad? Did he know? It wouldn’t surprise her.

Sam frowned and rubbed his chin in thought. “I wonder why The Book decided to warp you to that event in your life.”

“Who knows,” Fred said. “The dumb thing does what it wants half the time. Remember where we ended up when I wished we could go on summer vacation a week earlier back in eighth grade?”

Joe shuddered. “I thought we agreed to never talk about that?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “What I meant was why did it warp her to that moment specifically?”

“You have a point.” Joe turned to Izzy. “You said you wished you knew what was going on, remember? You think that’s related to your dad disappearing?”

Izzy shrugged. If so, she couldn’t make sense of it. Did Mad Jack have anything to do with her dad leaving? Even if he did, she was at another dead end. Mad Jack was an evil psycho doing evil psycho things, so her dad went to stop him from eviling psychotically… why? Why did he have to be the one to do it? Her dad wasn’t some kind of time cop.

Reality stung at her. There were a lot of things she didn’t know about her parents. If her mom was a time adventurer, what’s stopping her dad from being a time cop or whatever? If that was the case and was the reason he left, what could Izzy even do? How could she even help? There was one thing she did know, though; it wasn’t enough for her dad to disappear without a trace…

“He doesn’t want me near him,” Izzy said.

“Your dad?��� Joe said. “Yeah, his letter said—”

“No, it’s more than that. I think… I think my dad did something, some kind of a spell. When I warped back, I don’t think it was with The Book. It felt like an outside force. And remember how we bounced back mid-warp? I think my dad put a blocking spell on himself so I can’t get to him at all, in any timeline.”

“So it’s magic?” Fred said. “That good right? Can’t you make a counter-spell or something? Undo what he did?”

“I-I don’t know magic that powerful.”

Izzy felt like the world’s lamest witch. She thought she was pretty good with the magic she knew, but levitating balls and phasing through objects wouldn’t be enough to break a spell that strong. This magic was way beyond her abilities. Sure she was able to place that protection spell on Anna and Joe and blast Mad Jack back in Egypt, but those were random magical outburst. Without a teacher, she wouldn’t know how to recreate those spells. Izzy never felt so powerless.

Her parents would tell her there’s no such thing as powerlessness. There was always something you could do within your power. But with all the things they never told her, she didn’t think she could put much stock in their words.

“You think your uncle could break it?” Sam asked Joe, tearing Izzy from her thoughts.

“Maybe,” Joe said. An annoyed edge crept in his voice. “The only problem is he’s impossible to reach.”

Silence washed over them again. Izzy watched her friends try and come up with something to cheer her up, but she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear them. They were worried about her and her dad, whom they never even met. Her heart warmed to see how they cared about her and worried with her. She felt touched… and guilty.

She pulled her friends into her situation with her and burdened them with her unsolvable problem. A part of her realized she was being silly. These were her friends, and if any one of them were in her place she’d be doing exactly what they were now. Still… she couldn’t help be feel like a problem. The guilt made her chest tighten.

Izzy sighed heavily, catching their attention. “Right now, there’s not much we can do.”

Her friends looked at her quizzically. She forced a smile. “We tried everything we could, right? There’s nothing else left to do. Thanks again for trying to use The Book to help me, Joe.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I really appreciate it.”

Joe frowned at her but nodded. “Yeah. No problem.”

Since then, the boys hung out with her after school everyday to keep her distracted. It was all so sweet. Even listening to the album Anna lent her helped keep her mind off things… things like the secrets her parents kept from her for fifteen years.

She couldn’t help but wonder what her dad was doing— wherever he was—  and if it really had something do with Mad Jack. And she thought about her mom. If everything Mad Jack said was true, then Izzy didn’t know who her mom really was. She was an adventurer; Dulari the Daring. How could some random car accident take out someone so strong and powerful?

Izzy couldn’t get to her dad, but with The Book, she could go back in time and save her mom. She could talk to her, really get to know her, and—

No. No, no, no. Bad thoughts. Stop, stop. Izzy smacked her cheeks to snap her back to the present where she worked on Spanish homework in the noisy cafeteria. It wasn’t the best place for a dyslexic to learn a foreign—and equally difficult—language, but she’d rather get a headache conjugating Spanish verbs than a heartache thinking about her mom. Soy confundido, tú estás confundido, él ella estamos confundidos—

“Heeeeey, Isabella.”

The sweet, sing-song voice broke Izzy out of her concentración. Three girls without lunch trays slid into the seats around her and regarded her with interesar— interest.

Izzy shifted in her seat, trying to place their familiar faces. “Oh, hi. It's Isadora, or Izzy for short.”

