#ny children were still at my parents house having dinner but I got in to feed the cat and grab my keys | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rumblelibrary · 3 years

Text

The Diary of Doctor Laszlo Kreizler

Chapter 1

Synopsis: Alienist’s notes are private, sometimes gruesome, secrets of others and of himself.Those pages belongs to secrecy and decadence, have a glimpse to this world made of drafts, notes, accidents and reflections. Or maybe it is you the only person that should ever reach for it.

While you read this imagine Laszlo mostly at the end of his day, scraping the ideas and the thoughts, adjusting previous notes with additions, closing the day behind himself with a couple of sentences while sitting in his evening robe, a good glass of whiskey and his glasses bridged almost at the tip of his nose. Or maybe imagine yourself, you sneaky thing, reach for it from a far shelf.

Word count: 3k

Warnings: listen, this is the set of ideas and confessions of a man living in the 1890’s. Most of them will be outdated, rough, even deprecating in some analysis of the roles of men, women and social status, religion, etc.So be prepared, my point is to make Laszlo reflect upon those topics, but to be as faithful as I can to his time. Mention of death, mutilation, self harm and a minor depiction of a fight. Psychologically troubled young children ahead! Author’s note: I am a nerd for a good Victorian novel and a sexy Alienist.I have always been charmed by Laszlo’s mind and inner conflicts. So I took the chance and tried to have a run into that rollercoaster. The story is placed between season 1 and season 2.

Diary belonging to Dr. Laszlo Kreizler. This is a professional book of annotations over medical treatments of an alienist toward his patients. Do not disclose and send it back to the address if found: Kreizler’s Institute, xxxxxx, New York City (NY) L.K.

Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Illustrated Natural History of the Animal Kingdom (c1859). Contributed for digitization by University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Schiller in his “Die Weltweisen” wrote: So long as philosophy keeps together the structure of the Universe so long does it maintain the world’s machinery by hunger and love. From the philosopher point of view sexual life takes a subordinate position in human’s life, from recent studies pushed by European philosophers, everything is about sexuality and its development. I like to think of the experience of being an alienist as the process of Queen Penelope that, while waiting for her husband Ulysses return, undoes her craftwork every night. I undo the fabulous constructs of people’s beliefs to go back to the rough sketch that stands at the beginning of their loss, their complex, their pain. Maybe that’s why working with children is so motivating and fascinating. They can be saved and yet, I am well aware, some of those sketches already traced in their young lives equal to scars that not even the most advanced theories could cure. But I can sooth them. I can prevent them the torment, the anguish, the recollection at night of those monsters. I feel like a poet would be a better alienist than a philosopher, but I have got no poetry nor philosophy in my veins, but the cold experience of the razor blade judgment of Life itself.

Today I observed a fight among the children at the Institute. Age range between 10 and 12. Boys. The fight was over the possession of a side of the playground, the territory of a pack of youngsters formed under the name of Steven. Peculiar lad, coming from a military background finds comfort in replicating the schemes he lived in his family. He takes the role of the Father/Captain of the team and subjects children that come from a similar background story, but do not posses his same attitude to the command. All quiet on the front, until the space he declared is own spot got affected by the presence of others. Intruders. I knowingly let the events unfold to see how Steven would react to his challenged authority. His reaction was, at first, worded, a sketch, a stage-play of an action he witnessed over and over, and he knew the part so well that some of the contending kids lowered their stance against him. Among considering to mildly intervene into this pyramid scheme of authority, another boy, Jan, calls himself on the role of the educator and hero of the masses and proceeds to unfold a wild and well assessed punch on the newly declared dictator face. Balance is established again. No need for me to arbitrate, once more the laws of nature seem to apply to children as in a state of nature.

Meet John Moore over lunch. His job at the newspaper is picking up, he is charmed by the spirits and the wits that he finds in his shared office with all the other writers. He mentions many, goes on and on over qualities and troubles, gossips and tendencies, and even little scandals here and there. To be aware of all those details gives me no interest, but to see a dear friend so invested clearly gives me something to pick up. To consider also the amount of details and the way he describes this or that member of the journal, I can do a small exercise of analysis. It is almost too easy because John is painfully genuine, even some of the kids at the institute would beat him hands down in a battle of lies. The more he likes somebody, the more he goes on about all the details and the characteristics, often letting aside the physical appearance. When he doesn’t like somebody he has a couple of adjectives for the wits and around four or five for the physical aspects that usually indulge on some repulsive idiosyncrasies. John is a man that painfully fits in the storyline of The Picture of Dorian Gray: to him physical beauty is spiritual beauty and, of course, the other way around. This part of him surely intrigues me, makes me want to tease more from him. But, as a friend, it concerns me as John is way too prone to purposelessly decide that somebody with good eyes is also a good human being, which is a very romantic and admirably naive way of judging matters. I noticed some names that keep repeating in his narration. I dread that it is synonymous of a soon encounter from my side with the objects of his admiration. Fetiches, I dare to say, that I will have to annihilate before they sediment into his mind, perpetuating a narration that soon sees John being mislead by others.

Reserved: Tickets for the Eroica, Symphony n. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Thursday evening.

Note on the show: the first movement lacked the pathos needed to begin with, I am not sure that the guest orchestra really managed to portray the wider emotional ground needed to withstand the whole representation. As the evening progressed there were some outstanding performances by the cellists. Still not approving the choice of reprising the early quick finale movement against the lengthy set of variations and fugue that we are used to in presence of the Eroica. Underwhelming the performance of the horn and oboe, vital in the comprehension of the genius of Beethoven.

Niki is a new addition of the Institute, quite old for the standards. He is already 16, he will leave when summer ends to some expensive college his family meant him to stay. His parents expect me to make him “normal” in the time we are allowed together. He is Austrian and I let him act it out like I don’t understand German for the first week of hist stay until today. I believe I hit his pride, which is good, in the moment I answered back to one of his sneaky comments. Now he knows. He is not safe from me, he doesn’t like it. The young man has a tendency to danger, risky tasks and edgy situations. In his mother’s own words “Niki is not afraid of anything”. The phrase didn’t raise any excitement in the father, rather some sort of painful acceptance that is role as the alpha male of the house is probably not only being challenged, but already diminished, if not abolished. I have taken in consideration that Niki will break himself a bone or two in the process of the therapy, probably out of the spite of boredom or rebellion. It took him less than few days to turn himself into an outcast among the outcasts, which only drives me closer to analyse the complexity of his narcissistic wall of self defence. I gave him a physical challenge to lift a certain weight, he is a pretty skinny one, he didn’t like the challenge, but I am sure he will take it. He is a brainy guy, he hates to be questioned on unfamiliar ground. He won’t sleep at night thinking about it. A challenge, in this first phase, can only bring me closer to the ease of his pains. To continue the observation.

It is a sad privilege of medicine, in particular the one I practice, to be able to witness the weaknesses of the human nature and the reverse side of life. Nevertheless, I oblige this same privilege of the study as life moves into shades of darkness. To be aware of it gives more solace to my soul than to be victim of patiently waiting for the inevitable unfolding of the events. To be able to understand more about psychology would bring more comfort and elevation to any human being, the times might not be there yet, but eventually something will move into the direction of a more wholesome approach.

Dinner meeting with Sara Howard, at the restaurant Jardin Des Cygnes, 7 pm sharp. Do not expect to reach the dessert. Do not know if John will be participating due to undeniable tension among the two and the fatal despise of John over French cuisine.

The case that Sara unfolded tonight to my ears feels more and more like pulled out from some gothic book or from the mind of a Roman historian that needed to justify the godly origins of an Emperor. One killing, apparently random, a very constructed iconography over the body. Signs and insults, shapes and drawings. Is this a work of art? Does the killer wants his victim to be his Mona Lisa? His David? I am charmed and destabilised. If this was a murder like any other, then why to spend so much time into it? Based on the description the act of killing itself was quick: a sharp cut over the throat, almost like not wanting to ruin too much the surface to use as base for, what? I keep rerunning those symbols over and over as Sara described them to me, my mind is flooded with the designs of greek philosophers that needed to explain themselves why the sky is above our head and never collapses on us. Hilarious how, no matter the science advancement, in the mind of many the sky stands inevitably overt their shoulders, suffocates them, brings them to a death of the soul and not of the body. Is all this graphic charade indeed only a form to scream for attention? To stress the eyes of an unaware viewer? It seems ridiculously elaborate, a scream for attention would be quick, it would be like guided by instinct, not reasoning, craftwork. Any man with a knife can paint in blood red the walls of a room and that’s asking for attention. That is the primal howl: look at me! I am here! But this one. I don’t know yet.

Spent the early morning reading anew my copy of The Metamorphosis by Ovid. Didn’t touch it in a long time and I got bedazzled by the world of terrible sensuality, anger and selfishness of those gods and mortals. I think back at all the deviances and weaknesses of human kind and I try to relate it to all of those humanoid figures. Niki would be a minotaur, the lonesome son left in the labyrinth and his strive for success is his bull’s head. Or maybe a centaur, because of his wits and strategic thinking. I might keep up the process, maybe this is the way to understand my patients better, to understand the killer better. Must remember not to romanticise it. Greek gods were probably the first form of self indulging of a society that needed gods to be forgiving and allowing favours and punishments, but only in exchange of sacrifices. But the sacrifice never comes from the God’s will, but from the will of the man that perpetuates the act of killing. To sacrifice someone or something is the sadistic response to a lack of love deeply inherited in human mind that becomes neurotic. Is the killer giving the God of his own neurosis a body to feast upon?

I talked with Jan this morning. The young boy is about 10, but he acts like a full grown adult. I could easily asses that’s the reason why he could challenge Steven in that fight. Two children mimicking adults situations they know too well. Jan is son of an industrial man, but he is also son of the dialectics of the industrial revolution. He sounds like he swallowed some of those books about working class rights and communism, probably pushed by a resentful surrounding (mother?uncle? the midwife?) over the social role of his father. As much as incredibly smart and lectured, Jan lost most of his early occasions in life by spending a considerable amount of time using his fists. The anger ever present in the young boy always surprises me, he seems to be holding a power, a strength of a full grown man in those tiny arms. Nevertheless, he is already the tallest of the group. He is surely an idealist, which makes him also tragically fragile. His strength mixed with his heart of gold can make him the best of the heroes or the worst of the villains. He apologised for the fight, he specified how he didn’t like the sound of Steven’s voice, more than the sound, the level of pitch. I can’t stand somebody shouting orders, I just don’t listen anymore. He is so mature even about his own feelings, almost a gentleman in his chivalry toward the weaker children, honest with his open heart and resentful against any form of injustice. I am not spared by his ways, he would come at me whenever he feels like I was being partial over some of the kids, his sense of justice blinds him and transform a perfectly balanced boy into a ranging animal.

Ordered book, to be delivered around tomorrow evening: Introduction à la méthode de Léonard de Vinci by Paul Valéry. Suddenly feeling myself as a gross ignorant in art themes. I always regarded myself aware of the artistic personalities and tendencies of present and past, but this new amount of perceptions over the human figure and the human body leads me to document myself more. I could ask John for advice, but he wouldn’t take things at matter that seriously. I can almost hear him say how I can make gruesome a pleasant topic such as art. I should probably wait to see the body to push any further aesthetic study, but I find myself not being able to stop. I reckon, I can allow myself a vice or two.

Today I saw the body of the killed man, courtesy of the Isaacson's. To be fair, I had underestimated it. In Sara’s descriptions, probably due to her more analytic mind, all the charm of the representation got lost in favour of a less cryptic and reasonable understanding of the act. Sara got what some alienists will call a masculine mind, which I don’t perfectly agree on. If I apply that same approach John would be a very feminine mind, all wrapped up in romanticising even the ugliest. I guess that dividing the world in “fragile and gentle” and “strong and powerful” is just easier to explain the fluctuation of something that doesn’t need a real name or a category like human inclinations on thoughts. I got a feverish sense of patience by looking at the body. Each symbol traced with sapient slowness, dense of the time that the killer spent with the body. That is a work of hours, he had time and meaning. He had resources and was able to spend not less than the time he needed to reach, a vision? An ideal? A message? Is it the message meant to be understood? Am I supposed to unravel it or it is maybe just the way the killer communicates within himself? And if I do decifrate the code, will that bring me closer to him? Or to his next victim?

Reminder: ask John to replicate all the symbols on the bodies in the correct measure and order. It might be needed some hard convincing. Addition: scheduled meeting, his house, 3 pm.

It wasn’t a day like any other when I met you. Or maybe it was, and that’s why I got so struck by it and now I am here playing it over and over through what my memory clung on so desperately. In my own experience, life was often similar to swimming in a lake. Those rich, dense lakes in the north of (illegible cancelled word) were my father used to bring us during summer. I still feel the pull, the draw down toward the abyss. It ashamed me, in a way, the fear that such a simple feeling aroused in my young mind, unaware nevertheless, that such a feeling would follow me through all my existence. It was a prophecy and, like most of the prophecies, was a riddle. I cradle in my heart the charm of those days, the mindless happiness. The foolish feeling of freedom. Little I knew that freedom would be taken away from me that soon, that the body that used to navigate me over the dense waters, helping me to fight the haul toward the unknown, would become my own cage. That day. Today. The day where I met you, the day I was afloat. The child gasping for air felt the wrench become a gentle push and now he is floating on his back over the scary waters of reality and malice. It gave me relief and it gave me terror, because since that very moment I knew that I would never be able to move on from the sight of you. From the feeling of your eyes lingering on me. From the smile you so easily shone upon me. From the whiff of imported perfume that hit me when you turned on side exploding that swan like neck. And nothing, not even my stern look, could dim that wave of hope that your sole presence washed over me. The abyss roars, calls me to a home of damnation and terror and curses my name and yet you repeated that hell-bound name of mine after me and I felt safe.

John told me so much about you, it feels like I have always known you.

The rope is gone from my neck, the guillotine won’t fall on me, I am spared, I am free.

I have read your latest article, I am thrilled to help with the case.

I am in disbelief.

Your voice.

Dr. Kreizler

How dare you? How dare you to come into my life, to appear, like a vision, mystical, in a way I despised at University when all those theology students talked about the divine. In this very moment I can’t recollect much of what you said, something about the case, about going with John at the obituary. It feels confusing, I feel overstimulated, my memory fails me, I am not sure anymore. I write these few lines and it is passed the hour of the witches and I wish, I demand, to never see you again, because life should never grant hope to a condemned man.

#dr laszlo kreizler #dr laszlo kreizler imagine #dr laszlo kreizler x reader #dr laszlo kreizler x you #laszlo kreizler #laszlo kreizler headcanons #laszlo kreizler x reader #the alienist fanfic #victorian age #v writes #the diary of doctor laszlo kreizler

108 notes · View notes

brittelizzabeth · 3 years

Text

Quinn and Santana

before glee

Quinn and Santana are best friends since kindergarten

They were the top bitches in high school but it wasn’t always like that

when they were younger they weren’t popular and they only had each other

in this headcanon, Santana was already Quinn’s friend when she was called Lucy

So Quinn was bullied by the other kids and Santana always stood up for her

Both of them went through a lot of shit but they supported each other

They met Brittany in their first high school year at McKinley

Santana and Quinn wanted to forget how much they suffered in the past so they started to act like the school popular bitchessss

People worshiped them and were “afraid” to talk to them. Except for Brittany of course... one day she just came up to them and said “do you want to be friends?” And they thought that she was adorable and that she was precious and probably needed some protection from the world

The Unholy Trinity name was Santana’s idea

season 1

They obviously thought that glee club was super lame but they started to enjoy it

They didn’t want to be bullied again because they promised to forget that part of their lives

The difference here was that they weren’t alone anymore, they had a new family that accepted them and love them

Of course they had a lot of fights because their personalities were similar and it was a trouble

During Quinn’s pregnancy, Santana actually supported her and was always asking her how was she doing and if the baby was ok

Santana payed for parenting classes and baby clothes just in case Quinn would want to keep Beth

They felt like they finally found their place

season 2

Quinn ALWAYS knew that Santana loved Brittany in a way that she didn’t love her

Quinn knew that sooner or later her best friends would end up together

Quinn tried to talk with Santana about it and said that she was there for her and that was ok if she liked girls

Santana got upset and she dated Sam to prove that Quinn was wrong

Quinn forgave her of course

They were so excited for Nations in New York and they practiced a lot

Santana wrote Light Up The World for Brittany and Quinn

In New York they sneak out in the middle of the night to have some fun. They asked Brittany if she wanted to come but she was too tired and they hang out and got drunk in NY

They had a girls day when Quinn got her haircut, they had lunch together and they went to Central Park

season 3

Santana was the only one that kept in touch with Quinn during summer

Quinn almost never answered Santana’s calls or messages but sometimes she did and Santana was really worried about her

Santana was even more worried when she saw her in the first day of school. She thought she was hot as hell but that Quinn wasn’t her best friend

Santana was with Brittany all the time so they kind of stopped hanging out like they used to but that didn’t change what they felt for each other

Quinn was so happy when they assumed their relationship, she always knew that day would come

Santana yelled at Quinn when she found out about the whole story about Beth. She said that Quinn was different and she would do whatever she could to help her

Quinn cried and she said that she missed her so much

Santana cried so hard when she found out about Quinn’s accident. She spent the night at the hospital with her and Puck. They refused to leave her alone

Santana went to some physiotherapy sessions with her

They had tons of sleepovers with Brittany at the end of their senior year. They just wanted to enjoy the year and have a blast together

Quinn encouraged Santana to go to college and she promised to visit her whenever she could

season 4

They visit each other all the time

When they came back for Thanksgiving it was like they were back to high school and they had something to prove

Slaps

Friends again

After Will’s inexistent wedding, they dated for a while

They broke up because they realized that they were just really good friends that liked to hook up sometimes

Also Santana knew that Quinn was still in love with Puck and Quinn knew that Brittany will always be Santana’s love

season 5

Quinn was too heart broken that she couldn’t go to Finn’s tribute week but Santana told her everything about it

They cried together and they laughed together and they remembered Finn together

They kept in touch and Santana visited sometimes when she needed a pause from New York

Quinn knew every gossip

When they came back to McKinley for the 100 class they visited Finn’s memorial and Quinn told Santana some stories that happened there

Santana is a big Quick fan and she was truly happy when they sang Just Give Me A Reason

And Quinn was so happy for her and Brittany

season 6

She cried after the wedding proposal

She was there when they choose the dresses, we didn’t see her because she was helping them putting the dresses on

She couldn’t attend the wedding because her mom died (sorry but that’s the only explanation I can think of)

But Puck recorded the whole wedding and took a lot of pictures to show her later

Her wedding gif was a album with pictures of the 3 of them and a picture that said “Family is the friends we choose” to put at home

after I lived

They are neighbors: Santana lives with Brittany and Quinn lives with Puck

They all have breakfast together everyday at Brittana’s (it’s like their spot)

They attend to yoga together classes every Thursday morning

Quinn is Santana’s first child, Lucy, godmother

Santana made Quinn’s children calling her auntie Snixx

When Puck and Brittany built a tree house for their kids - because they have a common backyard - they had a lot of fun watching them arguing about it

Game night at Brittana’s of course

Quinn and Santana cook for everyone

They are really close friends and spend a lot of time together

Their kids are best friends

Sometimes they go out to have dinner and go to clubs and Brittany and Puck stay home and take care of the kids

Their kids have sleepovers almost every weekend

Santana and Quinn even grocery shopping together

They are like a really big family

asked by -> anon

-> glee headcanons

send me a character/couple/ friendship and I’ll tell you my ✨headcanons✨ about them

#glee headcanons #anon #quinn fabray #santana lopez #quinntana #love them #THIS is so big but yeah #it’s 1am here so there’ll probably be a lot of mistakes but yeah #enjoy it

70 notes · View notes

meenah-chan · 3 years

Text

Quintessence

A Lucifer x MC’s Over-protective! Sister fanfic

4.45k words

Genre: Angst

Trigger Warnings: mentions violence, self-inflictions; Read at your own discretion.

