#this cubby with the window has always drawn me in

[5il0]

#house in construction #will you go in? #I’ve been going inside this place since it was just a skeleton #this cubby with the window has always drawn me in #now it’s beckoning

[officerjennie]

Jaskier's First Second Cat

CW: Me shoehorning my own cat into a fic because I love her

Rating: T

Summary: Jaskier's never had a pet and wants to adopt a cat, but his boyfriend has to hold his hands the whole way.

“What if it hates me?”

Not for the first time, nor the fourth, nor the tenth that day, Aiden sighed at him. Jaskier stuck his tongue out but it didn’t actually alleviate any of his fears, his hands still wringing themselves together in front of him as they walked, his fingers unable to rest.

“Seriously though, what if-”

“Don’t pick out one that hates you then,” Aiden pointed out oh-so-helpfully, and Jaskier was just worked up enough that he would have snapped at him if it weren’t for the way the man reached for his hands then, tugging them apart to hold one in his own. He was sure Aiden could feel how fast his heart was beating through that little contact alone.

The pet shop was just around the corner. All that stood between it and them was the crosswalk they stopped at and a single block, then a turn right, then there it was. It was a small place that Jaskier had honestly visited too often of late, drawn there on little dates with Aiden just to go see the kittens and the birds. Aiden loved the reptile area but Jaskier liked to stay very far away from it, no matter how cool his love looked with a giant iguana resting on his shoulders.

Cool, yes. Terrifying, also yes. He’d stick to his small furry animals.

Except Jaskier had never owned an animal before, and when the crosswalk announced they could walk again he could feel the nerves trying to get him to turn right around and walk back home instead. Which would have been a massive waste of Aiden’s time, and his own, and he really couldn’t do that but what if-

“Do you think we got everything?” He walked a bit closer to Aiden, looking up at him, thankful that the man had enough patience to put up with his anxious questions. And Aiden even put some effort into pretending like he was thinking the question over despite it not being the first nor fifth time he’d asked that, and Jaskier was really going to have to think of a new and creative way to thank him later. The typical blowjob just wasn’t going to cut it this time.

“I think,” Aiden drawled, bringing Jaskier’s hand up to kiss his wrist before pulling him around the corner - and then they were there, in front of the pet shop, and there was really no turning back now, was there. “I think we got more than enough, and that you should just go in and look at the kittens like you always do.”

Easier said than done. But he opened the door after a little hesitation anyway, holding it open for Aiden to enter, and Aiden walked straight to all the windowed cubbies where they kept all of their baby kitties.

They were super cute, as usual. Jaskier went up to the cubbies and couldn’t help but dance his fingers up in the air near them just to see the kittens try to chase them. Not all of them tried to play, some were just desperate to be held, and their cries went straight to his heart and had his eyes tearing up. Just like always, he was an emotional wreck over the little creatons.

“Back again so soon?”

Jaskier didn’t even turn towards the worker, which was unlike him but, well. Today wasn’t a normal day. Aiden took over thankfully, explaining that they were there to adopt, and the worker was all excitement and smiles for them. Jaskier just did his part and looked at each and every one of them carefully, not sure how on earth he would pick a couple to hold and get to know let alone pick one to keep, and he was suddenly very, extremely thankful Aiden had helped him get all the stuff before they came here.

He already needed a nap, and he hadn’t even adopted one yet.

In the end he held perhaps a dozen or so little ones, their personalities ranging vastly from each other and yet they blended all together. Some of them couldn’t stay still in his arms. One fell asleep against his chest and he damn near cried when he had to put it back, certain he’d end up with that one. Two of them climbed his shoulder and started to climb his back, and both of them managed to get stuck on his shirt in the process, Aiden laughing shamelessly as he helped extract the little ones as they mewed helplessly.

The anxiety had gone down by the end of it at least. Jaskier was left more overwhelmed just because he loved each and every one of them, even the one that had bitten his finger and almost made it bleed. And Aiden really wasn’t helping as he wrapped his arms around him from behind, putting his chin on the top of Jaskier’s head as Jaskier stared at the wall of cubbies like the kittens might answer the big question for him.

“Which one?” He whined, feeling Aiden snicker at his back, making him pout. He looked up at his boyfriend and reached up to tug at one of his long black braids, chewing over all of the possibilities and still not reaching an answer.

“You could walk around for a bit. Step away and think on it, songbird.” Aiden kissed his forehead and then stepped away from him, and the traitor went straight for the reptile cages to start peering in at all the lizards and other things that Jaskier would never allow in his own apartment.

And that was the entire reason Aiden told him to think on it, too. He couldn’t fool Jaskier. He just wanted to look at all of the slithery things.

But, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. Managing to tear his gaze away from all of the cute little fluffballs crying out for his attention was the hardest thing he’d done all day but he somehow managed it, heading over to fish section just for a change of scenery, thinking over each and every one of the kittens he’d held while watching the fish follow his fingers.

He’d never had a kitten before. Never had any sort of cat. Growing up they’d been a fish household and a fish household only, his mother having been horrifically allergic to most any animal that could produce dander, so he hadn’t exactly ever had an animal placed in his care that required anything more than a feeding a day and a tank cleaning once a week. Low maintenance animals only, and here he was, thinking on adopting a baby.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Aiden’s popped up in his thoughts then, reminding him of all the research he’d done over the past several weeks just for this occasion. All the books he’d poured over, all the mommy bloggers that he’d followed just to see their takes on what a kitten would need and what would be bad for them. He’d done more research for this kitten than he’d done for his last actual research project in school and that was certainly saying something given music theory was his life’s blood.

He shouldn’t be that worried over this. He was horrifically worried all the same. Gods but he needed a stiff drink, and the lionfish really weren’t going to give one to him no matter how long he stared at them. The bastards.

Jaskier left them alone with a huff, looking around to at least try to find his boyfriend before he went up and just picked the first kitten he saw. But Aiden was ducked away somewhere further in the reptile section than Jaskier was willing to go, especially since he’d have to go through the spider section to reach him, so he was left throwing his hands up in the air and waiting for him.

It was when he did just that, a dramatic show of exasperation, when something caught his eye. A fluff of tan and a bit of brown curled up in a cubby in the corner, and Jaskier’s interest had immediately been caught. He couldn’t help but go see whatever kitty cat was there.

For some reason, the pet shop had kept their kittens and their other cats separated - probably due to space, past renovations, but for whatever reason they were not in the same part of the store. This corner was mostly empty of animals, just two or three adult cats, one with a scarred up ear who hissed the second Jaskier stepped near. He avoided that cubby despite the fact that the cat couldn’t reach him, going towards the big lump that had caught his eye and drawn him here in the first place.

She looked up when he tapped the glass lightly, and he knew she was a she just from the first glance at her ID card. Her eyes were a lovely shade of blue and her face gave away her age immediately, but it was the kind sort of face that made him want to pick her up and hold her close for as long as she good.

A look at her ID card told him she wouldn’t like that, though. ‘Lolla’ was her name, and she was 13 years old - he blinked at that, a little emotional because this poor thing was old and no old animal should be kept in a cubby.

She didn’t like to be held. She loved to be pet behind her ears. Some fiend who had owned her before had decided to declaw her front paws but had left her back ones alone. Her arthritis was slowing her down but she still loved to play, and she had a regular vet due to medications she was taking. A very helpful note at the bottom said to talk to a worker there if anyone wanted further information on that, which Jaskier was definitely going to do.

“Aiden?”

It was like he’d been hiding nearby and waiting to be called to pounce, because no sooner had the name slipped from Jaskier’s lips was Aiden suddenly wrapping his arms around him again, drawing a squeak out of him. The snickering earned the bastard a smack to his arms but there was little heat to the glare Jaskier sent up at him, no matter how horribly cruel the man was.

“How much are vet visits?”

“Hmm?” Aiden scrunched up his nose at the question, but his eyes quickly found the kitty they were standing in front of, and her ID card gave him his answer. “Depends on the ailment, love. If it’s a common one the medicine can be cheap. It’s giving the medicine that’s going to be fun.”

“I didn’t say I was adopting her,” Jaskier pouted, bumping his head lightly back against Aiden’s chest, his fingers playing with the hems of his light overshirt.

“Didn’t say you did, songbird.”

Fuck, he was going to adopt her and he knew it. He squirmed in Aiden’s arms, wondering if they could really do that. Adopt an older kitty instead of a kitten like they’d planned. It...couldn’t be that different as far as preparations went. They would require the right stuff, just...just perhaps different food. And he’d only gotten a small bag of the kitten food anyway, which could easily be donated to an animal shelter so it wouldn’t be wasted.

“I think I want to adopt her.” He whispered the words out, reaching out to put his hand against the glass. The kitty blinked at him once before bumping her head against the glass, and Jaskier felt his heart ache in that moment, knowing it wouldn’t be a decision he’d regret.

And then she meowed at him.

“Wha- what was that?”

A laugh got his attention but it didn’t make his eyes any less wide, the worker from before coming over with a set of keys to the cubbies. “She’s old, she just sounds like that.”

“Is that even a meow though? Is that normal?”

“Sounds like she’s been smoking,” Aiden put in, though the small shaking Jaskier could feel told him he found this more amusing than concerning.

“For at least several decades, is her throat okay? Is it damaged or-” she meowed again and Jaskier stared at her as she rubbed her head against the glass, trying her best to get pets despite there being something in-between them.

“She’s perfectly healthy. Well, besides her thyroid, but the medication keeps her t levels at a good range. And it’s only about ten dollars a month at her dosage, which is very affordable. Plenty of other elderly cats have a lot more expensive vet visits than this one.”

Jaskier eyed her, watching as she slowly stretched out, her weight shifting oddly on her front legs as she turned around in a circle. The ID card certainly wasn’t lying about the arthritis. If he remembered correctly, though, there were little steps one could get for animals that struggled to jump up and down from things, so…

“How expensive are the vet visits though?” Jaskier side-eyed the worker as if his heart hadn’t already made up his mind, and Aiden hummed behind him before kissing his hair once more. The bastard already knew his heart was made up, too.

At least he was cute. And the cat was beautiful, part siamese and some other breeds that the worker didn’t know (which was more than typical for cats, Jaskier knew that much), and when she was gotten down from her cubby and sat on the floor for him to pet and play with he fell in love with her even more.

“I want her,” he whispered up at Aiden, his eyes tearing up, and the edges of Aiden’s eyes crinkled in that way they only did when he was especially soft.

“I know you do.” He brushed his hand through Jaskierr’s hair as Jaskier let the cat - Lolla, his cat, as soon as the worker got back with the paperwork - gently tap his toes as she stretched out on the floor in front of him. And really, he’d known since he came over and saw the way Jaskier was looking at her but he didn’t say anything, just left and let Jaskier gently play with the sweetheart that had stolen his heart right out from under his nose.

Joke was on Aiden though, because now he had competition. And according to her card this kitty cat didn’t bite - though, he’d never really cared that Aiden loved to bite him, and considering he still needed to think of some way to thank him Jaskier figured there’d be plenty of biting coming in his future. And plenty of purring kitty cats for him to pet and love and adore.

-

@witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo

#aidskier #aiden/jaskier #jaskier/aiden #jaskier x aiden #aiden x jaskier #the witcher #fanfiction #mywriting #my summer bingo

[melan-cauli]

Questions

1. What was the name of the first person you ever had a crush on? Why did you like them?

I was in kindergarten and his name was Eddy. I liked him because our cubbies were next to each other. haha.

2. What is one thing you regret having done or not done in your life?

I try not to regret things, but I feel like I regret times where I wasn’t the best friend to people-- when I let my mental health take over and isolate me, causing me to ghost some people I cared about. 

3. Which parent do you identify with the most?

My mom, definitely. I love her with my entire being (not to mention I don’t have a great relationship with my dad), but even beside that, I have a lot of her mannerisms and her exact sense of humor. 

4. What do you think you cook or bake the best?

I am not big on cooking or baking; it’s just not something I have a lot of skill and practice in. I am good at making banana bread and taco dip!

5. If you could change your first name what would it be?

I really don’t know if I would change my name, but maybe I would choose something that allowed for more nicknames, like Charlotte.

6. Can you hula hoop?

I haven’t in a long time, but yes I can... and now I want to go hula-hoop, haha. 

7. What embarrasses you the most in front of other people?

I am so beyond easily embarrassed, but it really all comes down to talking. I feel like I am not very eloquent, so when I ramble often or misspeak, I get really down on myself and assume everyone has become mad at me or thinks I am stupid. 

8. Have you considered running for president?

Not in any serious manner, no. I don’t think I would have the right stamina and energy for it. I have strong beliefs, but as I mentioned before, I get embarrassed just by speaking and I would get so frustrated trying to debate people who cannot articulate ideas well or who refuse to listen. 

9. If you had to choose one thing you were most passionate about, what would it be and why?

Writing. It is the one thing in my life that I have ever felt confident in, and I have been drawn to it since I was just a little kid. There is nothing about writing that I don’t love, and it is the easiest way for me to communicate in both a straight-forward manner and a creative one. 

10. Who are you most envious of—real or fictional—and why?

I don’t really have particular people that I envy. I suppose I just envy people who have got control of their mental health issues and who can articulate it in a healthy manner, but that is something I am getting better at and working toward!

11. Where is the most beautiful place on earth and why?

That’s a really hard question-- as beauty is subjective and there are soooo many gorgeous places. I would personally say Germany. I say that because of its history, architecture, art, landscape, etc. I just kind of love the idea of the country, and I would love to visit one day. 

12. Are ghosts real?

I am a firm believer in ghosts. Yes.

13. Are aliens real?

100% I think it is naïve to believe that there is no other life form out there when our galaxy is so vast. 

14. How old is the most expired item in your fridge?

They are no longer in my fridge, but my strawberries went bad yesterday... Sadly. 

15. What are your favorite style of underwear?

Hipster!

16. What’s the saddest song you’ve ever heard?

There are so many, but the first one that came to mind was Hyperballad by Whitley (originally by Bjork)

17. How about the sweetest song?

Metaphors by Keaton Henson

18. Do you know how to play dominoes?

I have no idea. I have always owned dominoes, and my grandparents played, but I was never taught.

19. What’s under your bed?

A cat toy in the shape of an avocado 

20. Have you ever prank called someone?

So many times. It was my friends and my favorite pastime growing up. It was all always friendly and just ridiculous. 

21. 100 kittens or 3 baby sloths?

100 Kittens. I love little baby cats, and cats in general-- they are so sweet and snuggly. I miss when my family cat had kittens; they were so fun to take care of. 

22. Are you proud of what you’re doing with your heart and time right now?

I’m trying to be. I am trying to acknowledge my successes and be proud of my progress. 

23. Why or why not?

I have a good job in my field, I have dedicated all my time to working on my mental health, and I am trying to put myself first for once, so I am trying to acknowledge the good in all of that. It’s just always been hard for me to do so. 

24. How many bones have you broken?

None (knock on wood)

25. Have you ever won anything? Big or small?

I won third place in state-wide writing competition in the third grade, and a Student Writing Award in college.

26. If you could buy one material thing, and money was not an issue, what would it be?

A house. I just want a place that is all my own-- it doesn’t have to be big or anything, I just want to own my dwelling. 

27. What’s your favorite movie from your childhood?

I would say Ever After (even though Forrest Gump is my favorite movie and has been since childhood). I just have so many memories with my mom watching that movie, and I love Drew Barrymore. 

28. What food will you absolutely not, under any circumstances, eat?

Oysters. No way in hell.

29. What’s the best way to comfort you when you’re having a really terrible day?

Take me on a long car ride and just let me stare out the window. 

30. Has anything/anyone ever saved your life before?

Not in a dramatic way, but yes, plenty of people have through different emotional ways.

31. Would you ever adopt a child?

I don’t want children, but I have never been opposed to adopting. I used to want to adopt when I was younger and thought I wanted kids, actually. 

