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thethumpergod · 7 months

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Getting to know you! (Lambert X Aiden Modern AU)

It was three days later.

The swelling on his nose eased up quickly, but it still stung like a bitch. He was rooting around for some food when he noticed that a piece of paper next to the pile of documents for work remained on the kitchen table. Lambert couldn’t bring himself to write back or say hello. He wasn’t chickening out or anything. He didn’t know what to say. Plus, he had better things to do. He needed to find decorations for his apartment. He just enjoyed his alone time and still had countless things on his list to do… Yeah.

Lambert had nothing to be nervous about. He is just taking his time to come up with a seamless way to befriend his neighbor. It was sparing Aiden, so he didn’t have to suffer whatever dumb things fell out of his mouth. He embarrassed himself in front of the man; he wanted at least some of his respect back.

It's late in the afternoon, and the sun is casting shadows on the roads. The sky had an orange hue, leaving a shine on anything reflective. Lambert had an afternoon to enjoy by himself; Aiden could wait. He finished eating the takeout from two days ago and then went to find running shoes.

When he finally got out the door, he checked the hall for any sign of the man. The coast was clear. Lambert didn’t need any distractions while he went on his jog. He steps down the stairs and heads in the direction of the park.

Some people around the complex walked their dogs, chatted with others, or took out the trash. A few people waved at him, stopping for a second to look at his nose. Some gave him an annoyed look. Perhaps he wasn't as quiet as he should have been on his way home drunk.

"Neighbor!"

Lambert nearly busted his face on the sidewalk as he halted. He could see Aiden jogging up to meet with him. The man wore a sleeveless hoodie, which showed off way more arm than was needed. His pants were worse; they were a crime. The inky workout pants looked tight enough to be a second skin. "Tried to get into someone else’s house?" Aiden observed him, with an amused tone.

"No. Work mishap," Lambert said, snorting.

"Oh." Aiden hums. "Can I join you?"

Lambert decides to bite the bullet and nods. He might as well get used to the guy who lives across the hall from him.

"Are you new to town? I haven’t seen you before." Aiden says as he begins pacing beside him, just close enough to get a good look at his face. His neighbor was taller than him by maybe two or three inches but had a slimmer build.

"I’ve lived in the town before, but I’ve never hung around this part." Lambert finally spoke as the silence became too noticeable.

"I could show you around if you want. There are some great spots around town," Aiden suggested. "What do you like?"

"Normally I go to the pub down the road. I usually am out at night because of my job." Lambert looks over at Aiden to see his eyebrows scrunched in what looks like concern. Shit, the last time Aiden saw him, he was drunk as all hell. He doesn't want his fucking neighbor to think he has a problem. "But, uh, I guess I could try something else."

Aiden smiled softly and then said, "Hm. There is this café called The House of Cats, which I'm a fan of. It’s south of the apartments, going into downtown."

"Yeah, that sounds great," Lambert lied. He only ever went to those on dates or when Ciri dragged him into one. The coffee menus at those kinds of places were overly complicated and, frankly, overpriced. If pretending to like them saves him from embarrassing himself, then he’ll take it.

"They have a frappe I would kill for." The man chatters on, not noticing the other's awkwardness. Lambert praises every god he can think of for that. The man starts going on about the café, telling him his favorite things on the menu. Lambert is half listening to his rambling. "It's an excellent place to socialize. I'm friends with the owners as well." Aiden pauses for a moment, then looks at him. "I realize I don't know your name."

"I’m Lambert. Is the café sponsoring you or something?"

The man looks down at him with a raised brow, then laughs, "I do owe Dragonfly some money from a bet, but I'm not sponsored." Aiden gestured to him. "Oh, where are my manners? Tell me about yourself!"

"Shit. I, uh, have a niece and two brothers."

"Hm, I was raised with my little brother by my stepdad," he says with a wide smile. "I also have a lot of people I'm close with around town."

"I don't know too many people around here." Lambert looked ahead of himself, counting how many traffic lights he could find as they continued walking.

"The café has plenty of nice people; maybe you could make a friend or two," Aiden replied, nearly hopping on his feet.

"Wait. This a cult or some shit, isn’t it?"

"Ha. You sure like to swear."

Lambert doesn't check because he knows the guy still has a smirk on his face. He snickers at that. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I was in the presence of royalty. Should I bow or something?"

Aiden continued to look at him, the smugness somehow becoming more apparent. "You're normally prickly, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not offended by your cursing; it's just something I noticed," he said, tossing him a playful wink.

Lambert's eyes drifted wordlessly to the taller man. He made around five different facial expressions before trying to settle back into forced nonchalance. He could feel the heat spreading across his face, for whatever reason. The other man walked beside him, seeming comfortable in the new silence.

Okay, so his neighbor is teasing him; there’s no reason to get bothered by that. He took another slow breath, reminding himself of his goal. He is trying to make a friend. He can do this. "Where did you learn to fight?"

"I got bullied a lot as a kid for being small, so my stepdad made me take kickboxing classes. I did that from middle school to college."

"That explains it."

"Yeah," he snorts.

"You have a good kick; I thought my back was going to break."

Aiden smiles and says, "I may go a little too hard on leg day."

"I know you can see it," Lambert said impulsively. Shit! Fuck, why did he say that!

The man giggles and then eyes the path. He could see the multicolored cement that served as the foundation of the playground ahead.

They were already at the park nearby; the jog had gone by faster than he thought. Turning on his feet, he paces back to the apartments, and Aiden tracks along.

"You got a solid hit in with that knee to my gut," Aiden says, watching the stores as they passed by.

"Yeah, thanks." Lambert puffed his chest out. Even when he was shitfaced, he could get Aiden down a little.

"You must work out a lot too," Aiden says, glancing over at him.

"Right, right. Thanks." He nearly choked at that.

There was a ringing sound, and Aiden fished in his hoodie pocket. He sighs and then answers his phone.

"Yes, I thought I sent it last night. Sigh—I'll check to see if there's another way to send that report."

"Work?" Lambert replied gruffly.

"Yeah, it was nice to jog with you, but my coworker would strangle me if I don't get my reports in," Aiden says as he speeds up ahead of him, waving as he runs. "I hope your nose heals! It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah, see you!"

Before he knew it, Aiden was gone.

Lambert shook his head. He's never had a neighbor invite him to a café before. He could handle this; Lambert can have a friendship with the guy across the hall. Why is he worried? He knows how to fucking make friends! He just needs to be nice...

Lambert made his way up the stairs, counting his steps. He's sure he burned more calories than necessary. His legs wanted to give out by now, turning into jelly from overuse. He hunts in his pocket, finding his keys, which thank fuck, are there. Opening the door, he saw a piece of paper pushed under it.

"I swear this better not be a complaint or some shit already!" he said to himself. He grunted, picking up the letter. It reads,

"Hey, it's me again! Thanks for the run and all. If you're down for the café or hanging out, here's my number. - Aiden"

Lambert nearly high-fives himself; he didn't fuck up that bad! He was a few steps closer to making a friend. Grabbing water from the barren fridge, he paces around. He needed to figure out when to text him. Should he wait a few days to appear relaxed? What time of day should he text? Does he like calls? Lambert groans and lets himself fall onto the couch.

He needs something to keep his mind off this stuff—maybe a hobby? Eskel recused animals, and Geralt had the weird shit he liked...

Rarely did he go out to do anything that wasn't repairing stuff, getting in trouble, working, or drinking. When it happened, it was usually stuff involving Ciri or helping his brothers with something stupid, like when he had to pick Eskel up after the dude woke up naked in the woods. There was a time when Ciri and he went to the park, trying to catch a duck. To his shock, the kid did it. She wanted to keep it, and Yen wanted to murder Lambert. Good times.

The apartment was quiet. There were still boxes that needed to be unpacked. In all honesty, the place was desolate. Lambert wasn't good at decorating, not like his brothers. He would ask Yen, but he would rather not hear her commentary. He didn't even know where to start. Maybe posters? Nah, that’s not it either.

It takes him an hour to unpack the rest of the boxes. It was mainly kitchen items and clothes for the winter. Again, Lambert had nothing to do.

Sighing, he pulls out his phone. Lambert grabs the paper and starts messaging Aiden.

It took a while before Lambert finally sent the message.

- Hey, it's Lambert.

#the witcher #art #artists on tumblr #aiden the witcher #lambert #aiden x lambert #modern au #fanfic #fanfiction

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keltonwrites · 3 years

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Where no one knows your name

How many times is a person meant to make new friends? When I moved into an apartment in DC with an absolutely iconic girl from Craigslist, I wrote in my journal, “you never know when you’ll meet your next bridesmaid.” Charmingly juvenile, as I was 24 years old. Ironic, as I never had any bridesmaids. And embarrassing, knowing I wrote something that’s surely been embroidered on a bachelorette party t-shirt by now. My point was: you can meet people you fall in love with anywhere, anytime, assuming your heart (and calendar) are open. Now my heart and calendar are open and I am one of Elizabeth Bennet’s sad sisters, cloying and desperate for attention while everyone at the ball ignores me. Meeting people here is unnerving and hapless and eye-clawingly vulnerable. My first new friend told me she was moving away in a few months. Do you invest deeply in hopes of another faraway friendship? Do you just go back to waving as you pass on the street? I like this girl! What an embarrassing thing to have to say to someone! Do you just invite people to every and anything like a lunatic? I can’t even remember to call the people I am forever-and-ever in cahoots with. I’m also deeply bound by what I’ll call the Movie Trap: say it’s 3pm during not-a-pandemic, and you get the urge to see a movie. You look at the showings, and there’s one you really want to see at 7:15. You think to yourself, “I should make an effort,” and you text a friend. “Hey, you wanna go see This Cool Movie at 7:15 tonight?” No one ever says yes. Don’t give me an example of when someone has, because it’s always one of these answers:

“Oooh, I’m actually seeing it with Kate tomorrow - wanna come?”

“Can we go to the 9pm showing? Stuck at work.”

“Yeah but let’s see Movie You’ll Fucking Hate instead.”

Now maybe I’m just lighting flares guiding you to the worst parts of my personality, but this drives me nuts. No, Liz, I don’t want to go tomorrow. I want to go tonight. At 7:15. So I can be in bed by 10. And you’d have to drag my dead body and prop open my eyes to get me to see something like Marriage Story in theaters. The Movie Trap is a big reason I usually hang out by myself, or I make plans weeks in advance. (Don't I sound like a blast.) Just the idea of being like, “I like you! Wanna hang out in October?” makes me want to collapse into a puddle of sad adulthood. Which is why on Friday at 4:30pm, when a girl I’d met a week prior asked if I wanted to grab a drink, I just said yes. I put on a pretty dress, did my makeup, put stuff in a purse, and drove the 25 minutes to town. It was really fun! And how novel to have new contacts in my phone like “Maggie blue house” and “Jess concert friend” — a throwback to the days of “Greg guy on L train” and “Devon ad party.” The very concept of not knowing someone’s last name or even needing it, and a year from now updating their contact info and smiling at your origin story. But for the most part, no one is in our phones. In terms of phone numbers collected, here is the list:

Two friends we knew prior who thank god you guys exist.

New friend who is moving away.

New friend who is game to drink tequila and ride mountain bikes.

Neighbor-not-yet-friend who I really fucking like and am not sure how to cross hang-out threshold with.

Not to say there aren’t any other prospects or people I’m platonically gaga over, but I don’t have their phone numbers. There are honestly a lot of people like this because when you live in a small town (and you’re from the Midwest) you say “oop, sorry” to every person/object you bump into, and you say “hi :)” to every person you see. These are the rules. If I drive by you and don’t wave, it’s because I was so deep in a daydream I probably shouldn’t have been driving in the first place. This isn’t acceptable, because in our urgency to tattoo our vaccination status on our foreheads so we can make friends, it turns out just driving by someone can be a viable strategy. A few days ago, a man was driving by our kitchen window and then our driveway, and then he reversed back up to the kitchen window and started waving. Ben went outside — it was that kind of wave. The man had seen from his car a smokejumper emblem on the back of a truck in our driveway. “Hey, are you a smokejumper?” We aren’t. But my dad was, and he was in town visiting, accompanied by the emblem on the back of his truck. The guy said we should drink sometime. Numbers were not exchanged. We’ll call that a node, because it’s not quite a connection. And it’s mainly nodes, waiting to be connected, to have relevance. But first, no matter who you’re trying to befriend, you have to answer everyone else’s Do I Care Quiz. The quiz is employed by 93% of locals to determine how they feel about you existing within their personal 50-mile radius. The first question is non negotiable:

1) Are you visiting?

Variations on this question include “how long are you in town?” or “what brings y’all to town?” or my least favorite and most insulting, “did you just finish Jeeping?” I know I have blonde hair and say y’all, but how dare you. (Also, to be clear, you can own a Jeep, customize your Jeep, mod out your Jeep, and love your Jeep, but you’re not Jeeping until you drive too fast through a tiny town so you can hurl your Jeep over a mountain pass without ever getting out of it.) So the answer to “are you visiting” is “no, I live here.” Which brings us to the next question, my favorite for how loaded the gun, kneeling in the grass, scope on, target locked it is.

2) Are you part-time or full-time?

The first time I answered this question, I didn’t realize it was essentially like asking how someone voted in the 2020 election. The judgment was cocked and ready and the palpable relief/joy/or at the very least, tolerance, exuded by answering “full-time” was like when the sun comes out from behind the clouds on a 40 degree day. I was fine, but wow that does feel better. The third question though does not have a standard hoped-for answer. This is where nodes turn to connections turn to phone numbers.

3) What brings you here?

