Recent Posts

Despite her introverted nature, Vanessa was glad she found a way to avoid becoming a total hermit. When she still struggled with self-confidence, it was easy to hide behind video games. It was the people in her life who brought her out of her comfort zone and they turned her into the self-assured woman she became. Booker was a huge part of that and their friends deserved plenty of credit as well, so Friendsgiving was a chance to appreciate them all.

As expected, Booker took the opportunity to defend two of their exes and absolve the idea that they were to blame for Spencer. ”Oh, true. So you’re saying I was not supposed to invite Spence today?” She chuckled, but stopped when she remembered that Spencer was no joking matter. ”I promise I did not invite Spencer today,” she added seriously. After her last entanglement, and especially with Gina in the picture, Spencer was blocked on everything. If there was a way to super-block someone, Vanessa would have done it.

Vanessa pulled out a pot of red sauce she had prepared the day before. Vince would have given her grief if her sauce was anything but homemade and, while she could very easily tell him to shove it and make his own ziti, Friendsgiving was a time for generosity and not telling friends to shove it. ”I did throw out invites to Shelb and Chlo, though. Have no clue if they’re even in state, but yeah. Hope you haven’t pissed off our exes in the last year or two?” Vanessa had no reason not to extend the courtesy to their first two shared ex-girlfriends because, all things considered, things ended amicably. To her knowledge, they were all still friends.

Bringing up tofu brought up Booker’s typical response and Vanessa did not judge, though she did roll her eyes. Tofu was not bad, but it was a weird food to look at and touch. Something about food cubes was vaguely unsettling. She was pleasantly surprised to see her lobster prep work handled. ”Look at you in the Friendsgiving spirit!”

Knowing some work was already done on the lobsters, and still a little squeamish about the lobster cooking process, Vanessa stalled by getting her other tasks ready. She had accepted that people had a certain place in the food chain, but she still had her objections about the inhumane conditions of most livestock and food industries. Lobster was a touchy middle-ground; she got them from a spot known for freshly caught seafood so there was no farm of overcrowded lobsters, but at the same time, Lobster was not one of the animals someone else killed for her. She needed to figure out if she even had it in her to make her own meal.

In the meantime, she could talk to Booker about more pleasant things! ”So, who’s coming from the library today? I feel like I haven’t had the time to drop in lately. I hope news of my new relationship did not devastate Lexi too badly.” Her delivery was appropriately melodramatic. Lexi was a bit of a screw-up but she had a good heart, so somehow Booker found it in him to keep her around. She made a habit of flirting with Nessa despite being straight, at least according to what she said. Nessa did not make a big deal of it; some people just liked harmless fun and it was not like she had never cheekily flirted with a guy before.

It was nice that Vanessa’s work friends liked her brother. It was no surprise, really; everyone liked Booker. He was like a Labrador in human form. Ever since they were kids, Booker had a way with people that his little sister lacked. Vanessa wanted to blame it on not knowing she was trans, but even after starting her life over as the woman she always was, she still had roughly the same social skills. She got better at talking to girls, but her ability to cultivate friendships was limited to the right kinds of people.

Thankfully, she worked with the right people and she was not petty enough to want to keep them to herself. Booker understood that she was joking and replied to her stern greeting with chipper indifference. Booker could be friends with every person Vanessa worked with and it; she was used to it and it often gave her a social buffer when she needed it. The fact that her coworkers were trying to convince Booker to play the Dungeon Master on their upcoming D&D show was a different, more upsetting matter, but it was good to know the various aspects of her life played nicely together.

”Do you think they can handle twice the Bookman? If our exes are any evidence, it might be enough to drive someone mad.” Okay, it was more a joke than anything else. Shelby was insanely well put together, Chloe was a bit spacey and odd but sweet, and Spencer… well, Spencer was the way she was long before encountering the Bookman siblings.

Vanessa was gathering her ingredients, but one thing seemed out of place. She did not have a photographic memory, but she did know where she carefully left the lobsters in her fridge. On cue, Booker pointed out that he already had them out of the fridge, prompting an eye roll. ”What’s this? Holding my dinner hostage as some protest toward my pescatarianism? I can’t tell if this is supposed to push me to your precious turkey or back to fancy tofu.”