32. What is one thing you’re embarrassed to admit you want to try?

Learning to roller skate

33. If you were a cake which cake would you be?

Cheesecake! Not everyone’s taste, but still delicious. 

34. What is the most important material possession you have and why?

I am not super attached to material items, but probably my over-shirt that use to belong to my grandmother; it is one thing I own that has deep-rooted sentimental value. 

35. What is the most important memory you have and why?

I think most memories are of equal importance, but one of my favorites is of when my cousins and I used to get together in the fall and do yard work for my grandma. They were long days, but everyone was happy, we were together, we had good food, and my family members weren’t sick... 

36. When was the last time you cried?

Thursday

37. How old was your mother when she had you?

She was 31

38. Which famous person would you like to be BFFs with?

I think I would mesh really well with Julien Baker

39. Is there something you wish you had said sorry for but never did?

Over the years, I have actually reached out to the people I thought I needed to apologize to, so I have made my peace with all of this. 

40. Have you been on your first date? If so, how did it go?

I have been. It was nice and outdoorsy, but it was also a bit awkward because we didn’t know what to talk about most of the time (and the memory was spoiled a day or two after)... 

questions credited to @itakesurveys

#questions #answers #ask #about me #me #personal #julien baker #forrest gump #ever after #keaton henson

[high-tidethunder]

like cymbals crashing, like molars gnashing

Nile is on her own for the first time in a long time and she’s—

Well, she’s adjusting.

And Detroit isn’t too horribly different from the city streets she’s used to. A little emptier, maybe, and, well, the roads are more pothole than concrete at this point, but there’s a familiarity in the buskers and graffiti and nighttime bustle and it almost makes up for the fact that… the public transit is a joke.

Almost.

She’s still not over the fact that she’s going to have to walk from her apartment to class every day. It’s a good job she grew up in Chicago and knows how to layer appropriately.

She’s not quite comfortable in the bigger lecture halls yet, always feels like there are too many variables out of her control for her to truly settle down and pay attention to the lesson, but she knows it could be worse. She’s privileged to have been able to leave the hell she’d signed 10 years of her life away to. She has the opportunity to let old wounds heal.

There’ll be scars, but fresh blood will not pour from them.

She can deal with scars.

~*~

A month into her first semester she makes her first real friend in this place. He’s a man about 10 years her senior in her metalworking class who invites her out to lunch at a felafel place near campus and, almost without her realizing, gets her to talk about the problems she hasn’t wanted to burden her mom with on their calls.

It’s a little hard to separate the gratitude from the guilt when they’re done talking. They’ve knitted themselves together with a yarn spun of worry that she’d unduly encumbered him with her problems and striated with an anxiety that there was some kind of con at play. She really hopes not.

They part ways when they get back to campus, him to go to work and her to another lecture, but not without exchanging phone numbers and a promise to meet up again. He leaves with a smile that’s almost sad, there’s definitely something in the eyes, and Nile abruptly wonders if her smiles are like that, now. If, maybe, he saw the storm that swelled and crashed around inside her, if he’d recognized it from his own tumult and decided to extend an offer of help without having to use so many words.

And so, the gratitude said to the guilt, tink, tink, tink.

~*~

She discovers the dreaded walk from her apartment to campus yields blessings, too, when she spots the flyer for a fight gym that’s hiring trainers stapled to a telephone pole towards the end of September. She pauses to take a picture of it before carrying back on to class and resolves to call them when she goes for lunch, making a mental note to ask Sebastien if he knows the place before she does. He might not outwardly appear the type, but Nile has been around enough fighters to recognize it in the way he holds himself; whether it’s bare-knuckle in a back alley or gloved up in a ring, he’s no stranger to a brawl.

And besides, he’d told her he had a little training when she’d mentioned that she was coming into college late (he’d scoffed at that) because she’d been a Marine.

Sebastien, as it turns out, is the trainer the gym is hiring to replace. Nile feels a rush of embarrassment when he tells her so, quickly followed by guilt when she sees that he’s distressed for having upset her. It only eases when he assures her he still teaches there, it’s just that an old injury keeps him from drilling groundwork and he’s forced to stick to beginner classes.

Their lunch outing turns into an impromptu job interview when he realizes that she’s available to cover his grappling classes and the gym won’t have to cancel them. At the end of it he tells her that he’ll talk to his coworkers and, if all goes well, bring her in to meet them that night.

~*~

All goes well.

Sebastien picks her up from her last lecture at 6:30 and drives her along a familiar route to the gym that she realizes is only a 5-minute walk from her apartment building. There’s a boulder outside with “The Motor City Old Guard” engraved in block letters on it, and a recurve bow made to look like a stylized D painted below the name.

Otherwise, it’s an incredibly nondescript building. There are a few signs on the whitewashed brick that claim parking spots outside as reserved for gym-goers and an old leather medicine ball props the door open, but there are no flyers or advertisements on the outside and the shades have been drawn over the windows. It doesn’t look much like a gym.

Maybe there is some sort of con at play.

The worry is dispelled as quickly as it pops into her mind when Sebastien guides her inside and the first thing she sees is two men circling each other in a boxing ring in the middle of the room. Nile notes that they’re clad only in fight shorts and hand wraps and wonders if this is an impromptu sparring session or if these people are just a little bit insane.

The taller of the two, a white man with shaggy brown hair that suggests he’s put off going to the barber a few weeks too many, makes the first move. He springs forward, feinting to his left and narrowly ducking the right hook that his opponent swings in retaliation. He drops low, grabs the other man around the waist, thrusts his shoulder into his abdomen, and sends them both to the mat. His opponent, a brown man whose curls are already escaping the bun they’re tied back in, hits the floor with a grunt. Barely a second after he goes down, his legs have already locked around the other man’s back, but the guard is down before the other man can even try to break it. He’s flat on his back just as quick, hips now straddled by the shorter man. There’s a pause, then, both seeming to be in some kind of haze as they stare at each other, chests heaving with effort.

It’s now that Nile notices the women who have been watching this. Or, well, more accurately it’s now that her brain registers them as something that needs her attention, as the taller of the two inexplicably snaps, “not on my mat!” and her companion snorts out a laugh.

When she looks back at the men, the taller of them has his legs clinched around the other’s neck, relaxing only when a hand comes up to tap his thigh.

The other man pops up with surprising ease considering he’d been in a chokehold only a few seconds prior, and offers a hand to help his opponent up. He turns, then, and sees Nile, face brightening.

“Ahlan! You must be Booker’s friend! Nile, right? You’re here for the job?”

She smiles, tentatively, and looks at Sebastien (Booker?) out of the corner of her eye. “Uh, yeah, that’s me. Are you-”

He shakes his head before she can finish the question and gestures vaguely at the women standing at the side of the ring. “Andy’s the one who’ll be conducting the rest of your interview.” He pauses and inhales sharply, squinting at Nile. “Good luck,” he finishes, nodding at her before turning and ducking out of the ring. His training partner, now standing still enough that Nile has time to notice the mirrored scars on his chest, gives her a brief nod and tight smile before following him.

“Not in my showers, either!” Maybe-Andy calls after them, pushing herself off the rope she’s leaning on and circling the ring so she’s standing in front of Nile. She feels something nudge her arm and looks over to see Sebastien holding track pants and hand wraps out to her, shaking the bundle at her when she doesn’t take them immediately. She does so, cutting her eyes back to the woman who stands in front of her and watching her carefully. “Put those on,” she instructs, “bathrooms are down where Joe and Nicky went, then, you’re gonna show me how much of what you told Book here was true.”

Ah. So this is Andy. And this is why Maybe-Joe-or-Maybe-Nicky had wished her good luck.

She probably should’ve just gotten a job at the university library.

But her mom didn’t raise her to back down from a fight, so she skirts the ring and turns down the hall where the two men had gone. The door at the end of the hall is marked “Employees Only” in screaming red letters, so she turns to the two on either side of the hall. Where there once were signs that likely demarcated gender, there were now only 4 bolts in the center of both doors, so she listens, and pushes through the door she doesn’t hear a shower behind.

She slips into one of the stalls and makes sure she hears the soft snick of the door close before taking off her boots and jeans and pulling on the pants Sebastien had given her. The fabric is stiffer than she’d expected, they must be straight from the shop she had seen tucked into one corner of the gym, but she can move freely so she’ll deal with the slight discomfort. She exits the stall, putting her folded jeans and boots into one of the cubbies on the opposite wall, then heads out to the main room again. She shucks her jacket, which Sebastien takes from her, and steps into the ring where Andy is waiting.

Right into a punch.

She ducks in the nick of time, taking the opportunity to push in closer to Andy and grab her by the shoulder, driving her knee into the other woman’s gut. There’s a hand clawing at her arm and a quick strike to the hollow of her neck and suddenly she’s halfway across the mat, staring down an indifferent Andy.

So that was how this was gonna be.

She advances again, pivoting to send a kick to Andy’s hip. Her gratification at seeing the other woman go down is stopped in its tracks when she feels a hand clamp around her calf and she crashes to her knee, one leg still held fast to Andy’s side. She twists, plants her hands on the mat behind her, and tries to push herself out of Andy’s grasp, leveraging her free foot against the other woman’s hip bone and coming away with surprising ease. Andy stands, then, exhilaration burning in her eyes, and backs away slightly.

Then there’s a kick headed straight for Nile’s face and she forces herself forward, arms looping around Andy’s thigh as she drives her shoulder into her gut and folds at the waist, slamming the other woman down. Almost immediately a leg wraps over her shoulders and the world tilts and she feels her back hitting the time-worn mat. Andy stands over her, delight evident on her face, and reaches a hand out to help her up.

By the time Nile stands, Andy’s face has dropped into something sharper, more analytical, and she looks Nile up and down. “So, Booker says you were a Marine.”

Nile nods, finding herself itching to stand at ease.

“Well,” she purses her lips, then takes a breath. “We forgive past transgressions,” she says, looking pointedly at Booker, though a twitch in her jaw betrays a smile. After a moment she looks back at Nile, light dancing in her eyes. “Welcome to the crew. I’ll go get the paperwork.”

Nile is left feeling a little too dazed to truly process that she just got her ass handed to her and then offered a job by the person who did it in the span of five minutes until a hand claps down on her shoulder and she whirls around to see Sebastien. There’s a proud look on his face, though his smile is still small, still a little sad. “Congratulations, Nile,” he says, and the warmth in his voice reminds Nile very suddenly of her father.

It must show on her face because Sebastien looks concerned, now, brow furrowing. “Are you ok? Did you get hurt?”

Nile shakes her head, swallowing around the tightness creeping up her throat. “I’m fine, she manages to choke out. “Thank you, um, for helping me with this, I really appreciate it,” she says, trying to steady her voice. She takes a deep breath, looking out behind Sebastien for a moment before focusing back on his face. “I should, uh, get changed.”

“Oh, yeah, totally, ok. Well, hey, since you don’t have classes tomorrow and I only work in the morning, how about I take you out to celebrate, huh? It might help to know a thing or two about the kind of people who come to train with us.”

Nile smiles at that and the pain twisted in her stomach starts to ease into something more comfortable. “You’re paying,” she says and sees Sebastien’s lip tick up.

“Taking my job and my money? You’re going to fit right in,” he laughs. “You go take care of the paperwork, I’ll wait outside to drive you home,” he says, giving her one last smile before turning and leaving the gym.

She notices, then, that the two men who had been sparring when she’d entered the gym have emerged from the showers. They’re standing just at the entrance to the hallway, the shorter of the two leaning against the wall, and the taller leaning against the shorter. They’re watching her closely, but Maybe-Joe-or-Possibly-Nicky smiles at her when he notices her looking, pushing off the wall and stepping forward to extend a hand. The handshake is brief but firm. “Hey, welcome,” he says, in a voice that rasps warmly. “That was a good fight, Andy married the last person who got that close to beating her.”

“Quynh did beat her, tesoro,” the other man says, though it’s somewhat hard to make out between his quiet tone and thick accent.

“You say potato,” the man says over his shoulder, turning his attention to Nile again. “I’m Joe, he’s Nicky. You’re taking the Tuesday and Thursday night classes?” He waits for Nile to nod before continuing. “We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then,” he says, smiling and clapping a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve gotta head out, but don’t be a stranger, yeah? If you’ve got any questions we’re more than happy to help out.”

She nods, smiling at Joe then behind him at Nicky, “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

~*~

She runs into the woman who had been by Andy’s side as she’s leaving the bathroom and Nile is entering and gets a soft smile. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Nile,” she says, her accent light and lilting. “And I’ll let you in on a secret, Andy had no doubts about hiring you the minute Booker mentioned you were looking for a job. You’re a good friend to him, he needed that.”

“So, wait, she-”

“She fought you because it is the vetting process. You fight like a caged animal, you throw everything you have into it, but you control the violence. You never did anything you didn’t have to. We have had some...unsavory trainers come in. Students, too, but that’s harder to account for. She had to make sure you understand the gravity of fighting and the responsibility of teaching it. You do. So, welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, uh-”

“Quynh,” she supplies, smiling.

“Thank you, Quynh.”

“Of course.” With that, she ducked down the hall, leaving Nile alone to think.

She does understand, maybe all too well, the consequences of violence for violence’s sake. She’s still kept awake by the faces, still haunted by the bodies in her dreams. Every day is a step forward. Sometimes accompanied by a few back, sometimes a step through an ocean in the midst of a hurricane, but slowly, slowly, she’s getting to dry land.

#the old guard #the old guard fic #nile freeman #my fic #my writing #ignore the time disparity between when i posted this on ao3 and when i'm posting it here #didn't know if i wanted to but i got nice comments so here we are #don't worry my roasting of detroit is loving #i'm from the area and there's a lot of wonderful culture #but seriously man once you hit like ferndale? it's a miracle anyone's tires are still round

[penaltybox14]

Decofiremen: Josiah’s dream

@darknight-brightstar says I should number these but like, numbering is for squares, man.  @zeitheist @its-skadi

In the dream, where his leg is straight and true, he lights on the driver's seat of the engine - sometimes drawn by a team, sometimes one of the new kerodiesels, but whatever it is, it is red, and loud, and fast, and his heart quickens just to see it - and he looks down and Silky is there.  In the dream Silky is older: his jaw is sharper, his eyes just a little crinkled at the edges, and there is a promise of gray in his dark hair. 

In the dream it is autumn, with the sky so blue you had to thank it for being so beautiful, with the leaves off the city's skinny trees fluttering like cats and mice across the cobbles and the macadam. 

Silky's helmet has a white shield and a brass horse at the crest.  Josiah can never quite make out the station number - but Silky pats his sure, strong, unfettered leg and in the dream he says, what'd I tell you, Birchy, what'd I say?

Said we'd have our own house, didn't I? 

But this is the dream that never happened, and when Josiah follows Silky's gaze, the smoke swallows him, and he falls, and the beam falls with him, with Silky's cry and Silky's reach too late and too short, and when he wakes - sweating and gulping - there is no one around, nobody but him and his knotted, useless leg and the pain, always the pain he breaks his nails on the sheets to keep from screaming.

Eddy and Parker, and Monroe and Jackson and Kittredge, the resident trainers, are all fine men with fine strong sear who rode the boards and worked the lines and bore the weight into the belly of the beast, and they know.  They know the dream, because it comes to them and taps at the shuttered windows of their eyes and whispers, wake, wake up.  It's what you learn, when the sear settles - how to listen, how to witness, how to set aside the smoke and know.  That means some nights you wake with the visions of other men rattling about in your brain, and that means some nights you wake getting a pillow to the head from your bunkmate. 

They have the sense not to say much, or maybe they just don't know what to say at all.  Like the Battalion Chiefs and the District Captains at his promotion, when he stood there propped on crutches, teeth clenched and eyes wet. 

(Silky had been there, too, hadn't he.  Silky had got a medal on his belts, and Josiah got a captain's coat and a one-way ticket upriver.)

(Silky had ought to be the captain.  Like in the dream.  But that was the dream that never happened: Silky only sat beside him in the ward at Bellevue, and got a medal for dragging him out from under a beam that both of them should've seen coming down.)

