Ava Coleman could make a nun swear, and Melissa wasn’t exactly the patient type.
They were mid-staff meeting. Janine was pitching another “enriching after-school program,” Jacob was nodding earnestly, and Ava... well.
“I’m just saying,” Ava said, leaning back in her chair, arms folded, “if we’re gonna spend what little budget we have, I’d rather buy something useful. Like air conditioners. Or one of those chairs that massages your back while you ignore Janine’s spreadsheets.”
Melissa sighed. “You’re not the only one workin’ here, Ava. Some of us actually want these kids to learn somethin’.”
“Uh-huh.” Ava flashed her a grin. “And some of us wanna survive the next heat wave without becoming a puddle on the floor. No offense, Red.”
Melissa’s jaw ticked. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re adorable when you’re mad.”
The room went still. Even Janine blinked. Ava seemed surprised at her own words — and Melissa...
Well.
Something in her stomach flipped.
She opened her mouth to snap back — but the words stuck.
Ava caught the pause. Her grin wavered, eyes narrowing like she’d caught something unexpected.
Gregory cleared his throat. “Uh — moving on?”
Melissa forced herself to look away.
But the whole rest of the meeting, she could feel Ava’s gaze drifting back to her. Too casual. Too aware.
Later that day, Melissa was sorting through old books in the library when Ava’s voice floated in behind her.
“Hey.”
She turned — found Ava leaning against the doorframe, for once not smirking.
Melissa arched a brow. “You lost?”
Ava grinned. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m checkin’ on you. You looked ready to throw something at me earlier.”
Melissa huffed a laugh despite herself. “You deserved it.”
Ava stepped closer, hands in her pockets. “Yeah. But... you didn’t. Surprised me.”
Melissa stilled, caught off guard by the shift in tone — no teasing now, just a quiet honesty.
Ava shrugged. “Guess I owe you one.”
Before Melissa could answer, Ava winked — lighter again. “Anyway. Don’t work too hard, Red. Gotta keep that temper in check.”
And just like that, she was gone.
Melissa stood frozen for a beat longer than she cared to admit.
That night, neither of them slept particularly well.
Melissa kept replaying the way Ava’s voice had softened. Ava kept replaying the flicker of surprise in Melissa’s eyes.
The next morning, both showed up to work a little more aware. A little more watchful. The spark had caught — whether they were ready or not.
And when Janine cheerfully announced a chaotic new fundraiser needing “volunteers,” it was no surprise that fate shoved them together again.
“Absolutely not.”
Melissa folded her arms, glaring at the flyer in Janine’s hand.
“C’mon, Melissa, it’ll be fun!” Janine beamed. “A school-wide fundraiser — dunk tank, bake sale, games — the whole community gets involved!”
“And who’s runnin’ this circus?”
“That’s the best part!” Janine turned. “Ava volunteered to co-lead.”
Melissa groaned audibly.
Across the room, Ava smirked. “Don’t sound too excited, Red. You might pull somethin’.”
Janine clapped her hands. “You two will be a great team!”
Melissa opened her mouth to argue — and Ava, with a mischievous gleam, strolled over.
“Look at it this way,” she said, voice low. “At least you’ll get to spend some quality time with your favorite principal.”
Melissa gave her a dry look. “You ain’t my favorite anything.”
Ava’s grin only widened. “Not yet.”
By Saturday, Melissa was half regretting showing up.
The school yard was chaos — balloons, screaming kids, sugar-fueled madness.
Ava, in a bright blue jumpsuit and oversized sunglasses, was somehow thriving in the middle of it all.
“Alright!” she called through a megaphone. “Next victim — I mean volunteer — for the dunk tank: Melissa Schemmenti!”
Melissa froze mid-step. “What?”
The crowd cheered. Ava caught her eye and winked.
“You’re kiddin’ me.”
“Nope. Get up there, Red.”
Grumbling under her breath, Melissa climbed onto the platform. The water looked freezing.
Ava sauntered over, megaphone lowered.
“You look good up there,” she teased. “Bet half the dads showed up just for this.”
Melissa snorted. “Keep talkin’, Coleman. You’ll be next.”
Ava leaned closer, voice dropping.
“I wouldn’t mind. If you throw me in, you gotta pull me out.”
Melissa’s breath caught — the line too smooth, too easy. But Ava’s eyes held a flicker of something... real.
Before she could answer, a kid launched a ball — and with a loud splash, Melissa was underwater.
