#Dive is the best big sister ever!

[magnuspirate]

Please take a look at these wonderful artworks I got from my mutuals for my birthday ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Pascha & Noe by Satsscarlet ❤️‍🔥

Pascha, Noe & Magnus Worm by skylerFox

My beloved Heat and Magnus by @shipshinablog | twt

And last but not least the true romantic pirate story by @thecatatonic | twt

BONUS

[luveline]

hello my love!! could you maybe show us what bedtime is like in the kbd universe? thank you, you’re incredible <3

kbd —dad!steve and mom!reader get their small family ready for bed. 3k

“She looks so pretty,” Avery whispers. 

Steve struggles to pull the hem of his sock over his ankle, crossing his legs to match her as she snaps an apple slice in half with her fingers, the juice wetting her pyjama top, her torso swaying as his knee bumps into hers. “Who?” Steve asks, blinking. 

“Wren,” Avery says, leaning back to let Steve see the baby where she’s napping in her bouncer. Avery shoves a chunk of apple in her mouth. “She’s pw-ery.” 

“Try not to talk with your mouth full, you might choke.” 

Avery nods, closing her mouth to chew up the rest of her food with chipmunk cheeks. 

Steve draws a little heart into her knee. She has a bruise from falling up the stairs a few days ago like a purple ink blot just under her kneecap, but she hasn’t complained. She didn’t cry when she fell, she just got back up and asked for a Capri-Sun. Steve’s surprised she’s so hardy, but she’s getting older. He’d sort of been hoping she’d want him to kiss it better.

“She’s pretty like her big sister,” he says. 

“I’m glad she’s stopped crying all the time.” 

“Me too.” He takes one of the smaller slices from her plate to eat, wiping juice from her cheek as he does. 

She grins. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome. You all done?” 

“Yep.” 

“Not hungry anymore?” 

“Nope.” She grabs her plate before he can. “I’ll put it in the sink.” 

“Thanks, beautiful.” 

She jumps up with her empty plate and does a spin, saying, “Who, me?” 

Steve laughs like an idiot, still chuckling to himself as the sound of her plate hitting the kitchen sink reaches his ears. Wren, finally out of her sleep regression (for now), doesn’t wake. All good signs of a good night. 

Steve lets his head fall back onto little legs. “What about you?” he asks Dove, the second youngest daughter, where she sits behind him on the couch. 

She hums under her breath, her hands quick to weave into his hair, petting it away from his face. He waits for an answer he doesn’t get, closing his eyes and turning his face into her knee. Her giggles are treacle sweet. “Don’t sleep,” she protests. 

“I’m tired.” 

“It’s not bed time.” 

She’s not gonna like what Steve’s about to tell her, if that’s the case. She had a screaming tantrum last night about bed time where she threw herself on the floor and whacked her hands until her palms turned bright red. He’s not wanting a repeat. 

“It is bed time,” he says gently, though it’s not for another half an hour, “but, I was thinking, because you’ve been so good today you’d stay up extra. Maybe even have hot cocoa before bed.” Steve turns to meet her eyes. “How’s that sound?” 

“Really?” she asks, her eyes blowing wide with excitement. Steve is starting to wonder if she’s not as mini-me as he used to think, growing into sweeter features as she leaves the baby-toddler stage and starts to look like a kid. He loves it. 

“That sound fun or what?” 

She dives at him. He has enough sense to have twisted and catches her before she can break any of his teeth. “You are the best daddy ever!” she declares seriously, almost tipping over his shoulder. 

He lets her dangle for a second, then yanks her back topside. “You’re my best girl, that’s why. Let’s go make the drinks. Actually, we better go see who else wants some.” 

You and Bethie are attempting some last minute crafts at the dining table, and you’re very interested in hot chocolate but Beth doesn’t like it and so, doesn’t want any. She does seem interested in a glass of milk with a couple of chocolate chip cookies, so it’s nearly the same thing. “Careful,” he says, putting the half a pint of milk down in front of her birdhouse cautiously, “you don’t wanna spill that, baby.” 

“Who says she’s gonna spill it?” you ask. 

“Don’t start with me,” Steve warns. 

You smile to yourself. You’ve a spatula for PVA glue in your hand, skins of glue dried to your fingertips flecked with splinters of wood. Lollipop crafts felt like a good idea when he’d suggested it, but then he didn’t actually want to do it, and you’d been kind enough to step in. I’m sick of mess, he’d confided. 

Well, you’d said, somewhere between a quick kiss pressed to his shoulder and your hand rubbing it away, you probably shouldn’t have asked me to have so many kids. 

I love mess, he’d corrected immediately. Love to make more of it someday. 

“We’re nearly done in time for bed,” you assure him now. 

“I told Dove she could have an extra half an hour.” He winks at you clumsily. 

“Oh, really? Well, maybe Beth and Avery should get some extra time too.” 

Beth dunks her cookie into the top of her cup. “No thanks. I’m tired. Can I sleep with Avery again?” she asks, milk dribbling down the sides of the glass to darken the coaster underneath. 

“You’ll have to ask her yourself,” Steve says. “Wait, where is she? I thought she was in here.” Something grabs him by the legs, a sudden clutching that activates a heat in his eyes and spine he can’t explain. He flinches sideways into a cabinet and almost steps on a rather small limb. “What the fuck.” 

“Boo!” Avery says, laughing brightly as Steve rights himself on the counter. 

“Avery! Did I step on you? I’m sorry,” he says, immediately bending down. “What were you thinking? I could’ve really hurt you!” 

“Daaad, I was just pulling a prank,” she says. 

He checks over the arm he was so sure he’d stepped on. “You okay?” 

“She’s fine,” you say. “Yeah?” 

“I’m fine!” She hugs his legs again. “You said a super bad word.” 

He was hoping everybody missed that. “Dove–”

“Dad,” Dove interrupts, kicking her little feet exactly where he left her sitting on the dinner table by your left, “bad words make me cry.” She says it all clunky and clumsy, having heard it enough times. Her Aunt Robin has a potty-mouthed girlfriend, and Steve can’t do damage control quick enough sometimes.

“No, it’s when you say bad words daddy cries,” Avery says. 

“I didn’t say one!” 

“I know! I just mean it’s not when dad says it.” 

“What?” Dove asks. “He did says it.”

You’re grinning. You love when Dove confuses herself, all kids go through it, where half the time they don’t know what they’re saying until you help them along, but you love Dove’s new phase especially because she’s always been so serious. “What Avery is telling you, baby, is that daddy doesn’t get upset when he says bad words because he’s a grown up.” 

“So when we’re older we can cuss too?” Bethie asks. 

Steve’s jaw drops. “No, Beth! No, none of you need to say bad words, and I don’t either, and I’m really sorry. Can we forget about it?” 

Steve makes hot chocolate and helps you clean the sorry mess you’ve made on the table, and, after some light teasing, everybody forgets he’d reacted so violently to Avery’s surprise. Well, almost. Dove is the first to succumb to a case of the sleepies despite being otherwise reluctant to give in, sitting on his thigh, marshmallows still whole in her drink. She’d barely managed four sips. 

Steve cuddles her to his chest, covering her ear where she nuzzles against him from the sounds of your and Avery’s giggling. “He went pale,” you’re saying. 

Beth offers Steve half of one of her cookies. “You didn’t,” she says. 

If he didn’t have his arms full of Dove he’d scoop her up. “Thank you, Beth. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

“Alright,” you say, twining your fingers and sliding them behind your head, your neck and back clicking audibly in the quiet of the Harrington house winding down, “I think it’s bedtime. Are you done with your drink?” 