Chapter 1: click here

Chapter 3: click here

"Is this a some sort of punishment?"

"You're really lucky... I am quite jealous, if I may say."

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

With the noisy, yellow demon unconscious, the only sound on their way to House of Lamentation is MC's periodic yawns from the lack of night's sleep and the rumbling wheels of their suitcase on an empty road.

"We're here! Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone. They should be in the dining room right now." Starting to feel the exhaustion she's been holding back since meeting the other-worldly creatures, Alexandria let her sister half-drag her off to somewhere.

"I'm home!" Pulling her to a room, the first thing she saw is a large dining table filled with food and... Five more demons. Five male demons.

"MC, we're leaving." She tugged on the female's hand, still attached on her own, but in turn resisted her slight force.

"What? No, we won't." The teen raised an eyebrow from her sudden demeanor.

"MC!! I MISS YOU!!" A brown-haired guy came rushing towards their direction with open arms. Yet, before he could even latch his arms around the girl, Alexandria pulled her away, causing the male to hug nothing but air.

"MC! Why did you avoid— Huh?"

"MC, w–who is she?" A purple-haired tensely asked, anxious of the stranger in their home.

"She's my sister—"

"Ahhh!!" Alexandria and MC flinched from the sudden outburst of the man who came running at them moments ago, which caught her off-guard.

Suddenly, her hand was yanked away from her little sister's grasp and was held a few centimeters to the demon's eyes.

"Wha... such a..." He then stretched the said arm out and tenderly stroke it up her shoulder, "What a flawless, plump, porcelain skin..." then let go and cupped her cheeks with both hands.

"Such a refined beauty. But wait..." The male narrowed his eyes for a second, "Are you not sleeping well? Your face is a tee~ny bit dry and a bit of bag under your eyes." The demon gave her a sad pout.

"I usually appreciate such flattery. However, right now, I can only sense it as an assault from a stranger I just met. So will you please refrain from your harassment?" Regaining her composure, she snapped at him.

"Asmodeus, stop harassing our guest unless you wanted punishment." Asmodeus instantly raised both his hands up from the domineering voice on the doorway. Lucifer appeared with a beat Mammon.

"Whoopsy! My bad. What a rude way to greet a wonderful guest such as yourself." Asmodeus sends her a wink before returning to his seat.

"MC, will you introduce her to everyone."

"Hmm! Everyone, meet my sister, Alexa! Due to certain circumstances, she'll be staying here with us all throughout my stay here."

"Pleased to meet all of you. I'm Alexandria Evergreen, MC's older sister. I'm here to watch over her. I hope to have a conflict-free relationship with everyone."

"No, the pleasure is ours." A blonde-haired man replied, "I'm Satan, the fourth eldest. I maybe the Avatar of Wrath but I assure you, I'm the nicest and most logical person here." But her instinct says otherwise as she felt an odd atmosphere around the green-eyed man.

"Bush e'shi, shoo shais shoo hamp 'o shibi." Her eyes travelled to the oranged-haired man who seemed to be emptying the table stuffing himself.

"Beel, you shouldn't talk while chewing." A drowsy, navy blue-haired guy yawns beside him. "MC, he means you said you have no siblings." He rubbed his eyes before turning his attention to the older sister. "Hello, I'm Belphegor, Beelzebub's twin and the youngest. I'm also the Avatar of Sloth. This guy beside me is Beelzebub, the Avatar of Gluttony and the sixth oldest." The scarfing guy nods and she returned the gesture.

"Oh that? Yes, I don't have one back then, but our parents got married a few weeks ago. We're originally childhood friends."

"WoOAAAHH~!! That's just like the anime 'My Dearest Childhood Friend became my Sister after our Parents got Married but now the Aliens Invaded the Earth so We Became Heroes and Stop the End of the World!!' and that is really LIT!!" The demon, whom she thought was timid a while ago, squealed in one breathe, and it certainly caught her by surprise.

"That noisy one is Levi." MC sweatdropped.

"I'm Leviathan, the third oldest and the Avatar of Envy."

"And don't forget about the sweet and charming Asmodeus here~~ I'm the fifth eldest and the Avatar of Lust. You can call me Asmo-chan~~" he winked for the second time.

Yet contrary to his positive attitude, Alexandria cocked an eyebrow. "So you mean..." Her gaze followed Mammon wobbling to the table. "That crook right there is the second oldest?"

His head snapped at her. "Oi! Gotta problem if I'm the second oldest?"

"Yeah, in more ways than one." She curtly replied. "So, if you're the Avatar of Greed, you being a crook does make sense."

"Oi! You don't have to say it twice!"

Ignoring Mammon, she faced the oldest. "And you're the Avatar of Pride, I suppose?"

"Yes, and let me properly introduce myself to you." He placed a palm above his chest. "I'm Lucifer, the oldest of the seven brothers and the Avatar of Pride. I'm the one who leads this household and tend to all of these problem children." Satan, Mammon and Belphegor glared daggers towards him.

"Ha! More importantly, I have a juicy piece of news to you guys." Mammon grinned which alerted Lucifer.

"Not a word Mammon."

"'Ya see, that's no normal human right there. A few hours ago, she just made THE Lucifer on his knees and tied him in a pact with her."

The five brothers' eyes popped out of their skulls and jaws dropped. Even Beel almost choked.

"Pact... you say?" 5 pairs of eyes darted between a grinning Mammon, a displeased Lucifer and the new female.

"You're right. She's not an ordinary human but let me clear two things." The menacing red-eyed demon crossed his arms and raised his chin. "The only one on his knees, or rather, on his back is none other than you Mammon. You're the one knocked out after just three blows from her. You're also the one who caused this series of unfortunate events... Don't ever think I'm done with your punishment yet."

"Eek!" Making shrieked and cowered in fear.

"Wait– She what? I know Mammon is weak but, she really knock him out with three blows??" Asmodeus exclaimed.

"Are you really sure she's a human?" Satan added.

Although Beelzebub is also shocked, his brows twitched in realization, glancing at the two female. "MC, Miss Alexandria, you probably haven't eaten anything yet. You should eat."

"I think I'll pass. I'll get some shut-eye first." MC awkwardly laughed. Beel is pretty amazing in his own way...

"I thank you for the offer, but I also needed some rest." She slightly smiled.

Lucifer stepped closer beside her. "If that's the case, then you should stay in MC's room for now. Mammon will clean the room beside MC's for your use later."

Glancing at the oldest, she shook her head. "Providing a room for me is more than enough. I can tend to it just fine. And I can't impose to you anymore than I already did."

"But you're a guest. It's only natural for us to ensure you'll have a great time staying here."

"But I insist. And I'm not a guest. I'm the one who made my way here so it's only natural for me to help here in exchange for my stay." She paused as she crossed her arms. "Unless, freeloading is a thing here. That'll be bad, for encouraging irresponsibility and decadence."

"..." Lucifer speechlessly furrowed his brows.

Seven pairs of eyes were both shocked and amazed to see someone actually have the guts to run their mouth against one of the strongest demon in their realm without breaking a sweat.

"She really is not a human. There's no way a human can stand her ground against Lucifer." Asmodeus gaped.

"Or maybe she's just clueless of Lucifer's true power... Though I could use her help to mess with him." Belphegor and Satan snickers at the same time as if having the very same thought.

"To not even have the natural instinct to flee from danger is just dumb." Alexandria ominously glance towards Belphegor, Satan and Leviathan, causing a chill run down their spine.

"Then please excuse us. MC shall be my guide." Drawing back, she bowed towards Lucifer and the others before pulling MC and their luggage out of the dining room.

"MC... I must say, our time here will be anything but harmonious..." The older sister sighed.

"But I'm sure you'll have fun. There's no boring times here" MC just laughed awkwardly.

"Oh well, all I want is a peaceful time you. Even an hour or two a day would be nice."

-----

Forget their peaceful time, getting along with most of the brothers is hard, except Beel who is too nice to her to be considered a bother. All the other brothers do was try to steal MC away.

Well, Asmodeus is an exception. He's not trying to take MC away. He's trying take both of them away for his beauty and night out shenanigans.

A few days have passed, and she was also made into a student to be with MC as much as possible.

"Hey Alexa-chan, I'm just wondering... Is there anything you can't do? At this rate you'll end up stealing MC's heart faster than any of us. You're too dreamy, you might as well take her as your bride." Asmodeus pouts as he lazily pokes through his steak Alexandria prepared for dinner.

"O–Oi! The hell are you saying, Asmo?" A flustered Mammon yelled, sitting beside MC.

The older female sighed and glance at Asmodeus, sitting beside her. "Just eat Asmodeus, you're just hungry. And I told you to not call me Alexa."

"But aren't I right? You're so in love with her enough to follow her here. And you're not really her sister by blood, so it's possible."

"If I told you, you and Mammon look good together, you should marry each other, what would you feel?"

"Eww! That's the grossest thing I ever heard." He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"She really hates you, lololol." Levi snickers at Mammon, sitting across him.

Mammon narrowed his eyes at him, tapping his knife on his plate.

"I never saw this child that way. I'm more like a mother to her more than anything." She points to the 'child' next to her, too busy stuffing her face with the food to notice she is the topic on the table. "Saying that, I didn't protect that child just to fall for any demon."

"Aww... And I thought it'll also be interesting if there's that kind of plot twist." Asmodeus look down, only to find his plate empty. "Hey! Beel, give me back my steak!" His eyes darts across him, towards the orange demon chewing happily.

"I thought you don't want it anymore so I ate it." He smiled innocently as Belphegor and Satan laughed in amusement, witnessing the whole theft.

Alexandria glance around the room, searching for a certain person she haven't seen since yesterday night. "By the way, where's Lucifer?"

"He's probably still in his study, it's the time of the month he have tons of work to do." Satan replied.

"He'll probably coop himself until tomorrow or the day after." Belphegor added, finishing his meal.

She gave a second glance in the table, void of any trace of any food left, sweeping to the also empty plate of her sister.

"Hmm... MC did you eat well?"

"Yes! I really missed your steak!" The teen beamed at her, having a drop of sauce on her lips.

"What am I gonna do with you." She giggled as she wipe the stain off. "Come on, you should rest for the night."

After sending her to her room, Alexandria strolls towards the kitchen and left with a tray on hand, walking towards the library.

She passed by the tall shelfs with several missing books of all sorts of fields. Going further in, she knocked on the door inside the library.

"It's Alexandria, I brought you something." Hearing no response, she let herself in.

The first thing that attract her eyes is the tall pile of paper wall on the table and the male who is almost hidden by it, black circles around his eyes.

"Are you still alive?" Lucifer's flipped towards her, finally noticing her presence.

"Ohh, it's you. What do you want?"

"You probably haven't eaten anything since this morning. I brought you some sandwiches and fruit shake." She set the tray down the small table in the middle of the room and took the plate of sandwiches and the large cup of fruit shake, moving towards Lucifer's study table.

"Here, taking a breather won't hurt." Red orbs darted between the plate, the cup and her face before reluctantly taking it after a sigh and setting it down the free space is the table.

"This is a nice study. It's cozier than mine back in human world."

"What's your deal?"

"Well, I like the fireplace. I can't have one in my apartment."

"If you need nothing, then leave. I don't have time to waste."

"Yeah, I need to do something." She took a few leaves of paper from the desk and scan through it. "Hmm... I see... As expected..."

"What is it you need to do?" Lucifer raised his eyebrow.

"I'll help you with this papers. With us two, we can finish it by morning."

"Hmmp! There's no way I'll let a human mess with the financial statements of the Devildom."

"If it's about the difference of terms and flow of currency, then I have already studied about it."

"...Huh? How..." The demon suddenly remembered the several books missing from the library's shelf. "Ahh... But then, how did you learn how to read our language?" His brows furrowed.

"There's no way I could have extensive knowledge about pacts and such if I can't read the original texts about it."

The lady in front of him never failed to impress him. And yet, "The answer is still a no." Stoic expression returned his face.

"Then let me rephrase it. My master is having a hard time," Lucifer almost slip out of his chair from her words. "...and I can do something about it, so I want help however I can."

"Did you just say 'Master'?"

"Yeah, based on our contract, you're technically my master. Though you can't take advantage of me, which is a good thing..."

Lucifer wouldn't admit it. He can't admit it. But being called master by this capable human who always amaze him has stroked his ego more than he could ever felt from anyone, he can't even stop himself from grinning.

"You really know your way with words. But don't get me wrong. I only allowed you because you've went so far just to do what you want." A smile was also plastered on her face.

"Yes Master Lucifer, if you say so." She chuckled a bit before taking the papers Lucifer choose for her to do.

Sharing a few conversation while working, they really did finish by morning as she predicted.

------

"Alexa, why aren't you in your room? Did you woke up early?"

"Yeah, something like that." With a bit of sleepiness clouding her head, Alexandria chose to eat light breakfast before taking a rest. Good thing it's weekend.

MC moved her attention at the demon on the end of the table. "Lucifer, it's really unusual. You've finished quite early."

"I just discovered a breather had been rather helpful." He stealthly stole a quick glance towards the lady busy eating her food.

The only sound on the table after that is a few yawns— from the usual sleepy Belphegor; and Leviathan and Mammon, probably from overnight gaming marathon they could never finish tonight as Lucifer is out of his confinement.

Everyone has their own world when Alexandria breaks the silence.

"MC, you told me you're hanging out with Mammon and Asmodeus today, right?" She place down her utensils as the girl glance at her.

"Yeah, we're going to shop some clothes on Majolish. Why? You're coming anyways, aren't you?"

"No. I have some business today, but I'll leave you to Beel. Is it alright with you Beel?" She scan the face of the food-loving demon whom just finished his food.

"I don't mind." He smiled softly.

"Thank you. Please do bring her safe and I'll treat you to Madam Scream's of anything you want."

"Madam Scream's...? Really? With anything I want?" Beel's eyes sparkles as drool pools down his empty plate.

She gave him a broad smile. "Yes, anything."

"Alexa, you probably don't know what you're saying. Beel will definitely bust your pocket in no time." Belphegor yawns as he took a bite on his toast.

"But I'm aware of Beel's appetite. Let's just say I'm loaded enough to feed 10 Beels for at least 1 month." She swiped a black card in air with her middle and index finger.

"Hey... Is that..." Satan raised an eyebrow.

"WOAHH!! The legendary black card! Imagine how many Ruri-chan collectibles and games I could buy with that." Sleepiness flushes out of Leviathan's system as he stared at the black card.

"Can feed... 10 Beels..." The sixth-born's drool intensifies.

"Hmm? When did you get one? You should've just asked me to process it for you." A surprised but rather unfazed Lucifer asked.

"I told you I don't want to be a bother. Though I admit getting one is not an easy task."

"Hey Alexa-chan. Are you sure you don't wanna join us shopping?" The fourth-born playfully twist her bangs around his fingers. "And while we're at it, let's have a full body Super Beauty Mud Course~"

She touched her chin in thought. "I'll think about the mud course, but not today."

But then, a demon, who should be hyper at the sight of a premium item, was rather silent.

"Hey Alexa-sama... Can I touch it?" The second-born teleports beside her, orbs sparkles gold and fingers twitching on air in a perverse way. "Please. It'll be a dream come true to hold it in my arms for even just a second."

"I refuse." She slid it back her wallet as fast as she swiped it out. "Show me first that I could trust you." She pinched the tan nose facing her, grinning.

Cherry red orbs observes the sight of the lively table, a curve tenderly forms across his face.

"O-Oi! Let go–" *Ring ring*

The sound of a phone rung through the spirited atmosphere, which wiped the smile off Alexandria's face.

Picking up the cup of tea with her free hand, she gulp it down before letting go of Mammon.

"Take care while shopping later, MC." She ruffled her sister's hair, "Thank you for the meal. Now, if you'll excuse me." ...before leaving the room.

"Then, I'll also retire for today and take a rest. Don't make a mess while I do so." Feeling tired of his restless shift, Lucifer decided to leave and retire to his room.

On his way, he heard the familiar voice of the lady behind her door, seemingly distressed.

As unethical as it seems, the oldest's curiosity of the enigmatic female wins him over and decided to stood his ground.

"I told you Father, I can't right now, that's why I'm telling you to just let me quit...... If I tell you, you'll definitely try to take me back there....... No...... Not telling......."

He could hear the series of loud sighs and frustration beyond the door.

"No, I don't want it. Brother deserves the company more than I do. So please think it over again.... Yes....... Yes, I will. Then, bye." He then heard a beep ending the call.

On the verge of stepping away as to not get caught, the next thing he heard render him motionless in place.

"I'm not even a your real child to begin with. If I continue there, I'll actually end up killing myself..." Unconsciously, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Alexandria jolts in surprise as her door opened out of nowhere.

"Wha..." Surprise was imminent on her face yet, realizing it is the first-born, her brows scrunches. "Don't you know knocking is a common courtesy?"

"What do you mean by you not being your father's real child? And what do you mean about killing yourself?" He ignores the annoyed expression of the woman. There's no way he could let this information pass under his nose. Not with this girl who made him concede more than he expected, and certainly not because of that grim words.

"What do you want?" She narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Killing yourself is something I could not ignore. And, I want to know more about the human who have the audacity to force a pact with me." He returned the same gaze with crossed arms above his chest. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the lady yield for the first time.

"Alright. I guess as a demon who have a pact with me, you have the right to know. We are, after all, connected by soul in spite of everything... Let's go to your office or something. I don't want anyone to hear this like you did."

"Right now, Satan is probably cooped in the library. He'll certainly asked why we're together. Let's go to my room instead. It's quite spacious for someone to eavesdrop."

She followed behind the oldest brother, careful not to be seen by anyone. Entering the room without meeting anyone down the hallway gave her a sense of relief.

"Even your room is nice." She casually strolls in the room, brushing her fingertips on the bones in the pillar, the candelabra, the gramophone, and scanning a few picture frames above the fireplace.

"You may want to start your story this instant or I'll pull the words out of you by force." Growing impatient, Lucifer took a sit at an angle on the corner of his bed, arms drapes his chest again.

With another sigh, she sat on the length of the bed partially behind the man, placing both her palms on the bed as she face the furnace.

"Too eager, aren't we?"

"Unlike you, I want to take a rest." Alexandria chuckled of his remark.

"It's true I'm not a real child of the current family I'm in. I am adopted after all." Her Aquamarine eyes glows a hue of orange as she stare at the dancing fire in the furnace. "It's no secret to MC. I did met her in an orphanage after all.."

"She's a volunteer that time when we're still young. Is that good enough? Am I off the hook already?"

"No. That doesn't answer my second question. You're still hiding... something." The strained smile he witnessed on her face almost made him regret continuing his statement.

"Is this a some sort of punishment?" A self-reproachful laughter rings the room, "You're good with picking your card if it is."

"You can say that. But I'm also curious of you."

"Yeah, yeah... But it'll be a long story. Is it alright with you?"

"I have the whole day available. And you?"

"I also have nothing to do. I just gave MC a sister-free day or she'll get tired of me."

"Then, continue your story." He moves facing the same fireplace.

"Ahh, right... If I remember correctly, the Great Celestial War... It's a conflict within your family, right?"

Lucir flinched from the sudden question. "...Why did you ask?"

"I just thought we may have the same sentiment... or maybe not."

"..."

"Anyways, MC knew nothing about what I'm going to tell you, so it's our secret, okay?" She waited for his reply before continuing.

"You see, I also have a big family. I'm the oldest with my six, adorable siblings. They're 3 set of twins. Amazing, right?" She smiled at him, softly.

