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heavenlyhoundoom · 9 months

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Knd x AWISC au part 2.

(Monty and Benedict enter the school grounds and see Carter run up to them.)

Carter: Monty, Benedict, what's up!?

Monty: Carter, how's my favorite mouse!?

Carter: I'm doing great, how about you?

Monty: I'm doing great as well.

Carter: And how are you doing, Benedict?

Benedict: I'm doing just fine.

Carter: I'm glad to hear that.

(The three enter the school and part ways because Benedict goes to a different class than Monty and Carter, Benedict then comes across his childhood best friend, Linda.)

Linda: Ben!

Benedict: Linda?

(Linda gives Benedict a nice big hug.)

Linda: I'm so happy that you came to school today, and might I say you look very nice.

Benedict: Thank you, I put in a little effort in getting ready today.

Linda: It sure paid off because I love how you look today.

Benedict: You really flatter me, Linda.

(Benedict notices that Linda has a bloody nose.)

Benedict: Is that blood on your nose?

Linda: Oh, crap!

Benedict: Did someone hurt you, because I will do anything to keep you safe.

Linda: No one hurt me, you know how I would bleed from where my antlers were when I was still transitioning?

Benedict: Yeah, wasn't that the side effect of the hormone pills you were taking though?

Linda: Well it was...but after I fully transitioned I kept having annual bleeding, it just migrated to my nose.

Benedict: Really?

Linda: Yep, it's fine through. It's just really scary, bleeding infront of predators sometimes...

Benedict: Why's that?

Linda: Aren't you scared of predators?

Benedict: Well, I was raised by one alongside my brother.

Linda: Oh... right... sorry...

Benedict: You're fine, Linda. Predators stop being as scary when you grow up with a black wolf.

Linda: Yeah, I'm so glad you two were only adopted, I can't imagine how scary you would look if you were actually part wolf.

(There was a moment of silence until Benedict mustered up the courage to talk.)

Benedict: Yeah, Mom's very scary, at least she's not a dangerous as she looks.

(Helen enters the scene.)

Helen: Linda, you're bleeding again!

Linda: Yeah, I was just talking to Ben about it.

Helen: I felt like I could smell your blood a mile away.

Benedict: Can raccoons actually smell that well?

Helen: Maybe, blood has a pretty strong smell, don't you think?

Benedict: It certainly does...(gives Helen a bit of a glare.)

Helen: Okay, Ben. Anyway, do you want me to take you the the infimary, Linda?

Linda: Sure thing, Helen.

Benedict: Wait, wouldn't it be safer for a prey animal to tag along Linda instead?

Linda: Benedict, no need to be so paranoid, Helen may be a predator, but she would never hurt me.

Helen: No, Benedict is right, it would be safer for him to take you to the infirmary... Plus I promised Rachel I'd hang out with her.

Benedict: Who's Rachel?

Helen: Oh, I forgot you went to a different school for a year.

Benedict: Yeah, I did, but I didn't like being away from Linda, so I switched back to this school.

Helen: There are a few new students here and Rachel's one of them.

Linda: Rachel's a little intimidating.

Helen: Oh, come on, Linda. Rachel may be a large predator who doesn't talk much, but she's not that bad.

Linda: I just get a bad feeling from her...

Benedict: Anyways, I think Linda and I should be going now.

Helen: Alright, have fun you two, I'll see you both in class.

The end of part 2

#codename knd #monty uno #benedict uno #ocs #a wolf in sheep's clothing #furry #alternate universe

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spushii · 1 year

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Anne's top 9 first-time album listens* of 2022! (In no particular order)

The end of this year really crept up on me! I definitely didn't get to listen to everything I wanted to, but I still heard a lot of good music. I'll be putting most of this under a cut because it got pretty wordy.