Once upon a time, Thanksgiving was Vanessa’s favorite holiday. Numerous personal faults aside, her parents knew how to make a delicious spread. Booker (and, to a lesser extent, Vanessa) got their cooking talents right from their parents, and nothing beat the symphony of scents flooding from the kitchen when that magical Thursday rolled around.

More than the food, Vanessa really loved the message of the holiday: gather with the people who matter and appreciate what you have in your life. It was a heartwarming feeling when your family actually loved you, but after being abandoned by her parents, Vanessa briefly fell out of love with the day that had become a painful reminder.

She tried to avoid saying it to his face, but like many other things in her life, Booker fixed Thanksgiving. As their lives developed more stability and even Vanessa started crafting a social life of her own, they started the tradition of hosting “Friendsgiving” and, in proper Booker fashion, it was an all-day event. The boy could certainly make a shindig special. And indeed, Thanksgiving had somehow become special to Vanessa again after so many years.

Booker always took the lead with cooking, but Vanessa was not going to spend the whole day pretending she was a guest. As the resident pescatarian, she left things like turkey, ham, and beef wellington to him. Vanessa helped her brother with some of the sides and she handled some of the more oddball requested foods.

Obviously with her dietary restrictions, Vanessa would take the lead on things like baked lobster, crab cake stuffed mushrooms, and grilled salmon salad. Beyond her own tastes, they had a few special requests for the year. For Booker’s library friend who grew up eating take-out with her sister every Thanksgiving, there would be Vegetarian lo mein. For Vince, Vanessa’s foul-mouthed Jersey coworker, she would make plenty of baked ziti. The Bookman siblings went to great lengths to make sure all their misfit friends felt welcome because they knew that mattered.

People usually did not start dropping in until the afternoon rolled around, and as the one who did not have to painstakingly take care of a turkey, Vanessa could sleep in a little later than her brother. Eventually she rolled out of bed, donning black leggings and a loose-fitting forest green top. Slipping on some faux-fur-lined moccasins, she made her way into the hallway toward the kitchen.

As expected, Booker was already hard at work and the evidence was wafting through every empty space in the house. The scents were alluring, but not enough to keep her from overhearing Booker’s uncalled for conversation with her coworker. Taking quiet steps closer, Vanessa grabbed Booker’s phone-holding hand and shouted, ”Dory, if you’re gonna talk sh*t, then get your color-changing ass over here!”

Hearty laughter could be heard from the phone’s speaker as Vanessa walked toward the fridge to get to her ingredients, leaving the two men to finish up their chat. With how packed the fridge got leading up to Thanksgiving, it was nice to let Booker go first to make everything else easier to access. Life had a rhythm, and Vanessa was pretty sure she had Thanksgiving’s rhythm down pat.

When she eventually heard Booker end his call, Vanessa jokingly chastised, ”Don’t forget those are my friends, jerk. I won’t have this nonsense of you turning them against me. The POW Block Party doesn’t need a Thanksgiving Mutiny.”

Vanessa had no clue what to expect. She could see Gina’s expression softening when she realized her girlfriend was a mutant, (though she made an extra effort to avoid Gina’s eyes.) Being a mutant was not going to be the kind of thing Gina cared about, even if she had an issue with Vanessa keeping her identity a secret. The real telling moment would be the reaction her girlfriend had to the realization that Vanessa had access to her thoughts more or less whenever she wanted them.

It was something small, but Vanessa could have sworn she saw Gina’s tail flick at the news. After dating a gargoyle for so many months, she realized how expressive her tail could be; sometimes it was an easier way to read Gina than looking her in the eyes. The twitch was followed by a sigh and Vanessa had to fight the urge to raise her gaze to Gina’s eyes. Life had made her too curious and not used to being out of the know.

With a squeeze of Vanessa’s hand, Gina dispelled the majority of the telepath’s greatest fears. No one was better at putting Vanessa at ease and no one had the kind of sway over Vanessa’s emotions that Gina had discovered. She was processing the news, but she was trying to be supportive. Their eyes met, not because Vanessa was probing for thoughts, but because she genuinely loved Gina and her eyes were a safe place.