"We're living a normal, happy life. I'm really satisfied with our big family I feel it to last forever... Or so I thought." The softness in her face disappeared into a grimace. Colors in her eyes disappeared as she travel back to time.

"I was 9 at that time when that night happened. It was freezing I couldn't feel my fingertips. Snow was falling hard when I witness everything."

"Unlike that fire, the place was rather cold and dark. My struggling brother's neck in his bare hands, my limp and beaten mother trying to pry him away from my brother, the bloody corpses of my 3 sisters, my 2 other brothers writhing in pain... and that sickening smile on my father's face." She spat, grabbing Lucifer's comforter with her fist. Lucifer watched the scorching flame reflected in her eyes as if it's her own.

"There's no way I could ever forgive him for what he have done..." She rid of her shoes and hugged her legs, facing Lucifer as she lay her cheeks on her knees. "Like how I could never forgive myself for what happened."

"Forgive yourself? That's a foolish way to put it. You didn't do anything wrong."

Bluish orbs draw itself towards his own as she gave him a bitter smile. "You can say that because you don't know everything."

"Then tell me what I don't know."

"Let's just say that a drive to protect MC and a drive to live are two different things. And I've been searching for the latter to no avail."

"You're really lucky to still have your brothers. I am quite jealous if I may say." She wore her shoes again and amble her way to the entryway. "It seems like this is as far as I could tell you right now. Maybe I'll continue it next time. If you'll excuse me." She bowed before closing the door.

In contrast, Lucifer couldn't utter another word. Perhaps it's because of the pact above his chest which connects them, but he felt his heart ache slowly since she started telling her story.

And right now, he feels an unbearable pain. An unbearable pain as if he's reliving his own scars.

He stared at the same scorching fire, and as though imitating her, he tried imagining the grief he have felt of losing someone dear.

"...lucky, huh... I guess I really am..." Clutching the fabric above his chest, he felt a pang of guilt from his curiosity.

If anyone asks if I hate Mammon for bullying him here too much— the answer's no. In fact, he's my # 2 (sometimes # 1 coz Luci). I really love him and his dorkiness! But he's just so adorable when he's flustered that I end up picking on him a bit too much (maybe that's also the reason why I love Luci and he's my first if not because of my occasional Mammon hype).

Anyways, it's a good thing I posted it now. I've been proofreading it for the umpteenth time cause I don't have any friends to ask nor share sentiments with the Obey Me Fandom (sad life of an otaku). I have many revisions but I'm quite satisfied with how it turns out again. UwU

And I didn't even noticed it's already 3 a.m. so I'm gonna peace out now~~

Chapter 3

MASTERLIST

21 notes · View notes

sparrowjaywrites · 4 years

Photo

My Little Blue Star

Jim Kirk x Kat Sparrow (Original Female Character): Soulmate AU - Identical tattoos or birthmarks

Kat sighs staring down at the blue star on her wrist. She was almost thirty years old and hadn’t met her soulmate yet… which normally would mean she never would. Hell for all she knew they could be dead or already happily married with kids. The soulmate tattoos caused a lot of controversy. Many people used to have their kids soulmate tattoos removed when they were babies or children. That was until it was forbidden for a soulmate tattoo to be removed until a person was twenty-one years old. This was to prevent parents from forcing their children’s removed and to keep teens who thought they were in love from having it done.

Many people would fall in love and get married only to later end up in a horrible situation when they met their soulmate. They would have to choose between their spouse and the person they were destined for. Most couples who weren’t soulmates got their tattoos removed at their ten year anniversary, others when they first got married, or when their kids were born. If one soulmate removed their tattoo the others would disappear, the same would happen if someone altered their tattoo; their soulmates would change as well; whether this was by adding to the tattoo, removing part of it, or having a scar change it.

Some people had multiple tattoos, meaning either they were destined for a polyamorous relationship or they simply had multiple chances at finding a soulmate, or one of their soulmates was destined to die… something no one ever wanted to think about. But Kat simply had one. Her blue star had never changed… at least not as long as she could remember. It sat right over her pulse point on her left wrist. A simple light blue star with a black border… it looked almost like a sketch, with the multiple lines making up each edge. The star was faded, like someone had tried to wash it away… Pictures of her when she was born show the star being much more vibrant.

“Kat, are you coming to dinner?” Kat looks up as her best friend pulls her from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m coming, Nyota.” She closes down her station following her friend to the mess hall. Kat was head of computer sciences aboard the USS Enterprise. She had worked on the ship since the Nero incident a little over five years before. Nyota had already found her soulmate in her boyfriend Spock. At first the only friend Kat had on the Enterprise was Nyota. Then she’d introduced her to the rest of the head crew. Kat had instantly clicked with Hikaru and Pavel, the two instantly earning themselves a place as her best friends. Hikaru had also found his soulmate in his husband Ben. The two had a daughter now.

“Hey, Kat” She smiles as Pavel waves her and Nyota over to them. Nyota sits down next to Spock, who is talking with Bones, another of Kat’s best friends. The doctor was yelling at him as usual while Spock simply raised an eyebrow in concern? At least that’s what she thought that face meant; the half-vulcan was very hard to read at times. Hikaru and Pavel seemed to be in the middle of some type of challenge, they each had houses built of forks in front of them and were adding more. Scotty and Keenzer were cheering them on. Jim, the captain of the ship was watching all this in amusement. That was their little family.

“What exactly are you doing?” Kat asks as she sets her tray down.

“I bet Pasha here that I could build a taller tower then him.” Hikaru says smirking. Kat shakes her head sitting down and eating her food. She pulls her blue sleeve back from her wrist to look at her tattoo again, letting her mind wander as she eats, absentmindedly listening to her friends argue and talk excitedly.

“Are you worrying about that again?” She looks up as Bones addresses her. Kat quickly covers her tattoo with her sleeve. She wasn’t one to display her soulmate tattoo; many people didn’t, wearing black bands on their wrists to cover it. Normally Kat wore one as well, but hers had broken that morning. This made it a lot harder to find your soulmate, but kept you from finding them while in the middle of situation that was inappropriate, such as at work, or during a negotiation of some sort. The only other person in their friend group who had ever worn one was Jim. But Kat had noticed he’d stopped wearing his when it became legal for Captains to date their crew; so long as they disclosed the relationship to the admiralty, their first officer, and their head of medical.

“Worrying about what?” Kat asks playing dumb, as she pushes her glasses up her face, a nervous habit she’d picked up as a kid. She was allergic to the medicine that fixed eyesight and so was one of the few people in the federation who needed them, something she had once been very subconscious about.

“Your soulmate, you normally move your band to look at it or fiddle with the band when you’re thinking about it.” Nyota says. Kat scowls.

“You people are too damn observant.”

“You shouldn’t vorry; you’ll find zhem when iz’s time.” Pavel says placing another fork on his tower.

“Not everyone does, Pavel. With my luck they’re either dead or already married.” Kat shakes her head.

“Well you’ll never find them if you keep the tattoo covered like you do? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it?” Bones points out.

“I thought you didn’t believe in the soulmate tattoos?” Kat counters crossing her arms. Bones had been married when his wife had found her soulmate and divorced him. He’d been very cynical about it since. It didn’t help his soulmate had removed their tattoo when he was around sixteen.

“I believe in them, just don’t like em.” Bones counters.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it either?” Hikaru points out.

“I normally wear my band; it broke this morning though…” Kat shrugs.

“But why hide it if you want to find yours, Lass?” Scotty asks. Kat looks away.

“We weren’t allowed to show them in the orphanage or during the war…” She explains. “If we did we’d be beaten, arrested, or killed… It’s become a habit I guess…” Kat had grown up on the none federation planet of Arulan in an orphanage. A war had raged on the planet for most of her life. She had left the planet at nineteen to join the federation and a year later once she was a citizen of earth, to join Starfleet.

“Oh…” The table falls silent. Kat stands up.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

---Line Break---

A week had passed since the day in the mess hall. Nyota had been pushing her to show her tattoo off ever since. She wasn’t being overly pushy about it, more reassuring than anything. Kat hadn’t bothered getting a new band. She figured her sleeve would be enough for most situations and figured Nyota and the others were right, if she wanted any chance of finding her soulmate she had to show it. They were on Shore leave on Yorktown that day as the ship needed repairs from a fight with a few Klingon war birds earlier that month.

“Okay, so the purpose of this trip is to show your tattoo to as many people as possible.” Nyota says as she drags Kat into a club where they would be meeting the rest of the head crew for drinks.

“I know; you’ve gone over this ten times, Ny.” Kat shakes her head rolling her eyes. She was wearing a blue sundress, her tattoo completely uncovered for anyone to see for the first time in her life. Her long wavy brown hair was pulled back in a braid, courtesy of Nyota’s hair styling skills. Nyota drags her over to the others. Hikaru was dancing with Ben not far from the table, Pavel flirting with a girl nearby. Spock, Bones, and Jim sit sipping drinks. Scotty was playing pool with some guys from engineering.

“Hello, Nyota, Kat.” Spock greets them as the two slide into the booth. Nyota next to Spock, Kat across from her beside Jim.

“So I see you’re not wearing a bracelet. Decided to show off your tattoo?” Bones asks clearly a bit drunk already.

“Yes, she has. Our goal tonight is to show it to as many people as possible, see if anyone recognizes it as their own or someone they knows.” Nyota says.

“Well then, let’s see it.” Bones says leaning around Jim to see. Kat laughs shaking her head.

“You’re nosy when your drunk, Bones.” She holds out her wrist hesitantly. Before Bones can get a good look, a waitress comes over to them asking for their drink order, Kat turns back ordering herself a scotch. Bones now distracted by his drink doesn’t ask again and the group falls into their usual conversations. After a while Nyota drags Spock onto the dance floor, Bones heading to the bar to get another drink.

“So, your actively looking for your soulmate now?” Jim asks sipping his own scotch.

“More or less… Nyota’s idea…” She shrugs.

“You don’t seem too happy about it?”

“It’s not that… I’m just not very comfortable showing it… I feel like I’m going to be arrested or attacked for it any minute… I know I won’t be but…” She looks down at her wrist running a finger over her star.

“But fear isn’t logical.” Jim finishes. “I had to keep mine covered before… I didn’t want to find my soulmate on the ship, knowing I couldn’t be with them…” He says pulling the sleeve on his right arm up.

“Makes sense” Kat nods. She runs her finger over her star once more before turning to look at him fully.

“Have you ever imagined what your soulmate will be like?” Jim asks.

“Yeah… I hope their nice, a good person ya know? But I don’t know what to think… my tattoo is still here but it’s faded… I would have thought it was supposed to be, but pictures of me as a baby show it being a lot more vibrant… I can’t help but wonder if my soulmate attempted to remove the tattoo and failed…” She explains a worried look clear on her face.

“It could have been an accident or their parents? My mom tried to remove mine with a home remedy when I was a toddler, I only know because my older brother told me… She didn’t want me having one after my father died… something about not wanting me to go through that pain… she tried the same on my brothers… it didn’t work. Now mine’s all faded.”

“That’s horrible…” Kat shakes her head.

“Yeah… But I still like mine… my little star.” He smiles looking down at his wrist, Kat tries to make out his tattoo but is just at the wrong angle to see it.

“A star?” She asks, glancing down at her own little blue star.

“Yeah, it fits, with me loving the stars as much as I do… I hope she likes them as much as I do…”

“She?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be fine if it were a he or whatever they are… but I feel like they’re a she…”

“What else do you feel they’re like?” Kat asks with a small smile.

“Their favorite color is blue, and they love the stars and the ocean… They’re a cat person, but like dogs too.” He says with a thoughtful look. “They are a huge nerd.”

“All that from one little tattoo?” She laughs.

“Well, yes and no… I’ve daydreamed about them, whoever they are my entire life… got me through some of my worst moments.” He downs his drink.

“I guess that makes sense… I was too busy trying to survive to get a chance to dream of stuff like that… I love my little blue star though… It fits me perfectly.” Kat says laying her left wrist on the table to show him her tattoo. Jim leans over to look at it, his eyes slowly widening.

“Holy crap.” He mutters as he slowly looks up at her. Kat raises an eyebrow.

“What?” Jim lays his right wrist beside hers. Right on his pulse point is a little blue sketch like star… her little blue star. Kat stares openly at the tattoos for a minute before she slowly looks up at him.

“You’re my soulmate?” Jim asks, looking completely shocked. “All these years… we were right there… and we never knew?”

Kat stares at him, her heart racing in her ears. She slowly and almost fearfully brings her right hand to trace the star on his wrist. As soon as she touches it a small shock shoots through her, not a bad shock like static electricity but an amazing one. The shock is like a bucket of cold water being poured over your head on a warm day, the satisfaction when you put the final piece of a puzzle together, like the first bite of your favorite desert, or hearing the chorus to your absolute favorite song. It’s like the first snow of winter, or first bud of spring. Absolute belonging, like the world finally making sense. Something Kat had never known. Like for the first time in her life, she was truly home.

Kat looks up at him her brown eyes wide, made even wider by her glasses, locking with his bright shocked blue. Blue… just like her… no their little blue stars.

“Oh my god…” She mutters out, she covers her mouth with her right hand her eyes flickering from his eyes back to their wrists then back to his eyes again.

“Is… is that a good ‘oh my god’… or a bad one?” He asks slowly, looking at her nervously now. Kat blinks at him not getting his meaning for a moment. She moves her hand pushing her glasses up her nose.

“A shocked one… I… oh wow… I never thought… that my soulmate could be… someone like you.” Kat says her eyes locking with his again.

“I know… you probably expected someone better… Someone who deserves someone as amazing as you…” Jim says looking away, clearly misunderstanding her. “We don’t have to be together… I understand if you don’t want to be.” Jim says his voice breaking.

“What? NO!” Kat shakes her head quickly, grabbing his right hand in her left frantically. “That is not what I meant!” Jim looks down at their hand then up at her confused.

“Then what did you mean?”

“I meant I never expected my soulmate could be someone as absolutely amazing and wonderful as you!” Kat says looking up at him desperately, worry clear on her face.

“You… you think I’m wonderful?” Jim asks, a large grin slowly stretching across his face, happiness, wonder, and love replacing the hurt and pain. Kat nods slowly, her face turning red.

“Well… yeah.” She looks down at their hands. Jim uses his free hand to lift her chin softly so their eyes a locked again.

“I think you’re an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, strong, and sometimes a bit scary, woman. I couldn’t have been given a better soulmate.” He says sincerely. Kat stares at him tears starting to form in her eyes.

“You… really think that?” Jim nods a large grin splitting his face tears sparkling in his own eyes.

“That and so much more… I’ve liked you for a long time… hell much more than liked, but I didn’t want to make a move knowing you still had your tattoo meaning you were probably waiting for your soulmate…”

“I was doing the same thing… we really are idiots.” Kat laughs a large grin splitting her face as a few tears leave a trail down it. Jim brushes the tears away.

“May I… kiss you?” He asks after a moment. Kat nods her smile turning nervous again. Jim slowly leans in, kissing her softly. Kat kisses him back, her heart leaping with joy. After twenty-nine years, she was finally home. ---Line Break--- This is a repost of a story from 2016 originally posted on my main account that I have cleaned up and updated. I really like the little AU and figured it was time to clean it up a bit and move it here, I hope you all enjoy!

#star trek #star trek au #star trek fanfiction #star trek imagine #Jim Kirk x FOC #Soulmate au

6 notes · View notes

surveys-at-your-service · 4 years

Text

Survey #255

“who gives a fuck if they hate you; you’re the god that they pray to.”