Exploding Head - A Place To Bury Strangers (2009) I guess this is my first real introduction to shoegaze? It's fucking good. To me it sounds kinda darkwave-y? But like all post punk sounds a little goth to me so my opinion is maybe unrefined. Really good album. Top Track: Ego Death

STOMACH BOOK - STOMACH BOOK (2021) God I love this album. God I love Stomach Book. This sound is like emo meets noise pop meets experimental rock, it's intoxicating. Top Track: Our Story

Dead Bodies in the Lake - Ho99o9 (2015) This is a mixtape, not an album, so I'm definitely bending the rules a little to squeeze it in here. This shit just goes so hard. Really hardcore, really industrial, phenomenal fucking sound. Top Track: DeathKult Disciples (999 Anthem)

No Control - Bad Religion (1989) I considered putting either this or Recipe for Hate on this list, but this one won out just barely only for having a couple songs that are very stuck in my head right now. I'd never heard Bad Religion before this year but they very quickly climbed the ranks among my favorite punk artists and artists in general. There's a sort of heart-on-it's-sleeve kind of earnesty to the music that really clicks with me. Love it. Top Track: Anxiety

Frankenchrist - Dead Kennedys (1985) Holy fucking shit. Holy fucking shit? This is literally one of the best punk rock records to ever be recorded. It just doesn't get better than this. Fucking essential. Fucking quintessential. I can't even pick a favorite song here (though I will try,) it's just hit after hit after hit. What an extraordinary album. Life fucking altering. Top Track: This Could Be Anywhere

The Cure - The Cure (2004) God, this might be my favorite The Cure album? Is that insane? There's a lack of the sort of whimsy and elegance that so thoroughly permeates releases like Disintegration or Wish, but in it's place comes this thoroughly disarming intensity that you can't really get from any other release. For The Cure? this is hardcore. I can't get enough of it. Top Track: alt.end

1000 Hurts - Shellac (2000) Yeah I get why this is cult rock now. I get why it's so lauded. Easily one of the best rock albums of all time. Top Track: Prayer to God

Beelzebubba - The Dead Milkmen (1988) Dead Milkmen's really trashy in the bad way a lot of the time and this album isn't an exception. A lot of people will say it 'aged poorly' but I honestly think it was poor for the time as well. This music definitely falls victim to the mentality that plagues a lot of punk of this era where they just say indiscriminate objectionable shit in an explicit attempt to make themselves unpalatable to the broader audience of music fans, but I think that sort of thing only really works when you're punching up. It's not really challenging or subversive otherwise, it's just bigoted. But I think ultimately this album is a lot of fun, and the parts that don't land are few and far between compared to some other releases. Definitely worth a go if you know what you're getting into. Top Tack: Sri Lanka Sex Hotel

AJJ - Live At Third Man Records (2019) *Definitely cheating by including this release here, because I've been listening to this live album since it was released in early May of 2019, but it was this year I realized that this is probably actually my favorite AJJ album of all. I'm a sucker for live renditions of AJJ songs and all of these really hit for me. So worth a listen especially if you're already familiar with their discography. Top Track: Linda Ronstadt

Tagging some friends I'd love to hear more music stuff from, but no pressure! Anyone else who wants to do this is free to also :) @reddd-robin @motordyk @bwooom @kissingthebeehive @beeapocalypse

#annes top albums #canaveral almost made my favorite off 1000 hurts but i just like prayer to god more. its popular for a reason #i wwrote this yesterday and then forgot to post it -_-#also i didnt wait to get tagged or anything i was too excited. i love music and songs

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the-stray-liger · 3 years

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00 crew's favorite things about trips back down to earth?

OH I love this one. I've been thinking abt it all weekend and I'm gonna start with the girls. Also gonna put it under a readmore bc WOW this spiralled out of control

Chris: it's well known that Chris loves shopping. She loves not only getting to buy things she wants for herself but also finding sales and getting really good prices for everyone around her. SHe's also a sucker for tourist traps-if they're going to a famous touristic spot she will be dragging everyone along. But what Chris likes the most is having money to spend and people to spend it with!

Feldt: since she never saw a lot of plants growing up in space, she was fascinated with plant life as soon as she first stepped on earth. She could stare at trees and flowers for days, just shocked that something that barely grows inside a test tube can become so big and beautiful. Chris took her to a botanical garden once and Feldt didn't want to leave.

Sumeragi: Gravity. It's not only that drinking with gravity makes you a lot less dizzy, but the fact that her feet are steady on the ground and that things dont float make her feel safer and saner.

Mileina: FOOD. Nothing makes Mileina happier than getting to try all sorts of different foods, specially street foods that she's never had before. She's gotten food poisoning more times than she can remember but she will stop at nothing. Like Christina, she will drag whoever isn't smart enough to run away into her culinary adventures and she can spend the whole day just eating, she's a bottomless pit.

