#first piggy banks are a big deal in my family

[yuri-is-online]

Without Saying (Floyd and Ruggie x Yuu)

"Oh can I help you? You seem to be lost." You attempt to cheerfully ask the vaguely familiar looking person in front of you. As if he is deliberately trying to rub salt in your wounds, Crowley ignored your request to leave campus for NRC parents day and is instead making you and Grim run errands. The person in front of you, blissfully ignorant to your inner turmoil perks up at your attention.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you the magicless prefect?" You and Grim exchange a confused glance. "You've got to be right?" They're practically glowing with how happy they are to see you. " Oh I'm sorry, I've just heard so much about you!" Wait, what?

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, feral ariel (Floyd) vs light angst again (Ruggie). If you liked this please check out the previous parts on my masterlist.

Floyd

Under normal circumstances, a quiet Floyd was a suspicious Floyd but today- well today it was just odd. He doesn't look bored per se, just idle standing next to a very tall woman with similarly colored hair who is slowly, carefully, with extreme focus examining every inch of what you think is a novelty piggy bank shaped like the school's wishing well.

"Are you done yet Mamma?" Floyd sounds like he is being careful not to yawn.

"Hush now Floydie," she doesn't even blink, that's how tight her focus is, "Mamma is concentrating." Mrs. Leech's lips are tightly pursed while Floyd mutters something about going to get some candy and slinks off while you question if getting involved in this conversation is part of your job description or even smart. Unfortunately for you by the time you look back up from your clipboard Mrs. Leech has moved directly in front of your face in complete silence. "Human-" you go to scream but she silences you with a look you can't tell is from magic or practice raising the twins "Human can you help me with something?" She doesn't even wait for you to agree before holding up the piggy bank. "What exactly is the purpose of this object?"

"That?" You are surprised your voice doesn't give out entirely as she vigorously nods. "The piggy bank?"

"I see, I see." She nods sagely, immediately whipping around to where she evidently thought her son still was, shrugging undeterred as she decides to simply yell. "FLOYD! IT'S CALLED A PIGGY BANK."

"That's nice Mamma." Calls Floyd, oddly coming off as polite and rational from somewhere deep within the Mystery Shop. " But like what does it do?"

"EXCELLENT QUESTION! Say human what does it do?" You are deeply tempted to say that this woman cannot be serious but you don't really want to find out. You draw yourself up to your full height and nod.

"You put coins in it." Mrs. Leech blinks, a bit taken aback.

"Wait really?" Bravely, with a reasonable fear of being bitten, you reach over and gently lift up the top of the wishing well to show her the coin slot.

"I'm pretty sure this one plays a song when you put a coin in too." You explain.

"But it's so tiny?" She marvels, repeatedly opening and shutting the top of the bank. "How're you supposed to keep your money safe if it's so fragile? But then again I do keep most of mine with my husband..."

"Uhm it's supposed to be a fun gift for little kids." It occurs to you that she might find that offensive since it did look like she was buying it for herself. "To teach them about saving money, at least where I'm from anyway."

"Oh how cute. That settles it, I am definitely getting this." As if sensing that it is check out time Floyd shuffles over and immediately perks up.

"Little Shrimpy! Were you the one helping my mom?" He seems really happy, causing you to breathe a light sigh of relief. Mrs. Leech looks confused, zeroing in on you with the same concentration from earlier.

"Yeah. Trying to anyway." You nervously say; Mrs. Leech's attention turns to her son.

"Aww, how cute. You fishin' for a favor shrimpy?" Normally you would play along with his teasing, but your eyes dart awkwardly to Mrs. Leech whose attention is back on you, then the piggy bank, then you then her son, then you agai-

"Not really, I'm just trying to do my job." You awkwardly laugh and Floyd pouts.

"Spring or Summer?" Mrs. Leech asks cheerfully. To your surprise she has somehow managed to snatch up a second piggy bank within the .2 seconds since you took her attention off her.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh just wondering that's all." She has a very serene smile on her face. Almost too serene. Like you just somehow signed away your soul because you didn't read some fine print. "I'm more partial to Spring myself." You try to look to Floyd for some context but for some reason, he's refusing to make eye contact. Weird.

Ruggie

"Thank you dear." The elderly beastwoman breathes a sigh of relief as you help her settle onto a bench next to the Coliseum. "Goodness, Ruggie warned me this place was big but I didn't realize just how serious he was." You nod, unscrewing the cap on one of the water bottles you brought with you for the old lady. She takes it thankfully and you breathe a gentle sigh of relief, not that Granny Bucchi had been anything more than a bit winded when you found her, but it was still worrying to see an old woman bent over like that. "I really should have just waited for him."

"Didn't he promise to meet you at the mirror chamber?" You ask, trying not to sound too judgmental. You find it hard to believe someone who spoke as fondly of his grandmother at Ruggie wouldn't want to escort her around, Granny Bucchi looks at you sheepishly sort of confirming that.

"He doesn't actually know that I'm here just yet, I wanted to surprise him." She tries to pass you back the water back but you shake your head. The two of you lapse into a comfortable silence, the sort you only ever get while relaxing with a cup of tea, or in this case a nice old lady who is genuinely enjoying the campus scenery. It's so nice Grim curls himself up into your lap for a little nap. Granny Bucchi scratches just the right place behind his ears to convince the "not a cat" to let out a very cat like purr.

"Did you send him a message to let him know your here?" You whisper, trying not to wake your baby. "If not I can send him one." She lets out a small laugh, similar in sound to her grandson's but still very much her somehow.

"Oh I am sure he'd be half way here already if he knew I had you to myself. Who knows what sort of ideas I could be putting in that head of yours." She winks and takes out her phone, squinting at the keys trying to piece together a message. "You should still send him one though, you'll probably be faster than me."

"Do you mind if I take a picture?" You ask sheepishly. "You know so Ruggie knows you're ok." Lies you just want a picture of you with Granny Bucchi. Sure, to Twisted Wonderland she is just some lady, but she is easily celebrity tier to you with how much glowing praise Ruggie heaps on her.

"Oh please do!" To your surprise she seems genuinely excited and strikes a little pose. What a natural, Vil has nothing on this woman. Not that you are going to say that out loud because you don't have a death wish. You happily text Ruggie as Granny Bucchi looks on fondly. "Do you like taking pictures?" Her voice is much softer than it has been in the admittedly little conversation you have had. "Ruggie sends me a lot of the ones you've given him from your ghost camera, I keep trying to ask him if you're planning on being a photographer in the future but he always dodges the question." She's clearly curious and you can't blame her, you just aren't sure how to answer.

"The future is a bit complicated for me." Is what you settle on, really hoping it doesn't loose you points.

"Oh you don't need to feel bad about that." Her eyes are filled with warmth and affection that you haven't felt in a long time, it's enough to make you want to cry. "Technically the future is complicated for everyone, some of us just muscle through it better than others. Case in point." Granny hauls her self up and nudges you to turn around. Ruggie is staring at both of you with a strange look in his eyes, but when he makes eye contact with you he shakes himself out of whatever mood that was and jogs up to meet you both.

It would be nice, you think, if you could do this again.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #floyd leech x reader #ruggie bucchi x reader #first piggy banks are a big deal in my family #like everyone pitches in some loose change for a new baby and puts it in a baby bottle or something idk i think it is kinda cute #sorry for only doing 2 guys i ran out of ideas

[mostlysignssomeportents]

'We buy ugly houses' is code for 'we steal vulnerable peoples' homes'

Tonight (May 11) at 7PM, I’m in CALGARY for Wordfest, with my novel Red Team Blues; I’ll be hosted by Peter Hemminger at the Memorial Park Library, 2nd Floor.

Home ownership is the American dream: not only do you get a place to live, free from the high-handed dictates of a landlord, but you also get an asset that appreciates, building intergenerational wealth while you sleep — literally.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/11/ugly-houses-ugly-truth/#homevestor

Of course, you can’t have it both ways. If your house is an asset you use to cover falling wages, rising health care costs, spiraling college tuition and paper-thin support for eldercare, then it can’t be a place you live. It’s gonna be an asset you sell — or at the very least, borrow so heavily against that you are in constant risk of losing it.

This is the contradiction at the heart of the American dream: when America turned its back on organized labor as an engine for creating prosperity and embraced property speculation, it set itself on the road to serfdom — a world where the roof over your head is also your piggy bank, destined to be smashed open to cover the rising costs that an organized labor movement would have fought:

https://gen.medium.com/the-rents-too-damned-high-520f958d5ec5

Today, we’re hit the end of the road for the post-war (unevenly, racially segregated) shared prosperity that made it seem, briefly, that everyone could get rich by owning a house, living in it, then selling it to everybody else. Now that the game is ending, the winners are cashing in their chips:

https://doctorow.medium.com/the-end-of-the-road-to-serfdom-bfad6f3b35a9

The big con of home ownership is proceeding smartly on schedulee. First, you let the mark win a little, so they go all in on the scam. Then you take it all back. Obama’s tolerance of bank sleze after the Great Financial Crisis kicked off the modern era of corporations and grifters stealing Americans’ out from under them, forging deeds in robosigning mills:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-breaks-down-93-bln-robo-signing-settlement-2013-02-28

The thefts never stopped. Today on Propublica, by Anjeanette Damon, Byard Duncan and Mollie Simon bring a horrifying, brilliantly reported account of the rampant, bottomless scams of Homevestors, AKA We Buy Ugly Houses, AKA “the #1 homebuyer in the USA”:

https://www.propublica.org/article/ugly-truth-behind-we-buy-ugly-houses

Homevestors — an army of the hedge fund Bayview Asset Management — claims a public mission: to bail out homeowners sitting on unsellable houses with all-cash deals. The company’s franchisees — 1,150 of them in 48 states — then sprinkle pixie dust and secret sauce on these “ugly houses” and sell them at a profit.

But Propublica’s investigation — which relied on whistleblowers, company veterans, court records and interviews with victims — tells a very different story. The Homevestor they discovered is a predator that steals houses out from under elderly people, disabled people, people struggling with mental illness and other vulnerable people. It’s a company whose agents have a powerful, well-polished playbook that stops family members from halting the transfers the company’s high-pressure salespeople set in motion.

Propublica reveals homeowners with advanced dementia who signed their shaky signatures to transfers that same their homes sold out from under them for a fraction of their market value. They show how Homevestor targets neighborhoods struck by hurricanes, or whose owners are recently divorced, or sick. One whistleblower tells of how the company uses the surveillance advertising industry to locate elderly people who’ve broken a hip: “a 60-day countdown to death — and, possibly, a deal.” The company’s mobile ads are geofenced to target people near hospitals and rehab hospitals, in hopes of finding desperate sellers who need to liquidate homes so that Medicaid will cover their medical expenses.

The sales pitches are relentless. One of Homevestor’s targets was a Texas woman whose father had recently been murdered. As she grieved, they blanketed her in pitches to sell her father’s house until “checking her mail became a traumatic experience.”

Real-estate brokers are bound by strict regulations, but not house flippers like Homevestors. Likewise, salespeople who pitch other high-ticket items, from securities to plane tickets — are required to offer buyers a cooling-off period during which they can reconsider their purchases. By contrast, Homevestors’ franchisees are well-versed in “muddying the title” to houses after the contract is signed, filing paperwork that makes it all but impossible for sellers to withdraw from the sale.

This produces a litany of ghastly horror-stories: homeowners who end up living in their trucks after they were pressured into a lowball sales; sellers who end up dying in hospital beds haunted by the trick that cost them their homes. One woman who struggled with hoarding was tricked into selling her house by false claims that the city would evict her because of her hoarding. A widow was tricked into signing away the deed to her late husband’s house by the lie that she could do so despite not being on the deed. One seller was tricked into signing a document he believed to be a home equity loan application, only to discover he had sold his house at a huge discount on its market value. An Arizona woman was tricked into selling her dead mother’s house through the lie that the house would have to be torn down and the lot redeveloped; the Homevestor franchisee then flipped the house for 5,500% of the sale-price.

The company vigorously denies these claims. They say that most people who do business with Homevestors are happy with the outcome; in support of this claim, they cite internal surveys of their own customers that produce a 96% approval rating.

When confronted with the specifics, the company blamed rogue franchisees. But Propublica obtained training materials and other internal documents that show that the problem is widespread and endemic to Homevestors’ business. Propublica discovered that at least eight franchisees who engaged in conduct the company said it “didn’t tolerate” had been awarded prizes by the company for their business acumen.

Franchisees are on the hook for massive recurring fees and face constant pressure from corporate auditors to close sales. To make those sales, franchisees turn to Homevana’s training materials, which are rife with predatory tactics. One document counsels franchisees that “pain is always a form of motivation.” What kind of pain? Lost jobs, looming foreclosure or a child in need of surgery.

A former franchisee explained how this is put into practice in the field: he encountered a seller who needed to sell quickly so he could join his dying mother who had just entered a hospice 1,400 miles away. The seller didn’t want to sell the house; they wanted to “get to Colorado to see their dying mother.”

These same training materials warn franchisees that they must not deal with sellers who are “subject to a guardianship or has a mental capacity that is diminished to the point that the person does not understand the value of the property,” but Propublica’s investigation discovered “a pattern of disregard” for this rule. For example, there was the 2020 incident in which a 78-year-old Atlanta man sold his house to a Homevestors franchisee for half its sale price. The seller was later shown to be “unable to write a sentence or name the year, season, date or month.”

The company tried to pin the blame for all this on bad eggs among its franchisees. But Propublica found that some of the company’s most egregious offenders were celebrated and tolerated before and after they were convicted of felonies related to their conduct on behalf of the company. For example, Hi-Land Properties is a five-time winner of Homevestors’ National Franchise of the Year prize. The owner was praised by the CEO as “loyal, hardworking franchisee who has well represented our national brand, best practices and values.”

This same franchisee had “filed two dozen breach of contract lawsuits since 2016 and clouded titles on more than 300 properties by recording notices of a sales contract.” Hi-Land “sued an elderly man so incapacitated by illness he couldn’t leave his house.”

Another franchisee, Patriot Holdings, uses the courts aggressively to stop families of vulnerable people from canceling deals their relatives signed. Patriot Holdings’ co-owner, Cory Evans, eventually pleaded guilty to to two felonies, attempted grand theft of real property. He had to drop his lawsuits against buyers, and make restitution.

According to Homevestors’ internal policies, Patriot’s franchise should have been canceled. But Homevestors allowed Patriot to stay in business after Cory Evans took his name off the business, leaving his brothers and other partners to run it. Nominally, Cory Evans was out of the picture, but well after that date, internal Homevestors included Evans in an award it gave to Patriot, commemorating its sales (Homevestors claims this was an error).

Propublica’s reporters sought comment from Homevestors and its franchisees about this story. The company hired “a former FBI spokesperson who specializes in ‘crisis and special situations’ and ‘reputation management’ and funnelled future questions through him.”

Internally, company leadership scrambled to control the news. The company convened a webinar in April with all 1,150 franchisees to lay out its strategy. Company CEO David Hicks explained the company’s plan to “bury” the Propublica article with “‘strategic ad buys on social and web pages’ and ‘SEO content to minimize visibility.’”

https://www.propublica.org/article/homevestors-aims-to-bury-propublica-reporting

Franchisees were warned not to click links to the story because they “might improve its internet search ranking.”

Even as the company sought to “bury” the story and stonewalled Propublica, they cleaned house, instituting new procedures and taking action against franchisees identified in Propublica’s article. “Clouding titles” is now prohibited. Suing sellers for breach of contract is “discouraged.” Deals with seniors “should always involve family, attorneys or other guardians.”

During the webinar, franchisees “pushed back on the changes, claiming they could hurt business.”

If you’ve had experience with hard-sell house-flippers, Propublica wants to know: “If you’ve had experience with a company or buyer promising fast cash for homes, our reporting team wants to hear about it.”

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[Image ID: A Depression-era photo of a dour widow standing in front of a dilapidated cabin. Next to her is Ug, the caveman mascot for Homevestors, smiling and pointing at her. Behind her is a 'We buy ugly houses' sign.

Image: Homevestors https://www.homevestors.com/

Fair use: https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property

#pluralistic #the rents too damned high #house flipping #llc brain #scams #elder abuse #ripoffs #weaponized shelter #predators #homevestors #we buy ugly houses #ugly houses #real estate #propublica

[peachycuriousities]

If I ever win the Lottery, I will make sure to take care of all our remaining debts, small or big-it will be paid... I will make sure my kids future will be secure, I promise that; they will have educational funds, savings, emergency funds and medical/dental funds so they don't have to worry about the future... I will also make sure to let my husband retired as early as possible, also set aside for his Retirement funds, 401k, Thrift Savings, emergency funds and yes medical/dental funds since he has given everything to us, putting the kids and I first before himself... Also to my mom and brother including my inlaws, they will be taken care off, through ups and downs they were there for us... they will never be worried about the future expenses... their will be funds to cover... I will also make sure to pay off the Federal and State taxes I don't have to deal with in the future if luck strikes once again...

I will only buy all the things that I lost/have to give up in order for my kids and family to survive... I will also promise to never use credit cards, only cash and invest in things so the money can keep rolling... I promise to bring my dad and lil' brother ashes so they can be with us... As much as possible I will not be splurging like there is no tomorrow... I will buy 6 piggy bank and fill it with 1M bills and another safe that is filled with 10M, gold bars, platinum and gold coins and most of all investments...

I will also give to the churches here in the States and in the Philippines... I will give half of the winnings to my husband... I will stay humble and never to flex in social media again, I will keep it simple with trying out different foods and drinks, family photos as always with moments...

But if winning the lottery means a trade off with anyone in my family, then I'll be happy to reject; my family and love ones means the world to me... it will definitely help us but I can't imagine losing anyone I love/care...