It seems like the best possible answer would be saying you work in town, and you’re going to begin construction on displaced-worker housing to ensure the people who run this town can actually live in it. We’d have everyone’s phone number. Saying you’re a writer who works remotely and bought a house from a legendary and beloved local who could no longer afford it is really something you keep to yourself. But in the interest of making friends, I just word vomit my entire history. We might as well find out at the onset if I make your eyes roll back into your skull. Not at all threatening that all it takes is a single social signal misinterpreted to be the absolute death knell of my ability to make friends in a town of some 1400 adults. In fact, I’ll share one such interaction. I was hiking with Cooper, about 5 miles by foot away from my house. I was on a trail, crossing a sloped meadow, and a group was traversing up the hillside to the trail. I said hi, where y’all coming from. One girl answered and we talked about the trail. She eyed me up and down. “Did you just move here?” “I did!” “I served your family last week,” she said. “Oh,” that phrasing. “Must have been my in-laws.” “Heard you bought Jack’s house. Such a bummer when locals like that are forced out.” “We didn’t even know about his house,” I said. “We were looking at another house and he asked his realtor if he could get us to come see his house. We just loved it, and him!” She had no emotional reaction to this. “You moved from California?” she asked. (Dangerous question.) “Yeah, got these sea level lungs, haha,” attempting to disarm with humor was a failure, “but couldn’t be happier to be out of California.” “It’s not like this all year. Winter’s really hard here, you’re in for a rude awakening.” “Well California’s the last place I lived, but I’m not from there. I’ve lived in brutal winters. At least Colorado gets sun!” I laugh with cloaked loathing. “It’s different when you live at altitude,” she said, like no human aside from her had ever been literally anywhere. “Are you trying to go around?” She indicated the path behind her. “No, y’all go ahead, just gonna wait to give you your space. I’m sure you’re faster than me.” “K, good luck making it to the lake." Maybe she was thirsty. Maybe she was hungover. Maybe she just has vicious delivery, but it felt like every blade of grass was leaning against the wind to listen. She was with four other people and not one of them said a word. I left that interaction not wanting to see another human ever again. But that interaction, and her intimate knowledge of exactly which house I lived in, made me want to decorate like we lived in a gingerbread house, all candy canes and plum drops, screaming to any passerby that we’re friendly. One of the mayor’s first questions to me was “what are you going to do to the house?” There are rules here about what your house can look like, and I kept emphasizing we bought the house because we loved it, not because we wanted to change everything about it. And now, instead of wanting to decorate the interior, I want to put up shades so we don’t contribute to light pollution, I want to hang a sign by the water spigot saying “grab some if you need” for hikers and mountain bikers, I want to paint a sign for the wild mint by our door that says, “I mint to tell you to take some,” because our neighbors were openly panicked they wouldn’t be able to just grab mint from the cabin’s garden anymore. Without question, COVID makes things harder. Dinner parties feel like dares. Dropping cookies off at someone’s house feels invasive. Grabbing a drink feels like the ultimate sign of trust. But at least we have nodes who can connect who can think to invite us and who can see that despite having lived in California, we’re not all that bad. In the meantime, I’ll be painting signs about water and mint, hoping to garner the benefit of the doubt from the so beautifully, earnestly, and waiting-to-see-if-you’re-worth-it doubtful.

Subscribe to the newsletter at tinyletter.com/keltonwrites — high altitude relocation and renovation in a tiny mountain town.

#amwriting #newsletter #making friends #how to make new friends #adulthood #small town life

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youwerenevermeanttofeelalone · 3 years

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Some People Wrap Their Lies Around a Cocktail Glass | Damian Wayne

And You Sit Wondering Where You’re Going to Turn

✦ pairing — older!Damian Wayne x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 3.3k

✦ fake dating AU

✦ summary — you need to cover up the fact that your boyfriend broke up with you a week before your step-father’s Christmas party, and Damian needs a date for his father’s New Year’s ball. Both of you are experts at pretending, what could go wrong?

✦ warnings — some angst, mentions of food, Damian and reader are neighbors, a little bit of awkwardness, sprinkles of fluff.

✦ mini series masterlist

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Every time your phone buzzed, you hoped it was him. Such a naive and sick logic, one of a teenager waiting for her crush to text back, was nothing compared with the sobering truth.

Your ex-boyfriend was your ex for a reason. And you would have to face the music on your own.

Your mother was going to be disappointed. Not more than you were. Travis had been a good boyfriend, goofy and nice. He hadn’t been the gentlest person in the world, but you learned to accept that he wasn’t perfect.

You could have fallen for him if he had given you enough time.

Your cellphone rang and the fact that it hadn’t buzzed startled you. A handful of people called you instead of texting you, yet you didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

That was your luck. What a horrible week. And it was only Monday noon.

Taking a deep breath, you nodded to yourself and swiped your finger against the screen to take the call. “How is everything going?” you softly greeted your mother.

She sighed. “I will be relieved when the planning is over.” She changed the subject, “Did your boyfriend clear his schedule?”

You breathed out a small laugh. “He did,” you lied. Not even sure if Travis had truly wanted to attend, you lied some more, “He’s excited to meet you.”

“We are excited too. Your uncle said he won’t believe it until he sees it.”

You and him both. As she told you about every guest she was skeptical about showing up, you mentally went through your list of feeble romantic relationships.

Jordan was in town, you had heard about them a few days ago. But asking them to be your date out of nowhere would be embarrassing when the last thing they knew about you was that you were happy in a new relationship.

Liam’s bright blue eyes came to your mind, and you almost had the answer. You hooked up a couple of times after breaking up, and you were friendly enough for you to feel comfortable telling him the truth. The problem was that your mother hated Liam.

The list continued getting shorter and shorter, your anxiety levels higher and higher. You shouldn’t have lied to your mother, but pride was a marvelous and twisted thing and you shared such a stupid little thing with her.

“Have you spoken to your father?” she asked, unbeknownst to her only adding to the pile of regrets and worries.

“Brianna said he’s out of town.”

Your mother grunted. It was clear that both of you knew Brianna had lied. “Well, you’ll see him for New Year’s.”

“I suppose, yes.”

She said your name sternly. “He’s your father.”

He didn’t act like he was. “He hasn’t called in weeks,” you explained. “I am not sure he wants to see me.”

”Your father is a busy man,” she told you. It was like a reflex to her, excusing him even though she had divorced him when you were eight.

Adults and their busy lives, wrapped in their lies and inane promises. You had really tried to be different, but caving in was too easy. What a mess.

“I have to leave you,” she lamented. You could hear that she meant it by the emotion that seeped into her voice. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Have a nice day,” you wished her, voice trembling as anxiety fully kicked in.

The moment the line clicked, you dropped your cellphone onto the sofa. Sniffing, you walked into your bedroom in search of a hair tie.

You needed to keep your hands busy so you could come up with something to say. Or somebody to date.

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Damian’s scrutinizing gaze greeted you as he opened the door. You analyzed his stance and attire, trying to assess whether you had interrupted anything or not.

He stepped back without taking his eyes off you, hand still on the door handle. His hair was damp, and he looked extremely comfortable, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

He would also have looked approachable if his eyes weren’t so sharp.

“Are you coming in or not?”

You reacted, extending your arms to offer a container to him. “I made cookies earlier.”

He looked down at the container in your grasp, then back up at your face. “Get inside.”

You stepped into Damian’s apartment, used to the minimalistic style that you secretly wished you had chosen for your own place.

At the same time, you liked your apartment. Your mother helped you decorate, and she had impeccable taste.

He placed the cookies onto the coffee table, motioning for you to sit.

Sitting down, you watched him do the same just in front of you. His gaze was still sharp, but he waited for you to speak.

When you didn’t, he said, “I know you bake when you’re stressed.”

“It calms me.”

“You baked a pie two days ago. In the middle of the night.”

“And it was good,” you said immediately. “Right?”

He nodded. “Delicious,” he assured you. “Yet I can’t help but worry.”

You gripped your hair, exhaling harshly. “Holiday stuff.”

“Did you finally come to terms with the fact that all those ornaments look awful?”

“They do not,” you said, quite offended. You had spent an entire weekend decorating the living room. Sighing at the memory of choosing Christmas decorations and ornaments with your now ex-boyfriend, you explained your problem, “Travis broke up with me this past Saturday, and I don’t know how to tell my mother.”

Confusion was clear in Damian’s features. You had expected a comment about how you could find someone better, but not this.

“He was going to attend Leonard’s Christmas party with me.”

Leonard was your step-father. Your mother married him when you were a pre-teen and since then you had never skipped one of his parties or events.

He was the only reason why your mother and you were rich, and your biological father hated you for choosing him.

Money hadn’t been the reason why you took a liking to Leonard, although having everything you wanted and needed was nice, but your father wouldn’t have understood even if he tried.

Damian lifted an eyebrow. You could tell he wished you were joking.

“Too soon, I know.”

“I’m just shocked you planned to take him from all people to such event.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You met him on a dating app and your first date was at a bar,” he reminded you as though that explained everything. Your semblance must’ve shown skepticism because he added, “You are not supposed to take somebody like him to your family’s house unless you hate your family.”

“A lot of people do that and their relationships succeed.”

Damian inhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Does Travis even own a suit?”

“I was going to buy him appropriate clothes, a matching tie, get him a haircut... He hates formal attire.”

“I thought you liked your step-father.”

“I do. That’s why I was finally going to take somebody with me so people wouldn’t ask him why I’m always single and make him uncomfortable.”

He hummed, nodding slowly. “So you wanted him to try and explain why his step-daughter was dating a bad boy caricature. Very reasonable.”

“First of all, some bad guys are attractive. Have you seen The Phantom of The Opera?”

“You didn’t just insult Erik’s skills like that,” he said, offended.

“I’m not comparing him to Travis. It was an example.”

“A poor one at that unless Travis smells as bad as Erik.”

You shook your head. Damian was exaggerating when he said Travis was a bad boy caricature — apart from the fact that he loved wearing leather and sometimes took part in street races, he was a normal guy.

“Besides,” he continued, always eager to be right, “a bad boy and a bad guy aren’t the same thing. I thought you were literate in media.”

It seemed like he would never let go of the fact that you had switched careers when film school got unbearable.

“The point is,” you tried to go back to the topic at hand, “that it could have worked.”

“If you say so,” he said sarcastically. “You didn’t tell me what is it that Leonard usually says when people ask about your love life.”

“That I’m focused on my career or that I like to keep my private life separate from big events.”

Leonard had always been nice to you. He never planned to have children of his own, yet he never complained about you. From the day you met, he tried to befriend you, and eventually, he started to treat you as a daughter. He never made you call him dad unlike your father’s third wife who cried when you refused to call her mom — he never forced you to do anything.

Damian offered you a cookie, but you shook your head and he motioned for you to continue speaking as he took a cookie for himself.

“I lied to my mother earlier and I don’t know what I’m going to do or say, but I would rather eat my own foot than tell her my boyfriend chose to break up with me a week before the day he was supposed to meet her.”

Damian bit into the cookie, and you waited for a comment about how good or bad it was. He stared at you, brow twitching, before he once again made a movement with his hand so you would continue talking.

He knew you too well for your own good. And he also seemed to know that leaving you alone with your mind wasn’t such a good idea when you were in distress.

“I considered calling up an escort and have them pretend to be my partner, but I’m nervous,” you admitted, dropping your hands onto your lap for a second before moving them to rest on the couch, one at each of your sides. “What if that ruins it even more? Such a waste of money. And the embarrassment…”

He silently chewed, eyes focused on you. As he swallowed, he pinched his nose with his free hand. “I’ll do it.”

“You want to pay for the escort?”

Unamused, he clarified, “I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend.”

“I can’t ask that from you, Damian. You have your own events to attend! You said you would spend the holidays at your father’s house.”

He stayed silent, not taking his eyes off you. He then licked his bottom lip and said, “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll be your sweet and loving boyfriend in front of your family and Leonard’s acquaintances, and you’ll be my mysterious and charming girlfriend in front of my family and my father’s acquaintances.”

His offer was reasonable. Pretending was easy for you, meaningless. Leonard and your mother were always clear when they asked you to dress in certain ways or attend boring events — they weren’t expecting you to change, just to fool other people into thinking you were different.

They did the same, and that was enough for you.

Leonard’s smile was fake and tight in public when the only thing you could think about the smiles he gave you around the house was how warm they were.

Your mother was the opposite. You had seen her the happiest with Leonard, but she had always been rather cold as a person. In public, she was a lovely woman, always smiling and laughing.

“We can’t be in two places at once.”

“Father doesn’t celebrate Christmas publicly,” he explained blandly. “You just need to buy a new gown and cancel your plans for New Year’s.”

“For your father’s annual ball?”

“Exactly.”

“I can do that,” you assured him. Or yourself.

That night, as you stepped back into your apartment, you couldn’t help but make a face of disgust.

The ornaments were truly awful. You had gone overboard with everything — at the moment it had felt so good, laughing and drinking with Travis as you filled the living room with colors.

But that wasn’t your style. You didn’t even like colored Christmas lights.

════════════════════════

Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t keep yourself from being nervous. The last time you took somebody to one of Leonard’s big parties had been awkward and uncomfortable, a high school boyfriend who was too eager to impress your family.

Everybody understood because teen relationships usually are awkward and over-the-top. Now you wouldn’t have an excuse, you were an adult with a job and so-called social skills.

The first one was spot on. You had a job, you loved your job — and you didn’t need a job so you never felt pressured.

Your social skills, however, worried you. It was the anxiety playing tricks with your confidence, you knew, yet you couldn’t do anything but indulge it.

A part of you wondered if you would be this nervous if Travis was the one accompanying you. Perhaps you would be in a worse estate, or perhaps he wouldn’t have allowed you to worry.

But you didn’t have time to think about the what if’s. The party would take place the next day.

Time had flown by, you had been busy buying gifts and attempting to wrap them while balancing work and your friends’ own Christmas celebrations.

As though he knew you were a ball of nerves, curled up on the couch with a blanket over your shoulders and hands around your fourth —or was it the fifth?— cup of coffee that evening, Damian knocked upon your door.

You weren’t surprised to see him. He had said you would need to go through a few details before Leonard’s party.

You had barely interacted with Damian throughout the week, but he had assured you he was ready. He even sent you a picture of the tie he bought for the party, wanting to make sure the color was the right one.

His eyes scanned the living room as he made himself comfortable. He didn’t make a comment about the new ornamentation, but the fact that he hadn’t scowled was a good sign.

“I assumed you would be baking in preparation.”

“I’m not that stressed.” You folded the blanket and rested it onto the arm of the couch. “Can I offer you something to drink? Water, coffee, tea, alcohol...”

He shook his head. “Thank you. So, you don’t bake for your family?”

“Oh! I do, but on other occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries...” You sighed, shrugging. “Private things.”