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two. Could you go a day not talking to the last person you kissed? It would suck. What was the last song you listened to that made you cry? I didn't like, sob, but "Another Life" by Motionless In White does it. Your ex REALLY needs you at 3am and you have a way to their house would you go? Well, I can't with Sara considering she lives two hours away, and that's by plane. If she lived here, duh. For Girt or Jason, yes. Without saying any names what is one thing that you would like to say to someone(s)? I'm sorry. Would your parents get mad if you got drunk while they were present? No. Would you date someone who lived in another state? Eh, maybe. I don't know if I want to do long-distance again. I mean I probably would, but idk. Are you friends with your ex? Sara and Girt, yes. Who is the person you last texted? Sara. When’s the last time you told people you were fine, but really weren’t? I dunno, I honestly don't lie about that often. When was the last time you wanted to punch someone in their face? Months back when I found out the shit my therapist said about me and disability. Not only did I want to knock her jaw off, but I sobbed for like, a long-ass time. Who did you spend your summer with last year? Just Mom, really. ... Or wait, maybe that was the summer Sara was here??? My memory is such shit, idk if that was last year or the one before. What’s bothering you right now? Stress about dropping out. Have you lost friends in the past year? I don't think so, at least. Have you and the last person you kissed ever talked about going out? We did date. If the person you’re dating said they were falling in love with you, what would you do? I'm not dating anyone. Who was the last person you were in love with for more than a year? Sara. Do you have a secret life? RP stays a pretty big secret. Have you ever seen the last person you kissed without a shirt? Yes. Do your parents know EVERYTHING about you? No. What are you watching? Nothing rn, surprisingly. I'm listening to music. Are you friends with your best friend’s boyfriend or girlfriend? She's single. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive? Yeah. There’s a serial killer in your house, what do you do? Jump out the window. If the last person you kissed went back to their first love, what would you do? I think I am hers. Do you own any bug spray? No, not currently. We need some damn wasp killer. Every spring/summer, they build a nest literally right above our back door. Are you a good gift giver? Honestly think I'm really good at it. I always try to put a load of thought into it. What's the longest trip you’ve ever been on? The drives to either NY or Florida. I can't remember which is further. Are you a daughter or son-in-law? No. Do you know anyone in the military? Multiple people. Do you like your significant other's siblings? N/A Have you ever received a singing birthday card? Yeah. Those always suck when you open them and boom, loud singing to an obnoxious song. Do you own anything made by APPLE? My iPod. Have you ever tried Hamburger helper? Yeah, that was a semi-frequent dinner as a kid. I never liked it that much, though. What was your first car's color? N/A Do you have a best friend? Ye. Do you remember who your Kindergarten teacher was? I do. Do you have a favorite president? A least favorite? No, considering I don't know enough about any and their policies. Can you french braid? No. Were you ever a girl scout or a boy scout? I was as a tiny kid. I met my first best friend that way. What's your least favorite color? I'm just gonna use the very basic colors: yellow or green. Do you know anyone in jail? Not currently. Do you have kids? Ew. What's the strangest name you’ve ever heard? Apples. Yes. I'm serious. How old were you when you learned to walk? Idk. Do you own anything made of lace? Yeah. What's your favorite football team? Idc. What kind of bubble gum do you chew? Just about any. Fruity is my favorite. Do you wear a one-piece bathing suit or two-piece, a speedo or trunks? NOBODY needs to see me in a two-piece. Did you go to your senior prom? Yes. Do you support a charity? Well of course. I used to give coins to those super-old charity things for sick kids back in the day, but I can't remember the exact charity it was. I also donated hair to Children With Hair Loss a couple years back. I haven't donated to any other that I know of bc no personal income and I don't ask my parents for money really, but boy have I wanted to. I always use that Facebook feature where you pick a charity to share and ask for donations for your birthday, though; I've done the Trevor Project and one for pancreatic cancer in honor of my grandmother. I don't remember the others. Do you pop your knuckles? EW no please don't in my presence @ Sara. Do you scrapbook? No. I just don't have the creative drive and dedication to. If you could change your eye color would you and to what color? A much brighter blue. Have you ever had braces? For a long-ass time because we couldn't afford to take them off. One tooth is pushed too far back because of it. Imagine your dream home, does it have a fence around it? No. I want to live in the woods where *that's* my yard. When were you the saddest in your whole life? 2016 OH WOWIE WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you ever seen a ghost? I definitely believe I have. Are you a virgin? No. How many books do you read a month? I like, just started reading again, so I can't say. Can you type fast? Very. In school were you bullied? I'm extremely thankful I wasn't. Have you ever swam in the ocean? Yes, I love it. Do you own a boat? Not me myself, no. Dad does. What about a camper? No. Do you read the newspaper? No. Are you on any teams? Team Mystic in Pokemon Go *waggles fist @ criticism* If you died today where do you think you’d go? Idk. Who really knows what happens when you die. I hope it's some serene existence, but, *shrugs*. Do you know anyone who is pregnant? Ummmm I don't think so. Who is the first contact in your cell phone? Best friend! :') What color are you bed sheets? The one I'm using now is light blue. Do you use online dating? I cannot FUCKING believe I was briefly on Christian Mingle I would actually rather die- How often are you sick? Extremely rarely. Did/Do you miss a lot of school? Eh. I had my mental health days and had to leave early a lot. Do you like scented candles? Yeah man. When was the last time you were told you were pretty/beautiful/gorgeous? When I recently changed my FB picture after forever. Do you hate the last guy, other than family, you had a conversation with? No. What’s the last thing that made you laugh? Roman being silly. If someone were to ask you out right now would you say yes? I don't know. Do you have a secret that you’ve never told anyone? Yeah. Name four things you want right now: My fucking tattoo updated laksjdlflw, a healthy goddamn weight, my laptop, and a tarantula omg. Do you prefer to hold or be held? I mean, it depends on who we're talking about. I guess generally held? Are you currently wanting any piercings? You have no idea. Are you afraid of falling in love? Very. What was the last thing that made you feel like your life was complete? lol I've never felt that. You ever slept on the floor with someone you liked? Yeah. Do you still speak to any of your classmates from elementary school? Off the very top of my head, no. Does it take a lot to make you cry? NOPE. What is the wallpaper on your computer screen? Why did you choose it? One of my favorite pictures of Teddy, because I adore and miss him. Is there a pattern on the pants you’re currently wearing? Which one? Plaid. Do you like going to baby showers? Do you go only for the cake? I mean, not especially. They're crowded and it's a bad association anyway since it was the last time I hung out with Jason. The cake is indeed the best part, lmao. Mexican food, Chinese food, Italian food, French food or American food? American. What is the color scheme of your absolute favorite fast-food restaurant? Red, yellow, and blue. Do people ever ask you to do things they’re too short to accomplish? Very rarely. I'm not all that tall. Is there carpet or hardwood floor in your bedroom? Carpet. Do you believe in superstitious things such as breaking a mirror? No. Do you get sick of people who call themselves bipolar all the time? As someone who is bipolar, very much so, yes. Ever have an ultra-sound performed on you? What was it for? Yes, for my liver. I was fine. Do you like those "end of the world," "Armageddon" movies? Not especially. Ever been choked severely on something during lunch at your school? No. Do you remember who you sat next to in Kindergarten? Who was it? No. Has anyone ever compared you to an animal? Which one(s)? No. Do you eat more vegetables or fruits? What’s your favorite fruit/veggie? Fruits, by far. Strawberries and broccoli. Something on the human body that grosses you out the most: This is not intentional or meant to be discriminatory of those with 'em, but penises literally repulse me visually. Do you like meeting new people? What’s your most common greeting? Yeah, even though I'm scared. I think I say "hi" or "hey" most. What is something that bothers you about most surveys in general? Extremely heteronormative. Would you survive if zombies were to take over the world? Why or why not? HA no. I'm an anxious mess that is not fast or nimble in any way. What is your favorite color of apple? Red, green or yellow? I like the reddish/yellowish ones. Do you live anywhere near a mall? Maybe like, 15-20 mins away. If you were dying who would you say goodbye to first out of everyone? My mom. Are you someone who actually likes to babysit children? NO. What’s your favorite lunch meat, if you even like any in the first place? Honey ham. Would you rather write with a pen or a pencil? Why is this? Pencil, by far. You can erase. Scibbling stuff out looks messy. Have you ever wanted to be in a band? What position exactly? I am NOT kidding: one of the motivating factors of me going back to public school after 8th grade was the idea of making new friends and maybe making a band to be the guitarist lmfao. Who is your role model or hero in life if you have one? I have multiple for different reasons, but #1's gotta be Mark, man. Were you a really mean kid or a sweet and quiet kid? I was a really friendly kiddo. Do you keep secrets from your parents that you don’t keep from your friends? I don't think so. What is your father’s best friend’s name? Do you know them personally? Idk who that would be. Ever submit a video to America’s Funniest Home Videos? I don't believe we have. The most painful medical procedure you’ve ever had? Jesus fuck, I wouldn't wish having an infected cyst drained without NEARLY enough numbing medication on the goddamn devil. Are you someone who likes to eat Poptarts? What’s your favorite flavor? Yeah. I like the chocolate sundae one most. Ever have a dream you’re being abducted by aliens? Was it scary? No. What is your favorite flavor of Doritos? What do you drink with them? MMMMMMMMMMM cool ranch. Usually soda with chips. What is your favorite nickname you like to be called? Why do you like it? Ozzy. *shrugs* I like my online nickname and the "y" added sounds kinda affectionate ig. Do you already have your outfit for tomorrow planned out? I don’t plan my outfits. Has your favorite song ever been featured on a commercial? No. What would you say was the best year of your life? Why? 2017. SO MUCH DEVELOPMENT AND HEALING!!!!!!! Have you ever been pulled over by the cops for speeding? No. Is anyone in your family a firefighter? Who is it anyway? No.

#survey #quiz #questions #personal

3 notes · View notes

rockindragonz · 5 years

Text

Home Is Where the Taaco’s Are

Angus McDonald would never allow himself to be a burden on anyone, so he tries to make it on his own following the Day of Story and Song. He ends up in an orphanage with too many kids, too few caretakers, and too little money. When Taako and Kravitz find out, they will not let that stand any longer.

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 4333

Chapters: 1/1

Read on Ao3

No one really talks about what they saw, or rather didn’t see, that day. It's never mentioned when the Day of Story and Song comes around. For many, it is a day of celebration, but, for many more, it is a day of mourning and loss. So many died to the monsters before anyone could see them. So many husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents. Everyone knew someone who had died without being able to see their attacker, all they felt was blood spilling from them by the gallon. What they do talk about is the story of the seven birds and how courageous and wonderful these people were. They talk of the Bureau of Balance and some speak of Carey, Killian, and Angus who had the privilege of fighting beside the old adventurers.

Its weird for a while for Angus. Going to school and trying to have a normal life all while being so related to the seven people who saved countless realities. When he’s first recognized on the street as Angus McDonald, member of the Bureau of Balance, he is in shock. People crowd him and ask him so many of questions about the IPRE crew that he loses track of them.

For the crew, the year immediately following the Day of Story and Song was the hardest. Taako and Kravitz had rushed headfirst into their relationship and had spent as much time together as possible. Magnus began to rebuild Raven’s Roost after the destruction it had faced. Lup and Barry joined up with the Raven Queen, so they weren’t around much. Lucretia spent all of her time trying to fix all the mistakes she had made and created the Bureau of Benevolence to aid in repairation efforts. Merle moved to the beach and became the leader of a city he now ran. And Davenport all but disappeared off the map.

As for Angus, he no longer had a home. He was alone once again, without a mother or father to speak of, and his grandfather’s grave had been destroyed in the attacks. He applied to Lucas’s school and got in with no problems. But now he was living in an orphanage where there were too many kids, not enough caretakers, and not nearly enough money. Many children had been orphaned on that fateful day. Despite everything, Angus found himself happier than he had ever been. He was learning new and challenging things and he was visiting constantly with Taako and Kravitz who lived so close to his school. He was finally living the life a child deserves to live. No one knew where Angus was calling home, no one even really knew that Angus had no family in Faerun that he could have lived with. Whenever the subject was brought up, he changed it quickly with a dismissive answer and tried to focus on something not related to his living conditions at all.

That’s how it went for the first year. Everything was calm and quiet and everyone had a new appreciation for life and love.

It's been almost three years since the day or Story and Song now and Angus is still in the orphanage. Prospective parents have been few and far between for the orphanage this year and donations haven’t been large enough to support the displaced children so there wasn’t enough food to go around. Besides that, Angus had some massive finals coming up that kept him locked in his shared room most days. Those two things combined over the course of a month meant that Angus was starting to show some bone in his ribcage. He was constantly hungry now, but he ignored it and continued working towards his goal of becoming as good of a wizard as Taako was.

His final for the year was held on the day before the Day of Story and Song, so the day after was when he finally found himself with enough time to once again visit Taako and Kravitz. Normally the gang would gather in one house to celebrate and relate stories, but the party had been put off for a day or so because Davenport had gotten stranded briefly in some remote part of the world and refused out of dignity to let Kravitz help him. Before knocking on the familiar wooden door, Angus hesitated. He knew Taako was more on this day and he really didn’t want to bother him, but his decision was made for him when a surprisingly casually dressed reaper opened the door.

Kravitz blinked down at Angus twice before grinning ear to ear. “Angus! I was just about to head to the store to get some stuff for dinner, will you be joining us?”

“Oh, no sir, I wouldn’t want to bother you two, I know you’re both very-” he was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach that caught him totally off guard. The growling had stopped weeks ago but apparently the mention of Taako’s delicious food reactivated it.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Go ahead and go inside, Taako is just in the kitchen getting some things prepared.” Kravitz clapped him on the shoulder and stepped away from the wooden door and past Angus. Hesitantly, Angus stepped into the warm home.

“Sir? Mr. Kravitz let me in,” Angus said, calling towards where he knew the kitchen was.

“Angus, I’m in the kitchen, do me a favor and come give cha’boy a hand,” Taako responded. Angus nodded to himself and dropped his book bag on the cozy couch that stood facing a lit fire. He stared for a moment at the flames that licked up and around the logs burning, and he thought of Lup immediately as he stared. Honestly, Angus was surprised she and Barry weren’t here; the twins were usually inseparable today. Shaking his head, Angus walked to the kitchen to lend Taako the hand he had asked for.

“How can I help sir?”

“Just hand me stuff and put things I give you in the sink or something, I don’t really care as long as they get the fuck out of my way,” Taako said, passing him a dirty dish. Angus nodded and dutifully placed it in the sink and ran the water to clean the bowl out a bit. “Ango, gimme the salt.” And so Angus did. Things continued like this for a while, both of them existing in comfortable silence, despite the teasing that usually occurred at Angus’ expense. Taako said nothing besides a few short words to indicate what he needed next for the recipe. At one point, Angus got the feeling that Taako didn’t really need his help, he could tell in the way Taako would go to reach for something and then hesitate and ask Angus to grab it for him. Honestly, Angus had no idea why the usually flippant man would allow him to help out, but he wasn’t complaining, anything was better than being stuck at that orphanage ny longer than he had to be.

“That’ll do boyo, we can chillax now and watch Fantasy Queer Eye if you want, though Krav might kill me if we watch a new ep without him.” Taako spoke loudly, almost as if he were trying to get someone else in the house to hear him, as he dried his hands off on a dish towel.

“Whatever sounds great to me sir!” Angus said with a smile he hoped was convincing. The food he could smell that was now baking kept causing his stomach to growl loudly, but if Taako had noticed, he hadn’t said anything about it. Taako plopped down on the couch in what Angus knew to be his usual place and waved his hand at the small TV above the fireplace. A rerun episode of Fantasy Queer Eye came on, one where they were trying to help a gay man get a sense of style that he obviously didn’t have. Occasionally, Taako would scoff at the clothing choices one of them would make for the client and he would mutter things like “Oh so you think you know everything about clothing, don’t you Tan?” In these instances, Angus would only smile to himself in a fond way one would if one’s father was acting silly.

“So...how’re...things?” Taako said. He had obviously grown bored with the rerun and was now trying to rope Angus into a long conversation about his life.

“Things are good, I am doing very well in school!”

“Yeah, no surprise there, boy wonder,” Taako said with a snort, “what are they feeding you over there anyways? You look like skin and bone my dude. I’m gonna have to take that up with Lucas and make sure that shithead is feeding you guys right.”

“There’s no need for that sir, I’m just...sick is all.”

“No, no, no, I know sick and this is not that,” he said with a scowl, “have you eaten a proper meal in the last few weeks? I’m talking something other than a shitty ass school sandwich and a granola bar.”

“Oh sir, the shows back on! I love this part of the episode, it’s so funny.” Angus turned his face to watch the TV and rested his head in his hands, hoping to mask the bit of bone that had begun to show around his jaw area. With no warning, the TV was shut off. Angus turned to look at Taako only to be faced with a serious look that he had rarely, if ever, seen on Taako’s face.

“Angus, what is really going on? I’m not a moron you know, I know malnutrition when I see it, and boy, am I seein it right now.” Angus sighed and let his hands fall into his lap. He was torn between telling Taako the whole truth and lying about his whereabouts and his food intake. Lying seemed to be the better and less inconvenient option. “Don’t bullshit me or I will get Merle to pop over here and cast Zone of Truth.” Again, Angus sighed a deep sigh. Taako wasn’t going to give up until he was satisfied with the answer, was he?

“Okay, well, I’m living in a home where they don’t have a ton of money right now and we haven’t been able to get much food together. Most people have spent their money on the rebuilding efforts so donations are low.”

“Wait a second there boyo,” Taako said, his eyebrows raising rapidly, “donations? What, are you living on the streets now?”

“No, I have a bed sir, I’m not sleeping on the streets anymore.”

“Anymore?”

“Um, well yeah, after the Day of Story and Song three years ago, I had nowhere to go, so I was on the streets for a few weeks, but an orphanage took me in.”

“An orphanage?! Are you fucking with me?!” Taako yelled, “You’ve been living in an orphanage with barely enough food, if any, for three fucking years and no one even bothered to check on you?”

“I didn’t want to impose on anyone, sir. I felt wrong aking anyone from the BoB to take me in because I’m not their responsibility,” Angus said, voice soft.

“Well fuck that noise!” Taako stood violently, knocking into the coffee table as he rose. Kravitz chose that exact moment to enter the room carrying a small bag of rolls with him. He looked from Taako to Angus and back with a look of total bewilderment. Taako’s face was pure rage and Angus was sure his was one of fear and shock.

“What is going on here?” Kravitz said, his voice unnaturally calm given the current situation.

“Angus here hasn’t been telling us the whole fucking truth for three fucking years!” Taako shouted.

“What ‘whole truth’ is he talking about, Angus?”

“Ango here has been living in a fucking orphanage with nothing to eat for three. Fucking. Years.” Taako spat. “That shit doesn’t fly. Krav, take us to the orphanage where Angus is staying so I can get those fucking adoption papers now.” With those words, Taako stormed off to the kitchen. Angus could hear some banging as he grabbed the dish out of the oven and dropped on one of the counters. He heard Taako swearing a muttering to himself just loud enough that he could hear the noise, but couldn’t make out any of the words, he just knew that Taako was furious.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to make him angry Mr. Kravitz, I promise I didn’t, I’m just really tired and I’m not thinking straight and I couldn’t come up with a believable lie in time to tell him,” Angus said as he stood, “I just didn’t want to force anyone to take care of me, that’s-” Before he could finish his sentence, he was wrapped up in a tight hug from Kravitz. Despite Kravitz being dead and his skin being cold, Angus had never felt warmer in all his life.

“Angus, shhh, it’s okay, he isn’t mad at you,” Kravitz said in a soft tone, “he’s mad that he didn’t notice you were going through exactly what he and Lup had gone through back on their home world.” Angus was stunned. This information was new to him. Of course, he could infer it what with how jumpy Taako seemed to get in a new place and how he always seemed to know the fastest exit out of any room, but he had never had such clear confirmation. For a long while, they stood there, Angus wrapped up in Kravitz’s arms with his own down at his sides in shock. It took him a moment to process all that was happening and, when he finally did, he felt tears begin to streak down his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around Kravitz, who pulled him down onto the couch, never letting go of him for even a moment. Kravitz combed his fingers through the thick and curly locks as Angus sobbed harder than he had in years. Taako returned at some point and wrapped his arms around the other side of Angus, but no one could tell you when or exactly how it had happened, it just did.

Once Angus had finally calmed down fully, he pulled away from Kravitz, but was unable to escape Taako’s tight grasp. It seemed as if Taako was unwilling to let go for fear that he might lose him or something.

“Don’t you ever do something like this again, okay Ango? We are your dads now, and thats final.” Taako spoke with such finality that Angus was once again overcome with emotions. He wrapped his arms tightly around Taako’s neck and buried his face into it and found himself crying once more. Not out of stress or fear but out of so much happiness that he couldn’t handle it on his own. Taako was happy to oblige him, wrapping his arms tight around his magic boy. They sat there for what felt like forever. Kravitz eventually stood up and went to get something, and Angus faintly registered talking in a room a ways away, but he wasn’t coherent enough to process any of it. After what felt like hours, Taako and Angus let go of each other and only stared. Taako’s eyes were red and puffy just as Angus knew his were, but this was more of a comfort than anything to him.

“How’re you doing kiddo?” Kravitz said as he took his place on the couch once more.

“Better.”

“Good. I just finished speaking with the lady who owns the shelter and she is aware that we are coming to get your things. She sounded drunk.”

“I did some detective work while I was there and I think she knows that I found out she stole all the money we had for food this month to pay for her alcohol.”

“That would explain it,” Kravitz said with a laugh, “when we get there, grab your things and do not say a word to her. Taako and I will deal with her and her employer.”

Angus only nodded in acknowledgement and went to stand up, but was stopped by a hand on his knee.

“Angus,” Taako began, “you are never a burden on any of us, remember that.” His face was stone cold serious. He hadn’t seen this look since three years ago when he was preparing to kick the shit out of Lucretia for lying to him.

“Okay.”

Once the three were calm and collected, they gathered a few bags and waited for Kravitz to rip a tear for them to travel to the orphanage with. Upon their arrival, the woman was standing in front of the building with a scowl on her face. She was yelling at a younger girl who was covered in mud. Once she had been incredibly sweet and loving to all the children, but that was when people were giving all they could to the ‘poor little children who had lost their parents to the Hunger’. Now she was bitter and mean and crude to all the kids she came across. Taako cleared his throat as he stared her down. She waved her hand dismissively and continued to berate the girl for getting her clothes messy, but Taako was having none of it. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to face him fully.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she demanded before she laid eyes on him. It was almost comical how wide her eyes got when she was Angus standing behind one of the seven birds. She had known that he was related to them, but they never visited or even contacted him at the orphanage, so she thought they had forgotten about him completely.

“I’m Taako from TV,” he said. And, with all the rage and anger he had pent up, he punched her square in the nose with all the force he had in his body. Granted, it wasn’t much, but she fell backwards, out cold all the same. Kravitz only whistled as she went down and the girl stared at Taako in awe. Taako turned to the young girl and, with a wave of his hand, her dress was pristine again. “Don’t hit people, kid.” He gave her a genuine Taako (™) smile and strode into the orphanage. Angus was left shocked with Kravitz by his side. The man laughed quietly and shook his head, but followed after his husband. Angus followed suit, trying to keep up with him so that none of the other kids would wonder why a Reaper was here with one of the seven birds.

When they stepped inside the house, papers were flying everywhere as Taako searched for the forms he needed to sign. Kravitz nudged Angus towards the stairs and pointed towards where Taako was obviously beginning his search.

“I’ll help him, you go get your stuff, if you need me, just yell.” Angus nodded and began the climb to the shared bedroom for all the boys. He frowned as he got to the top and all the kids in his orphanage were hiding in the room.

“It’s okay,” he began, unsure of how to help the kids, “it’s just me.”

“She said to stay here and out of sight or else, so we did. What’s all the commotion downstairs?” one girl said. Her voice was soft, so Angus could barely understand her, but he smiled anyways.