A giggle from the girl across to her. Izzy frowned. What was so funny?

The girl closest to her smirked and perched her chin on laced fingers. “I love the name ‘Izzy’. It’s so… cute.”

“Oh, uh, thanks. Thank you.”

“You liking this school so far?”

“Yeah, it’s nicer than my last school. It used to be a women’s prison in the thirties and forties and—”

“We've noticed you've been hanging out with those three guys, like, all the time,” the lead girl interrupted. “What were their names again?”

Izzy perked up. “Joe, Sam, and Fred! They’re the best.”

“At what?” the giggling girl said. The third girl smacked her on the arm to shush her, but she was repressing a smirk of her own.

“Isadora…” The girl next to Izzy put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her like she’d just learned Izzy contracted a rare disease. “You do know what that looks like to other people, right?”

“What what looks like?”

“You know… One girl hanging out with three boys. It's not a good look for you, especially being new and all.”

Izzy frowned. “I don't understand.”

“People think you're, y’know, easy.”

“Easy?”

This time the other girls both laughed freely, and it dawned on Izzy what they meant. Their laughter felt like sandbags on her shoulders. She wanted to say the boys were just her friends, but the words lodged in her throat. She stared down at her half-eaten sandwich, her face so hot she was sure it was scarlet.

A backpack slammed on the table and everyone jumped two feet in the air. Izzy looked up at the owner of the backpack and gasped.

“Hey girls,” Rin said. “You giving my friend any trouble?”

Friend? Izzy was sure she didn’t mean her, but Rin’s usual sneer wasn’t directed at her this time, but at the other girls at the table. Rin was defending her?

The girl beside Izzy shrunk back. “W-we’re just talking to her.”

“More like you were trying to embarrass her.”

The girl who smacked her friend spoke up. “Relax, Patinkin. We’re trying to help her. People talk about her behind her back.”

“They can screw off. Who cares whose she's friends with? Why don't you mind your own business and stop fishing for gossip. Now run along and get a life.”

Rin fixed them with a hard look. Not a moment later the girls stood and fled from the table like ants running from water.

Izzy let out a relieved sigh she didn’t know she was holding. “Thank you.”

Rin shrugged her backpack back on. “Whatever. Those girls are piranhas. They’ll chew up every bit of drama you can give them and leave you a pile of bones and a bad reputation.”

“Oh, they weren’t that mean...”

Rin gave her a look that told Izzy she didn’t buy it. “Y’know, you’re too nice, dude.”

“Oh, thank y—”

“It’s not a compliment.”

Izzy deflated. “Oh.”

Rin lean on the table. “Being too nice gives people free rein to walk all over you. You need to tell people messing with you to stop and piss off.”

Izzy blanched. “I-I don't think I physically can.”

“Work on it.”

“Okay.”

Rin shook her head. Wrong answer. “That’s what I’m talking about. Don’t let people push you around and tell you what to do.”

“Not even you?” Izzy asked. She meant it innocently enough, but realized too late Rin might interpret her question as sass and get annoyed.

But instead of getting mad, she let out a short laugh. “Sure, not even me.”

Izzy laughed awkwardly and extended a hand to her. “I’m Izzy. Thank you.”

To Izzy’s surprise, she took her hand and shook it. “Rin. No problem”

Izzy couldn’t believe how nice she was being, especially after their first encounter. If this was Rin’s way of apologizing for their first meeting, then Izzy was relieved she decided to be nice to her now.

She was about to invite Rin to sit down when Joe and Fred returned to the table. Joe slid into the seat next to Izzy. “Hey, Iz. I snagged you a cook—” He noticed Rin and he flinched, but otherwise kept his composure. “Hey! It’s… you.”

Rin looked at him, unfazed. “Me.”

Fred eyed her suspiciously then looked at Izzy. “She giving you trouble?”

“Does she look like she’s in trouble?” Rin snapped.

“She wasn’t!” Izzy said. “She was—”

Sam slammed his tray on the table drowning out Izzy’s next words. He huffed and dropped to his seat. “You guys will not believe what I went through in that line. First, this kid tried to trip me! I almost— ah!”

When he saw Rin, he jumped and squeezed his bag of juice so tight it exploded all over his pants.

“Ah, come on!”

Fred laughed and pounded the table. Joe went to hand him some napkins, but Rin beat him to it. She grabbed the napkins from Fred’s tray and handed them to Sam. He yelped.

Rin frowned at him. “You okay there?”

“I’m okay, perfectly okay, why wouldn’t I be okay?!”

Fred wiped a tear from his eye. “Good job, dude. Real convincing.”