A few times your mother had encouraged you to bake your father a birthday cake, but he rarely spent his birthday in town so that was even rarer.

“Have you already made our story up?”

“I suppose we should stick to the truth for the most part. Neighbors, then friends, and then...”

“Are you going to awkwardly tell your mother you’re dating me or are you just messing with me?”

”it’s hard for me to lie to my mother,” you explained, abashed. “It’s even worse if I have her in front of me.”

Damian stood up and opened an arm. “Come here.”

“I don’t need you to comfort me.”

He scoffed. “I’m not trying to comfort you. Come.”

You stood in front of him, looking down at his hand. “You want me to take it?”

“No. Well, perhaps...” He pensively looked at your form. “We have never been close physically.”

It had escaped you that you would need to touch him in order for your relationship to be believable. “So we’re going to practice.”

He hummed. “I’ll have my arm around you for most of the night,” he emphasized.

You stood beside him, expecting him to rest his arm behind your neck. Damian placed his palm on your upper back first, tentative.

His hand slowly slid up, tracing your shoulder blade. As he wrapped his arm around both your shoulders, he grunted.

Turning to look at him, you asked, “What?”

“It’s rather awkward to walk around in this position.”

“Okay,” you breathed out. “So?”

He slanted his head to face you. “Waist or hip?”

You considered the question, thinking about the way your dress would fall down your body. “Which one do you think would look better?”

“I have no clue.”

At least he was honest. Moving his hand off your shoulder, you lightly took it in your grasp. “Let’s stand in front of the mirror.”

Damian didn’t withdraw his hand from yours as you guided him into your bedroom. He curiously stared at the walls, quickly glancing at everything his eyes could fall onto.

He knew so much yet so little about you... you were friends, yes, and he trusted you with things he had never even imagined he would say out loud. At the same time, he was still getting used to his new life.

It wasn’t drastically different, but it was freeing in ways he never expected. With his new life came you, and he was astonished over the fact that you hadn’t met before when you had been forced to frequent the same places. Your presence was refreshing — welcomed from the very beginning.

Damian blinked rapidly. Getting reflective over being at a friend’s bedroom for the first time was new, too.

Standing in front of the mirror, you let go of his hand. Damian surrounded your body with his arm, delicately resting his hand on your waist.

“Is that okay?” he asked, watching you through the mirror as you shifted.

“Yeah. You can lower your hand if you want.”

He did so, pressing his palm against your hip.

“I think,” you mumbled, “your hand on my hip accentuates my stomach a little too much.”

He slowly trailed his hand upward, stopping at your waist once again. “Like that?” he asked in a whisper.

“Like that,” you agreed.

The two of you stood there for a long moment, facing your reflections. You moved first, and regretted it as the temperature changed over your form.

You hadn’t realized Damian’s body was that warm.

Sitting down on your bed, you followed his movements with your eyes as he sat on your vanity’s chair.

“Speak your mind,” he commanded.

“What if Leonard doesn’t believe... us?”

“I believe he has attended a few of my father’s celebrations.” He was stiff as he spoke. “But,” he added, “I have never crossed paths with him.”

“At least he doesn’t hate you.”

“Has he hated people you’ve taken to his parties?”

“Mmmmh...” You tilted your head as you made yourself comfortable by crisscrossing your legs. “Not to one of his parties per se, but he hated the boyfriend I had in college. They had met before.”

Damian’s eyebrows shot up. “You only had one boyfriend in college?”

“No,” you laughed as you confessed, “but my family only met one.”

“I’m more worried about your mother.” He tried to be nonchalant as he said it, but it sounded like a confession too.

But you weren’t. Damian was easy to like. You would have worried if he had to meet your father — he always seemed to think the opposite your mother did. Your father would have told you not to date somebody more attractive than you, or mocked you for supposedly dating a rich guy too.

“Don’t mention her age and everything will go smoothly.”

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

You shrugged. “Just to be safe, assume I am not.”

He huffed a laugh, mouth twinging before he sighed.

As he stood up, you did too. Damian looked at the time just to be sure that he had to leave already and said, “I should let you get some sleep and get some rest of my own.”

Agreeing, you silently walked him towards the door. You wanted to thank him for doing this, ask if he was sure he was willing to not only do this for you but trust you with returning the favor.

Words didn’t come out of you. They did from him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Yeah, you would see him in the morning for what would probably be one of the longest days of your life.

#damian wayne x reader #damian wayne x plus size reader #damian wayne

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writing-essence · 5 years

Text

Switch Flipped - Sweet Pea

Chapter Three: Glow in Our Mouths

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Andrews!Reader, Reggie Mantle x Andrews!Reader

Warnings: Riverdale being wack 🤷🏻‍♀️ also language

Summary: After your dad was shot by the black hood, Archie has gone off the deep end, little did you expect yourself to question your northside loyalties

Author’s Note: Sorry, it’s taken so long! Check out our masterlist or #switch flipped series for the other parts. Let me know if you want to be tagged! -Milla

Word Count: 2,784

The holidays had come and gone. Christmas trees that were once radiating with the scent of fresh pine had reverted to dry needles covering living room floors. Forgotten decorations remained in dark corners not to be found until February. The feeling of conclusion washed over Riverdale. Instead of being preoccupied with new shoes or shiny cars families were thankful to be breathing. The Black Hood met his end a biting December night much to the relief of your family. No longer would you be fearful for the lives of those closest to you. For the first time in weeks, you felt safe, like you were home again. Although that didn't stop the irking feeling of evil being hidden under your nose this whole time, walking the same fluorescent hallways of Riverdale High.

You pushed the nagging to the back of your mind as you sat by your window. Snowflakes fell to the pavement melting upon impact. Riverdale was colder than usual, salt covered every road and sidewalk to keep lives moving instead of cooped up for the final days of break. Your eyes drifted toward a familiar figure exiting the Cooper house, a grey hat acting as armor against the frost. Your mind started to wander back to another young serpent.

The last time you saw Sweet Pea was at FP's "retirement party." You had shown up in support along with Betty, Archie, and Veronica. While the other three decided to put on a show of their own you stayed back talking with Jughead or sitting with Toni at the bar. It wasn't the most comfortable night. You were obviously out of place in the musky bar, Veronica and Archie's rendition of "Bad World" didn't help. You left to find your brother midway through Betty's impromptu striptease. As you pushed your way passed oggling, drunk men, your face crashed into someone's chest. Your eyes trailed up to meet a familiar smirk.

“Easy there, watch where your going Princess,” Sweet Pea spoke over the slow music. You shook your head, embarrassed.

“Did you see where my brother went?” You attempted to look over his shoulder. He leaned back against the poster covered wall and motioned his head toward the exit. “Thanks,” you rushed. Sweet Pea nodded and crossed his arms moving his attention towards the stage.

The temperamental state of high school relationships made an appearance that night. You had tried to comfort Archie the same he did for you when you broke up with Reggie, but you knew he was still in love with Veronica. After Betty and Archie caught the black hood, they rekindled their respective relationships, at least to a friendly degree. Balance restored in Riverdale, or so it seemed.

“Students of Riverdale High, this is your principal speaking. E-mails have been sent to your parents, but effective immediately, Southside High School is shut down. Its students will be transferred to other schools in the district, including this one,” the second Weatherbee’s monotonous voice flooded through the intercom chaos ensued.

The usual hushed highschool chatter amplified to the thousandth degree. There was a tension flooding the hallways. It was to be expected. The northside and southside are seemingly two completely different cultures, cultures that in most people’s eyes should be kept separate. You never understood the hate toward the southside. Yes, it wasn't as pretty as the neighboring northside suburbia, but the people living there are the same as everyone else. It’s not like anyone made an effort to help “clean up” the southside anyway, so what gives them the right to judge the people for doing their best to navigate what northside politicians gave them? Your dad played a significant role in your acceptance of the southside.

Fred Andrews loved his town almost as much as his family and not just one half of it. He welcomed southsiders, namely a few Southside Serpents with open arms to his construction company. Fred never took an issue with the wrong side of town. Although he would never let you travel there alone, you had visited Jughead at the Twilight Drive-In countless times. It had an unmistakable charm; not even the most clean-cut northsider could refute. Now that it shut down the southside’s reputation went further downhill.

When Veronica asked you if you would help her greet the new Southside High students and try to make them feel comfortable walking into the Bulldogs den you jumped at the chance. She knew you would. While you were ecstatic for Jughead to return you couldn't help but hope he’d have his new rag-tag trio following behind him.

Things had been weird in the friendship department ever since you and Reggie split. Of course, Midge was still your rock, but Moose didn't have much of a reason to talk to you anymore. It was a weird feeling. Reverting to social status, you hadn't felt since the 8th grade. No more cheering for your friends at football games and treating them to a victory dinner at Pop's. No more rides to school from Reggie when it's raining. No more cozy couple's corner to sit at during lunch. It was the little things that caught you off guard. And you felt bad for Midge who was stuck in the middle of it all. You didn't want her to have to choose between sitting with Moose near Reggie or help you find a new domain to eat lunch.

A piece of you wished nothing ever changed, but the rest of you saw this as an opportunity to grow. What better way to grow than by befriending Jughead's southside pals? They seemed nice enough the few times you met them. And knowing the mentality of Riverdale High, they'll need a northside ally. Not even a minute into Veronica’s introduction to the new students, the cavalry rolled in.

"Listen up, Raggamuffins," Cheryl started. You bit back a laugh at her attempt to sound intimidating regarding your school's above average GPA. She continued spewing her fascist regime until Toni challenged her. Before anything more could come of it, Archie decided to try and diffuse the situation. You were proud of your brother; he was starting to relax back into the open-hearted Archie you knew. Your admiration for your brothers change of agenda was cut short.

"You don't speak for the Bulldogs, Andrews," Reggie butted in. "And need I remind you, these greaser-snakes showed up at your place trying to kick your ass," he said with a hand on Archie's shoulder glaring towards Sweet Pea and Fangs. You noticed Sweet Pea's face contort into venom as he pushed forward at Reggie. Before another rumble broke out, you spoke up.

"A fight that Archie started in the first place," you looked apologetically towards your brother for throwing him under the bus. Reggie looked back at you almost bewildered.

"You're really defending these thugs?" He waved his finger at the group. You took a seething breath pushing your way in front of Reggie and Archie.

"Thugs? Reggie?" You couldn't help but snort at the irony, "have you seemed to forgotten who Riverdale High's resident drug dealer is?" With each word, your tone got sharper. You hadn't breathed in Reggie’s direction since the break. You didn't have the patience. "Apologize. Now," you crossed your arms.

Reggie looked at you as if you had a third head. His mouth floundered searching for his next attack as he glanced between you and the motley crew. You noticed Sweet Pea stepped forward breaking free of Toni and Jughead's grasp.

"I'd listen to the princess if I were you," Sweet Pea glared at Reggie. The bulldog snarled in return ready to lunge. Before he got the chance, Veronica cut in, followed by the bellow of Weatherbee.

The two forces dissipated in opposite directions. You and Veronica lead the southsiders and fellow members of the welcoming committee to the student lounge where you could finish handing out schedules and assigning tour guides in peace. Veronica made it halfway through the list.

"Who would care to show Sweet Pea around fair Riverdale?" She lifted her eyes above her reading glasses at the clump of clean-cut teens. Whispers tangled throughout the group as they stared at the brooding boy. Shaking your head at their shallowness, you stepped forward.

"I'd love to," you smiled at the surprised serpent. "C'mon Sweet Pea," you said walking out of the safety of the lounge. The two of you walked in silence as you showed him to his first-period and second-period classes. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable. Neither of you knew what to say. You weren't exactly friends, but not strangers. While walking, you glanced up towards the clock. Six minutes before the bell inevitably rang you stopped short of Sweet Pea's giant steps. He mirrored your sudden halt.

"Um, the bells gonna ring soon, do you maybe want to pick this up during lunch?" You offered. Sweet Pea retuned a hint of a smile and agreed, taking a last look at the room numbers on his schedule before folding it and putting it in his jacket pocket. "Cool, I'll meet you back in the student lounge," stepping back you parted ways.

You tapped your pencil between your fingers on your musty textbook. History seemed especially historical today. Your teacher droned on, dust practically collecting on every word she said. All you could think about was finishing touring Sweet Pea. You were excited to see new faces around Riverdale High. Even now you looked toward your left and spotted washed out pink hair. Finally, the bell snapped you out of your gaze, and you swiped your supplies back in your bag.

You caught up with Toni in the hall as you both headed to the lounge. She plopped down in the chair next to Fangs who was already talking to Kevin by the time you arrived. Not too long after Sweet Pea took a seat next to Kevin while Jughead took his place in the center chair. Josie and Veronica approached the gaggle of teens to made small talk and introductions. Before any meaningful conversation commenced Weatherbee barged in.

“You guys!” He commanded while pointing. We all shared glances of confusion. “Yes, you, come with me.” He promptly exited the doorway. Shrugging, we followed him to the middle of the hallway where a previously sparkling Bulldogs logo remained on the floor. As we looked closer, a green squiggle revealed itself to be a poorly drawn Serpent, tragically mimicking the same one on Jughead’s jacket. “Now! Which one of you defaced our school seal with this graffiti?” He asked pointed at the leather-clad teens.

“This is what they do, principal Weatherbee,” started Reggie in a matter of fact tone. “They tag their turf,” he smirked eyeing the tallest serpent.

That smarmy son of a bitch. “God Reggie, could you be any more transparent?” Veronica took the words right out of your mouth. Weatherbee decided on banning all serpent paraphernalia, including tattoos. At this moment you thought Sweet Pea might be regretting the placement of his own. When everyone retreated back into the lounge, you stood your ground staring at Reggie. Weatherbee and the spectators had continued about their business.

"What the hell Reggie," you were the first to say something.

"I don't know what you mean Y/N," he replied feigning innocence.

"There's only one person in this school with a car fast enough to get to the store and back with still enough time for an amateur art project during his free period," you deducted. "What's your problem with them?"

"They don't belong here," he tried to reason, "they're bad news."

"You don't know a thing about them, Reggie!" Your arms raised up in exasperation. He continued going off on his wrong side of the tracks rant. Most of it muddled through one ear and out the other as you squeezed your eyes shut pinching the bridge of your nose. Then you heard it.