Anew: Like Feldt, Anew appreciates nature above everything else. She does love space, but there's nothing like going down to earth and seeing the diversity of plants and animals there. But she will join on Mileina's food explorations with no regard for her own safety if nobody stops her.

Linda: She's like Anew and Feldt-nature is her favorite part, because among other things she's spent YEARS of research to grow plants in space and it's so hard but nothing motivates her like seeing how big and beautiful plants can grow on earth. Linda also enjoys history-she loves going to museums, you don't get a lot of those in space and it's always nice to learn about how things were before.

And now for the BOYS

Setsuna: he doesn't particularly like going down to earth, there's not much there for him. But he supposes the gravity isn't bad. At first he doesn't like the crowds, but eventually learns to like the way he can get lost in them.

Neil: another one who doesn't really look forward to trips to earth. For the sake of the younger members of the crew he tags along with them when they go visit some tourist spots and he enjoys it, truly, he likes spending time with everyone outside of work, but it's hard when he has to go alone and tries to avoid it as much as possible

Lyle: the bars and the cafes. Unlike Neil, he really misses earth after a while in space, and what he misses the most is the beer and the coffee. Sure, they have those up there, but there's nothing like sitting down at a cozy old bar or cafe with a good strong beer in a glass or a nice cup of real coffee.

Allelujah: Allelujah loves cities. He loves being surrounded by people, even if crowds can be overwhelming sometimes. After having spending so long drifting alone in space it's a blessing to be surrounded by people, even if they're strangers. Like Linda, he also enjoys history and likes visiting museums and historical sites and knowing about different cultures.

Lichty: he loves trips to the beach, even though he can't really swim (it's hard to come up with excuses when Chris asks him why but so far he's dodged that particular uncomfortable conversation). He loves the warm weather, the sand, the water, seeing Chris in a swimsuit and those silly colorful fruity drinks with a little umbrella on them.

Lasse: Another gravity lover. Lasse doesn't particularly enjoy trips to earth (for him it's a matter of survival because well. you don't really get to just quit the mafia without consequences), but it's a relief to be able to work out with gravity and do weights. He also likes how much space there is, because the Ptolemy might be a large ship and Krung Thep a large colony but his room is so small and everything is so cramped and he gets claustrophobic if he doesn't go out now and then.

Ian: he complains and groans and complains some more but the truth is he loves shopping trips. He has the worst fucking fashion sense in the world but he LOVES buying clothes and shoes. The only time he showed Christina his haul she nearly fucking threw herself out of the airlock but it doesn't matter to him bc buying clothes is SO FUN. Also he enjoys spedning time on earth with his family and will definitely be down to going to museums with Linda, but he's always one of the first victims of Mileina's adventures in street food.

#gundam 00 #THIS GOT OUT OF CONTROL IM SO SORRY

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be-the-creature-fan · 4 years

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The River by be-the-creatue-fan (Read my first story AIN'T NO TIME LIKE 1969 before reading this story)

Chapter 1

"Martin? What are you doing here again? Dr. Corvado was looking everywhere for you!"

Martin turned around to see who was talking to him.

"Mom?! What are you doing here?"

"It's a good thing that we've found you in time." Linda Kratt said as she grabbed Martin arm and took Martin away from the tomb stone.

"Mom, what are you doing? where are you taking me?"

She didn't say a single word and they both continued walking until they got to the parking lot. There stood an ambulance type vehicle with several doctors and police officers that ran towards him.

"Mom? MOM! What are you doing? what's going on!?"

Linda remained silent but her eyes were starting to water up as the doctors restrained him and shoved him into the back. One of the doctors looked very familiar, Martin looked at the name tag that was on the doctors shirt. Dr Corvado.

"Aviva! Oh man it's so good to see a familiar face!"

But Aviva didn't say a word, and ignored him. Martin being very confused still tried to talk to her, but with no luck.

"Aviva it's me Martin, Me, You, Chris, Koki and Jimmy would go around the world to rescue animals. you're a genius inventor and-"

"Smith! he's speaking crazy talk again, we should probably give him the shot now."

"Alright Corvado he's your patient."

"Wait what shot? Aviva you have to listen to me we were friends you have to beli-"

And just like that Martin was out cold.

Chapter 2

(Flashback to July 20th 1973)

It was what you would call a perfect summer day, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and excitement was still in the air. Chris had just celebrated his 4th birthday and he was still hyped about being another year older, but he was even more excited to go with Martin and his older sisters to the near by river at the place where the whole family camped.