“Taako is downstairs,” he said. Before he could even finish speaking, the children were scrambling to get down there to meet one of the famous seven birds. Angus was left alone in the giant room with only his thoughts and his stuff to grab. He pulled a chest out from under his bed where he kept all of his things and began to unpack it and put it in the bags Kravitz had given him. He took extra care to cushion his most valuable items: his spell books for school, his journal where he kept all of his detective notes, and a single silver spoon that had belonged to the set his grandfather had entrusted him with that he knew Taako and the other two had stolen on the train. This spoon meant more to him than almost anything else he owned so he put it in the safest spot he could imagine.

With a smile, he looked around the room one last time, gathered his things, and went downstairs to tell the two he was ready to go. It was no surprise to him that Taako had been surrounded by the children. What was a shock was seeing Magnus and Merle there trying to act as decoys.

“Hey guys! Look it’s me, Magnus Burnsides!” he shouted, striking a pose and flexing. Immediately, all the children who had been surrounding Taako flocked to talk to Magnus who took it all in stride. The attention was something that the three of them had gotten very used to in the past few years, so it was nothing for Magnus to be messing with a few of the kids and trying to lift them while Merle tried his damndest to even see over the sea of children. It seemed that none of the kids noticed Angus follow Taako and Kravitz to a side room where they could hopefully have a moment to process everything.

“Thank you for getting those two for me Krav, I couldn’t handle those brats for a second longer,” Taako said with relief evident in his voice. Kravitz only nodded with a fond smile to which Taako rolled his eyes.

“So, Angus, shall we?” Kravitz said. He gestured to the desk where Taako and he had already signed the paperwork. The ink was fresh with their signatures, but that of the orphanage’s owner’s was not.

“She must have signed all of the forms forever ago,” Taako said with disgust, “she wanted ou all out of her hair so badly, I bet she would have gladly given one of you to anyone with cash.”

“Sirs?” Angus said, voice small, “Are you sure about this?”

“Of course we are, Angus,” Kravitz said with a gentle smile, “we love you, and we want you to be happy. Do you want this?”

“Absolutely,” Angus said with a gigantic grin on his face. His eyes had gotten a bit teary and his vision was getting slightly blurred, but he was happy. Taako handed him the pen to sign that he agreed to be adopted, and Angus drew his signature over the line with the biggest smile he had had in years.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of things. Taako and Kravitz took him to the nearest city hall to turn in the paperwork and make it fully official. The secretary there was shocked by Taako’s sudden appearance with a literal reaper’s scythe that dropped them in the middle of her office. Once there, the woman only nodded in awe to the questions Taako asked. When they brought up the lady in charge of the orphanage, the secretary shook from her stupor and began writing things down. She assured them that the woman would be fired promptly and a new person would be instated as the caretaker. Taako also insisted on making a hefty donation to the orphanages that fell under the jurisdiction of this city, to which the woman humbly accepted and tucked away.

“If I find out my money has gone to anything except the kids,” Taako spoke, his voice suddenly deep and filled with anger, “all hell will break loose.” The woman only nodded, pupils blown wide in fear. Satisfied his money would be used well, Kravitz tore open another portal, this one to their home.

As Angus stepped foot into their living room with all of his things in hand, it finally settled in his mind that this was real. This wasn’t just a dream, this was actually happening. He would be with a family, a real family, and he would finally be safe for the first time in three years.

“Your room is upstairs, I’m gonna heat up dinner real fast,” Taako said, all but sprinting away to the kitchen.

As if Kravitz could hear Angus’ concerns, he spoke, “Don’t worry about him, okay Angus? He loves you, I promise, he’s just really bad at showing vulnerability sometimes.” Angus nodded with a small smile. He knew Taako loved him, he knew the trio loved him, because they teased him so often but they were also softer to him than anyone else. Kravitz patted him on the head and started for the stairs to lead Angus to his new room. When they entered, it was basically empty save for the massive bed against one of the walls and a dresser with a mirror on top. Despite the lack of furniture in the room, Angus had never felt so at home.

“Welcome home kiddo,” Kravitz said, “I’ve always wanted to be a dad, you know. So has Taako. The last time he got drunk, actually, he talked about adopting you, but you hadn’t shown any interest in being adopted by anyone, so he dropped it quickly. He’s really fucking happy about this.”

“I know sir, I am too,” Angus said, “thank you, sir, for adopting me.”

“Angus, you don’t have to call us ‘sir’ anymore. You can call me dad if you want, or if you don’t want, whatever works for me. I just want you to be happy here.”

“Okay, sir,” Angus paused, “dad.” Absolute joy took over Kravitz’ face and he had to seemingly restrain himself from wrapping Angus up in a bear hug.

“Get settled in, and then come down for dinner, okay?”

“Alright.” With that, Kravitz turned and retreated down the hallway and downstairs. Angus watched him go for a moment, before he stepped into his new room and into his new life.

And he truly couldn’t have been happier if he’d tried.

36 notes · View notes

allwritealreadysaysbliss · 5 years

Text

For Now, Chicago

November 6th would have been my 10-year anniversary in Chicago. But at the end of October, I moved back to LA, where I grew up, just two weeks shy of this deca-milestone.

The 6th came and went like it always does: the day passes and some time the following week, I wake up and think, “Oh! My Chicago anniversary.” And suddenly every dolt husband in every sitcom about marriage makes sense to me.

I moved to Chicago a few months after graduating from the University of Michigan. I didn’t want to be near my immediate family, and I didn’t want to go to New York where almost every single person I knew was moving. New York overwhelmed me and exacerbated my anxiety. The filth. The crowds. A decision I often worry was a mistake. I grew apart from groups of people who all spent their early 20s living in small apartments they couldn’t afford, eating $20 salads they couldn’t afford, and partying like college never ended. They bonded through survival of The City in a way I will never make up for, though I’ve tried. But for me, then, Chicago felt like the right place to be. I liked that Chicago had the central city feel of New York – a business district, skyscrapers, public transportation (I didn’t want to take it, I just liked the character it added to the city), walkups, a bustling downtown where other recent grads were centrally located – but with the sense of space of L.A. – neighborhoods, manageable driving, people who smiled. The best of both worlds.

I liked the idea of forging my own path and starting over. I had spent long weekends off school in Chicago with my college roommate, enough to decide I liked it there, and I had some family in the suburbs, a safety net I thought. The city was fun and alert (a tempered version of the indescribable Energy people attribute to NY) and I already knew from Ann Arbor that I liked the generally gentle natures of Midwestern people.

Often, I think back through my ten years in Chicago (that barely feel like two maybe three); it’s usually around my birthday or New Year’s Eve. I try to scroll through the mental montage of how I’ve celebrated each of these occasions (though I still maintain that birthdays should be a celebration of the mother, not the child), then end up spiraling into the broader memory flip-book of how I’ve spent each year, month, day. And every time, I come to the same place: what the fuck have I been doing for the last (four, five, eight, ten) years?

I don’t have a concrete answer. I don’t have any of the things I thought I’d find in Chicago – a husband or at the very least, a serious boyfriend, children, a lucrative career. That list we’re “supposed” to have checked off by our 30s is mostly if not entirely unmarked.

I made friends (the day I picked up my keys to my first Chicago apartment) with a group of med students who entirely composed my social circle for two-and-half years and with whom, I’ve since lost touch. I got to spend quality time with cousins and their kids, and I met and got close to my dad’s first cousins (and their kids and grandkids). I lived alone, I lived with roommates, I lived back in LA in 2011 for five weeks before returning to Chicago for a job as an assistant account executive at an ad agency…my first real job. I shifted paths at the same agency and started copywriting in Chicago. I got laid off from my first real job in Chicago. I found doctors I liked and trusted and have recommended to newcomers. I learned to take the El (a greater accomplishment than I wish to admit, but my anxiety makes crowded, enclosed, dirty spaces unbearable). I got sick…a lot – colds, flus, sliced-open foot from a broken bottle at a bar, strep so severe my tonsils swelled until they closed off my airway. (I was in the ER so frequently that when I moved home for those five weeks, it felt like Chicago had gotten what it wanted – rid of me.) I welcomed and housed old friends who were newly making Chicago their home and said goodbye to those who were moving on. I went to parties. I went to therapy. I went to too many Lollapaloozas. I turned 30 in Chicago. I got to watch most of my friends get married and become parents in Chicago. I signed up for Instagram and (resigned to) online dating in Chicago. I had my first (brief) relationship in Chicago. I struggled with my intimacy issues in my first (brief) relationship in Chicago. I became friends with guys I dated and told a good friend I had feelings for him (for the first and only time) in Chicago. I adopted my cat in Chicago. Her name is Phoebe; she’s perfect. I started, but didn’t finish, a double master’s program in special and elementary ed at DePaul. I completed a post-baccalaureate program in creative writing at Northwestern. I found Yolk, my favorite restaurant. I took a million dance classes, hosted college dance team reunions that slept 15 people in my one-bedroom apartment, and refused to admit I wasn’t dancing anymore, even though I wasn’t dancing anymore, in Chicago. I got drunk and saw concerts and argued with friends and made up with friends and took trips that I returned home from to Chicago. I complained about the weather and the traffic and bills in Chicago. I overshared with “work friends” who then became “real friends” in Chicago. I was in a dinner club and a bromance and found my “market buddy” and my “sister wife” (an altered definition in which I marry a bestie’s brother) in Chicago. I tried new restaurants and ate until I felt sick in Chicago. I struggled with depression so deeply in Chicago, I wondered if anybody would even notice if I disappeared. I felt abandoned by people in Chicago. I felt more support than I’ve ever felt before in Chicago. I accepted help when I needed it most in Chicago. I decided to (and went through two cycles trying to) freeze my eggs in Chicago. I faced my OCD in a way I never had before in Chicago. (I didn’t have a choice. The cleaning and thought cycles became so repetitive, they started affecting my functioning, my relationships, my ability to get to work, my ability to hide it from friends. I considered and tried medication for the first time in Chicago.) I decided fall was my favorite season and pumpkin patching was my favorite activity. I poached friends and sang car duets and ate cheese plates and truffle fries and truffle chickpeas and truffle everything and created inside universes. I laughed until I couldn’t breathe, until my eyes watered, until I forgot why I was laughing. I stole clothes from people in Chicago – a bad habit I’ve always had. I asked an immeasurable number of questions in Chicago. I lost my virginity in Chicago. I had my first heartbreak in Chicago. I created an invaluable family of friends for myself in Chicago.

And I found improv in Chicago. Almost by accident. Entirely by kismet. Improv changed my life. And when I fall upon the feeling of regret I never lived in New York, I remind myself of what I likely would have missed. I would not have found the people and community I found through improv, the tenets of an art form that are, at their most basic elements, a beautiful way in which to live, the belief in myself that I can do what I’ve always wanted to do. I would not have discovered storytelling or my voice. I would not have found this outlet that has become an integral part of my mental health. I would not have been able to experience my last five years in Chicago with the same sense of novelty. I would not have found myself. When I think of that list of things I wish I had by now, I wonder if it remained unfulfilled because I wasn’t who I was meant to be yet. (I do wish I’d found improv earlier, but what can you do?)

I became a person in Chicago.

Thank you to the people who shaped me while I was there and who will continue to be part of the story.

Chicago will always be home. I will forever be grateful for the space it gave me. And I know, when I need to, I can always rest my head on its broad shoulders and breathe.

#chicago #loveletter #bye for now #thankyou #thankyouletter #moving #second puberty #growing up

2 notes · View notes

canaryatlaw · 5 years

Text

alright, so today was pretty fun. I woke up at 9:20 when my alarm went off and started getting ready. I was meeting friends at 10, so I figured 20 minutes to get ready, 20 minutes to get there, should be good and I left on schedule. of course it took me more like 7 minutes to get there because the place is actually really close to my house, but I figured there’d be a wait because it’s a pretty popular place and most people are still off. So I figured I’d go put our names on the list, except I walk in and we got empty tables and nobody waiting. Oh. So I get seated at a table by the door and wait for my friends to arrive. It’s this cute little place down by the old village area in like the historic district of my town that’s all just very nostalgic and cute. They have a ton of like, different fun wintery coffee options but also said they had flavored hot chocolate, so I asked what flavors that could be and they basically said whatever we had for the coffee, so I ordered the gingerbread cookie coffee flavors in hot chocolate form and it was so damn good, let me tell you. Friend 1 arrived after not too long, I expected them to come together being that they are twins but they’re both married and don’t live together; apparently they had been planning on it but the other was running late so they decided to come separately, and friend 2 showed up not long afterwards. These are like, the two friends from high school I actually keep up with and make an effort to see when I’m home because I really don't give two shits about anybody else (the only third person would be the guy one of them is married to, so he kinda comes with the package). They’re both currently working as teachers at the school now though, which was a bit of a change for the second as she has a degree in biology and was planning on doing fertility treatments, which she’s still pursuing on the side, but she ended up coming in as a part time english teacher after the last one (who was by far the worst teacher I’ve ever had and she was there for WAY too long) got offended when they moved her to part time because there were less kids in the class and decided to quit, for the good of all humanity (I seriously cannot emphasize enough how shitty of a teacher she was. she was fucking awful. we were supposed to be reading the tragedy of julius caesar like, out loud in class, and it took us 3 fucking months to get through it because she was so incompetent we’d get through like a page a day. it was torture). so I was glad to hear that at least, especially because that teacher would’ve had the class my sister is in, and my sister now has my friend instead, which I’m very thankful for. So we talked about the school of course and what’s going on there with the administration and all that. They of course always had a much better relationship with the school than I ever did to be able to go back and teach there; I mean if I was a teacher I would never even consider working there because I had such a terrible experience as a student there. but yeah, good stuff to discuss, and then we moved onto some of our more typical discussion topics like abortion and foster care and all that good stuff we like to discuss lol. the Ohio heartbeat bill that had just been passed then vetoed then maybe overriden came up and I just of course repeated my position that if you want to decrease abortion, you should remove the need for it from society and change the culture, not decrease access to it, which I think is a solid argument most people can get behind. once we finished breakfast we walked a bit in the little shopping area and ended up in a store that has super cute baby clothing and toys and such. one of them has a ten month old so she was telling us about him and all that fun stuff. I didn’t have anywhere I specifically had to be afterwards so I ended up following her back to her family’s place to see the baby, but he ended up having been taking a nap so we figured we’d save that for another day, so I headed home from there. Not too much was going on at home, my sister had decided she didn’t want to work on college apps today but would do so tomorrow instead, so that wasn’t on the schedule. I forget if I talked on here about it before but she’s decided she wants to go to one of the state schools upstate fairly recently, but still hasn't taken the SAT or started her application, whereas my parents very much want her to stay at home and do the local community college, so that’s gonna be interesting to see play out. so I mostly just chilled for the rest of the day and didn’t do all that much. people came home after work and they had dinner before one of my friends from theatre came and picked me up and we went out to Applebee’s (after another restaurant was way too crowded). We’d been keeping up fairly regularly, she’s one of the only ones I still talk to other than the guy I was with yesterday who was a family friend long before we did theatre together. But this friend is now in her second year of law school, so of course we have a lot to talk about and such. so we talked about passing the bar and it being over, she wants to do like, financial regulation law which tbh I don't even know what that means but she seems to really like it so hey good for her. and yeah, we chatted about all that good stuff and somewhat about how the other people we used to know just have not moved on with their lives whatsoever and we’re just like....we’re so far removed from that now it’s crazy really. so it was a nice time. once we finished she dropped me off and I spent a little bit sitting in my parents room mostly talking to my brother about law related stuff which eventually veered towards the juvenile justice system in comparison to the adult justice system, because NY just recently raised the age for juveniles to automatically be sent to adult court to 18 instead of it being like 16 I think previously, which is insane when there’s literally only one other state that was doing that. but we were talking about a small charge in the adult system versus one in the juvenile system, whereas in a more regulated system like Chicago small charges all go to juvenile court, and the only ones that make it into adult court are the very serious ones (murder, rape, etc.) I still firmly believe there should be a hard limit on not charging kids under 15 as adults, they are children in every sense of the word and treating them like adults is absurd when we literally have an entire fucking system based around addressing the different needs juveniles have than adults and to use the adult system anyway is ridiculous. okay I’m ranting I know, but the point I was getting at was it was actually a fairly civil conversation and I was able to share some of my experiences working with juveniles and how they end up in the situations they did, and I felt like (for once) he was actually listening and thinking about what I was saying rather than just trying to argue with everything that came out of my mouth, so that was a nice change. of course he ended with “well there's not much we can do to help [low income communities riddled with violence] and they can just shoot each other it’s not our problem” at which point I was like, except I work with the incredibly traumatized kids from those communities and it very much is my problem because that’s the work I want to be doing, and I don’t think he gets that, but he seems to be at least a little more open minded towards all of it, so that was good. I was telling him how when I was in juvenile justice class we had to read this book about a family in the projects in Chicago in the 1980s and I would read it on my commute to and from the juvenile courthouse, and the bus I took there passed right by where the projects used to be (like the book would mention a kid chasing a ball across the street of Damen ave, which is the street the bus runs down) and I swear passing it every day was like seeing ghosts, phantom children running after balls in the street and getting caught in the crossfire of gangs, little girls being gunned down while jumping rope where what now is just a parking lot, and all of that hit me real hard. And I think if you’re gonna work with these kids you need to understand the background they’re coming from and the trauma they’ve been experiencing all of their lives. I’m ranting, anyway. Once we wrapped up that discussion I headed to my room and got in the shower to start getting ready for bed and now here I am. it is just past 1:15 am and since I got up rather early (for me lately at least) so I am quite tired and will be going to bed now. Goodnight my friends. Have a joyous rest of your evening.

#daily journal #December 2018

2 notes · View notes

annashipper · 6 years

Note

Oddly NEVER with friends. No reason to fly to NY from VT - other airports much closer to get back to London so why come to NY but to see mutual friends? You don't leave your young kids alone for more days than necessary just to visit a vegan restaurant. And we never see them EVER with friends. Why? Because that would be difficult to stage. I keep waiting for some reality. Come ON.

I don’t think we’re ever going to get any reality Nonny.

They’ve gone from all pap walks to the other end of the spectrum where it’s all sneaky sightings reported on social media. Because that’s what we’d been asking for...

And we always get what we ask for.

Remember when we were asking for bikini shots of Weirdo’s pregnant belly? We got them, but they were magicaly blurry when it came to the actual bikini shots and perfectly clear when it came to the belly being covered by a full body towel.

Remember when we were asking why Ben and Weirdo were constantly getting recognized at airports by paps and we started getting sneaky pics of Ben travelling on his own and then we couldn’t stop laughing because the sneaky fan pics and video turned out to be taken by a sneaky for-hire-paparazzo? Well, we’ve now gone to the complete opposite, which is no pap walks at airports unless it’s absolutely crucial for us to know Ben is travelling somewhere with his wife and one of the Pilos, and they pre-blur the pics although they’re taken on US soil and they don’t need to do that.

We’ve been saying for ages that it’s weird for Ben not to get spotted or papped around his flat with Weirdo, both of the pillows or even only one of the pillows in tow.

We only point that out because Ben was actually sneakily photographed by a professional photographer (who didn’t sell the picture because that would’ve been too obvious I guess, instead posting it on her social media) from a vantage point at the Heath (a professional photographer he couldn’t have missed given the direction he was coming from and where she was standing with the camera in hand) on Father’s Day 2015 (something Ballsy had been predicting since before Weirdo reportedly gave birth), pushing a hermetically sealed pram.

He was then sneakily papped a few doors down from his flat, on the street that was deserted at the time, pushing a pram with Pilo and Weirdo looking confused as she walked beside him.