You rinse the cups. Steve ferries Dove upstairs, has her down and tucked in in record time, soon enough to catch you as you and the rest of the girls make your way upstairs. Beth and Avery are beautifully silent, weary of their sensitive baby sister where she’s cradled to your chest. 

You attempt to put her down in her crib in your room, but Steve gets the feeling you aren’t successful when a crackly cry breaks out. 

“Oh, no,” Avery says. 

“It’s fine. Let’s go brush our teeth, okay? Mommy has it.” 

They brush their teeth. Steve wipes their faces down with a damp hand towel and has a moment of gratitude just touching their faces. They both look so loved, the way their eyes crinkle, the way they lift their chins, all too happy for Steve to do it. He loves these moments of being a dad most, he might say, second only to getting to talk to them, especially now they’re both holding conversation. They talk to each other none stop; Beth talks to Avery ten times as much as she does anyone else. 

“Are you having a sleepover again?” Steve asks. 

Beth turns to Avery pleasingly. “Can I? Please, please, please.” 

“Yes!” Avery says, big sister extraordinaire. She wraps her arms around Beth’s shoulders, taller, more aware of herself as she presses her cheek to Beth’s and mumbles, “Of course you can. I love you. I want us to have sleepovers every night.” 

You emerge from the bedroom victorious, heading into the bathroom as he and the girls come out. “I’m just gonna brush my teeth,” you say. 

“Gonna get Beth changed.” 

“Okay, I put her nightie on the foot of her bed earlier.” 

It’s routine but not without enjoyment. He makes sure they’re both comfortable in the night's sleepwear and takes care of their hair, before giving Avery’s room a quick half-clean and shaking out the sheets on her bed. Avery has the second biggest bedroom, though Bethie’s is nothing to turn your nose up at, and it gets Steve thinking as they climb up into Avery’s single bed. 

“I think it’s good for you guys to keep your separate rooms for now,” Steve says tentatively, “but what do you think about sharing?” 

The plan was that Dove and Wren would share, but if Avery and Beth are getting along so well, it might not hurt to ask. 

Beth gasps. “Our bedrooms?” 

“Like, you and Avery could both sleep in here. You have a bunk bed, or we could get you a big one to share, and you could share teddies.” 

“I don’t want to share my teddies,” Avery says. 

“Well, you don’t have to. I’m not gonna make you.” Steve squints at them both. “Bad idea?” 

“I want to share,” Beth says immediately. 

Avery has a better understanding of what that will mean. “Maybe.” 

“You don’t have to,” Steve says. “Your rooms are yours, okay? Maybe we can just get you a bigger bed anyways, Ave. You’re so tall now, in a couple of years you’ll be ten feet tall and we’ll have to bend you in half to get you to school.” 

This is the funniest thing a man could say, apparently —both Beth and Avery burst into girly giggles that ring down the landing. Beth sounds like she might be sick. She laughs so much, falling into Avery’s side as her big sister says, “Dad, that’s silly!” 

“I can show you, if you want. We’ll practise making you into an Avery flavour pretzel, c’mere.” 

She squeals and climbs over Beth’s legs to huddle in the corner of her bed. Steve doesn’t so much as touch her legs and she’s laughing again, panicked, hyper laughter like she can’t decide if she wants to be folded or not. He presses his finger over his smile. “Shh, shh, we can’t wake the babies.” 

“Sorry,” she laughs. 

“My fault. Don’t be sorry.” He gives her leg a squeeze. “How about we start to tuck you in, girls? Do we have everything we need?” 

Beth wants a few things from her own bed, but besides that, they’re ready. Well, they’re supposed to be ready, but Steve wound them up and it’s his own fault, he can’t even complain when they beg him to watch a movie. What’s the harm? he decides, turning on Avery’s TV and pushing their favourite tape into the VHS player. 

“The effect FernGully has on the new generation is amazing,” you say, wiping your eyes. You’ve changed into pyjama pants Steve’s sure you’ve had since you met him and a tank top with straps falling down your shoulders. He wants to pull them back over the curve of your shoulder, but he’s trying to be less smothering.

He fluffs the pillows behind the girls’ backs. “It’s the boy. What’s his name? Dennis? Daniel?” 

“Neither.” You put a fallen teddy back on the bed and turn on Avery’s star-shaped night light before flicking off the big light above. The TV glows green on their legs. 

“Gonna lie down?” Steve says, gentler now, easing them in. 

Avery flops back. Beth curls in on her side, and it reminds Steve of you and him. He can sleep any which way. You’re slightly more particular, but you’re happier curled on to him. He really loves how close they are as sisters, and he has to give Avery some credit, because while Beth is exceedingly easy to love, she’s a clinger, she worships her big sister, which must get heavy from time to time. 

Avery pulls the blankets up over them before Steve can do it himself. He sighs, tucking them both in. Blankets pushed gently under their sides, hair brushed back from their little faces, he says, “Love you, Ave. Love you, Beth,” kissing their foreheads in swift succession. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” 

“Love you, daddy,” they say at the same time. 

You touch his arm gently before leaning in for your own kisses. You’re slower than he’d been, turning their faces in your hand one after the other to place identical kisses on their cheeks. “Love you, sweetheart,” you say to Avery, and, “Love you, baby,” you say to Beth. Steve holds your back as you do. “Have good dreams, okay? And don’t mess with the TV. One movie tonight is enough, you’ll wake up with sore eyes.” 

He steals another kiss from both of them and then you’re closing the door behind you, the house much darker and quieter than it had been only ten minutes previous. 

“You want a glass of water?” Steve says. 

You catch his hand. “I got you one.” 

Neither you nor Steve bother with anything but bed. He draws back the blankets and you climb in, only stopping momentarily to make sure that Wren’s alright in her crib. You curl in the middle of the bed and wait for Steve to force his way beneath you, which he does, your face resting on his shoulder, your leg stretched across his. Your hip is a lump in the blankets. He lets his hand fall atop it, whistling a tired breath through his teeth. 

“Mm,” you agree, stretching out, curling in tighter. 

“I know,” he says. Can’t forget his best girl, can’t not think about how much he loves you when it’s you and him alone. Mostly. “You alright?” 

“Fine. Tireder than I thought.” Your eyes close, lashes brushing his chest. “H?” 

“What?”

“You okay?”

“Fine, honey. Was just asking you,” he mumbles. His pillow feels like a cloud beneath his head, the mattress even better, and the sheets are a brushed cotton that’s amazingly soft on his skin. 

He turns his nose down onto you for a not so secret sniff. 

“Feels too good to be true.” 

“My turn tonight,” he says. 

“No, baby, it’s my turn.” 

“That’s fine.” He’s not as tired as you, or at least not half as achy. If Wren wakes up crying (not definitely going to happen) or Dove has a late night startle (even less likely, though not impossible), he’ll take the burden tonight. “I wanted babies and I got ‘em.”

“I want them too,” you say. 

“Of course you do,” he says, rubbing your forehead with the tip of his nose affectionately. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“Less when they wake me up,” you joke. 

Steve feels up your side to your shoulder for a sleepy cuddle. You don’t realise how soft you can be, how warm you are pressed against him like this, how grateful he is to hold you. Maybe you can read his mind, or maybe as just pure evidence of such a feat, you cup his upper arm in your hand and begin to draw shapes over his skin, breaking the pattern with fleeting scratches. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, honey. I’m sure. You go to sleep now, okay? It’s Saturday tomorrow,” he whispers tenderly. “You don’t have anywhere to be.” 

“‘Cept here,” you whisper back. 

“Love you.” A brush of his lips to your eyebrow. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” 

“I love you.”