"Bill are you sure Chris is old enough to go with them to that river?"

"Linda, of course he's old enough, they're going to the shallow part of the river, and plus I'll be close by incase the kids need anything."

"Oh alright, have fun you guys!"

As Bill, Martin, his sisters and Chris got closer to the river the more excited Chris became.

"Martin are we there yet?"

"It's going to be awhile until we get there, but don't worry we'll be in there in no time"

But Chris wasn't the most patient kid and decided to run ahead.

"Now Chris don't run to far ahead yah hear!" Bill called out.

"I won't!"

After a while of walking and running they finally made it to the river, only to find it flooded from the storm the night before.

"Welp, looks like we can't go swimming gang"

"WHAT!? But why Daddy?" Chris winned

"Well you see squirt, the river is over flooded, it's too dangerous to go swimming, but, it's not to dangerous to go berry picking" Bill said as he pointed towards some blackberry bushes. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Uh I guess" Chris said a little disappointed.

So Martin, his sisters and Chris started picking blackberries close to the river as Bill went fishing just up river not to far from them.

"Man it's hot outside, I'm gonna cool off in the river"

"But Martin, Daddy said to not go in the river because it's to dangerous" Chris said

"Yea, he said it was dangerous for you because your to little"

"I'm not too little, I just turned 4!"

"Yea, and I'm 7 almost 8, I'm technically a man, and I'm old enough to go into the river if I want to."

Chris didn't take that to kindly and wanted to prove that he wasn't the little kid that everybody thought he was. When no one was watching he decided that's when he would make his move to go into the river.

"Chris what are you doing?" Susan said (one of the twin sisters)

Chris didn't respond as he jumped into the river. Chris underestimated the depth and power of the river as he was swept away by the strong current.

"MARTIN! Chris jumped in the river!" "He's getting carried down river!"Both Christine and Susan screamed.

Martin turned around to see Chris's head pop out for a split second, before the current pulled it back down.

"Susan! Go and get Dad! Me and Christine will try to get Chris out!"

Susan ran to get Bill as Martin got out of the river because even he knew that the current was to strong for him.

"MARTIN! HELP ME! *GASP* MOMMA ,PAPA *GASP* SAVE ME!...... save me....." Chris's head went under again.

"CHRIS! NOOOOO!"

(A few hours later)

Mr and Mrs. Kratt, we've found your son's body down river and I regret to inform you that your son didn't make . We are so sorry for your lost. we need-....................................

Martin and his sisters were sitting inside the trailer, he could hear his mom screaming in agony, he looked out the window to see them both crying. That's when Martin knew, but that's not how it was happen, Chris didn't die, he couldn't have died, he didn't die, he didn't die, he didn't die!

(Back in Present day)

Martin woke up to find himself in what seemed to be some sort of jail cell.

"Martin, you awake?"

"Jimmy? Is that you?"

Chapter 3

"Jimmy! Oh my gosh I'm so glad you're here! Where is here anyways"

"We're in some sort of insane esylem, but that's all I know because HOW ON EARTH DID WE GET HERE!!!"

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Well, I was asleep in the Tortuga and the next thing I heard was sombody screaming and when I woke up I ended up here. I saw Aviva but for some reason she didn't respond, it was like she didn't recognize me"

"Wait do you remember Chris being alive?"

"Yea why wouldn't he be alive...unless. What happened while I was asleep?"

Martin explained what had happened to him, Chris's gravestone. the strange dream and how Aviva treated him on his way to the esylem.

"Oh my gosh...OH MY GOSH!"

"Jimmy what is it?"

"Its all wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen, when Chris went to the past, something happened that messed up the space time continuum."

"Well, how are we going to fix it?!"

"I-I don't know, its going to be hard to find the cause of how or what caused this to be our new reality. Time is very complicated stuff."

"Wait, how do you know about this stuff?"

"Martin, I don't just sleep, eat pizza and play video games all day. I usually subcaunsely listen to what Aviva and Koki talk about when it comes to complicated things like time trampolines and such."

"Oh"

"Hey Cell 37! SHUT UP!"

Martin and Jimmy turned to see one of the guards banging his fist on thier cell door. Then they saw the shadows of two other faceless figures before the door opened.