Sam laughed nervously and took the napkins from her. “T-thanks, Rin”

Rin looked away and scratched her cheek. “Whatever.”

She turned and Izzy realized she was about to leave.

“Wait!” Izzy called, jumping from her seat.

This time, it was Rin’s turn to jump.

“Uh, sorry, but we’re seeing a movie tomorrow. You can join us if you want. I’ll buy your snacks.”

Rin thought about it for a moment and smirked small. “Sure, if you’re paying.”

The boys stared at them as they exchanged numbers. Their jaws dropped so hard they fell off and skidded halfway across the cafeteria floor.

And with that, Rin snuck past a patrolling teacher and left the lunchroom.

“Uh…” Joe looked at Izzy in disbelief. “What was that all about?”

Izzy sat back down and twisted one of her earrings. “I wanted to thank her for saving me.”

“Wait,”Sam said. “She saved you? From what?”

Izzy explained to them what happened with the girls before they arrived.

“I guess we had her pegged wrong,” Joe admitted.

“Anyone who can get rid of those girls can’t be all bad,” Fred said. “They’re always like that, like someone injected Jodie with the essence of pure b—”

“Hey!” Joe shot Fred a look that shut him up.

There was the name Jodie again, the same one Anna mentioned at the museum. She was about to ask who Jodie was when Sam said, “So we’re gonna let her come with us?” He dabbed his juiced pants with the wad of napkins.

Fred mixed his ketchup and ranch with a french fry. “If she gonna be cool from now on, I’m cool.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Izzy. “So was that your way of asking Rin out on a ‘Thank You’ date?”

Izzy’s face warmed. “Date?! No! I didn’t mean it as a date. I don’t even think Rin’s my type.”

Joe raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t say anything as he drank from his bag of juice. For some reason this made Izzy’s cheeks grow hotter.

“So what is your type?” Fred asked.

Izzy thought about it for a second. To be honest, she never given it much thought before. “They have to be, like, y’know, and have like, some, uh, things and be a little… you know what I mean?”

Fred nodded and gestured “okay” with his hand. “Totally. Super vivid description. Very nice. Joe, I think she just described you.”

Sam chuckled. “Or you, the lunch lady, principal Robinson, John Cusack...”

“Looks like you got some stiff competition, dude.”

The two laughed. Izzy put her hands on her face and shook her head. “Guuuuys, you’re such dorks…”

~*~

Joe and Sam were the first ones to the movie theater. They waited inside by the ticket booth, discussing which movie they were going to subject themselves to. Their group had a rule that whenever they didn’t know which movie they wanted to see, the first ones there got to choose. Joe made it a point to arrive ten minutes early.

The theater they frequented, The Loop, was a combination movie theater and arcade. Everything from the eighties décor to the retro games to the ancient marquee with flashing lights pointed to this place being stuck in the past, but that’s exactly what Joe liked about it.

The crowd was sparse, even more so than normal during the Dump Months. A few clusters of teens bought food at the concession or hung out at the arcade. Two or three younger kids dragged their parents into the theater of some animated movie.

Joe yawned and stretched. He was still a bit tuckered out from how much he and Izzy practiced their routine a bunch the day before. They ran through it about a dozen times trying to get faster at it before Izzy convinced him to take a break before they burnt out.

“So we whittled it down to three movies,” Sam said. “The bad pop star bio-documentary, the bad action comedy, or the bad animated movie based on classic literature.”

“Our cup runneth over with options,” Joe said dryly.

“My vote is for the bad pop star movie.”

Joe and Sam turned to see Rin walk up to them, hands shoved in the pockets of her jacket.

“Huh, didn’t peg you as a fan,” Joe said.

“Oh, God, no!” she said more forcefully than Joe thought was necessary. “I just think it’d be fun to make fun of.”

Joe laughed. He was always down for enjoying a terrible movie, either genuinely or ironically.

Sam argued, but since it was two against one, he gave up and they bought their tickets. Joe filled in the silence with small talk. He wasn’t as nervous around Rin as Sam, and he was still a bit wary of her with her attitude. But she stood up for Izzy when she didn’t have to, so Joe was willing to give her a chance.

“Even my sister doesn’t like this guy,” Joe said, waving his ticket. “Though I guess it’s not surprising if you knew my sister. She likes weird experimental foreign music with a lot of screaming. I think she started listening to it ironically to annoy me but —”

“Okay,” Rin cut him off with a sigh. “I get what you’re doing.”

“Uh, talking?” Joe asked.

“Trying to make things less awkward, since he,” she pointed her chin at Sam, “wets himself when I’m around.”

“Hey!” Sam protested.

“Look, if you want to say something to me, say it. Get it off your chest so we can move on.”

