[YouTube Video]
swan drops a bomb on her innocent sister
ClarityIsClear
Posted 5 years from now
(The first sounds the camera picks up is a muffled curse and the slam of a car door; as the video feed clears up, the first view is rapidly-moving feet on asphalt, the dirty strings of well-loved Converse dragging through a small pool of mud.
"Fucking again?" Leah Clearwater's voice mutters, and the feet in the video sidestep the next puddle. "Stupid mud. Stupid rain."
"Maybe you would step in less puddles if you watched where you were going instead of playing with your camera," comes lilted English accent, now familiar to long-time viewers of the channel.
The camera swings up as Leah stops and says, "Yeah, whatever. Don't be boring," she chides. Meanwhile, the camera feed zeros in on the architecture of a squarish house with big picture windows and slate stucco walls. "Look at this crazy house they moved to. It's like they're living in the future."
"Esme designed it for them," Alistair comments. "It looks nice."
"Must be nice having an architect as an in-law," Leah muses, already walking briskly to the matte black front door, which has a single square window dead in the center of it. Leah's warm-toned hand reaches forward and jiggles at the handle, which turns easily under her hand.
From behind her, there is an exasperated sigh. "You shouldn't walk into their house like this," Alistair mutters, although it's clear that he follows her inside because there is a sound of the door closing even though Leah is already well into the foyer, the camera picking out a floating coat tree and a shoe rack that she kicks her shoes at carelessly.
"Nice digs," she says, seemingly to herself. She comes across a long mirror on the wall and stops to give herself finger-hearts in the mirror, the sleek shape of her camera obscuring her face. Alistair comes up behind her, several inches taller and a drastically pale shade compared to Leah's warmth, his expression as droll as Leah's is surely mischievous.
"You could have knocked," he tells Leah's reflection.
Leah shrugs and turns, dismissing the mirror in favor of a small table holding three different cactus breeds. "Why? Bella doesn't care?"
Alistair sighs. "Masen might."
Leah snorts. "Who cares about what Masen thinks?"
"He's my boss," Alistair reminds her.
Leah's tone is blithe and uncaring. "Well, he's not mine." She then raises her voice, calling out even as she continues to walk through the house, bypassing a narrow staircase. "Bella! Bell Bell, where are you? I want a tour of your crib!"
"In here," Bella calls back. "And nobody says crib anymore!"
Leah walks into the living room and the camera takes in the view of the neat, monochromatic decor, the mix of leather and chrome and glass, all of it softened by deep jewel-toned velvet pillows, rugs, throw blankets, and more little, hard-to-kill plants. Bella and Masen are seated on the couch, Bella's legs pulled up as she leans on her husband's shoulder, seemingly in the process of teasing their cat, Atari, with a little plush mouse on a string. Atari launches himself from Masen's lap and lands on the other side of Bella's body.
"Oh, look at you," Leah says with deep appreciation. "You're so wholesome. This is great content. Although can I just say, you could do something more interesting than lounge with your cat. The viewers want excitement."
Bella raises her brows. "Are you saying that Atari isn't exciting?" Bella scratches the cat behind his ears, smiling as he leans into her hand. "Hi, Alistair," she adds.
"Bella. Masen," Alistair says as he eases past Leah and the camera, sitting down on the nearest leather ottoman.
Leah sucks her teeth. "Like, okay, my cat nephew is cute and everything, but where's the pizazz? He can't even catch the mouse!"
Bella turns her head to look up at Masen. When she looks back at Leah - and the camera - there is a visible glimmer of impish excitement in her gaze. "Oh, you want excitement?" she baits.
"I live for excitement," Leah declares. And then she seems to realize that there is an unholy gleam in her sister's expression, because she next says, "Hey, hey, wait. Why are you smiling like that?"
"Alistair," Bella says with a grin, standing up from the couch. "You may want to hold the camera."
There is another sigh off-screen and then a brief struggle as the camera is clearly wrested from Leah's hands, even over her protests of Hey, give that back! By the time the camera realigns, once more at Alistair's trademark just-off-center hold, the view captured is one that contains Bella and Leah. Bella is holding Leah's hands, her smile even wider as Leah makes a face and leans away, staring at her sister with obvious mistrust.
