mcdnights

[mcdnights]

luke would take recommendations from anyone at this point, he just needed to find something to reawaken that spark. "i beg to differ" luke replies, a grin flashing across his face, he trusted henry's taste, "yeah. there's gotta be something here, it's a pretty big book shop" a chuckle leaves his lips.

he'd thought about a hobby but he wouldn't know where to start. writing had been his life, ever since he was a kid, he'd not really looked at anything else. luke thinks, "i dunno, in all honesty. i've thought about maybe taking up drawing, not sure if i'd be any good at it though".

It was funny how it worked, whenever someone asked him if he had any recommendations suddenly he had none, his mind went blank. " I'm not sure if my taste should be trusted." Henry confesses." Alright, fantasy. I'm sure that we can find something that would spark your interest." Not so long ago he remembered seeing a fantasy novel that seemed to be well acclaimed, now he only need to recall it's name.

" How about a hobby? " He suggests." Something a bit different from your usual routine or even maybe an activity that you've been curious to try?"

[mcdnights]

luke smiles back at elliot and he reads his message, it is always good to catch up with friends. he didn't have many friends due to his awkwardness, so having elliot helped, "yeah. i get that, seems like everyone is crazy busy these days. how's the little one?" luke types. parenting wasn't really his thing, he couldn't see him himself as a dad, he did like elliot's little one though, he nodded his head at elliot's words, "sure! that'd be great, it'd be good to catch up".

With a grin he read over what Luke had written, smile in place as he gave a shake of his head. No need for apologies- I've been beyond busy. Something about being a dad and working a full time job leaves very little time these days. Which he knew he needed to get better at, trying to balance work, his social life, all while raising a baby. I am! Wanna grab our drinks and maybe a table to sit and chat at? Beyond glad he had ran into his friend.

[mcdnights]

"same here! singing is definitely not my strong suit" they agree with christina, they enjoyed watching carol singers though. arden preferred to leave it to the professionals when it came to things like this, "yeah. we're enjoying it, aren't we ivy?" ivy was clinging onto arden's hand, but she just nods, arden knew she'd gotten shy.

@mcdnights @ the carolers

"Well I certainly couldn't do any better. I always sound like a drowned cat. Or so I'm told." Christina could, and would, chat to anyone, so it seemed only naturally to her to spark up a conversation whilst the carollers were between songs. "Are you enjoying it?"

[mcdnights]

courtney via ccxpoficial

[mcdnights]

arden laughs, "that's definitely a sign i should buy it then" they reply, taking one last look at herself in the mirror. they look back at their friend, "nah. it's not too short, it's cute, get it" arden was all about their friends treating themselves, she was a bit of a bad influence. a smile comes across their lips, if they were being honest, "that's a sweet idea safi, thank you. i know they've got some cute vintage kids stuff here".

" for sure very hot, i'd hit on you if we weren't friends " a malicious grin tied to such a genuine compliment, they hot, no one could deny that. " this skirt is calling me… is it too short? " of course it was, yet she couldn't quite care. " maybe we can find some gifs for ivy? the store is pretty big, it can be a gift from autie safi! "

[mcdnights]

ivy was spending the day with her grandad, so arden had the day to themselves. so she was over at mila's helping her decorate a christmas tree. they used to not enjoy christmas, they struggled with it but as ivy has grown and become a child and started to love christmas, so has arden. now it's one of her favourite times of year, they love spending it with ivy, doing all of the christmas crafts, watching all the christmas films etcetera.

arden smiles softly, "no worries, i wanted to help" they reply, as they hold onto some of the unravelled lights. "i love decorating trees, i think it might be my favourite bit of christmas" they carry on, they'd recently started collecting christmas decorations, specifically weird ones.

Location: Mila's apartment (Christmas tree decorating)

Status: OPEN ( @bfmstarters )

The young woman was up on a chair, facing the bare tree in the corner of her apartment. A bundle of lights wrapped around newspaper was cradled in her hands. It was effortless how she unraveled some of the lights, handing the strand to the other person who so willingly stepped up to help when her roommates were overtly too busy. "Thanks, by the way. You didn't have to help do all this, ya know." It came from a genuinely warm place. With Christmas being her favorite holiday, she couldn't see herself without a tree.

[mcdnights]

"really? so you go for a different type of coffee every day?" luke asks, curious to know. he's an awkward soul, he's not used to talking to people, he just wanted his coffee, so he could start waking up, "so now we're looking for two coffees" luke chuckles. luke nods in reply, "yeah. but i have a strong feeling someone might've taken it now, i should've paid more attention...".

"Depends on the day." Holly was actually being awkward on purpose, which was probably a little cruel all things considered, as he seemed so hesitant about the whole situation —- still, it was just the way they were, it wasn't about to change any time soon. "Not mine, anyway," they added after careful consideration. "So we're looking for a black coffee, huh?"

[mcdnights]

"ikea shelves aren't that expensive" luke muses, studying the vinyls for another second, "sounds good. i'll meet you at the till in a second" he smiles back at her "i'm getting pretty hungry but that might be because i skipped breakfast" a sheepish look splashes across his face. luke watches as she walks away, after a moment of deliberation, he picks the vinyls he wants and follows his friend to the till.