[obsessively-compulsive]

When I was a child, I had a piggy bank.

When it broke, I was devastated.

Everyone told me it wasn't a big deal.

It felt like I had lost a piece of my heart.

When I was a child, my parents got a new car.

I was excited at first, but I cried as the old car was driven away from us while sitting in the new one.

It felt like I had lost a close friend.

When I was a child, I threw out some random objects and things I made when I was younger.

I panicked hours after once it had sunk in that I had actually trashed those things.

I felt anxious and lost for days.

It felt like I had thrown out my most meaningful and sentimentally valuable posessions.

When I was a pre-teen, I rearranged the things in my room. My bed, bookshelf, dresser, and the like.

Not even a couple days later, I began to panic. It was too different.

My parents told me to give it a couple weeks but I knew 100% that I hated the new look so much that I wanted the old one back.

I felt so...wrong. Like my whole body was in panic mode.

It felt like I had lost something more important to me than anything else.

But I hadn't. My room layout just changed.

When I was a pre-teen, I got a dog.

Well, I got two, but we ended up giving one away.

The day we got them, we went to the vet to make sure they were healthy.

While we was at the vet's office, I started to panic as the reality set in.

The change of getting a new pet was making me incredibly anxious.

Shouldn't I have been excited?

But no, I was panicking as the comfort of the familiar home life I knew of just having my one cat as a pet started to change and fade away. It was too different and it felt so wrong.

It felt like I had done something so extreme that my entire life would never be the same, and like I'd never get to come home to the comfort of the life I knew before.

But time passes, and the dog we kept is sleeping at the end of my bed as I type this. I love her so much.

Months ago, I learned that my family and I might move houses.

5 minutes away, same school, same area, etc.

But just thinking it was a possibility put me in panic mode.

I cried every time I imagined it for weeks.

Eventually I came around to it.

But I know losing my current house will still feel like losing someone I've known all my life.

To me, inanimate objects are just....unchanging constants. Those constants are what bring me comfort. It seems ridiculous, but losing any of that comfort makes me panic.

To me, this is autism.

How can people say they never noticed the signs?

#autism #actually autistic #writing #growing up autistic #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodiverse #aspergers #autistic #actuallyautistic #actually autism #actually asd #asd #autism spectrum disorder

[icyteaa]

Fandom: Trash of the Count's Family

Title: Tangled with Them

Premise: Cale had a peaceful and quiet life until suddenly two jobless wraiths annoyed him and nagging him to do this and that like annoying uncles they are.

Tags: Reincarnation, Senior High School AU

Relationship: Kim Rok Soo | Cale Henituse & Lee Soo Hyuk & Choi Jung Soo, Kim Rok Soo | Cale Henituse & everyone

Rating: Teen

Part: 2/?

Part 0 Part 1

_

[The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry]

It was a cafe that allowed you to read poems and novels while drinking many variants of drink, especially tea. It was a three-story building that was arranged in front of Roan High School. Allowed students and workers in the nearby place to get rest in this quiet and pleasant place as they end their school and work time.

Cale took a like to this cafe in his first attempt to visit. Cale sat up near the window on the third floor with a novel in his right hand. Let out a satisfied sigh because of the calm atmosphere that he finally gets after the second day of chaotic high school.

It was very likely because of yesterday's incident. The girls whispering in the hallway, the boys getting more chaotic as if they want to impersonate that vicious boy action; everyone's attention was stolen to the boy who successfully made a boring ceremony for something else.

Even Cale, who really didn’t want to know anything about that boy, took a few facts about how yesterday's incident ended and who was actually that boy forcefully, because everyone in his class was discussing it with rather high volume.

First, that boy's name is Choi Han. It was a really weird name, like a foreigner. Moreover, the fact he had black hair made it more obvious that he wasn’t from Roanna City. But the actual information about his birthplace is left unknown. His classmates didn’t know why either. They said the teachers won’t talk about it as if it's secret information.

Second, he is—unfortunately—really a new student in Roan High School and unfortunately enough, he is supposed to be Cale's classmate. But because Choi Han made a commotion in the opening ceremony before, now he has been suspended 3 days from today.

Maybe Cale should be grateful because he couldn’t meet him in 3 days, but how about after that? He really wanted to move to another class to just avoid Choi Han and even tried to make a deal with his homeroom teacher, Eruhaben-nim, but immediately got rejected because Cale didn’t have a good reason for moving.

'As if my life isn’t a good reason', Cale snorted when he got kicked out of his homeroom teacher’s room. But he didn’t express it out loud because he realized that his homeroom teacher didn’t seem like a good teacher either. He has a heavy atmosphere around him that makes him look vicious.

So he stopped arguing. He didn’t want to get out of the tiger’s den just to walk into the lion’s den instead because he made his homeroom teacher annoyed.

Cale got up from his couch after finishing his second glass of sweet honey tea. Looks down to the road in front of the cafe and nodding satisfied with the first arrival to this cafe. He had noted this place to be the place he wanted to visit whenever he felt tired after school. He will tell his driver to pick him up later than usual so he can visit this cafe first, just like today.

After checking the time on his smartphone and finding it was already time to go home, he walked downstairs light heartedly. Pay his bill to the cafe’s owner (that he internally called like piggy bank but utterly called him with proper attitude as Billos-nim outside) before getting out of the building.

“Meoooow.”

“Meeooww.”

Cale jolted when he suddenly found two small figures in his foot. They were kittens with grey and red fur. It is a surprisingly rare colour for cats to have, but he didn't have time to appreciate it because the fur is really dirty and that dirty now sticking to his trouser.

Cale sighed. The kittens are definitely hungry and try to make him give them food. Cale tried to avoid the big golden eyes they had and waited for the traffic light for pedestrians to turn green. But unfortunately, the volume meowing the kittens let out increased and made other pedestrians around him glance at him with any expression that Cale didn't want to know.

Of all the people standing there, why is Cale the one they approach anyway?? The piercing gaze the people gave increasing as the meowing voice. And as the one who likes to stand low and just relax in a quiet place, this kind of situation is really worse. Cale frowning. Sigh once again before walking back slowly. The kittens following him and deep in his unconscious he worried these small and skinny creatures would get step by the pedestrians.

Cale walked to the restaurant that is right next to the cafe he visited before. He didn't want to get more bothered with these tiny creatures that amazingly had a loud voice. He frowned again in front of the restaurant before looking down and found the kittens still sticking to his feet. "Hey," Cale called. The kittens' head now looks up to his face. "Just wait here. Don't follow me in."

It would be bad if the workers saw the dirty cat in their restaurant, Cale thought. But in another seconds, he felt stupid too to try talking with kittens. The kittens, however, stop meowing and sit up next to his foot while their eyes are still looking at his face. As if they understand what Cale said before.

Cale felt baffled, there was a pause in his voice before he added, "Wait me there." He pointed to a place beside the front door. And the kittens wagging their tails happily before doing what he said. Cale's mouth opened a bit, amazed. He shook his head and walked fast to the restaurant. It looks like he is so tired and thinks too much. There is no way the kittens understand human language.

Cale ordered two chicken roasted without salt and came out of the restaurant after taking the bag of chicken he ordered. The kittens were really waiting for him in the place Cale had pointed at, but he didn't want to think about it more. He walked to the alley between the cafe and restaurant and set up the bag to be plate for warm chicken roasted.

"Eat a lot. And don't come find me again."

Cale crouch down and look at the kittens eating the chicken at a fast pace as if they are starved days, which is likely to be true. He barely wanted to stand up and walk away before they finished the meal, but Cale jolted again after feeling a vicious gaze shot out towards him.

His face naturally turned to the left where the gaze came from and flinched when he realized there was someone in the shadow back in the alley.

It's Choi Han. It's definitely the boy he saw yesterday. He didn't even change his uniform from yesterday. But compared to the neat and clean uniform yesterday, all of those seemed completely ruined in one day. And Cale didn't want to imagine just what the hell happened to this boy.

But now, that murderer's gaze shot out towards him. Cale immediately turned to the front again. Gulped as he felt goosebumps in his nape.

Isn't Cale very unlucky today? After glued with two loud kittens, now he has this vicious boys gaze and wary towards him? I am just weakling who didn't want to harm or even want get near you, please spare me. Cale mourning. He felt he should plea so he could move from this position.

Cale gulped again as the gaze felt more intense piercing his head and it made him sweat a lot on his face. Does he want my money? Cale imagined the boy would do what thugs always do. Well, yes, it's better than having body beaten up to pulp like the man he saw yesterday. Cale nodded as he firmed his result. Let's lure him to spare me with my money. He thought before he said, "Hey."

There is no answer.

"Are you hungry too?" Cale asked something again, but still, there is no answer.

"I can give you food too." And money if you insist, so please stop staring at me with that vicious glare. Cale added in his head. But still there is no answer.

Cale wanted to run away. But compared to the power of the boy who dragged another human without a problem, he certainly will not make it. He rarely does physical exercise, so he sure just running a bit will make him tired with this feeble body.

"Young master-nim, what did you do here?"

Cale never knew there would come times he felt relieved because of this voice. He immediately turned to the left and found his butler with ginger hair colours looking at him who sweated a lot in front of cats with a puzzled face.

Cale jolted and stood promptly and reached out his hand to the butler's shoulders. His eyes finally saw his own car that always picked him up to school just a few meters from here. "This is my Butler," Cale explained again even if there was no answer from the vicious boy. "You can tell him what you need and Hans will help you."

Hans stiffened when he realized another presence back in the alley. He then peaked at Cale with a confused face. Cale smiled a bit, felt his path of runaway finally opened wide. And now, he can at least make this butler struggle a bit as his revenge because Hans always annoys him. He isn't really worried about his butler being. After all, even if he looked as feeble as Cale, Hans had learned about martial art.

There was no answer from the boy, but Cale didn't care as he immediately walked toward the car after telling Hans he could go home with taxi after taking care of business here. He finally breathed after he went into the car. And the car shortly left the place and left Hans with a sad expression as he saw the car disappear.

What Cale didn't know is, what he did today will be the beginning of misunderstanding everyone had about his personality and he abruptly should denied the title The Kind Young Master because of his 'deed'.

_

Two half transparent men saw the car left with a giggle and snicker expression. One of the men commented with a fond in his face, "He is still softies as ever even if he thinks he is not, isn't it?"

Another man chuckled again, "Well, that's our Rok Soo."

The man who made the first comment paused a bit. There is pain in his eyes but quickly disappeared, "It's Cale now."

The other men stopped smiling too. He looked towards the place where the car was parked before. "Yeah … he is Cale now." The man turned to his friend and hyung with a rather sad expression, "You really think this is the best thing we can do?"

His hyung nodded with firm expression. "Yes, we shouldn't make him remember again. But at least, we can talk to him to a certain extent. Isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, that's enough." The two of them who share the same pain and worries fall silent for a few moments, before their half transparent form disappears without traces.

_

[Tbc.]

#trash of the count's family #lout of count’s family #tcf #cale henituse #alberu crossman #choi han #on #hong #raon #hans #tcf fanfic #tcf modern au #tcf high school au #tcf reincarnation au #Kim Rook Soo #lee soo hyuk #choi jung soo #trio soos

[clairenatural]

look at you, strawberry blond

destiel, 1.8k. pining, fluff, growing up together, etc! minor character/parental death, vague mention of John’s A+ Parenting. based on the mitski song  (this is a repost because the first one got deleted)

I love everybody because I love you

Castiel first learns what love is when he’s eight years old and Gabriel, sixteen, is grumbling about driving an hour out of his way to find his girlfriend the rare chocolates she likes for Valentine’s day.

“Why?” he asks his older brother, and Gabriel sighs, melodramatic as always.

“That’s love, little bro. Remembering the little things and then putting in the time to make it happen.”

Cas thinks about when he told Dean his parents don’t let him eat candy. He thinks about how Dean has given him half his Kit Kat bar every day for the last year.

He thinks about the time he scraped his knee falling off the jungle gym and Dean spent the rest of recess picking dandelions to make him feel better. Yellow is his favorite color.

“Oh.”

“You’ll understand when you’re older, Cassie. Love is about sacrifice, and commitment--” he goes on, but by the time Michael cuts him off, yelling from his office that you’ve only been dating for two months, Gabriel, stop preaching to Castiel, Cas has already sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom.

A broken piggy bank, $1.50 in pocket change, and several pleas to Gabriel later, and Castiel tucks a king-sized Kit Kat into Dean’s valentine box.

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

When you stood up, walked away, barefoot

It’s eight years later, one summer in high school, when Castiel realizes that there’s a difference between loving and being in love, and that he is, in fact, in love with his best friend.

He realizes this as he watches Dean walk away, sandals discarded and unnecessary in the soft grass, back to the picnic tables to get them both more fruit punch. It’s the annual junior class picnic, the official welcome to being upperclassmen, and the August sun casts a warm glow over Dean’s freckles, and Castiel knows.

Two seconds later, he watches Dean nearly get hit by an errant frisbee and completely forget his punch mission in lieu of playfully tackling its thrower, Benny Lafitte. He watches Lisa Braden, giggly and glowing and perfect as always, yelp as she’s almost caught in the crossfire, and Dean winks at her as he releases Benny.

He swallows thickly and turns his attention back to the patch of grass they’d been laying in, flattened where Dean had been just a few moments before. He wishes he hadn’t come to this particular realization.

And the grass where you lay left a bed in your shape I looked over it and I ached

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

I love everybody because I love you I don't need the city, and I don't need proof

Castiel goes to college in Chicago and pretends like the two-hour drive between them doesn’t mean anything. And it doesn’t, until Dean’s father gets a job back in Kansas halfway through his freshman year. Dean goes with him even though he’s an adult because the alternative is letting Sam deal with John alone, so Castiel spends most of that summer in Lawrence, dodging both his friends in the big city and his family back in Pontiac. He tells them all that he’s studying Kansas’ role in the Civil War, assisting in research back at the University, but he and Dean spend two months going on road trips with Sam.

His sophomore year John dies and Castiel flies back for the weekend, explaining his sudden departure as a family emergency and getting an extension on two papers. Dean holds his hand at the funeral but won’t look him in the eyes for two hours after, even as he refuses to leave Castiel’s side.

The boys move in with Bobby but that summer Dean shows up in Chicago, explanations lined up about not worrying about Sam anymore and wanting to see what about the city made Cas keep coming back. Castiel gets an internship and pretends like that was the plan all along. He quietly cancels his plane tickets to South Dakota.

All I need, darling, is a life in your shape I picture it, soft, and I ache

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

Reach out the car window, trying to hold the wind You tell me you love her; I give you a grin

Dean stays in Chicago. He moves into Castiel’s empty room when his original roommate moves out, he finds work at an auto shop, and he starts taking mechanic classes at a community college. Castiel isn’t sure why—he doesn’t want to ask. Afraid to look the gift horse in the mouth and risk having his happiness bitten off.

Then Dean starts talking about a girl. Then Castiel meets the girl, Cassie Robinson, and it all makes sense.  

He pretends it doesn’t sting every time Dean brings her up, that the way his face lights up doesn’t burn, that he doesn’t feel physically ill the first time he meets her.

By the time Dean tells him he’s in love, gushing about Cassie in a way eerily reminiscent of Gabriel twelve years earlier, it’s turned into a dull ache that Castiel has mostly contained in the back of his chest. They’re on their way to Cassie’s apartment, the first stop on their way to a cabin spring break of their junior year, and the ache is suddenly threatening to break through his ribcage.

But the sun is warm on his cheek, and the radio is playing a soft summer soundtrack, so Castiel allows Dean’s happiness to wash over him long enough to forget who—or, more importantly, who isn’t—causing it. He grins at his best friend before turning his gaze back out the passenger window of the Impala.

Oh all I ever wanted was a life in your shape So I follow the white lines, follow the white lines, Keep my eyes on the road as I ache

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

Look at you, strawberry blond

Dean and Cassie break up, and Dean drinks for a month, but Castiel getting into Stanford for grad school distracts him just long enough to go back to normal (a normal that does not involve thinking about how Dean nearly kissed him when they were both drunk the night he got his acceptance).

This new normal involves staring graduation in the face, and California beyond that, and moving out of his Chicago apartment somewhere in this middle, which also involves coming to terms with moving away from Dean.

Until Sam gets his own acceptance to Stanford a few months later. Then Dean starts sending him links to two-bedroom apartments, and using “we” when talking about the move, and looks just as confused as Castiel when he asks about it.

“Well, yeah. I mean, with you gone, and now Sam—You thought you were going by yourself?”

And even though Castiel vaguely thinks this is a bad idea, and living with his best friend who he’s been in love with for his entire memory had been hard enough for the two years they’d been doing it, he can’t say no. Because every time he gets up the nerve to say something Dean calls him over and shoves his laptop into Castiel’s face, talking about hiking trails and flower fields and front lawns and dogs, and that quells any doubt he had.

They move to Palo Alto, into a townhouse with a lawn and a communal garden. Dean adopts a golden retriever.

Fields rolling on, I love it when you call my name

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

Can you hear the bumblebees swarm? Watching your arm

Two months into Castiel’s first year of graduate school they have a picnic, taking advantage of the lingering warmth of the California fall. Sam is off in the field playing with Zeppelin, obviously having used the ‘come meet my brother’s dog’ excuse to invite the pretty blonde woman (Jess?) chasing the golden with him. Dean is rambling about Star Trek and Castiel is paying half attention, the majority of his focus on the reading in front of him because professors don’t consider picnics an extension-worthy excuse.

He’s just started to get invested when he hears a yelp and looks up to see Dean Winchester, his best friend, most trusted confidant and the possible love of his life, swatting a bumblebee. Cas gasps, reading forgotten, and lunges across the picnic blanket to grab Dean’s wrist. “Dean.” He chastises, and Dean gives him a look.