"Babe, c'mon you can't-" Reggie attempted, but you cut him off.

"You don't get to call me that," your voice sounded hollow, "you're, not my boyfriend anymore Reggie. You made that choice yourself."

He didn't get a say in what you chose to do or who you chose to associate with. Without bothering to hear his reply you backed away from him. The person in front of you wasn't the bright-eyed boy you fell for. He was infected with the pain of loss and neglect which contorted into a hatred for people who threated the one slice of normalcy he had left. You wouldn't let him pass that virus to you. As you stepped through the doorway of the student lounge, you didn't notice a certain Serpent eyed the confrontation through the wall of windows. The leftover scowl on your face forced itself into a mildly pleasant smile. You walked up to Sweet Pea determined to finish his tour. He swiftly dug the tattered schedule from his pocket and followed you through the halls.

"We have math together 4th period," you said stopping by the door to the dreaded classroom. "There's an empty seat by me after some kid transferred to Seaside. You can sit there if you want? Um, I mean you don't have to it's just an option if you-" you rambled worried you were being to forward.

"Thanks," he stopped you gently.

You nodded curtly and continued with the tour. Your hands clasped in front of you twiddling with your fingers. You were nearly finished. After showing him the gym, all you had left was the library. You took your phone out of your pocket smiling triumphantly, still 10 minutes to spare before the end of lunch. Looking up to your side you noticed Sweet Pea was staring at you, he was biting the inside of his cheek.

"Do you have a question about anything," you asked suspiciously. It took him a few moments before he concluded what he was going to say.

"What was with you and that Bulldog earlier?" he questioned innocently.

"What? Reggie? He's just an idiot," you tried to brush it off. Sweet Pea's brows furrowed, quirking his head to the side.

"Really? It looked kinda intense?" He must have seen you clenching your jaw as he quickly added, "sorry, uh, its none of my business." His hand offered to surrender.

"It's fine," you smiled reassuringly. "Let's just finish this tour shall we?"

He nodded brightly. You were surprised the way he marveled at the library. His eyes noticeably fixated on the few rows of computers. After that grand finale, the two of you said your goodbyes as you headed towards your respective third periods. Your mind started to wander. Why did he seem so interested in you and Reggie? Was he trying to make small talk? Or perhaps he was taking intel on the enemy? Whatever his motives were the bell disrupted you from sleuthing any further.

Even the smell of the math class made you sick. The second you stepped foot in that room you were bombarded with the scent of worn out erasers, used up pencils, and tears. All trying to be masked by your teacher's obnoxiously citrusy chalkboard cleaner. You took a seat in your familiar spot second row from the back. You took out your textbook and notebooks, hissing as they slipped from your hands. Frazzled you tilted your head back to the front of the room. Sweet Pea stood next to Mr. Chase, holding back a smirk. He had obviously seen your blunder. Sweet Pea nodded at whatever Mr. Chase told him, taking a textbook from his hand and headed towards you.

"So which one's the empty seat you were talking about?" He said pointing to the desks either side of you.

"Um, this one," you motioned to the desk on your right, adjacent the window. The boy took his seat, his long legs miraculously fitting under the table. Throughout math you held your head in your hand, struggling to keep up with the chicken scratch written on the board. Accepting defeat, your attention turned to Sweet Pea. His face was scrunched in concentration. His tongue peeked out from his lips as he clenched his hand around his pencil frantically writing away. You were amazed at how the pencil hadn't snapped due to the white on his knuckles. The dog tags around Sweet Pea's neck glinted in the sunlight that flooded through the cracks of the drawn blinds.

You didn't understand how Reggie could see him as evil or vile. He had been polite and kind to you without incentive that night at Pop's and carried that reputation next to you. Maybe now you had a reason to look forward to math class.

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#sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #sweet pea series #riverdale #riverdale imagine #riverdale series #reggie mantle #reggie mantle imagine #reggie mantle x reader #sweet pea drabble #sweet pea headcannon #sweet pea blurb #switch flipped series #switch flipped

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made-in-the-hallway · 6 years

Text

Doomed romance

Word count: 3.500

Requested: Yes

Warnings: Childhood memories and heartbreak

Here it is!! Another completed request. I have to admit that this is the longest I have ever written for this blog and I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. I changed it up a bit from the original request but I hope that doesn’t pose a problem. Once again, feedback is appreciated and here is a big thank you to all of you who show your love and support for this account. (Hugs you tight). Do tell me if you’d like to see a part 2 of this! Till next time, lots of kisses! (Gif’s not mine or I would be dead / Masterlist)...

“Harry, your snacks are ready dear!”

“Yes, momma I am comin’”

Little Harry always had a soft spot for sweets and snacks, especially if they came from his very skillful mother, Anne, who always put her heart and soul into anything she would find herself wrapped up in doing. It was one of her many traits that made her along with the lovely companion of her two radiant children, Harry and Gemma, stand out and have a tremendous relationship with all of their neighbours around them.

Speaking of neighbours, right next to their little house, a new family had just moved in. they hadn’t been around more than one week. Every single day of that week, Anne would notice huge carton boxes being carried and a lot of different people going in and out of the house. Those signals were enough for her to automatically acknowledge that the house next to their own was sold and ready to host new members.

The house’s older landlord was an acquaintance of Anne and her kids of course. It was no other than Miss Jefferson, a grown-up but friendly lady, who would always treat Harry and Gemma with a steaming cup of tea and a mouth-watering piece of lemon pie; the one she was so popular for in the neighbourhood. Anne was always eager to help Miss Jefferson with some domestic chores, for her age didn’t allow her to be much productive and quick with her daily tasks. In return, Miss Jefferson would offer her a pleasant seat in her small garden along with her famous tea and pie.

Day were rolling by smoothly and little Harry and Gemma were delighted to pay a visit to Miss Jefferson and gaze at the beautiful flowers that adorned her garden space. But time is always picky and quick to take our favourite people and take them to some other place, perhaps more beautiful than the one they were previously living in. thus, the news of Miss Jefferson’s death travelled to Anne’s house as well meaning that her house was up for sale.

“What will happen to her garden?”, Gemma would worry, due to the adoration she held for that particular spot in Jefferson’s house.

“We will watch after them until the next family who comes and lives next to us will do so” was Anne’s answer just to reassure Gemma the flowers wouldn’t tilt and eventually die anytime soon.

And so it happened. After one month of arrivals and departures of people who inspected the home had passed, one particular family arrived to the building and decided it was a bargain. With a few retouches and a lot of patience and hard work this would soon be a small castle for the family’s little princess to live in. Anne did notice that a certain member would bring much more joy and laughter to their small neighbourhood and presumably, in their own family as well.

Small Y/N wasn’t very fond of her parents’ decision to switch houses and consequently leave her old life and friends behind. She thought that she would be lonely and it would be extremely hard to get accustomed to her new surroundings without knowing a single person at that place.

“But that’s the point of it all sweetheart. You won’t lose contact with Patty and Rachel and you will have the chance to meet new kids as well!” her mother would try to reason with her in order to make her spirits lift a tad bit.

‘Yeah right’ Y/N would instantly snap back and her father would stifle a chuckle at her daughter’s stubbornness.

“She got that from you I am positive” his wife would point out and Y/N father, Mr. Y/L/N would place a loving kiss on her forehead.

This tenderness they shared in their family was brought to their new home as well. Y/N had a hard time trying to picture every new detail in that new place she would soon call home. One thing she liked though was her new bedroom. Her previous room was a small one and it was stuffed with toys and colouring books. She had carried everything with her for she wanted to keep herself busy when she would return home from school and she knew she would be bored out of her mind.

What really caught her attention though, was the big window attached to her room. She wasted no time moving towards it and looking outside. She had a full view of the sky sprawled at her feet to gaze whenever she pleased. She also had a good view of the house opposite of hers. At that time, she could clearly make out a little curly haired boy who was jumping up and down on his bed. Just as she was about to adjust the curtain, the yet unknown boy turned his head and acknowledged her presence. He then picked up his hand and waved at her. She was caught off guard at first but she waved back as well, making the little boy offer her a smile. Maybe she wouldn’t be alone in this neighbourhood after all.

“Momma who is that new girl in Miss Jefferson’s house?” Harry asked Anne after his little encounter with the new girl.

“Oh, that must be the daughter of our new neighbours darling. A new family will be living next to us!” Anne explained to her son and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Does that mean that we will see her again?”

“Of course sweetheart. As a matter of fact, I was thinking to stop by in the afternoon and to give them a welcome cake”

“Can I join please?” Harry begged his mother and his sister chimed in.

“Looks like little Harry wants to meet someone again! I seeeeee” Gemma hinted and Harry turned crimson red.

“Shut up old Gem.. Momma can I come?”

“Only if you apologise to your sister for your language young mister. Maybe Gem wants to accompany too” Anne said, offering a warm smile at her daughter.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world”.

Harry was awaiting for the afternoon to come so he would meet this new girl properly. He really liked that she waved back at him when he did that gesture first. He believed they would make very good friends with her. Maybe they would attend the same school as well! Harry had a few friends from school of course but he was always up for meeting new people and befriending them. He really wished his new neighbor would like their small town and hoped she would let him get close to her and be her friend. Not once did he poison his mind with the possibility that this new girl wouldn’t be pleased with their visit and his suggestion to become friends.

So when he rang the bell of Miss Jefferson’s house he wasn’t prepared to see the girl opening the door. Y/N wasn’t ready at all as well to find the waving boy at her doorstep. But she found herself being happy to see him again. Right on queue, her parents appeared from behind her and greeted Anne and the two new faces.

“Well, hello there! We would be lying if we told you we expected you! Come on in!”, Y/M/N said joyfully and shook the woman’s hand.

“Well, I baked a welcome cake for you. Besides, it is our tradition when a new family settles down in our town!” Anne explained and walked further into the house.

“I am Harry and this is my sister Gemma” Harry hurriedly introduced himself to the girl and hugged her.

“And I am Y/N. Wanna see my room guys? It has an amazing view, I swear you will love it!” Y/N beamed and started climbing up the stairs not minding the adults’ conversation already evolving.

“Imma take a seat with the grown ups” said Gemma and laughed at her little brother and his attempts to get to know Y/N better.

“Suit yourself” Y/N said and navigated Harry through the upper part of the house, finally reaching the door which led to her room.

Harry followed suit behind her and when he entered her room he couldn’t but spot the frames on her small desk which decorated it and added a personal touch to it. They contained photographs of different events Y/N and her family had attended in the past along with birthday photographs.

“I don’t know if you had noticed before, but your nose is cakey in this one!” Harry couldn’t help but notice and shout at Y/N who had her head turned towards her bed to see if it had all of her stuffed animals.

“What? No way!”, Y/N exclaimed and moved to where Harry was standing only to see for herself that her nose was indeed covered with a bit of cake.

“Well, I guess my nose was a bit hungry as well” she said shrugging and Harry giggled at her statement. Just then, he noticed the window form where they had waved at each other earlier.

“Hey, we can communicate from our windows! They are pretty close!”

“Yes I know! It is the first time I have a window so big all to myself” Y/N truthfully said and Harry grinned.

“Well, seems like I have to be careful from now on since you will be watching my every move” Harry fake-sighed and turned his attention to Y/N.

“I will be watching your every move. Be warned” Y/N joked and nudged Harry’s shoulder playfully.

“Well, how do you like it so far here?” Harry inquired and Y/N started to tell him how afraid she was at first of her new town and home. She even began to express her fears of not having new friends and being all alone at school. While she was telling of that to Harry, she realized how stupid or naïve she might have sounded to Harry, her first new friend. But he was listening carefully to her worries and he made sure to be her friend so that she wouldn’t be alone. It would be even easier when she told him the name of the school she would be going to so he was thrilled to be with her friend there as well.

Their first conversation was sadly cut short though when Anne’s voice echoed all the way to Y/N’s room signaling that it was time for them to let the new family rest, although Y/N’s family insisted on staying some more.

“We live next door so we won’t lose touch. Besides, time went by quick and the kids need to wake up tomorrow for school!” Anne politely declined their offer to stay longer and right after Harry and Y/N said their goodbyes, they were off to their own house.

“Wait for me outside your porch so we can go together to school. It is not far!” Harry shouted at Y/N while walking down the road and Y/N nodded her head signaling that she would do just that.

“Seems like you needn’t worry about new friends anymore”, her dad commented and Y/N smiled to herself thinking that indeed, she had no reason to worry anymore about making new friends for she already had made one.

The next day she was waiting for Harry at the exact spot he had told her the day before and he made sure not to let Y/N wait too long. Y/N was delighted to have someone by her side, especially when she knew no one and it was her first days there. Harry always made her feel comfortable and happy by telling her jokes and filling her in on the other kids at school. The most thrilling part though was when they would return from school. Either Y/N or Harry would go to each other’s house and do their homework together and play afterwards. They would spend most of their time together either playing in their room or in the playground. Their parents were quick to observe that their kids were stuck to the hip and they would make very good friends.

“Do you think we will be friends forever?” Harry had asked Y/N over a fourth round of a Disney movie playing in the background.

“No” Y/N answered truthfully and Harry’s vision started to get blurry. “I see us as best friends forever!”

Harry’s face instantly lit up and he hugged Y/N so tight not really caring about the bowl of popcorn falling onto the floor. He had taken a liking in Y/N that he really wanted her as a friend. And having her tell him that she thought of them as best friends really made his whole night. Anne who was watching after them from her spot in the kitchen knew they would keep being good friends in the years ahead and she couldn’t be more right.

When Y/N and Harry entered Junior High School, they were still best friends, not breaking up their tradition of gathering in one house and study together or just being lazy. They knew their friendship was to last and they had no intention of letting go anytime soon. Sometimes, they would go some days without talking but they would make up for it either by sleepovers or just long strides along the outline of their homes. They knew that they couldn’t be separated for long for they thought someone would miss something from the other’s day. And they had sworn they would go through everything together.

Both Anne and Y/N parents were happy that their kids were getting along through the years but Anne had to voice her inner doubts about their friendship one evening they had gathered in Y/M/N’s garden.