He had taken the rank on his feet out of some kind of spite, the same restless tiger that had paced inside his chest since he learned to talk, maybe the same beast he had been born with. 

It was the tiger that had taken the boy from the county, wasn't it?  Toe to toe with the doctor and the ward-master, teeth set, his skin hot, his shoulders steadying for a fight, until they had grimly given in and handed the boy over.  Consider it a favor, Josiah had spat at them.  We'll take the lad and you won't worry 'bout him setting your place afire. 

Silky would have told him not to.  Silky would have kept the tiger in the cage and his blood from boiling.

(But Silky would have taken the boy, too.  The burned and bandaged hands that held his in the hospital ward would not have left the little fellow to his lostness among the addled and the empty men.)

Josiah hasn't dreamed of the beam or the dark that filled his eyes and lungs, or the pain of his shattered bone and scalded skin, in a long time.  He thinks that might be better than the dream where Silky boosts up to the driver's seat with him and says get on, the city's waiting.  The dream that comes so close it's like the moon kissing the midnight.  The pain he can reckon with: the pain is real.

(So is Silky, still, but far away.  Eddy says he ought to write.  But he can't find the words.)

The first night the boy stays with them, they bunk him in with the lads, who have gotten aa cory explanation and seem to take him as a younger brother.  Antoine Vestry and Ellis Palmer, who are close to being assigned their stations and sent down, settle the lads down and make sure the Cleary boy has a cubby to start and a place in the washroom amidst the rowdiness and swinging elbows.  They are kind young men, Josiah thinks, and they may even be wise sometime.

That first night, Josiah is caught by sleep like a sneak-thief, and finds himself already dreaming of a house he has never seen.  He looks behind him for Silky, but no one is there.  He looks ahead for their captain, but no one is there.  He smells the smoke, and somewhere, far off, a little girl is crying, and it's getting softer, and softer, and there is a roaring around him that he knows, the sound of a fire waking to its own heat and rising, finding the cracks in the walls and the gaps in the windows, sucking up all the air, feeding and growing and pawing at wood and carpet and plaster. 

He looks ahead for Silky, who isn't there, and he looks in his hands for the hose, but his hands are bare and empty. 

The house throbs with heat, and the walls begin to come apart, and he can't hear the little girl crying anymore, he can only see the boy, lost and coughing, stumbling away from him when he says wait, come back, it's coming down, you got to stop, it's coming down -

Eddy is pounding on his door but he is already awake, he is already into his brace as sure as he had clipped the quick-hitch to any horse, and he is banging into walls and coming down the stairs swinging on the bannister and trying to keep his bad leg out of the way of the rest of him. 

The lads are  all clustered around like worried birds, Antoine and Ellis first among them, along with Betram Cochrane who has the slowest times on the rigging because he always stops to help his mates, and Jules Menlo who seems to know what's wrong with an engine before the hood's even popped.  The lot of them sleep-mussed, chiding the boy, bantering among themselves.  The little fellow is at the middle of it all, rail-thin and ragged, pale as milk with eyes like a buck in the cross-hairs.  Josiah drops, clumsily, on young Cleary's bunk, and the boy in the long hallway, the boy sobbing on the wide green lawn, the boy calling for his sister in the dark, stares back at him.  

The hallway is the boy's hallway, the house is the boy's house.  It's the factory fire where him and Silky saw the panicked men leap from the belching windows only to strike the pavement like burlap sacks of bone and blood, where a woman was caught behind a door and cried out for them, but the choice was to breathe or to free her and they couldn't do both.  

"Wake up, son," he says.  "Come on now.  You're alright."

Young Cleary looks at him from twelve years old, from his hallway, which will be the place his dreams will live the longest.  Young Cleary comes haltingly into his body and his eyes.  He trembles.

The lads are bantering and he shushes them, waves a hand.  

"What ye screaming about, little fella?" Ellis asks.  

"Cap?" The little fellow rasps.  "Capper?"

Josiah nods.  

Antoine says they were only teasing.  Ellis nods.  

"You like music, little fella?"

They don't wait for the boy to answer.  Jules tells Betram to get his fiddle - "On your leave, Captain Birch."

Josiah remembers his own nights at Wynantskill, learning the fireman's song with Silky, with the lads, with Kidder Parson nodding along at the dormitory door.  "Don't keep us up all night, Bertram."

Bertram seems glad to have something to do with his hands, and he seems able to spin a tune from air, as if he is unspooling it from the night itself.

"Capper..."

He looks to Davey again.  

"Could you tell me the story from the train again?  About the fireman, and the horse?"

Davey seems to watch him from his hallway, as if he isn't sure yet which house to settle in - the one by the lake, which is only dreams and ashes, or the one neither of them knows yet, or the one here and now, the house made of lamplight and hopeful voices and a fiddle's melody.  Davey's eyes are full of ghosts he hasn't made peace with yet.  

"Alright," Josiah says.  "Alright, so, once, a long time ago, before there was a city - before there was even a dream about a city - there was a man, and a horse, and a fire..."

#decofiremen #decofire #process your trauma dammit #yes I know he should write to silky #give him time

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

The Mistakes We Made - Chapter Fifteen

Summary:  When her high school girlfriend comes back to town after two years with a baby and a terrible story she won’t tell, the Librarian has to deal with the feelings she had worked so hard to keep at bay.

Notes:  I’m... not very proud of how this chapter turned out writing wise, but you’ve been around for this long, I don’t think you’ll leave me now. Also the bisexuals are taking over this fic I’m not sorry

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6) (chpt7) (chpt8) (chpt9) (chpt10) (chpt11) (chpt12) (chpt13) (chpt14) (chpt15)

There was a loud gasp in the playground.

“You’re the kid who lives in the cemetery, aren’t you?!”

There was no answer. Another voice spoke.

“Is it true that your mum’s a witch? My mother said she’d steal my videogame if I didn’t go to bed on time.”

This time there was an answer, after a small pause. “That is stupid.”

The voice wasn’t of anyone Johanna knew. She looked behind her, away from the group of girls she had befriended in her two years at school, and looked at the swing. There was a small, pale girl swinging gently on it, her dark hair waving back and forth with the wind on her face. Around her, a group of other kids seemed to have gathered around.

Excusing herself from the conversation, Johanna walked to them. Those kids were obviously being mean, and Johanna didn’t want this kid to be upset on the first day of school.

Just as she got closer, another one of them spoke up. “I heard she put a curse on Mr. Wright and that’s why he is sick. Do you put curses on people as well.”

The new girl just kept swinging, completely ignoring the question. But Johanna walked up to them and put her hands on her hips, trying to look serious. “Hey! You are all being really rude. Leave her alone!”

The group of kids turned to look at her, confused that she’d give them an order even though she had no power over them. But then, the new girl planted her feet on the ground and stopped swinging, turning to them.

“You better do what she asked.” She said, calm to the point it was unnerving. Afraid of all they’d heard about the girl, the other children nodded, wide eyed, and walked away.

The dark haired kid watched them go away, hoping that they felt her eyes on their backs. Then, she turned to the girl who had stood up for her.

“Thank you for that. But it’s okay, I wasn’t being bothered.”

“Well, but I was.” Johanna sat down on the swing by the girl’s side. “That was no way to talk to anyone.”

“You’re very kind.”

Smiling at the compliment, she tried to continue the conversation. “Thank you. You are new, aren’t you? How old are you?”

The girl nodded. “I am five. My mum had been homeschooling me.”

“Five?” Johanna put her hands together in joy. “Me too! We’ll probably be in the same class! What’s your name?”

“Maven.” The girl answered, Johanna thought it was a very nice name. It sounded mysterious, kind of like her.

“Nice to meet you, Maven. I’m Johanna.”

_#_#_#_

The two of them only stopped hugging when Hilda made a gurgling sound, calling for attention after being on her stroller for so long. Both of them had drawn back at the sound, and smiled at each other one more time before Johanna got up to see what she could do for her child.

While she was distracted, Maven picked her cellphone to check the time, but something else called for her attention. There was an unread message from Mr. Kavindi.

“Good morning Maven, how are you? Not too sore, I hope. Please tell me if you need anything and do come over for tea if you’re feeling up to it!”

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Hilda insisted on wiggling in her mother’s grip, and she looked up to smile sympathetically at Johanna, who chuckled.

“I think she wants to go outside.” Johanna said, trying to find a position that made Hilda calmer. Her daughter didn’t like to stay inside for too long. Over the weeks she’d been there, she’d taken many strolls on the cemetery with the child, and even though Johanna admitted to having been creeped out, Hilda had enjoyed herself. Maybe she’d grow up to be one of those people who liked scary things. Like Maven. The thought made her happy.

The librarian got up and straightened her coat. “Well, we did just receive an invitation for tea. I say we all deserve it, really.”

_#_#_#_

They walked side by side on the streets, the sound of their steps and the wheels of the stroller merging together, the cool morning air adding a slight blush to their cheeks. Since she’d come back, Johanna hadn’t left Maven’s house much, and ever since she’d tried to talk to her parents, she’d been as discreet about Hilda as possible, afraid that someone would try to take the child from her as a result of Torrin’s lies. But now, she pushed the stroller in front of her almost proudly. She didn’t care, nor did she worry, about what they thought. The two people who truly loved her were by her side, and lucky for her, no one but her former husband had ever seemed willing to pick a fight with Maven.

“Anna?” Maven hugged her coat tighter around herself to keep in her warmth, and Johanna hummed in acknowledgment. “About what you told me earlier. That I don’t… fight for people. What do you think I should work on to solve that?”

Smiling at the ground, Johanna tried to hide her pleasure at realizing that Maven had, indeed, taken her worries seriously. This was something she’d wanted to talk to Maven about ever since they were very young, but she hadn’t thought she’d want to hear it.

“Well, I’m afraid that this whole town pariah thing made you have some trouble with communication. And connecting with other people’s feelings, so maybe you should focus on that.”

Maven chuckled self deprecatingly. “Yeah, I had already noticed the communication thing.”

Making her stop walking with a gentle hand to her arm, Johanna locked their gazes. “But I have to say that you seem to be improving so much in this aspect. I was very proud of you today.”

Maven pulled the hem of her coat over her hands, a nervous habit that Johanna easily recognized, her eyes looking down at the ground and then up again.

“Says a lot that you have to praise me for acting like a human, doesn’t it?” She muttered, making Johanna sigh.

“Which brings me to another thing you might want to pay attention to.” Johanna started walking again, letting Maven to follow after her even though only the librarian knew the way to where they were going. Her eyes were just a little wider than normal and her back was straight as an arrow, showing Johanna that she was paying listening closely.

“Self esteem.”

Maven blinked and frowned at her. “Wait, what?”

Smiling, Johanna continued looking forward, following Maven when she crossed a small street. The block they were walking by was filled with colourful little houses, each with a garden in front of them.

“Have you ever heard the quote ‘we accept the love we think we deserve?’”

Maven scrunched her nose. “Isn’t that a song?”

Rolling her eyes, Johanna shot her a very level look. Even if she wasn’t perfectly aware that with the amount of books she read, it would be almost a miracle if she didn’t know, at this point in her life Johanna could recognize Maven’s tone when she made an awful joke.

“Yeah, I’ve heard it. By Stephen Chbosky, I think.”

“Exactly. Well, I’ve always wondered if maybe you never thought people could like you because you never liked yourself.”

It was a strange realization to come. Sure, she knew perfectly well about all the things she hated about herself. She knew she’d always considered this friendship, the truest one she’d ever had, to be more than she deserved, but she’d somewhy never connected these things to low self esteem. Gods, I need a therapist.

“Thank you, Anna.” She smiled, her face hiding nothing even though it was so used to covering every emotion. “I’ll think about that.”

Johanna only had time to smile back at her before they heard a cheerful voice from one of the houses.

“Girls, you’ve come!”

They turned their heads to the cubby man waving at them from his front door. Mr. Kavindi seemed to have come back to his usual joyous self, in contrast with how tense and worried he’d been the night before. Maven was happy for the change; she wouldn’t want to be the reason his mood was dampened.

He stepped down his house and crossed the garden in order to open the metal gate for them. Johanna got in first , and thought he tried not to stare, Kavindi couldn’t help himself but grin at the adorable child who was taking everything in from the stroller. He’d heard Torrin’s version of the story of how Johanna came to be at Trolberg again, of course. Everyone had at this point. But since Maven hadn’t wanted to talk about it, he knew practically nothing about what was actually going on. He wasn’t about to press them for information, though. He’d know in time.

He shot a worried look at Maven when she closed the gate behind her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, sir. Thanks to you.”

He blushed with the acknowledgment, but made sure to brush it off. Anyone would have done the same, he said. He then let the trio inside his house, where Maven had already been three or four times, and his wife greeted them as well, beckoning them over to a table with tea and cookies. It would ruin their lunch, for sure, but it would be worth it.

The atmosphere was cozy and welcome. The Kavindi household was colourful, peculiar trinkets covering every surface. The table had been set in front of a window which had a view to a tiny backyard, where Johanna noticed they had planted strawberry bushes. She imagined that’s where the homemade jelly on their table came from.

She’d been reluctant, at first, to agree to this visit, wondering if the couple would try to pry too much into her life. But contrary to what she’d been expecting, the two of them acted perfectly polite, at the same time that they were extremely welcoming. They didn’t ignore the fact that she’d been away for so long, making her questions about when she’d be back at college and how taking care of Hilda was, but not once did they touch more delicate topics, and for that she was grateful. They even managed to talk about what happened in the party the night before without focusing too much on Torrin.

As Johanna had brought all the essentials for caring for Hilda in a bag in the stroller, they were able to remain with the couple for a long time. At one point, Erica even asked for permission to pick Hilda up, and took her outside to point out all the different species that she and her husband had planted together.

While the two of them were outside and the women were sitting with Mr. Kavindi on the sofa, to where they’d moved after some time, Maven’s eyes fell to a portrait sitting on a shelf, side by side with a variety of books. There were two men in it; one was the librarian, and she realized she knew the other as well.

“Hold up.” She got up from the couch and picked the picture from the shelf. “That’s my college’s dean, isn’t it?”

Although she’d had little trouble recognizing Mr. Kavindi, seeing as she saw him very often, it was harder to do so with the dean. They were much younger, close to Johanna and Maven’s current age. Mr. Kavindi hummed in agreement and smiled.

“That one is from college!”

Johanna walked closer as well, wanting to see the image. “That’s him, then?”

“Yeah.” Maven nodded. “I never did ask you why he was indebted to you.”

He snorted. “It’s not like he was ‘indebted’ to me.” He gestured as he spoke, making quotation marks with his fingers. “One day he joked that he was, and I’ve never stopped saying that he was. Trust me, he helped you because he saw your potential, not because of some moral obligation.”

Delighted with the compliment but not letting it show, Maven lifted an eyebrow. “That doesn’t really answer the question.”

Shifting in his seat, he blushed, though there was a smile on his face. “He owned me one for kissing him first.”

The two women stared at him. The corners of Maven’s lips began to lift up, and she was pretty sure that Johanna was slack jawed.

“What, you didn’t think you were the only ones in this town, did you?” He joked in good nature.

“Sometimes it feels like it.” Maven muttered somewhat awkwardly, as she was trying to contain a smile. “What happened, if I may ask?”

She put the frame back on the shelf, sitting down next to him again, though Johanna remained standing.

“Well, I met the woman of my life.” He smiled and gestured to the back garden, where his wife was playing with Hilda. “But we remained very good friends.”

“I had no idea that you...” Johanna didn’t finish the sentence, turning her attention to the picture again.

“Most people don’t.”

“In this case, we’re very honored.” Maven sat straight on the sofa, finding a deep and unfamiliar sense of comfort in knowing that she could relate to someone she admired so much in this way. “You didn’t have to tell us, but I’m thankful you did.”