He was then sneakily papped at the Christening of Much Privacy(TM) at the ... celebrity hot spot(???!!?!) outside Mottistone on the IOW (were apparently the paps had put up camp to catch not only the christening of the year, but also a vintage umbrella we’d been shown about a month prior to the Christening pap walk).

Then silence. Nothing around London where Ben and his very real family that is most definitely not a PR stunt all live together in real familial bliss. Even though the paps have all three of his addresses (Ben’s old flat, Ben’s new property that’s still being renovated, and Ben’s rental place because.... who wouldn’t up and move from their old flat with a year old baby already in the household while also being pregnant to baby number two in the middle of winter?).

And then silence in London again. More silence. Eery silence. Nothing for almost two years. Until...

...We had to be introduced to Pilo 2.0 and see with our own eyes that Ben has nailed the pulling-faces-at-my-very-real-offspring look and that Weirdo is still confused when it comes to small humans. Juuuuuust as Ben was gearing up to start promo for The Child In Time. Because Ben’s family is most definitely really real and not a PR prop to be used for publicity. And then everything went eerily silent again.

Because, as we all know, real babies that are not PR props never step out of the house with their mothers and famous fathers, unless of course their famous fathers have a new project to promote; especially one that would benefit from them looking like real parents to two very real not PR stunt babies.

I went on this very long, very unnecessary rant about real families and real babies and real sightings that are most definitely sneaky and not PR driven because... yes. There is no reason for a couple to fly from Vermont to New York if they’ve left their children behind to celebrate Easter alone. And there is no reason for a couple to fly from Vermont to New York if they’ve got their children with them because daddy is about to start promo for Infinity War soon, and, since he’s so eager on nesting, it would only make sense for him to take his family back home and spend some quality time with his really real children, alternating between bathing them every 3 hours and reading bedtime stories to them. Perhaps even feed Pilo 2.0 a T-bone steak, because I’m sure he’s just as advanced as Pilo, and probably cooks 3 course dinners for the whole family by now...

But the main reason I’m ranting is because if they can’t make a pap walk with a baby look normal, what possible hope would they have to make a pap walk or photo posted on a mutual friend’s Instagram page look normal?

There is a reason James stopped posting about Ben on social media. There is a reason Ben didn’t attend the Black Panther red carpet event in London. There is a reason Ben pulled an Elizabeth Bennet pap walk instead of walking in the meadows alongside Tim, Wanda, Weirdo and Pilo last Easter. There is a reason the last time we saw Emily escorting Ben to an event was when Weirdo wasn’t there at the WFTV awards last year. There is a reason Weirdo didn’t attend the screening for season 4 of Sherlock. There is a reason why Ben had pre-Christmas lunch with his parents at the pub without Weirdo. There is a reason Adam is the only one playing Weirdo-minder when Ben HAS to allow Weirdo to interact with his people.

All of the above is pointless.

All I really needed to say is that until this is over, until Ben finally decides to take his public image back under control, nothing about his personal life will look realistic to anyone paying attention.

Because it isn’t, and because despite all of his desperation to shut us up, Ben doesn’t seem to be willing to put in the real work and spend more time than is absolutely necessary with his wife (unless it’s for baity sightings every few weeks that he thinks are working, when in fact they look more and more fake as time goes by).

If he really put his mind to it, I’m sure he’d have made it look realistic by now. Trouble is he’d have to pay extra to entice a woman who wipes her hand on her clothes when he touches her to spend time with him. And therein lies the rub.

30 notes · View notes

travelingtheusa · 3 years

Text

TENNESSEE

2021 May 4 (Tue) – We went to Oak Ridge this morning. It was called the Secret City back in the 1940s. Oak Ridge was one of 3 cities where the atomic bombs were produced. Its population went from 1,000 to 50,000 people in 6 months. Unfortunately, the museum was closed. So was the Museum of the Appalachia and the Museum of Tennessee. We got to see a short film at the NPS office, which was a little booth located in the corner of the Children’s Museum.

We then drove to Knoxville. There wasn’t much to see but we drove around to look at the city. We drove into the Old City and past Market Square. The city had lots of old buildings mixed with new construction. We stopped at Corner 16 for lunch. It was an excellent choice. The food was outrageous. We bought some of the chili to bring home for dinner.

2021 May 3 (Mon) – We packed up and left Lebanon at 9:30 a.m. It was raining and rained for most of the drive. About three-quarters of the way to our destination, the skies opened up and it poured. The rain was so heavy we could barely see past the hood. There was a break in the rain just as we arrived at our new campground – the Windrock State Park Campground in Oliver Springs. It rained all night long, sometimes ferociously. There was lightning and thunder and, at times, hail.

The campground is very high class. We spotted at least 3 Prevost RVs. Those are very expensive rigs. This campground is up in the mountains and is nicely laid out, neat and clean with plenty of space between sites. There is extra space for ATVs. This seems to be a favorite spot for ATV riding. The campground is at the head of many trails leading off into the wilderness. We’ve been watching them come and go for the two days we’ve been here. Covered in mud and debris and smiling from ear to ear.

2021 May 2 (Sun) – We drove into Nashville today to go to the Johnny Cash Museum. His life story was quite interesting. His parents couldn’t agree on a name when he was born, so they named him J.R. Years later, when he tried to enlist in the Air Force, they insisted that he had to have a first name so he chose John. That morphed into Johnny as his musical career took off.

It cost us $20 to park for two hours. The parking lot appeared to be 3 in 1; three different machines for different areas of the same parking lot. It was strange. The town was bustling with people. It was so crowded that we had to step off the sidewalk to go around clusters of folks gathered outside restaurants and shops. No one was wearing masks outside, although you still have to wear a mask indoors. Looks like things are finally starting to loosen up. Infections around the country are dropping as people get the vaccine and venues are beginning to open again. It feels very hopeful.

We wanted to have lunch in Nashville but it was too crowded. We hopped in the truck and drove back to Lebanon. First stop was at the number one and number two restaurants, according to Trip Advisor. But, you guessed it. Too crowded with long wait times. We finally wound up at Cracker Barrel. The gal who checked us in said it was 20 to 30 minutes. We waited almost an hour. The food was good, as usual, but the long wait took the bloom off the rose.

After lunch, we stopped at WalMart to get some groceries. Then it was a stop at the liquor store to pick up some spirits. And finally, we stopped at a gas station to fuel up for tomorrow’s trip. We got back to the campground at around 3:45 p.m. It started raining later in the evening. Weather forecasters are saying it’s going to rain for next two days.

2021 May 1 (Sat) – We packed up and after a brief stop at the dump station to empty the tanks, we were on our way. It was 2-1/2 hours to Lebanon where we are staying in a KOA. This campground is very tight and also on uneven terrain, like our last campground. It is lucky we have a pull-through site. It would be very hard to maneuver between all the rigs and on a hillside.

Once we were set up, we took the laundry to the machines and did the wash.

2021 Apr 30 (Fri) – We drove to Lexington (still in Tennessee) for lunch at Dan’s Café. It was a small house converted to an eatery. It had a 50’s flair to it. The food was good.

After lunch, we drove to Parker’s Crossroads and toured the battlefield. The north and south clashed there and had an intense 5-hour battle where neither really won. The confederates were able to escape and cross the Tennessee River but not before causing havoc for many miles on their mission to disrupt Union rails and resources. The battlefield is spread out with walking tours and storyboards recounting the activities that went on at that point. The Visitor’s Center had a video that told the story of the battle. It was quite informative.

Next door to the visitor’s center was the Tennessee State Veteran’s Cemetery. We drove through the grounds. There were only about 50 graves. It is a new cemetery just established in 2018.

After getting some fuel, we stopped at a gas station shoppette to pick up milk. They had loads of beer and soda to go with lots of snacks, but no milk. The closest supermarket was 24 miles away. We drove over the bridge to the next gas station shoppette and were able to find milk there. Thank goodness!

We got news that the Washington, D.C. caravan we signed up for has been cancelled. The caravan was scheduled to take place the first week in July and the plan was to march in the National Parade on Independence Day. The parade, which is run by the National Park Service, has been cancelled. In addition, several other tourist places around Washington, D.C. will not be open. Also, the number of rigs signed up for the caravan fell to 11. That’s below the minimum threshold of 15 rigs for the caravan to go. We will still go to D.C. for the 2 weeks we planned to be there. So will our friends, Rick & Brenda from Florida. Our other friends, Hank & Brenda from Texas, cancelled out of the D.C. caravan but they will join us on the drive from D.C. to New York for our caravan around Upstate NY. I sent an email to the manager at Fort Belvoir to tell her we will still be coming for the 2 weeks we reserved.

2021 Apr 29 (Thu) – We pulled up stakes and left Memphis at 10 a.m. It rained during most of the drive. In addition, as accident occurred right in front of us. The traffic was at a stand still for an hour and a half. Two tractor trailers and two cars got into it. One of the cars had 3 kids in it. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.

We finally arrived at the Natchez Trace RV Park at 1:30 p.m. It was a little tricky getting into our site around the trees. The slick mud didn’t help things a bit. The trailer wouldn’t level right either. It kept resetting itself and the RV was on a tilt.

2021 Apr 28 (Wed) – We dropped off Bonnie’s urine sample to the vet’s office this morning. The vet came out and told us there is no urine infection. She also refilled Bonnie’s liver medication for 3 months. I asked for 4 but they only had 3 boxes. Oh, well. You take what you can get.

After the vet, we drove to the Blue Plate Café where we met Steve & Diane for breakfast. Not only was the food good but the company was also enjoyable. We stayed for over an hour and a half.

Next stop was at Vitamin Shoppe where I got some vitamins. Paul is still not feeling well. He’s still suffering the effects of the vaccine.

2021 Apr 27 (Tue) – I took Paul to lunch (or did he take me?) at Las Tortugas Deli Mexicali. It was a different kind of set up. You ordered at the counter from a menu that was in Spanish with English in parentheses. We recognized very few of the dishes. We both wound up ordering sandwiches which were very good. We brought leftovers home.

I called the vet’s office where no one knew anything about what I was calling about. I left a message for Dr. Bates to call. I called again at 5:30 pm. The doctor got on the phone and said she left a message today. There was no message on my phone. She didn’t know anything about a urine sample so we agreed to bring another one in tomorrow. She said she would refill Bonnie’s liver medication. Five months’ worth will be waiting for us when we drop off the urine sample tomorrow.

Just as we were sitting down to dinner tonight, there came a knock on the door. It turned out to be Diane. She and husband, Steve, were on our Utah caravan. He served as the Weatherman. They will be staying here in the campground until Friday. We agreed to get together for breakfast tomorrow.

Paul is feeling cruddy tonight. He is feverish and achy. Guess the vaccine is doing its thing.

We got a call from a campground in Ticonderoga, NY today. The manager had looked over the list of RVs I sent her and decided they couldn’t accommodate the larger rigs. They cancelled our reservation. What a disaster!!! Less than 3 months to go and we lose a campground. We would be lucky to find another place that can fit 22 RVs at this late date during the height of the tourist season. I felt sick. Paul jumped on the Internet and did some research. I tried calling the campground we were going to stay at before the cancelled one to see if we could just extend our stay. No luck. They are booked solid for the week after us. Paul found a place 65 miles east in Peru, NY. I called and they were able to fit us in. I sent a list of campers and RV sizes. Hopefully, things will go OK. I also got a call from another campground on our caravan saying our deposit was due May 1st or our sites would open up. I quickly sent off a missive to SMART HQ to send out a check. That could have been a serious problem! Luckily, the fates were looking after us.

2021 Apr 26 (Mon) – We went out to lunch at a BBQ place. The food was good. Then we dropped off a urine sample at the veterinarian. Bonnie is acting like she has a urine infection again. *sigh* She just can’t seem to get past this thing. The vet she saw last time was not in, so a tech took the sample and said he would handle everything. Also pass on our request to refill Bonnie’s liver medication.

We then went to CVS where Paul got his second COVID shot. I picked up some Mother’s Day cards. As we were standing on line, Paul saw a young man wearing a motorcycle helmet put two car chargers in his pocket and walk out. He yelled at the guy but the clerk, who was ringing up a customer in front of us, just giggled about the incident. She just shrugged it off.

I called the vet’s office later to see what happened with the urine sample but nobody had anything to say about it. Guess I will talk to Dr. Bates tomorrow.

2021 Apr 25 (Sun) – It was cold this morning. The heat pump went off about 2:30 a.m. this morning. We keep that off because of the noise it makes. It turns out the furnace was not working. It looks like the techs did something that made the controls work improperly. We cannot get the furnace to turn on.

All Vanleigh personnel were gone early this morning so I posted our issue on Facebook. Sure enough, the tech folks were still monitoring the website and responded to my post. The tech said he would send us a new program for the Spyder Control Panel. Apparently, he knows exactly what they did. Aaaaarrrggghhh!!! We’ll have it sent to Travis & Sam where we will be in two weeks.

We packed up and left Hot Springs at 10 a.m. It was a long drive. We pulled into a parking lot at a mall around noon to make ourselves lunch. We arrived at Agricenter RV Park in Memphis around 2:30 p.m. The host couldn’t find our reservation and it turns out that I had made reservations for a different date. He was able to clear up the confusion and find us a spot.

After that lovely RV resort in Hot Springs, this feels like a slum. Lol. The RVs are very close to each other in rows with grass that needs cutting, no trees, and stone campsites. The road is asphalt that needs some repairs. Several of the campers are long term as we saw 40 lb. and 100 lb. propane tanks outside their RVs. The cost was higher than I expected but reflects a military discount. Guess we can expect charges to continue to increase with all the new RVers out there and no new campgrounds to accommodate them.

0 notes

newstfionline · 6 years

Text

America at Home: Grandparents in the Attic, Children in the Basement

Paula Span, NY Times, Feb. 17, 2018

On a Sunday evening a few weeks back, Shobana Ram was loading the dishwasher in her kitchen in Queens when her 85-year-old father-in-law rose from the dinner table, carrying his cane in one hand and an empty plate in the other.

“From the corner of my eye, I saw him stumble and lose his balance,” recalled Ms. Ram. “I saw the cane fly out of his hand. His head hit the corner of our granite countertop.”

She dialed 911 and thought, not for the first time, how fortunate it was that in 2016 she and her husband sold their house and bought one big enough to accommodate six people: themselves, their two teenagers and his ailing parents, plus the family dog.

Her mother-in-law, who has dementia, would not have been able to phone for help. In this case, after emergency room scans, her father-in-law was “miraculously OK,” said Ms. Ram, 48.

But, she added, “there’ve been so many incidents where we’ve felt if they’d still been in their apartment on their own, God knows what would have happened.”

In an Indian-American family, a household encompassing three generations isn’t uncommon. “There’s an understanding that parents could be living with us at some point,” Ms. Ram said.

Yet her family’s decision also reflects a growing change in the way Americans, including older people, are choosing to live.

A brief backward look: After the late 1800s, as two economists pointed out in a landmark 2000 study, most elderly widows lived with one of their children--so common a practice that it developed a nostalgic sheen, enshrined as the way things ought to be.

In 1940, however, that arrangement started crumbling. The proportion of older widows living with children declined from about 60 percent that year to 20 percent by the 1990 census.

Did Americans stop loving their mothers in 1940? No, but their parents began receiving checks from a just-enacted New Deal program called Social Security and no longer had to rely financially on their families.

“As elderly people’s income increased, they chose to live independently,” said Kathleen McGarry, an economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-author of the study. “When they could afford it, they purchased privacy.”

A decade or so ago, as demographers began reporting an uptick in shared and multigenerational housing, the trend again looked to be economically driven, this time by the Great Recession.

A Census Bureau report noted that the number of shared households had jumped more than 11 percent between 2007 and 2010. The spike came primarily from younger people--buffeted by unemployment, foreclosures and student debt--moving in with their parents or other relatives.

“It was a way to make ends meet,” said Laryssa Mykyta, co-author of the report, now a sociologist at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Let’s pause for some definitions. Though shared households and multigenerational households may overlap, they aren’t identical.

When a householder lives with at least one adult who’s not a spouse, partner or college student, that’s a shared household; its members need not necessarily be related.

A multigenerational household, as defined by the Pew Research Center (the census uses a different standard), includes at least two generations of related adults, or grandparents and grandchildren.

Both phenomena increased during the recession--and interestingly, long after its end, they haven’t declined.

Multigenerational households, which hit a historic low of 12 percent of American households in 1980, reached 19 percent in 2014, Pew reported. “You have to conclude that this is a phenomenon that has legs and will continue,” said D’Vera Cohn, co-author of the report.

In pre-recession 2006, For example, 20 percent of those aged 85 and older lived in multigenerational households. By 2014 the proportion had climbed to 24 percent.

Richard Fry, a Pew senior researcher, has uncovered a similar trend in shared living. Although younger people remain more likely than other age groups to live in someone else’s household, the proportion of older people in those arrangements has also increased. Last year, 14 percent of adults in a shared household were parents of the household head, double the proportion in 1995.

What’s creating this reversal of a decades-long trend?

One could point to several factors, including rising housing prices, inadequate retirement savings and the costs of long-term care. But the primary reason, Pew researchers contend, is that “the country’s changing demographics encourage shared living,” Dr. Fry said. “It’s much more prevalent among nonwhite adults, and they’re a growing share of the adult population.”

About a quarter of non-Hispanic white adults shared a household last year, his analysis shows. But 40 percent of blacks lived in shared households, and 42 percent of Asian-Americans (who have higher median household income than the national average, underscoring that economics probably isn’t the primary driver).

So did nearly half of Hispanics. Shared housing is a more common practice among immigrants, another growing segment of the population. For multigenerational households, the numbers “tell a similar story,” added Ms. Cohn.

“I think this is a change in what the typical American family looks like,” said Sarita Gupta, co-director of the nonprofit organization Caring Across Generations.

Three years ago, she moved her own parents, in their 70s and struggling to cope with her father’s Alzheimer’s disease, into her home in Silver Spring, Md., with her husband and young daughter.

“Even in casual conversation with friends,” Ms. Gupta said, “it’s amazing how many peers say, ‘I know one day in the future, my parents will be moving in.’”

Let’s not romanticize this practice. Those who’ve undertaken it caution that shared households demand tough adjustments--physical, financial and emotional.

Shobana Ram knows that her in-laws, who have a home health aide while her family is at work and school, are happier with them than in any assisted living. She sees her children learning important lessons, too. She and her husband tell themselves they’ve made the right choice, for now.

Yet, “you’re dealing with people who have pride and their own ways of doing things,” Ms. Ram said. “You want to be respectful and sensitive, but you can get frustrated as well. It’s a delicate thing.”

Whether shared and multigenerational households continue to increase remains an open question. Perhaps, as immigrant families assimilate and minority group incomes increase, more will opt for separate homes.

Or maybe, said Dr. McGarry, those who initially doubled up for economic reasons will decide, “Hey, this works pretty well, let’s keep going.”

Susan Yarbrough thinks it does work pretty well. She got a call from her mother in Huntsville, Ala., on her 80th birthday. “It’s time for me to move,” Betsy Yarbrough told her daughter.

“She wanted to make the choice to move, versus having a crisis and being forced to move,” said Ms. Yarbrough, 49, who works in medical education in Atlanta. She began shopping for a house both could occupy while maintaining “elbow room.”

She found a split-level in suburban Johns Creek, where her mother, now 83, has the ground floor bedroom, bath and den, while she lives upstairs.

Betsy Yarbrough contributes to the mortgage and utility costs. Her daughter does more driving to doctors’ offices than she’d expected, but now has a live-in dog sitter.

“I’m the first of my peer group doing this,” said Susan Yarbrough. “But I don’t think I’ll be the last.”

#shared housing #multigenerational housing

1 note · View note

sand1128 · 7 years

Text

FanFic: Rucas- Not Your Father

Father’s Day was one of the worst days of the year as far as Lucas was concerned. No matter how old he got, it always brought forth memories of his dad. Even though Lucas was a father himself (4x over!) he still felt like the scared young boy that he had been.