“I am just afraid things will take an ugly turn when our kids enter High School or even College. I am more than thrilled with the friendship they have developed since day one, but I can’t stop myself from thinking that when adolescence strikes, their friendship will face some difficulties”

“I don’t find it a reason to be worried about Anne, I mean our children know how entertaining each other’s presence is to one another so they will have the minds to consider what’s best for them” Y/M/N answered and Anne contemplated her words, wishing her fears wouldn’t be proven correct.

But sometimes things do take an ugly turn and that happens when feelings get mixed up in a totally healthy and rejuvenated friendship. The complicated years of adolescence came and Y/N’s friendship with Harry was about to change. The thing was that they didn’t know if it would change for the better or for the worse and whether they would be willing to fix all the damage provoked.

“Harry I am in!” Y/N shouted, throwing her bag on Harry’s floor and taking her shoes off before finding the perfect spot on the couch.

“Comin’!” Harry’s voice echoed and she turned the TV set on while she waited for Harry to appear. It was a tiring day for her for College wouldn’t stop making her busy with more and more projects.

“Hello love” Harry greeted his best friend. Never did Y/N find it weird for Harry to call her such names contrary to anyone who would listen and they would instantly assume that they were dating. But with those two, that was not the case. They tried to remain best friends through the years, like they had promised when they were younger. Besides, it wasn’t like they wanted to part and take different paths in life but, rather they wanted to feel each other’s presence next to them, especially when difficulties would knock their door.

“How was yehr day?”

“Shit. Miss goggleface assigned more projects. Thankfully, they are due to the end of the month so I don’t have to cut myself to pieces in order to make time for everything. But it is frustrating you know… I mean we have a social life we need to maintain as well!”

“Y/N, take it down a notch please. I can sense this was not yehr favourite day” Harry joked and you shot daggers at him.

“Course not. But unexpectedly, one good thing happened today” Y/N said and Harry noticed how quickly her expression lifted at that happy event.

“Go on then” Harry urged but later he wished he hadn’t.

“Remember that bloke I was drooling over that time in the Swimming class? Ryan?” at the sound of his name, Harry’s face became clouded and he wanted nothing more than this conversation to be over with already.

“Yeah, wha’ about him?”. You could tell he was off the moment he answered but you continued anyway.

“Well…. We sat together at lunch!!! You can’t imagine what I felt inside”

Oh but Harry did know what you were feeling inside when you were talking to that one person you wanted to be around the most. It was an irresistible feeling that no matter how hard you tried, it never failed to lift you off of the ground and make you feel like you are flying. It felt like you could do anything to see the person you like smile and it was a bonus knowing that you were the reason behind it.

Harry couldn’t deny it anymore. He had caught feelings for you. Besides, it is inevitable, isn’t it? When in a friendship, it is very rare not to catch feelings for the other. However, deep down Harry was optimistic enough to believe that you would feel the same way towards him and that maybe this friendship of yours could transform into something even more beautiful. Sadly, the first time he had heard about that Ryan guy, his hopes of your liking him back were shattered to the floor. So, he shut his mouth and made sure not to be stupid as to ruin what you already had.

“Harry are you even listening to a single word I am saying? Hmmm…. Maybe you are thinking about your crush too.” Y/N tried to brighten his mood up but he was nonchalant.

“Maybe” was all that he could muster.

“Whoa.. Harry Styles has a crush and his best friend doesn’t have a single clue about it? Shame on you”

“Well, I am positive it is one sided so there is no use mentionin’ somethin’” Harry tried to change the subject by avoiding Y/N’s comment but she was having none of it.

“Nonsense. Now tell me. Do I know her?”

Harry was ready to answer that question, when Y/N’s ringtone started playing in the small living room, interrupting Harry’s speech.

“It is Ryan. Oh my… Harry what do I do? What do I do?” Y/N was freaking out and Harry tried to hide his uneasiness.

“You answer him I guess” but before he could finish his sentence, she was already talking through the speaker, knowing that Ryan was at the other end of the line.

As she spoke Harry couldn’t help but notice the way her hands would fly up and down every time she would say something different or how her eyes would shine when she would hear something delightful. Harry wondered to himself whether she was acting the same way when the two of them were on the phone when she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. After having noticed her lamp on, Harry would call her to soothe her and keep her company until she fell asleep on the phone.

He was pulled out of his trance when his ears caught the words ”Ryan” and “date” come out of Y/N’s mouth. Harry felt sick to his stomach but he had to hide his sadness for he needed to show he was happy with his best friend’s date.

“Ryan asked me out on a date…. Why can’t I believe it?” Y/N was living in her pink bubble of happiness and didn’t notice her best friend burning inside and pleading her to stay home with him and watch Disney movies like they did when they were young instead of going to that Ryan guy. But times were different and now they were other things to keep the two friends occupied such as picking out the perfect outfit to go out with a guy and trying to burry some feelings which might never reach the surface.

Harry did have the opportunity to blurt out to Y/N that she was his crush since they were 13 while she was drying off her hair and he surely had the opportunity to confess that it was his best friend who stole his breath away and made his heart stop beating just by looking at him while she was admiring her outfit in front of her mirror. He definitely had the chance to tell Y/N that he was madly in love with her and that he couldn’t fathom living a life without her in it while she was climbing in Ryan’s car. But the only thing that fell from his lips instead was:

“Watch out my love”.

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jaymimic-blog · 5 years

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Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Hack - Unlimited Leaf Tickets 100%Free

Here we introduce the one and only Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Hack & Cheats by which a game user can get ample of leaf tickets for free of cost. But before knowing more about animal crossing pocket camp hack tool we should see some things regarding the game.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Gameplay

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In this section, we’ll talk about the walkthrough of the game, what all activities you can do in the game and have more fun. Animal Crossing pocket game is a social simulation game where you interact with different animals in the area and perform different tasks. You can also customize your avatars, their living spaces. You also get the chance to trade materials and favors for the decorative items present in the game.

The game is all about creativity, how beautifully, you can decorate and place and perform the tasks in time. In Pocket Camp, you decorate the campsite in the town, and then you must gather materials like wood and cotton that you can trade with furniture orders. The player-character also befriends neighboring characters and then you can ask them to visit the player’s campsite. Other humans are invited at random.

The player’s avatar can travel to multiple locations. You can go to Sunburst Island or Saltwater Shores; you can also roam around in the marketplace where you can buy furniture and avatar clothing. Your customization options in the game extend to your avatar’s gender, facial traits, and vehicle abode as well.

In the game, your neighbors in the nearby “recreation sites” will reward you with crafting materials for completing requests. Then, there you have one local blacksmith/carpenter who can turn these things into furniture, pools, and new locations. The best part of the game that you would be able to attract specific neighbors by putting their furniture that they like at the campsite. After each visit, you would see an increase in the relationship’s experience level. If you have played the previous versions of the game, you can also fish and pay off a debt similarly to their home.

As we discussed that this mobile game introduces the microtransaction currency, Leaf Tickets that can be used to reduce in-game timers or you can also craft without raw materials with its help. You can get leaf tickets by completing in-game tasks, or you can also buy through the real-world currencies. You can also trade your currencies for special event furniture, and that would help to attract special characters to your campsite. Nintendo is planning to launch some seasonal events and some furniture that would have limited availability.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Characters

A lot of people have been asking about the number of animal characters in the game then don’t worry, here is the list of main 17 characters in the game that you would come along while playing.

1- Isabelle: Birthday12/19

This is an expert character on the campsite. If you have any confusions or questions about a campsite, Isabelle knows the answer for the same. He’ll tell more than you think or expect. She is always there at the town hall satellite office, and ready for giving support to anyone who needs help.

2- Cyrus: Birthday1/25

He is an expert craftsman, you name the thing, and he’ll build it for you. Cyrus can build any furniture that you want. And on the top of that, he also delivers them at the right time. He and Reese have their mobile shop on the Road. They are even capable of crafting larger things like tents and treehouses.

3- Reese: Birthday7/4

She is mostly busy with here retail shop, but she also helps her husband in managing the thing in crafting business. Together, they are running their entrepreneurial dream. LOL

4- Giovanni: Birthday9/5

You must have Giovanni as a friend! He will always keep your motor up and run. He always has some nugget of earthy wisdom to dispense to his customers.

5- Beppe: Birthday7/17

Beppe is OK Motors ‘and good in his style. He’s a king of giving new paint job to your camper if you have one. But if you are looking something apart from the paint job then he is good for nothing. Do not let him work on your engine!

6- Carlo: Birthday5/2

He is a jack of all trades and expert in none. He is the main wrench at OK Motors, Carlo only knows the nitty-gritty of being a mechanic. But you can bestow the responsibilities of small tasks on his shoulders.

7- Timmy: Birthday6/6

Timmy sometimes likes to get away from the job and set up shop at Market Place. Don’t forget to stop by his place and check out some cool things that he has got his shop.

8- Tommy: Birthday6/6

Whenever Tommy is bored with hustle and bustle of city life and needs some different time, he directly goes to Market Place to sell things. He does everything in an old-fashioned way and spends most of his time in his truck only.

9- Mabel: Birthday5/21

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She is a fashion freak, always love to wear new clothes. If you were her smile at Market Place, you have good clothing and accessories that she likes, and soon she’ll buy something from you.

10- Sable: Birthday11/21

She is always busy with her sewing machine Whether she is at home or on the road. She is always busy with her sisters to sell out the things that she makes from her mobile store.

11- Labelle: Birthday10/30

Labelle has studied under fashion legend Gracie. She makes amazing hats and other fashion accessories as well. So, if you are looking for something cute and couture, you know whom to meet.

12- Kicks: Birthday11/29

This skunk runs a shoe shop named kicks after his name only. Market Place seems to become more fashionable every time he comes up with the new design.

13- Lloyd: Birthday8/27

He is always busy in mining conditions at Shovel strike Quarry. He seems to be the busiest person in the town. He’s always in the market, searching for minerals and offers Bells and craft materials in exchange.

14- Jay: Birthday7/16

His Preferred theme is sporty, and Favorite Furniture is stripe sofa. He is a confusing person who is not brave but believes in his willpower, and he also wants to succeed badly.

15- Apollo: Birthday7/3

His most preferred theme is the cool theme, and favorite furniture is the modern sofa with Stern of brow and beak. He’s very often misunderstood by the people because of his appearance.

16- Goldie: Birthday12/26

Her preferred theme is natural and favorite furniture is the couch. Goldie’s luxurious locks are famous in the marketplace in the town for their natural fluff and sweet aroma. A lot of people ask her, what’s the secret behind her aroma but she smiles and says, there is no secret.

17- Rosie: Birthday2/26

Her preferred theme is cute, and favorite furniture is lovely love seat.

She is a kind of a celeb in town. If you come across frenzy crowd in the marketplace, probably Rosie’s on the other side of it.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Hack Review

The animal crossing pocket camp hack has received the praise worldwide. After the release of the cheat tool, it has been downloaded more than 1million times that itself shows the popularity of the hack all around the world. The animal crossing pocket camp hack is perfect fun if you are playing with friends it gives the perfect simulation of the real world. The free leaf tickets in the game are also very funny and cute.

After the launch of Nintendo’s Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, this was the third most anticipated game. I would say the animal crossing pocket camp hack has got a pretty good start as it crossed the 1million mark within a week. According to the gaming experts, it would touch the 5million mark soon the way it’s growing.

We compare the number of downloads in the first week then Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes had around 3 million and 1 million downloads, respectively. According to Sensor Tower’s data if you ask which game is the most popular among all three then certainly number tells a lot. Super Mario comes. First, Animal Crossing Hack comes second whether Fire Emblem stands as the third position.

If we scrutinize this number of downloads, then we can clear idea how much money this app is making, but Sensor Tower did not have those figures. But when it comes to app’s success, the app is free to download, the number of in-app purchases would only decide the revenue generated by the app.

In that regard, it would be quite impossible to say how much money Pocket Camp Hack is making, since the animal crossing pocket camp cheats have the 1 ranking in the top games hack list on the google. That’s not very bad on the list of millions of apps. But we won’t be able to predict the exact numbers. So, we have just to wait and watch the time Google reveals its numbers. We can’t say whether this game would be a financial success for the company or not.

But, regarding popularity, it certainly has gained some momentum, the app is having around 2 million downloads daily, if it keeps on growing at the same speed, it will reach more than 100million within three months. If you have played the game, don’t forget to share your experience in the comments below. We would happily add your review to the article if possible.

#animal crossing pocket camp hack #animal crossing pocket camp free tickets #animal crossing pocket camp #animal crossing pocket camp cheats

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 6 years

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King Raul headcanons

Raul Enrico Reyes-Castillo was the firstborn son of Enrique Reyes and Isabel Castillo and crown prince of Avalor.

Enrique Reyes had been king before him and was part of a very conservative era where a royal’s duty is always to one’s kingdom and there was a heavy practice of self-discipline and self-sacrificing for others since being king meant that you had the world upon your shoulders. He learned this early on when his youthful love with a local marquess was cut short by his parents marrying him off to a princess from a neighboring kingdom for the sake of keeping that kingdom as part of Avalor’s allies. But Enrique accepted it as it was he was expected to do his whole life.

Princess Isabel Veta of Avila was incredibly angry about their forced nuptials. She had known she was to be married to a prince but the rushed reception and deliberate timing so that their union could symbolize their kingdom’s defense against Paraiso was just insulting. She felt like she had been traded off like a bag of flour.

That was where Enrique and Isabel bonded. They both felt bound by duty and appearances and had spent their lives making their parents and kingdom happy but not themselves. It took several years for them to fall truly in love and care for each other’s strengths and flaws etc. When the former king retired and Enrique was crowned king, one of the first things that Enrique sought to do was to learn what his people really wanted in order to be happy.

He had been trained to do just what protacle said but he felt protocols focused too much on etiquette in dealing with other countries and not with his own subjects. He implemented a grand council made up of a variety of citizens as well as monthly Meeting Day. Meeting Day was when ordinary citizens could come to the castle to address the king with grievances and opinions.

Isabel was the one to come up with the idea to have more festivals among others to honor their land’s traditions and promote nationalism. She had long wanted to be a historian rather than a princess and this project of researching Maruvian history and legends enlivened her more than any royal function.

The kingdom was becoming known as a progressive kingdom that treated its citizens with care and had a happy atmosphere which becoming positively electric when the first son was born, Raul.