"I don't know how you escaped this time, but we'll make sure that it doesn't happen again yah hear?" The first person said

Martin and Jimmy were very confused as the 2nd figure walked in. Aviva walked in with a huge syringe. That was the last thing both Martin and Jimmy remembered.

Chapter 4

Martin and Jimmy were laying on their bunks. Numb, Cold, Afraid, their heads were pounding and they both were uncontrollable twitching. Martin's eyes began to water from the pain that he felt. Jimmy on the other hand felt anger and rage, his blood began to boil. Jimmy jumped from his bunk and ran to their cell door.

"YOU HEARTLESS SWINE!!! WE'RE NOT THE CRAZY ONES, YOU'RE THE CRAZY BIT-"

"Jimmy?" Martin said with a weak voice. "Was Chris ever alive? Or was I just crazy this whole time?"

"No, Martin, your not crazy, we're not crazy, Chris was alive. He was alive..."

The Next few days were rough for Jimmy and Martin as their hope began to dwindle. Martin kept having the same nightmares of his brother's death as well as having the same horrible dream of him just disappearing from existence like what he had originally witnessed, as the days passed it was getting harder to believe what was true. Jimmy was also going through a rough time. He still felt utterly betrayed by Aviva and missed Koki dearly.

"I wonder where Koki is?"

"Who knows." Martin said kind of miffed

"You know I loved her, right? I-I wanted to tell her how I felt...b-but I was always too chicken, a-and now I might never get the chance."

"Well sucks to be you. At least Koki might be alive somewhere, but guess what, Chris is dead and everyone thinks I'm a looney!"

Jimmy fell silent as he was to angry to say a word.

Weeks turned into months and not a word was spoken.

Until one day Martin overheard a conversation.

"I think I did it!"

"Did what Ms Corvado?"

"Well, for the past couple of years I've been working on a time machine and now I've think I've done it!"

"So she has been working on a time machine" Jimmy said kind of miffed.

"But what good would that do" Martin said feeling rather hopeless "it not like we can fix any of this, or can we..."

(Meanwhile with Chris)

Martin, that was the last thing Chris saw before he felt as if he was drowning. Fear was the last feeling that Chris had before he dissapeared into the abyss.

"Wh-Where am I?"

But the only response he got was an echo. His surroundings were white at first before becoming more clear. The first thing that came into focus was the green grass and the surrounding tombstones, soon more things came into focus he spotted Martin standing infront of one of the tombstones.

"Martin!" Chris yelled as he ran towards his brother to embrace him, but he went right through him.

Martin didn't hear him, he couldn't hear him, he couldn't feel him, Chris was nothing more than a soul.

(I'm putting this story on hold I am so sorry for leaving this on a cliff hanger I just need to think how I'm going to continue the story because honestly I ran out of ideas. Oop)

#wild kratts #kratt brothers #chris kratt #martin kratt #why am i doing this #please help me #major oof

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slowlymadeart · 5 years

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Does anyone know what happened to Christine Miserandino?

The woman who created "The Spoon Theory".

I'm currently working on a comic explaining what a "Spoonie" is, where it comes from, etc. I planned on the comic having a drawing of her towards the beginning, with words around her like "Awesome person, inspiring advocate. Put on some awesome awareness events. Apparently owns a GIANT SPOON. You can check out her website here!"

Along with depiction of the story from her famous Spoon Theory essay.

I wanted any info to be current or helpful to whatever she may be apart of now, so I started digging, but...

Her website is out of date (normal enough) but ALL her social media post ended around March of 2018. The last being a tweet on being extra tired and depressed. Her more personal Instagram account ended,

Even her Pinterest.

Which I found on accident, but still.

I'm going to guess she got too tired to keep all the social media going/focused on her life. (No shame in that. You go, Glenn Coco , Christine Miserandino).

So, because I'm not sure reaching out to her would be an option (and because "Spoonie" is so widely used I think it's amazing we can trace the word back to a source, so I want to make that source public knowledge. Because in her own way, she really seems to have worked her ass off for chronic illness awareness and positively influenced a massive amount of people in the disabled community)

Does anyone know what happened?

(Is she okay? Can we all chip in a send her flowers? Is the internet mad at her for some reason unknown to me and it drove her away? Should I be worried or let it go? Is she doing what David Bowie did and anonymously spying around the internet, and is reading now this post?)

I'm not trying to make this a big deal or anything. Especially if it's a matter of privacy. She's just important. I hope wherever you are, Christine, that life is treating you with kindness.