“My girl, I just want you to understand something.” He wanted to put his hand on her shoulder, or even hug her, offering her physical comfort aside from just emotional. But he knew that Maven didn’t appreciate physical contact from many people, so he kept his hands by his sides on the sofa. “You are never as alone as you think you are.”

Maven was in the process of understanding what he meant when Johanna spoke up.

“Hold up.” She turned to them, arms crossed. “How did you know about us?”

Maven’s eyes widened as she realized Johanna had a point; she had never told Mr. Kavindi about her relationship with Johanna and much less about her sexuality. He snorted playfully and tilted his head.

“Adorable how you two think you were being any subtle.”

_#_#_#_

It was a bright Friday afternoon, and Maven was giddy with excitement. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell so because she mostly kept it to herself, a bright contrast with the girl at her side, who was making the most of her walk, trying to keep her balance as she walked on the lines where two pieces of cement met or jumping over cracks in the sidewalk. She had been looking forward to this since the moment she and her friend had scheduled the meeting, the day before. She’d picked Johanna up at her house, and now was leading her to the lovely place her mother would sometimes take her.

“Won’t you tell me where we’re going?”

Maven smiled mischievously. “Not yet.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Johanna scoffed. “Well then, Miss Mysterious. Could you at least say why this had to be this weekend? You were pretty insistent.”

“The classes come back on Monday.”

“I know. What of it?”

“Anna, it’ll mark five years of our friendship!” She said happily. She had to admit, she was quite proud of herself for remembering this. And of course, she wanted to do something to celebrate. To show Anna how happy she was that they were still friends after all this time.

“Oh gosh, it does!” She clapped her hands in front of her and then leapt to hug her friend. “That’s amazing!”

“It is.” Maven hugged her back. “If you really want to know, I’ll tell you the place I’m taking you to. Not much longer until we get there, though.”

Drawing back, Johanna nodded enthusiastically. “Please!”

“It’s called the Poet’s Retreat. It has the best coffee ever. Mum doesn’t let me have too much, though. She says it’s bad for our growing.”

Smiling, Johanna squeezed Maven’s arms. “I already know I’ll love it.”

_#_#_#_

The day was getting darker by the minute as the sun sank lower. Johanna had suggested they got takeout, and considering t he that her friend was usually the one who cooked, Maven hadn’t objected. She deserved the rest.

This was the reason why now they were taking a different route from before. Leaving the Kavindi’s house to go to their chosen restaurant, they had to head closer to the city center, though still trying to avoid a few streets in particular. For the time being, Johanna didn’t want to risk meeting her parents.

After a while, the blocks became familiar to Johanna as they entered the area she had been more used to when she lived in Trolberg, and so the two of them somewhat switched into automatic mode, not thinking about where they were going, just letting their feed guide them to where they wanted to go and allowing their minds to drift away. After all that had happened in the last twenty four hours, after all they had said to and been told by each other, their thoughts were truly crowded.

It was this distraction which made them not realize where they were until the Johanna had trouble fitting the stroller in the narrow passage between a cracked, waterless fountain and an unkept flowerbed. In the middle of wondering how she’d maneuver that, her eyes widened. She looked around, truly seeing the place at last. They were in the middle of a small park, crossing it as a shortcut to the restaurant. Wild flowers grew widely there, taking over the all but abandoned place.

Maven, who’d been just about to offer help, saw the moment Johanna’s face changed with recognition. And that was when she, too realized where they were. Just like years ago, the sky was beautifully painted with purples and oranges, the sun’s last beams being filtered by the treetops. She immediately turned her head to a spot nearby, on the shadow of a tree, where she knew celosias grew during the warmer months.

The place where they’d first kissed.

A chill ran down Maven’s spine, a mixture of anticipation and anxiety as she felt Johanna’s eyes stare a hole in the back of her head. It brought her a strange feeling to look at this place so long after it had happened. They were so different now, and they couldn’t deny it. They had suffered, they had grown; their core was the same, but so much had changed that they could almost be completely different people. And yet, one thing remained the same. They were still terrible at staying away.

“We won’t be able to just be friends again, will we?” Maven whispered with her heart beating furiously against her chest. It was making her somewhat nervous, to feel Johanna’s unwavering gaze on her, but flattered at the same time. They were surrounded by wild beauty, and still she chose to look at her.

“We will, if we really try. But that’s not really what we want, is it?”

Johanna took a step backwards; she’d worry about getting the stroller through the passage in a minute, or maybe they’d pick another path. She walked to Maven’s side, and parked it just beside her.

“No.” Maven said softly, her eyes still glued to that spot. Only when she felt the touch of Johanna’s hand on her shoulder did she come out of her transe, turning to her friend with a slightly labored breathing. Her curls were shining in the little light that remained, and the shadows accentuated the gentle curves of her face. Twilight still looked beautiful on her.

“I don’t think-” Johanna stopped herself from finishing. Words had power, even over oneself. Maybe if she reacquainted herself with speaking with conviction, she’d learn to have confidence again sooner.

“I’m not ready for a relationship yet.” She began again. “But I can’t stand the idea of a future without you.”

Maven stared into her eyes for tense seconds, her brow furrowed and her lips parted with what looked to be disbelief, before she quickly rose on her heels and pressed an urgent kiss to Johanna’s mouth. Her bony hands flew to Johanna’s hair, as if trying to hang on to her, and Johanna hugged her hips close. It felt almost nostalgic, like they’d been offered a second chance. And they would make sure to make it right this time.

It was a while before they fully parted, the sky almost completely dark now. They leaned their foreheads against each other’s, breathing together.

“Good.” Maven said. “Because neither can I.”

They were smiling so much that their cheeks hurt as they drew back. Maven felt like laughing, even. No, she was not over Johanna, and there was nothing wrong with that. They would learn to grow together, to heal together, to live together, because the alternative of being apart was simply too terrible to picture.

This was not their happy ending. They’d still need to work hard to get there. This was their happy beginning, this was an opportunity to make an effort to get there. And Maven knew that, as long as she had Johanna by her side, she’d love every step of the way.

#fic: tmwm #my fic #sketchbook ship #sketchbook ship hilda #hilda librarian #hilda librarian fanfic #Hilda's mum #hilda johanna #hilda johanna fanfic

[absent-angel]

Writing on the Wall

Chapter 8: The Drawing Board

Fandom: Inuyasha

Summary: Inuyasha doesn’t believe in haunted houses - until he actually buys one. Figures. A story told in drabbles. [Ghost AU] [InuKag]

Read it on ff.net

AN: Sorry for missing last Wednesday's update... and sorry in advance if I miss this Wednesday as well. I have a rare condition called Trigeminal Neuralgia and tomorrow I have a consult with a nuerosurgeon and I'm low key freaking out. Fingers crossed I'll have a better idea of what the future holds for me. As always, thank you for your reviews and reblogs and support! They never cease to make my day a little brighter.

Word Count: 768

Warnings: Inuyasha’s potty mouth and, uh, character death. Because, you know, ghost story.

Chapter 8: The Drawing Board

He paints the largest wall in the living room with chalkboard paint. It’s kitchy and lame, and he’s probably going to hate himself for it later, but he figures it's better than ghosts scribbling on his walls with god knows what. Especially since he’s planning on painting soon, and drawing all over his hard work is a quick way to go about ticking him off. Besides, he’s tired of searching for responses in piles of dust and film on the windows. After the third coat has dried and cured, he screws in a little cubby and fills it with sticks of chalk and an eraser.

The moment he takes a step back to determine exactly how shitty it looks, a piece of pink chalk rises from the bin and begins writing in quick, almost excited, strokes.

‘For me?’

He rolls his eyes, folding his hands over his chest. “More like my sanity.”

The reply he gets is instant. ‘Don't be rude.’

“Feh, don't be so damn cryptic. Or is that just a ghost thing?”

The chalk hesitates, touching the chalk board for a moment before shying away. When it finally scratches out a answer, it is done slowly. ‘It’s been a long time. Some kanji is hard to remember.’

Oh. Well shit. Now he kinda feels like an asshole. He thinks about how derelict the place was when he bought it - nothing to read and nothing to write with. Then he thinks about how long it had been that way and feels even worse. He shifts, feeling uncomfortable. “Right.” He cringes, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry kid.”

Again, another pause, before a question mark is drawn.

He scowls, suddenly defensive. Shit, it wasn't like he was heartless. “Why am I sorry?”

‘Kid?’

Inuyasha blinks. “Aren't you?” He had just assumed. The foot prints in the dust had been on the small side.

‘No.’

Well that completely kills the mental image he had going. He thought he was dealing with some middle school punk. “Well how old are you?” When the chalk doesn't move he realizes his mistake. “Er, I mean, when you died. How old?”

‘22.’

“Damn you have small-” realization hits him, and he feels like the biggest idiot on this side of Japan. The handwriting doesn't look particularly feminine, but he guesses that thirty years of being out of practice would do that. “You're… a woman. Were a woman.” He doesn't know why that sets him on edge but it does. Suddenly all those times he took a piss off the back step seems like a terrible idea. He wonders if that counts as voyeurism or something.

She underlines her response, and Inuyasha gets the feeling that her cheeks would be puffed into a huff if he could see her. ‘Am a woman.’ A few seconds later she adds, ‘I’m still me.’

He snorts. “Right, except for all the fleshy bits and a reflection.”

The chalk clacks angrily against the wall, drawing a circle around one of the earlier words she had written. ‘Rude.’

He smirks, amused. “Right. So you the only ghost haunting this place?”

‘Yes.’

“Then who’s the asshole keeping me from working at night?”

For a long minute there is nothing, and Inuyasha almost thinks she’s left.

‘Not a ghost. Worse.’

Right. Of course it is. Inuyasha blows his bangs out of his eyes, already trying to figure out exactly how fucked his deadline’s going to be with only the daylight to work in. “Fine. Whatever. Anything else I should know?”

‘Stay away from well.’

He frowns. “What well?”

‘In well house. Locked.’

He remembers the small building over by the shrine - the one with a door covered in locks and chains. Now he’s really glad he didn’t waste his time with the bolt cutters. “That's what's in there? What’s so scary about a well?”

‘Evil. Poison. Corrupts.’

He holds his hands up before she can keep the list going. “Ok, ok. Got it. Well is bad.”

Three lines, in quick succession, under the word ‘evil’.

He nods, still skeptical. What the hell can an evil not-ghost do to him? Other than doing creepy shit like writing lame threats in blood, he doesn't really get what there is to be scared of, but whatever. No point in seeing a stupid well when he’s got indoor plumbing anyway.

He eyes the writing on the wall carefully, head tilting. “You got a name?”

The question feels personal even as he asks it. Aren't names suppose to hold power or some shit? But there doesn't seem to be any hesitation in her response.

‘Kagome.’

#inuyasha #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag #my fanfiction #writing on the wall

[takerfoxx]

RD Walpurgis Nights 7: Part 7

Homulilly stood before the door to Dr. Cynthia’s office. Though she had been there several times in the past, her insides were quailing. This was the first step of what promised to be long, painful, and deeply personal journey. She was not looking forward to it.

Still, the journey was not going to begin unless she took the first step. She willed her hands to stop shaking and lifted one to knock on the door.

“Come in,” came the answer from within.

Homulilly opened the door.

Dr. Cynthia’s office was as welcoming as always, with big picture windows behind her desk open to the slope of Freehaven’s hill, giving her a fantastic view of the city. Several interesting knick-knacks were placed tastefully about the room, and several pictures of her with the various girls she had helped over the decades were on the wall.

As for Dr. Cynthia herself, she wasn’t behind the desk, but instead setting out a tea on the small tea table in the middle of the room, which sat between two comfortable chairs. “Ah, good afternoon, Homulilly. It’s been a while.”

Homulilly nodded. Then she stepped inside and let the door swing shut.

“Well, have a seat,” Dr. Cynthia said as she took the smaller of the two chairs. “Make yourself comfortable.”

Homulilly did so, sitting stiffly with her hands on her knees. She didn’t want to do this. Quite frankly, she would like to be doing anything but this. However, she was now kind of committed.

Besides, she knew she had to do this, for Gretchen’s sake.

“I…” she began. The words caught in her throat, so she coughed and tried again.

“I need help,” she said at last.

Dr. Cynthia slowly nodded. “Well, that’s what I’m here for.”

…

It was a place that nobody asked to come to.

It was a place that nobody wanted to come to.

It was a place that nobody even knew that they were going to.

But they were there regardless.

And though they had come from a dozen different planets, from hundreds of different countries, and from innumerable backgrounds, they were all there, and they had to make the best of it.

From the very young…

…

It was almost midnight when Alyssa entered the Freehaven Public Library, and she was getting just a little pissed.

The library was in the upper areas of Freehaven, which made it accessible to both the residents of the town and those still going through the integration program. It was also open at all hours, which was great for those needing a space to cram for some foreboding test, but it was also further from Alyssa’s home than she cared to travel at that hour, hence her sour disposition.

Despite the hour, there were still a few people milling about. Alyssa found a girl wearing a librarian nametag and made a beeline over to her.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I’m looking for someone.”

The librarian, a pink-haired girl whose nametag identified her as “Charlotte,” quirked an eyebrow. “Well,” she said. “I don’t know what to tell yah. Usually people come here looking for books.”

Alyssa’s left eye twitched, but she maintained her politeness. Manner first. “I mean, I’m looking for someone that came here earlier and was supposed to be back by now, but…isn’t. And she’s not answering her phone.”

“Oh. Okay…?”

“She’s about this tall,” Alyssa said, holding a hand a few inches over her head. “With tanned skin and long orange hair and-”

The side of Charlotte’s mouth perked up. “Wait, you mean Mitty?”

Alyssa paused for a second. “Actually, yes.”

“Yeah, she’s in here all the time. You’re Alyssa, right? This way.”

Charlotte led the bemused Alyssa through the stacks, up the stairs, and over to a study corner.

Despite her sour mood, when Alyssa saw what was waiting for her there, she couldn’t help but smile.

Mitty was curled up in a beanbag chair, limbs drawn in nearly into the fetal position. One hand lightly held onto an open book. She was fast asleep.

“This…isn’t the first time I’ve found her like this,” Charlotte said. “What can I say? She loves reading.”

“Yup. Among other things.” Alyssa spied Mitty’s phone on the table near her. She sidled over to it and checked. Yup, it was on silent, and there were all her missed calls and messages.

Sighing, Alyssa gently extracted the book from Mitty’s fingers and handed it over to Charlotte. “Thank you,” she said as she pocketed Mitty’s phone. “I’ll take it from here.”

With that, she slipped her hands under Mitty’s body and picked her up into a bridal carry.

As she carried the sleeping girl toward the exit, Mitty stirred a bit. “Um, uh, Alyssa…?” she muttered, eyes still half-closed.

“Yup,” Alyssa said. “You fell asleep in the library. Again.”

“Oh. Shrrrorrryyyy…” Mitty’s head dipped down and she was out again.

Shaking her head, Alyssa cosigned herself to carrying Mitty the rest of the way.

…

To the exceptionally old…

…

It was several days after the Cultural Exchange Festival, and now that the festive air had left the town the rain was allowed to come in.

Astrid sat bundled up in her favorite fuzzy brown blanket in the little cubby space by the window of the apartment she and Zoya shared in the back of the museum’s grounds, watching the silver curtain come down to wash the city clean. She had always liked the rain. It was the closest thing Freehaven ever got to the weather she remembered from her childhood. It had been thousands of years since she had departed the world of the living, but she still remembered.

Zoya came over, a pair of steaming mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. Without saying anything, she handed one to Astrid and eased herself into the small space beside her. Zoya opened the blanket to let her in, and the two just sat there, cuddling together and listening to the rain.

Astrid didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. She knew that Zoya was very aware of the dark thoughts that were hovering over her mind and soul. They came every year, after she gave the tour to whichever class from the FIB’s was ready for their turn. One would think that after doing it for so long, it would stop affecting her. But somehow, it seemed to get just a little bit harder every year.