“P-promise you won’t be mad?” Sam asked.

“No,” she said, “but it’s not like I’m gonna hurt you, dude.”

“Pretty sure that’s what scares him,” Joe muttered.

Rin raised an eyebrow at them, her expression unreadable. Sam shot Joe a ticked off glare before saying, “I am not scared of you. It’s that you’re being… nice.”

“What?” Rin asked. “I’m nice. I’m always nice.”

Joe very convincingly covered his laugh with a cough.

Sam was about to explain himself further when Fred sauntered over to them with Izzy in tow waving excitedly at them.

“Ah, man!” Fred complained. “You guys are early. Please tell me we’re not watching a chick flick?”

Joe told them their pick, and the look on their faces was gold. Izzy was more upset than Fred. You couldn’t tell by looking at her, with her pigtails and flowy pink skirt, but she was into more hardcore music than pop. Nothing that would make a conservative parent faint and clench their pearls, but there were a lot more screaming and guitar solos than you’d expect on her MP3 player (yeah, she seriously still had a MP3 player).

Rin made a good choice. The theater was surprisingly empty so the entire time the five of them sat in the back and mocked the film. Sam pointed out editing flaws when he wasn’t busy falling asleep from boredom. Fred made up crude parody lyrics to the songs and quipped about the cute, hyperactive fangirls in the film. Rin noticed Izzy would cringe in her seat every time a new song would start and would lean in her ear to whisper something that made her cringe harder. As for Joe, he couldn’t help but snicker and roll his eyes every time the music swelled during an oh-so emotional interview in a half-baked attempt to wring any tears from the audience.

After the film, the four of them hung out in the vacant arcade, goofing around and playing games. The machines were ancient and a couple were perpetually out-of-order, but they were always able to make things entertaining.

Hanging out with Rin was a lot of fun; even Sam started to relax around her. She could be intense and aggressive when they played competitive games, but she could go toe to toe with Joe and even Fred when it came to shooting hoops.

Fred used the tickets he won to claim the greatest prize imaginable: a bedazzled tinfoil crown straight from a D-list fast food restaurant.

Fred grinned. “How do I look?”

“Like the crowned Duke of Dorks,” Rin said, sipping from her soda. Izzy giggled and covered her mouth.

“Duke?” Fred asked incredulously. “I don’t even get to be a king?”

“He’s the king.” She motioned to Sam and plopped in a chair of the broken Rapid Rage game.

Sam flushed and glared at her. “Hey!”

Joe laughed and claimed the seat beside her.  “Right, they’re the dorks. Whose idea was it, again, to watch a teeny-bopper documentary?”

Rin rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I suggested it. To mock it.”

Izzy frown at her. “I thought you liked the movie.”

Was it Joe’s imagination or did Rin’s cheeks turn pink?

“Pffft, what made you think that?”

“During the movie you were telling me all this trivia about—”

“Hey!” Rin shot up from her seat. “I’m gonna go grab another refill.”

“Cool,” Fred said. “Can you grab me a—”

She was already gone, fleeing to the concession stand.

Fred’s face fell. “Never mind.”

“She forgot her cup,” Sam said

Joe waited for Rin to vanish behind a claw crane machine before he asked Izzy, “What did she tell you?”

“Just stuff like who wrote his songs,” she explained, spinning her earrings. “Can you believe the lead singer of Strawberry Tragedy wrote the song ‘Sweet Love’?” She crinkled her nose in disgust.

“Totally cannot imagine that,” Fred muttered.

Did Rin actually like that music? Joe couldn’t see it. She had the attitude and wardrobe of someone who’d mosh at concerts and wasn’t afraid to stomp on you. Nothing about her screamed “bubblegum teen pop.”

Joe was about to suggest that go find Rin and give her her cup when Sam shrieked. Joe froze as a familiar sensation crept around him. Even before he looked down, he knew that a green fog was coiling around him them vines.

“Joe!” Sam cried. “What’s happening?!”

“I don’t know!” Joe said.

“Do something!”

“Like what?! I didn’t even bring The Book with me.”

Izzy squeaked and glomped onto the closest arm (this time Sam) and nearly knocked them both over.

Fred tried to swat the fog away. “Maybe we can—”

It was too late for whatever Fred tried to suggest before the four of them were unwillingly dragged through time and hurled towards their next adventure.

#time warp trio #timewarptrio #fanfiction #joe #sam #fred #anna #female oc #izzy #rin

[edgeofmyniall]

five

The vase, full of wildflowers, sat in the vase on Rachel’s desk two days after her date with Niall. They had been delivered during her planning period when no student was around. When she walked up to the front office, the secretary couldn’t stop smiling at her.

