Nov 9, 2022
Dress to Impress ~~ [Tongs Texts]
Tom: Hey
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Nepal
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Argentina
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Russia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
Dress to Impress ~~ [Tongs Texts]
Tom: Hey
Slipping Through My Fingers ~~ [Tongs]
@princess-ting-ting
"Uh, thanks for coming,” Tom said when he opened the door to Ting-Ting on the other side. Levi was in the crook of his arm, awake but quiet. That was starting to happen a bit more. For so long, it had felt like he was either asleep or awake and screaming. Now, though, he woke up sometimes, for short spurts, and looked around as if he was simply taking everything in.
According to the baby books, he couldn’t really see much right now, but Tom still liked to think about him seeing things. Seeing Tom, Phil, John, the dogs, and the leaves in the trees outside...
According to the baby books, Levi was also due for a nail trim. He was starting to get grabby in these awake-but-not-screaming moods. He reached for Tom’s beard or his bottle or a toy jingled in front of his face. Which meant, yeah, he’d scratched Tom by now and, according to all his research, it was perfectly okay to trim his nails by this age but--
Tom couldn’t do it. He tried and tried but Levi was to squirmy and Tom was too afraid that he would hurt him. He felt pathetic, but if there was anything that fatherhood had done to him in the past month, it had humbled him. After all, he wanted to be a good father. And that meant--trimming your baby’s nails when they were due for it.
Or, well, getting a friend to do it.
“Sorry, I know it’s er--kind of silly,” he said, blushing a bit as he let Ting-Ting into the house. “Can I get you somethin’?”
[outfit]
Keep Your Heads Held High ~~ [Tongs]
@princess-ting-ting
Tom was prone to fits of melancholy. He had been since he was a child. Sometimes, he just felt as if he was underwater. It never bothered him much, he could still tread water well enough to keep from drowning. There was something warm and calming about the pressure of it, the darkness of it. These moods could hit him for moments, for hours, for days. They came and went like tides or the phases of the moon.
Tonight, it had came to him, whispering in his ear after dinner. He had washed the dishes quietly (it was his turn) and made himself a mug of tea. Phil had turned on some rubbish telly and John had grumbled at him to turn it down while he worked on grading papers at the dining room table. Tom didn’t think either of them noticed when he stepped out onto the back porch. It was already dark, but he didn’t bother to turn the light on.
Gilly trotted over and dropped her ball at his feet. He bent down and picked it up, throwing it for her and Fly, who took off after it. He sat down on the stairs and watched his breath drift up towards the moonlight. Tom didn’t know how long he sat there, throwing the ball for the dogs. Long enough that they eventually got tired and came to lay on the porch. He didn’t know what he thought about, maybe everything. Just that he swam through those dark corners of his mind.
Annie, the baby, the Acherons, his family, Arista, even Cole. He could take his pick, really, or think about nothing at all and still feel the weight of all of it on his his heart.
The porch light next door flickered on and Ting-Ting stepped out on the porch. Tom was pulled from his reverie, his hunter’s instincts not allowing him to ignore the movement. He watched her for a moment as she sat down on her own steps. In the dark, he realized that she probably couldn’t see him so he turned away, allowing her privacy.
Except, she didn’t go back inside. The silence stretched on before Tom got up and went back inside. He returned just a moment later with two mugs of tea and a blanket thrown over one arm.
“Evenin’,” he said to her, though he was sure his boots crunching through the snow gave him away as he approached. He stood at the low fence that separated their properties and held out the tea mug. “Thought you might want this. It’s cold out.”
[outfit]
Two A.M. 🔥[Geming Texts]
In which Gem texts Ting-Ting for backup...[takes place: early morning, May 10]
a companion to: What Can Wax Can Wane
@princess-ting-ting
[cw -- miscarriage]
The Future Does Not Exist *** [Belle, Ting-Ting, Sophie]
In which Belle, Ting-Ting, and Sophie find the key to access the time loop...[takes place: July 8]
@princess-ting-ting, @ahearts-a-heavyburden
Find the rest of the My Heart is a Haunted House arc here...
[cw -- none]
*** *** ***
TING-TING: Ting was thankful that Mu Hou had offered to take Matilda for the day. Not that Matilda wasn’t a surprisingly wonderful research partner (must get it from her father)! But it did help Ting focus more if she wasn’t constantly worried about her daughter and if Matilda was bothering someone and etc, etc, etc.
They were in Belle’s office now, she and Belle and Sophie Hadder, who Ting hadn’t talked to much in the past, but was sweet and quiet and had a lovely smile.
“Well there’s nothing but sewage plans in this folder,” said Ting, with a sigh, laying down another file to the “return to the archives” pile.
*** *** ***
[link here]
*** *** ***
The Past is Far Behind Us *** [Belle, Ting-Ting, Wolf]
In which Belle, Ting-Ting, and Wolf discover what has been happening inside the Hauntley Inn and how to gain access to it...[takes place: June 25]
@princess-ting-ting, @wolf-innsheepsclothing
Find the rest of the My Heart is a Haunted House arc here...
[cw -- none]
*** *** ***
BELLE: Belle was in her element.
She meant it when she said that she would help. Belle didn't want anything to happen to Snow, of course. And she knew that Hades would make good on his promise to burn the Inn down if the paranormal energy got any worse. He would be right to do it, but--she knew there was another way to fix it. There just had to be.
So, she'd hauled half of her collection to Chapter Three, commandeering one of the tables near the back, where no one would bother them. Ting-Ting had brought along her sorcery books. There were books scattered haphazardly across the tables, some stacked, some open, some folded over with bookmarks in the form of scraps of paper. It was chaos, but she found that Ting-Ting was rather a good research partner and they'd gotten into a good flow.
Even Matilda was a good study partner, barely making a peep. And providing soothing cuddles when Belle needed a quick researching break.
She was getting there again as she rubbed at her temples. "I'm not finding anything about hauntings that lock out anyone from the space--" she said, fanning through the book she had been perusing. "Some poltergeist stuff, but I don't think Lady Miracle is that..."
*** *** ***
[link here]
*** *** ***
Prom Planning ~~ [Tongs]
Tom: hullo ting Tom: i was just texting to confirm our plans. since we’re neighbours, that does make it a bit easier, but shall i pick you up around 18:30? i think the lads and our dates are going to remy’s beforehand.