“It’s a bee, Cas.”

“It’s a bumblebee, which are essential—”

“To our ecosystem, yeah, but it’s pretty essential to me that it doesn’t sting me.”

“It won’t sting you if you don’t swat at it.”

“You didn’t see the look on it, man. It meant business.”

“Bees are attracted to sugar. You probably just smell good.”

Dean grins. “You calling me sweet, Cas?”

And, well, no. He isn’t. He’s talking about the empty pie tin next to Dean. But the words make him realize just how close they are, how far he’d moved into Dean’s space in his efforts to stop his hand, how the force of the movement had pushed Dean almost back onto his elbows.

He opens his mouth to respond the way he usually does to Dean’s cavalier flirting, but the words don’t leave his mouth—which is, somehow, he swears, closer to Dean’s than it was a second ago. Just as Castiel is preparing to push back, clear his throat, and add this moment onto a growing list of almost-but-not-quite moments stretching back years, Dean sucks in a breath and closes the gap.

Castiel reacts before his brain can fully comprehend what’s going on, bypassing any shock entirely and kissing Dean back immediately. He lets go of his wrist, instead bringing his hand to the side of Dean’s face, stroking his cheekbone with his thumb. Dean pushes himself back up and wraps an arm around Castiel’s waist, pulling him essentially into his lap, and then they’re kissing, and Dean smells like summer and tastes like apple pie, and Castiel suddenly understands more than ever why bees are always buzzing around him.

It feels like a lifetime until it’s over, until they’re just staring at each other and out of breath, both scared to say anything and break the magic they’d accidentally created. The silence is only broken by a shout from across the grass, followed shortly by a tennis ball that nearly misses them, followed by 65 pounds of golden retriever that does not miss them and nearly topples Castiel in his pursuit of the ball. And then Sam comes running after the dog, still shouting—apologies, this time—and then there’s Jess, laughing hysterically, and then Castiel has to scramble out of the way because Zeppelin has made a U-turn, interpreting the whole commotion as a game of keep-away.

Dean meets his eye above the chaos and grins, and the sunlight hits his dirty blonde hair, and it’s so breathtaking Castiel almost forgets to smile back.

I love it when you look my way.

#destiel fluff #deancas fluff #destiel fic #deancas fic #destiel #fic #spn #i told myself i wasn't gonna repost this but this verse lives rent free in my head so like. here u go sorry #also i like it and want it on my blog!!! #my words #(tumblr actually put this in the tags challenge) #over 1k words

[reiven2017]

Delicate steel.

Summary:

Rachel wanted to go home. She just wanted to get home. The only thing that held her back were the two huge wolves outside the door, the iron lock, and the fucking fate that had clearly decided to laugh at her. As it was, everything was fine...Oh, right! She's also getting married soon. But I have no idea for whom yet.

Notes:

In general...I decided to finally finish this chapter, because what I published earlier was just a draft and it happened that I deleted the work. Ahem, ahem.

Chapter 1: 1

Chapter Text"I don't know, damn it," Damian snarled back, his lips pinched into a thin line. His patience was running dangerously red, and his annoying family never stopped asking him questions, and Damian didn't know how close he was to killing each of them. "What do you mean, you don't know, Damian?" Your eighteenth birthday is coming soon! "I'm aware of that. Damian said dryly, turning to the window and trying to ignore the circle of people gathered around him. Sometimes, in his head, he would quietly start hating them all. The boy heard his sister snort at his answer, and before she could open her mouth to say something even more irritating and irritate him, his father intervened. "Damian." Bruce called coldly — " Stephanie's right. The day of the Blood Moon is approaching, and whether you want it or not, you must find a mate. It's a tradition." — Steph smirked like the Cheshire cat. "Come on, Dad. Maybe our little Alpha likes to go to "girls". " - Damian gritted his teeth and said nothing at Jason's snide remark, hoping that if he continues to ignore them, then maybe everything will be fine?The alpha genes were already boiling in him, the wolf was growling in frustration, and Damian was ready to howl in helplessness. He hated family advice, but when it came to his marriage and finding a true mate, it didn't seem so bad to hang himself and rot in a barn somewhere. Maybe now from the outside he looked like a "little capricious Alpha" with his behavior and an offended frown, but if such a strategy would bring him the desired silence, Damian was ready to play along. Despite the fact that he was the future Alpha of the pack, the new leader, and should have been able to solve problems diplomatically, or be able to kick ass, now he would have been happy to be somewhere in the mountains. Or on another planet. He could have left at any moment, ignoring the drama of Stef and the grinning Jason, if not for the glaring eyes of his father and mother. Damian knew he was being stupid. But he did not know the answer to the question that had been nagging at him for about a year. And every day it annoyed him more and more.From the very first day of his birth, Damian was different from the other wolves. Even in the cradle, he was different. The guy turned early to become a wolf, too early for any measurements, and after the Alpha blood in him awoke with extraordinary speed and as it turned out, he is the new Alpha, which further complicated the situation since he was the youngest son and theoretically could not inherit the Alpha genes. But no, it did happen. Everyone expected that his older brother Richard, kind, cheerful and resourceful, able to talk or at least tolerate people, and most importantly already having a couple, would take the place of the leader and everyone would be happy to the point of screeching bones. How wrong they all were, and how no one expected the Alpha genes to wake up in their youngest son, the rude, silent, and insufferable Damian, known as the walking mess and without a true mate at 17. Many people only laughed when they heard that the Alpha Force appeared in the younger heirs, but when they met with Damian, not a single question remained. He was young, but the Alpha genes had awakened in him with the strength and power of a mature wolf, which gave him even more advantages in the piggy bank of oddities. His relatives got married almost from the first day of birth, his sister was already engaged, his friends were already engaged and even some children in the sandbox already wore special marks saying that they have a couple! And Damian... Damian was broken. Broken almost from the very first day of life. The day of his coming of age was approaching, and the council and the entire pack were now on edge, watching his every move and not losing the chance to slip him a wolf at every opportunity in the hope of finding the one that made him even more exasperated. During this week, he had seen so many women's faces that they were all mixed up in one mess, and he didn't even remember their names. His position in the

pack is already pretty shaky, and if he doesn't find a mate before his birthday, Damian may not be the leader. < i>Worst of all, he won't last long without a pair. "Well, look at him! He's not even listening to us!" — Stephanie fell silent again, seeking support from her father. Of course, her position doesn't weigh in the balance, and the whole pack doesn't sit on her neck and fall asleep with eternal questions that he doesn't know the answers to. Bruce sighed heavily, casting a pleading glance at his wife. He knew that it wasn't easy for his son to come to terms with his new Alpha status and his new status in the pack. Despite all the responsibilities Damian had to deal with, he was pretty good at it, but the question of his true mate was always going to be a hell of a lot harder. Talia gave him a quiet smile, putting her hand on his shoulder. "But if brother can't find a mate on his own, then we have to help him! Damian chuckled softly. If only it were that simple, but only the Gods themselves could help him. - "Dad! I know who is perfect for the role of the Moon! Christy! She is younger than my brother, but she is a beautiful and strong wolf. Christy will fit perfectly into our family! " - Steph screamed again to her father. But then Damian's patience reached the end, driving the Alpha genes in his blood, and his wolf growled inwardly at his sister. Damian didn't like that part of himself, but he was grateful for the Alpha Force now, as Stephanie immediately fell silent. "That's enough," he said, as his sister jerked behind her father, hiding her eyes in shame. "Just because she's your friend doesn't mean she's my mate, Steph. His voice, menacing and guttural, turning into a growl, echoed off the walls of the mansion, causing Steph to shudder slightly and hunch over, hiding behind her father. His emerald eyes, a little silvery, swept around the room, and when they met his mother's distressed gaze and his father's frown, he frowned sternly. Maybe tomorrow he will regret his lack of restraint, but right now the only thing he wants is to get as far away from them as possible, so as not to see himself as a leper.***Perhaps if the town of Date, in northern Switzerland, could be described in three sentences Raven would have said " Forest. A large forest. The devils of the big forest. " and it would be clear to everyone what kind of place this is. It wasn't that she was against nature, but she had lived most of her life in gray and gloomy New York, so the forest was her first shock when she moved. Her mother recently remarried after a failed marriage with Raven's father and an accident with her sister, and now they are all together, the whole friendly family decided to change their place of residence. As if they don't have enough problems. Rachel didn't listen much to her mother's speech in the front seat, plugging her ears with headphones, knowing that she was talking more for her stepfather. Ben wasn't a bad person. He joked stupidly, smiled affably and believed in a happy life, dreaming, according to him, of a large family. He didn't touch Rachel, and he didn't bother her with father-daughter chatter, so he was the best option for her and her mother, Angela. To be honest, he never bothered Rachel at all.When Ben expressed a desire to move, to give in to a quiet life, Rae was not so against it. She didn't have any friends in New York, or anywhere else, so she was neutral about the idea of moving. So she ended up in Switzerland, in the back of an elderly pickup truck, in the middle of the woods and 7 miles from the city of Data. "Rachel!" — through the wall of music, the girl heard her mother's displeased voice and quietly rolled her eyes. - "Yes? Rachel replied tonelessly, still wearing her headphones, and turned to the window. She stiffened quietly. Maybe this way they'll know she's not in the mood to talk. "Could you please put the music down, young lady? I want to talk to you. "- "Well, of course to talk, and I thought we were going to drive the ball." barely restraining the sarcastic remark that was about to fly off

her tongue, Rachel still put the headphones in her bag and raised an eyebrow at Angela questioningly. "So? — " "There's a new school waiting for you, Rachel. New acquaintances". Angela's words flowed smoothly, and her sweet smile suggested doubts, and Rachel inwardly guessed that this conversation had been planned in advance. The girl chuckled to herself. "Ben and I are well aware of your difficulties in communication and all that concerns friendship, and we are immensely grateful to you for so easily agreeing to move, but if you have a problem again, like last time..." Rachel's eyes dimmed. Her heart stopped for a moment, silent for a second, and her nails dug painfully into the soft skin of her palm. The world seemed to stop, and my lungs were on fire. So that's what it was all about. Her lips parted in a venomous grin, and Rachel gritted her teeth. Rey saw a small flicker of pain cross Angela's face, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her face lost any hint of a smile, and with a curt nod to Rachel, the woman turned away. Rey exhaled heavily, holding her breath. She leaned back in her seat, pressing herself as close to the window as she could and crouching in a corner of the darkness, only now feeling the pain in her arms. She slowly opened her hand, coldly watching the tiny drops of blood gather on the skin that had been severely pierced by her own hand, and immediately closed her hands. She didn't have the energy to look at it again, and the only thing that distracted her was the huge sign with the big black letters "Date. A place where people become one with nature.»

#ravenrot #raven #demonbirds #damirae #damian x raven #damian wayne

[i-am-a-mes]

Blueberry Chapter 3

Summary: Y/N is fresh out of college with a small job at a newspaper, when she meets Chris Evans. They start a Sugar Daddy/Sugar baby relationship and try to navigate through their feelings, desires and personal obstacles.

Parring: AU Chris Evans x female plus size reader

Warning: Anxiety, panic attack, angst (sorry, have to for plot reasons ;))

A/N: Hi there. So this is my first Chris Evans fic. It’s still a WIP and don’t really have that much of a plan with it. It will be a fluffy, angsty, smutty adventure spiced with some Sugar Daddy, Ddlg and D/s elements. But don’t expect that from the get go though. It’s a slow burn in some elements. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a comment and share!

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter Three:

The door opened and revealed Chris standing by a sleek deep grey car. You know one of those cars you see in spy movies that you don’t believe exist. But my attention was quickly drawn from the vehicle to the man in front of it. 

He was wearing a deep blue suit that fit so well that you would think he was born wearing it. His white button-down was tieless and the first few buttons open. As he adjusted his cufflinks he looked up at me. 

I just stood still and didn’t quite know what to do with myself, so I just kinda stood there taking in this out-of-this world human specimen.

“Y/N! I thought you had bailed on me.” He came up to me and placed a small kiss on my cheek which made my applied blush disappear under the new red one I was sporting

“Uhm.. sorry.. I had to get down from the 5th floor” I looked up at him and blinked a few times.

“Slow elevator?” He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Slow legs.. No elevator” I said with a shrug.

“Wauw okay then. Are you ready?” 

He placed his hand behind my back and looked at me with that ever so charming smile.

“As I’ll ever be” 

He threw his head back in laughter and we made our way to the car. He opened the door for me and with a beat in his step he got around to the driver’s side and soon we were off. 

The drive was mostly silent besides the low rumble of the engine and soft music playing on the radio.

“So, have you lived here long?” He asked as we drove through my part of town, the poor and rundown side of town. 

“Well I moved here about 6 months ago, so yes and no” I stole a glance at him as I answered.

“And by that you mean…?” He had a smile in his voice as he asked the question.

“By normal standards 6 months are not that long, but by climbing 5 flights of stairs every day and dealing with my roommate it sure feels like an eternity” 

“A lot to handle maybe?” He asked genuinely with a quick glance my way.

“Yeah, to say the least” I looked defeated out the window as we drove nearer the center of the city.

Girl! Get out of your head. Ask him a question.

“Ahem.. “ I cleared my throat and some of my mind “How about you? Lived in the city for a long time?”

“You can say that. Born and raised in a town called Sudbury outside here of Boston. But I’ve lived here in the city on/off for about 10 years.”

“Oh okay” I nodded and began fiddling with my hands in my lap.

Another silent moment came over the car and before I knew it he was slowing down, and pulled up to a very fancy looking restaurant equipped with a red carpet in front of what looked like valet parking. He parked right in front of the place and quickly came over to my side to help me out of the car, and then tossed the keys to the valet guy. 

I felt his hand on the low of my back as he guided me inside. My nerves were all over the place and my mind kept bringing up the fact I had never in my life been anywhere that was this fancy or expensive.

“Take a breath sweetheart. I can feel your nerves running through you” he leaned down and whispered. I looked up at him to see his million dollar smile, which calmed me while also wounding me up more. 

He gave his name to the hostess who never glanced in my direction and we followed her to a secluded corner with a rounded bench seat and a round table. He guided me in and thanked the hostess who just battered her eyelashes at him and giggled before leaving us.

I slowly pulled off my jacket, and as I did Chris stopped his motion to sit down beside me.

“Wow!” 

“What?” I looked at him like I did something wrong.

“Nothing.. You just look great. Phew!” He smirked and shook his head as he placed himself besides me.

Soon two menus were in our hands and we were trying to decide what to get. I scanned the pages, not understanding much of what it said, only that everything was really… I mean REALLY expensive. 

Fuck! Maybe if I just get a starter as the main course and then some water. Yeah that should be durable. I got that 25 dollars I pulled from my in-case-of-emergency-piggy-bank

I gnawed on my thumb as I stared wide eyed at the options, and before I knew it the waiter was ready to take our orders.

“So what can I get you tonight?” He asked with a perfectly customer friendly voice.

“Ahem.. “I squirmed in my seat “I--I’ll have the tomato salad… and a glass of water. Thank you” I glanced up at the waiter.

“And for the main course Ma’am?”

“Just that please…” I swallowed as my face began heating up.

Chris studied me with intense eyes and then looked at the waiter.

“Will you excuse us for a moment?”

“Of course sir!” He turned and left us alone again.

Chris put down the menus and turned his body so he could get a better look at me.

“Hey Y/N...Are you okay?” 

I dared taking a peek at him before letting out a big sigh.

“Really? You really want to know?”

“Yes, I really do” His stare intensified.

“No I’m not okay. I have never been on a date with a guy like you, and never been to a place like this. I can’t for the hell of it understand why you would want to go on a date with me? Me of all the people you could pick. And I can’t afford any of the stuff, because I work a shitty job that doesn't pay much, but it's in the field of what I want to work at, so I just suck it up. And I don't have time for a second job because they keep giving me small shitty assignments that take up most of my time. And then there’s the 500 dollars I have to get by tonight so my roommate doesn’t kick me out.-- oh oh.. “I began to nervously chuckle “I’m all out of food, so can’t get any before Monday when I get paid, since my last 25 dollars are going to tonight's dinner..so no I’m not okay at the moment” 

My breath was jagged and uneven and I began pulling on the napkin in front of me.

“Easy Y/N. Breaaathe! Come on baby! Take a deep breath!” He placed one hand between my shoulderblades and one on my hands.

“Breathe with me… One..” He searched for my eyes, and as he caught them he made me take a deep breath with him.

“And two…” another one.

“The last one.. Three” His hand made calming circles on my back as he softly grabbed my hands. My eyes locked with his as we took the last big breath together.

“Good girl!” He praised as he lowered his hand to the small of my back, the praise and touch sent a thrill through my body. 

Oh holy shit that gave me the tingles.

“First of all, tonight, it’s on me. Maybe I should have made that clear, my bad. So keep those dollars for a real rainy day” He stated with a small smile and searched for my eyes again. I nodded as I held his eyes for a second.

“Second of all, I think you are absolutely beautiful, sexy and so interesting, so there is no one I would rather be here with than you”

“And thirdly I’m sorry to hear about your work situation. But why don’t you tell me about it and vent for a bit as we enjoy our meal and get to know each other a bit more”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and nodded.

“Sure, I think I can manage that”

Chris waved the waiter over and ordered for the both of us and as the waiter took the menus Chris squeezed my hands as he cast me another dazzling smile, which made me smile in return and even relax a little bit.

Over the course of our dinner we began to talk and really got to know each other. I learned he had three siblings, two sisters and a brother, loved the Patriots, loved to read when he had the time for it, and graduated top of his class at Harvard law. 