When she surfaced, spluttering, Ava was laughing — but her grin softened when Melissa shook herself out, dripping.
“You alright?” she asked, genuine now.
Melissa blinked — surprised.
“Yeah,” she said gruffly. “Ain’t my first dunk.”
Ava held out a towel. Their fingers brushed — a jolt neither commented on.
After the fundraiser — after towels and stolen glances and a splash neither of them could quite forget — Ava was restless.
She debated texting.
Melissa beat her to it.
[RED] Dinner sometime? You owe me a drink after the dunk tank stunt.
Ava grinned at her phone.
[AVA] You’re on. Friday? Just us.
Melissa hesitated — smiled.
[RED] Yeah. Just us.
Neither of them would leave that dinner the same.
“Another drink?”
Melissa blinked down at the empty glass Ava had slid her way.
“You plannin’ to get me drunk, Coleman?”
Ava grinned. “Just tryin’ to celebrate a successful fundraiser. You were the star of the dunk tank, after all.”
Melissa rolled her eyes but accepted the refill.
The rest of the staff had trickled out — Janine had left after hugging both of them too hard, Jacob with a whispered “Do I detect chemistry?” before Ava threatened to dunk him next time.
Now it was just the two of them at a corner table, the hum of the bar low around them.
Melissa wasn’t sure when the air between them had shifted — but it had.
Ava looked… different tonight. No loud sunglasses, no megaphone, no show. Just her — warm smile, loose curls, eyes too sharp and too soft all at once.
“You surprise me, y’know,” Ava said, swirling her drink.
Melissa arched a brow. “How’s that?”
“Thought you’d be stiff as hell. But you’ve got a soft side.” Ava smirked. “It’s cute.”
Melissa scoffed. “You don’t know me.”
“Maybe I wanna.”
That made Melissa still.
Ava caught it — leaned in slightly, voice dropping.
“Look. I know I talk too much. And yeah, I mess around. But I see you, Red. You take care of everybody. You show up. And you’re… god, you’re so damn fine it’s killin’ me.”
Melissa’s heart thudded — too loud.
“You’re drunk.”
Ava shook her head. “Not enough to lie.”
Silence hung between them — electric.
Finally, Ava sighed, leaning back.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Shouldn’t’ve said all that. Forget it.”
But Melissa didn’t move. Her pulse was racing. And when Ava glanced up again — eyes a little too raw — something in Melissa snapped.
She reached across the table, fingers brushing Ava’s hand.
Ava’s breath caught.
“You’re not the only one thinkin’ about it,” Melissa said, voice low.
A beat. Then two.
And then Ava surged forward — hands cupping Melissa’s face, kiss rough and softer than Melissa expected all at once.
Melissa kissed back — fiercely, hungrily — then gasped when Ava broke away just long enough to whisper:
“You’re mine now, Red.”
Melissa smirked, breathless. “We’ll see about that.”
Meanwhile:
Monday morning, staff room.
Janine leaned toward Jacob, whispering urgently.
“Did you see them at the bar? They left together.”
Jacob clutched his coffee. “I knew it. I KNEW IT.”
Gregory, passing by: “Not my business.”
But his eyebrow twitched.
And when Ava walked in — sunglasses hiding a suspiciously smug expression — and Melissa followed moments later with a faint smile...
The whole room buzzed.
One kiss turned into two. One night turned into late texts, lingering touches, excuses to see each other after school.
And somewhere in the middle of it, without either of them saying the words — they stopped looking at anyone else.
Melissa wasn’t used to this — not letting someone in. Ava wasn’t used to wanting it.
But here they were.
Now the staff was watching — and Ava wasn’t exactly subtle.
It was only a matter of time before everyone knew.
Melissa found herself smiling at her phone like a teenager.
And Ava — Ava was possessive.
Not in a bad way. Just little things.
Standing too close when anyone flirted with Melissa at the bar. Resting a hand on her back when they walked through the halls. Shooting glares at any dad who looked twice.
Melissa teased her about it — once.
“Gotta stake your claim, Coleman?”
Ava’s grin was slow, dangerous.
“Already did. You’re mine.”
Melissa should’ve rolled her eyes. Instead, her breath caught.
She liked it — more than she wanted to admit.
The staff, meanwhile, was buzzing.
Jacob cornered Janine at lunch.
“They’re definitely dating. I saw Ava touch Melissa’s waist yesterday.”
Janine gasped. “I knew it! I knew it!”
Gregory overheard, sighed. “Leave them alone.”