Rachel grabbed the flowers and headed back to her classroom fully aware of how hot her cheeks were. When she thought it was safe, she read the card. She knew who these were from.

“Since you don’t have a vase…” There was no name but under the near penmanship was a drawing of the lightning bolt and Harry Potter glasses that Niall had done his best with.

It was three weeks since their date, and Niall had spent any free time he could watching the Harry Potter movies. It’s better than not really knowing about them at all, right? If that was something Rach liked, he’d want to at least hold a good conversation about it. He took the sorting hat quiz thing and found out he’s a Hufflepuff. Researching the house online, he thought the quiz must be broke because he’s more brave than anything. He’d face his worst nightmare years ago. I wonder what House Rach is in, Niall thought and then he realized that ever since they kissed, he was to referring to her as Rach instead of Rachel.

He had grown attached to her. The texting back and forth, the phone calls that went well into the morning, the companionship he so longed for- through it all, even if it was a short amount of time, he had grown fond of Rachel. He wanted to spend more time with her.

But his heart hurt as he longed for Rachel. Was he doing an injustice to Isabella? It almost felt like he was cheating on her- almost. What would his kids think? How would they handle it? Would they hate him for moving on? Especially with a teacher? How could he do this to his family? He wanted to know.

So on a Friday night, it made it clear that the twins needed to be free so that they could have family night. Sitting around their triangle table, Niall laid out the board of  Monopoly as his nerves got the best of him. Mags and Mack looked on as Niall placed the car onto the start square.

“It’s been a while since we had family night. Figured we’d spend some time together.” Niall said as he shuffled the deck of cards.

“We’d have more time if you weren’t gone all the time,” Mags snapped as she slammed Alice down. Mack looked at his sister as he contemplated reaching for a game piece. “Saw your note on Miss Miles’ flowers.”

“Wait, dad’s been sneaking out with Miss Miles? Your teacher with the big a-“ Niall cut his eyes to his youngest before the word ass slipped out of his mouth. “Astronomical sense of literature.” Mack cleared his throat. “So Miss Miles could be our new mom?”

“I don’t think it’s that serious...yet.” Hearing her dad say those words cut Mags deep. She sat up quickly scooting the bench back before throwing her face piece at the wall. She stomped up the stairs before locking herself in her room. Niall looked at Mack before walking up the stairs to his daughter’s room. He knocked gently.

“Mags?” His daughter, who nearly always was the first answer him before he even got his sentence out didn’t speak a word. She didn’t come to the door, so Niall knocked a little harder. “Maggie? I want to talk to you. Please open the door.” He wiggled the door knob, but it didn’t budge.

Nothing. Now, Niall felt enraged. Who was Maggie to lock the door in his house? With Mack it was one thing. That kind of thing happened often enough that Niall had the drill handy to unscrew the door from the frame, but Mags? She would have never done this in a million years. It shocked Niall to the point that he was dumbfounded.

“Maggie Ryann Horan, open this door right now or I will take it down myself. One.”

Niall found himself standing in front of Maggie’s door with his hands on his hips, waiting for her to shuffle around to unlock her bedroom door.

“Two.” I swear to God Maggie if you don’t open this door…” Niall thought as he ran his hands through his hair. “I just want to talk.”

“Go away,” Mags’ voice trembled. Niall knew Mags was upset, but for what? Because he started dating again? It had been thirteen years- Niall wanted to be happy again. “Maggie…” Niall’s voice pleaded, “Talk to me.”

“GO TALK TO YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND. IT’S NOT LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT MOM ANYMORE.” A thud came from the other side of the door as if Mags had thrown something at the barrier between daughter and father. “Fuck,” Mags whispered softly, stifling her crying.

“That’s it. I’m going to get the drill, and take down this damn door.” Niall walks away from the cream door, huffing out “God damn teenagers. I swear, they think they own the fuckin’ world,” when the click of the lock from Maggie’s door stops him in his tracks. She had unlocked the door when Niall had stepped away from the door well. Niall turned around and stood in front of the still closed door. He sighed, shaking his anger away- Mags need someone to talk to, not someone who was going to yell at her. He turns the knob and lets go of the cool metal. The door turns to expose a tear stained face of his daughter on her knees hovering over a broken framed picture of her mother. Maggie had thrown the picture of the young woman at the door when she was yelling at her father.