“I love you,” he says. He swears he’s gonna stay up for a bit and count your eyelashes or something, maybe pen you a love poem, write a note about your lips and how they pout when you’re nearly sleeping, but he forgets to when you press your face into the curve of his neck and kiss it clumsily. You fall asleep at the same time, the girls laughing in whispers just a few feet away behind the wall.  

[mykingdomforapen]

LC's Link Click fic shout-outs

I worry I'm going to come off as nagging but I do feel strongly about it. Link Click has some INCREDIBLE fic, written by people who put a lot of time and energy and effort into writing, but they don't always get a ton of reader interaction. I feel like I often find a fic I enjoy, scroll down to comment, and find I'm maybe one of 2 or 3 people to comment on it.

Link Click is technically not a small fandom--on the contrary, it's so incredibly active! But it seems that unless a fic was published in the s1 era or happens to get lucky, this is the norm. Which strikes me as sad, because the fandom is popping and active on other platforms.

So here are a handful of fics (by no means exhaustive) of fics that I've thoroughly enjoyed that I had scrolled down and went, They deserve so much love! (again, not exhaustive!)

liminal by Anonymous

Qiao Ling and Lu Guang talk. Much is left unsaid.

It's such a subtle fic, but so effective in showing Lu Guang's emotions, Qiao Ling's worry, and the nature of their relationship in conjunction to Cheng Xiaoshi. It's truly just so soft and nice.

stain by HeavenlyDusk

The only way for Cheng Xiaoshi to be dead is for Qiao Ling to have died first.

I just love a Qiao Ling confronts Lu Guang about Cheng Xiaoshi's death fic, and this one really captures big sister Qiao Ling and how much she cares about both of her boys. I love it!

resolve and reverberations by macrauchenia

Lu Guang rarely fumbles, rarely cracks, and rarely steps up to the sparring mat first. Nevertheless, on a random day in the middle of September, he does all three. Alternatively, Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi can't figure out why their best friend seems so *wrong* for no explicable reason.

A slice of life fic that adds such a delicious sprinkle of angst at Lu Guang's expense hehe. But it makes me feel so sad for Lu Guang, who just is so traumatized of losing Cheng Xiaoshi, and then it gives him a soft encouragement at the end. It's so sweet.

Instinct (Part One) by JordannaMorgan

Hired to solve a wealthy client’s personal mystery, Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang discover there are even darker powers in the world than they realized… and the damage left in the fallout will not be easily fixed for anyone.

Man, this fic is so CREATIVE. It is great at suspense, kept me on the edge of my seat from chapter to chapter, and the Cheng Xiaoshi angst is so delicious. And then the ENDING. gahhh, I cannot wait for Part Two and really hope that it will come!! I think about this fic so often

A Day Like Any Other by rane_ne

After three long years, for the very first time ever, Lu Guang finally gets to turn 20.

It's just ... gahhhh. Cheng Xiaoshi is my blorbo, yes, but Lu Guang being so relieved and emotional at the end because he's finally done it, and is turning another year older because he no longer has to dive back because his friend is alive??? GAHHHHH

Memoriam by JordannaMorgan

Even for those who have no powers, photographs are powerful things.

This is a lovely case fic that is so thoughtfully, emotionally, and tenderly told. I love the compassion that the story has for the characters, and it gives me the feelings that the Earthquake arc concluded with--finding joy and kindness even within the tragedy. I really love it.

sept, oct by Toothpaste_Fresh

The first time around, there are no rules, and Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi must learn all of their lessons the hard way. The first time around, Cheng Xiaoshi is the seventh of Liu Min’s victims. The second time around, there will be no seventh victim.

Gosh, this fic is so goooood. I love the speculation of what the first time round was like, and GOSH it's just such a gut punch of dramatic irony, of both CXS and LG being bold and idealistic and naive, and then how it tragically leads to CXS' death. It's EXCELLENT.

Golden Hour by StuckIn_aTimeLoop

The salty breeze feels nice. Cheng Xiaoshi smiles as he kneels down in the sand, happy they managed to make it in time for golden hour. Cheng Xiaoshi holds up the camera to capture his shot.

I LOVE ME SOME PARALLEL SCENES THAT ARE CONNECTED AND INTERTWINED BY AN EMOTIONAL MOTIF!! The juxtaposition of two types of golden hours is done so well, and both are so full of energy of opposite kinds in such a well balanced way. I was so excited when I heard this fic was being written and I was so happy reading it.

the shine in your eyes reminded me of the moon by StuckIn_aTimeloop

Cheng Xiaoshi was barely a child when his parents died. The king took him in, raised him as his own. Now he's older, it is time for him to choose his own knight.

Prince Cheng Xiaoshi and Knight Lu Guang. Need I say more??? It's so indulgent and I love it.

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 9

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (but biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, poor military references, references to cancer and chemotherapy, cursing, preteen shenanigans, anxiety

32nd Street Naval Station, 13 years ago

Jake’s gulp was the only movement he made as he lined up amongst the other aviators and sailors, on solid ground again for the first time in six months. It was sweltering hot in San Diego and even the lightweight material of his khaki uniform did nothing to prevent the sweat from dripping down his neck. All he wanted was to get changed into some shorts and a t-shirt and grab a beer at the Hard Deck, knowing he would be reuniting with the other members of Dagger Squad after half a year away.

He, Javy, Bob and Phoenix had been deployed together, thank god, but he was anxious to see everyone else, a thought that would have rocked him back on his heels even a year ago. He still wasn’t known as the greatest team player they had, but he had surprised even himself when he had bonded with the other aviators he was stationed at Top Gun with. Payback’s wife had been expecting when they left, Fanboy’s mom going through chemo, while Rooster was left to run training simulations with Maverick, and Jake wanted to hear about all of it.

Yet, he was left standing in formation as those around him started to disperse, their family members and friends tapping them out. Jake allowed himself a little sigh as he saw people searching left and right for their loved ones. Once upon a time, his parents would have made the journey out to release him from his duties, but they were older and more hesitant to fly now. He knew his grandfather would have made the trip from Texas, but he hadn’t even mentioned it to the man. Jake straightened his shoulders. Hopefully, Javy’s mama had made the trip. Auntie Thea loved Jake almost as much as he loved her, and he knew that she would tap him out if she saw him standing there.

His shoulders almost drooped when Stella, the tattoo artist Javy had been seeing for a few weeks before deployment, approached and nearly tackled his best friend. Shit. There went that plan. Natasha’s sister had already tapped her out, the two of them smiling back at him teasingly as they strolled away, leaving Jake and Bob standing there amongst the other crewmen who hadn’t been found by their loved ones. While it wasn’t necessarily a big deal, and while he knew that Nat would feel like shit and apologize if she found out he was the last one standing there on the tarmac, a heavy weight settled over his heart. There was nothing more disheartening than to realize you had nobody to welcome you home after six months at sea.

“Bobby!”

Jake almost winced. Even shy, quiet Bob Floyd had someone there who cared about him. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the woman—the beautiful woman, too beautiful for Baby On Board Floyd to be able to pull—hugged the WSO tightly, officially releasing him from his duties.

“Hey kiddo,” he heard Bob say softly, hugging the woman gently. “How’ve you been?”

“Excited to have finally finished my masters,” she shrugged. “And looking forward to getting to spend some time with my big brother before diving into the post-grad job search. So, how was it? I know you can’t tell me much, but how was it?”

Bob chuckled softly. “Let’s just say, I’m glad to be home.”