But when Melissa walked in with a faint smile — and Ava followed minutes later, sliding her a private grin — even he looked a little smug.
That Friday, Ava invited her over.
“Dinner. Just us.”
Melissa hesitated — but the thought of a quiet night with Ava was too tempting.
She showed up with a bottle of wine.
Ava opened the door in sweatpants and a tank top — looking too good for her own damn good.
They ate, they laughed — and after the second glass of wine, the conversation slowed.
Ava leaned closer. “Y’know… I wasn’t tryna do this. Fall for you.”
Melissa’s heart pounded.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “Me neither.”
Ava’s gaze darkened — but there was a softness there too, something rare.
“I don’t want anyone else,” Ava whispered. “You get that, right? You… you’re it for me.”
Melissa swallowed — her throat tight.
She reached out, tangled their fingers.
“Yeah,” she said. “I get it.”
Ava exhaled — leaning in, kissing her slow and deep.
When they pulled back, foreheads pressed together, Melissa whispered:
“We’re really doin’ this, huh?”
Ava smiled. “Damn right we are. And Red?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re mine.”
Melissa smirked, eyes soft.
“Guess I’m yours then.”
Weeks passed. Ava and Melissa had settled into something steady — nights spent tangled together, mornings with Ava bringing Melissa coffee.
Still, they kept it quiet. Sort of.
But when the Spring Community Night arrived — the biggest event of the year — neither of them could pretend anymore.
Melissa hated it.
Too many people, too many parents pretending they ran the school.
But this year… Ava had offered to work it with her.
“Partner duty,” Ava had said, eyes sparkling. “Can’t let you have all the fun.”
Melissa had rolled her eyes — but hadn’t said no.
And now here they were — side by side at the welcome table, fielding parents, wrangling kids.
Melissa looked damn good in a fitted red blouse, and Ava hadn’t stopped staring all night.
“You tryin’ to kill me, Red?” Ava murmured as she leaned over the sign-in sheets.
Melissa smirked. “Keep your eyes to yourself, Coleman.”
“No promises.”
Of course, the staff was watching.
Janine kept sneaking glances.
Jacob was whispering furiously in Gregory’s ear.
Even Barbara raised a knowing brow.
But the moment it truly unraveled was near the end of the night — when a dad from the PTA cornered Melissa.
“Well, Ms. Schemmenti,” he said, too close, too eager. “If you’re free sometime —”
Before Melissa could answer, Ava appeared — sliding an arm around her waist.
“She’s not.”
Melissa’s heart jumped.
The dad blinked, awkward, and hurried off.
Melissa turned, arching a brow.
“Subtle.”
Ava grinned. “Didn’t feel like sharin’, Red.”
Melissa rolled her eyes — but she didn’t move away.
And when Janine gasped audibly from across the room — Jacob practically squealing — Melissa just sighed.
“Well,” she muttered. “Guess that’s out.”
Ava looked down at her, softening.
“Good. I’m tired of pretending.”
Melissa smirked. “Yeah. Me too.”
Later that night, at Ava’s place, they curled up on the couch — pizza box half-empty, Ava’s arm around Melissa’s shoulders.
“You good?” Ava asked softly.
Melissa glanced up — met her gaze.
For once, no games. No teasing. Just them.
“I’m good,” Melissa said. “Better than good.”
Ava leaned in — kissed her slow, sweet.
When they broke apart, Melissa smiled.
“Guess we’re really doin’ this, huh?”
Ava grinned. “Damn right. You’re stuck with me now.”
Melissa huffed a laugh — heart full.
“Lucky me.”
And as Ava pulled her closer, neither cared who knew anymore.
I might just be on intense copium here, but did anyone else notice how Moira is the only one who has other colours in her Talon battle pass skin apart from the black/red/gold???
In this essay I will be discussing how the use of purple in the design shows that her loyalty to Talon is very fickle (we knew this) and it connects her to the trio that just left, given that Sombra, Widow and Reaper are all associated with purple (Reaper's teleport) and she is DEFINITELY GOING TO ALSO LEAVE TALON AND LINK UP WITH THEM SOMEHOW-
moirana but they were lovers, girlfriends in the blackwatch era, and ana left a very sad moira behind when she “died” and although they might be “enemies” now, and there’s a lot of horrible history between them it’s fine, after one too many arguments, a passionate make out sesh and confessions of how their feelings never changed they managed to move past it bc they literally love each other so the grandmas still get it on and sit on their squishy brown leather sofa and read gay little poetry and gay little books to one another whilst they drink their gay little tea with their two dogs, rabbit and ana’s chubby ginger cat in their gay little apartment that they share together, gayly
I think everyone really over-mystifies nutrition. And I think that's largely because the diet industry has a vested interest in making you confused enough that you'll buy whichever toxic sludge they're peddling at designer prices.