“I broke… I broke it,” Maggie cried as she picked up the photo through the jagged pieces of glass. Niall squatted down and took his daughter’s hands in his. The photo of the Isabella laid on the white carpet next to the broken metal frame and glass. “I...I got so angry. I’m so sorry Daddy, I don’t know-”

“Shhh, it’s alright. Just the vessel that broke. Let’s look here, okay?” Niall brushes the wet brown hair out of Mags’ face before kissing her temple. Niall pulls the picture out of the rubble and hands it to his daughter with no scarring. “See, there, Mom’s okay. We can get another frame, okay?” Mags shakes her head and begins to cry harder. Niall sits down on the carpeted floor and pulls his first born in his arms. “What’s going on with you?”

“I just,” Maggie goes quiet before speaking again, “I don’t know,” she whispers looking down at the palm of her hands.

“You got to talk to me so we can work this out. Is it because I’m dating?” Niall asked, his voice calm and soothing, which was far from what he was feeling. He was a nervous wreck. He had expected something like this out of Mack, but not Mags.

“Why do you have to date? Wasn’t mom enough?” Mags asked as she looked up with tear filled eyes to her father. Her cheeks and the tender parts of her eyes were blochted red- something she had inherited from her mother.

“Well…” Niall began. Mags laid her head on Niall’s shoulder, sniffling as she listened on. “your mom will always be enough. She’s the love of my life, but ever since she’s been gone, I felt empty. There’s this hole that has been made empty since Mom died. And I thought if I didn’t look at it- didn’t even acknowledge it, it would go away. But it didn’t, it kept getting bigger.

I kept myself from drowning with my grief by raising you two.”

“And by helping people in town?”

“That too. It kept me too busy to grieve. It’s basically like I forgot that the whole was there. Until I met Rachel. She was the one who is filling that hole for me.”

“But don’t you miss mom?”

“Every damn day. It hurts like hell some days, but I’ve grown used to it.”

“Miss Miles, she seems nice.”

“She’s very fond of you. Told me that she wanted to send your writings off.”

Mags listened to Niall with open ears. She still very much wished that she had known her mom, how she laughed and smelled- the stories her dad told her do no justice.

“She doesn’t want to be your mom. Rachel knows that you have one. We’re just seeing where things could go. You’ll always have a mom, you understand that, right?” Mags nods her head. The two of them sat there in silence until Mack yelled out that the game needed to start.

“Can she come over one night? For game night?” Mags asked before she walked out the door. Niall smiled as he scooped up the broken glass.

“Of course, baby girl.”

---

Niall sat in his office at Horan Building, LLC going over paperwork for upcoming projects when there was a knock on his door. Tommy, the high schooler who worked part time, was standing in the doorway. “There’s someone here to see you.”

Niall looked up from his desk and asked, “Who is it?”

“Some lady. She wanted to speak with you.”

“Alright, tell her I’ll be out in a minute.” Niall straighten his hair and pressed down his gray polo with golden embroidered Horan Building, LLC on the right side of the chest with his palms before standing up and making his way to his awaiting guest. It was half past four when he entered the front of the store only to find Rachel staring at the wall of plywood behind the counter.

“My my what a surprise,” Niall said catching Niall’s attention. He wrapped his arms around Rachel’s waist and hugged her tightly. He kissed her on the cheek, making her blush slightly. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to see where the famous Niall Horan works at, catch you on your turf. Show me around?” The couple began walking down each aisle as Niall tells Rachel all about the tools they import from across the country. He found his arm hung over her waist as he talked about how he built a rocking chair that he uses to this day. It was one of the first things he built.

“Well, the real reason why I came by today…” “Was to see my sexy face, I knew it.” Niall winked as they walked back up to the front. Rachel gently shoved Niall’s shoulder before speaking again.

“One I want to renovate my kitchen. I don’t really like it. It’s too cluttered for me. Know any good handymen?”

“I may know a few…” Niall smirked.

“And I also was informed that this coming up Friday I was expected at your house for game night.” Rachel smiled.

“Mags is persistent. Shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

“Guessing you told her?”

“Yeah, I think she’s coming around to the idea of me dating.”

“Dating? I thought I was showing around an old fart.” Niall’s laughed boomed through the store.

“Yeah, that too.”

Rachel kissed Niall, a sweet and tender peck on the lips before squeezing his hand, “I’ll be there at seven.”

As Rachel turns to leave, Niall grabs her hand, “Wanna come to the Halloween Carnival with us?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

In that moment, Niall felt whole again.

#niall #niall horan #niall fic #niall horan fic #niall fanfic #niall horan fanfic #niall imagine #niall horan imagine #niall au #niall horan au #the tide #1dff #let me know what you think #dad! niall

[lightsburnbrite]

The Devil is in the Details: Part 3

Karina sat in the empty office, drumming her fingers on the desk. She had set aside the day to start putting the gallery together but was currently short on any motivation. Finally, Karina pulled up a spreadsheet containing all the pieces she intended to display and got to work sorting them. Once she knew how she was going to display the paintings, the movers would deliver them.