I told him about my recent college years and my love for writing and journalism. But whenever he tried to get some family info out of me, I would avoid the question and talk about something else. 

I really don’t want to open that can of worms right now. My anxiety is finally calming down.

After a few tries he seemed like he got the hint, and went on to different subjects. As the night progressed and the bottle of wine we had became empty, it seemed as if the night was over.

“This has been wonderful, Chris. Thank you, and sorry about my little thingy earlier tonight”

“Don’t think about it. And yes it really has been wonderful. But I don’t want the night to end quite yet. Are you up for a little walk?”

He looked me right into my eyes and what felt like my soul and all I could do was smile and say “Absolutely!”

We grabbed our things and went for a walk on the streets of downtown Boston. He had his arm around my waist and held me close to his side as we talked some more. Not before long we ended up in front of a little bakery that was placed in a much smaller brick building than the neighbouring houses. 

“Uhm, Chris, I think they are closed” I looked at him and crooked an eyebrow.

“Well, I might have pulled a few strings” He answered with a cheeky wink and knocked on the glass door.

A light went on in the small store, and an elderly woman walked up to the door with a big smile on her face, as she saw me and Chris and opened the door. 

“Ah Chris! My boy! Just on time.. By about 30 minutes” She exclaimed in a high pitched Boston accent as she pulled him down for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Well you know how it is, Mrs.Kent, time flies when you are in good company” which made him pull me up besides him.

“Mrs. Kent, let me introduce you to Y/N. Y/N, Mrs.Kent. The best baker in Boston”

I went to shake her hand, but was surprised when the old lady pulled me into a hug.

“Oh how good to meet you girly! Come in! Come in. Everything is ready for you” She yanked me towards her, and I frantically looked back at Chris, who held his hand up to his chest and threw his head back in laughter, probably caused by my confused and shocked look by what was going on. 

Mrs. Kent dragged me through the entire bakery to a back door, with me casting continued glances at Chris. Mrs. Kent talked the whole way out, but I didn’t really register what she was saying as I was utterly confused. Suddenly the back door opened and my mouth dropped. A little courtyard filled with plants of all sizes and types, and with fairy lights covering every part of the top and walls. In the middle a small table stood with two cushioned chairs and with a small candle on top of a white embroidered tablecloth.

I turned around to see Chris coming up behind me and he grabbed my hand.

“Wauw.. Chris.. This is amazing!” I was in complete awe. 

“And it’s all for you sweetheart” He whispered so close to my ear that I felt his hot breath on my skin, giving me goosebumps. He placed me in the seat of one of the chairs, and scooted closer to me as Mrs. Kent returned with a small plate. 

“There you go, your dessert. Enjooooy” She said in a sing song smile as she walked back inside.

On the little mint green plate was a blueberry muffin. The most delicious and tasty looking muffin I have ever laid eyes on. Two small dessert forks lay beside it, and Chris picked one up and took a piece of the cake on it, before lifting it up to my lips.

“Open up” He smiled a wicked smile at me and held my eyes as I did as he told me. He placed the fork gently in my mouth and as soon as the soft spongy bit touched my tongue I closed my lips around the fork and closed my eyes and enjoyed the wonderful amazing tasty bite. 

“Mmmhmm! That is amazing” I slowly opened my eyes to find Chris staring at my lips and face with his lips slightly agape.

“It sure is” He stated in a soft whisper with somewhat dilated pupils. I couldn't help but turn a slight pink under his stare.

"So Y/N. I want to talk to you about something. It might be weird for you, but just hear me out, okay?"

"Ehm.. sure?" I hesitated, not knowing where this was going.

"You see, I'm a very busy man and my work fills up a lot of my time, so to have the time to find someone special, someone like you, is very rare for me" he took my hands in his "and I would love nothing more than to dive deeper into you and me, but my life as it is prevents that. So.." he took a breath and looked at me, studying my features "so I want to work out a compromise that hopefully can benefit both of us. I have enough money for a lifetime, but nothing or no one to spend it on and.. maybe you could help me with that" He looked away almost shyly before catching my gaze again.

"... I don't think I understand, Chris?" I swallowed hard, feeling on fire under his touch and stare.

"Hehe.. right. I want to start a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship with you"

"WHAT????" 

I was in utter shock. This wasn't even on my radar of things that could happen. 

Oh my god! How stupid was I to think Chris Evans would want an actual relationship with me. 

I'm only good for what… arm candy? Sex escapades? No no no… 

This is not how I expected this night to go. Maybe a goodnight kiss and if I was lucky a second date. Not being asked to be a fucking sugar baby!? 

Do I look that desperate?

“Y/N… Hey Y/N… “ Chris tried to regain eye contact with me, while my mind completely took over and ran a mile a minute. “Sweetheart, look at me” Nerves could be heard in his voice.

Suddenly I turned to him and stared right at him with tears filling my eyes.

“Wow, Y/N calm down. Listen listen… I just wanted to..”

“Oh I’m perfectly aware of what you wanted.” I exclaimed in sadness and somewhat rage. “And to think I really thought I had a chance with someone like you, I guess I really am stupid” This was spoken with much more sadness and merely as a whisper as I got up from the table.

“Wait Y/N!” Chris went to grab my hand as I began to walk away, but I pulled it to me before he could get a grip on it. “What, Chris? What did you really think I would say to this… this lewd proposal…? Huh?” I straightened my back and glared at him, sniffled a little before continuing “You think I would absolutely love being.. Being a whore for you and your money? I couldn't care less about how much money you got. I thought you were a good man, a man I could really fall for. Turns out you just want a little plaything to toss money at. I might not be rich or have the best job, but I’m not selling myself for some coin and a dick!” 

I turned before I could see his reaction. I just knew I had to leave before I completely broke down. My anxiety was going up by the seconds. 

Breathe girl! Just till you get to the streets to find a way home.

I ran through the little bakery, past a very confused Mrs. Kent.

“Oh dear, where’s the fire?” She yelled as I ran towards the front door. The streetlights brought a yellow somber atmosphere as I looked up and down the street for a cab or bus stop. The moment my feet stood still for a second, tears filled my eyes as I angrily wiped them from my cheeks as they rolled down.

Behind me I could hear the little bell ring from the door of the bakery and soon Chris’ words reached me.

“Y/N WAIT!” 

I just shook my head as I pulled my jacket tight around me and began walking. His heavy footsteps could be heard behind me faster and faster as he caught up with me. 

“Y/N”.. he grabbed my shoulders to turn me around to face him, but I just kept staring at my feet. 

“Listen.. Shit” He dragged his hand across his face and then put a finger under my chin to lift my face up to meet his. My eyes was still drawn downwards.

“I fucked that whole thing up big time! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was buying you or something. Trust me!” 

“Well it did!” I answered in a small sobbing voice.

“I know! And holy shit I’m sorry for that! It was never my intention to make you feel like that. Please let me explain better. Let’s go back to the courtyard” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began taking a step forward.

“No” I stood still.

“Chris, I want to go home. Please”

He looked at me with regret written all over his face and sighed.

“Alright. But I’m driving you home. Not up for debate”

I barely gave a nod, and he pulled me towards his car, which I had no idea how he got to the bakery from the restaurant. 

The drive back to my place was silent. I just kept myself tucked up against my door, glancing out the window at the city lights passing by.

“Y/N please believe me when I say I’m sorry! I just thought…”

“It’s okay Chris. Let’s just write this off as a bad date and leave it at that” My eyes stayed tuned on the passing streets as I answered him. I heard him say a whispered “fuck” under his breath. 

As soon we came to a stop in front of my apartment building I unbuckled and got out. 

“Bye Chris. Thanks for dinner” I cast a quick glance at him before getting out of the car.

“Wait.. Shit!” Chris struggled with his seat belt, and when he finally got out of the car I was almost at the door.

“Y/N… just hold up for a second”

He ran up to me, and for some God knows what reason I lingered at the door.

I just looked at him, a proper mess with makeup down my face.

“I really am sorry. I really hope you would consider giving me another chance, even though I don’t deserve it. Arrh! I just fucked this up majorly!”

“I don’t know what to say, Chris. I don’t know if I can, since I’m obviously not the kind of girl you are after. Goodnight, Chris, and drive home safe”

I gave him a sad small smile and went inside. I made it up the first flight of stairs before the tears began dripping down my face again.

How could I be so stupid?

Taglist

@thejemersoninferno​

#Chris Evans #daddy chris evans #chris evans smut #chris evans au #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #Avengers #MCU #captain america

[good-rwbyaus]

@honorable-asshole​​:  I need you to know this is absolutely amazing. And for a title might I suggest "rising snow," since the mid is both rising to the occasion and trying to prevent the collapse of what probably amounts to the world economy? 

#Rising Snow AU :: Pieces 12-14 :: mod lilac   [ first ] [ previous ]

honorable-asshole asked: Au where Whitley has actually been running the bank accounts since he was young and keeping the group financially viable

// This AU’s name is Rising Snow now. xD. Thank you to honorable-asshole, both the AU namer and the AU inspirer. 8). Runner up for title namer is azdfox for Whit and Wit. - lilac

12. Impression

It didn’t take long to get a response. After Klein and he had their discussion about Acacia, he found his scroll ringing the next day despite it being set to ‘do not disturb’. It was from an unknown caller with a nonsensical 22-digit number, but he didn’t need to be a genius to figure out who it was.

Click.

“I see you’re the big bosss now,” said the woman on the line; he could hear a slight electronic hum resonating with her voice, a blatantly obvious attempt at voice modulation. So blatant that it told him that she wanted him to know - suppose that was one form of sincerity. Despite the voice mask though, it couldn’t hide the drunken slur in her words, one that he couldn’t help but be irritated by. 

“Only until Father comes back," he still spoke back neutrally, leaning back on his chair and away from the piling paperwork, "so you’re Acacia.”

A long pause. How drunk was this lady?

"I am,” Acacia continued, “so when are you plotttting the hostile -hic- takeover?”

He couldn’t help but snort at that. Come to think of it... that’s what he was doing now, wasn’t he? Undermining his father’s authority and trying to find where all the skeletons lie. Because he had to be the one in control in the end. His father never treated the Schnee Dust Company as a business but as his own personal piggy bank, and now that the bank was running out, the Schnees were in danger of being left with nothing. 

And he wouldn’t be surprised if his father left himself an out. What would it be? A private penthouse in Mistral? A couple offshore bank accounts in Vale? Who knows? It ticked him off greatly, but he had more important things to do than indulge in pointless anger.

‘You must not like my Father very much,” he returned.

"I don’t,” the woman said sternly, probably the most sober thing she said. “Your father took everything from me.” 

“Then why help his son?” Whitley asked. 

"You are you. Your father is your father."

“That’s not enough to reassure me,” Whitley said sharply, “You show up drunk to our first meeting, are using a voice modulator, and don’t even show your face. Are you even taking this seriously? The only reason why I’m entertaining you right now is because of Klein’s assurances that I can trust you.”

He heard something like a choke in the background and then a click. He quickly glanced at his scroll - they weren’t disconnected - she must’ve muted herself.

Another click.

“...Klein’s a good man,” the voice hiccupped out, though her voice sounded more strained - hoarse even. 

“He is. But I still don’t trust you. From what I heard, you’re not just a secretary but an expert on technological surveillance,” Whitley replied, “If I let you into the system, I very well may be letting a wolf in.”

“...You can’t keep me out in the firssst placee,” Acacia slurred. 

“Prove it,” Whitley said.

The sound of typing filled his ears before it quickly stopped.

“My show of -hic- sincerity,” she quietly said. 

His scroll suddenly went dark and turned back on. Numerous video feeds popped into view. The kitchen, his sisters’ bedrooms, Klein in the kitchen, the dining room, the lounge, his own bedroom... Alarmed, he turned towards the bookcase to his side before looking down at the scroll in his hands - it was tracking him. 

He hurriedly walked over and quickly pulled out a book that had a pin-sized hole within it. The scroll’s feed followed wherever he pointed. And the Schnee Mansion was covered in these cameras?! It was impossible for it not to be an inside job then. He shook in rage. Was his father seriously that paranoid about maintaining power - that he’d spy on his own family!? 

His attention returned to the scroll. He took a few calming breaths. 

“I’ve received your sincerity well,” he finally let out, “Another thing that my father will have to answer for.”

Another long quiet moment.

“I... yes," the voice stuttered out quietly, “...you trust me now?”

“I can trust you to put your money where your mouth is,” Whitley corrected, “That’s probably as good a foundation we’re going to get for our working relationship, since you’re clearly not going to reveal your identity. Is Acacia even your real name?” 

He then shook his head.

“Actually you know what? It doesn’t matter now. As of right now, you and Klein are the only assets I have,” Whitley said with a long exhale. A loyal butler and a drunk secretary, better than being alone with this mess. 

‘....Regardless of what happens, I’ll be by youur side,” the voice said, “even if you decide to driiive this company into the ground.”

Acacia... sounded oddly sincere about that, though the effect was somewhat diminished by the fact the woman was completely sloshed.

“I thought you loved the company,” Whitley asked.

“I loved the people in it,” she said mournfully, “I admired your granddad...” She paused, “Since you have his blood, as far as I’m concerned, the company is yours to do as you see fit.”

“You know that Winter and Weiss are the true heiresses, right? If you really wanted to get the company back up, shouldn’t you be asking them?” Whitley questioned.

“Do they -hic- look like they want anything to do with it?” 

“Hahaha,” Whitley couldn’t help but laugh at himself. That was true. The prize he always strived for was looked upon as garbage by his older sisters - and what was more ironic was that the company was actually garbage. Was he really the only blind one here? He sighed before he shook his head, banishing the useless self-pity away. 

“It’s their loss. I’m going to save this company,” Whitley declared, “I’m going to make sure we’re so entrenched in Atlas - in Remnant - that no one will dare do anything to the Schnees.”

He closed his eyes and looked down at his scroll.

“Will you help me towards that goal?” he asked.

“Like I said, it’s your company,” the voice replied, “I’ll go as far as you want to go, President Schnee.”

He smiled.

President Schnee. He liked the sound of that. But first things first.

“Then since you’ve clearly shown yourself in, let’s begin. I need the budget reports starting from last year...” 

---

13. Efficiency

Having Acacia on board for the past several days made his job easier. No longer did he have to sift through unimportant garbage such as meeting schedules or planning dinners or cafeteria food requests. She instead triaged his work, sending documents where they actually needed to go - he suspected she had a digital stamp with his signature on it - and made sure things got done in the background. Despite the questionable legality and hole in oversight, he found it a welcome thing. He could finally focus on more important matters such as where all his company’s money went or the increasing unrest down at the Mantle mining sites.

He’d seen signs of his company’s corruption back when he took a glance at the budget. R & D had been a black hole where money goes in and nothing comes out. Transport and Delivery had been ‘losing’ more and more Dust shipments. Customer Support was full of idiots he’d fired on the first few day of his job. Security has been demanding more funds to deal with the so-called Faunus threat without any actual evidence to their claims. 

The only thing that’s made profit at all was Dust Mining and Surveying, which was personally managed by the President. It was literally the only thing that was holding this company together.

He picked up his scroll and sent a voice message.

“Acacia. I’ve gone through the budget. I’ll be requiring your expertise. I’ll need information on the following people before I meet them two days from n-”

Klein walked in, not with a milkshake, but with a bowl of spaghetti. 

“Klein, I said I wanted a milkshake, not this.”

“You’ve been drinking milkshakes for two days now, Master Whitley, ” Klein said, “Acacia has again expressed... concern.”

He sighed as he grumpily stared at the bowl, picking up his fork.

“Is she your boss or am I your boss?” he grumbled at both phone and Klein, though no heat was in his tone. He knew Klein was looking out for him, though he was surprised Acacia did too. 

He smiled faintly as he began eating the pasta. 

His parents might not care for him and his sisters, but at least he still had people willing to stand by his side.  

-------

14. Threat

Several men, dressed in suits and blazers, sat inside a large board room; the last chair at the end of the table had yet to be filled. All of them seemed annoyed at being called at this late hour. “What’s going on?”

“Beats me. I was being attended by a masseuse when I got the emergency order.”

“Stop complaining. I was with my mistress when it happened. You know how uncomfortable it is to take that pill and not-”

“Shut it. Isn’t the president supposed to be on vacation?”

“Then how did this emergency meeting get called?”

“Because I called it,” Whitley spoke as he opened the door to the board room. Wearing a navy blue suit complete with a sky blue tie, he adjusted his silver cufflinks slightly and sat down at the end chair. “Gentlemen.”

“Whitley Schnee,” the man to the left of him said in a fawning expression, “haven’t seen you since the last dinn-”

“Shut it, Samson,” he interrupted.

“What?” Samson, the CEO of R&D, questioned blankly  before he quickly stood up, yelling “What’d you say you little bra-”

“I told you all to shut it,” Whitley growled as he glared back into the now hostile room, “Do you know what all you scum here have in common?”

“You’ve all stolen money from my company. Hundreds of millions of Lien,” he announced and turned on the projector with a push of the remote. Budget statements with padded numbers crossed out and the corrected ones filled in appeared on the screen, complete with department names. Bank transfers to personal accounts could be seen. 

Several members of the company’s board had looks of astonishment while others maintained a perfect poker face.

“You shouldn’t make false accusations.”

“This is all fake!” 

“Do you think you’re actually the president?”

“As far as all of you are concerned, I am,” Whitley countered, slowly standing up and turning his back to them, “Klein, please pass my esteemed associates their information packets.”

The butler quietly yet swiftly delivered a manila folder to every one of the room’s inhabitants. Several of them began looking through the contents and immediately became pale. 

“Some of you... Most of you - by virtue of your thieving - have committed crimes that could be considered treason to the Kingdom of Atlas,” Whitley quietly spoke to the now silent room. 