The older she got, the faster time seemed to pass, and now the years felt like they were zipping by in a manner of minutes. She would lead the tour, relive the memories, give the lecture, and just when she started to feel better it was time to do it all over again.

And again.

And again.

For the rest of eternity, all to convince a group of children to consign themselves to being stuck in a trap that even she herself desperately wished she could be free from.

If I had just not run away, she thought, it would be over. Sure, her soul would be probably be forfeit, fueling whatever it was in that pyramid, but at least then it would be over and done with. Oblivion was Oblivion, regardless if she was made one with Nirvana or made part of a mad Incubator’s evil scheme or-

“Maybe I’d better do the tour next year,” Zoya said suddenly.

“No,” Astrid said automatically. “It’s my job. I can do it.”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” Zoya said as she sipped her hot chocolate.

“I can!”

Zoya shook her head. “Snowflake, take a few years off. You’re getting restless again. I lived the same thing you did, I can do it just the same as you.”

“But-”

And then there was a knock at the door.

The knock was fast, loud, and desperate, the frantic pounding of someone terrified and in need of sanctuary. Astrid and Zoya looked at each other in surprise. Then they got up and went over to the door.

Astrid peered through the keyhole. It as a small Hispanic girl with long dark hair tied back in an untidy ponytail. She wore what looked like cast-off clothes that were too big for her and a clear plastic poncho. She was hugging herself as her eyes darted this way and that, and she was shivering in a manner that said that the cold was only part of the problem.

“Huh,” Astrid said, and then opened the door.

The girl stiffened. She looked up at Astrid and Zoya with wide, scared eyes. “I…” she said, and then seemed to choke on the words.

“Can…we help you?” Astrid said.

The girl swallowed. “Y-You two used to be Void Walkers, right? They said you used to be Void Walkers, but you ran away!”

Astrid and Zoya exchanged a look, and then Zoya said, “Um, that’s right.”

“Please, you have to help me!” the girl begged. “I just got out, and I don’t know where to go or who to go to. Oblivion probably has people looking for me right now!”

Astrid’s mouth fell open. “You’re a runaway Void Walker?”

The girl nodded rapidly.

Astrid believed her. It had been so long since she and Zoya had made their escape, but she still recognized that look in the girl’s eyes, the same look they had worn for so long even after reaching safety.

“Oh, sweet breath of life,” she whispered. Then she held out her hand. “Well, come in. Let’s get you out of the rain and warmed up.”

“Th-Thank you,” the girl said as she entered the apartment, her teeth chattering.

As Astrid let the door close, she found that for once, the weight of the years that had been growing on her shoulders was suddenly gone. All it had taken was a small reminder of what they had escaped and what their purpose was, and suddenly it all seemed clear again.

They were there to help, in any way they could. It was as simple as that.

…

From those having to deal with fresh wounds…

…

One hand holding tightly onto that of Shelley Attenbourgh, her therapist, Ophelia slowly descended the steps down into the pool. Her bare feet touched the warm water, and she instinctively flinched back.

“Easy there,” Shelley said, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. “Take your time.”

Ophelia scowled. No. She wasn’t going to let this beat her.

A few steps down, and she was standing in the shallow end, with the water up to her middle.

“That’s it,” Shelley said. “Just go slowly. Stay focused on Oktavia. You’re doing great.”

The blue-haired mermaid in question was in the pool’s deep end, which was only around six feet deep, but it was enough to submerge both of them completely. Oktavia was treading water, waiting for her.

Ophelia took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

Shelley let go of her hand, and Ophelia sank down until only her head was about water. Then she paddled across the pool over to where Oktavia was. In sharp contrast to the graceful, fluid movements that defined practically everything she did on land, in there she moved awkwardly, just a little too fast and jerky.

“Take it easy,” Shelley said as she swam next to her. “Slow it down. Wide strokes, now. Wide strokes.”

“Right,” Ophelia muttered. “I can do windmills on my freaking fingers, so I can do this.”

Then she reached Oktavia, and pretty much collapsed into her arms. “Hey, good job!” Oktavia said as the two floated together, fins and legs slowly moving to keep them up. “I mean, you still swim like a crippled turtle with dementia, but it’s a major step up from sinking like a rock.”

“Asshole,” Ophelia said, but she smiled.

“All right,” Oktavia said. “Ready?”

“Gimme a second,” Ophelia muttered. She took a deep, let it out, and then another. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

Keeping a firm grip on each other, the two lowered themselves down. Ophelia squeezed her eyes shut, but nothing could block out the feeling of the waters closing over her head.

Again she felt the surge of panic, the rush of memories from when she had drowned to death multiple times in succession. She jerked a bit, her body reflexively recoiling from the water toward the air. She fought it, chewing the insides of her cheeks and she kept her fear in check.

They were only down there for ten seconds, though it felt much, much, longer. Then they surfaced and Ophelia started gasping.

“Are you okay?” Oktavia said. “You got this?”

Ophelia held up a finger, signaling for her to wait. Then, after a bit, she nodded. “Okay,” she said. She was still breathing heavily, but at least she had it under control. “I’m good.”

Then she blinked. Her hand went up to the top of her head, feeling around the fake skin that covered where the flames came out, frantically searching for any seam that the water might have broken through.

“You’re good, you’re good,” Oktavia reassured her. “No water got in.”

“You sure?” Ophelia said. “Maybe some seeped in. Maybe I’m gonna start choking any second now.”

“Babe,” Oktavia said with a roll of her eyes. “Even if that thing wasn’t completely airtight, which it is, it’s enchanted to ward away water from the seams. You are literally protected by magic. Besides, if enough to choke you got in, I think you’d know by now. Anything less would probably just evaporate.��

Ophelia paused with her fingers still probing the seams. Then she let them drop with a sheepish grin. “Okay,” she said. “Fine.”

“You did great though,” Shelley said, clapping her in the shoulder. “We’ve been doing this less than a week, and you already doubled your time.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like doing things halfway,” Ophelia said. Then she scowled down at the pool. “Even if it involves evil, sadistic, hellish water.”

Oktavia sighed. “Well, it’s a start. In the meantime though…”

“Eh?”

Shelley pulled herself out of the pool. She walked over to a table and picked up a small, white remote wand.

“Er, what are you doing?”

“Just trying a new form of therapy,” Shelley said. “To help you build pleasant associations with water.”

Then she pressed a button.

The lights in the indoor pool area dimmed, and then a spotlight poured down over Ophelia and Oktavia. Over the loudspeakers a song started playing, a jazzy piano melody accompanied by a saxophone and a string section.

Ophelia recognized it immediately. It was one of Oktavia’s original compositions, her personal favorite in fact.

Then Oktavia’s hands slid behind Ophelia’s back and she pressed herself close.

Ophelia blinked. “Um, what’s going on? I mean, I can’t say I mind, but…”

Her face close to Ophelia’s ear, Oktavia murmured, “Well, it occurred to me that I’m dating the best dancer in Freehaven, but never once got a dance with her. And you’re dating the best swimmer in Freehaven, but we’ve never really gone for a swim together. So…why not split the difference?”

Ophelia’s brow raised. Then she smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep us afloat,” Oktavia said. She took Ophelia’s hands in hers. “Just show me the steps.”

…

To those carrying old hurts…

…

“Faster!” Nikki shrieked. “Faster, Annabelle Lee! Faster!”

“Uh, no!” Elsa said hastily. “Veto on the faster! In fact, slower! Slower is fine!”

Annabelle Lee glanced first to the tiny, golden-haired girl in her arms, and then to the taller, raven-haired girl clinging to her back. “Well, make up your minds. I can go faster or slower. Can’t do both.”

“Faster!” Nikki insisted.

“No!” Elsa shouted. “Or I will throw up into your neck! Don’t think that I won’t!”

Annabelle Lee sighed. “Well, that cinches it. Sorry kid, I’m not digging chunks of puke out of my scarf.”

“Aw…”

The trio had been flying through a fairly thick cluster of clouds. But as they talked, they suddenly broke through, and they were sailing through bright blue skies with the sun shining brightly down on them.

Suddenly, Elsa stopped complaining. “Wow,” she said.

Annabelle Lee’s worn and tired eyes crinkled as her mouth lifted in a rare smile. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s something else, ain’t it?”

“It is,” Elsa agreed. Then she paused. “Well, I’ll be.”

“What?”

“You’re smiling! And not in a mean way either. Annabelle Lee, are you actually having fun?”

Annabelle Lee’s smile vanished. “Shut up,” she said. “I do this all the time, remember? It’s just fun because you like it.”

Elsa laughed “Well, this is a day for miracles. That might be the loveliest thing you’ve ever said.”

Annabelle Lee sighed. But still, as she gazed upon the endless horizon before her, with the very people in her life worth caring about held close, she found herself smiling again.

Eternity had done her no favors whatsoever. But even so, some parts were nice.

…

It was all the same.

Because they were in the same place. And to survive and continue on, they all needed to learn to love and support one another, to lift up those who had fallen and look fondly toward the future.

…

“To Candeloro and Charlotte!”

Several mugs and cups clinked together in the air, and everyone cheered.

The pair were in the Honey Hive bakery and coffee house, where Mami worked. Now that things had calmed down, they and their friends were gathered together with all their friends to celebrate. After all, it wasn’t every day that one achieved her dreams at the exact same time as the one dearest to her heart.

It was past closing hours, and the whole place had been pretty much taken over for the celebration. Candeloro had to admit, it was nice to be pampered in the place that she spent so much time waiting upon others. Occasionally a passerby would see the crowd and assume that the place was still open and try to come in. Candeloro’s coworkers seemed to enjoy turning them away just a little too much.

“For they’re a jolly good couple…” Ophelia started to sing, waving her mug of obscenely caffeinated and criminally sweetened coffee back and forth.

“For they’re a jolly good couple…” Oktavia joined in.

“For they’re a jolly good couple!” called out the rest of Candeloro’s friends. “Which nobody can deny!” And then they all cheered again.

Then, just as the noise quieted down, Cheese chose that exact moment to call out, “You’re all the shits. Hello, you stupid bird!”

Everyone laughed at that, even Candeloro, though Charlotte shot a glare at Ophelia, on whose shoulder Cheese was perched. Ophelia, who had insisted that Cheese be brought along on account of him being family, merely grinned unrepentantly and shrugged.

“So, when is your book coming out?” asked Kisandra, who was one Candeloro’s coworkers.

“Coming out?” Charlotte said. “I don’t even have a publisher yet!”

“Nothing short of a formality at this point,” Corbit said. “I will have them crawling over one another to get at the rights.” The jott was set to return home soon, but she had stuck around to join in the party. Candeloro, who had only recently met her, definitely saw why Ophelia and Oktavia had taken to her so easily. She was definitely charming, to say the least.

“Well, when it does, you’re pretty much obligated to have the release party here,” said Francoise, who owned the Honey Hive.

“Plus a meet-and-greet and a book signing!” Corbit chimed in. “A capital idea.”

Charlotte made a choking sound. “Wait, book signing? As if in autographs? That might be a thing?”

Corbit gave her a sympathetic pat on her shoulder. “Best strengthen up that wrist, sweetie. It’s going to get a lot of use.”

“It already does!” Oktavia said, and she, Ophelia, Corbit, and some of Candeloro’s more…crude friends burst into laughter.

Charlotte sighed while Candeloro gave the pair a sharp look. “Knock-”

“-it-,” Ophelia said.

“-off-” Oktavia continued.

“-you guys,” Cheese finished. That just made everyone laugh harder.

“I like that bird!” Corbit said. “I must get one of my own.”

“Well, regardless, I’m definitely going to have to hire some more people,” Francoise said when everyone had calmed down. “You winning that award already kicked up business, and once those sponsors you got for us start coming through, the line will be out the door!”

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Candeloro,” Kisandra said with an exaggerated frown. “Way to make our jobs harder.”

As everyone laughed and chattered, Candeloro allowed herself to finally relax. On the whole, while she did not regret her trip, it had been very stressful and she was glad to be home. It felt very nice to finally be able to let herself unwind after a very long week and enjoy the fruits of her labor. Finally her hard work was getting recognized, as was Charlotte’s. And while she was incredibly proud of everything Ophelia and Oktavia had accomplished in their chosen fields, it was nice to finally have something of their own to be proud of as well. Still, getting there had been difficult, and by all accounts the last week had been tough on everyone.

Speaking of which…

Candeloro turned her attention to a pair of guests who weren’t exactly sitting apart from the rest of the party, but were by themselves on the fringes.

“Excuse me,” she muttered to the others, and then got up to go over to the pair.

“Hello, you two,” she said as she sat down across from Gretchen and Homulilly. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course!” Gretchen said. “Congratulations, by the way. Again, I mean.”

“Thanks guys,” Candeloro said. Then, with a quick glance over to the others, she lowered her voice so that only the three of them could hear. “And, um, I hope I’m not intruding, but we haven’t gotten much chance to talk since I got back. How are you two doing?”

The kids both winced. “Well,” Gretchen said. “It’s been…it’s been…”

“Pretty rough,” Homulilly admitted. “I, uh, made a lot of mistakes.”

“We both did.”

“No, it was mostly me. Actually, I screwed up pretty bad. You probably already know all about it.”

“Most,” Candeloro said. “But listen: I have heard of all the work you two are doing to try to fix things, and I have to say, I am proud of both of you. It can’t be at all easy to confront that sort of stuff, so it’s great that you are.”

Homulilly nodded. “Well. You’re right, it is pretty hard.” Then she smiled over to Gretchen, and laid her hand on the back of hers. “But it’s worth it.” Gretchen blushed a little, then she leaned over to kiss Homulilly on the cheek.

“That’s just what I wanted to hear,” Candeloro said. “Also, if you two ever had a problem and need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to call. Because the way I look at it we are all more than just friends. We’re a team. Family, even.”

“Family,” Homulilly said, musing over that word. She smiled. “I like that. I like that a lot.”

…

And honestly, that’s what they were. Family. A team. However you want to put it. They had to be. That was their best chance of getting through it.

Because when you really got down to it, it didn’t matter where they had come from, when they had come from, what they had been through, or what they had done.

One way or another, no matter who they were, they were all in it together.

#Walpurgis Nights

[yes-bitchxxxmarvel-stuff]

You Are Who You Choose To Be!

(Chapter 1) Part 1 Who I Was Meant To Be!

Tony StarkXDaughter Nathaile Stark

(Prompts) This Is A Tony Stark And Daughter Stark Story I Came Up With Myself.

What If Thanos Never Did The Sanp! But Instead Tony Stark's Daughter Sacrficed!! Herself Instead To Protect The Avenger's And Save The Entire Universe!

(Warning's) Language! Violence!

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

It was another bright sunny Satuday Morning In downtown Manhattan The sun was shining bright through the huge windows of my room. Lighting up the room just enough that i did not need any lights on in the room i

Was drawn into this book that was made into a movie called Bird Box! I was so obsessed with it i couldn't put it down i had to find out what happened even though i already known what happens But books have more details than in the movie's.

I just happened to look up from the book When i saw two huge Q Spaceship's emerge from the sky landing in the middle of Manhattan i stood up from the couch throwing the book in my hand to the other side of the couch. I walked up to the large glass windows looking down at these large ships I was terrified i knew exactly who this was and why they were here

I was suddenly Drawn from what i was seeing in the street to the Emergency Lights and Sirens that had started blaring off in the Tower. I. Finally had my chance to show everyone that i could be just like Them an Avenger i rushed over to the Door running down the hallway i got in the elevator and pushed the button for the Lab the doors closed i backed up to the back of the elevator holding onto the bar's i hated the feeling of falling this was always the hardest part for me. I had to convince myself that everything was going to be okay and that the ride would be over soon. To this day i still couldn't figure out the reason why i hated The feeling of falling it's haunted me ever sense i was a kid.

The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened To my surprise Dad nor any of the Avengers were no where to be found i found this quite Odd knowing how my father is always concerd about me and my safety i would have thought he would have made an appearance to tell me What to do or where to go like usual but this time was different.