Grabbing a tape measure, Karina started jotting down a few notes on which set would hang where. She was almost finished when she heard the little bell above the door ring, signaling a visitor.

“Sorry,” Karina called out with out looking up, “we’re not open yet.”

Coming from around the corner, Karina was surprised to see Daniel.

“Hey.” He flashed a broad smile once the door was closed behind him.

Karina attempted not to appear too surprised and offered a smile in return but quickly stopped when it felt more like a grimace. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Right, sorry.” Daniel smiled again as he began to wander around the still empty space. “Nena told me about your gallery.”

Karina tilted her head in just a way that she was indicating that she expected him to say more.

“Oh, yeah.” He let out an awkward little giggle as he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just you look different.”

Without thinking, Karina glanced down to her Joy Division t-shirt and jeans so worn they were practically shredded in some areas. “Well, I mean, you’ve only seen me in work clothes so…”

“No, no. You look good, really good.” Daniel seemed to realize that he had crossed a line and immediately went back to apologizing for dropping by unexpectedly. “I came to see if you needed some help.”

With a polite yet entirely forced smile, Karina shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m still figuring out what I want to do so I’m not really at that stage yet.”

“I didn’t peg you as an artist.” He turned back to Karina and cocked his head to the side in a gesture she figure was supposed to indicate he was ready to listen to her response.

Inhaling, Karina smiled again in an effort to keep a pleasant face. “No, it’s more of a pet project. I inherited a lot of paintings and I don’t have room in my apartment to display them all so I figured this would be the best way to share the pieces that I didn’t want to donate.”

The whole time, Daniel was nodding enthusiastically. Karina thought he looked like a little bobblehead. “Wow, that’s a great idea. I’ll…just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out.”

“Sure,” Karina noticed that she had subconsciously made her way towards the door, “I’ll do that.”

Once Daniel had left, Karina scrunched her mouth into a frown, wondering why he had come in the first place. The visit hadn’t scared her, she didn’t feel threatened, but still she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Making her way back towards the office, Karina found that she was having a difficult time concentrating again. Instead, she found herself wandering the space, seeking inspiration or motivation in any form. When she heard the door chime again, she actually jumped this time.

“Hey,” Leon spoke softly as always, but his voice was now more soothing to her ears. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Karina beamed a smile at him and kissed his cheek before wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. “No, it’s ok. I just wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“I thought you might like some lunch.” He winked as he held up a picnic basket with a blanket folded on top, causing Karina to laugh.

“Did you really put all this together?” Karina took the blanket and gave it a shake to unfold it before taking a step closer to kiss Leon again.

With a sly little grin, he shook his head. “Nope. One of the chefs at the club was very nice and set it up for me. We’ve got sandwiches and some sort of cucumber salad.”

Karina began unpacking the basket, pulling out its contents. When she got to the sandwiches, both wrapped in brown butcher paper, Karina handed the one marked with an “L” to Leon but immediately laughed when she found the other one wasn’t marked with an initial but instead had a little drawing of a mouse on it. “You’re too much, do you know that?”

“I do.” Leon looked very pleased with himself, but Karina couldn’t decide if she wanted to chide him or reward him for his cheek.

Leon continued to smile. “But you love me anyway.”

“I do.” Karina mimicked his initial response before she crawled closer to give him a kiss. “How long do I have you before the club takes you away again?”

Pressing his lips together, Leon hesitated. “Four days. Then I’ll be gone for about a week.”

“I guess that’s not so bad.” She rested her chin on her hand and pretended to pout. “Thank you for coming home early.”

Leon gave a little nod. “I told you it was as much for me as it was for you.”

When their lunch was wrapping up, Leon glanced around. “How much more were you wanting to get done today?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Karina sighed. “I’ll probably just measure the walls and then I can figure out where I want to hang everything at home. I was thinking of calling Jannis to see if he wanted to display some of his pictures here, just to get things started, you know?”

Leon leaned forward and kissed Karina’s forehead. “That’s really sweet of you. I was thinking, what if we went to the big house for a couple of days. I can train in the gym there since I don’t have to report for a few more days and there’s the pool so it won’t be as hot and we won’t have to deal with any interruptions.”

“I’ll have to talk to Nena but I can probably rearrange my work schedule. It would be nice to go hide in the woods.” Karina laughed at that, imagining the two of them huddle in a cave instead of lounging around a house that could almost be considered a palace instead.