He turned his head immediately to a balding bespectacled man, “Lexington, the heating coils in Mantle should last for a decade per our agreement with the Kingdom of Atlas, so why did you construct them with material that would only work four or five years at best?” he asked before adding, “That’s pretty shifty, especially in light of your recent purchase of a mansion whose price happens to match the missing portion of the budget. Horrible correlation, right?”

“And Rex, what happened to the protective walls down at Mantle,” he asked in a kind tone, smiling, “They should’ve been finished a year ago, so why are we still two years behind?” 

His smile shifted to a disdainful frown, “Tch.” 

“As for the rest of you, you should find that my money is not easily taken. The folders will easily show that I know where all your skeletons lie.”

Quiet murmurs filled the room. Some of them clandestinely attempted to use their scrolls, only to find they had no signal - Acacia’s work. 

“What do you want us to do?” Samson said, the fastest thinking of the lot. That was why he was the closest ally of his father - ally: his father didn’t have friends. 

“At least you’re smart. Not smart enough to stop yourself from stealing from my company, but still...” Whitley replied, which made the man redden with anger, “You will all sign documents to the effect that you are willingly transferring your stocks to me. After confirmation of the transfer, you will then resign,” Whitley calmly said, “If you do those two things, I will keep what I’ve learned under my belt, and we all walk away happy.”

“What?”

“Don’t go too far, kid.”

“You think you’ll survive if you dare take on all of us,” one of the CEOs replied, “Tch. I’m done with this farce.”

Just as the CEO stood up, Whitley delivered his ulitmatum, “should anyone leave here without doing those two things, I release everyone’s information to Atlas.”

“The company won’t survive if you do tha-”

“What you’re doing is a crime. This is blackmai-”

“No, no, no. This isn’t blackmail,” Whitley interrupted with a laugh, “this is simply a business deal, a mere trading of worthless stock for your valuable lives. Now if you think that what I’m doing is a crime...” He shrugged, “I guess I have no choice but to report these things to the proper authorities.”

The room fell silent at that.

“As for the company, you’re right. Losing a lot of important assets at once will impact the company,” he lightly said before glaring at them, “Luckily, all of you are leeches and don’t fall under that category.”

Lexington bristled.

“If you release that information on us, have you not thought about what will happen to your father?”

Whitley chuckled. 

“Oh I certainly have. My father will likely go to jail after all this, and I’ll probably have to go on TV and talk about how sorry I am about my father’s crimes and that I’ll work hard to atone in his place,” he replied, “Troublesome things, yes. And of little worth, since I do agree that the Schnees will be a very hated name in the Kingdom for quite some time.”

“But we’ll at least have the opportunity to recover. The rest of you on the other hand...” he chuckled darkly, "...will probably have long met the firing squad.”

“And as for those of you who think they can escape, do you really think your connections will mean anything once General Ironwood gets ahold of you?”

The room became quiet once more as they considered the question.

“I thought so,” Whitley finished with a calm smile, a smile that these ruthless businessmen would be seeing in their nightmares - the smile of a son willing to sacrifice his own father for his goals. Everything that he wanted to show, he let them see.

“So no more objections? Shall we start the transfer of assets then?”

#rising snow au #whitley schnee #klein sieben #rwby au #rwby #rwby fic #mod lilac

[bettsfic]

hi, i was reading your years in review and i noticed that you quit a job of many years to go your own way. i was wondering if you would mind talking about this decision/if you struggled with it? idk i've always told myself that i wouldn't let the idea of a "career" get in the way of what i want (e.g. writing) and that one day (shortly after 30?) i would just quit whatever job i had and go my own way, but as that deadline comes up i find it harder to imagine how i could just uproot myself...

yes, i very much did struggle with the decision to quit (what i thought was) my very stable and lucrative career in finance to get an MFA in creative writing. it’s a bit of a long story so i’m putting it under a cut.

warning for suicidality and sexual assault.

i used to believe i grew up poor, but it was the 90s so poverty looked very different. my dad didn’t work for a long time, and so we only had one income, and we lived in an apartment that was kind of a lowkey hoarder home. as a kid, all i knew was that i didn’t get to have toys, or my own space, and i wasn’t allowed to have friends over. the concept of an allowance was totally alien to me. but it also wasn’t like i ever went hungry. the food we had wasn’t particularly healthy but it was always there.

i didn’t really realize how much that instability affected me until much later, when i noticed other people hadn’t lived their entire lives aware of and obsessed with money. i used to compulsively count the change in my piggy bank and beg my mom to take it so she could pay her taxes (i didn’t know what taxes meant, i just assumed they were the reason we couldn’t afford nice things). 

my safe haven was always my grandparents’ house, which was clean and had semi-healthy food and the door was always open. my grandpa was a high school chemistry teacher. my grandma worked at a bank. growing up, i had no idea what she did at the bank, just that it sponsored all the fun things we did, like going to amusement parks and baseball games. my parents never took my sister and i on vacation, but every year, my grandma would drive us to visit our family in missouri, which, even though it only cost the gas to get there, seemed like a wild indulgence to me.

i started working at 16 so i could have my own money. by 17 i was working illegally full-time and getting paid under the table. then i bought my own car, and shortly after i turned 18 i got my own apartment. even though i could pay my bills, i was still terrified about money. i thought about it all the time. i checked my bank account multiple times a day. i was a cashier at a restaurant and i would often open my drawer and just stare at the money or count it when i was bored.

but i hated working at the restaurant, and one day i thought to myself, how can i keep the money part of this job but lose the food part? then i remembered my grandma’s career at the bank (from which by then she’d retired), and that afternoon i sat down and applied to be a teller at the very same bank. obviously the bank was very large and it wasn’t like my grandma was in management. she worked in ATM operations. nobody on my hiring committee knew who she was, and honestly i have no idea how i got the job.

i stayed a teller through college, working 25ish hours a week. it didn’t pay very well and i was still nervous about money, so i picked up a job altering bridal gowns on evenings and weekends, and also an admin job at my university. so i was working 60ish hours a week, plus going to school full-time and trying to keep up my 4.0. in retrospect, i can’t remember how necessary all this was. i know i was living in an apartment whose rent was higher than i could afford, and i lived with my boyfriend who was struggling to find a job. anyway, it was definitely the lowest time of my life, and i was so exhausted that every day i hoped something horrible would happen to me so i could be hospitalized and rest. 

then something horrible did happen. my dad died. and even though everyone in my life was telling me to please dear god take a break, i did not. 

i got promoted to business finance, which paid what seemed at the time to be an ungodly amount of money. i was still part-time and finishing up my undergrad degree. once i graduated, i got promoted to full-time. for the first couple years, i really did try to be a banker. i was good at my job only insofar as someone who is left-handed can write with their right hand if forced for long enough. it felt very much like i was in the wrong place, but by that point i had so much unchecked trauma that i had convinced myself the highest human ideal was misery and deprivation. i wish i was kidding. i was the definition of ascetic and martyred myself. i didn’t believe happiness existed. work was all that mattered to me.

then i bought a house. so at this point, i had student loans, a car loan, a mortgage, and credit card debt. after my dad’s death, my mom had to file for bankruptcy because of all the medical bills. she abandoned her house. by this point i was 23, single, in six figures of debt with no familial support net, but i was making decent money at the bank, so it wasn’t like i was drowning. in fact i was doing pretty well. the bank was a rock in my very turbulent life. i got a lot of vacation time that allowed me to travel a bit. i had insurance and a matching 401(k). it was really a decent job.

but the bank was also in many ways an abusive relationship. i don’t mean that metaphorically. i had bosses who manipulated me, insulted me, humiliated me in front of other people. i had one boss who went so far as to look at my checking account and ridicule my purchases. i didn’t have any idea what it meant to stand up for myself or say no. in fact i wasn’t allowed to say no. my job at the bank involved solving other people’s problems. i could never say “i can’t solve that problem.” i could only say “i’ll figure it out.”

i had convinced myself working at the bank was a stable career because it was boring and i hated it. but actually it wasn’t stable at all. after 2008, there were mass layoffs and restructures every year while the bank tried to recover from the recession. i worked for a sales team, and so my job was dependent entirely on whether or not the salespeople did their jobs well. if they didn’t make goal, they’d get fired. if they got fired, i’d get fired. 

i started trying to date again and was sexually assaulted. after that i really struggled at work because i was dissociating a lot and couldn’t focus. my team, despite my having worked there for years, instead of being concerned for me decided to start complaining about me to my boss. finally i had to tell a coworker what happened and that i wasn’t doing very well. my team started being a little nicer to me but ultimately they didn’t care about me, they cared about how effective i was at my job. my boss didn’t want to fire me, so instead i was pushed onto another team.

that move came with a raise. then that team was dismantled and i was pushed onto another team. that was a demotion, but i got to keep my raise from the previous move. by then, i was working from home, and even though i was more comfortable i was also very isolated and miserable. my “fulfillment through deprivation” attitude was destroying me. i wasn’t eating well or taking care of myself. i was isolated and lonely. i still didn’t believe happiness was real and i constantly thought about killing myself. 

but i had started writing fanfiction, and even though i didn’t think i was any good at it, i was beginning to see a way out. i was beginning to learn how to dream, and want things, and give myself the things i wanted. i just couldn’t imagine leaving the bank, or selling my house, or moving out of my hometown. all of that seemed impossible to me.

then i had to go to a business conference where my team had a retirement party for one of my coworkers. she’d done what i was doing for 45 years. by that point i was at the 9 year mark. i’d spent my entire adult life at the bank. and i realized: the bank benefited from my fear and passivity, and nothing in my life was going to change unless i was willing to make sacrifices. 

but i still wasn’t entirely convinced. and then came the day i had to physically hold onto my desk to keep me from killing myself. i didn’t end up trying it, because i had another realization: this was a life or death situation now. if i kept working at the bank, i knew i would die. i knew eventually i would get low enough to do it. i didn’t actually want to die; i wanted an escape and didn’t know what else to do. suddenly i was off the hook. my options were not “financial stability or imminent poverty” but “live or die.” 

those were the big epiphanies i had, but the process of actually leaving the bank was a slow one. i wrote a bit about it here. i got into an MFA program basically by telling myself repeatedly i would figure out the money stuff later. when it came time to quit the bank, my boss convinced me to stay on working part-time, with the assumption i would move back to full-time once i’d graduated. i agreed to it, because just trying to quit was enough to convince me i could, and that better things were ahead of me. for a year and a half, i stayed on working two days a week while doing my MFA, which involved both coursework and teaching, and it felt a bit like it did during undergrad, having too many jobs and no time to breathe or think or feel anything.

between my first and second year, i had a looooong overdue mental breakdown. there were a lot of causes, but one of them was spreading myself too thin. shortly after, i quit for good. by then it didn’t feel like a big deal at all, i was so far removed from the work and my team and so focused on my degree. one day i turned on my work laptop and the next day i didn’t. i shipped it back to HQ and it was over.

then i graduated from the MFA and suddenly had to face the consequences of this life i’d chosen. my school kept me on as an adjunct, but it felt like being a ghost. i no longer had the community of my cohort. i had no health insurance. i was given my teaching schedule and a contract to sign, that’s it. there was no guarantee i would be getting classes the following semester, and after a year, that was what happened. i remember sitting in my favorite coffee shop trying not to cry when i got the email that said the department had nothing for me to teach the following semester.

i really wasn’t the same after the breakdown. i went from “i can do anything i put my mind to no matter how hard it is or how much it hurts” to “i have to step carefully, and treat myself gently.” i hadn’t fully realized that yet, though, so i tried to get a Real Job. i got the first and only job i applied to, because i am bad at nearly everything but somehow i’m exceptional in interviews. it wasn’t a bank but it offered the same sort of benefits package. it was a full-time salaried position at a non-profit. if i had found it earlier, i think it would have been my dream job. it was the kind of work you throw yourself into because you care so much about doing good. 

i lasted a month. during the first week something happened that triggered me in a way i’m very rarely triggered. i realized i needed disability accommodations, but i needed to go to a doctor to get an assessment and i had to be on the team 60 days in order to get insurance. i thought i could white-knuckle it, and i could, sort of, but every minute i was at work, it felt like i was forced away from the thing i should have been doing. i was constantly trying to write a few paragraphs here and there on my phone when no one was looking. i had to find excuses to take breaks and go to my car and breathe. at one point i told a volunteer i was an english instructor, and she looked at me very confused, and i realized i’d said it in present tense, like it was part of who i was and not a job i did for a while. then finally, my breaking point was an after-hours function. when i left i saw a field full of fireflies and thought about how, if i’d just stayed home, i could have sat outside and enjoyed them all evening, not just a glance at them on the way to my car. i liked the job but it was making me miss all the things i’d learned to love about being alive.

i quit the next day. i’d sold my house by then (which was its own feat) and moved in with my grandma, which hadn’t been a possibility until my grandpa passed away the previous spring. i paid off my car. i figured out finally that i would probably never be able to work full-time again unless it was teaching, and that the downside to this life would be accepting fear and instability, only being able to look ahead one semester at a time. staying open to the opportunities that arise. being a little selfish. 

i wrote a bit more about the financial realities of the writing life here. i can’t tell you what you should do, because the path i took definitely isn’t the path for everyone, but i do believe we all owe it to ourselves to pursue our best and happiest lives, because we only get one, and there’s no reason not to live it the way you want to. 

#writing advice #the writing life #Anonymous

[ecofinisher]

¡Vamos a España! - Chap 1

Chapter 1

Fandom: The Snow Queen (Wizart)

Ships: RollanxGerda, AlfidaxKai

Rating: General Audience

Summary:  Rollan doesn't feel well and goes back to Spain. Gerda understood his reasons and offered him her pet as a companion during the time he's gone. Soon he discovers his mother owes the bank money and to Rollan emerges an opportunity to help her out of that situation. It got worse for him as he soon has to deal with former bullies from his class, but thanks to Gerda's comfort he fights for his place in the guard academy. His Siberian friends give him assistance, which in the end led him to be a hero.

My actual idea was to make a crossover, but as my previous one already was one and I'm tired af of it I picked only Snow Queen. I didn't want to start this earlier, but my Miraculous fanfic its plot isn't as fully developed to the end as this one, so I'll have these two active.

So before I start this takes place about a year after the events of Mirrorlands. Also, I have no clue what canon age the characters are in the movie so the following age I've guessed is between the 16-19. Kai's got 16, Alfida 17, Gerda 18 and Rollan 19. Maybe KaixAlfida are the same age, but I believe Gerda and Rollan have at least 1-2 years of distance from the other or Rollan just seems older to me.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442912/chapters/72325119

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13819897/1/Vamos-a-Espa%C3%B1a

https://www.wattpad.com/1026318158-%C2%A1vamos-a-espa%C3%B1a-chapter-1

Another usual day passed by around the kingdom of King Harald, the misunderstood antagonist whose bad experience with the Snow Queen led him into the fever in getting rid of all his citizens, who had the genetic of magicians in the fear they would just turn heartless just like the Snow Queen once did years ago. Thanks to a young girl named Gerda with the help of the Snow Queen and friends she met throughout her life King Harold was stopped and learned, that not all magicians were as bad as he thought they were. To his surprise, he even got to learn, that his own son had magic in his DNA, making him a magician too, and shows more comprehension towards every magician in his kingdom.

Over the year things have changed over the kingdom, not only for him but for everyone else in the kingdom. Science was still a thing for the kingdom, but including the magic of others more advanced, certain things in the kingdom have gotten. Harold was really amused to see how far things have gotten since he began to work on his first projects for the kingdom. Who knows what more ideas people will bring in the coming future?

On the main street, Kai, the younger brother of Gerda walked out of a barbershop and waved at a brunette man, which stood in the inside cutting the hair of another man. Kai walked on the sidewalk towards a small, wooden cabin, where a few adults stood waiting and Kai looked up at a pole to see an hourglass attached on the top with a wooden sign beside it with the following words carriage every hour. Kai smiled from seeing the sand was almost full on the other half of the glass.

Kai observed around the road citizens walking normally on the street, some stopping in front of certain stores to take a look into them to check what they had to offer and on the road passed by a regular carriage carrying bags of flour and the side had mentioned the destination where it was going, then the man sitting behind the horses waved his hand at Kai, making him smile and wave back. Kai doesn't know exactly who that guy was, but major of the citizens are pretty educated towards everyone, which makes the kingdom one of the friendliest around their part of the region. On the other side of the road was another stop for carriages, where more men and women were waiting to get picked up, afterward a light-blue and white carriage appeared to stop in front of those people, which got up on the top of the berline afterward the guide of the carriage moved the leash to make the two horses move further leaving the place. From the corner of a house appeared a young man running behind the carriage shouting for the driver to stop, then got annoyed and threw his hat against the ground as he missed it, then got down under the stop to wait for the next carriage. Kai chuckled at the sight of the man, that missed the ride then recognized the neigh of a horse, then Kai saw another coach to pick them up, and soon as it stopped Kai waited for the other passengers to leave, then Kai climbed up into the duo-colored vehicle and sat on the side of it and observed the passage as their carriage had just departed.

„What a day," Kai mentioned neutrally and looked up at a church clock to see it passed after 5 pm. On the next crossroad, Kai encountered another stop for horse carriages, where other citizens were waiting for their ride and Kai moved his head to the opposite direction to encounter a carriage, which had got one of its wheels broke and the one of the leading horse lied on the ground in front of a man, which was taking a look at his leg afterward he held his hands over the end and a blue light appeared over it to heal slowly the horse until the injury had disappeared. The man smiled at the horse and patted him on the head.