I made my way over to the computer's i quickly logged myself in i went to push the button and bring my Suit up when i heard the doors open and my name being echoed through the lab i quickly tried to hide what i was about to do and spun around as i heard footsteps getting closer That's when i was face to face with Pepper Nathalie what are you doing up here?

Uh i just came up here looking for Dad!

Do you know where he is?

Hunny he's not here he just called me he told me to come find you! Happy is on his way to pick us up we are going to the safe house Happy will be here in 15 minutes So Grab everything you need and meet us in the lobby I zoned out as my thoughts began to scatterd through my mind and i was debating on if i was going to listen for once or go be apart of the team and help i mean it couldn't hurt iv been on little missons and nothing's ever happened Dad and The Avengers taught me everything i knowi could do this and i was going to do this Wether they liked it or not.

Haile? I felt Pepper shaking my shoulders i snapped out of it and looked back up at her Did you hear a word i just said? Yes Pepper I'm sorry i zoned out I'll be ready in 15 minute's

I stood their waiting for her to walk out of the lab and back into the elevator as soon as the doors shut i spun around and hit the button i heard a noise and one of the Glass case's opened i put the comb into my locker and pulled my black and purple suit from the locker i sliped it on and stepped into My Iron Man suit i walked out of the case and  out onto the landing strip.

Dad was flying around while Peter was right there fighting along side him feeling a little bit jelousy I liked how it was okay for Peter to help but Haile she had to stay up in the Tower and play Victim Um yeah No!! Not today! I took off down towards The park where these huge creatures were fighting Peter and Dad taking they were out numberd by a long shot just as i went in to help I caught the glimpse of a guy standing off to the side trying to stay out of the way the closer i got to the ground I realised who he was Banner!! One of the creatures was headed right towards him i flew down faster knocking the creature off his feet onto the ground i quickly took it out.

Nathalie is that you? I opened the face shield and looked at him Hi Bruce it's nice to see you've finally come back from where ever you've been hiding! Why aren't you turned into the hulk? He won't come out he's being a big giant ass hole! I burst out laughing Oh Okay! Just Stay hidden okay till one of us comes back to get you

I shut the face shield and headed over to where the rest of thr creature's were

Hey ass holes Up here i waved my arm's around they turned their attention onto me and headed towards me away from Peter

I was doing good ducking and dodging each hit till i saw Peter get hit and land on the ground i took my attention off the creature's for a mirror second when i was suddenly knocked out of the air onto the ground feeling the hard blow's i was receiving this was something

i wasn't used to Yes i got to fight along side the Avengers but they did most of the work i knew i was risking my life being out here with no help but i didn't care i had to fight just like the rest of them I wasn't an Avenger but I was going to be after i showed everyone that i could be an Avenger and I was going to do whatever i could To Fight who or whatever this one until we won.

I tired fighting this guy off but i couldn't shake him off i was taking blow after blow to the face i didn't understand what was wrong with my suit it's never done anything like this before F.R.I.D.A.Y What's wrong with my suit? I'm getting killed out here Ms.Stark your father has the settings to Training Mode. What? F.R.I.D.A.Y Take it off NOW!! I can not do that Ms.Stark you have not passed your training course F.R.I.D.A.Y Listen to me for once

if you do not take it off now your going to get me killed we are under attack and i can not defend myself in Training Mode I Will Die!! Do You Understand? All of a sudden This image came across the screen saying Congratulations on Passing the Training Course F.R.I.D.A.Y started talking Congratulations on passing the course you now have full control over your suit i pulled my arm's back and used the blasters to fry the Creature's i got up brushing the dirt and grass off the suit

I looked up as i watched My father make his way over to me Nathalie what in the hell are doing? I'm doing what you've been training me to do. No i wasn't training you for this, this is the real thing this isn't like your training exercises Why didn't you go with Pepper and Happy?

Because i needed to prove to you that i can do this. No absolutely not this ends here you go back to the Tower now Pepper is waiting for you. But Dad i can help you fight this.

NO I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP AND I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET YOURSELF KILLED YOU MEAN TO MUCH TO ME YOUR NOT COMING NOW GO HOME!!!

No I'm not leaving your letting Parker help you? No he just showed up and he's not coming either both of you are going With Pepper and Happy Now!! F.R.I.D.A.Y Take Her Home! The face shield shut and the suit started doing it's own thing Right away Sir. Wait Dad No! The suit was headed back for the Tower Dads face came across the screen I'm not mad at you okay i just can't have you out here I Love You Sweetheart I'll see you soon The screen went away I looked up watching Peter jump onto the huge ship that was headed up into space Dad followed it The ship was escaping faster than i thought it would move

I had to do something this wasn't over i Pulled the flash drive from the pocket of my super suit and stuck it into the USB slot in the arm of the suit i watched as a screen popped up and started downloading the file that was on the flash drive  i looked back up at the ship As my heart sank into my chest and that sick feeling over come my entire body as i watched Peter let go of the ship free falling towards Earth. Noooo!!

I looked back at the screen it hit 100%  F.R.I.D.A.Y I now have complete control over this suit Yes Ms.Stark you have complete Control of your Suit i turned around and headed for Peter i pushed the suit as fast as i could i was almost to him when somthing flew passed me and latched it's self onto Peter Dad had built him another suit a real suit Peter caught the side of the ship and held on i watched as Dad flew passed him and headed up to the top of the ship that's when a parashoot Popped out of Peter's suit and he was headed back towards Earth i continued pushing myself towards him i caught him Pulling the shoot from the suit I manged to grab onto the ship and pull us into a little cubby that was a door that entered the ship we walked inside as the door shut behind us we both opened our shields and looked at one another for a few seconds before I pushed him backwards It's not fair Parker!!

What's not fair? That My Dad allows you to fight along side him but Not me!! I should beat your dumb Spidey Ass right now!!

Your all he ever talks about anymore Peter This Parker That I Am So Peter pressed his lips to mine I let everything fade as i began to Melt Peter slowly pulled away looking me in the eye's Better now? Ugh! I gave in Okay I'm sorry but this Shit is getting really Old Okay!! I know I tell Mr.Stark all the time he should Let you come with us but he always says No! I didn't mean to make you upset Haile! I rolled my eye's You big dummy I kissed him once more. So about your dad you do know he is going to chew our asses out when he finds out that we are on this ship. Oh no doubt and when he dose find out I'm blaming you!! Now why would you blame me? Because sense you too are best Buds now I'm sure he won't be as mad at you as he would be at me So this it your fault! Um no! Your the one who caught me and brought us on this Ship Alright fine just shut it! So tell me this Who exactly are these people? I rolled my eyes i knew you couldn't keep your mouth shut he smiled well duh! I heard your Dad and The Weird Wizard guy talking about someone called Thanos!

My eyes widened as i felt fear overcome my body No shit you've got to be kidding.

This is it! This is really it he's finally come for all the Infinity stones just like Mr.Stark said and all of us the Avengers. Yeah Pete I'm starting to think i should have listened to Him now he was right this was way bigger than i thought it was Peter took my hand Don't worry I'm not going to let anything happen to you so stop worrying.

We shut up quickly as someone started talking Peter and I both looked at each other. As we walked a few steps close to the edge looking over where we saw this weird looking guy Holding Dr.Strange Hostage I looked back at Peter as we both whispered Shit! Under our breath I grabbed Peter and pulled us back from the edge I looked up trying to find out where Dad had gone. He was on the other side of the ship i shut the shield and flew over to him landing behind him Dr.Stranges Cape came out of nowhere Startling Dad he was about to blast it with his blasters when he figured out what it was he put his hand down

Wow your a seriously loyal piece of outterwear aren't you?

I opened the suit and stepped out of it crossing my arm's

Yeah Um Speaking Of Loyalty.

Dad spun around. What The?

Did you really think you were just going to send me back to the Tower?

Nathalie You Should Not Be Here!

I know but i was not going to let you fight this alone i told you i was coming.

No! You are supposed to be with Happy and Pepper getting as far away from all of this as possible.

Well now that i finally have full control of my own suit And i can see what it can really do this suit is Amazingly Incredible by the way!

God Damnit!!

Listen You should have just agreed to let me come with you So if anything it's kinda your fault that I'm here.

Dad Glared at me What Did You Just Say? Um I I Take that Back! And now I'm here in space. Yeah right where i didn't want you to be. This isn't The Mall this isn't a Field Trip!! This is a one way Ticket!! You hear me!! And don't stand their and pretend that you've thought this through! No Dad i actually did think this through! You could not have possibly Thought this through?

You can't just take me on these little missons and expect me not to come help when the world needs me. Okay i know. That didn't really make any sense because I'm not an Avenger yet but you know what I'm trying to say.

Fine but you stay with me understand you do not go wandering off on your own like you tend to do You understand me?

Yes Dad alright!

You know i couldn't bare losing you Haile not ever and i know you can do this i just don't think it's the right time but your here now so i gotta let you fight and defend yourself Just stay with me or in my sight okay that's all i ask of you.

Uh yeah about that Peter dropped down from the ceiling What? You too?? both of you Big Trouble when we get home Got me!!! I looked at Peter rolling my eye's. now come on both of you we have a situation.

I stepped back into my suit Peter fell back a little ways while Dad continued scoping

the place out. Peter listen to me Okay don't listen to Him he's just mad because he won't get all the credit for saving the world on his own he has to include us now

i Nudged Him in the shoulder Plus we got this! With my training and with your time spent helping people around the city we've got this. You know Haile your Right we do got this!! Hey! Shhh Quiet both of you! Before Squidward hears us.

Okay see down there that's our trouble what's your plan? Um Okay? Um Alright Mr.Stark did you ever see this old movie Ailens? Ugh Kid! You've got to be kidding Nope! Okay this is what we do You blow a hole in the side of the ship it will suck That guy out. And i will grab Strange! No Haile your not helping Dad you've got to be kidding me? No I'm not kidding you now stay over there and hold onto something so you don't end up being sucked out of the huge gaping hole.

I crossed my arm's as i held ongo the giant Metal Beam Unbelievable Just Unbelievable!! I let out every sware word in the book. And Remind me to have a talk with you about your Language when we get back home as well. I dropped the shield and rolled my eye's. Alright ya ready Pete? Yup Hey Squidward Let The Doctor go Ahh i thought i smlled someone My Power's are much greater than yours i don't think you will make it out of this alive. Yeah well the kid's seen more movie's Peter NOW!!!

I blasted a hole in the side of the ship Squidward went flying out into space along with some lose items from the ship Peter grabbed Strange and pulled him out of the Hole in the ship while i quickly Sealed it!

Thank you Stark for freeing me So what happens now? I don't know you tell me Strange your the one Thanos wants.

Well first we need to start by turning this ship around Oh so now you want to run?

No i want to protect the Stone! You should have just listend to me But no now we are a million miles away in a flying doughnut heading deeper into space with no back up.

Hey we are back up!! No!! Your not the adults are talking Who are they? Hey I'm Peter by the way! Dr.Strange and You are? I'm the big ass hole over theirs Daughter

I'm Nathalie but you can just call me

Haile Stark i didn't know you had a daughter Stark? Yeah only a select few know about her She's not supposed to be here Neither one of them But you see how kid's are they do whatever they want Even when their told not to.

Mr.Stark you wouldn't have come up with a better plan than mine! Cool it Parker Fine!! So now what Stark? I guess we sit here and wait to see where this Big flying Doughnut is headed Hour's went by in Silence

So Dr.Strange? Yes Haile? What exactly did you say you were protecting?

He moved the Cape from his chest revealing a glowing green Stone in the middle of his chest This is The Time Stone! It controls time I'm the sworn Protector of the Stone Okay so your Protecting It From

Thanos Yes! Well you might as well just give it to him i heard things about him he's not going to stop until he gets his hands on all of the Stones I looked over at Dad who was still pacing back and forth I looked at Strange he's coming for all those Infinty Stone's and he's not going to stop until he gets them all this is going to be a fight alright with lives lost!

Dad stopped paceing crossing his arm's How do you know about the Stone's? Vision Vision told me! Ahh of course he did All those times i thought you too were studying he was filling your head with things you never needed to know Hey it wasn't his fault don't blame him he did nothing wrong here Unlike you i at least listen to what he has to say.

Wait if Thanos is coming that means he will also need the Mind Stone I jumped to my feet He's going to kill Vision we have to go back we need to warn the other's Haile Stop you know The Avengers broke up I don't even know where Vision and Wanda could be. That's because you never cared nor tried hard enough. Alright zip it i don't want to hear another word out of you the Entire Trip

  This is such bullshit!! Again with the Language!! Dad i am 21 i can say whatever the hell i want to say.

Hey kid? Yeah do they do this a lot? Oh yeah this isn't anything new he's way over protective and she wants to do what she wants but Mr.Stark won't allow it Not After her Mom was killed that's when he started being Over protective Mr.Stark blames him self for what happened to her but really it was no one's fault What was she like? She was A great person so nice she would help anyone

She would Take Haile and I everywhere Haile looks a lot like Her they were so close

Can i ask what happened? Strange that's none of your concern Strange Glared at Mr.Stark  Pete i think we are landing here put your arm in one these i think this stears it Mr.Stark it's not moving hold on kid let me get my arm in okay Turn to the right faster Kid or we are going to hit that huge Beam

  Everyone hold on Brace for Impact We aren't going to make it The ship landed hitting harder than i wanted it to I pulled myself up brushing the dirt off Noticing Peter and Haile were gone! Stark their outside i turned around as i saw them walking out on this Unknown Planet DAMNIT!!! We left the ship as fast as possible NATHAILE PETER!!! STOP!!!

Marvel Imagine By @yes-bitchxxxmarvel-stuff

@77marvelimagines

#tony stark #peter parker #dr. strange #infinity war #marvel #tony starks daughter #tony stark imagine #marvel imagine #the avengers imagine #thor #thanos #guardians of the galaxy #peter quill #drax #mantis #you are who you choose to be

[richonnejustdesserts]

Teacher's Pet : A Richonne Round Robin Fanfic

A small town sheriff and preschool teacher find love thanks to the cutest little matchmaker around.  [RATED: T]

Chapter 1 (written by @birdnmouse​)

Rick glanced in the rear view mirror of his truck and grinned at the sight of his four year old daughter sitting in her car seat swinging her feet back and forth as she happily hummed along to the country song that was playing on the radio, one he was certain she didn’t know. She had insisted on changing out of the jeans and purple polka dot shirt she had worn to school that day, opting for a little light blue, ruffled seersucker sundress and some white sandals in honor of this special occasion instead.

“So is Miss A going to give you a good report or a bad report tonight?”

“Good,” she answered from the back seat before going back to humming along to the music as she looked out the window.

“Are you sure?” he goaded.

“I got all green lights this week,” she answered indignantly as she met his eyes in the mirror, furrowing her blonde little eyebrows and puffing out her chubby cheeks. She was telling the truth, then again it was only Tuesday. “I like her better than Mrs. Miller,” she declared.

“Because she gives you green lights?”

“Yes,” she answered honestly, causing him to crack a smile. “But also she’s nice. And pretty. And she reads stories better.”

“How does she do that?”

“She does the voices like you do,” she explained of his silly habit of putting on different voices for each of the characters in her bedtime stories.

It was their little thing, or so he thought. His stories always tickled her to no end, sending her into a fit of giggles as she nuzzled up closer to him while they sat in her bed which made it worth the extra effort for him.

“I see…do you like her stories better than mine?”

Much to his surprise, she actually cocked her little head to the side and pursed her lips as she pondered it.

“Yes,” she decided after a moment.

“Then I guess I should just quit…” he teased with a put upon frown and a mopey voice, although he had to admit that she had broken his heart just a little bit with that admission.

“No!”

“But you said hers are better…” he countered, laying it on a little thicker.

“Only sometimes,” she backtracked. “Don’t be sad, daddy,” she pleaded in a tender little voice.