EDIT:

We found her

Well @peggydeservesbetter did. And @babyslime (who's tag doesn't work for some reason) added some important info.

She's currently using this facebook

Or rather, her friend Linda is managing most of the post there:

.... I still think we should all chip in and get her flowers....fill her house with flowers.....

(Read notes for more info! I'll be reaching out to Linda to see if there's anything we could do to show Christine some love and appreciation in a non-overwhelming and healthy way.)

#spoonie #christinemiserandino #Christine Miserandino #ButYouDon'tlookSick #but you don't look sick

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 years

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Nuestra Familia (RCD MC: Astrid)

Book: Red Carpet Diaries

Rating: G

Pairing: Astrid-centric, minor Seth x Astrid

Summary: Astrid realises she doesn't know her family as well she had thought. Minor crossover with The Freshman/The Sophomore/The Junior.

Author's Note: This is a bit late for MC Appreciation Week, but I figured I'd put it out there anyway. This is my origin story for Astrid Ortega, my second RCD MC, who is involved with Seth. There's a cameo of one character from TF/TS/TJ in the end and I have a feeling you folks have already figured out who it is 😅 I used (of course) the "crossover" prompt from this list for my fic. I'm tagging @choices-mc-rules, in case they would still like to reblog this.

Translations:

Nuestra familia - "our family" in Spanish.

Chanclas - slippers/flip-flops

Tres leches cake - Typically a very moist chiffon cake soaked in a mixture of evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream. Tres leches literally means "three milks".

Abuela - one of the terms used for ‘grandmother’ in Spanish.

Ita - Short for Abuelita, also used for grandmothers. Astrid calls her grandmother the former, her mom Teresa calls her grandmother the latter.

Manda Huevos - Can mean a lot of things according to context, but generally used to express a range of emotions, such as annoyance, disappointment, contempt or disbelief. In this context, Teresa means “it's not fair”.

If I've gotten anything wrong in terms of references, please do tell me, and I'll definitely fix it in the fic.

“One more foot inside my kitchen and it'll be my chanclas for you later.”

Teresa Ortega said these words to her daughter Astrid, in the same tone one would use to offer a guest some tea.

It wasn't that her mom didn't allow her kids to help with the cooking. She did. Salome was too young to do much but set the table yet but Astrid (and her big sister Letitia, whenever she was home) often pitched in to help with the meal.

But heaven help anyone who tried to help Mom with her tres leches cake.

This recipe was from Mom's Ita’s faded little diary, passed down to her by her mother on the condition that she would learn its recipes off by heart. It was her pride and joy, Mom would often say. Her baby before her actual babies came along.

And today it was even more essential Mom get this cake right. Astrid's abuela was visiting, and ever since Astrid's mother insisted on naming her Astrid (“She’s already named my first and last - at least leave the middle one to me!”) she could do nothing right.

Perhaps it would've been easier to handle if Dad wasn't Abuela's only son, if Mom had someone she could jointly ignore Abuela with, if they had cousins they could play with while the adults sorted out their issues. Or perhaps not. Still, it would have been nice to know.

“Easy, mom, I'm not going to touch your precious cake,” Astrid said, grinning, “Lemme demolish it at lunch instead.”

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted, though. She could get the scent of baked cake wafting in all the way from her bedroom, and her mother was already starting to combine Carnation milk, condensed milk and 1/4th of a cup of heavy cream into a thin, but somewhat creamy, mixture.

Mom raised her eyebrows. “Why are you here, then?”

Astrid felt the muscles around her neck tense up, but schooled her face to a look of injured innocence. “What, can't I just want to talk to my mom once in a while?”

She craned her neck a little further behind Astrid, a tiny frown beginning to form between her brows. “What's that you're holding behind your back?”

Ding! The cake was ready now, just in time for soaking. Astrid let out a sigh of relief. She wanted Mom to see this wedding card, yes - it was why she came to the kitchen in the first place - but now was probably not the time for questions. Questions about family or about secrets. Not when she knew how important it was for her mother to get her weekend cakes right.

“Family” was always a big deal around the Ortega table. Dad was his mother's only child, and Mom’s parents passed on long before any of them were ever born. Her father was as annoyed by Abuela's antics as her mother was, but it never stopped him from having her visit every Sunday because “she's the only family we have left”.