Kai smiled after seeing the healer taking care of the horse and looked forward at the road seeing they were approaching the first stop of the ride he took, but he still was a few stops away from his destination, which was the home of him and his family. This evening would be a full house again for his family, cause they would have guests over - Alfida and Rollan. Alfida was the first female friend Gerda had made during the time she left the orphanage to save him. Kai initially didn't quite get along with Alfida. At least he thought that, but the funny thing was both had a crush on each other but weren't quite smart on how to show this to the other. For Kai Alfida mostly looked like she kept just teasing him out of fun, which made Kai most of the time thought that she was bullying him, but this wasn't the case. It was more Kai was so used to getting negativity from the people working in the orphanage, that he's more careful in who he makes bonds with. Alfida grew her entire life with her mother and her pirate team, so she didn't really learn how to handle the new feelings she had for the boy.

Rollan just entered into Gerda's life at one low point of his and Gerda's life. Both were sick from moving around on their own as orphans to make money and asked Orm, the former assistant of the Snow Queen if they could stay at his house for a while. Rollan had just got into their house on the same night as the siblings and as it seemed Alfida and Orm already knew him as he was a fanatic legend seeker from Spain. For some reason Kai disliked him. Rollan's appearance had led him and Gerda to have a fight and go different ways leaving her alone with Rollan. Kai innerly regretted having left Gerda back at that time, but he didn't want her nor Alfida to know he needed her. He came back as soon as he heard, what happened and went with Alfida to save Gerda from the lava Rollan had dropped her in. Kai after knowing that hated him more than anyone else. During the time he was helping Gerda in finding a way to free their friends, they encountered Rollan again lying in the middle of the lava and he assisted Gerda into bringing him up onto the ship. Kai hasn't understood yet how Gerda quickly forgave Rollan in the next following days. Was Rollan really ashamed and sorry, for what he has done? Or did the fire-demon took over Rollan's mind and lead him to do that to Gerda? This is a question he will never have the answer to. Rollan's memory has vanished from that time, which was understandable for him to not understand why everyone was hating him. Gerda forgave the Spaniard. Alfida did for the sake of her friendship with Gerda. The parents seem alright with him, at least he doesn't have heard anything special about it. They're actually happy, that he was willing to protect Gerda with his life on the day King Harald was fighting him and Gerda. Kai is just glad now everything is better now and that his family is now reunited and they all get along.

Kai approached the stop of the carriage, then got down of the carriage and walked forward passing by the stores to get closer to a store, that sold mirrors and got into the store to encounter his father handing out a mirror toward a young woman, which gave him the payment.

„Have a nice day," The man wished, then he noticed Kai and smiled. „Welcome back, son," The father greeted watching Kai approach him and take out from the pocket of his jacket a bunch of coins.

„Look I've sold my portrait for 14 Dinar," Kai announced earning a thumb up from his father.

„Wow that's fantastic," Complimented master Vegard. „If Gerda also brings at least 10 Dinar back home we can really make a great family dinner tonight for our guests,"

„That would be cool. I will put it into our family piggy bank," Kai announced walking back at the door behind the reception of his father.

„Great and now that you're here, go up to your mother see if she needs help,"

„Sure, see you later dad," Kai said disappearing behind the door.

At dinner time, Alfida was the first guest to show up at the house and sat in front of the table next to Kai showing him an old sheet, which he was looking onto it.

„It was odd. We searched the entire cave for that book, but it wasn't there. We did everything we could and nothing,"

„Now that sounded like a big waste of time," Kai stated earning a nod from the girlfriend.

„Yes. Wasted two entire weeks for nothing," Alfida said placing the map on the table, then Kai placed his hand on Alfida's shoulder to pat her.

„But now you're back. Tonight's dinner will definitely cheer you up. We've got beef, chicken, peas, and potato. Nothing fishy tonight," Kai explained making Alfida chuckle.

„That sounds great," Alfida agreed placing her hand on Kai's leg, making him smile, then the boy leaned his head toward the girl, and before he kissed her Gerda's pet ferret Luta jumped on the lap of Alfida shrieking her.

„Woah Luta!" Alfida commented, then grabbed the ferret which nudged her head on the girl's cheek. „Yes I'm happy to see you too," Alfida confirmed, then looked across the room to see Gerda come along with a pot to place it on the middle of the table.

„Okay, one thing is done," Gerda said, then looked at Luta, which jumped up at the dark-blonde girl, which smiled as her pet ferret came at her arm. „Yes I know she's here,"

„Where's Rollan?" Questioned Alfida. „Shouldn't he be here too?"

„He must have got a little delayed," Gerda responded. „He didn't cancel it,"

„Did he actually got a job now?"

„Oh not yet. He tried the other day at the barbershop, but it wasn't quite his thing," Gerda mentioned making Kai wide his eyes.

„Was it per coincidence the barbershop of Mr. Ludmilis? He told me he had a foreign guy trying out the job and he failed badly at cutting someone's beard," Kai asked making Gerda shrug her shoulders.

„I don't know. He said he accidentally cut the man's face at his first try," Gerda mentioned making Alfida snicker.

„Oh boy, I wish I could have seen that," Alfida mentioned.

„Come on, it's not that easy for him," Gerda stopped earning a nod from Alfida.

„I was just joking. He sure will find something that is worth his skills," Assured the raven-haired girl, then Luta got down of Gerda's arms running at the entrance door, where Vegard passed by as someone just knocked on it and he opened up to see the Spanish boy the girls were talking about standing in front of the entrance.

„ Buenas noches!" Rollan greeted, then he looked down at the ground to see the ferret push Rollan on his pants with the teeth. „Yes, I'm happy to see you too, Luta," Rollan commented stepping into the house carefully with the ferret on his leg afterward Gerda picked the ferret up and it glared at Rollan angry, then got patted by Gerda.

„That's just Rollan. You don't need to worry about him anymore," Gerda explained to her pet, which glanced at Rollan and turned her head away from him in a snobbish way. „I'm sorry,"

„It's fine. She's just......warning me," Rollan commented unsure how to respond to the ferret's protective instict toward her owner. „Glad to be here tonight," Announced the raven-haired boy, then Gerda got on her tiptoes to peck him on his cheek, followed by Luta moving her head up to bite him on his nose. „Ouch!"

„Luta!" Gerda shouted making Luta giggle. „You're alright?"

„No problemo. Maybe she's happier now," Rollan mentioned watching Luta get down on the floor and trot away making Gerda chuckle.

„It seems," Gerda agreed. „Come on and sit down. Dinner is almost ready,"

„Uh hum," Rollan answered walking around the table to sit down, followed by Gerda, who took the chair next to him.

#ecofinisher #ecofinisherfanfics #the snow queen #snow queen mirrorlands #Снежная королева #fanfic #fanfiction #wattpad #ao3 #updated #ficupdate #fanficupdate

[scullyy]

Two Sides of the Same Street / Chapter Five

Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four

Pairing: Clementine x Louis

Word Count: 4223

Summary: Upon returning Clementine to her house, Louis gets the chance to meet her family.

A/N: I really have no excuse. I cannot thank you enough for the patience, I really can't say why this chapter took so long. I just fell out of my groove, lost a lot of inspiration for a while. This will be the last chapter in this series. I only ever intended for it to be short-lived and I feel like this is a nice place to finish. Hopefully, this ending will please you. Enjoy :)

-♥-

There was just darkness. Simple and suffocating darkness all around her. Clementine stretched out her hand, losing them to the dark. There was nothing, yet somehow everything felt..wrong. Oh so wrong.

"Stop it you're fine." She mumbled, her voice buzzing in the air above her. A slight breeze washed over her foot, causing Clementine to jump high into the air. Hidden amongst the darkness an empty row of bloodied nails began to surround her, creeping in from every direction. Clementine fell to her knees, desperate to sink into the floor and hide.

Her words couldn't break the silence. "Leave me alone." She gave a final cry before her vision went blurry, her lungs exploding in her chest.

The world around her fell together like puzzle pieces. Clementine immediately sat up, clutching the bed sheet that her legs were tangled in. Sweat collected beneath her knees, sending chills up along her thighs. A warm hand broke through her icy layer.

"Clem,"

Her head followed the hand on her shoulder to the body it belonged to, finding Louis kneeling beside her, his brows furrowed deeply. "What's going on? You were shouting in your sleep," He brushed some damp curls from her face, his heart sinking at the tears welled up in her eyes.

Clementine brought her knees up to her chest, holding herself tightly. "Yeah uh..it's fine.." She closed her eyes and took one long breath after another, thinking of the treehouse she had as a child. Lee told her to think of a peaceful place, a place where good memories hide.

"You wanna talk about it?" Louis whispered. He pulled the small lamp on the corner table closer to her, pushing away the darkness that always threatened her. "Sounded pretty serious." His pulse was running like a train in the night. Her screaming bloody murder had him thinking there was an intruder in the apartment, a physical threat would have been easier to deal with than an emotional manifestation that only she could see, that only she understood.

Nevertheless, his grandmother taught him never to leave someone crying alone.

"I have bad dreams from time to time, it's nothing new." Clem kept her eyes focused on the soft light beside her. If she even dared look at Louis she would reveal anything and everything about her, why her dreams are there and why they'll never go away.

Louis' eyes darted back and forth between her and the skinny hallway behind him. "Do you, uh...wanna stay in my bed? Just so you feel better!" He immediately adds to dial down her wide eyes. "You don't have to-"

"Okay," Part of her agrees just so she won't have to remain alone for the rest of the long night, the louder part of her brain agrees just so she can be closer to him. "I...don't really want to be alone." She voices the quiet side of her brain.

Louis wiped both his palms against his pants, unsure of where to tread now. "Well, let's go then." This situation wasn't included in the etiquette lessons his mother taught him as a young boy. Was there a protocol? Maybe offer her a glass of water? Tequila??

He would have grabbed her hand had his own not been sweating like crazy. They padded towards his room, both desperate to not wake Marlon. Somehow he remained asleep through the commotion.

When in his room, Clementine immediately gestured to the piano in the corner of his room, it took up the majority of his living space, standing as his prized possession. "Hey, it's Perry." The piano gleamed beneath the pieces of moonlight that found their way in through the crack in his curtain.

It was the first time Louis had noticed just how much space it soaked up in his room. It was also the first time both of them had felt a connection to an inanimate object. "I can't believe I said that to you in our first conversation." Who would have thought they would be where they are now when their first encounter was merely business?

"It wasn't as dorky as you thought it was," Her voice was hushed, dim like the streetlamp outside. "I haven't given my guitar a name yet." With a slow movement, she presses her index finger against the A key, bouncing away at the surprising loud noise.

"There's a rule in this place, no music at night," Louis lowered his head, implying that this was a rule he was prone to disobeying. "So..."

"So..."

Louis fumbled with the loose band of his flannel pants, trying to remember the French alphabet, the words to 'La Vie En Rose', how much money he had hiding away in his piggy bank. Anything to take his mind off the fact that a girl was in his room. His. Bedroom. This wasn't just any girl too, this was a girl he had a crush on. A girl who actively liked him back! "I'll...see you in the morning," It would have taken him an easy three strides to get out of his stuffy bedroom, but a small hand latched onto his arm halfway through his second step.

"You're going?" She didn't mean to sound so meek, desperate even. His exposed skin burned her fingertips in the best way possible, a feeling she wanted to remember.

He almost looked like a puppy being given an unfamiliar order; head lunged to the side, big inquisitive eyes. "I don't wanna impose-"

"It's your room, Louis. You're not imposing." She gently tugged on his arm, bringing the two closer to his double bed shoved against the far corner by the window. Clementine slid her legs in one by one, immediately finding comfort in the cotton-polyester.

Louis moved slower than her, making sure she had taken up her desired space before closing the blanket around them. "Goodnight, Clemster."

"Night Lou. Thank you." Her slurred voice almost had him melting. It was odd to see this relaxed side of her and not the stoic face she puts on every day. The last thing he saw before drifting away again was the ghost of a smile on her face, blessing him with simple yet sweet dreams, just like her.

-♥-

Was there a better feeling than waking up to no alarm?

Louis shifted amongst his blanket, blinking rapidly against the flakes of sunlight that greeted him through the curtain. His free arm stroked the other side of the bed, slowly caressing the empty space beside him. It was still slightly warm from her presence...her...her? Louis gripped the bedsheets with new-found adrenaline, his body sliding upright immediately.

"Clementine?" He called out. How did she slip away so quietly? Louis threw the sheets off his body, immediately freezing to the cold air hanging around. He reached for his dinosaur slippers, sliding them on one by one. His ears perked up when he heard giggles coming from the room next to his; the kitchen.

"Alright Lou, it's a brand new day." His voice was situated at its usual morning croak. A swift cup of tea with a spoonful of honey would fix that. He trudged into the bright kitchen where stains adorned every counter. A small breeze flew in through the open window and it carried itself along with the laughter of Clementine.

Marlon noticed Louis' presence first, then again Clem had her eyes shut tightly to repress her tears. "Morning dude, I was just telling Clem here how you lost that tooth."

His shoulders fell at having such an embarrassing secret revealed. "I was nine, cut me a little slack," Louis ignited the stovetop, choosing to focus on which flavour of tea to have. Peppermint or Apple Cinnamon? "Did he also tell you that it was his idea to climb that ridiculously tall tree in the first place?"

"No way," Marlon chewed up the rest of his toast before wiping the crumbs on his raggedy jeans. "You'll have to fight me another time cause I'm off to see Brody, my headache has gone so I can at least think properly."

Louis chucked two teaspoons of sugar into his yellow mug. "You sure you're feeling better?"

Marlon raised his hands in defence. "I'm fine." He tossed his winter coat over his should, beaming a smile full of pride. The power of a hot shower and NyQuil was stronger than he thought.

"Ah, no D at the end of fine this time. Carry on good sir." He waved his first mate out the door, nearly forgetting about the other presence lingering behind him. She made herself known by peeking over his shoulder, staring directly at the steaming kettle.

"I'm more of a coffee person myself."

Louis turned around in one fluid motion, if he was an ultimate chef, he would totally whip out some expensive cutlery and hors d'oeuvres (who needs breakfast foods). "May I interest you in some mediocre Peppermint tea instead?"

Clementine's smile somehow made the already sunlit room brighter. But soft what light through yonder window breaks... "No thanks."

"Damn, I would have given it to you on the house," He quickly turned off the cooktop just as the kettle began to screech. The hot water was quickly thrown into a very scratched travel mug as Louis mixed the little bag of leaves around. "Y'know, 'cause you're cute."

"I don't think that's how the exchange of goods and services works-"

"-Does now." Louis chucked the little spoon into the sink, the fresh smell of peppermint filled the small kitchen, even Clem had to admit it was appealing. They stood in silence as Louis sipped at his drink, playing off just how hot it really was.

Clementine peaked a glance at her watch, a gift from Lee for her sixteenth birthday. "I should be heading home, don't want AJ to worry."

"Your dad wouldn't be worried?"

"He hasn't called me yet, so I take that as a good sign. AJ always tries to protect me." Whenever Clem would awake from a nightmare AJ would be there at the ready, flashlight in hand to take down the monsters that threatened her.

"Let me walk you, it'll give me an excuse to get in my daily cardio," More like monthly cardio, but she doesn't need to know that. "I just gotta change my shoes, and pants, maybe my shirt too...gimme a minute to change my whole outfit." Louis bounded back to his room, eager to continue this already perfect morning.

Within minutes, Louis was bounding out of his room in an entirely different getup; grey hoodie, his favourite black jeans (his only black jeans really) and a navy blue beanie. Or as Marlon would have called it 'fucking hipster getup'. "Hippity hoppity let's get back to your property."

"Really? Hippity hoppity?"

"Let's just roll with it for now."

Clem wrapped her jacket around her shoulders before heading out into the new day. A very cold day already, already feeling the need to shove her hands into her pockets.

"Getting cold already?" Louis teased, despite also shoving his hands into his large pockets. What is it with men's clothing having bigger pockets? "That's just Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

"Jack Frost?"

"Y'know, like the fable? My brother loved those fairy tails and I loved reading them to him. There was Jack Frost, Snow White, Red Riding Hood and my personal favourite, The Little Mermaid."

"I always liked Aladdin," As the snowflakes fluttered onto her feet, Clem wondered about this small town she now called home. It was all a fresh start, to put all that happened in Savannah behind her. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to find someone as charming, funny and kind as the boy whistling beside her. "What are you whistling?"

"Just a small tune I've been working on."

"Oh yeah? You write music?"

Louis shrugged, brushing off the fact that he had a whole box of unwritten music hidden beneath his bed. "Occasionally, I reckon this is gonna be my greatest piece yet."

"Really? What's it called?"

"I'm not sure yet. Maybe 'Clementine'. Y'know cause I like fruit...and I like you even more." He gently bumped her shoulder, his eyes locked onto his feet. Louis was a smart man and he knew that if he took one look into Clem's wide brown eyes he would melt quicker than the snow beneath his shoes.

Soon enough her house came into sight, seeing Lee’s snow-covered car in the driveway took a weight Clem hadn’t realised was on her shoulders. ���Nice to know he made it back safe.” She skipped up the front steps and knocked with a little too much force.

It didn’t take long at all for the door to get pulled open rapidly. "Clem!" A small boy charged right at Clementine, bear tackling her leg. "You're back!"

She pushed him off her leg and kneeled down to his height, pulling him into a proper hug. "Hey AJ, were you okay last night?"

Louis' brain began to tick over. 'AJ...oh shit the little brother.'

AJ squeezed the life out of his big sister. "I did what you said, kept the lights on and didn't open the doors for anyone."

"Not even me," Lee hovered in the doorway to the kitchen, a dish towel flung over his shoulder. "Had to convince him that I was indeed the man I claimed to be."

Clementine giggled, letting AJ run back to his colouring book. "Sounds rough," She fully embraced the tall man before her, letting any loose thoughts about her nightmare wash away. "Hey, Lee."