“I’m glad you’re back too,” she replied, giving him a slight nudge as he bent to pick up his gear. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“I think the squad is planning on getting drinks tonight at the Hard Deck,” he offered as he shuffled his bag onto his shoulder. “They’re probably already there. Well, most of them, anyway.”

“Why most of them?” she asked as they slowly started to walk away. “Did some of your other friends get deployed too?”

Bob shook his head as they passed in front of Jake, lowering his voice. “I don’t think so. Some of us are still waiting to get tapped out, though.” Bob shot Jake an apologetic glance, and his friend followed his gaze.

“Is he one of your friends?” she asked quietly. Jake’s eyes strained against the sunlight as he stared dead ahead, trying to look as nonchalant as possible as the tarmac grew more and more empty.

“I guess you could say that,” Bob murmured. “That’s Hangman.”

“Ohhh…” Jake could almost imagine the dawning of realization on the woman’s face as she remembered the less than flattering stories Bob had undoubtedly shared with her. “I’ll be right back.”

Jake blinked as the woman appeared right in front of him, smiling softly. “Do you not have anyone to tap you out, Hangman?” she asked quietly, eyes soft and bright. Jake couldn’t bring himself to look away. “Oh right, you’re not supposed to break formation or talk or anything until you’re tapped out, right?” She placed a warm hand on Jake’s shoulder, and he allowed himself to relax. “There. That’s better.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he murmured, bending to grab his bag.

Bob stepped closer. “Hangman, this is my sister.”

She rolled her eyes and offered him her hand, stating her name with a smile. “I’m pretty sure introducing me as his sister was supposed to be some sort of warning for you not to mess with me,” she whispered slyly to him, sticking her tongue out at her brother as he sighed.

“I would never, ma’am,” he smirked over at Bob and lowered his head over her hand, kissing the warm, silky skin softly.

“I already regret everything,” Bob muttered as the three started walking towards the parking lot.

She grinned at him, and Jake felt something inside himself stir. It wasn’t often that the mere sight of a pretty smile gave him that feeling in his chest, but something about Bob Floyd’s sister smiling at him made his heart feel like he had just run back-to-back marathons.

“So, Hangman, do you have a ride to this Hard Deck place?” she asked as they approached a rental convertible.

He found himself smiling back at her. Not his signature smirk or his flirty grin, but an actual Seresin Smile. “No, ma’am, I don’t. And please, call me Jake.”

“Jake…” the sound of his name on her lips made something in his brain short out, and he found himself wanting to get to know everything he could about this woman beside him.

The dopey smile on his face must have given him away because Bob groaned again. “I really regret everything.”

Hotel Zaza, Downtown Austin, Texas, Now

The days after their Zoom call had been hectic, to say the least. Bob had been able to coordinate flights that would put them in Austin Friday night, so they could be ready for their meeting on Saturday afternoon. Rooster had kept in contact with Natasha and given her the name of the hotel that Savannah had insisted they stay at, because it was her number one choice for a wedding venue. Buttercup’s agent had been able to get them adjoining rooms in the hotel, pulling the ‘fairly famous and well-off author’ card when the hotel had balked at the last-minute reservation.

Charlie was immensely grateful for her aunt and uncle organizing their trip, because she had spent the days between the call and the flight getting to know her mother, as Charlie this time, not as Abby. It was even more wonderful than getting to know her the first time, and she felt a bit silly about her fears that her mother wouldn’t love her if she wasn’t Abby. If anything, Buttercup’s adoration for her had only grown once Charlie had started acting more like herself. They had spent the whole flight to Texas chatting and giggling, watching old movies and sharing stories about their lives. By the time they disembarked in Texas, Charlie felt even closer to her mother than she had before.

Now, however, she was seeing a brand-new side to her mother, one that she wasn’t even sure Abby had seen before.

Buttercup’s hands were folded tightly under her chin as she surveyed the contents of her suitcase, her weight was shifting back and forth, and her breath was coming in short gasps.

“I-I don’t see why it matters what I wear, Nat,” she murmured, her wide eyes scanning over the clothes that had been neatly tucked into her rose gold case. “It’s just my ex-husband, his new fiancée, and my daughter.”

“Because it’s your ex-husband,” Nat replied with an eye roll. “Pull a Princess Di and revenge dress the shit out of him!”

“Language,” Buttercup murmured, though there was no real heat behind the warning. “It doesn’t matter anyway, Nat.”

“Then why’re you shaking in your boots?”

Buttercup backed up and slumped into one of the armchairs in the suite. The room was sheer opulence, large and clean and beautiful in a way that Charlie had never seen before. She had to hand it to her, Savannah sure knew how to pick her potential venues.

“Because I haven’t seen him for over a decade and he stopped answering my calls about the custody arrangement and now he’s getting married to someone who is arguably way too young for him and here I am, still single and unable to recognize that our daughters swapped places!”

Natasha sighed, but Charlie stepped in front of her mother before her aunt could say anything. “It’s going to be okay, mom,” she said. “Abby and I will be there, and so will Uncle Bob and Auntie Nat, and Uncle Roo and Uncle Javy.”

Buttercup chuckled tearily. “Look at you, Charlie. Talking me down.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry, honey. I need to pull myself together. You don’t need to be parenting me.”

Charlie giggled. “I’m not. I’m just telling you what you told me when I was freaking out about the lecture I’m probably gonna get from Dad.”

Buttercup giggled and pulled Charlie into a hug. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, mom,” Charlie pulled away. “Why don’t you pick something that makes you feel good to wear? That way you feel confident when you see dad again?”

Buttercup grinned. “I like the way you think, honey.”

Standing up, Buttercup moved to her suitcase and dug around, eventually pulling out a lacy green dress with a gold chain belt.

“I wore this to my first book signing,” Buttercup grinned. “Forest Windows won a Women’s Prize for Fiction that year, and I’ve considered it my lucky dress ever since.”

“I think it’s perfect,” Charlie smiled.

Nat grinned. “It’s no LBD, but you look hot in it, and that’s all that matters.”

Buttercup rolled her eyes and stepped into the bathroom. “Thanks, Nat. I’m going to shower and get dressed. Did your father text you to say that he had arrived yet?”

Charlie shook her head. “No…he didn’t. I’ll check in with Abby and see what their ETA is.”

“Sounds good,” Buttercup smiled, the tug of her lips still strained but not as stressed. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

Once the door had clicked shut and they could hear the water running, Natasha turned on her.

“Your dad still has no idea, right?”

Charlie nodded quickly. “Abby, Javy, and Rooster have kept him and Savannah in the dark. Dad still thinks he’s with me, and he has no idea that we’re waiting for him here.”

Natasha nodded grimly. “Your mom’s gonna be in there for a bit, hyping herself up. What’s Abby’s ETA?”

“They’re five minutes out,” Charlie confirmed, checking her phone again to check Abby’s shared location.

“Okay. You go down and meet up with Abby, away from where your dad can see you, okay?”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, Auntie Nat. That was my part of the plan.”

Natasha playfully shuddered. “You’ve got so much of Hangman’s attitude in you, it’s spooky sometimes. I’ll go let your uncle know to keep your mom occupied in the room until we give him the signal, then I’ll head down and be ready to run interference if I have to. Ready?”

Charlie’s heart leapt. “Ready.”

“…and then we have a meeting with the florist at 4 pm, and they’re a high-class place, so no mucky cowboy boots and jeans, okay, Jakey?”

Abby held back her gag as Savannah droned on about her wedding itinerary. She had been talking about it since they left the ranch over 3 hours ago. What should have been a 2-hour drive at most had stretched on because Savannah had to keep getting out and taking pictures to ‘document the experience’, and each time, Abby had to control her eye roll. It wasn’t worth it, and, besides, there were three things keeping her Zen.