Karina locked everything up and they met back at their apartment. Leon beat her home and she arrived, she found him lounging on the sofa with his legs dangling over the arm. With a laugh, she motioned for him to sit up so she could join him. Leon moved just enough and then when Karina sat down, he rested his head on her lap.

“I called Olga and told her to expect us tomorrow morning.” Karina instantly began to run her fingers through Leon’s hair. “Sound good?”

Eyes closed, Leon let out a little sigh. “Sounds perfect. What do you want to do tonight? See a movie? Go out for dinner?”

“Is Serge seeing anyone right now?” Karina gazed up at the ceiling, a pensive expression on her face.

Leon opened his eyes, trying to get some idea as to how that answered his question. “No, why?”

“I was just thinking it might be nice to set him up with Isabella.” Looking down at him now, she continued to play with his hair. “We could get them both out for dinner with us.”

“I don’t even think Serge is home right now. I mean, yeah, we could do that, but not tonight.” Leon stood and stretched his arms above his head. “How about Sophia’s?”

“I do like the idea of not cooking tonight.” Karina held her hands out for Leon to help her up. As soon as he did so, Leon pulled her against him, wrapping his arm around her waist.

They stayed that way for a bit before Leon slid his hands down and gave Karina’s backside a squeeze. “Go start getting ready and I’ll call for a table.”

Rummaging through her wardrobe, Karina found her white eyelet lace dress. It was just cool enough for the unseasonable heat but also not too casual. By then, Leon had changed into a pair of navy shorts and a white oxford shirt and was getting ready to tie his brown boat shoes when Karina asked him to zip the back of her dress.

After she pulled half of her hair up into a topknot, Karina tugged on Leon’s elbow so that he was standing next her in her full length mirror. “You know, sir, you do clean up nicely.”

“Is that why you married me?” Leon kissed her temple before fastening his watch.

Karina grabbed her clutch and followed him out of the bedroom, giving him a quick swat on his rear. “Among other reasons.”

Leon continued to walk towards the front door, but spoke over his shoulder. “Don’t start with me, Maus or we’ll never get out of here.”

Once they were seated, Karina looked up from her menu and grinned at Leon.

“What?” He laughed. “That look is usually when you’re thinking something ridiculous.”

Karina just shrugged. “I was just thinking I’m happy that they provide an a la cart menu because I came here with my parents once and they tried to serve me octopus.”

“I’m sure that went over well.” Leon smirked, his dry sense of humor sometimes cracked when he was around Karina.

“Yeah, I didn’t eat the main course that day.” She flipped the page. “I might get the-”

“Chicken?” Leon raised an eyebrow.

Karina pretended to frown as Leon finished her sentence. “Am I that predictable?”

“Just your palate, Mausi.” He gently nudged her foot under the table. “When you don’t eat pork, beef, or most other meats, your options can be limited.”

Sitting the menu down on her plate, she playfully tipped her head in defiance. “And what are you getting, the adventurous eater that you are?”

“The tuna.” Leon smiled before adding a wink.

Karina shook her head and laughed as she covered her eyes, her cheeks blushing to a bright pink.

Leon was genuinely stumped as to what prompted that reaction. “What? What did I say?”

“Nothing.” Karina sighed as she caught her breath. “It just hits me every so often that I am hopelessly in love with you.”

This time he nodded. “I know. I am absolutely in love with you too, Karina.”

When Leon awoke the next morning, he wasn’t surprised that the other side of the bed was empty. Karina had an internal clock that prevented her from sleeping in on most days and Elsa had come to count on an early morning stroll because of it. He stayed in bed for a few more minutes until he saw Karina walking back and forth from the kitchen wearing one of his sleeveless shirts and a pair of boyshort underwear. The sleeve holes were large enough that when Karin lifted her arms to get something from the cabinet, the side of her breast was clearly visible. Leon felt a familiar tingle in the pit of his belly and laughed to himself, hoping that the day would never come when he wasn’t turned on by his wife.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Leon called out from bed.

“Hello, sir.” Karina strode in and sat on the edge of the bed before she leaned in to kiss him. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

With a yawn, Leon shook his head. “I was just enjoying the view.”

Leon reached out and stroked the curve of her breast with his index finger before giving her nipple a pinch.

“Ow!” Karina laughed as she shrunk back.”

Sitting up straighter, Leon stretched. “You wanted to leave soon, didn’t you.”

“As soon as you’re ready.” Karina stood and pulled out his duffle bag. “Now start packing because I cannot wait to spend two days with you in the middle of nowhere, pleasantly drunk, and stuffing myself full of Olga’s food.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Leon stood and started to help Karina pack. “How can I resist.”

#leon goretzka #The Devil is in the Details