Riley desperately wished she and the kids could change his feelings about the day but after a failed attempt or two to replace his old memories with new ones, they stopped trying.

This year, Uncle Zay and Aunt Vanessa were picking the kids up to spend the day with them and their 3 offspring. Usually, Farkle and Smackle would take the kids for the day. Their 4 kids were best friends with the Friar 4 but Smackle surprised Farkle and the kids with a trip to NY. Their kids wanted to see where their parents grew up.

Normally up before the sun, Lucas allows himself to hang out in bed with his iPad. As he reads the latest MLB news, he can’t help but smile widely as the sounds of his family getting ready ring throughout the house. Not for the first time, he wishes he could change his feelings about Father’s Day. Thankfully his wife and kids have accepted his feelings even if they don’t understand them.

Silence reigns a few minutes after the chaos and his heartbeat speeds up. He knows that silence means that his kids have left and his wife will be rejoining him. Part of him feels guilty for being excited at the thought of “Rucas” time. His kids are his world but he misses being able to spend time with his wife. His wife…. his heart skips a beat at the thought of her. He hopes that feeling never goes away…that he will always remember how lucky he is.

His breath catches as Riley enters the room, wearing one of his old t-shirts, her hair in a messy updo and one of her trademark megawatt smiles. This is one of his absolute favorite looks of hers. His absolute favorite? Has resulted in 4 kids. 🙊

He lifts the sheets so she can climb under. She immediately scoots over until she is wrapped in his arms, head on his chest.

“The kids wanted me to tell you that they love you and they hope you have a good day,” Riley whispers as she raises her head to look at him.

Lucas closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He is disappointed in himself. At a minimum, he should have gotten up to see them this morning. His arms tighten around Riley but when he starts to speak, she covers his mouth with her fingers. He looks at her quizzically.

“Please let me say what I need to and then you can speak, OK?” She waits for his nod of approval

Staring into his eyes, she begins “Lucas… there is so much that goes into being a dad. Things that your dad failed at… but you do them and more without any thought. The kids and I are ALWAYS your priority. We never want for anything and we know that there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for us.” Lucas closes his eyes and Riley pauses until he opens them again. She wants him to see everything she is trying to convey “Every day I thank the universe for that morning on the subway. Not only are you the love of my life but I couldn’t ask for a better father for our kids.

Our kids know that they are loved, no matter what else is going on in our lives, they know that they are our world. They know that no matter what happens… no matter what they have done wrong? They can still come to us. While we might get angry or be disappointed in them- they know that nothing will change our love. The kids know that you would sacrifice anything and everything to protect them.” Riley hopes she is getting through to him. “Do you remember what it was like when your dad came home for the day?“

Lucas nods his head and quietly replies "Yes. I used to get nauseous… I would wait for him to snap. I’d always keep a close eye on my mom because I was afraid of what he would do to her.”

“You told me that you felt helpless during those times. That you worried that you wouldn’t be able to protect your mom.”

“I used to worry all the time.”

“Lucas, my love, our kids have never had that worry. They have never had to worry about protecting me from you. They know that you would never hurt me…hurt them”

“Hurting you would kill me. I promised to love you forever and that’s one promise I fully intend to keep.” Lucas covers his tattoo with his right hand and holds Riley’s hand in his left. He stares into her eyes as his thumb caresses her hand “you and the kids are my whole world” he leans forward and gives her a gentle kiss.

“And you are ours.” She echoes as she kisses him in return.

“Do you remember what you said to me after we got back together in college?”

“I promised to always be your hero”

“And you are. You’ve always been our hero. I can hear the awe in their voices when they talk about what you’ve said & done. The excitement on their faces when they tell their friends about what you’ve done at work or what you have done with the kids. What I’m about to tell you has to stay between us ok? No Texas Lucas… promise?!”

“Really? How am I supposed to promise that?” Lucas asks with his eyebrow raised.

“By trusting me…. I wouldn’t ask you to make that promise unless I was 10,000% sure he isn’t necessary.” Riley replies with a smirk as she reaches up and soothes his brow.

“True, true. All right, princess, I promise.”

“I overheard Emily Ann tell Jared that if he wants to marry her some day? He must be at least ½ the man her daddy is. That she doesn’t expect anyone to be just like her daddy because in her eyes? She knows that no one will measure up to him.”

Lucas is stunned into silence…his heart beating rapidly as he silently thanks his Maker for giving him this life & the woman he is privileged to call his wife. He knows, has always known, that he is the man that he is because of her. She is the reason he wants to be a better man. The reason he wakes every morning. The reason he exists.

Silently, he leans forward and kisses her with everything he has. After a few minutes when breathing has become a necessity, he leans his forehead on hers and quietly says “I love you, Mrs. Friar. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone as much as I love you & our children. I don’t know that I can express to you how I feel…. you all are my reason for being.”

“I love you, Mr. Friar. Every day I fall a little more than the day before. Flaws and all you are the perfect man for me. The perfect husband. The perfect dad. Together there isn’t anything we can’t do.”

“Let’s call uncle Zay and go spend some time with our children. I’m ready to celebrate Father’s Day.” Lucas announces with a smile.

Riley’s grin reaches from ear to ear. As she rolls over to stand up, Lucas pulls her back into his arms for another kiss. After a few minutes, he winks at her and tells her “Emily Ann is way, way too young to even think of the word marriage. I told you- she’s not dating until she’s 40!”

Riley chuckles as they get out of the bed…” You know she and Jared have been dating since she’s 15”

“I know but it’s not funny Riley. The deal was when she was 40…. 4-0…. 40. Hmmm…. perhaps I need to start chasing Jared with his boot….” Lucas looks at Riley with a mock scowl.

“Relax MadDog… we like Jared. He passed your test…just like you passed my dad’s.”

“I know but…”

“But nothing Lucas. She’s only 18…. she’s not getting married tomorrow.”

In a move that would have made his father in law proud, Lucas clutches his chest and gasps. “Don’t talk about my baby and married in the same sentence!”

Riley giggles and Lucas feels 10 feet tall. He walks over to her and wraps her in his arms once again.

“As a wise man once said, “Believe me, I know the story.” I have to admit that he looks at her like I look at you.”

“And how’s that?”

“Like I have won the greatest prize in the world. I love you Ri.”

“I love you too. I think we have both won the greatest prize in the world.” Riley pulls his face to hers for another kiss.

After a few minutes of silence, Riley steps back from Lucas and walks back to the bed “You know, Zay isn’t expecting us. So why don’t we take advantage of that and enjoy a little Rucas time?” Before she can finish the question, Lucas has stripped down and pulled her back into their bed. 😈

Zay hangs up the phone and turns to the kids “As soon as you guys are done with dinner, we are going to meet your parents for ice cream.”

#rucas fanfic #rucas 365

66 notes · View notes

creativeheartgemini · 7 years

Text

My Little Blue Star - Jim Kirk x Kat Sparrow (Original Female Character): Soulmate AU - Identical tattoos or birthmarks

Many people would fall in love and get married only to later end up in a horrible situation when they met their soulmate. They would have to choose between their spouse and the person they were destined for. Most couples who weren’t soulmates got their tattoos removed at their ten year anniversary, others when they first got married, or when their kids where born. If one soulmate removed their tattoo the others would disappear, the same would happen if someone altered their tattoo; their soulmates would change as well; whether this was by adding to the tattoo, removing part of it, or having a scar change it.

“Kat, are you coming to dinner?” Kat looks up as her best friend pulls her from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m coming, Nyota.” She closes down her station following her friend to the mess hall. Kat was head of computer sciences aboard the USS Enterprise. She had worked on the ship since the Nero incident a little over five years before. Nyota had already found her soulmate in her boyfriend Spock. At first the only friend Kat had, had on the Enterprise was Nyota. Then she’d introduced her to the rest of the head crew. Kat had instantly clicked with Hikaru and Pavel, the two instantly earning themselves a place as her best friends. Hikaru had also found his soulmate in his husband Ben. The two had a daughter now.

“Hey, Kat” She smiles as Pavel waves her and Nyota over to them. Nyota sits down next to Spock, who is talking with Bones, another of Kat’s best friends. The doctor was yelling at him as usual while Spock simply raised an eyebrow in concern? At least that’s what she thought that face meant; the half-vulcan was very hard to read at times. Hikaru and Pavel seemed to be in the middle of some type of challenge, they each had houses built of forks in front of them and where adding more. Scotty and Keenzer where cheering them on. Jim, the captain of the ship was watching all this in amusement. That was their little family.

“What exactly are you doing?” Kat asks as she sets her tray down.

“Are you worrying about that again?” She looks up as Bones addresses her. Kat quickly covers her tattoo with her sleeve. She wasn’t one to display her soulmate tattoo; many people didn’t, wearing black bands on their wrists to cover it. Normally Kat wore one as well, but hers had broken that morning. This made it a lot harder to find your soulmate, but kept you from finding them while in the middle of situation that was inappropriate, such as at work, or during a negotiation of some sort. The only other person in their friend group who had ever worn one was Jim. But Kat had noticed he’d stopped wearing his when it became legal for captains to date their crew so long as they disclosed the relationship to the admiralty, their first officer, and their head of medical.

“Worrying about what?” Kat asks playing dumb, as she pushes her thick black glasses up her face, a nervous habit she’d picked up as a kid. She was allergic to the medicine that fixed eyesight and so was one of the few people in the federation who needed them, something she had once been very subconscious about.

“Your soulmate, you normally move your band to look at it to fiddle with the band when you’re thinking about it.” Nyota says. Kat scowls.

“You people are too damn observant.”

“You shouldn’t vorry; you’ll find zhem when iz’s time.” Pavel says placing another fork on his tower.

“Not everyone does, Pavel. With my luck they’re either dead or already married.” Kat shakes her head.

“Well you’ll never find them if you keep the tattoo covered like you do? I don’t think I’ve ever seen?” Bones points out.

“I believe in them, just don’t like em.” Bone counters.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen it either?” Hikaru points out.

“I normally where my band, it broke this morning though…” Kat shrugs.

“But why hide it if you want to find yours, Lass?” Scotty asks. Kat looks away.

“Oh…” The table falls silent. Kat stands up.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She says leaving the table.

---Line Break---

A week had passed since the day in the mess hall. Nyota had been pushing her to show her tattoo off ever since. She wasn’t being overly pushy about it, more reassuring then anything. Kat hadn’t bothered getting a new band. She figured her sleeve would be enough for most situations and figured Nyota and the others where right, if she wanted any chance of finding her soulmate she had to show it. They were on Shore leave on Yorktown that day as the ship needed repairs from a fight with a few Klingon war birds earlier that month.

“Okay, so the purpose of this trip is to show your tattoo to as many people as possible.” Nyota says as she drags Kat into a club where they would be meeting the rest of the head crew for drinks.

“I know; you’ve gone over this ten times, Ny.” Kat shakes her head rolling her eyes. She was wearing a blue sundress, her tattoo completely uncovered for anyone to see for the first time in her life. Her long wavy brown hair was pulled back in a braid, curtesy of Nyota’s hair styling skills. Nyota drags her over to the others. Hikaru was dancing with Ben not far from the table, Pavel flirting with a girl nearby. Spock, Bones, and Jim sit sipping drinks already at the table. Scotty was playing pool with some guys from engineering.

“Hello, Nyota, Kat.” Spock greets them as the two slide into the booth. Nyota next to Spock, Kat across from her beside Jim.

“So I see you’re not wearing a bracelet. Decided to show of your tattoo?” Bones asks clearly a bit drunk already.

“Yes, she has. Our goal tonight is to show it to as many people as possible, see if anyone recognizes it as their own or someone they knows.” Nyota says.

“Well then, let’s see it.” Bones says leaning around Jim to see. Kat laughs shaking her head.

“So, your actively looking for your soulmate now?” Jim asks sipping his own scotch.

“More or less… Nyota’s idea…” She shrugs.

“You don’t seem too happy about it?”

“Makes sense” Kat nods. She runs her finger over her star once more before turning to look at him fully.

“Have you ever imagined what your soulmate will be like?” Jim asks.

“That’s horrible…” Kat shakes her head.

“Yeah… But I still like mine… my little star.” He smiles looking down at his wrist, Kat tries to make out his tattoo but is just at the wrong angle to see it.

“A star?” She asks, glancing down at her own little blue star.

“Yeah, it fits, with me loving the stars as much as I do… I hope she likes them as much as I do…”

“She?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be fine if it were a he or whatever they are… but I feel like they’re a she…”

“What else do you feel they’re like?” Kat asks with a small smile.

“Their favorite color is blue, and they love the stars and the ocean… They’re a cat person, but like dogs too.” He says with a thoughtful look. “They are a huge nerd.”

“All that from one little tattoo?” She laughs.

“Well, yes and no… I’ve daydreamed about them, whoever they are my entire life… got me through some of my worst moments.” He downs his drink.

“Holy crap.” He mutters as he slowly looks up at her. Kat raises an eyebrow.

“You’re my soulmate?” Jim asks, looking completely shocked. “All these years… we were right there… and we never knew?”

Kat looks up at him her wide brown eyes, made even wider by her glasses, locking with his bright shocked blue. Blue… just like her… no their little blue stars.

“Oh my god…” She mutters out, she covers her mouth with her right hand her eyes flickering form his back to their wrists then back to his eyes again.

“A shocked one… I… oh wow… I never thought… that my soulmate could be… someone like you.” Kat says her eyes locking with his again.

“What? NO!” Kat shakes her head quickly, grabbing his right hand in her left frantically. “That is not what I meant!” Jim looks down at their hand then up at her confused.

“Then what did you mean?”

“I meant I never expected my soulmate could be someone as absolutely amazing and wonderful as you!” Kat says looking up at him desperately, worry clear on her face.

“You… you think I’m wonderful?” Jim asks, a large grin slowly stretching across his face, happiness, wonder, and love replacing the hurt and pain. Kat nods slowly, her face turning red.

“Well… yeah.” She looks down at her their hands. Jim uses his free hand to lift her chin softly so their eyes a locked again.

“You… really think that?” Jim nods a large grin splitting his face tears sparkling in his own eyes.

“That and so much more… I’ve liked you for a long time… hell much more then liked, but I didn’t want to make a move knowing you still had your tattoo meaning you were probably waiting for your soulmate…”

“I was doing the same thing… we really are idiots.” Kat laughs a large grin splitting her face as a few tears leave a trail down it. Jim brushes the tears away.

#jim kirk imagine #jim kirk #soulmate au #jim kirk x oc #jim kirk x ofc #star trek imagine #soulmate tattoo au #Kat Jay Sparrow

55 notes · View notes

havekiddoswilltravel · 5 years

Text

A Long Weekend in Santo Domingo, DR With Kids - Trip Report

Mother – Daughter 13th Birthday Getaway – Yes Trip to Santo Domingo

My eldest daughter and I enjoyed a mother – daughter 13th birthday Yes Trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and I’m ecstatic to share our trip report. It’s kid 1’s 13th year of life and I spent months planning a way to celebrate this milestone in a memorable and affirming way. Check out my two prior posts explaining what a Yes Trip is and the reasons why every parent should embark on one with their child - by clicking here and here. Now it’s time for me to report back on our trip and share more details about what we did while on the island. I traveled with over 22 letters from women in our lives and started sharing those letters with kid 1 as soon as we were sitting at the airport in NYC. Throughout our trip, I would hand her a letter, allow her to read and ponder the wisdom shared by so many amazing women in our lives. I’m so grateful for every amazing woman who took time out of their busy lives to speak into the life of my teen daughter.

How we got there?

We departed from New York City - JFK airport on a 5 am direct flight to Santo Domingo. This meant that we left CT at about 12:30 am and drove 2 hours to Queens, NY. I parked the car right at the terminal 5 parking and walked over to the departure area. Both kid 1 and I have TSA pre check (please note that children 13 and over are required to have their own TSA pre check number, but children 12 and under are covered by their parent’s). We encountered no traffic on our middle of the night drive into NYC and arrived at JFK prior to the TSA pre check lines even opening. We decided that it was worth waiting for TSA to open up and were the first in line at 3:15 am. We breezed through security and arrived at our gate to wait patiently for boarding. Who knew that a Jet Blue flight leaving NYC at 5 am would be this popular, but let me tell you, terminal 5 was packed with tourists and Dominicans taking advantage of the off-season deal!

Dominican travelers are the best. They get dressed up like they’re going to a fancy event in order to travel back home. They lack boundaries and are overly friendly to complete strangers and I soaked up every single part of this experience. I found myself being engaged in conversations with so many people at 4 am and you would have thought that we were family. This was the first of many signs for kid 1 of what her experience in Santo Domingo was going to be like. I always have an emotional response to landing in Quisquella and experiencing an entire plane full people cheering and clapping. Kid 1 was convinced that we Dominicans are “extra” and I’m more than happy to own that claim.

Customs in Santo Domingo

Our flight was uneventful and we arrived to Santo Domingo 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, there was still a plane using our arrival gate, so we were held off from taxing to our gate. Toward the end of our flight, we were given Dominican Customs forms to fill out. There are two different forms, one for foreigners and another for Dominicans. My daughter was considered American and I was considered Dominican, though I am a US citizen and travel with a US passport. I was born in the Dominican Republic and they recognize Dominican dual citizenship. Once we disembarked, I was so glad that I had the Dominican form, as the tourist line was incredibly long and the Dominican line was significantly shorter. We were allowed to go through customs together, even though my daughter had a tourist form. We traveled with carry ons and were through customs and outside looking for our ride within 15 minutes.

Transportation in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo SDQ – Las Americas International Airport is actually not located in the city proper, but rather 32 km or 20 miles east of the Dominican capital city of Santo Domingo. While on past trips, when on vacation with my entire family we have rented cars, on this trip I didn’t want to waste precious travel time dealing with the hard sales that happen at Santo Domingo rental car agencies. We’ve had some pretty bad experiences while arguing about rates and insurance with car rental agencies in Santo Domingo. I had arranged for family to pick us up at the airport and drop us off at our hotel and was planning to either walk, Uber or taxi around the city. This is pretty safe to do, if you’re staying in touristy areas and have some street smarts.

Where we stayed

I’m a pretty brand loyal costumer and have spent time at various Marriott properties in Santo Domingo. On prior trips, we’ve stayed at the Renaissance Jaragua, the Courtyard Santo Domingo and for this trip decided to take advantage of the Marriott Bonvoy changes and booked the Sheraton Santo Domingo, located on the Malecon (road parallel to the ocean). My aunt and cousin picked us up at the airport and we were sitting in the conference room at their place of business enjoying breakfast by 10 AM. After breakfast, my aunt convinced me to take their extra car and kid 1 and I made our way alone to the Sheraton Santo Domingo - thanks to Waze. Wow, Waze really works in Santo Domingo, it will even give you directions through callejones (alley ways).

Check in is normally at 4 pm, but I was hopeful that my Marriott loyalty level would allow us to check in early in order to head out to La Zona Colonial (The Colonial Zone) and get our trip started. I had the currency converted app on my phone and used it to keep track of my dollars and pesos. At the time of our trip in March of 2019 $1 US Dollar = $50.59 Dominican pesos. Prior to our weekend trip, I had researched what we wanted to see and planned how many dollars I needed to convert. I took into consideration which restaurants and tourist locations would take American Express and attempted to minimize how much cash I traveled with.

What We Did

Day 1:

- Arrived to Santo Domingo by 8:30 am via Jet Blue direct flight from JFK.

- Checked into The Sheraton Santo Domingo by 10 AM.