“I’m not, sweetheart,” he assured her with a smile to prove it. “I was just teasin’ you. I’m glad  you like your new teacher.”

Just as he was pulling into the parking lot of his daughter’s preschool, his cell phone began to ring from its spot in the center console. He kept his eyes on the road, not wanting to glance down until he had finished parking, but his little helper was on it for him.

“It’s Mommy!” she announced upon spotting the picture of Lori, Carl, and herself that popped up on the screen. “Can I answer it?”

“Of course.”

Right after he threw the truck in park, he reached down and passed the phone back to her, turning to watch as she expertly handled the device and answered on speaker, holding it out in front of her face like a little adult.

“Hi Mommy.”

Her forehead scrunched as she was met with nothing but a loud barrage of indiscriminate background noises coming through the speaker. As it went on for a few more seconds, he assumed that she had just butt-dialed them, for lack of a better description.

“Lori?”

“Mommy?” Judith repeated.

“Baby?” she answered finally. “Is your dad there?”

“I’m here,” he called out.

“Hey! Do you hear that?” He wrinkled his forehead as the noises replaced her voice again for moment. “Carl hit a homerun!”

Rick and Judith began to cheer along with the crowd from the cab of his truck, and although he was thrilled for his son, he felt his heart break again for missing out on his first homerun.

Michonne stood at the front of the classroom, her palms feeling slightly clammy and her heartbeat starting to speed up just a bit. She always got a little nervous at these things which was silly considering she spent her days speaking in front of crowds. Her usual crowds were students that came just up to her hips, however, and tonight they were all accompanied by one of both of their adults. She was outnumbered by far. She rubbed her palms down the side of her dress, took a deep breath, and put on her best smile.

“Everyone, can I have your attention for just a moment?”

The buzz in the classroom died down quickly as the children and parents stopped their conversations and found places to settle down across the room; some against the walls, some along the shelves of cubby holes in the back, and some in the long rows of tiny desks that ran the width of the room.

“I just wanted to take a moment to welcome you all to the spring semester open house. My name is Michonne Anthony, but you may know me better as Miss A or The New Mrs. Miller,” she quipped, referring to recently retired, long-long time teacher she had just replaced.

Her joke, thankfully, earned some knowing laughter and chatter from the parents, some who only knew of her as the former through their children and some who were guilty of the latter themselves. In the midst of the laughter, her eyes were drawn to the center of the room where Judith Grimes was practically crawling out of her father’s lap as she waved excitedly at her. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight, and gave a small wave back as Judith’s father reigned her in and whispered something in her ear, likely to the effect of sit still and behave judging by the look on his face.

“Just a little about me, first,” she continued once the room quieted down again. “I have a background in art education, clearly,” she said gesturing to the walls that were completely covered in paintings and drawings, “and I’ve worked with just about every age group throughout my career, but I always enjoyed working with my youngest students the most which inspired me to go back to school for a degree in early childhood education.  After graduation, I taught at a Montessori school in Atlanta for a few years before taking this position.”

She continued to scan the room, trying to make eye contact with each and every person as she spoke, but her eyes kept landing on Judith Grimes’s father, and the way he was so endearingly crouched into his daughter’s tiny desk chair with her on his lap. He was by no means the youngest father of the bunch, but he was certainly the most handsome, distractingly so actually.

He was easily in his early forties judging by the deep creases that formed around his eyes every time he smiled at one of her attempts at humor and the ample amount of grey running through the scruff that covered the lower half of his face. He was dressed in a light blue plaid button down shirt and jeans like at least half of the men were, a standard casual dad look around these parts, but he wore his well so well on his lean frame.

“Getting to know your children over the past month has been an absolute pleasure,” she carried on, purposely forcing her eyes away from him, “and I’m looking forward to meeting each of you this evening. There are refreshments in the back and many projects hanging around the room that I’m sure your children are eager to show you. Please enjoy!”

As the chatter in the room started up again and the parents and children scattered to begin exploring the classroom, there was one voice that rose above the rest.

“Miss A!”

“Miss G!” she exclaimed at the sight of the pint-sized blonde making a beeline toward her.

“Did you see me waving?” Judith asked with breathless excitement as she came to a stop in front of her.

“I did. Didn’t you see me wave back?”

“Yes,” she answered sheepishly knowing full well that she had. “This is my daddy.”

“I thought that’s who this might be…” Michonne couldn’t help but smile at the obvious introduction, but then it was the polite thing to do. “Hi Mr. Grimes,” she said bringing her gaze to his face as she extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Rick,” he said as he shook her hand. “And it’s nice to meet you as well. My daughter is a big fan,” he joked, referring to her previous antics, which caused Michonne to chuckle.

The raspy, but warm southern drawl that had come from his smiling mouth caught her off guard. He was even more handsome up close, his blue eyes striking in their color and clarity, and his lean frame on full display as he stood before her, at least a head taller. Objectively speaking, Mr. Grimes was hot. And while it would be unprofessional to say so, she could at least allow herself to appreciate their interaction as a perk of the job.

“Well, I’m a big fan of hers,” Michonne said, making sure to keep her focus strictly business. “She’s very bright and curious, and brings such a wonderful energy to the classroom.”

The corner of Rick’s lips twisted into a lopsided grin at Miss A’s very kind take on what Mrs. Miller had previously referred to as Judith’s disruptive behavior. But then Miss A was not like Mrs. Miller. At all. She was younger than Mrs. Miller by at least a quarter of a century, and younger than him by at least a few years he figured. She was nice, as Judith had told him, and not in that cloyingly sweet way that some of his son’s teachers had been. And funny. And pretty. Though his daughter had missed the mark on that one because she was absolutely beautiful. There was a glow about her, especially when she smiled; the smooth, dark skin of her cheeks just seemed to radiate warmth. Her hair was twisted back into a loose bun at the base of her neck, and she wore a simple, flowing floor length black dress paired with a snug grey cardigan to cover her arms and shoulders. Her wrists were adorned with a thick collection of gold and brightly colored beaded bracelets, and gold metal earrings that were hammered into an ornate design dangled from her earlobes. She had an easy-going, yet elegant way about her which made her all the more intriguing and difficult to take his eyes off of.

“Miss A, do you want to know something?” Judith piped up, almost as if on cue, helping him do just that.

“Sure,” she answered

“When I told my daddy I like your stories better, he cried.”

Michonne bit down on her lips to hold back the laugh that wanted to escape them.

“I didn’t cry,” he scoffed uncomfortably, his cheeks warming slightly from embarrassment.

“I forgot to mention, she’s very good at sharing, too,” Michonne grinned.

“Yeah,” he huffed out at her gracious description of Judith’s talkative ways.

“I know that your son, Carl,” she inserted proudly to prove her point, “has a baseball game tonight, and he plays for a team called the King County Crushers which is why your wife couldn’t be here this evening.”

“My ex-wife,” Rick corrected casually as he chuckled at the level of detail his daughter had given her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize–”

“That’s OK,” he assured her as he waved it off.

She nodded with relief as she watched a grin form on his lips, one she imagined was meant to put her at ease. And it did, as she felt a warmth spread through her cheeks as she grinned back. They fell quiet for a moment as she allowed herself to steal another look at his handsome face, and she could have sworn he might have been doing the same to her.

“Carl hit a homerun tonight!”

The high little voice broke their gaze as they both looked down at her, with Michonne being thankful for the distraction.

“Way to go, Carl!” she said in return before glancing over her head to be reminded of the nineteen other sets of parents and children who also deserved her attention this evening. “Well, I should probably keep making the rounds. It was nice to finally meet you,” she said as she extended her hand out again.

“Likewise,” he nodded as he shook it in return.

She gave him a small grin as she pulled her hand from his then moved along to the next family. He watched her walk away, giving the same smile, introduction, and handshake to the next dad. He could have sworn he felt a little something between them, but maybe it was all in his head…

Thank you for coming…good night…thanks for coming…have a nice night.

She felt like a broken record as she stood at the door bidding the parents and their children good bye as they filed out of the classroom. The steady stream had slowed to a trickle as the last few stragglers made their way out.

“I’m not ready to go yet!”

She glanced back into the room to see Judith still sitting at her desk, refusing to move as her father leaned down beside her with a gentle hand on her back.

“You have to go to sleep so you can come back to school tomorrow,” he explained patiently.

“But I’m not tired,” she insisted.

“But I am,” Michonne said with a well-timed yawn as she walked toward them. “It’s been a long day, Judith. I need to get my rest, otherwise I’ll be too tired to come to school tomorrow…”

“No,” she said with alarm.

“…definitely too tired for story time or art class…” Michonne carried on.

“You have to go to sleep,” Judith instructed with great concern. “I will, too,” she promised.

“OK,” she nodded causing Judith to pop up from her chair.

While she was pushing it in under her desk like Miss A always reminded them to do, Michonne glanced over at Rick who was looking her way grinning. She gave him a knowing wink then began walking toward the door with them. When they arrived, Judith simply turned to her and wrapped her arms around her waist, giving her a hug good night. Michonne took a step back, caught of guard by the sweet gesture, then steadied herself and leaned down to wrap her arms around Judith’s back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Michonne said as she gave her a tight squeeze. Judith nodded then turned and grabbed her father’s hand.

“Have a good night,” she said quietly as she glanced up at Rick.

“You, too,” he nodded before his daughter tugged on his hand to get them going since she was completely on board with this sleep thing now.

As they walked to the car, Rick glanced down at his daughter, touched by how taken she was with her new teacher. She could be a handful, but it was clear there was a connection between the two of them.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see Miss A still standing in the door of her classroom, her silhouette backlit by the light coming from inside, watching them as they walked to their car. Upon meeting his eyes, she gave a shy smile then dipped her head and turned to walk back into the classroom. He reached into his back pocket and pulled his keys out, giving them a twirl around his finger as he smiled to himself. Maybe it wasn’t all in his head, after all…

#author: b and m #richonne #richonne fanfiction #richonne round robin #teacher's pet #michonne #rick grimes #rjd writing network

[cursivescrawl]

Exile

Rating: G Category: Elementals Summary: Gemstone Team has betrayed the Nation and is being sent into exile.  Unfortunately, there’s only so much Raptor Team can do to help.

“Jagev...?” Alyss says quietly, pushing open the dorm door.

Jagev jumps.  Alyss would normally smile and tease her about paying attention to what's going on, but she can barely muster a grimace at this particular moment.

“Hey... I'm sorry.”

Jagev shrugs and turns back to the half-packed bag on the floor.  “It's not your fault,” she says.  “We made our decision.  Grace just decided it wasn't the right one.”

Alyss bites her tongue.  “How's your team doing?”

Jagev reaches for a shirt slowly, the steel kara on her wrist glinting.  “They're... okay.  Marcy and I kinda predicted this would happen.  Eliava's the only one who really hates it.  Maddy's brooding.”

“Maddy's always brooding.”

That, at least, startles a laugh out of Jagev, one quickly cut off.  Alyss smiles.

“But you're supposed to be out by nightfall.  Where are you going to go?”

Jagev only shrugs, her shoulders drooping.

An entire Daytime team, cut off from the resources of the Nation with no way to protect themselves... The full weight of to what Grace has sentenced Gemstone Team hits Alyss like Clare's greatsword.

No. This can't be right. Grace won't revoke her judgment, she's too proud for that, but there has to be some way Alyss can help.

They're going to die, Tori says silently, having just come to the same conclusion.  Raina elbows her sharply, a rebuke that even Alyss winces at.

Shut up.  No, they're not.

But-

Day Sanctums aren't used often, Audrey offers.  And they protect against Night creatures. If we can get Gemstone Team into one of those...

But don't they require a key card?  We don't have one, Alyss says.  Irritated amazement washes into her brain from Audrey and Raina both.  Tori sighs aloud.

Are you mad?  You're a Darkfire, asking how to get your hands on something?

Right.  That was dumb of her.  Alyss' face heats up at the silent teasing Raina jabs at her, though she tries to shake it off as she taps Jagev's shoulder.

“Hey, I'm gonna go grab something for you.  Don't leave 'till I get back.”

“Alyss, what are you doing?” Jagev sits back on her heels and twists around to stare at Alyss, but she doesn't answer.  She just whirls around and strides out, heading down the hall to Grace's room.

Virtue Team's all still there, right?

In response, Tori sends her a clear image of Virtue Team, including Grace, on the dais in the Great Hall where the Holders would usually reign, if they weren't all in a freaking coma at the moment. Fantastic.  Now only to worry about whatever traps might be guarding Grace's room.

She slows down as she approaches the gold-painted hardwood door.  The rune of protection is easy enough to spot, gleaming bright red across the door.  It fades to inactive gray with a touch of Alyss' own black-bordered red power.  Alyss checks over every other inch of the door just like Flash taught her, attempting to find other safeguards.

There seem to be none. A red flag pops up in the back of Alyss' mind. She wants to stop and go back over this more carefully, to ask for her teammates' opinions, but-

There's no time, Raina pushes.  A feeling of urgency quickens Alyss' heart.  Come on.  She's a Lightfire, she won't have trapped her room.

With a breath and a muttered prayer to Fire itself, Alyss pushes open Grace's door.

Nothing happens.  The hinges are silent, well-oiled.  The room within is neatly organized.  Alyss checks the doorframe cursorily before she steps inside.

Quickly, now.  Tori is glancing at her watch.  Five minutes have passed just by Alyss examining that door.  But no time to dwell on that, where would Grace keep a Sanctum key card?

Bedside drawer, Alyss decides after a momentary exchange with her teammates, and crosses over to it. No traps.  She opens it.  Nothing but a spare tampon and a singed copy of a Fablehaven book.  Damn. Where else?

Closet, desk, under the mattress.  Nothing, nothing, nothing.  The low table with a sword care kit scattered over it?  Nope.  Having searched all the furniture in the room, Alyss steps back in frustration and glances at the open door.

Nobody's coming.  The unshuttered window?  The sunset spills into the room, turning everything to a glowing orange.  Alyss spins in place, her teammates' dread weighing on her heart as well as her own.  There has to be some other place, some clue...

There!  The whiteboard with the hourglass-like Sigil of the Elements drawn meticulously on it.  The top bits of hinges poke out from the right side.  Two steps take Alyss to it, and a gentle tug makes the whiteboard swing away smoothly from the wall in a flicker of sunset-gold, revealing a cubby set into the wall.

Alyss rifles through the contents.

Totems from different Elementals, gleaming with the stored power of their owners.  Maps.  A chimera-bone knife that Alyss had stolen from her mentor Flash on a dare, and which had been subsequently confiscated by Grace.  And, at the side of the cubby tucked in a recipe box, the Sanctum keycards.

Alyss!

“Alyss!”

One warning rings silent, the other heart-poundingly loud.  Alyss clutches the recipe box and reaches for her team.

Virtue Team, including Grace, are still talking in the great hall. But their former apprentices, Metallic Team, is gone.  Raina is facepalming.

Didn't you check the whiteboard for magic?

That hadn't been the sunset flashing, then, it had been a trap breaking when Alyss swung it away from the wall.  Stupid.  She knows better than that.

“What are you doing?” Clare presses.  Alyss turns around to see the other young warrior staring at her, arms folded.

She grimaces.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, breaking and entering into the Champion's room.  Clare, Jagev is going to die. Her entire team is going to die if they don't have protection for the night.  They don't know how to fight nighttime creatures, or even cloak themselves.  Clare. Please.  I just need a Sanctum keycard for them.”

Alyss stops to take a breath, searching Clare's impassive face. Clare raises her eyebrows.

“Nice speech,” she congratulates.  “I love being convinced of something I already knew.”

What? Raina asks in shock.  Clare reaches out for the recipe box in Alyss' hands and pops it open, withdrawing a single card.

“Here. Phoenix's Sanctum is nearest.  Tell Jagev the passcode is 3473.”

Alyss' shock must show on her face, because Clare pauses, then laughs.  She leans forward to kiss Alyss' nose.