Gina’s thoughts were focused on how she was a good person for Vanessa to “come out to,” and she was right. Gina knew the mutant struggle. More than that, she was also the most open-minded, understanding person Vanessa knew. She was still going to have questions, of course, and Vanessa owed her any and all answers she could provide. ”No, your thoughts haven’t been weird. No weirder than anyone else’s thoughts, at least,” she added with a nervous smile. It was still so odd talking about her powers to anyone.

If she really wanted to say those three big words to Gina, Vanessa had to be fully transparent. ”I’m not always reading thoughts. That sounds terrible, honestly.” How overwhelming would it be to pick up on everyone’s thoughts in a nearby area? Maddening enough to make someone a recluse, she was sure. ”I only have access to someone’s thoughts if I’m making direct eye contact with them.”

And with that, every time Vanessa and Gina met eyes, Gina would know what she was getting herself into. Vanessa hoped desperately that the information would not cause her to shy away. They still had their eyes together, so Vanessa tried to be playful, adding, ”So, like, say you thought of something right now like, I don’t know… my body in the shower, I’d totally know.” There was one universal truth about thoughts: being told not to think about something made it almost impossible not to immediately have it cross someone’s mind.

Joking aside, the admission was still something they had to treat seriously. ”I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner… I promise I have tried not to pry or use my powers to be some kind of paranoid girlfriend. I just… wanted to pretend no one would ever have to know. But…” Vanessa placed her second hand on Gina’s and squeezed tightly. ”I’m glad you know. I want you to know everything about me. I want to be honest with you. But if having a mind-reading girlfriend would be a little much for you, I understand, too.” Vanessa did not want to make it sound like Gina did not have an out if their relationship was going to make her uncomfortable. She selfishly hoped that would not be the case.

Very cool character, Mage! Love the concept!

Being part of a stable relationship changed the structure of Vanessa’s life. She still liked nights out on the town with friends, particularly when she could bring Gina along, but she was no longer sold on being the girl who shuts the club down. Being out, drinking, and dancing were all fun, but she had something very fun at home to look forward to, as well. Closing time was the realm of guys and girls looking to bring someone home for the night and that was just not Vanessa.

Winnie, meanwhile, was the perfect girl to get wild with in New York City. The sassy photographer was out with a group of the girls and while it was always fun being near the life of the party, Vanessa declined the invitation. It had been a long week at work and Vanessa had been looking forward to a movie night with Gina for days. There would be other nights for dancing and drinks. Vanessa was content with an evening of snuggling, cookies, and sex. Nice, sweet, and uncomplicated.

Vanessa was curled up under the covers, pressed against her girlfriend’s warm body, enjoying a peaceful sleep when she heard her phone buzzing against the nightstand. Groggily waking up and trying not to jostle Gina from her sleep, her thumb pressed against the reader and she opened her new message.



Well, that was the kind of message that woke a girl up. Vanessa was not sure exactly what Winnie needed, but it sounded urgent; urgent enough to demand they meet in an alley of all places. If it was someone else, Vanessa might have dismissed the message as drunken nonsense, but it was Winnie. If there was a real problem, Vanessa would hate herself for putting the phone down.

With a kiss on the forehead of her sleeping girlfriend, Vanessa slipped into old jeans and a sweatshirt before grabbing her keys. Driving was not something Vanessa commonly did if it could be avoided; New York was not friendly to those who shunned public transit and private car services. While she used it sparingly, Vanessa did keep a car parked in her building’s garage in case of emergencies. At the time of night she was leaving, traffic would be bearable, so she pulled out and typed the crossroad into her GPS.

Vanessa had the roof up on her convertible since the weather was taking a turn for the chilly. The weather concerned Vanessa; what had Winnie out in some alley in the middle of the night? She was trying to keep her concerns quiet, but there were several potentially upsetting outcomes flashing through her thoughts.

The phone chimed with a, “you have reached your destination,” signifying that she was at the right alley. Pulling up, Vanessa looked around and did not see her friend. Stepping out with one hand clutching her keychain mace tightly, she cautiously called out. ”Winnie… I’m here… you still here? You… okay?” Where was the angry little Brit?