1. She’d promised her dad that she would try to be accepting of Savannah. As upset as she and Charlie were about how he had handled things, and as much as Savannah turned her stomach, she wanted her dad to be happy, so she had agreed to grin and bear it for the duration of the visit.

2. Rooster and Javy were there, and while Rooster might have fallen asleep within minutes of hitting the road, Javy was awake and keeping her entertained with dramatic eye rolls and faux gagging every time Savannah opened her mouth. She wasn’t sure if her father had caught on to their antics or not, but Abby was sure having a good time.

And, most importantly, 3. Her family was waiting for them at the hotel. She would finally get to hug her mother and tease her aunt and uncle about all the stories Javy and Rooster had filled her in on.

Jake sighed and pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. “Yes, Savannah. I promise I will be dressed appropriately.”

“Thank you, sugar,” Savannah flounced and exited the car, leaving her two suitcases for her fiancé to unload.

“Dude, I—”

“I know what you’re about to say, Coyote, but don’t. Okay? Just…don’t start.”

Rooster yawned and sat up. “Sure, Hangman. Whatever you say. C’mon, kid. Let’s let your dad and Javy deal with the suitcases while we go check out the pool.”

“Is that okay, dad?”

Jake smiled tiredly and waved his hand at them. “Yeah, you two go have fun. I’ll catch you for dinner, which we are having with Savannah’s parents, okay?”

Abby smiled through her held back groan. “You got it, dad. See you in a bit!”

Grabbing Rooster’s hand, Abby practically dragged him through the lobby and into the elevator.

“Abby says they’re in room 513,” she said excitedly, and watched as her uncle jabbed the round elevator button with an elegant 5 painted on it.

“Are you sure Javy will be able to keep it together?” he asked her as the glass elevator sped upwards. “Dude’s been acting jumpy since we left.”

“He wouldn’t dare tell dad anything! He was trained just the same as you were, Uncle Roo. I’m sure he can keep it together for a little longer.”

The elevator came to a rest on the fifth floor and Abby practically sprinted through the slowly opening doors, hanging a right and skidding to a stop at room 513.

“Here goes!” Abby chirped as she knocked on the door. Her heart leapt as the door creaked open, revealing Bob, his phone pressed to his ear.

He smiled brightly when he saw her, and held up a long finger. “Yeah…yeah, I’ll call you back when I can, okay? Okay…me too. Bye.” He tapped the red button and crouched, Abby falling into his arms. “Hey kiddo.”

Abby’s chest expanded as she clutched her uncle. “Uncle Bob, I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, kiddo.”

He stood, Abby still hanging onto his neck as he nodded over her shoulder at Rooster.

“Bradshaw.”

Rooster nodded back. “How’s it going, Bob? Where’s Nat and Charlie?”

“Downstairs, keeping a lookout for you.”

Rooster nodded as Bob finally put Abby down and reached out to shake his hand.

“We must’ve just missed ‘em,” Rooster mused, watching Abby as she ducked around Bob to glance around the room.

“Where’s Mum?”

“She’s in the adjoining room, kiddo. She might be having a bit of a panic attack right now, but I’m sure the sight of you will calm her down.”

Abby grinned up at the two men and bolted over to the door, tearing it open with a loud call of “Mum! It’s me!”

Bob chuckled as Rooster shook his head. “And I thought Charlie was high energy.”

Bob nodded as he pocketed his phone. “She is. I guess they both are.”

Rooster nodded and leaned back against the closed door, a heavy silence weighing over the two men. Once upon a time, they had been friends, allies, partners. Now, they were little more than strangers, two people roped into a scheme by two preteens.

“So, Nat’s downstairs?”

Bob nodded. “She and Charlie are trying to find a way to separate Hangman from this fiancée of his. Is she really as bad as Abby is making it out to be?”

Rooster shuddered. “Remember all the girls who would hang around the Hard Deck and try to flirt with anyone in a uniform?”

Bob nodded gravely, his skin crawling at the memory. “I do.”

“Savannah is about twenty times worse than that. Javy can’t stand her either.”

Bob blinked. “Is Javy downstairs too?”

Rooster nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to have him and Nat bump into each other downstairs?”

Rooster’s eyes widened, but, before he could speak, Abby raced back into the room. “Uncle Bob, Mum’s not in there.”

Bob blinked again. “Are you sure?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m sure, Uncle Bob.”

Bob’s cellphone was back in his hand, pressed to his ear after a quick dial. “Yeah, it’s me. Where are you? I thought you were still getting ready?...Really? Buttercup—” Bob pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. “She hung up on me.”

“What did she say?”

“She went to go get a steamer from the lobby for her dress. She didn’t want to wear something wrinkled.”

“And she couldn’t have gotten someone to deliver it to the room?”

Bob shrugged at Rooster’s question. “She probably needed some air.”

It was Abby’s turn to dig her phone out of her pocket and dial. “Charlie? Yes, we’re here with Uncle Bob, but Mum is heading down to the lobby right now! You and Auntie Nat need to run interference!”

A/N: Oooh, a cliffhanger! Maybe I'll be able to get the next chapter done in one week instead of two. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Tags List: @mamachasesmayhem @jessicab1991 @waltermis @buckysteveloki-me @allepaula @yuckosworld @bradshawssugarbaby @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @kim-stark @high-speed-r @starsrfun @tomanyfandomstrash @averyhotchner @the-blueatlas @dashes-dizzydisaster @a-girl-who-loves-disney @boiolay @djs8891 @tgmreader @kmc1989 @landpiranha-blog @sydthekid1518 @lynnevanss @mackenzieblair @minejungwoo @starset21 @tgmavericklover @dempy @starkleila @magical-spit @whatislovevavy @simplyreading96 @vivalas-vega @itsdesiree86 @inky-sun @books-are-escapes @abaker74 @mrs-perfectly-fine @inthestars-underthesun

[writing-whump]

A punch to the gut

Dylan wants to see a real wolf fight. It isn't exactly safe. First time meeting Rip. A bit of violence, blood and emeto.

Dylan didn't want to meet Isaiah Wolfson, yet everywhere he went to the city, the guy kept following him around.

Was the guy as tough as Isaiah Wolfson? Is there an Executioner as strong as Isaiah Wolfson? Did you ever meet Isaiah Wolfson?

Oh my god. There was no escape of hearing the name.

But Dylan didn't want to meet this surely stuck up arrogant wolf with a giant shadow. And it wasn't because he must have been wealthy as heck or had reputation over three countries or was from the coolest, most powerful wolf family with probably the best training in the world.

It was the least because he managed to charm his sister away from them. That was one reason Dylan would never admit to and never forgive.

Okay, they weren't getting along that much, when he was 17 and his shadow was all over the place and his grades took a nose dive...and yeah, Seline was academic and too smart and a show off and always the best at everything that his parents expected him to be at least half as good at.

But she was his sister and he missed her. It felt like giant fail that she moved to Vienna without him (1) that she found a pack in matter of months after leaving (2) and that she had the Isaiah Wolfson for a boyfriend. Jesus fucking Christ. It couldn't be any worse.

While Dylan was the famous packless high school dropout of 19 that had loving but entirely human parents and absolutely no connections to get into one.

Yeah, he had friends in all towns he lived in, in Bratislava and in Vienna, from primary school and high school and then the other high school and then from the little summer jobs and bigger jobs he kept switching up.

He had many wolf friends too. Peers. Other pups. They sparred together and worked out and gave each other tips on the best shakes to get the right kind of toned muscles. And boxed and trained and everything.