"i mean if you have the money, yeah," she laughed and rolled her eyes when he brought up getting another bookcase. "please..." she snorted and nodded. "i'm gonna get a couple and then we can go get something to eat. i'm starving and my shift doesn't start for another hour. we can go eat there so i don't have to go far at all." she grinned and grabbed the vinyls she wanted and headed over to the counter to pay for them.

[mcdnights]

[mcdnights]

hc + 😶 (arden) & hc + 🚶‍♂️(luke)

ASK ME ANYTHING! // (thematic headcanons)

hc + 😶 for a headcanon about a secret they know of / keep

(triggers: abandonment / postnatal depression) arden almost left little baby ivy with her father and dipping, one evening, but instead, they chose to stay and pull through. they haven't told anyone about that.

hc +🚶‍♂️ for a habit-themed headcanon

luke bounces his leg up and down when he gets nervous or stressed. he's always done it, since he was a little kid.

[mcdnights]

😃 🚶‍♂️

ASK ME ANYTHING! // (thematic headcanons)

hc + 😃 for a happiness-themed headcanon

arden is a big fan of coffee, they are practically always running on coffee. recently they've been able to treat themselves to a new coffee machine, it was very exciting.

hc + 🚶‍♂️ for a habit-themed headcanon

luke smokes, it's a bad habit that he wants to change and he wants to give up. but he does find that smoking calms him down, which is helpful.

[mcdnights]

hc + 🧡, hc + 🏠, hc + 👍

ASK ME ANYTHING! // (thematic headcanons)

hc + 🧡 for a friendship-themed headcanon

luke doesn't have many friends, he's a big introvert. but if he does consider you a friend, he's a great friend & will guard you with his life.

hc + 🏠 for a home-themed headcanon

arden worked their ass off to get an apartment for themselves and ivy to move into. their dad offered to help pay but she said no, they wanted to do it themselves. now the pair live happily in a cute small apartment together.

hc + 👍 for a headcanon about things they like

luke loves to write, he's always wanted to be a writer, he was always scribbling things in notebooks and doodling things. the first book series he released was based on works that he'd written as a kid.

[mcdnights]

arden hears the pitter-patter of feet running into the kitchen, they are greeted by austin first and then ivy. they were about to ask what happened but austin beat them to it, arden took the plates from him, putting them down on the side. as he was talking, she noticed ivy, pulling a funny face, arden couldn't help but smile, "a cheater?! that can't be right. i think you've mixed up ivy with someone else...".

"you have got to be kidding me," austin complained as the red shell took out his avatar mere inches from the finish line. he tossed the controller onto the couch and slid down to the floor, head leaning back against the couch cushion as he stared down (up?) ivy. "cheater." he pushed himself to his socked feet and elbowed his way past a small child to reach the kitchen first. "did you know," austin said conversationally, grabbing plates from the cupboard and handing them off. "that you raised a cheater?"

[mcdnights]

"have you got any recommendations? i trust your taste and i'm struggling to find anything" he carries on, shoving his hands into his pockets, and the pair carry on walking. it was rare that he couldn't find a book he liked, "i'll take anything at this point. but i do like fantasy" he'd always been a fantasy fan, that's what his previous book series had been about. luke sighs at henry's words, "i think i've tried every single writing exercise i can think of".

" I'm always reading something, be it a book or a students paper." Henry hums as he hears Luke go on." What are you looking for? Anything in specific?" He turns to face him." I'm sure you've thought about this already but have you tried one of those writing exercises to break from your block? "

[mcdnights]

it was good to see elliot again, he was one of the few people that luke classed as a friend. he looks down at the phone, reading the message, the smile still stays on his face, luke pulls out his own phone. luke wanted to be a better friend to elliot, and learning ASL was on his list of things to do, but this would have to do for now, "it really has been, apologies! are you free now?" he held out his phone.

The bakery was hands down one of those places that Elliot frequented a lot. And needing the biggest coffee he could get after a long shift was just what he needed. So as he headed inside, he caught sight of Luke, grinning in greeting and giving him a wave as well. Making his way into the line behind him already grabbing for his phone and sliding it over to his notes app. I swear, it's been forever since I've seen you. Turning his phone around to let the other read what he had typed down.

[mcdnights]

"guess i'll be out here for the foreseeable then.." he replies, luke would probably end up stumbling home after this drink anyway. he nods, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, "here you go" it was a bad habit that he meant to give up, but they helped him calm down.

" yes, one can say that is an understatement " gentle fingers clasped on a glass of whiskey as thea regretted coming out alongside a few friends. " do you have a cigarette? " a casual smoker, she kept away from those ever since giving birth to nora.

[mcdnights]

"you think? i've not looked hot in a while" they reply, with a laugh, they'd been so busy focusing on parenthood, they hadn't taken time for themselves. arden studies themselves in the mirror for one last time, "yeah, i'm gonna go for it" she agrees looking back at safi, "what about you? found anything you like?".

a mini skirt remained on the hanger as safiye observed the details, awaiting arden outside the changing room on the clothing store. " uh, i like it, you look real hot in it! " brown eyes widen in excitement. " now you need to buy it " this particular store was a bit on the expensive side, something safi got used after earning more money at the club.