It was as if he needed her to keep himself rooted, as if without her he would be floating aimlessly, no aim or identity, taking his wife and children down that path with him. Abuela knew this. By God, did she know this.

Or so I thought, Astrid said to herself, gripping the wedding card tightly and creating new creases where the word Ortega was written.

Mom was gritting her teeth now, carefully pouring the three-milk mixture over the cake and muttering to herself. “One more word about dry cake this time and I'll give her soggy toast, I swear I will.”

Astrid would have stood up last week and said something to Abuela, if only Mom would let her. It was probably a good thing Leticia wasn't around, she'd fire shots at Abuela for less. She was protective over all of them and often in the heat of the moment she'd forget she’d be landing them all in further trouble.

She was still muttering. “Wants chiffon cake. Screams bloody murder if I use box mix. What, Teresa, looking for shortcuts again?” Mom's voice was raised in an accurately nasal imitation of Abuela's voice. It was almost like she'd forgotten Astrid was there. “Then I make it from scratch like she wants. Then it's Oh Teresa this is so dry oh Teresa it tastes like sawdust. Why else do you think I use box mix, eh? You want it from scratch and you want moist. ¡Manda Huevos!”

The diatribe kept Mom occupied while she finished pouring, so Astrid kept silent. Mom needed this. This wasn't something she can say in front of Letitia (resulting in another Sunday screaming match) or Dad (what would he do?) or Salome (no way would the kid ever take Salome, language! seriously again). Mom needed someone to have her back, no matter how silently or secretly. And that someone had better be her.

“If only Linda had stayed…”

Astrid froze. “What did you say?”

Mom looked up, blinked twice, then stiffened. “Nothing. Nothing.”

Silently, Astrid handed over the card she'd been holding, all this time. She found it while searching for her dad's treasured García Lorca poetry collection, hidden between a page that exalted love and a page that mourned loss.

Mom took it from her, her eyes widening as she read the words.

LINDA ORTEGA

and

DOMINIC SANDOVAL

request the honour of your company at their wedding.

“Dad always told us he was all Abuela has, right,” Astrid said, “The only Ortega for miles around."

Mom answered by busying herself with more activity than ever. Keeping the soaked cake in the fridge. Pouring the remaining milk mixture into two glasses. Washing her hands. Washing the dishes.

“I'll do that for you,” Astrid took a plate from Mom's hands, “Just talk to me.” She grabbed a sponge and dish washing soap, cleaning vigorously. “All this time, Dad's been telling us Abuela's the only family he has, Mom. Like, he has no one else. Like, we have no sisters or brothers besides the three of us. Was he lying?”

“You're wrong,” Mom said, her voice suddenly sounding sharper, harder, “Abuela's the only family he has left. Your father didn't lie.”

“Just omitted the truth, yeah,” Astrid wished she knew how she felt about this. Right now there was so much she was feeling that she didn't exactly know where to begin. “There's no “together with our parents” above their names either. Not like yours’.”

Mom sighed, picked the card up, then held up two glasses of milk-mixture in front of her. “Take one and give the other to your sister. I have a lot of work to do.”

On any other day, Astrid would have grabbed that glass and relished its creaminess, wiping the milk-moustache off her mouth with a flourish. But today no amount of sweetness was going to take away that weird metallic taste in the roof of her mouth.

“I'm not done asking about this,” Astrid said, scowling, “to you or to Dad. If I have aunts and cousins out there, that's something I wanna know.”

Astrid did try in the weeks to come. But she never saw the wedding card again, and neither Mom or Dad ever responded when she raised the topic again. Still. It felt nice to dream.

Every time Abuela made a snide remark at lunch, she imagined her cousins there. A snarky younger girl who’d make smartass comments. A strong boy her age who’d shut Abuela up with just a glare. A nice aunt who’d take Mom's mind off all this nonsense. It didn't help much, but it felt nice.

It felt nice knowing she had company out there. Somewhere.

6 years later.

“Donuts, Iowa?” Seth’s eyes were gleaming at the prospect. He was more a bag-of-chips kinda guy most days, but he also liked having massive sugar rushes before a comedy gig.

“As long as the insides of six of those are practically spilling over with fruit jam, I'm game,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. It felt exhilarating, freeing. She hadn't felt this normal in a while - normal enough to kiss her boyfriend without worrying about paparazzo jumping out from a bush. There was a guy in a leather jacket she didn't recognize - three blocks across - looking at her like he wanted to talk, but not in a way that made her feel unsafe.