But they had their own packs and now they had girlfriends and dads they could spar with and not protect.

Yeah, he was ungrateful. He had great loving parents. Who loved staying home and working in the garden, making their own tomatoes and shit. It was awesome.

For them.

It was boring as hell to a 19 years old shadow wolf, who just wanted to feel like...like a proper wolf for once.

And yes, he had advantages for being so "human". He was one of those rare wolves who had friends across packs, who also got along with human kids his age, who was great at break dancing, got invited to every and each big beach volleyball play on the Donaukanal. He was invited to all parties, human, wolf, everything.

But he wasn't a damn witch to be invited into a pack in three months. And he wasn't Isaiah fucking Wolfson to be recognised on the streets.

So when Dylan heard of that not so offal street fighting ring in the lawless district, where wolves of different packs could fight with shadows and fists - unsupervised - he was intrigued.

His friend was explaining the risks and safety measures and the rules that came with wolf fights and shadows in public and blablabla.

Dylan heard 'unsupervised' and 'wolf fight' and knew what to do with his Friday night.

He was a decent fighter. Maybe never been in a real fight, like hostile 'we aren't friends' kind of fight, but he would do well, right?

No better way to learn a bit how he would fare.

...

He imagined it a bit like an underground Fight club, not a few wet streets between apartments, but hey. It was a start.

The wolves looked the right kind of scary. Torn up shirts and even earrings! The guy had to pierce his ear everyday for it to work, his shadow would heal it up with each sweep.

He watched the fights in fascination. There really was no referee, just a circle of wolves and the two guys currently fighting.

No shirts, contact allowed, no gloves. And shadows, all naked and black slashing out at each other.

Maybe the pavement wasn't wet just from yesterday's rain. Now that he looked closer, maybe it was kind of bloody too.

He had never been in a party where the wolves truly made the best of their healing. Meaning, they didn't mind getting injured quite drastically. Making them lives bleed or tear up the arms or muscles or break bones, knowing they would heal up with a sweep.

Or until morning.

"Hey. What pack are you from?" It came from the guy with huge arms in a white undershirt.

"Oh, me? I'm Dylan Sil-"

"No, dumbass. Your pack."

"I'm packless at the moment," Dylan said with a grin. "You?"

The wolf threw a look behind him, then returned the smile. Though there was something about the crookedness of it that didn't seem genuine to Dylan.

"Forrester. And my friend over there is from the Starks." He said it in a way like Dylan should know them. Dylan was a little behind on all the names and packs he should keep track of.

There were the old ones, but he wasn't sure if that meant they had the oldest members (guys that looked 40 but were actually 140) or they were in the city the longest.

Then there was pack order by size and number of branches, which wasn't necessarily by importance, money, property, profession or size of district they claimed as territory. And allainces. And proness to fights.

To cut it short, there were many factors. None of which involved Dylan or that someone would explain to him, cause a wolf with human parents was apparently super rare.

Not the fun kind of rare.

"How long do you have to wait for a round?" Dylan asked. Conversation was good right? "Is there like a list or...?"

The guy chuckled. "Hey, Toby. This guy says he wants a round."

"Can you get me inside the ring?" Dylan asked hopefully.

"Nah, man. Only proven guys get into the ring."

"How can you prove yourself?"

The guy snickered, joined up by who was apparently Toby. And another guy to his left.

"You need a lesson. A testing fight so to say."

Dylan was starting get a bad feeling about this. "One on one?"

All three of them laughed. "Nah, newbie. Someone's gotta teach ya the rules."

Dylan wasn't sure how they got away from the crowd, but no one seemed to mind. The circle around the two current fighters cheered and laughed and screamed.

And he was pushed out, just a few meters away, but somehow with his back to the wall. "Hey," Dylan repeated the greeting he heard. "Maybe this is a misunderstanding. You guys could-"

"What? You wanted to fight, didn't you?"

Dylan frowned, eyes narrowing. "I can take you. One by one, so it would be fair, but I can take you like this too. You don't know what you are playing with."

This was posture. Or maybe pure belief. Dylan just knew that face to face to a wolf, you never showed fear. You needed to convince your attackers you were too much of a hassle to fight.

Or so he heard.

The first guy chuckled while the two others exchanged hungry grins.

Dylan crouched down, thinking of the boxing gloves in his backpack somewhere at the feet of the crowd, calling up his shadow.

That triggered another round of laugh from them. It was a little disheartening.

"Oi. What do you guys think you are doing?"

The guy - the wolf - that showed up wasn't the tallest. He didn't have the biggest muscles and he wasn't the oldest either.

If anything, he looked scrawny. Average high, a mop of curly black hair that needed a haircut, his clothes kind of torn up and dirty.

But the trio of would be attackers still froze, each of them averting their gaze.

"We are just playing around with some fresh meat, Rip," Toby said. "He is new. He doesn't know the rules."

"So you are helping out?" Rip said dryly.

The first guy, the one in the white undershirt, growled. "He is ours. Go find your own."

Rip focused his eyes on him. They looked dark from the distance but Dylan thought they weren't black. What kind of colour was it? They looked like catching a sunlight on a sharp knife.

"You are on my turf. You need my permission to fight." He nodded towards the ongoing fight. "You want to fight somebody without it, you fight me."

Even the big guy ducked his head this time. "He needs a fucking lesson."

Rip shrugged. "Alright."

Dylan blinked. That wasn't the kind of answer he expected.

Before he could brace himself or even move, there was a smear in the air and suddenly there was a leg shooting up, kicking his feet from under him.

Dylan fell flat on his back, his shadow flailing around in confusion.

Rip was above him, his leg on the top of Dylan's neck. "You came to fight, eh? You forgot to ask."

Dylan tried to say something, but the weight on his throat intensified. Probably a rhetorical question.

"Let me show you how it's done."

The last thing Dylan remembered was Rip's sneaker heading towards his face.

...

Dylan woke up with taste of iron on his tounge.

He shot up into a sitting position, doubling over as pain immediately flared up in his ribs. His right side was burning.

Gingerly, he reached out towards his face. It had fried blood all over it, from his nose and mouth.

He spit on the ground, doubling over himself. His stomach was doing somersaults as if trying to catch him up on the events.

"How stupid can you be to say you are packless?"

Dylan whirled around towards the voice.

Rip was sitting just a few meters away. Ripped jeans and a bloody shirt with short sleeves, but somehow still radiating danger.

"That's the one thing you never, ever say, even if it was true. Makes you an easy target, fool."

Dylan blinked in confusion. Wasn't Rip the one who kind of saved him...and then kind of beat him up?

He rolled his shoulders, trying to make an overview of what was hurting. His stomach was one thing, his ribs, his nose, his throat...he reached for his shadow then, in a way he never did before. But it was there, jumping to respond, happy and willing as always.

It wasn't something he ever had to. It was usually just fun or a twist of an ankle or hurting teeth.

But this time he pulled his shadow over himself like blanket. The wave of needless ran through him, prickling in a soothing way.

Dylan let out a deep relieved breath as the pain disappeared, carried away by his shadow as it settled back down.

He looked at Rip, understanding downing on him as his skull stopped throbbing. "Thank you."

That had the other wolf jumping up to his feet with a snarl. "Don't you say that. I didn't help you."

Dylan smiled. "Of course you did. You saved me from being torn to pieces by three by beating me up yourself. Really smooth. Not the most comfy approach," he said with a wince. Somehow his stomach was still rolling inside him, despite the healing.

"You are an idiot. What are you doing here?"

Dylan carefully got to his feet, not liking how Rip towered over him when standing. "Just looking around. Exploring." He gave him a wide grin, hoping there wasn't blood stuck on his teeth. "What pack rules here?"