"Lee Lee, I've got to tell you something," Bella says.
Leah scrunches her face. "Are you dying?"
Bella shakes her head, laughing. "The opposite, actually."
Leah frowns at her. "The opposite of dying? What, you're living? I know that," Leah says with a snort. But as Bella continues to simply smile at her, Leah's expression goes through a tumult of emotions, finally settling on slack surprise. "No! Are you kidding?"
Bella shakes Leah's hands up and down, almost vibrating in amused excitement. "You're an aunt again!" she announces.
"Oh, my God!" Leah shouts, her mouth dropping open, even as her eyes drop to Bella's still very flat stomach. "Oh, my God!" she says again, even louder. "Are you serious? You're - you have - you're going to -"
Bella's laughter is clearly mocking now. "Did I break you?"
"Were you even trying?" Leah demands, seeming to settle on a question, though instant regret crosses her face.
"I'm not going to answer that," Bella says, trying to muffle her mirth now. "Because I don't think you actually want to know. But we're happy," she finishes, sitting back down next to Masen, her cheeks rosy and even Masen's face possibly softer than before.
"You're right," Leah says a beat later, a little dazed. "Babies come by stork."
Behind the camera, there is a rude scoff. "Childish," Alistair says.
Leah turns to the camera and stabs her finger at the man out of view. "Just for that, I'm hiding your kettle," she says, her hands going to her hips. "I can do that now. I'm going to be an aunt, so I have, like, privileges now."
Behind Leah, Bella can clearly be seen shaking her head and saying her oft-favored phrase. "Unbelievable."
The last view of the video is a still of a black and white photo which, at first glance, looks fuzzy but which is labeled as Swan's First Ultrasound aka My Niece. Then the video ends.)
Comments
DidIDoThat
Ah! That's one way to do an announcement!
CorralKiddo
I have followed this crew for so long and I never thought they would reproduce wtf lol
Thelittlecygnet
That feeling when your sister still believes in the stork
ClarityIsClear
Oh, go eat your weird pregnancy food
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A/N: Well, five years into the future and Masen and Bella are procreating! Good for them! It would be funnier if, inexplicably, babies really did come by stork, but that's fantasy realism for another A/N. This is a special new years update, so I will again probably not be posting for another 1 1/2 weeks. Work, friends, it just never ends.
Folks, if you've been hearing about the new strain of the COVID-19 virus, I know it sounds like scary news. I've been devouring everything I can about the developments of this new strain and right now, it seems like science is reasonably confident that while the new strain is more easily transmissible, it's not more deadly. This is both a good and a bad thing since it means that the virus is mutating to spread easier but it isn't mutating to kill more people. But because the new strain spreads more quickly, it's especially important to stay strict with your social distancing and mask wearing - the more we can limit the spread of the general virus, the more we can limit the strain on our healthcare system and healthcare workers. All of that said, science is also reasonably confident that the mRNA vaccines that are being distributed right now will protect you from the new strain; essentially, the mRNA vaccines have the ability to keep you immune from the original virus and new strains, or at least this specific strain. This is again good news because it indicates how the virus is mutating. To that end, it's excellent news in the vaccine world that a mRNA vaccine can protect from current and new strains, because this proves the efficacy of the vaccine; compared to how we have to innoculate against every new strain of seasonal flu, the fact that these COVID vaccines can protect against new strains is an incredible feat of science. Truly, hats off to the great minds that have developed these vaccines. As another note, I encourage everyone to remain patient about the vaccines and keep an eye on your local health departments to learn when you can get your vaccines (both the first and second shots). It's likely we won't be seeing a faster roll out until at least February and the majority of us won't be vaccinated until late summer - but stay patient and stay smart. We are so close to the end.
Happy New Years to everyone. 2020 was a hell of a way to start off the new decade, but if you've gotten this far, I'm sure you can get further. I hope 2021 brings bright spots of joy to everyone, and that everyone will remain healthy this year. Remember you are strong and worthy and loved. You've got this. Spread kindness.
As always, be honest. I can take it.
~Rae