- Explored La Zona Colonial

o We took a short drive from the Sheraton Santo Domingo – Malecon to the Zona Colonial, found parking a few blocks away and walked to the Calle de las Damas. We were headed to the Kahkow Experience, but I kept getting distracted by the amazing architecture, streets, windows and doors that date back to the colonial period. Check out my VLOGs below to see pictures of the colonial architecture.

o We ran into a large group of school children entering La Fortaleza Ozama on a field trip and decided to join them and explore the historical site. Fort Ozama was built in 1502 by the Spanish at the entrance to Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone and overlooks the Ozama river, after which it was named. The castle which is also referred to as “La Fortaleza” is the oldest formal military construction of European origin in the Americas. It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site and a nice place to spend an hour while visiting Santo Domingo. Pro tip: pack water and a hat, as even in March it was incredibly hot and humid. The entry fee was $70 Dominican pesos, which is less than $1.50 US dollars per person. There are guides that you can pay for a formal tour, but I just wanted to take some pictures and explore on our own prior to heading to our next stop. You don’t have to use a guide in order to explore, so skip the non-affiliated people, walk right in, pay a few pesos and enjoy as long as you wish.

o Next on our agenda was a tour of El Kahkow Experience. The Kahhow experience was the perfect way for my chocolate loving teen daughter to kick off her 13th birthday trip. We took part in the English language tour and make your own bar add on option. The building in which the Kahkow Experience is housed is an old colonial property which was architecturally preserved. The entire experience is well done and it was one of the highlights of our weekend trip to Santo Domingo. The tour started with a video explaining the history of chocolate, harvesting and the process of making chocolate from cacao farm to consumption. We visited on a Friday morning in late March and literally had the entire place to ourselves. We were the only two in the beginning part of our tour and then joined six others for the chocolate bar making portion. Cost: $672 Dominican Pesos for 2 for the initial tour (equals 13.28 US Dollars) and $1440 Dominican Pesos for 2 (equals 28.46 US Dollars) for the make your own chocolate portion.

o We then headed to the square in front of the first cathedral in the New World: Catedral Primada de America and a stroll through the coffee shops, restaurants and stores of La Calle Conde. By then it was almost lunch time and we were melting, so we decided to head back to the El Malecon for lunch at Adrian Tropical.

- Adrian Tropical is a typical Dominican Restaurant which benefits from its location on Avenida George Washington on the Malecon near major tourist hotels including the Sheraton. We always enjoy at least one meal at Adrian Tropical when visiting Santo Domingo, because nothing says I’ve arrived to Santo Domingo like enjoying a traditional meal of rice, beans, chicken, sancocho and mofongo while drinking a fria (Dominican’s call their Presidente beer “frias”) and taking in the view of the ocean and listening to the waves crash nearby. Service was slow and leaves a lot to be desired, but that pretty much was the theme of all of our eating experiences on this trip. You’re in the Caribbean, I highly recommend heading to any restaurant to order food about one hour prior to you being really hungry.

- After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and put on our bathing suits. We live in Connecticut and it seemed like we hadn’t seen the sun in months. We laid out by the pool and enjoyed some vitamin D before heading back to our room to shower and change for dinner.

- Dinner with family at my aunt’s house. I have a lot of extended family that lives in Santo Domingo, but 4 days on the island with the intended purpose of connecting with my teen daughter, did not leave any time for visiting family. My cousin had coordinated for any family members who wanted to see us to join us for dinner at my aunt’s house in Santo Domingo, thus kid 1 and I jumped into our borrowed car and I endured rush hour driving to arrive at my aunt’s house for dinner. Wow. That was an experience. I quickly learned that using my turning signals was just a sign of weakness and making eye contact led to people cutting me off and blocking us in. Public transportation cars and buses constantly stop for passengers on the right-hand side and would just block traffic flow. Driving in Santo Domingo is not for the faint of heart. I’m accustomed to driving in Boston, NYC, DC and LA and while it prepared me for the lack of common courtesy, I still arrived to dinner with a knot in my neck. Somehow my teenager slept through much of the driving madness and only woke up a few times while I jerked to avoid a huge pot hole or a motorist. I was proud of myself for driving in Santo Domingo, though the lack of driving rules really stressed me out, as I’m a type A, uptight rule follower. Waze did save the day, as it was extremely reliable and even navigated me out of heavy traffic. We ended up enjoying hours of Spanish language practice, food and sweetened coffee and tea at my aunt’s house with over 40 of my extended family. I finally had to tell my family that I didn’t drink sugar in my coffee and tea and it’s still a running joke in my family WhatsAPP group chat. If you’re like me and enjoy your coffee or tea without cream or sugar, be prepared to get weird looks and comments from Dominicans. They drink their milk and sugar with a little bit of coffee.

Day 2:

- Traveling with a teen means that I got to enjoy lots of quiet time, because not once during our trip did my daughter wake up in time for breakfast. As a mother of four children ranging in ages from 6 – 13, It’s rare for me to enjoy a quiet breakfast, so on day 2 I got up and left kid 1 sleeping in our room while I enjoyed the included breakfast buffet at the Sheraton Santo Domingo. The buffet includes traditional Dominican breakfast items like mangu, queso frito, boiled yuca, salami and fresh fruit. After breakfast, I lounged by myself poolside while soaking up the morning sun. What a perfect start to what would prove to be an amazing day. Plans for day 2 included a road trip to Las Terrenas beach in Samana. My cousin, her husband and two kids picked us up in front of our hotel and off we went down the new highway to the Samana peninsula. My parents are originally from Samana and Sanchez and thus, I grew up taking long road trips to the Samana beaches, however with the toll road it only took us a little over 2 hours to arrive at a secluded and beautiful beach in Las Terrenas.

- The beaches in the peninsula of Samana on the northeast coast of Dominican Republic are one of the reasons why I’m a total beach snob. The turquoise blue water is bath water temperature and perfect for a swim. The palm tree lined beach provide the perfect mix of sun and shade. It’s literally paradise. If you’re ever in the Samana area, ask a local how to get to Playa Marico near the piedras de las ballenas. You won’t be sorry and you can join me in the ranks of total beach snobs. Las Terrenas is known as a European settlement in Dominican Republic, but it seemed that all of the locals were recovering from a late night, because we enjoyed having the entire beach to ourselves for the morning, prior to heading to lunch.

- Next, we headed to Restaurante Luis in Playa Coson. My cousin called ahead and reserved a table for 6 at the outdoor shack -restaurant, that was packed with locals and tourists. The restaurant consists of an outdoor kitchen – beach hut and outdoor plastic tables and chairs randomly placed on the sandy shores of Playa Coson. The kids literally played in the sand and swam while we waited for our meal. We hand-picked our fish and they cooked them for us while we sipped on pina coladas served in pineapples. I highly recommend eating fresh food while the ocean breeze cools you off and live musicians serenade you. Esa es la buena vida (that’s the good life)! Restaurante Luis is a must for anyone looking to experience Dominican Republic like a local. Just don’t tell too many people and spoil the exclusive vibe of this off the beaten path dive.

- We had packed so much into our one-day road trip to Las Terrenas that we decided to stop by my grandmother’s country home (now owned by my uncle) in Las Garitas. I loved reminiscing with kid 1 about summer vacations running around the campo, eating mangoes right off the trees and spending hours playing outside with neighborhood kids. We drank coffee and ate snacks on the porch with my uncle and cousin while laughing hysterically about our shenanigans as young kids. We were off and back to Santo Domingo by 7 pm. We spent a total of 12 hours including travel time in Samana and were able to pack in a ton in that short period of time. On the way back to Santo Domingo we stopped at Helados Bon for ice cream, because one can’t visit DR and not eat their ice cream.

- Our second day in Santo Domingo ended with what I call adventures in La Zona Colonial. Two of my cousins picked us up at 10 pm post a shower and nap and we headed to the Colonial Zone for a late dinner. Yes, I had my 13-daughter year old out at this time. This is DR and it’s Dominican time. In retrospect, we should have left their car at the Sheraton and taken an Uber to the restaurant, but our adventures in attempting to find a parking spot on a Saturday night in The Colonial Zone just gave us lots of opportunities for laughter. In true teen fashion, kid 1 fell asleep as soon as we got into the car and thank God she did. We drove around for over an hour prior to finding a government parking garage that was full, but the attendant agreed to allow us to park there as long as we were back by 2 am. We walked toward Calle Conde to Jalao Restaurant. Even though it was 11 pm, the Colonial Zone was packed and we quickly learned that there was not one available table inside the Jalao Restaurant, which had a live band and large groups celebrating birthday parties. We were able to score a table outside and ordered our dinner. Dominican Republic is not known for quick service, so we should have guessed that it was going to be a long night, when our waiter warned us that the kitchen was backed up and that we should order soon. It did take 1 hour for our food to come out and we did not make our way back to our car until 1 am. Thankfully, we were among family and we laughed and joked through dinner and loved people watching in the Zona Colonial.

Part 2 of my Mother – Daughter #yestrip will be forthcoming, but prior to signing off I wanted to share a couple pro tips about traveling to Dominican Republic with kids. Also, click here to see more pictures and lives posts from our Yes Trip to Santo Domingo.

Check out my VLOG of Day 1 for many more pictures of our adventures in Santo Domingo.

undefined

youtube

Pro Tips:

- Pack your patience. Americans, especially those of us from the Northeast cities are always in a rush and always have an agenda. Dominican culture is not like that. Even in a major city like Santo Domingo, people move at their own pace (unless you’re driving and then everyone seems to be in a rush).

- Even in March, Santo Domingo is hot. Pack a hat, sunblock and a refillable water bottle like my extra-large hydroflask which helps keep bottled water cold longer in the hot DR sun.

- Practice your Spanish Language skills. Santo Domingo is a bustling city and it’s helpful if you can speak some Spanish.

- As aforementioned, Santo Domingo is a large city and as such I highly recommend that you leave your flashy jewelry and accessories at home. We were two women traveling alone and never felt unsafe. I travel with my favorite Ebag cross bag purse and leave my large wallet safely at home.

- Unless you’re an aggressive driver and have a thirst for adventure, leave the driving to the Dominicans. Car seats and use of seat belts are not common. It may require you to take a deep breath and relax your expectations a bit on this issue.

- Dominicans are friendly people and always ready to engage you in conversation. When traveling with kids, be prepared for total strangers to engage your family in dialogue. Everyone called us familia (family) or prima (cousin). Kid 1 is convinced that Santo Domingo is a city of extroverts.

- Take time to slowly explore the cobble-stoned streets and architecture of the Colonial Zone. Take lots of pictures and make beautiful memories.

- If you’re planning a trip to Samana, I highly recommend going in January and adding a whale watching trip to your itinerary.

- Water is not safe to drink from the tap in Dominican Republic. The Sheraton provided 3 bottles of water per day, which I used to refill my hydroflask water bottle and we picked up bottled water whenever we were out. We had no issues with GI side effects and even ate street food. We travel often though, and as a Dominican I think my GI system is probably stronger than most. If you’re worried about illness, stick to bottled water, ice in hotels and major restaurants are safe to drink.

Day 2 VLOG with many more pictures:

0 notes

canaryatlaw · 6 years

Text

okay. another long and mostly good day. The vast majority of it was good but I got slightly peeved at my family and of course particularly at my asshole (older) brother, but whatever. Jess’ alarm went off at 8, and we started getting dressed. I was doing my Ramona Flowers cosplay today, and I was pretty sure I was going to melt because the outfit was legit a hoodie and then another jacket over that, but I did my best to find ones that were described as lightweight. I was doing normal make up today so I ddi that and then we headed out. My house perpetually never has breakfast food, so we stopped at McDonalds for food and coffee, and then we were on our way. The ride there and back went pretty smoothly both days, nothing really crazy that would be an issue. We got there right around 10 when it opened, and there was quite a line to get past security and inside, so we had to wait outside and I was doing my best not to totally overheat lol. I set the metal detector off at the juvenile courthouse so many times that now whenever I walk through one and don’t set it off, it feels like an accomplishment honestly 😂 but we got in, Brandon wasn’t out yet so we browsed for a while mostly looking at funko pops, Jess wanted the ATOM of course and I was casually looking for Ramona since I know they have one and that would be cool to have. I’m also going to buy the Elektra from Daredevil pop at some point, just haven’t gotten around to it yet (and my stack of dark haired women that can kick your ass funko pops is getting quite tall lately). We also went back to the t-shirt place from yesterday and browsed for a bit, I resisted the temptation to buy more wonder woman shirts, partially because they were just in unisex sizes that I don’t like how they fit me. But I did get the “Nelson and Murdock: attorneys at law” shirt I wanted so that made me happy. It reminds me of my first year legal writing class which is all graded anonymously through your student ID number so our prof said we could make up a name to actually sign it with, and I ended up putting “Sara Lance, Assassins at Law” as opposed to attorneys at law and I felt very clever lol. I’m pretty sure I put the address as like 123 Comingforyou drive too. Good times. So then we made our way back to Brandon’s table as he had arrived, so we were good and waited in line, then talked to him of course, he noticed and complimented my cosplay immediately, a lot of people actually told me they liked it which I was pleased to hear because she has a lot of different outfits in the movie and it’s not like you’re gonna memorize every one, but I’m sure the wig with the rather distinctive larger pieces in the front helped. So we chatted with him and took some selfies, which thankfully look better than the ones from yesterday that were god awful. I told him I wanted to do a fighting photo op pose, so we were prepared for that. The photo op wasn’t till 1:30 though and we didn't have much else to be, and Brandon was kinda swamped so we couldn’t really just chill with him. So we walked around a bit more then ended up sitting in front of their main panel stage, and happened to watch the kids costume contest, which was sooooooo adorable, so many precious children. the one who takes the kid though was definitely this little boy who dressed as a transformer, with like, incredible detail and care, but the kicker is when he lays down HE CAN ACTUALLY TRANSFORM INTO A TRUCK and if that’s not the coolest idea ever I don’t know what is. So, unsurprisingly, he won, got some sort of star wars land speeder things, idk. That started at 12 and we wanted to be at the photo op at like 1 because they tended to start early. Brandon wasn’t at his table, so we talked to his handlers for a bit, who are both super nice and like, actual friends with Jess now lol, so we did that before going to the photo op, and unsurprisingly they started like 20 minutes before the scheduled time. We were sent to wait behind the photo set up and I’m standing there waiting and this guy in a fucking spider-man costume just like, walks past me and places himself on line and I really, really wanted to be like “hey asswipe, do you actually know how not to be a fucking moron??” but the small amount of common sense I do have decided that it wasn’t worth it so I just glared at him periodically. When I got into the photo op we kind of figured out our pose and then took the photo, and it came out super good, I’ll grab it and post it on here in a minute (well, when I’m done here). Once we had the photo we went back over to the table and shamelessly cut the line (wow I’m a hypocrite but like we have street cred here we can do that) to show Brandon the photo op, and he of course signed it without me even asking, and wrote a very funny message about the two characters, so that made me happy. Having done the rounds a lot and not really having much else to do we decided to say goodbye and head out, Brandon was leaving at 3 anyway so he could get back to Courtney and their son for Father’s Day (awwwwww). Saying goodbye is always hard and like, it’s hard to say when we might see him again since not a whole lot of stuff has been announced so far. I definitely did miss Courtney being there too. But anyway, we headed out and decided we needed some lunch, so I decided Jess needed to try authentic New York pizza (on the hierarchy of NY foods non-Yankees need to try while here is like 1) bagels 2) pizza 3) either carvel or friendly’s, 4) kosher delis 5) diners, and 6) normal delis). so I just googled mapped the nearest pizzeria and went there, because I know we can get fab pizza at any place there, and it was very fab! I love getting pizza whenever I’m here, so it was really a must. Jess very much enjoyed hers, even if she continues to talk about how Chicago deep dish is better, but I’m quite aware that’s more to antagonize me than an actual opinion at this point 😂 when we were walking out she was yelling like “DEEP DISH IS BETTER!!!” and I was like “careful, you can get shot for saying stuff like that here” and this random guy who was walking away from his car was like “I’ll get the gun” and we both basically died laughing. Drive home was fine, hit a bit of traffic but nothing bad. When we were right about to pass a Carvel I had the bright idea to ask if Jess wanted ice cream (because I always want ice cream, of course) and she said heck yeah so we pulled into the place. I got my favorite vanilla soft serve with chocolate crunches on the outside and in a waffle cone, Jess ended up order a combination of their three different types of sherbet that they made especially for her 😂 it was also funny because we were chatting a little with this lady standing next to us, whom we discovered was also from Chicago and was here visiting, lol. so that was good. Carvel doesn’t have a seating area or anything, so we just went back to the car to eat them, and damn, they tasted so good, but it took sooo long to finish them (and that was the “small” version), When we did finish I drove the rest of the way home, things were a bit busy with everyone prepping for father’s day dinner, one of our family friends was over and in charge of the steaks, so there was all that. We basically just chilled in my room until we got called for dinner, which was being held outside at the table on the patio, which is always nice. Dinner was pretty good, things were pretty solid, We broke before dessert and then rejoined a bit later, and while dessert was very lovely my asshole older brother started making asshole comments and like....objectively it was nothing, I know it was nothing, but it just makes me so damn mad when he says does things like laughing at me and then saying “oh please, Rachel would be a terrible lawyer for (specific area of law” and I really just wanted to get up and punch him and like.....I hate this so much because I so want to be at a point where stupid little things like that don’t get under my skin, but honestly the stupidest little jerk comments just trigger all these emotions in me because this, and much, much worse, happened for so many years, and when he does it now it’s like I’m right back there, living a life I desperately wanted to get out of any way possible- any way at all. Of course it only got worse from there, because we were talking about job shit and my parents were pulling more of this “well you’re just going to come to New York even though you’ve told us like 12 times on this trip that you want to stay in Illinois” and just like the fact that they really don’t seem to give a damn about how I feel about major decisions in my life and that’s really infuriating. And then of course the friend of my father’s came up in conversation and it was the guy who posted the creepy comment about “smiling” on my facebook photo and I said so, and then of course nobody took me serious at all, they’re all laughing and making fun of me for even being creeped out about this and it was surely not what he intended, and I mean, of course I held back that like 10 years ago when I was 16 he messaged me late at night a few times and asked me creepy invasive questions, so one damn comment of “smile” (which is bad enough tbh) meant a whole lot more than that. So I was kinda pissed over them still refusing to take anything I feel into account, they just laugh every time I get upset and mad and I really just want to fucking punch them and be told my feelings are valid for once in my fucking life, for fucking ONCE for one of them to be sorry for something they did to me, fucking tortured me, and the word “sorry” never came to their lips about it, and they think they never did anything wrong, and if I tried to bring it up I would only be mocked and shit on more, and I’m just like I’m done with this. However, within and in between all of this happening, my dad decided the best way to get me to stay in New York would be for them to basically adopt Jess (and I mean, he ain’t wrong) and move us both out here, like he's legit getting in contact with people who might know of teaching jobs because my dad is fucking wild okay. And there is currently at least one semi-viable lawyer position open on LI right now so I mean I’ll see what happens there. My parents seem to be of the opinion that I should stay in NY even if I don't have a job lined up because I’ll get one eventually but like, that’s the exact same situation as Chicago, except I have way more contacts there and dad’s contacts have been totally unsuccessful up to this point, Sigh. This is long, Guess I had a lot to say. After dessert we pretty much retreated to my room and spent the rest of the night in here, with my dad coming in two times setting up information about jobs for both of us, and like, I told Jess before we got here my parents were probably pay her rent if I asked them too, and they definitely proved that this weekend. We didn’t really do anything else before getting ready for bed, so that’s about it. I am super super tired and we fly out early tomorrow morning (not like 6 am thankfully, but 8:30 flight still means I have to get up at six, so I am officially ending this post here so I can actually shut my eyes before the do some involuntarily. Goodnight babes. Stay gorgeous,

#daily journal #June 2018 #Rachel's cosplay adventures

2 notes · View notes