Raul was a happy baby but also very observant and intelligent his parents noted because he rarely cried but just looked at them and watched their every move. As he grew, he was a great lover of books and researching how to do things on his own before partaking in activities.

His mother spread her love of Avaloran culture and history to him but while Raul found the holidays to be fun, he was far more interested in the magical aspects. But that fascination had to be laid to rest by his parents who told him magic was not really well-researched and stumbling upon it or messing with it would be too dangerous. Raul didn’t care, he ended up befriending several wizard apprentices when he went about town and would eagerly sit in their workshops to learn.

Raul was like his father in believing that he must hear from the people themselves but he also relied on the experience of experts who actually knew what they were doing and not guided by feelings alone. So the royal lessons he completed was in his unique method of following his instincts and what he felt was the right thing to do. Thanks to empathetic and knowledge-seeking nature, his gut was more right than wrong but he did suffer the fatal flaw of hubris as well stubbornness and taking some failures too personally.

I believe Raul did have a brother (based on the picture in Song of the Sireneas, the man who is Cristobal’s father has a lot of facial similarities to Raul so I’m going to say they’re brothers), Alamar. The two were close in family loyalty and didn’t really argue but they didn’t hang out a lot simply because they didn’t have things in common. Alamar was into sports while Raul preferred to read. Alamar liked to party with all the people while Raul prefered one on one conversations and so on and so forth. BUt there wasn’t any bitterness when it came to Raul becoming the future king because Alamar wanted a more simple family life (by simple I mean he didn’t want to rule but he wanted all the luxuries).

Just like his parents, Raul was arranged to be married but his parents were much lenient about it and were giving him a choice out of all the pre-approved respectable potential wives. By inviting all the young ladies of noble rank within Avalor and royals from neighboring kingdoms. (A bit like Princesses on Parade from the Swan Princess)

It was almost a two-week long Bachelor style affair where Raul and his brother talked with various ladies trying to distinguish who would be the best fit and who would actually want to spend time with the added stress that she had to be able to be a good queen and not to offend them too much in his rejections.

Lady Lucia Flores had attended the ball simply because it was required to do so. She didn’t particularly want to marry the prince or rule. If anything, the ball was a nice way to converse with people she never met before and enjoy all the food. She didn’t believe in arranged marriages because she wanted to love the man she was going to spend her life with. When it came her turn to talk, Lucia didn’t try to impress him or show off but simply was herself.

To her surprise, they both had a lot to talk about. While Raul was generally more cautious he was very open to new experiences which suited Lucia’s bold nature. They both wanted to ride on a jaquin someday and both wanted to explore things out of their comfort zones if only if they had someone beside them that would encourage the other to go through with it. Not only that but Lucia loved how sincere Raul was and how he hanged on to her every word because he cared about what she was saying and Raul adored her slight temper when standing for what she believed to be right.

The clincher would have to be on one of the last days of the Princess Parade Ball was listening to Lucia played on her guitar, an obscure song about new beginnings and love (now widely known in Avalor as the Sunflower Festival song- This New Day) where Raul promptly joined her in a duet as if they had be in synch their whole lives.

Upon being crowned king, Raul set out to continue his father’s work to banish the differences that separated Avaloran citizens rather than unite them. He abolished class ranking which had banned many middle and lower class citizens from receiving educations, high profiled jobs among other things because only the upper class had the money and titles to do that. Now, education was mandatory in the cities at least and job criteria was based on the skill of the worker, not his family title.

This included more opportunities for women which was further strengthened by Lucia’s presence at Raul’s side. She was one of the first queens to take part in advising the king on what to do and helping him with his policies as well as suggesting her own. She also showed off her own hobbies like in fencing and following her mother’s example, personally helping servants to decorate the city for holidays.

Raul pursuing his personal fascination with magic in Avaloran/Maruvian history invited more seers and wizards to the kingdom to freely practice their craft and to educate other citizens on magic. This was how he chose Alacazar to be the first royal wizard after listening to his numerous lectures on spellcraft and personal one on one conversations that led him to believe that Alacazar’s enthusiasm for knowledge, modesty and caring heart would make him a good fit as the kingdom’s chief magical protector.

The birth of his daughters, Elena Guillermina Castillo-Flores and Isabel Josefa Castillo-Flores was one of the happiest days of Raul’s life and he aspired to be let go of his more unseemly habits such as pride in order to be the best example for them, but at the same time he was very understanding of when they fell prey to their weaknesses by always telling them that “no one is perfect.”

Raul was excellent in giving advice and being a cool head. Despite being busy as king of Avalor, he always tried to make time for his wife and his children. Because through his tired haze, his girls always managed to cheer him and revive his energy. This was especially true when he was with Lucia whom with he put down his kingly air and be cheesy and romantic with her.

His love for his family stayed with him until his final moments when Shuriki struck. He saw Elena behind the witch and prayed for her safety while he gripped Lucia’s hand tightly as they braced what was to come.

#king raul #king Raul castillo #elena of avalor #lucia flores #alacazar #my hcs #my headcanons #headcanon

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christinesficrecs · 6 years

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Sterek & ALL the Christmas Fics

I have no self control when it comes to Christmas fics. None. So, this is my top 60 list of christmas fics. Yes, top 50 would have been cooler but then I would have to delete some fics *gasp* The newer fics are at the top. Also, I did not update the ugly christmas sweater fics those ones are here.

A Royal Christmas Engagement by skoosiepants | 25.6K

Young omega Warden Lord Mieczysław Stilinski, given the royal request of marrying Crown Prince Derek Hale of Triskelion, predictably messes the whole entire thing up.

Potential by alocalband | 2K

Stiles finds him in a bookstore in Brooklyn and it’s like not a day has passed since they last saw each other, even though it’s been almost two years now.

Mistletoe's Overrated Anyway by stilinski | 8.2K

Derek remembers a hyperactive eleven year old with a buzzcut and an irritating habit of getting underfoot - his memory doesn’t lend to the lean, doe eyed brunet in his hallway; he’s talking on his phone and scowling something fierce but Derek’s mouth goes dry at the way Stiles runs long fingers through his hair.

Kiss Me on This Cold December Night by Leslie_Knope | 18.9K

The hairs on the back of Stiles’ neck tingle, and he swallows hard against the unmistakable sensation of someone staring at him. He’s tempted to just ignore it, but after a few seconds, his curiosity wins out and he looks up from his phone instead. He doesn’t notice anything right away, flicking his gaze along the people on the other side of the intersection until he suddenly stops and backtracks. It’s a little hard to see, what with the thick drizzle and the cars whizzing between them, but he would recognize that glorious bearded face anywhere, even after six years. Holy shit.

The Holiday by matildajones | 16.5K

It's Christmas, Stiles is alone, and he finds himself swapping Bed & Breakfasts with Cora Hale over the holidays.

practice makes perfect by bleep0bleep | 3.3K

“So… you’re interested? Or you just said yeah because it’s what you say when you don’t know what to say.” “Interested. In kissing you.” Stiles makes a vague gesture with his hand. “I mean, yeah, if only to get you more comfortable with the whole dating thing in the future. I mean, we’re friends, and I want you to be happy.” He bites his lip, nervous. Derek doesn’t even need to think about it because he knows it’s a bad idea. He’ll kiss Stiles and get to know what it’s like, and his heart will break because he won’t ever get to have him, that this is out of friendship only. But this might be his only chance.

Kiss Me, It's Beginning To Snow by thepsychicclam | 4.2K

On Christmas Eve, Derek runs into Stiles. Even though it's been years, Derek is still completely drawn to Stiles.

Home for Christmas by mikkimouse | 6.6K

When Sheriff Stilinski is hurt after an encounter with the supernatural, Stiles ends up spending the Christmas season with Derek. It's not nearly as bad as he thinks it's going to be.

The flamingo in the yard by Vendelin | 6.1K

It isn’t fair that Stiles needs to work Christmas, when his dad is on the other side of the country. Or that his really hot, next door neighbour is around for the holidays as well. Or that there’s a power outage that makes things even worse. Or better.

Caring for Your Caroler by mikkimouse | 2K

Derek’s neighbor is singing Christmas carols in the backyard at 2 a.m. Derek’s going to kill him.

Layover by dr_girlfriend | 3.6K

She seemed fascinated with Derek’s beard, eyes widening further under incredibly thick lashes as she petted Derek’s cheek some more, smoothing down the short stubble. Finally she grinned widely. “Good wuff.”

Derek jerked upright, hands clenching on the edge of his seat. Did she just say?…

“CJ!” The child was suddenly gone, lifted up by a strong, tattooed forearm around her little potbelly. “You scared the he— heck out of me! What have I told you about wandering — Derek?”

hooked on (dangling by a yarn) by extantecstasy | 19.1K

One hundred days, ten scarves, one Christmas, and Stiles’ dormant magic has to ruin everything.

nom de plume by bleep0bleep | 3.9K

There are no more chapters. 22 is the last one. Derek groans in despair. He has to know what happens.

the amber of the moment by redhoodedwolf | 23.2K

Ever since he was eight years old, Stiles had been running. Fate decided it was time to stop.

I’ll Wait Up For You, Dear by WhoNatural | 5.4K

Derek is the Uber driver who always seems to be up when Stiles needs a ride home from work.

Regression to the Mean by theroguesgambit | 16.5K

There aren’t really words for this. “Sure, dude. Let’s hang out sometime and bond over the fact that our lives suck and we’ve both basically killed a bunch of people by accident” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

sometimes fate is like a small snowstorm by thepsychicclam | 8.1K

In a coffee shop two days before Christmas, Derek meets Stiles. Despite neither of them being interested in relationships, they spend an unforgettable evening together, but then part ways. During the following years, Stiles competes in the Olympics, Derek tours the world - and neither of them forget. Then twelve years later, two days before Christmas, Derek finds Stiles in that same coffee shop.

Red Against the Snow by Ember | 34.2K

Stiles is trapped for the holidays in the cabin of a strange man/hermit named Derek. A strangely friendly wolf befriends Stiles during his stay. It’s up to the teenager to find out why Derek has secluded himself from society, what the feelings he’s beginning to have means, and what the connection between the mysterious man and the mysterious black wolf is.

Let it snow! Let it snow! (but please let it stop eventually) by relenafanel | 19.1K

Stiles grew up with his bedroom window overlooking Derek’s bedroom, so when he returns home for the holidays he’s surprised to find a stranger in his nerdy neighbour’s bedroom.

Only, he’s not much of a stranger.

It is Derek Hale, the guy who is going to be his new step brother, if the rumours are true.

Abominable by Revenant | 20.2K

Where Derek buys a secluded cabin halfway up a mountain, meets a yeti and falls in love with Stiles, but not necessarily in that order.

You Got Us An Ornament by TheRealNightTempest | 18K

With the Pack out of town for Christmas and his dad and Melissa on the honeymoon they never had, Stiles plans to craft his way through the holidays to distract himself from being alone. When he realizes his plan isn’t as fun by himself, Stiles turns to Derek Hale to help him out as the only other miserable guy left in Beacon Hills at Christmas.

Or the one where Stiles loves Pinterest and forces Derek to help him bake ten different cookies and break out his hot gluing skills. There might be heaping amounts of feels. You have been warned.

The Long Way Around by banryeo, secondstar | 10.2K

After searching through his family’s vault, Derek finds a key to a vacation cabin that his family own. He decides to fix it, along with allowing himself to heal for the first time since his family’s death. In taking the time for himself, he comes to realize his feelings for Stiles, albeit slowly.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by mikkimouse | 1.1K

“you’re in the hospital for the holidays so i came in while you were sleeping to decorate your room i love you merry christmas”

made from the heart by bleep0bleep | 2.7K

Derek has been crushing on Stiles for awhile, and thinks maybe this Christmas season he’ll tell him how he feels. He’s got a great present too, except when Stiles gives him a thoughtful handmade present, Derek is pretty much screwed.

Scott and Stiles own a Christmas Tree Farm | tumblr ficlet

Derek just has to cut down the perfect tree. And maybe Laura and Cora have ulterior motives for Derek and the cute Christmas tree farm owner.

The Natural Binding Properties of Pine Sap by uraneia | 4.2K

Derek saves a nymph from being somebody’s Christmas decoration. As a reward, the nymph grants him a twig of mistletoe.

If Derek had known the mistletoe would come to life and goad him into kissing people at random, he might have tried to refuse.

your presence is a present by bleep0bleep | 1.6K

For some reason Derek had this idea in his head of an elderly grandfatherly type who liked to tell silly jokes, read stories to kids in classrooms and let them wear his badge.

Stiles is, for lack of a better word, hot.

Bet On It by IDreamOnlyOfYou (lauren3210) | 8.3K

Stiles is an RN and Derek the attending trauma surgeon at Beacon Hills Hospital. They’re constantly arguing, much to the amusement of their colleagues, who ultimately decide to take bets on when the sexual tension will finally explode. The only question is, who will win the jackpot?

The Ribbon on My… by Dira Sudis (dsudis) | 11.3K

Derek had assumed that he and Stiles would give each other simple things, swapping books or DVDs or jokey gifts, random dollar store toys and junk food.

A Thrill of Hope by bigboobedcanuck | 4K

Stiles crashes through the forest with Derek in his sights, stopping every so often to launch another snowball and duck one of Derek’s. Obviously Derek could outrun him in a heartbeat if he wanted to, but for some bizarre reason he apparently wants to hang out with Stiles and have an epic snowball fight. Maybe it’s a Christmas miracle. Or maybe Derek is just as bored and lonely as Stiles is.

All I Want for Christmas (Is You) by blindinglights | 9.2K

Derek meets Stiles in a department store while shopping for his family, after seeing a little girl crying for her Dad on the floor. They part ways and Derek doesn’t think he’ll see Stiles again. Beacon Hills may not be that big, but it still doesn’t mean he’ll ever run into Stiles, because that’s just not how Derek’s life works. Despite what Erica tries to tell him whenever she can, that sometimes fate can happen, Christmas miracles, whatever, it won’t.

(Or, the one where Stiles is a single dad, Derek falls for him, and Christmas ends up better than Derek expected.)

12 Days of Hale Publishing by relenafanel | 7,533

Something must have poked his Christmas Spirit. It might be the way Hale was watching the proceedings with a scowl on his face, unable to hide what was clear derision. Earlier, his eyes had lifted when Stiles entered the work pen with the presents, and Stiles had been under the impression he had been vaguely pleased. The only thing Stiles could think of that would make someone such a gloomy grump was not getting a gift.