"Why do you think it's called the lawless district, huh? So that wolves could claw at each other in the open, without pesky humans."

"But we can't use our shadows in public to seriously hurt someone.."

Rip's head went back. "That's the kind of rules that work in the center. Where humans would get scared if your shadow as much as stuck out. Not here. You could freaking die here, man."

Dylan nodded, trying to take it seriously. The intent in those guys definitely wasn't friendly. He had a little trouble focusing though, with the nausea making the hair on the back of his head stand up.

He swayed a little. It just all seemed so foreign and too far away from reality. His reality.

Rip shook his head. "You better head home, city boy. This is not the park for you."

But that was exactly why Dylan was there. To prove it was, that he could make his way- a sudden burp snuck out.

Dylan pressed his hand against his lips, swaying again. What the hell was this about?

His stomach rolled and flipped and then suddenly rocked up with a twist.

Dylan barely manged to brace himself on his knees before his lunch loudly lurched out of him onto the grass. They were standing on grass?

Dylan burped, his stomach churning angrily. "I don't-uuuurp- understand. I just healed up-" another wave of vomit shot up his throat and splashed in the grass between his feet.

Rip sighed. "Punch to the gut. You can heal the injury, but not the effect."

"Oh, that's interesting, I never heard- urghh..." Dylan vomited again, almost losing his balance. He managed to take a few steps away from the pool of sick, falling to his knees.

Everything was spinning, so leaning his forehead against the cool grassy ground felt good. Grounding.

"Nice meeting you. Rip, right?" he said in the general direction of the other boy. "I'm Dylan." Which would have been a lot cooler of an introduction if he didn't burp right after. He wrapped both his hands around his stomach as it bubbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Hey, Dylan," Rip said, sounding nearer. He sat down near the sick wolf. Not moving closer, but not moving away in disgust. "You just hurled all over your shoes."

[lo-aksgf]

— i am always with you

pairings ; kiri sully x fem,metkayina!reader

summary ; building your relationship with kiri overtime after she arrives to your clan

notes ; i was going to make it a gn reader but i just felt like making it a fem reader bc kiri with a gf is so cute. i’m sorry !! also i honestly don’t know what this is. i’m just bored lol, can y’all tell i’m shit at these? 💀

warnings ; kissing, idk what else tbh, maybe a rushed relationship?

it was news to you that there were newbies to your clan, you were exciting because these people weren’t metkayina like you. you had already introduced yourself to lo’ak, neteyam and tuktirey but you hadn’t met their sister yet..

noticing a girl walking on the beach alone, too tall to be tuktirey and too short to be their mother, neytiri. the thought of it being the other sully sister instantly came to your head, making your way towards her

“hey, kiri right?” you say walking up behind her, “who’s asking?” she says in a almost rude tone, turning around to be met with the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen. kiri felt heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment “oh! i’m sorry, i thought you were one of ao’nungs friends pranking me” she apologised “pranking?” you didn’t know that word. you had heard some weird words come out of lo’aks mouth when you first communicated.

“it means.. playing a joke on somebody” she tried to explain “oh, i understand” you laughed “sorry i do not know words like that, because you say the same things sky people do” kiri joined in on the laughter, “do not compare me to them!” she giggled, knowing she had human blood yet she still did not like being compared to such people.

you and kiri were now walking together on the beach, it was as if you had known eachother for years. yet it had only been thirty minutes, you two had shared your differences of lifestyles in your clans, how different your bodies were compared to each others and kiri bringing up the fact her brother had a crush on tsireya since the minute he saw her, which brung out laughter between the two of you again.

“i’m so sorry but i have to go!” you said worryingly, your mother was going to lecture you so bad if you weren’t home in-time to make dinner. “wait- what is your name?”

“y/n!” you say speed walking off, sending the girl a bright smile before turning back towards the pods.

‘y/n, what a pretty name’ kiri thought to herself before heading back to her home aswell

it had been a week since you and kiri had met, you were now basically joined at the hip. the both of you did everything together, you helped her bond with her ilu, taught her the breathing mechanisms, even how to hunt. your father was the best hunter in the clan, so you inherited his skill.

you two always dived together, you could say you took quite the liking to the girl. maybe too much of a liking..

kiri felt the same way, she was confused on why she felt such feelings towards you. it wasn’t uncommon for same sex relationships in na’vi culture, kiri had always thought she would end up with a man.

even neytiri had picked up on the crushes you had on eachother, she thought it was funny that you hadn’t even known eachother for that long. it also reminded her of she and jake, the interactions between the two of you.

at the moment, you and kiri were doing breathing mechanisms. “in.. out” you spoke gently, watching as the girl in front of you was so relaxed as if she was in another universe. “kiri..” you placed a hand on her chest, startling her “sorry” you laughed. she shook her head as she laughed, “relax, then take in a big breath.. hold it for five seconds then release” your hand was still on her chest, to see how far she was going with her breathing. although kiri’s heart was beating extremely fast, hoping you weren’t going to notice.

“yes! good job” you called as kiri surfaced to the top of the water, holding your diving shell. you used that very shell when you were younger to get your skills to improve. “i saw lo’ak and tsireya doing the same thing as we are doing. i think you are just as better than him” you laughed, kiri joining. the laugher quickly dropped when the girl grabbed your hand from under the water, furrowing your eyebrows together. “kiri? what is wrong?”

“i- i don’t know..” she sighed, “what do you mean?” you brought your hand up to her shoulder, your thumb rubbing on her skin in a comforting way. she was holding your right hand under the water still.

without realising it, your faces were just inches away from eachother. your heartbeat picked up, you knew that you were about to kiss her. her eyes flicked down to your lips, then back up.

your lips connected, like a jigsaw puzzle with all the right pieces. your hand had moved from her shoulder and to her face, cupping it. surprisingly you weren’t as bad at this as you thought, the kiss didn’t last long before she pulled away. “i’m sorry-” you knew she was going to apologise for kissing you.

you pecked her lips quickly, “do not apologise” you sweetly smiled. kiri’s lips were agape, eyes half widened in shock that you’d want to kiss someone like her.

it had been four days since the kiss you and kiri shared, you were surprised that it wasn’t awkward at all between the two of you. you were also a lot more affectionate with eachother, only in private though. both of you had no idea that neytiri knew about the crushes, knowing her she probably even knew about the kiss somehow.

you and kiri were both sat across from eachother on some rocks, you were measuring her wrist with a piece of string as you were about to braid her a bracelet. you thought being corny was funny, so you brought her hand up to your lips giving her skin a quick kiss. she laughed, covering her mouth with her free hand. “why’d you do that?” she smiled. “what? am i not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?” you said with a shit eating grin on your face. “girlfriend?” she was taken back by what you had called her “is that bad? i heard lo’ak say that he was going to ask tsireya to be his girlfriend. sorry?” you said cautiously. “oh, no! it’s not bad. id love to be called your girlfriend” she smiled, you smiling cause of her.

you weren’t lying when you always said you were a bit clueless when it came to things, almost all of the other teenagers in the village knew what girlfriend and boyfriend was and meant. you didn’t though, you didn’t care about it before kiri arrived.

so now, you and kiri were officially girlfriend and girlfriend. you still weren’t exactly affectionate in public, you were scared of what the clan would think and she was scared of what her family would think.

it didn’t stop the two of you from being extra affectionate in private though, you would try and kiss for the longest time under water when diving alone, you’d half makeout when you were further out enough that nobody was around. her hand was always brushing against yours when walking along the beach together.