“Honestly,” she says warmly.  “Jagev's my friend, too.  I don't know if she's telling the truth about why they all betrayed the Nation, but I don't want her to die.”

“Well, that's good,” Alyss manages.  A rather lame response.  She steps aside so Clare can replace the recipe box in the cubby and swing the whiteboard shut, renewing the enchantment with a flicker of gold-red power.

“For the record, neither of us helped Jagev,” Alyss says.  Flash's voice rings in her head. If you're going to lie, get your lies straight. “We were just... off, kissing.”

“That's believable.”  Clare spins and tries to snag her arm around Alyss' waist.  Alyss twists out of the way.

“C'mon!” She laughs.  “I've got to get this to Jagev before she leaves.”

“Right. Nightfall,” Clare says.  They both glance at the setting sun outside the window, now just a sliver above the buildings.

“Good luck,” says Clare.

Usually Alyss would give a sarcastic response, but right now, there's no time.  Tori's urgency is pushing her forward again.  The tightly-held key card bites into her hand as she half-runs down the hall, back to the apprentice dorms, and slams open the door.

“Jagev-”

The room is empty.

“Shit,” mutters Alyss under her breath.  Jagev's bag is gone.  The rest of her stuff is neat, like she's left it organized, and there's a folded piece of paper on her bed.  Alyss slips the key card into a pocket and reaches for the paper.

Sunset's too close.  Maddy wanted to leave right now.  Sorry.  You know my number, text me whatever you wanted to tell me.

Alyss swears again and reaches for her teammates.  She feels Tori stand up.

I'll get the card to them, she volunteers.  They can't have gone far, right?

Probably, Alyss agrees.  Audrey, can you help her?

Sure.

Both of them stand up.  Alyss closes her eyes and lets Raina pull her through their team connection.  Her body tingles, wavers, then she's standing in the Great Hall again and Audrey is taking the card from her hand with a drawn smile that does nothing to hide the concern Alyss can feel pulsing through her mind.  Tori is already gone and moving up to the exit.  Audrey follows after only a brief moment of hesitation.

Raina pulls Alyss down into her seat.  Alyss runs her fingers through her hair and sighs.

“Guess they're on their own, now.”

“We've done all we can,” Raina murmurs, slipping her arm around Alyss' shoulder.  Alyss leans into her teammate's body and sighs.

“Yeah.”

“They'll be okay.”

“Yeah.”  Alyss really doesn't want to talk, and Raina falls silent.  Alyss shuts her eyes and lets her mind wander to Tori and Audrey.

Gemstone Team isn't exactly difficult to find.  Alyss wasn't wrong when she said to Clare that Daytime teams were bad at cloaking themselves.  They're barely out of the neighborhood that houses the Earth base.  Audrey runs up to them to hand them the key card.

Alyss watches through Tori's eyes as Jagev takes it, sees the way Eliava twists and waves up to her fellow Wind.  Marcy stands beside Jagev, small and pale beneath her olive skin.  Maddy looks absolutely pissed.

“-careful,” Marcy is saying to Audrey.  “We're pretty sure there's something trying to kill the Holders.”

“What is it?”  Tori nudges Alyss silently, telling her to curb her curiosity, and jumps up to sit on the top of a wall.  Gemstone Team turns to face her.  Eliava grimaces.

“We don't know.  But-”

“It could be nothing,” Maddy grumbles.  “And we could be banished for nothing.  It's not like we've got any way to investigate, or any resources, or-”

“We'll figure something out.”  Jagev's confidence is inspiring. False, and Alyss can see the way her shoulders are tight and her hand is a fist around the precious key card, but inspiring.  “Thank you for this.  And the Sanctum passcode is...?”

3473, Alyss supplies, and Audrey relays it.  Marcy nods.

“Keep an eye out, okay?”

“We will,” Audrey says.  Tori murmurs assent.  The feeling of fierce agreement and solidarity flowing through their connection makes Alyss gasp and stiffen, Raina's arm tightening around her.  Is this what a team connection is supposed to feel like?  Everyone together, every person in agreement?  It's wonderful.

And then Gemstone is gone, vanishing into the growing twilight.  Audrey and Tori watch them disappear.

They'll be okay, Raina says, reassuring the doubt that overshadows their agreement.  Alyss smiles despite herself.

Of course they will be.  And we'll protect them as much as we can, right, Raptor Team?

Again the current of fierce agreement, and again Alyss stiffens as her heart beats faster, losing herself in the warmth of her team even as Gemstone faces their worst trial.

#elementals #hawk #ruby #osprey #eagle #owl #sapphire #topaz #emerald #gold

[dawnover-dusk]

Sacrament (Joshua)

genre: fluff, humor

word count: 1,303

summary:  forgive me father for I have sinned; a companion to Swindle

note: please direct all complaints to @seventeen-requests

Although it was dwarfed on all three sides by apartment buildings, the Holy Innocence Catholic Church stood proud and imposing all the same, casting a shadow on the street on which the entrance faced. You hesitated on the steps as you took a deep breath of the balmy air. The weather in the city had been getting pleasantly warmer, and you marveled at how the rays of sunshine paradoxically failed to illuminate the front façade of a building dedicated to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

Then again, Roman Catholic churches were always beacons in their communities, so perhaps a spotlight would be too much in the face of busy reliefs, ornate stained glass windows, and grandiose Gothic archways. The church that you were loitering in front of was not much different, but the blood red paint on the three double doors twisted the impressive cathedral into something more garish. The color choice was hardly welcoming.

As a child, your family attended church more as a social obligation rather than being completely devout Christians. That was the norm in your small, Southern town, and the church was the default hub for any large-scale event or celebration. Although you were far from an actively practicing Christian today, you were repulsed by the suspicion and paranoia that you felt towards anyone asking for help ever since your wallet was pickpocketed on a busy street corner. You could practically hear the teasing remarks by your former parish echoing in your ears: “The city has certainly changed you!”

You thought that visiting a church, a place that occupied such a large part of your childhood, could help bring you some sort of inner peace, but now you were having second thoughts. However, before you could plod back down the steps and onto the street, a soft voice interrupted your thoughts.

“You look troubled, my dear. Would you like to come in?”

You turned towards the source of the voice to see a young man standing in front of the blood red doors, dressed in an all-black robe with a white square peeking from his collar. A heavy silver cross hung from a chain around his neck. Your eyes immediately began to narrow in suspicion – he was way too young to be a priest – but you shook it off as the paranoia talking again. It’s not like you even knew the exact requirements for priesthood, right? You stared at his cat-like eyes and soft smile for a moment before nodding your head and following him into the church. 

“What brings you here?” the young priest began, strolling down the aisle next to the rows of pews.

“I was hoping to find some peace, I guess?”

“Well, you picked a good day to come. Would you like to confess?”

His gentle voice did nothing to stop your sputtering. “I haven’t gone to confessional in years, F-father,” you stuttered, cringing at the unfamiliar term (especially for one so young). The man just smiled and gestured towards the small booth located at the back of the church, and you followed him cautiously.

The pair of you sat on opposite sides of a wooden divider, and you squirmed uncomfortably in the small pew. You glanced towards your right and looked away quickly when you saw that his face was actually quite close to yours, his head tilted upward slightly with an expectant look. The sudden shift from a gentle, patient priest to an obvious authority figure in the Church was accentuated by his now unsmiling lips and his unfaltering amber gaze, which you could feel boring into the side of your face.

“Can you draw the grate, please?” you asked, your voice coming out a bit too high-pitched and nervous for your liking. You heard the small sound of a barely concealed snort before the screeching of metal scraping permeated the silence, ending with a rectangular, pewter grid filling up the previously empty window of space. Although you could still make out the silhouette of the priest on the other side of the divider, the metal grid was enough to make you breathe a sigh of relief. 

“I’m sorry, Father,” you began, “but I don’t remember what the prayers are, or how this whole process is supposed to go.”

“Begin with what is troubling you,” the honey-like voice replied. 

You inhaled sharply. This was not how you had intended to spend your Saturday afternoon. All you had wanted was to reflect in the silence of the church, perhaps look around at the pretty stained glass and sit for a while in one of the pews. You had no intention of even speaking to a parish member, and here you were now, in a confessional booth with a really attractive priest—

Wait. Was it a sin to think that, too? Well, that was definitely one that you weren’t going to confess anytime soon. 

You knew that the quickest way to get out of the situation was to just say something, anything, and you settled for the truth.

“A man stole my wallet last week after I helped him cross the street, and now, I just can’t bring myself to help anyone with anything. Directions, favors, anything.” Having that statement out there did make you feel a bit better, as if you had finally acknowledged that you were being overly cautious.

Unfortunately, with the grate now drawn, you couldn’t see Joshua’s smirk. “You must remember that charity and patience are virtues which must be shown to all of God’s creations. For your penance, you have to forgive this man.”

“I understand,” you replied. “Thank you, Father.” You listened silently as he recited a prayer, and stepped out of the booth to meet him when he finished. 

“I hope that brought you a bit of peace,” he said, once again smiling. You nodded and started inching towards the exit of the church while he followed. “I regret to ask this, as you are not a member of the parish, but we are making our annual appeal and anything you could contribute would be greatly appreciated.” 

You awkwardly stopped short of the door and smiled sheepishly at him, passing him a crumpled ten dollar bill from your bag. “I don’t carry much cash on me nowadays, because of, you know, the wallet thing—”

His silky voice interrupted your bumbling explanation. “Every bit helps towards the day to day operations of our church. I hope to see you again,” he grinned, giving a small wave as you stepped out of the red doors and back into the sunlight.

As soon as he was sure that you were gone, Jeonghan stepped out of the shadows, his mouth agape as he high-fived his friend, bumping shoulders afterward in some sort of brotherly gesture. “What are the chances?” he wondered incredulously, failing to stop his staccato laugh from slipping through his lips.

“I don’t know, but you did a number on her,” Joshua replied. He removed the heavy cross necklace and unbuttoned the black robe, folding it neatly and stashing it in a nearby cubby. 

“All of that, and you only got ten bucks,” Jeonghan mocked. He folded his arms and leaned against one of the pews, staring at Joshua with a half-lidded gaze. “I think my method is a lot more lucrative.”

“Weren’t you the one who felt bad afterward?” Joshua fired back. “Trust me, it’s a lot more fun when some politician or lawyer stops by to confess. You won’t believe the amount of shit that they pull. Great blackmail material, and makes me look like a saint.”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes. “Let’s go before the actual priest gets back from lunch, oh Lord and Savior Jisoos Christ.” The older man snickered at his own joke as he moved to exit the church, Joshua exasperatedly following him.

#seventeen scenarios #joshua scenarios #seventeen imagines #joshua imagines #seventeen #joshua

[andrewmawby]

5 Tips to Create a Wild and Fun Kid’s Desk or Homework Station

Create a Wild Kid’s Desk + Homework Station

If you make it fun…they will come.

Hi Friends! This is Kristin from Postbox Designs Interior E-Design, I’m an Interior Designer but I’m also a mama to three. So some of my favorite projects to work on for both clients and myself alike is Kid’s Spaces! Whether it is a kid’s Bedroom, Playroom, Nursery, or Homework Station, kid’s spaces need to be both functional and F-U-N. Functional means it will actually work for it’s intended use. But fun means those kiddos will actually use it!

Today I want to not only share some tips for creating the perfect Kid’s Desk or Homework Station, but also a Free Mood Board to show you exactly how to create one yourself! So whether you have school aged kids who need a study space or smaller children who could use an arts & crafts table, read on!

5 Tips to Create the Perfect Homework Station

1. Simple Kid’s Homework Desks Work Best

Unless you want to be constantly tidying up your kid’s study space, make it super simple and user friendly! I love this simple desk with a painted pegboard that allows for easy decor changes. Kid’s can hang their artwork here or tack up their sports schedule. Add in these painted Ikea spice racks and bright decor, and you have the perfect kid’s study space. The racks can store notebooks and papers, or craft supplies.

image source: Steph Bond

2. Vertical Space is your BFF.

Anytime you have a small space to work within, use vertical space to your best advantage. But for a kid’s desk or study space, vertical space also allows you to double or even triple the function. I love this desk with a low shelf in easy reach for craft supplies. Hanging over it is this patterned cork board that allows the cuties to display their own artwork. Additionally, a vertical cabinet to the left of the desk holds a myriad of supplies. P.S. I’m also a fan of a combo of closed and open storage with kids. Open storage means kids can easily access their items. However, closed storage is so precious when it comes to keeping the room looking clean and crisp-those drawers can hold a lot of stuff!

image source: Lorena Siminovich

3. Personalize the Space

This is actually my very own kid’s triple homework station!

If you have the room, it is always nice to create different “station” for each child. In my homework center each child has their station marked with a framed photo of themselves and a monogrammed pillow…no fighting over the favorite chair! Another way to do this is assigning a drawer to each child, or a special tray or cubby. Or, create a caddy for each child that can be stored away when not in use. When the child is ready to work at the desk, they can simply take out their caddy filled with their own supplies and start working.

If you like the look of this Kid’s Triple Homework Station you can find the FREE Mood Board & Shopping List to re-create this budget-friendly kid space yourself:

image source: Postbox Designs

4. Budget Friendly Always Works Well with Kid Spaces

Whether it is a kid’s space in my home or my kid’s clothes: I don’t want to cry when something gets ruined. So when I design for kid spaces, I try to create a mix of durable pieces that will withstand use and abuse, along with inexpensive pieces that won’t break the bank if destroyed. I love this kid’s study space/activity center below because it is composed of Ikea parts! The desk cabinets, top, and shelf are all Ikea budget-friendly but also make of durable, easy-to-clean materials. Add in some fun pops of color like these yellow lights and turquoise door and it is a spot the kids will be naturally drawn to.

image source: Saarkeloves via Instagram

5. Create a Fun Theme

You can have the most practical, organized kid’s desk, but if it isn’t fun they will never want to use it. Bright colors, patterns, and themes automatically make a space more attractive to kids. Make their desk or activity center a place they want to spend time! While the desk above shows bright pops of color, the below double homework desk creates a fun atmosphere with neutral colors.

The vintage schoolhouse style theme continues from the light fixture, to the wall decor, to the desks themselves. Adding in bright colored vintage items like this green sewing machine will make this space perfect for older kids. This theme will work for both genders and any age group.

image source: IKEA

A Wild Kid’s Homework Station

As always I created an exclusive Mood Board today just for you Remodelaholic Readers! I wanted to create a fun and colorful kid’s desk that would work well for boys or girls, and at a myriad of ages. So I designed a “Wild & Free” Animal themed kid area. This would work as a Homework Desk or Activity Center. The desk is small enough that it can fit into a nook of a bedroom, or line up a couple side-by-side to work for multiple children.

Love It? Want It? Need It?

Simply click on the number of the item you love below the Mood Board to take you straight to the product. Re-create this whole area at home, or pick and choose your favorites:

This post contains affiliate links. Learn more and read our full disclosure policy here. 

1: Writing Desk   2: Sloth Lamp   3: Pennant 4: Desk Chair   5: Desk Organizer   6: Acrylic Tray   7: Giraffe Wall Decor 8: Hexagon Cork Tiles   9: Colorful Light Box   10: Gator Pillow

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Want More Kid’s Homework Station Ideas?

Recently I created this Homework Station + Playroom for a pair of school aged siblings. My client’s had a boy and a girl, so the space needed to work well for both genders. They also wanted the space to do multiple duty as a homework area, play space, craft table, and reading nook. You can check out more of this room, along with SIX other kid’s spaces:

Postbox Designs

Thank-you so much to the whole Remodelaholic gang for letting me hang with you all today! If you want to know more about how Online Interior Design works, you can check it all out How E-Design Works or send me an email at [email protected]. Finally if you are still looking for some more free design ideas, I have a Free Resource Library chock full of free Guides, Mood Boards, Shopping Lists and more!

Kristin

More homework station ideas:

create a farmhouse homework station

colorful loft homework stationshared home office + homework station

10 creative homework stations

inspiring homework station ideas

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