“What?” Hale asked, staring at him through the glass wall that made up the part of his office facing the work area.

“I’ve got something for you!” Stiles said, waving the small rectangular present as he walked in.

“That’s not mine,” Mr. Hale said, staring at the box like it offended him. Then he stared at Stiles like he was offending him more. “You’ve made a mistake.”

“No mistake, sir. It’s a special delivery from magical Hale Holiday Elves.” Stiles gestured to his head. “See the hat. A man wearing this hat makes no mistakes.”

A Hale for the Holidays by rlnerdgirl | 38,095

“I sent you a Christmas card that got sent back to me. Did you get a new apartment?” his dad wonders. The question is all suspicion and little anything else.

A flicker of an idea sparks. It’s not nearly formed well enough for him to say, “Yeah, actually,” and when he follows that with, “I moved in with someone,” he wants to punch himself in the face. He’s living with someone?!

“You’re living with someone?” It’s the same voice and tone as the one in Stiles’ head, just thirty years older.

Two things keep Stiles from bashing his face onto the table: there’s a steaming cup of coffee in the way and, more importantly, his dad will definitely hear. Someone passes by in front of him and a semi-familiar book cover catches his eye. “Derek Hale,” he muses, and stops. No. That wasn’t meant to be out loud.

A Missed Opportunity Is Found by alyshajade (larrymates) |3,362

Derek was more than halfway done with shelving the new shipment of Young Adult fantasy novels by the time Stiles finally breezed through the door, signaling his late arrival with the dull jingling of the bell. He wasn’t even in his work clothes yet, and Derek noted with disdain the streaks of mud that covered Stiles from head to toe.

“You’re more than an hour late,” Derek stated, more of a fact than an admonishment. Stiles was not only the boss’ kid, he was a snarky, arrogant teenage boy with an abundance of confidence, and Derek could rarely muster the nerve to stand up to him, regardless of his position as manager.

Assholes In Love by serenelystrange |3,819

These two assholes can’t figure out what to get each other for Christmas. Their friends are absolutely no help. But it all works out.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Jebiwonkenobi | 2,791

Beacon Hills has a snow storm. Totally-not-cuddling happens.

bah humbug (no, that’s too strong) by mywholecry | 6,384

Derek buys locks for his stupid burnt-out shell of a home, even though half of the place is exposed to the open air and it’s not exactly the fortress of solitude that a tragic anti-hero like Derek really deserves. He installs them on the front door one by one while Stiles sits cross-legged on the porch and watches, leans backwards onto his hands.

But, Doctor! by stilinskisparkles | 30,266

“We had to splint a girl’s leg in a ditch,” Scott says excitedly.

“Bro, you sound way too happy about that,” Stiles complains, opening up his bag and pulling out a Twinkie.

Derek removes it from his hand silently and replaces it with an apple. Stiles scowls at him for a second then bites into it, regardless. Derek sits back and lets the group discuss the merits of dramatic lifesaving feats for winning over the ladies. Scott is convinced it’ll help impress Allison; Isaac thinks Scott’s a loser. Stiles—

Stiles is falling asleep on Derek’s shoulder.

Come Fly With Me (Or Don’t) by stilinskisparkles | 15,325

Stiles is overworked and stressed out when his flight home gets delayed due to copious amounts of snow. He finds entertainment with one Derek Hale, whom he hasn’t seen since high school but really doesn’t mind getting reacquainted with. Especially when it turns out Derek is surprisingly hilarious and will reluctantly play snap with him. And can walk on his hands.

Cupboard Love by mklutz | 32,682

He’s carefully balancing the sandwiches and the two biggest tupperware containers he could find that both had functioning lids when the front door opens and he almost drops everything right there in front of the stupid fountain. If that’s Derek Hale, he’s definitely not a mountain man.

Deck the Hales with Mistletoe and Holly by tryslora | 32,827

Stiles recognizes that there are a number of reasons why this is a bad idea.

The one where Stiles manages to somehow imply that he might be dating his exceedingly hot TA for freshman lit, and ends up inviting him home for the holidays (along with his two crazy sisters) and really hopes that Lydia doesn’t find out he was lying and kill him before maybe he can make it so he’s not lying after all…

Denial by ericaismeg |4,924

Scott thinks they’re flirting. Isaac’s betting on Derek sniffing him. The Sheriff thinks they’re dating. Erica and Boyd are rooting for them. Derek’s waiting for him to figure it out.

Stiles is the only one in denial.

Glad Tidings by stilinskisparkles |24,166

“Eight people are going to be descending on our home in a mere matter of days, Derek.” Stiles grabs the pizza box, uses it to gesture at the pile of books and papers under the table, away and towards Derek’s sneaker collection. “You want them to think we live like this all the time?”

“We do live like this all the time,” Derek huffs, stretching lazily.

how you doin’? by decideophobia |6,768

“So,” Derek says eventually, because he feels awkward and uncomfortable, “how you doin’?”

I Thought You Would Like That by Emela | 7,325

Derek and Stiles get locked in a room together at an office Christmas party and end doing something about all that unresolved sexual tension.

i wish i had a river by thepsychicclam |15,588

Derek is the editor of a successful publishing firm, and is horrible to all his employees, including Stiles. On Christmas Eve night, he gets visited by three spirits and has to take a look at his life.

Mistletoe Never Lies by CarolineLahey | 19,220

Derek Hale loves his family, he really does. He just wishes they weren’t so determined to set him up. When he finally blurts out that he has a boyfriend, and quickly gives his mother the name of the barista at his local coffee shop as his “boyfriend”, he figures that buys him a little peace.

He probably should have been paying attention to the part of the conversation where he agreed to bring Stiles home for Christmas to meet the family.

My World Is Filled With Cheer And You by bleep0bleep | 10,832

“It was a last minute decision. Single parents with children draw attention to themselves in this type of neighborhood, and this department didn’t have a big budget to relocate all the werewolf and werewolf sympathizers that were targeted on this list. We’ve combined a lot of our relocation assignments. It ended up working out that another family, Mr. Stilinski and his son, looked like a good fit for you guys, so you’ll be sharing a home with them for the time being.” Markowski grins at him. “Congratulations! You’re married!”

In which Derek and his daughter are displaced just in time for the holidays, matched up with Stiles and his young son in a government protection program.

Nothing Short Of Perfect by GotTheSilver |27,019

In which Derek and Stiles are made aware of their potential and have to make a choice about what their relationship will be. “Let me get this straight,” his dad says. “You’re telling me a witch told Derek and yourself that you could be destined to be together and now Derek will be going to college with you?”

Secret Santa by Jebiwonkenobi | 10,866

Stiles was all odd angles and squirming. He shoved words into spaces where they shouldn’t go. He stood his ground when he should have run. He helped and protected Derek and the pack without ever asking for anything in return. Derek found himself wanting a lot of things from Stiles that he hadn’t allowed himself to want from anyone in a long time, which made Stiles feel like a cliff that he was in danger of leaping off of.

Solstice Alpha by Dira Sudis (dsudis) |11,152

The traditional Hale pack solstice party gets resurrected by the new and improved-from-ten-months-ago Hale pack.

Thank You For Breaking My Heart by Loz |14,458

Even though Christmas was the fucking worst, Derek had a moment to hang his hopes on — Scott coming into the coffee shop and gracing him with his smile. Little did Derek know that rescuing Scott from hunters would lead to him convincing Scott’s family they were engaged. This might not have been such a problem if Scott’s step-brother Stiles wasn’t so suspicious and oddly charming.

Tis The Season Baristas Fear The Most by stilinskisparkles | 5,470

Scott is hands down the worst barista Derek has ever hired. But it’s Christmas and apparently that means something to some people.

The Christmas Raffle by mikkimouse | 10,386

Every year, the royal Hale family raffles off a Christmas dinner with Prince Derek to raise money for charity. But this year, the winner is the second chance Derek didn’t know he was looking for.

The Company I Keep by secondstar | 67,551

Stiles has a favorite table at the library. Then some asshole comes along and steals it from him.

When You Stop Believing in Santa You Get Underwear by owlpostagain | 7,817

There are some salvageable things though. A virtually untouched heavy slate sign that says, engraved in an ornate script that confirms at least one person in the Hale family had a sense of humor (Stiles has a horrible suspicion it might have been Peter), When You Stop Believing in Santa You Get Underwear.

With A Little Christmas Magic by AceLotti |10,669

Stiles is jobless this Christmas and as a last resort, is stuck playing one of Santa’s elves at the mall. The job is a bust, and Stiles isn’t really in the Christmas mood, until he finds salvation in the Starbucks at the food court, not only in hiding from kids, but in one very sexy barista named Derek.

You put a Hallmark on my Heart by giantteenwolforgy | 3,325

Stiles is funny and smart and kind and is also his daughter’s teacher and his boss’s son. On the list of people who are off-limits, Stiles has held the top spot for as long as Derek has known him.

Since Derek is Derek, Stiles also happens to rank number one on the list of people Derek is in love with. Seriously. His life is like a bad Hallmark movie.

In the New Year by pyes | 43,507

In Beacon Hills they don’t say “Happy Holidays.” Instead they say “Yo, Derek,” which translates to “I’m pretty sure I soul-bound my sorry ass to the floor of your loft, four years ago, while reading spells off the internet.” I think that’s beautiful.

The Rest of Your Life by paradis | 4,168

“Seemed like a buttercream guy,” Stiles says innocently, and grabs two forks and pours two huge glasses of milk. They eat in silence and when Stiles finishes his mouth is filled with the too-sweet taste of peanut butter icing and chocolate cake, and he’s full, but he feels good, too. He stares at Derek, who’s licking his lips after his last bite of cake.

#holy crap this is long #ficrecs #christmas fics #eternal sterek #christmas

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feitanswife · 6 years

Text

Because I’m angry at life and like old memes: Washington State Gothic

-“Evergreen state!” You say so proudly. It hasn’t rained in months. Everything is dead it hasn’t rained in months but the trees are fine. Ever. Green.

- every summer there’s a fire, a few fires, everything is on fire. The sky is full of smoke, no one goes outside. You drive through where they said the fire was, everything is fine. Did they put the fire out? They never said they got it out. Did they ever say they got last years fire out? The place your standing was burnt black on the news last week. Wow, they restored it all so fast. Even the grass. It’s like it never happened, but that’d be silly, there’s smoke in the air! There has to be a fire somewhere.

- there’s four Starbucks stores in your town, one in Safeway, one in Fred Meyer, one with a drive through, and one in a weird spot with only three parking spaces. That one is always packed, even if every parking space in the entire shopping center is open. The drinks you get there never taste quite right. Safeway gets it right every time. Why don’t you just walk across the street to that one? Why don’t you?

-if you go west, the city doesn’t stop. You’ve been driving for five minutes, you’re in Tacoma now. You’ve been driving ten hours, you’re still in Auburn. How does it work? You don’t know. You don’t pay attention to where you’re going but you get where you wanted to be. Somehow. But if you go east... don’t go east.

- no one stops in Yakima. If you’re going to the east, maybe to Idaho I dunno, you don’t stop in Yakima. You wait. You don’t know why you don’t stop in Yakima, but you do, you wait until the rest area if you’re going to stop.

-your neighbor is a witch, no one questions it. Your coworker is a witch. Your boss is a witch. The cashier at the grocery store is a witch. The lady giving out samples at Costco is a witch. You’re a witch.

- along with that, you have crystals. You didn’t buy them. You know their names and what they mean. It’s in a notebook on your dresser, in your handwriting. When did you write that down?

- you have six types of neighbors.

1 There are ones who you’ve never seen, never spoken to, but you know their names, jobs, and where they hide their spare key. You don’t know how you know this.

2 You have an elderly white couple with too much money to live in that neighborhood, they’re nice, befriend them.

3 There’s the weed dealer and his overachiever kid. The kid is a witch. According to the people who can remember, theyre the one who initiated you.

4 There’s the do-all ones. The husband is a lawyer, tech customer service guy, landscaper, contracter, he rides a motorcycle. and his wife is a teacher, a writer, an artist, a therapist, she volunteeers. Where? Somewhere. She’s always volunteering.

5 There’s the ones who don’t speak English. Several kids in the family. They have only one kid who’s fluent despite going to the same public school as any other kids, and they’re in your age group. You’ll speak to them once, and never see them again. The one in your grade and graduate with you, but none of the others seem to age. They grow fruit trees in their yard that really shouldn’t grow in this climate.

6 There’s the ones your parents know. They went to school together. They worked together. They were roommates. They live next door. They don’t have kids. They don’t have lives. They’ve known your parents forever. Their house has no decorations. They don’t plant anything in their yard. Their house is plain white. They have no friends, no pets, and never have anyone over. They’ve known your parents forever.

- you have a classic car in your garage. So does your neighbor. The poorest house has a classic car. On Friday evenings in summer, everyone takes them to the parking lot behind the WalMart. It’s always the same people, but you never recognize the cars.

- you’re going camping. Your boss is going camping. Everyone is going camping. Someone from work left a year ago, said they were going camping. You forgot about them. When they came back, the boss just asked how the trip went. They said it was fine, but it rained and their tent got damp. You still can’t remember the last time it rained.

- “huskies or cougs???? Huskies or cougs????” Everyone asks when you start talking about college. You were planning on going to Central. Everyone goes to Central these days. But when you say that, no one knows where it is. No one sells Wildcat merch. But over 1/3 of your graduating class wanted to go to Central. Your cousin went to Central. Didn’t she? When was she ever gone for school?

- on the subject of how CWU and the town of Ellensburg only seem to sort of exist, I’m just going to put it out here not even joking the Ellensburg Safeway probably houses a portal to hell and it’s also just a shitty store, go to Grocery Outlet or Fred Meyer if you stop there to get something.

- you had a horse growing up, your neighbor has a horse, your best friend has a horse. Everyone has a horse. You live nowhere near a farm and you still hear them.

- your neighbors have chickens. Their neighbors have chickens. You don’t have chickens but they’re here anyway. You move to the city, you still wake up to a rooster’s call. You can’t escape the goddamn chickens.