"Hey there Sweetpea, you doing good?" His voice was soft, nothing compared to the booming roar that Louis' father used to speak with.

"I am," Her eyes glanced between Lee and Louis, wondering which of the two was more curious to know the other. "Lee, this is Louis. He works at the music shop across the street."

"So you're the one who keeps her out longer than her scheduled lunch break?"

Louis jolted out of his fake confidence. He hadn't been keeping her time that much...had he? "Uhh-sorry about that. She makes for good company."

Lee clasped Louis' shoulder. "You and I can agree on that. Name's Lee, nice to meet you, Louis."

“It’s nice to meet you too, sir.” He had never met a potential girlfriends parent before, you actually need to have a girlfriend for that. It was more nerve-wracking than performing on stage.

“C’mon Lou, I wanna show you something,” Clem helped to subside the panic clearly growing on the poor boys face. Was this all too much for him? Meeting her family? “You don’t have to stay, really. If you got places to go-”

“No, no it’s fine! They seem real nice.” Louis couldn’t pinpoint the last time he was in a loving home; he was simply raised in a house, devoid of the attributes that strengthen a home and a family.

Clem didn’t dare to poke around in his private thoughts this time, if he wanted to talk about it more he would, instead she lead him up the stairs to the last door down the hall. A couple of stickers were peeling off from around the door handle. “AJ stuck those on when he was four, didn’t have the heart to remove them.”

There were no visible stickers inside the room, but instead an absolute explosion of Clementine’s personality. Purple walls with a wide array of photos, old and new, friends and family. Even some messy drawings, clearly done by AJ.

“I didn’t bring you here to show you the photos,” Her comment broke Louis out of his deep curiosity and instead got him looking at the corner by the window, where Clem was leaning against, a cedar guitar at her feet.

"Hey! It's the guitar I sold you!" Louis frantically pointed at the familiar guitar resting beside her bed, shining beneath the fresh sun.

Clem always smiled at the memory, albeit an awkward first introduction. "I haven't given it a name yet, what would you suggest?"

Louis hummed it over, his fingers stroking an invisible beard. "I reckon we shall name her...Ginny! Ginny the guitar!"

Clementine stroked the neck of the guitar. "I like it. Ginny and Perry will have to get together sometime for a mashup."

"Ohmigosh can I name their band?" Louis clapped his hands together as so many silly names flew through his head. "They're gonna take on the world!"

"Okay calm down cowboy, one step at a time." Just as Clem flopped down onto her bed, soft yellow bedsheets welcoming her home. AJ zoomed into the room, jumping on the pillow beside her head.

"Lee says we can finish putting up the decorations for the tree!"

So much for hanging out with Louis. Repressing a sigh, she flung herself back to her feet. "Alrighty kiddo. Louis, you're strong, could you help Lee carry out the last couple boxes from the garage?" If she was going down, she was gonna take the last man standing with her.

"You're roping me into this? Luckily I'm very skilled in the art of decorating." He stood proudly, flexing whatever muscle he had on his arms, despite not having put up a single Christmas decoration in his own apartment yet.

AJ left the room somehow quicker than he had entered, calling out for Lee to "get the boxes!"

Clem slowly stretched out her back, her rough night of sleeping beginning to catch up on her. "Sorry about that, I know you probably didn't come over with this in mind."

Louis waved his hand at her, brushing off the comment. "Don't worry about it, it could be nice to decorate. My family wasn't super big on it, a couple of odd decor items here and there. Could be fun to go all out." Putting up the tinsel was his favourite part, only because it was his brothers' favourite decor item.

"C'mon slowpokes, these decorations don't put themselves up!" This time it was Lee calling them from downstairs.

"We better go or we won't hear the end of it," The duo bounced down the stairs, both having to repress a laugh at AJ, who had already gotten himself tangled in a long rope of red tinsel. "Slow down kiddo, before you break something." Clem began to seek out the source of the knot, whereas Louis headed to the garage.

Be cool dude, don't say dumb shit that could get you thrown out.

The garage was a crypt of boxes, filled to the brim with furniture that hadn't been given a place yet. ‘KITCHEN’, ‘FRAGILE’, ‘MORE KITCHEN’.

Louis pushed past some of the boxes, finding where the Christmas ones were hiding. "Where did you move from again?" If he was good at anything, it was talking.

Lee had already begun to lift one small box onto his shoulder. "Savannah. I was originally a Macon boy myself. After my marriage fell apart, I thought a change was what I needed."

Louis pulled apart a box labelled ‘TINSEL’. "You were married?"

"Yup, right as I got my teaching degree. I wanted a family, she wanted to travel. I guess she was right, I don’t use my degree anymore. What about you Louis? You got family?"

Louis tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t sound so completely disheartening. "I do, we’re not as close as what you, Clem and AJ are though."

"Oh?"

"I kinda got kicked out,"

"Oh."

Great. Him and his big mouth. "It wasn't anything bad! There was just a...disagreement that my father couldn't move on from. I have a little brother too, he's a couple years older than AJ." The only positive of his family life.

"How's he doing?"

His brief silence gave Lee an unsettling answer. "I, uh...I haven't seen him for a while. Not since I left home."

"I'm sorry, that would be difficult." Just like Clem, Lee didn’t sound patronizing. Some only saw Louis as a broken man, rejected by his family. As much as it pained Louis to wonder, it seemed as if Lee knew exactly what that feeling was.

"I mean, it's not like I haven't tried. Things with my parents aren't that smooth." That was putting it mildly. His father threw some choice words when Louis took that final step out of his house. He didn't even look back.

Lee shifted the box on his shoulder, gaining a smoother grip on the cardboard and his very own thoughts. "Lemme tell you a story. After I got divorced, my parents and I had a falling out. My wife was...cheating on me and I didn't take it very well. I left before I could do anything crazy. I kept in touch with my brother for a while but then he..." Lee shook the words from his head. "People say we don't get to pick our family, but that's bullshit. I picked Clem, all those years ago I got her. Then AJ, although I wish he didn't have to lose his parents."

"Clem mentioned it the other night."

"As much as I miss my parents, I would do it all again for those two. You got a family out there Louis, sometimes it just takes a while for us to find it."

The silence wasn’t awkward, for both men connected on a personal level. Lee had lived that life, Louis was just getting over it. No new words were needed. They knew.

"C'mon guys, AJ wants to decorate the tree!" Clem called from the living room, breaking the peace. A smaller voice echoed her words, further pushing the two men to work faster.

Lee gently rolled his eyes at their eagerness. “Could you grab that box of tinsel over there? That should be the last of it,” Lee nodded to a dusty box furthest away from the other decor items before heading back into the living room.

Louis grunted a little beneath the weight of the boxes. “Probably should have gone to the gym with Mitch.” He somehow got the boxes back inside, trying to not seem as breathless as he was.

Lee was the first to open a box, pulling out a small reindeer ornament. "So Louis, Clem mentioned to me that you work in the music store across the street. You play anything?"

Louis feigned the best heart eyes he could. "My pride and glory is my fifteen thousand dollar Perzina piano. Takes up the majority of space in my room but worth it."

Clementine almost let the delicate bauble in her hands slip to the ground. "Did you just say...fifteen...thousand dollars? How...how did you get that?"

Louis began unpacking the box with AJ, finding some golden lights inside. "My parents got it for me when I was a kid, they wanted me to learn only on the best." He was unbothered by Clem's garbled gasps. A connoisseur of fine music himself, he was unphased with the number he just said.

Clementine was desperately trying to coax more information out of him. "Why did you take it with you? How would you even get it out of your house? That thing is huge!"

"It's one-hundred per cent German hand-made! I wasn't about to leave that at my parents' house!"

"I can't believe you gave me crap for the six-hundred dollar spoons! You could buy two sets of those spoons and still have some cash leftover." Clementine stood with her hands on her hips, the task of decorating now long gone from her mind.

Louis rolled his eyes so far back they started to hurt a little. "My piano has a floating soundboard, a reverse-crown soundboard and a super-stretched bass bridge. All your spoons have is a ringing noise. Oh and the fact that they don't tarnish. Whoopee."

"I don't see your piano being held in the National Museum of American History."

It had somehow become a battle of wits, to see who could know the most about their respected work trade. AJ paid them no mind, a spoon is a spoon who cares? Whereas Lee hid his smile, trying to not burst out laughing at how ridiculous the two sounded. Yet it was clear, they held a close passion for their work.

He tried oh so hard not to laugh, but a small croaked chuckle burst from Lee, gaining the attention of the two bickering adults. “Sorry, you both just seem to know so much about your work...maybe you two can open your own store someday," Lee slyly left the room, leaving Clementine and Louis to linger on that thought.

Louis chucked on the last of the tinsel, thinking of a small corner store where he and Clem could sell all their hearts desired. A historian and a musician. "You know what, I'd like that very much."

#twdg #the walking dead game #twdg s4 #twdg clementine #twdg louis #the walking dead game season four #twdg lee #twdg aj #twdg fanfiction #clouis #louisentine #clem x louis #fanfiction #xscullyx

[in-tua-deep]

me n a friend have been talking abt how to make a happy au where everything works out for the best and tbh my proposal is: that last time five time travels he doesnt make it to the apocalypse, he jumps right into reginalds funeral and just the fact that their annoying rebellious preteen brother who needs people to look after him is there, they collectively pull their heads out their asses and the apocalypse doesnt happen thru the power of sibling love (+being made more responsible), ur thoughts?

OOH curious, an au where Five travels straight from when he was thirteen to his dad’s funeral? 

Five absolutely doesn’t believe that Dad is dead or that his siblings are his siblings until they PROVE it and then he basically is like what the fuCK luther you’re HUGE and allison your hair!! klaus you got so tall!! why is everyone except vanya tall as fuck!! 

“Hey where’s Ben?” Five asks, all excited and wide-eyed and the rest of the squad is like surprisedpikachu.jpg

When he finds out that Ben is dead he tries to travel back in time to prevent it and that’s when he comes to the realization that moving forwards in time is a whole different kettle of fish than moving backwards in time which sparks its own little breakdown because until that moment he was treating this as sort of a fun vacation with his cool older siblings and didn’t realize that he was stuck there

So the whole squad gets to find out via breakdown that Five hadn’t really meant to run away and was always intending on going back to them and that he just got stuck

Five calls them out on their bullshit regarding Vanya because he literally just came from a time where Vanya used to sneak into his room in tears after Reginald called her useless and ordinary for the nth time so maybe he’s a little protective and he’s just like “holy shit dad is DEAD and y’all are STILL spouting his same bullshit regarding Vanya”

Diego, who hates the fact that he was just compared to Reginald, decides to be a contrary bastard and immediately start treating Vanya nicer because honestly sometimes spite is the best motivator

Seriously how do the siblings not cotton onto the fact that their brother who sees the dead can see their very dead brother?? whatever, Five is from a time where Klaus was just doing weed and not heavy drugs so as soon as he finds out Ben is dead and after he has his subsequent breakdown he turns to Klaus like “hey hey ask Ben where the fuck he put my book on interdimensional theory I need it for reasons” and Klaus is so surprised he just automatically relays the information and then the rest of the family are like “what” as Five jumps to go retrieve it

Five is still conditioned by Reginald to like. Be a good little child soldier. And I’m gonna say the running out wasn’t a common occurrence, so instead Five gets to bug his siblings to take him places because also he’s thirteen and can’t drive

“Dad is DEAD” five says, wide eyed with possibilities, “holy shit. Is griddy’s still open? can we go to griddy’s? in DAYLIGHT? without sneaking out? holy SHIT”

in the face of this excitement over something as small and simple as being able to go to a diner when he wants, it’s not like they can say NO. even luther wavers because honestly griddy’s is a nostalgia trip and a half and he’s been on the moon for four years and… dad’s dead it can wait for like, an hour right?

The commission is like “hmm. fuck. better send some people to get the timeline back on track” except now it’s the whole squad who deal with the Griddy’s Assassin situation and Five helps because this is what’s he trained to do!! taking down armed gunmen! look at them doing their job as a family

meanwhile the others are freaking out internally because five is a BABY and he’s in DANGER also looking back they were ALL BABIES WHAT THE FUCK DAD and five is just smiling while warping around bashing people on the head with diner mugs

Klaus and Vanya are ducked under a table bonding about not being super helpful in fights and Klaus is like “tbh idk why dad let me go on missions and not you like i remember when you got allison to teach you that highkick p sure you’d be more useful than me” and vanya is touched

they don’t come out unscathed and Five is bleeding and everyone is freaking out over it and five is just like “dude i’ve had worse lmao like literally dad has given me worse than this” and everyone is reminded that their dad was a dick and even luther finds his faith shaken because five is so little and he doesn’t remember them being that little,,,

they still make Five get patched up when they get back home as they try to figure out Hey What The Fuck Was That and five is literally getting stitches and he’s still excitedly asking them questions about their lives

and he’s thirteen and so sheltered i cry so he’s very impressed by like, everything

“we should watch some of allison’s movies!! we can watch movies together now, right?? i mean even dad would let us watch a movie if it had one of us in it surely! i want to see!” “!! Luther you went to the MOON? what was it like? were there aliens? did you see the flag? did you bring back moonrocks? can I have one?” “klaus your skirt!! i know dad never let you wear the stuff you wanted and now you just can! you can wear whatever you want! that’s so cool. can i do that? can i wear whatever i want? klaus klaus can you paint my nails? can ben pick out the color?” “vanya you’re in an orchestra!!! and you have a concert! that’s soo cool! does it matter that you aren’t first chair? you’re in an ORCHESTRA. i knew you were gonna be great with the violin!! can we go to your concert?? please? how much are the tickets? I probably still have my piggy bank in my room if no one’s touched it”

(Klaus touched it. Klaus 100% stole that money a long time ago. Allison cuts in and decides that as the wealthiest sibling and the currently most maternal and she is just melting at all this she will buy the whole family tickets to Vanya’s concert and they’re all going to attend as a FAMILY even if she has to drag everyone there by the ear)

everyone is immediately like “i am going to give this child the world and do all the things that we never got to do as children holy shit also now that i’m more distant from the events i never realized just how little autonomy we had and the fact that Five is so excited about being able to wear non-uniform clothes is a little depressing”

luther out here like “but,,, but the murder mystery”

and they all consider that and think that hmm. maybe those mystery griddy gunmen actually had something to do with dad’s death? okay okay, maybe just maybe luther isn’t being an idiot about this

if you think thirteen year old five doesn’t JUMP at the chance to be a part of uncovering a murder mystery you are incorrect and the siblings are immediately like “hmm. five has already gotten hurt. he is child. we should be,,, protective.”

vanya goes back to her apartment and still meets leonard peabody sorry guys but it’s kind of her job and i don’t want to take that away from her

she does still end up going to leonard’s house except five gets really bored of being smother by the rest of the squad (and they’re all WEIRD about the oddest of topics it’s stupid) so he goes off to find her and ends up ALSO at leonard’s house except he find reggie’s notebook and is like “hey i recognize this!! this is dad’s! i saw him writing in it yesterday!” and instead of letting anyone know he just kind of stuffs it up his shirt and steals it (it’s not stealing if it belongs to dad) and bugs Vanya into going home with him

he looks at the journal (he was always too curious for his own good that’s what got him into this situation) and so he reads about vanya’s powers

and immediately busts into the kitchen for family dinner like “GUYS HOLY SHIT”

and so that’s how the family finds out vanya has powers, it’s a big revelation, five is super enthusiastic because now vanya can come on missions with them suck it dad!! because he 100% isn’t aware yet they don’t still go on missions together and five is already like “we gotta train this!!”

idk pogo probably comes by and reveals the whole nanny situation and allison makes that reveal and vanya is fucking DISTRESSED and tries to leave but five latches onto her wrist and is like “vanya’s never been ordinary a day in her life!! have you heard her play the violin!! your rumor didn’t even work!” which is v touching to vanya and calms her down at least to continue the convo

luther is like “clearly she’s on the meds bc she’s dangerous so we can just continue those it’s fine” because it’s not like she’s hurt someone he cares about in this timeline tbh

allison meanwhile is trying to be a better sister in general so she counters back with “she was FOUR she didn’t understand the concept of death, now that she’s older and past the toddler tantrum phase i think it would be fine for her to actually learn about her powers”

but it’s klaus who’s like “hey, maybe we should ask vanya what she wants??”

and vanya is like,, i want to know. it wasn’t nice feeling like a burden back during the diner shootout, and i think i’d like to maybe try and explore this - and if it’s too much then there are always the pills (bc at this point vanya is still on those and doesn’t realize they inhibit her emotions, when she does she ends up not wanting to go back on them)

vanya gets the love and support she needs!! luther gets some validation for his dad was murdered theory bc the squad investigates with him and they find out about reggie faking his murder a lot earlier! allison doesn’t get her throat cut! klaus gets the love and support HE needs!! and decides (with ben’s input) that he needs to at least attempt to be a good role model bc five has already asked him if the drugs are more important than family when klaus tried to duck out of an allison movie night! diego gets to leak his protective instincts all over five and also take out his anger issues on the commission agents being sent after them! five gets to have an actual childhood even if he does chafe sometimes at his siblings being weird and protective!

literally the apocalypse is ended by five gasping and saying “WAIT can we go to the ZOO?” and making them all go on family trips together where everyone is included because!! they’re his siblings! he wants everyone to be there! he’s gonna see a lion motherfuckers! in person!

also a lot of the things five thinks of are things the siblings just,, never had time for. so it’s a first experience for a lot of them, and so no one really has a good reason to say no?? because they kind of want to go, too?

five, literally vibrating in excitement: i want to go on a roller coaster

like i know you said about preteen rebellion but look he’s come out into a world where his dad is dead and so there’s the potential to do ALL the things he’s always wanted to do but knew dad would never let him like holy shit!! family laser tag! paintball! let’s take a roadtrip to the beach guys i’ve never seen the ocean!! let’s go ice skating! go on a ferris wheel! eat ice cream on the couch! throw popcorn at the tv! lets blast abba songs through the house and make a blanket fort!!!

like it’s gonna take a while to get through the exhausting excitement of “LOOK AT ALL THESE FORMERLY FORBIDDEN THINGS I CAN TRY”

and just throughout this they’re dispatching commission agents and fighting hazel and cha-cha and trying to figure out what the fuck is going on with that as well as teaching vanya how to control her powers which everyone is trying to help out with and also dealing with five literally bouncing off the walls one half of the time and the other half of the time being passed out somewhere due to running out of energy

“klaus i want to get a puppy” “we are absolutely doing that, no ben we don’t need to consult anyone else about this” “i’m gonna name him mr. pennycrumb” “you do that buddy why the fuck not”

but yes. what an absolutely blessed and happy au. i love u and tell ur friend that i love them, too

prevent the apocalypse through the power of reconnecting with your inner child and dragging your family along behind you

#ask me #bpdfive #happy au #this was such a cute ask/au idea #thank u very much for sharing #i probably got a little bit carried away but like #i remember me at 13 #i wanted to do fucking EVERYTHING #my school actually did a disney trip the summer before we started highschool #if u think my ass wasn't running around going crazy with a bunch of other little shits u are wrong #we had like no supervision we went bonkers #they literally just took us to the parks and then unleashed us saying 'come back at this time' #so yeah #five realizing there's no parental supervision and wanting to go HAM #maybe he should be sadder about reggie or whatever but also fuck that #he still has his reggie related trauma but #he's too excited #they can deal with that later #tua #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #number five #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #instant arrival au

[halemmerich]

A funny memory I just remembered is when I was 5 and visiting my family in Alabama, we went to this one church and they made the kids do a singing performance thingy of bible songs because yknow. Church things and it was seperated to 5- and 5+ and since I was exactly 5 I told them “oh I’m 5. Guess I have to do both” and they just..let me. They didn’t question me like “are you sure” they just gave me the two songs and I practiced at my uncle jefferys

When we did perform I sang and when we were switching the little kids out with the big kids I just kinda...stood there. And it’s just really funny to me idk why

[[MORE]]

Two more church memories from when I was like 5 was the first time I went to that church with my uncle Jeffery, on our way out they let me choose a piggy bank and I chose this butt fuck ugly one thinking I’ll get another one the next time for some reason (I didn’t) so I was stuck with this really ugly piggy bank for the longest time. I would show a pic but it’s at my moms.