That was the nice thing about Northbridge. People looked, sure, but they were less likely to make you feel like an exhibit from a zoo.

“Wait here, yeah?” Seth said, planting a kiss on the lips instead, “I'll be back before you can finish spelling “OHIO” with your arms.”

Astrid laughed. Seth said the most Ohio things sometimes. Neither of them had had this much fun since she was offered a lead role in Tender Nothings, which was why Seth always jumped at a chance to take up gigs in Northbridge, and why he always offered to take Astrid along when she was free.

The guy from before stepped forward a few minutes after Seth entered the donut shop. The summer heat must have been too much for him - his leather jacket was now slung over his shoulders. “Um, hello. Astrid Ortega?”

He stood with his hands in his pockets, mouth pursed into a thin line, a tiny curl slipping carelessly from his hair and resting on his forehead. She caught a peek at the tail end of a bird tattoo (Owl? The tail looked pointy) on his left arm.

“Yeah,” Astrid said, wondering whether it was her or Seth he wanted to talk to, “but I don't know what your name is.”

“ Zigmund. Zig for short,” he replied, looking behind him from time to time, “My sister Lucy’s a big fan. Asked me to help her get an autograph from you.”

“Is she here?”

“Yeah. But she doesn't want to come out. She's shy.”

Ah. So that was the cherry-red blur barely hidden by that building. She learned long ago that no matter how friendly you appeared, your image would precede you and intimidate people anyway. Autographs were great, but somehow she didn't want to stop at just that.

“Would she come out now if I asked?” she gave him her sunniest smile, “Tell her I won't bite.”

Zig hesitated, then nodded. Astrid watched him walk to the other building, move his hands expressively as he tried to convince his sister to join him (from that angle he almost looks like Letitia, Astrid thought), and return with a curly-haired, starry-eyed teenage girl.

“H-hey,” she said, then blushed, clearly embarrassed by her nervousness. Silently, she hands over her autograph book. She keeps her eyes studiously away from Astrid's face. “I, um, I like mystery films, and I really, really liked Tender Nothings.”

A girl after my own heart. “Maybe you'll like Sunset Boulevard, then,” she said, smiling.

Astrid could have just signed and left it at that, but there was something about these two. Something about the way they stood together, or exchanged glances, or something, that reminded her of home. Which was silly. But it didn’t change the fact that she wanted to leave a good impression on them.

“What would you like to be when you grow up, Lucy?”

Lucy didn't miss a beat. “Ballet dancer. Like my brother.”

Astrid smiled, particularly at the look the girl gave Zig. Yes, she could see on second glance that even though some people would say he didn't have the body of a dancer, he held himself with a certain grace, a certain lightness that belied a stronger core. Hit by a sudden rush of inspiration, she quickly scribbled a little note to go with her signature, and asked Lucy to read it.

To Lucy and Zig, future (hopefully!) best ballet dancing duo in America. Be sure to save me a seat when you folks get famous. Love Always, Astrid.

“Wowwww,” Lucy whispered. Zig suppressed his smile, trying not to let how he felt show, and failed. A corner of his mouth lifted upwards, revealing an almost-invisible dimple.

The two left before Seth brought his box of donuts,but they thanked her at least thrice as they walked away.

“Wait till I tell Mom about this,” Astrid overheard Lucy tell her brother as they left, “I told you she'd be really, really nice.”

“You did,” there was a note of indulgence in Zig's voice.

"Ortegas all around the world. Wherever we're from, we're nice.”

Had Seth come out a moment later, Astrid would have probably walked up to them and asked. Perhaps asked them where they were from and their parents’ names.

But Seth was here, with donuts, and there was never a moment she could take her eyes off either.

“Do you know those two?” Seth asked her, passing her a tres leches cake donut that was claimed to be one of their best, “They looked familiar.”

“”No,” Astrid replied, closing her eyes in bliss. Mmmm. The treat was taking her back to Des Moines, back to home, back to her mother's little kitchen. “But I wouldn't mind meeting them again.”

#fanfic #red carpet diaries #the freshman #the sophomore #the junior #rcd mc #astrid ortega #seth levine #zig ortega #lucy ortega #seth x astrid #playchoices crossover #seth x mc #mc appreciation week

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