- you started a garden. Even if you don’t have a yard, you have a garden. Everyone has a garden. You’d have to be crazy to not have a garden! You have buckets of cucumbers. More peas than you can eat. The basil plant is six feet tall. Who needs that much basil? You pick it and dry it anyway, you never seem to have any in the house even though this happens every year. Your lavender plants are spilling into the sidewalk. Your lavender plants are eating local squirrels. You forgot to trim back the rose bush. Its bigger than the house. It’s too late now.

- you have reusable grocery bags. You have fifteen. You keep them in your car. They’re never there. You buy more, and put them in your car. How many bags have you put in your car?

-you own an umbrella or two. You don’t use them. No one does. You don’t remember why but you’d feel mortified to be seen with one. Only outsiders use umbrellas. Tourists. You don’t want to look like a tourist. You really don’t.

- it finally rains, it rains as hard as you’ve ever seen it, the drops bounce feet off the ground. Someone scoffs, “that’s not rain. This, this is a drizzle. You’ll know when it rains.” You stop praying for rain.

- it’s fair time. You’re paying to park in someone’s yard. You win prizes and bring them home, and lose them. You can’t remember what they were, or what games you played, or what you did at the fair. You’re too poor to make rent now and with nothing to show for it. You don’t know why you keep going back, but if it’s fair time, you have to go.

-nobody remembers what happened in middle school. But every time you see things that remind you of your old best friend, you run. You don’t remember why you’re avoiding her. You find a copy of her favorite day game in a parking lot, and you cry. You can’t escape her. You change your style and dye your hair but she always recognizes you. No one says her name. Somehow, you think it might always be her. Everyone is avoiding her.

-do not, for the love of god, pray for snow. If you want snow go to the mountains. Don’t bring it here.

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a-little-bit-colorful · 7 years

Text

This is for @devils-deeds-23 coraline au!! I had a blast writing this!

"So... can I go see john today?"

"Not today, no."

Luke stopped untangling his head phones, a task he chose to keep his mind off of the pretty blue eyed boy he befriended few days ago. "Aw come on! Why not?" He threw his hands and the tangled mess down on the table, shuffling some of the papers that seemed almost torn apart from being in a cabinet for so long.

"It's raining, there's mud. And I don't want you to slip and hurt yourself." Luke's father, Evan, said with a look of disinterest. He was a strong man and could easily take you down in a heartbeat. But he was also a softie. He took an injury a few months ago because of his profession, he was a hockey player. Key word: was, past tense. Evan had their family move all the way to North Carolina. Both of Luke's fathers were pretty well off, so he didn't really have to worry about your normal 'my family is poor' stuff. Luke really did enjoy his life... except for the fact he can't keep a good friend for more then a month. He misses their old house, the neighbors were nice, it wasn't a 'bad' part of town. His fathers didn't enjoy it as much as their son did. THEY of corse wanted to be secluded and anonymous.

The 14 year old sighed, giving up on untangling the wires, putting the jack into his iPod. "I'll be careful! Come on... please?" Luke begged his father. With a sigh, Luke accepted defeat. Deciding that convincing Evan was a lost cause, he came up with another idea. Of course Evan was so engrossed into doing his taxes that he didn't even notice his son slip away, a small doll in his arms.

Walking through the hall ways, Luke found his second fathers study after awhile of roaming around aimlessly. Dathi is an author, though his husband would call him the 'dork of all dorks'. The tall Irish man sat at his desk typing away on an old computer, bags under his eyes. He seemed hard at work, but Luke could care less as he knocked on the office door. His attempt to get his fathers attention was proving fruitless when he was given a half assed reply to everything Luke said.

"So... can I go to the orchard?" Luke finally mused.

"What'd the big man say?"

"He told me to ask you!" The fourteen year old replied with a hopeful smile. "Okay, that's a lie and we both know it. Evan would never let the fate of our son rest in my arms!" He chuckled. Dathi then proceeded to go back to his work.

Luke, still bored as ever tapped his finger to a beat on the cardboard box beside him. That beat grew to a drum solo, Luke was jamming out in no time. No one, and I mean no one, can stop that little devil when he has music on the mind. Slaps and knocks on the boxes to tiny taps and silent beat boxing under his breath. Luke almost forgot where he was, bobbing his head to the artificial beat.

It was all cut short though when Dathi groaned. "Can't you just go n unpack your stuff? I gotta finish this chapter today, or boss'll have my head! I swear I'll help ye set up your computer later. Just go n explore the house!" Dathi rambled with a tired expression. Huffing in defeat once again, Luke goes to explore the hundred year old house as his father suggested.

Of course it didn't help that his head phones would catch on every single door knob. Or that everything in the house was so dull you couldn't even tell if the old thing had color in the first place. It was all so... old. He tried to turn his music up to drown out the sight of how boring everything was. But it only made it worse. Luke's mind drifting from the old house back in Canada, then to Jon.

He ran the memory of meeting him through his mind. Remembering every detail. He walked out of the house to explore the property while his parents got everything situated. Luke shoved his headphones on, blasting techno through his skull. It sounded almost like a shrill screech, he was surprised he even heard it through the music. It was a cat, it was sitting on the gate that lined the pink palace. The poor thing looked almost homeless, thin body, matted fur. Even a torn ear, from what he could tell, this cat meant business.

The cat seemed to smile when Luke went up to greet him. Luke was shocked to see how friendly this cat was. The cats eyes followed his hand as he proceeded to scratch the cat behind his ear; doing his best to not mess with the small white woolen hat that hung upon the cats head. 'Weird, but cool.' Luke thought to himself. The mysterious black cat jumped down from his perch, walking into the orchard. He looked back to see if Luke was following. Luke caught on quickly and ran up to the cat, walking alongside him. Dead apples littered the floor, leaves on the verge of falling off the trees. The orchard felt as it should be a horror movie setting.

Luke hesitantly stopped walking all of a sudden when the cat slowed to a halt. He looked up at Luke with a look of expectancy. Luke not catching onto the cats plan looked around them. To their right was a tree stump, a pretty large stump at that. Almost platform like. On top of the stump was a person. Luke's eyes followed the lean legs up to see a hockey mask. The kid looked to be around Luke's age, he wore a ragged blue hoodie. Skinny jeans hugging the boys legs perfectly. In his hands were a baseball bat, a skateboard in the other. The stance the masked boy was in looked almost majestic. Stoic even. But, little Luke was so startled by the hooded figure, he tackled him to the ground.

The two wrestled for a bit before Luke was finally able to snatch off the hockey mask. Underneath it was blue eyes and a smile so bright Luke thought he might have gone blind. Getting out of his trance, Luke pushed the boy away. Sticking his hand out for a hand shake, "That was a bit unnecessary, I'm Luke." He seemed almost excited to meet this blue eyed creature, but you couldn't tell, with his cool kid facade n all.

"I'm Jon! Short for Jonathan, but call me what ever you like!" Luke resisted the urge to say 'guess I'll call you mine' and gave up on the handshake.

"I see you've already met Marcel?"

"Who?"

"The cat! He has a name! And feelings," Jon stated, "he's wild but, still a really cool cat. He'll come to my window at night and bring me dead things! Like this one time-" Luke didn't bother to listen in to Jonathan's story, only focusing on how excited he seemed. Or how his voice sounded so... delirious? Yeah, let's go with that.

The two kids talked for a bit, even going so far as to wrestle for a second time. After a bit they both mutually agreed they'd become friends. You could hear a bell ring and a mans voice following suit.

It's been five days since that whole ordeal happened. But each would meet by the same tree stump everyday. They'd talk and play like they've know each other for years rather then days. At least until that darn bell rings and a voice calls him home. Luke learned later that the voice belonged to Jons grandpa. He always seemed to call him home at the most inconvenient of times. Luke really liked Jon, platonically of course, why would he like Jon romantically? That'd be ridiculous!

Luke was brought back to earth by a drop of water landing on his nose. Shaking off almost all thoughts about Jonathan, he gripped the doll in his hand tighter. Luke turned up his music a bit more before moving on to the next room of the apartment.

The living room was nicely decorated so far. A few paintings here and there, snow globes and four trophies lined the top of the fire place. Three of them to Evan, and the other to Dathi. Luke placed the mini doll on the table.

It was weird, the doll was an almost complete copy of himself, besides the devil horns and tail. A complete copy. The thing looked professionally made, the stitchings were neat and even. The fabric was well kept, very clean. Luke wouldn't dare say it out loud, but he appreciated the craftsmen ship. He found it on his door step one day. Jonathan left the thing wrapped in newspaper for him. It had a note attached to the package. Luke read the note, smiling at the nickname Jon gave him a few days prior.

Hey Toonz! found this lil guy at my house. He reminds me of you! - Jon

Confused at first, he started to pick at the stitching. It didn't work of course, but he still tried for some reason. The doll seemed to grow on him the more he carried it around the house. Luke even took it to dinner, got the doll its own chair. Sometimes Luke would stay up and just talk with the doll. Who knew how much of a bad thing that was.

Back in the present, Luke picked up one of the pictures above the fire place, it was a picture of Evan. Right before his injury. He smiled, this photo was the only proof he has that his father did indeed smile. His father was in his team uniform, hockey stick in hand, smile on his face. He put the picture back on the mantle. He tried looking around the room for something else interesting, coming up with nothing. He went to go grab the doll he left on the table, Luke's hand came up empty.

Confused as ever, he searched around the table, to see if it fell off when he didn't notice. That's when he saw it. In the corner of his eye. It was the doll. The head facing him, half of its body stuck behind a shelf. Luke moved the shelf to the side. Gathering up the doll he saw an indent in the wall. He realized it was a door. Studying the supposed key hole, he thought about getting up to find the key that opens this tiny hidden door.

He was to lazy to actually go all the way to the kitchen to find a simple key. So he called for his dad instead. "Hey dad! Think you could get the key to this door?"

"What door?"

Luke didn't know how to explain his predicament, so he went with a simple answer, "Just come over here!"

Evan walked through the living room archway, his eyes wandering from his son to the impression of a hatch on the wall. "You're not going to give up till I do this for you... Fine. Just don't bother me after this."

Luke's father sighed in exasperation. After a minute or two Evan came back with a black old time-y key in hand. Luke watched in awe as his father cut the wallpaper and stuck the key in the keyhole. Turning the mysterious key.

It opened with a click.

And that was part one my friends!!! This was really fun to write so, if you want to see more of this let me know!! Have a good day!

#coraline au #dude I'm so fucking happy this is finally done!!#and yes... i did leave it at a cliff hanger.#if you want to see more let me know!!!#I'm sorry to my editor. I just had to post what I had.#I'll probably change a few things later

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seniorbrief · 6 years

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The Town That Literally Wrote the Book on Being Nice

Reader’s Digest EditorsOct 11

In this small Chicago suburb, being good to your neighbors is a mission everyone takes seriously, starting with the mayor.

Courtesy Carol SpaleYou might call this North Riverside’s welcome wagon: its team of “block captains.”

Editor’s Note: North Riverside, Illinois, was selected as one of Reader’s Digest’s Nicest Places in America. Meet the winner, find out how the finalists were selected, and hear from our chief judge, Robin Roberts.

Late one recent night, Carol Spale picked up the phone and heard quiet sobbing on the line. It was her neighbor, an older lady and a widow who had lived on her own across the street for many years.

Spale runs the local “Neighborhood Services Committee,” so she’s used to receiving calls like this. The committee is unique to North Riverside, the small Chicago Suburb where Spale lives. What started as Mayor Richard N. Scheck’s 1992 call for community-building ideas is now a part of the town’s DNA. The committee manages some 90 “block captains,” who oversee each block in town like a family. In this way, a guardian angel looks over every street in North Riverside.

For her neighbor, Spale was the guardian angel. But why was she crying?

As the story goes, Spale called up her neighbor after noticing her garage was open later than usual. When her neighbor finally called back, she was in tears. Spale’s first thought was that she was in trouble, but it turned out to be a lot deeper than that.

“She was crying because my call let her know that someone cares about her,” Spale told Reader’s Digest. “She wanted to tell me how good it feels to know someone cares about her now that she’s alone.”

The primary job of the committee is to foster community between all residents—but it has become so much more. It’s everything from raising money for a neighbor in need, to tying holiday gift bags to everyone’s doorknobs several times a year, to making sure the next generation inherits the most valuable lessons of the village: to live by the golden rule.

Three times a year, the Neighborhood Services Committee has meetings where residents talk about the kind things they’ve done for each other. The speakers are often children, encouraged by their parents to do good—and spread the good word, too. At a recent meeting, one girl, no older than eight, talked about how she made a card for a neighbor she befriended, an older gentleman who had just come back from the hospital with a pacemaker.

“She was like a grandfather for her,” Spale said.

Another youngster noticed bullying going on at her school and gave the victim “warrior” dog tags to protect him from the bigger kids. He now wears them every day.

“The kids were picking on him and she didn’t like that at all,” said Spale.

These acts of kindness are also memorialized in a quarterly newsletter and in a booklet sold on Amazon called “We Can Build Community,” with the proceeds going to locals in need. If good examples aren’t enough, the Neighborhood Services Committee has also put out a 65-page guide on being nice: “Neighbors All: Creating Community One Block at a Time.” It’s filled with specific instructions on how to be kind as well as stories that illustrate them.

The book is filled with tips, like “be the first to reach out,” “share joys and sorrows as if they are your own” and “be concrete in caring.” It shares stories, too, of good neighborly deeds from the past that can act as a guiding light. One resident, a woman from Poland, told her block captain that she was having trouble sorting out the paperwork to get her citizenship. The captain told the committee, who told the mayor, who enlisted the help of her local congressperson, and soon the woman’s paperwork was all in order. One Christmas, a block captain brought a mini Christmas tree to a neighbor who was ill and bedridden. Later that day, the sick man surprised his whole family by asking if they would take him out to see the decorations—something he had said he was too sick to do before.

He passed away a few months later, but the folks in North Riverside still remember his story as an example of how taking a little time out of your day can make a difference in someone’s life.

These days, kindness is still the norm here in North Riverside—after all, they literally wrote the book on it.

Original Source -> The Town That Literally Wrote the Book on Being Nice

source https://www.seniorbrief.com/the-town-that-literally-wrote-the-book-on-being-nice/

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