Another memory is I rememeber during like the boring church part where the pastor was reading stuff they took all the kids 5 and below and entertained them since yknow. They’re kids and I rememeber I went once when I was 6 for the first day I was there then I rememeber next week my mom told me I couldn’t go since the lady in charge said I was 6 so I was too old and so everytime I saw her I would give her the most hate filled stare a 6 year old can give and I was stuck dealing with that boring ass church stuff as a 6 year old with adhd

#religion

[zayndrivesmeinvain]

The One Where He Comes to your College Graduation

-

The moment you’ve been waiting for, all the long sleepless nights and falling asleep in the library has paid off. You graduation day is finally here and you couldn’t be more proud of yourself, you’ve come a long way and getting two different degrees will really pay off. Since you’ve completed your internship last summer, they were highly impressed by your work ethic and drive to learn that they offered you a full time position for the fall.

You’re beyond excited but your nerves have gotten the best of you, both of your parents will be attending but they recently haven’t been on the best of terms, your younger siblings will also be attending and you somewhat feel responsible to create a sense of role model for them since you’ve done so well since both of your parents didn’t go to college and you are the first in the family. Your family never severely struggled, however there were bumps in the road and your parents had to work 2-3 jobs at times when you were younger to pay the bills and get food on your table.

You’ve been very fortunate to have the parents that you have because they have done so much for you, however you saw how they struggled with you and your siblings and you vowed that your children would never have to ever wonder if they’ll have a meal the next day, or ever let your children see you in such distress that you witnessed your parents.

-

You’ve just arrived at your graduation ceremony and you’re waiting impatiently in the back with the rest of the graduates. You palms begin to sweat and you just want to have your diploma in your hands by now. Big crowds make you nervous and waiting your turn does too. You’ve spotted a few of your friends as more people start to walk through and make their way in. They look just as impatient as you do, however happiness over runs those emotions. As you look away for a moment, a wave of white overcomes the room and the one big room feels so small.

They required us to wear some sort of white or light colored outfit and you’re thankful they did because the pressure of finding a dress these past few weeks had to be the last thing on your mind with finals and thesis’ due. Thankfully, you found a beautiful thigh length flowy dress online and paired it with some nude wedges. Since it’s your big day you decided to bump it up by curling your hair and doing some extra make-up to symbolize your special day.

“Y/N, Y/N.. are you even listening?” you come out from your own thoughts and look back at your friends.

“ I’m sorry, I uh- I uh- was just thinking.. What were you saying?” a nervous laugh escapes my lips and I pull my attention to my friends.

“ I was asking if Harry was coming? Isn’t he in London recording again?” If you’re being completely honest the thought of Harry coming to your graduation never really crossed your mind. You obviously mentioned it, however you knew he was busy and last time you talked to him last night, he was in fact in the studio. He was there with a few of his friends having a few drinks and sharing some laughs. The pressure of having an album ready hasn’t taken its toll on Harry yet since it’s still early but when the time does come, he was be completely focused.

“ Oh, I don’t know. It’s been really hard for him to come back and forth all the time, and he had some meetings to get through this week so I doubt it.” Sadness has overcome your conscious but you can’t show your friends how you’re actually feeling because this is supposed to be one of the most exciting days of your lives. Harry has always tried his best to come to the important events in your life but it’s always caused an issue because he gets recognized and an important and beautiful day that is supposed to be yours, is spent having him sign his autographs and taking pictures with fans. It’s never his fault but the two of you had agreed maybe your graduation wasn’t the best place for him to come, which is why you never minded: until now.

-

You’ve been sitting in the metal folding chair for the past hour and graduation has moved smoothly. Attending a State University has really taken the pressure off of yourself because in realization there are thousands of students graduating today. Many of these students you haven’t seen since Freshman English, Math or Science. Some of these people have really changed since freshman year and some of those you never thought would graduate but they did it.

You notice your phone vibrating and you pull it out from your dress pocket and it’s a sweet message from Harry.

“ Hey Bubs, good luck today! I’m so proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished. I can’t wait to celebrate when I see you. xxH”

Even though you’re understanding, Harry is truly one of the very few people if not the only person you cared for if they came. Even though your parents helped pay for the first few semesters Harry has been the only one to take an interest in what you’ve been going for. He’s taken the time to really get into it with you and has listened to all your hopes and dreams, the last year he’s helped you pay for school even though you made a deal with him to pay him back. However, him paying for your schooling has helped you save up some money and you’ve caught up with rent and has let you buy some new appliances for your apartment.

You’ve always prided yourself on being independent, especially when it came to college. No one helped you when it came to filling out the applications or taking the SAT’s or helped you study for your AP classes in high school. Because your parents were so busy you often took the bus to interviews and college fairs throughout the city. When Harry come into your life, he insisted on helping you financially as much you let him but he never overstepped his boundaries. You never wanted him to feel as though you were taking advantage of him or his money because he earned that himself and he wasn’t your personally piggy bank even though he offered to be.

-

Names were being called and after 20 minutes your rows turn was up and you were about to walk across the stage. The moment you’ve been anxious about, studied hard for, pulled all nighters and even cried many times for, is here.

You walk over and get in line and only a few people are in front of you, all your beloved teachers are standing up there and some that you have never met before.

“ Y/N,” you walk across the stage, shake a few hands, exchange a few hugs and stop to take a final picture. The moment flashed before your eyes before you knew it, and it’s all over now. Your college career has finally come to an end and you couldn’t be more overjoyed yet sad at the same time. You spent countless hours in this building for pep-rallies and parties and you won’t be coming back. The last 4 years of your life have flashed before your eyes, and what you would do to go back.

-

My family rushes over to me as I meet them outside where the rest of the students have met their families. My parents are getting along for the sake of the day, my siblings holding onto balloons and flowers for me. My younger siblings run into my arms and I take them into a tight embrace as they congratulate me.

“ It seems like yesterday you were running around in your diaper in our first apartment together. I always knew you would do amazing things Y/N, I just didn’t know they would come so soon.” My mom pulls me into a tight embrace as I can feel her tears falling onto my shoulder. My mom has always been a very strong person, especially growing up as a teen mom, and she rarely has ever cried in front of me.

-

Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of someone familiar. When realization kicks in, I instantly start running towards them and fall into their embrace.

“ You think I’d miss the most important day of your educational career, Bubs?” Harry really came all the way to the States to come visit me.

“ You seriously don’t know how much this means to me, Harry. Thank you.” A sweet quick peck was shared between us before the rest of my family joins us.

-

You ended up going back to your parents house after your graduation ceremony, where your parents made dinner and had a cake for you. You honestly preferred this over some lavish dinner, even though your family can be annoying and at times dramatic, you have stayed close knit together, and they take Harry’s job into consideration which leads to a lot of family gatherings.

One of your favorite parts of Harry is that he’s adjusted to your life so well, he knows that you don’t ask for much or even expect anything from him, he understands where you come from and how your family is. Your parents adore him and so do your siblings, it’s the perfect family picture with a lot of dark pasts.

-

The night is slowly coming to an end, dishes are being put away in the washer, napkins and tablecloths are being put away, drinks are shoved back into the freezer and cake is being wrapped up so you can take it back to your apartment.

You thank your parents once again, Harry and you make your way out the front door after many hugs and kisses and endless goodbyes and congradulations.

“ Are yeh ready to have a party of our own at home, Bub?” even in the dark you could see Harry’s eyebrows wiggling up and down, a swift smack to your ass followed by a gentle nudge to your arm.

#hary styles #Harry Styles #harry styles images #harry styles imagine #harry styles images #harry styles fanfics #fanficts #fanfiction #one direction #the one where he #blurbs #reading #love #graduation #college grad

[isometimeswrite132]

Imagine my OTP

This is gonna be using my two OC’s Mia and Lucian. Sometimes they’re dating, sometimes they’re just friends, its a on and off thing. But, not matter what, they are both adorable little beans, so take these headcannons (technically they aren’t headcannons since this is my universe but still). Also, since the original universe is an apacolypse, this will be a human!au.

1. Acts like they’re dying when they have a cold.

Lucian doesn’t get sick often, but when he does he acts like u the end off the world. He constantly over exaggerates how sick he is, especially when he has to work that day. Luckily for him, Mia is a good sport, and an even better nurse.

2. Gets mad at the TV and throws the remote.

Lucian is no where near “tech savvy”, unlike Mia. He was very sheltered as a child, his family very extreme in their beliefs about technology. Something as simple as a television gets him a little peeved. Neither of them throw the remote around though.

3. Gets the worst road rage.

Mia holds a lot of anger in, afraid that if she shows the littlest bit of irritation, she’ll end up like her mother. So, she bottles it up when around other people, especially at work. On the drive home she yells at anyone and everyone, getting pissed at even the smallest driving error. When she finally gets home, she feels free to vent to Lucian.

4. Spends too much time in the bathroom on their phone.

Mia sometimes gets caught up in being on her phone that she just sits on the bathroom counter and scrolls through her phone sometimes. Lucian on the other hand spend way to much time taking mirror selfies. They’re both big offenders in this category.

5. Packs the whole closet for an overnight trip.

If you called for “an over prepared nerd” you’re looking for Lucian Cain. He will pack the entire house, enclosing the kitchen sink. Mia usually packs for him, knowing that he can’t pack by himself.

6. Hates the in-laws.

Mia is the only child to an abusive mother and a deadbeat father, the former of which is currently in prison. Lucians parents are fanatic cultists who are extreme in their beliefs about race and marriage, and cut contact after Lucian married an African-American woman. They both equally hate their in-laws.

7. Hits the snooze button…11 times.

Mia Cain Hayes her job, and she is not a morning person. Safe to say that even though Lucian also isn’t a fan of mornings, Mia definitely hates them more.

8. Makes the other late for work.

As I just mentioned, Mia hates her job. So, she is in no rush in the morning. She constantly begs Lucian to just stay in bed for a few more minutes, distracting him with kisses and compliments.

9. Uses the television as a babysitter.

Mia and Lucian both have their reservations about kids, definitely not wanting any of their own anytime soon. So, whenever either of them are baby sitting for friends, they have no idea what to do. Plunking them down in front of the TV should work fine.

10. Takes in the stray dog.

“Mia, we have two cats, one dog, one rabbit and eight rats, we don’t need anymore animals of any kind” -a tired and frustrated Lucian.

11. Suggests a 3am trip to McDonald’s.

Ever since Lucian discovered fast food (when he was nineteen) he was in love. If their pulling a late night to finish on of their projects, Lucian always suggests they go out for food or drinks, no matter how late it is.

12. Leaves their shoes out for the other to trip over.

Mia loves her shoes, she has about seven pairs of different heels, running shoes, and hiking boots. Pair that and Lucians constant clumsiness, and it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

13. Can’t make up their mind when it comes to dinner.

It’s very obvious to anyone looking in that Mia wears the pants in the relationship. So, when out to eat, wether it be fast food or a fancy restaurant, Mia always orders for both of them.

14. Needs to be reminded of all their appointments.

Mia has a slight short term memory thanks to head-trauma as a child (thanks mom) so she sometimes forgets basic things like where she was going or what day it is right after being told for the fifth time, so imagine how hard it would be to remember an appointment she booked three weeks ago.

15. Bribes the other into doing chores.

Mia is the queen of getting out of chores. She almost always has an excuse at the ready for when Lucian asks her to do a few things, and when she doesn’t she has other ways of persuading him (😏). But, she is happy to run errands outside the house.

16. Picks the movies.

I’ve already established that Lucian is indecisive as hell, and Mia and headstrong and stubborn. Match made in heaven. Mia pick the movies, Lucian makes the popcorn.

17. Takes the safety steps when building a pillow fort.

Surprisingly Mia. Lucian tried to make sure the pillow forts they made were secure, but every time he tried, they’d cave in after a few minutes. Mia had taken it upon herself to set them up from that point on.

18. Kisses the other’s injuries better.

Lucian is a very affectionate man, and so is Mia. They both kiss injuries better, Mia just gets injured more so Lucian does it more often.

19. Is addicted to angry birds, game of war, candy crush, temple run, or flappy bird.

Despite his inability to figure out technology, Lucian loves the little games on his phone. He could play them all day, and he often does get distracted before Mia brings him back to earth. His favourite game is temple run, no doubt about it.

20. Kills the spiders.

Mia is a cold blooded killer of spiders and anything creepy crawly. She hates them with a burning passion and she takes it upon herself to personally take them out of this world. Lucian either leaves them alone or puts them outside if the weather was good.

21. Hogs the blankets.

Lucian get super cold at night. He doesn’t mean to hog all of the blankets, he just wants to keep warm in the middle do the night. Mia usually lets him, but if he’s getting to much, she just snuggles up next to him to keep him warm.

22. Takes pranks too far.

Even though Mia was an only child she did plenty of pranking, and she knows how far she can go and for it to still be funny. Lucian, however, has no way of gauging how far his prank is going to go.

23. Makes the dirty jokes.

Oh my god, the amount of innuendos that come out of this women’s mouth is unbelievable. She constantly makes sexual jokes and advances in public or private just to see Lucian blush. This woman has barely any shame, but she’ll stop if Lucian asks her.

24. Keeps a piggy bank.

Lucian. He’s had one ever since he was a kid, and being able to keep his own stuff in his piggy bank was one of the best things about his childhood.

25. Has no problem having ice cream for breakfast.

Mia. I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain at this point, but I’m going to anyways. Lucian often doesn’t have enough time to eat in the morning (thanks to Mia). So, Mia is left with an empty house, and she’ll eat ice cream if she wants to.

26. Gets a tattoo when they’re drunk.

The literal story of how Mia got her first and second tattoos. She got wasted one night, and got a tattoo of a heart on her shoulder. The second time it was a sappy quote about love on her thigh. She’s had both covered up since then, and she never talks about them.

27. Trips over their own feet.

Lucian is a clumsy boy, and he trips over everything. Only when he’s in their workshop does he make sure to be careful, because he doesn’t want to get impaled if he trips.

28. Makes the other go for a walk.

Lucian always asks Mia to walk to dog for him, and she usually does. There is something tense between Lucky and him, as if their competing for Mias attention. Lucian gets along better with their rats anyways.

29. Whines until they get what they want.

Neither of them really whine often, mainly because of their strict upbringing. They both argue their points and bring facts and logic into the discussion. The only time either of them whine is when their tired/just woke up.

30. Tries to act tough but really isn’t.

There have been multiple time where Mia was cat called or harassed on the street, and Lucian tried to be the big guy and act tough. Mia usually tells Lucian to cut the crap and she deals with it herself. Lucian finds it hot and Mia finds it adorable.

31. Talks the most, says the least.

Lucian could ramble on for hours and hours about essentially nothing. It’s a skill he learned when doing school presentations, making it seem like he did a bunch of research when he only did a ten minute look through a textbook.

32. Talks the least, says the most.

Mia does say a lot, especially when it comes to Lucian. She prefers action over words, going for a kiss on the lips instead of an “I love you”. Lucian sometimes wishes she would express herself to him more, but he accepts its hard for her.

#original #original character #ships #shiping #love #imagine #imagine your otp #imagine your ocs #writing #creative writing