But it truly is extremely simple:
Eat protein, a general rule of thumb is aim for at least 1g per ~2lbs (or ~1kg) of bodyweight. So if you weigh 200lbs (91kg) you wanna be eating about 100g of protein per day. (Yes I'm rounding off the kg to pound conversion severely here, it's ok we're just talking about averages.) It's ok if you're not eating that much, it's just a goal to aim for and every extra gram of protein you consume throughout your day is still a win even if you don't ever reach that goal.
Eat fruits and vegetables. Literally just as many as you can without making yourself miserable. It's important to enjoy the food that you eat, or at the absolute minimum feel neutral about it. But force feeding yourself steamed broccoli isn't actually healthy, and eating foods you dislike can cause you to literally absorb fewer nutrients from them. So please, prioritize enjoyment whenever possible but neutrality towards the foods you eat is ok. Active dislike is not. Avoid foods you actively dislike eating, no matter how many nutrients they contain.
Eat the rainbow. No, not the candy. Well maybe the candy too if you like that, but I mean aim to eat a variety of differently colored fruits and veggies. The color of produce is directly related to the presence of various different micronutrients. The more colors you eat, the more variety of nutrients you are consuming.
FATS AND CARBS ARE YOUR FRIEND!!! These are the two most important macronutrients that your body uses to literally create ATP. That's the funky little molecule that fuels every reaction in our entire body. Our ability to create ATP directly relates to our ability to do literally everything. Moving, breathing, thinking, you name it, we need ATP to do it. So please don't jeopardize your body's energy systems unless you have a medical need to.
Yes simple carbs and complex carbs are different. You need both. Eat both. Do not give up white potatoes, but maybe eat the sweet potatoes too. Do not give up your simple carbs, they're one the best ways to quickly refuel our muscles after exercise. We need complex carbs too, but they are not at war. They love each other immensely and you should love them both too.
Yes nutrient dense fats, usually referred to as "healthy" fats, are more useful to your body than highly processed trans fats. However I think it's much more useful to focus on getting dietary fats from multiple different sources (meat, nuts, dairy, eggs avocado, olive oil, etc.) and if that also includes some deep fried Oreos or whatever, that's rad. Enjoy your life, but keep collecting a full roster of various dietary fats.
Drink hydrating fluids. Water is great, but if you simply won't drink it, then juice and herbal teas are great. Caffeinated drinks like soda and coffee and tea are still hydrating. Not as much, but enough, especially if that's all you'll drink. You get way more hydration from the sweet tea you actually drink, than you will from the completely full cup of water that you won't actually drink.
Prioritize sleep hygiene and rest. "But Plum!" Those of you who know my name is Plum will exclaim, "I thought this was about nutrition!" It is and guess what, our ability to sleep or at least rest, dramatically influences our blood sugar and the hormones that control satiety and hunger. Sleeping is a nutrition habit. Sleeping is the most important fitness habit there is. It affects how we eat, how we use nutrients and calories, how we build muscle, how we build memories. Everything. It's the VIP of fitness.
That's it. That's literally all there is to it. Unless you have a medical condition that requires a specialized diet. Otherwise these are the secrets to nutrition. Please don't buy the sludge.
honestly? abandoned/on indefinite hiatus/very slow to update fics, even and especially AUs and longfics, are often some of my absolute favorites. and people who refuse to read them are missing out!
for one, stories don’t have to be finished to be enjoyable and worth reading. but also? an unfinished fic is a whole little universe that just keeps on existing in my head! their world stays alive for me in a way that doesn’t always happen with fics I binge read and finish, and i love it. i don’t know how their story ends, so it just keeps going! and even when those stories DO update and finish years later, they’ve been in my head for so long that they stick around like old friends.
so to any author with unfinished works: thank you SO much for sharing what you had without waiting to finish it first. you’re just giving me the gift of getting to spend more time with your story and your idea. if you do update again someday, i’ll be delighted to jump back in! but if you don’t, just know a little piece of your world still lives on in a beloved tiny terrarium in my brain. i promise i’m taking good care of it :)
i don’t normally ask this, but if this resonates with you please reblog it, so it can reach the authors who need to hear it <3
Cheek: a round dull pain that clocks your entire head in a different direction. It’s painful and throbs but the main effect of a punch to the cheek is how jarring it is. You feel it in your mouth, your teeth. And no matter how you position that punch the knuckles will always hit the jaw and cheek bones adding a frame of sharp pain in which the redness will be painted.
Temple: getting hit on the temple pushes your head to the side rather than turning it. It’s disorienting because it leaves you very off balance. It essentially feels like a bad pressure headache, like when you have a sinus infection on a plane, but in one spot and on the outside. It’s sharp in the middle and radiates outward and even after the initial impact it pulses like an earthquake epicenter. It easily causes long lasting headaches and is the most likely of these examples to cause a concussion.
Eye: this is a weird one. The fist doesn’t fit within the eye socket so either the knuckles on the brow and cheeks bones protect the actual eye or they don’t. The former option gives a full spreading pain below the eye which results in the classic black eye look and a sharp pain on your brow similar to hitting your shin on the couch. The latter option, well bad things can happen when a hard fast object makes direct contact with your eye but for the sake of this it feels like a vacuum bc the concave shape is being covered and pressurized. The eye feels pushed back and pulled forward all at once. It doesn’t necessarily hurt that bad for that long unless the punch was meant to do damage. I’m fortunate to say I don’t know what it would feel like then.
Nose: remember that prank kids used to pull where they’d line up their hands with their nose, push them in one direction and crack a knuckle at the same time to pretend to break their nose? Yeah that’s what it looks like when someone punches you from the side in the nose, except it’s someone else’s hand and your nose makes the sound instead of their knuckle. It’s just like breaking any bone where you hear it and feel the action if it being done but that moment of shock blankets you for a split second until all the pain comes rushing back. It’s sharp and needlelike and can give you black eyes just to add insult to injury. If you get hit in the nose from the front it’s like the uncomfortableness of when you have to sneeze but can’t. Except that feeling took all the steroids and is now using your face as a punching bag to express its roid rage. It crackles outward like static electricity under your skin, your eyesight gets fuzzy and you can’t tell if it’s because you’re tearing up, it’s hard to open your eyes, or you’re momentarily stunned and blinded. Just know it’s all three. I find that this one knocks the wind out of you the most. Gotta remind yourself to breathe just don’t try to do it through your nose.
If you really want to know what this feels like I’d suggest joining a mixed martial arts because they’ll teach you correct form and power distribution and you can spar with pads and actually hit each other.
I’d also recommend learning what it feels like to punch someone in the face. It’s much more fun and pretty damn cathartic when they deserve it.
Nate: king. Mastermind, short range of motion, the game revolves around him; central piece, but most of the important movements won't be made by him.
Sophie: queen. The one with the most range, and always calculatedly visible, for she will deliver the check while everyone watches, or be the perfect distraction; you don't lose sight of your queen, and neither does anyone else.
Hardison: bishop. Stands right beside the king and queen, and moves a bit more non-traditionally — diagonally; good for getting in and out of places quickly, and complementary to the rook.
Parker: knight. She takes the rules the others follow, kisses them on the forehead and leaves them on the side of the road; stands in-between the bishop and the rook, and she will jump pieces, be it to get closer to the target or to get back to her team if they need her. (cause... acrobatics... got it?)
Eliot: rook. Steady and old fashioned in his methods — moves towards the front, the back or sideways; complementary to the bishop, it stands at the edges of the line up, covering their bases.
people say folks with adhd struggle with "delayed rewards" aka long term goals and as such we tend to focus more on short term rewards. what they don't talk about is that at when we Do accomplish long term goals we don't actually feel anything proportionate to the amount of work we did to achieve it. In my head I suffered for a while and then money spontaneously appeared in my bank account.
✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.
✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.
✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.
✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.
✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.
✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.
✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.
✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.
✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.
✧ Scars tell stories. Some fade, some don’t. Some stay sensitive forever. Don’t forget the aftermath when the wound becomes part of the character.
I can feel it in my bones that we gonna see this Moira skin in game... I can feel it.... also ofc did some adjustment for my own pleasure, gave her her normal sick arm instead of the prosthetic one and red hair cause I don't like when they change hair colors u_u BUT THIS CONCEPT IS 1000/10 PLS PUT IT IN THE GAAAAAAAAAME
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
titsay
blakekathryn