“so, kiri.. when are we going to meet your girlfriend?” jake questioned his daughter, kiri’s eyes widening in absolute shock. how did her parents know about this? and why were they so chill about it? “what? what do you mean by ‘girlfriend’ do you mean boyfriend?” she tried to deny. “don’t lie now kiri, we’ve seen the both of you together and it is okay. we do not have a problem with your relationship” neytiri reassured her, jake ruffling her hair as neytiri and jake offered a hug to their daughter, kiri obviously accepting. kiri was still shocked over the fact her parents didn’t care she was dating you.

you on the other hand, your parents would go ballistic if they found out you were dating kiri. it wasn’t the fact she was a woman aswell, it was that she isn’t metkayinan is what the problem was. you weren’t planning on telling them anytime soon, until you connected your queues and tsaheylu.

you and kiri wanted to bond in the future, since you were not going to have a problem finding a mate considering you had eachother. the only trouble it, you weren’t going to be able to reproduce.

“y/n! what will happen when it’s time for everyone to start families and we won’t be able too?” kiri said sadly, you didn’t really know why she was thinking about that so early but it didn’t stop you from answering. “kiri, it is not something to worry about now. no matter what i am always with you”

[theosconfessions]

i was tagged by the lovely @nitrozem and @bloomingkyras

oc deep dive with finnie whitmore

What uncommon/common fear do they have? rollercoasters. he LOVES going to theme parks but this one time dusty put him on his first rollercoaster and he swears he almost broke his neck [he didnt hes just embellishing for drama purposes]

Do they have any pet peeves? liars. just a simple liars. hes big on the honesty front. even if it hurts him hed prefer that over something trying to spare any feelings.

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom? his ps5, his personal pc, and his kitty.

What do they notice first in a person? hes a little vain at first so the first thing he notices about a person is that ass. hes an ass kinda dude BUT afterwards..he has all sorts of red flags kicking up everywhere so hed probably do a quick sweep of the in the clear check list.starting with wedding rings .

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance? 9. he gets knocked in the head by flying footballs from his hs kids. gym isnt for the weak.

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? hes a mix of both. hes reserved but he'll say whats on his mind and then just poof.

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person? he comes from a small family with an older brother and a little sister. really only is close to his mum. as far as being a family person hed never say no to a shopping trips with his mum and they try to make it a monthly thing.its harder on them since he moved a little further away.

What animal represents them best? red panda honestly.

What is a smell that they dislike? theos cologne.

Have they broken any bones? hes broken his arm/ ankle and most recently his nose.

How would a stranger likely describe them? id think they would describe him as a little bit shy of a dude. maybe he can come off stand offish because of that.

Are they a night owl or a morning bird? morning bird! hes my little old young man.

What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love? He hates that lavender shit.he can be a little bit of an old man but save the lavender flavour for when he loses more of his taste buds.. but loves anything mint :3

Do they have any hobbies? ghost hunting :) ;)

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises? immediate sweat. nothing more but immediate sweat and then trying to act like hes supposed to .

Do they like to wear jewelry? he always wears a rolex dusty got him one xmas.

Do they have neat or messy handwriting? neat :)

What are two emotions they feel the most? lonely and confused

Do they have a favorite fabric? spandex.

What kind of accent do they have?the most louisiana drawl youve ever heard

i am tagging @budgie2budgie @duusheen @gloomymoood @awkwardwhims @riverofjazzsims @invisiblequeen @havenroyals @simvanie and @sirianasims for this and anyone else who wants to do it bc id literally sit here and tag you alllllll

[fatkish]

Hi! I'm a big fan of the work you do, and I was hoping that I could make a request! Headcanons for Midnight, Mt Lady, Ryukyu, and the Wild Wild Pussycats (Sorry if this is a lot! Please feel free to take as much time as you need if you choose to do this! Also I think that the Wild Wild Pussycats deserve more love from the MHA community) with their adopted son or daughter who suffered from abuse by their previous family and now has a hard time dealing with their trauma.

I'd really appreciate it! Hope you're having an awesome day!

(Sorry for not including Mt. Lady, Pixie Bob, Tiger or Ragdoll. I tried to look up their character profiles but I just couldn’t come up with anything for them or I just couldn’t picture them actually looking after and taking care of a child, sorry)

Midnight, Ryukyu and Mandalay x Adopted, Abused Child Reader

The story here is that your parents were drug addicts or criminals that basically ignored you. You were 8 when you were saved. Each of these guys have different scenarios on how they found you as well as how your life is with them. (Sorry if it’s a little redundant)

Midnight:

Your parents were drug addicts that cooked meth and barely ever paid you any attention

You had gotten used to constant hunger and had learned to live off of dumpster diving

You’d go to the dumpsters behind stores and collect whatever goods/food you could find

Places you often went to were beauty stores since you learned that there was money to be made by selling the products that the stores dump

You were quirkless which is why you were constantly on your own. You’re parents had no idea where you were half of the time and didn’t care

One day when Nemuri had the day off she saw the dirty and malnourished child walk into the alley behind the makeup store

She followed you and saw you climb into the dumpster and start filling up a small backpack with items from the dumpster such as lotions, lipsticks, foundations, perfumes, etc.

When you had finished, you climbed out only to see Nemuri staring down at you

When she asked what you were doing, you immediately tried to run away but she quickly used her quirk to put you to sleep

After finding out about your situation when she brought you to the hospital, your parents were arrested and charged with child neglect and endangerment

Nemuri noticed that you would rarely ask for things and had a hard time advocating for yourself

If she didn’t bring something up first, then you’d likely ignore it or wouldn’t say anything

You felt immense guilt in simply asking for a snack or a hug or things like that

So she started having you use a journal to help you understand and validate your feelings. She’d leave a notepad with a box for you to write down your thoughts and feelings so that you guys can read them together when she has the time

Ryukyu:

You had been another child who was used by the Shei Hassaikai. Your quirk allowed for your blood to cure all types of illnesses

Your parents sold you to Chisaki due to them being in debt and needing the money

Chisaki was using you to create vaccines

When the Raid took place, you managed to escape but were terrified of men

Since Ryukyu was one of the few females involved, she decided to adopt you

You originally hated touch but learned to love it after awhile

Your favorite thing is cuddling with Ryukyu

Ryukyu brings you to her agency and has you do your homeschooling there. If you want to go to public school then that’s fine, but while you’re healing, you get to stay with her

She tells people to let you come to them instead of walking up to you

Nejire is like a big sister to you

Wild Wild Pussycats, Mandalay:

In this case, your parents weren’t as bad, but they weren’t the best. They struggled to understand you and how your mind worked which ultimately led them to unintentionally neglecting you

You were a very quiet child and had a hard time with talking, not that you couldn’t talk, it’s just that speaking was very difficult for you

Your parents lived in a cabin in the woods and you loved it, until a forest fire broke out, you see, your quirk is fire manipulation, basically fire bending, you were playing outside at night when you accidentally set fire to the forest

It quickly spread and ended up consuming your home at night, your parents tried to drive away but they realized you weren’t with them which led them to suffocate from the thick smoke whilst they searched for you

You thought your parents abandoned you so you stayed put in your little tent in the woods. Your quirk allowed to keep the fire at bay but the panic and fear caused the flames to out of control

When the Wild Wild Pussycats got the call, Ragdoll reported your location and quirk. Pixie-Bob used her earth manipulation to smother the flames. While Tiger searched the area, Mandalay tried talking to you telepathically

She helped you breathe and calm down, as you breathed, the flames seemed to grow and shrink with your breathes. After you calmed down, Mandalay eventually reached you and brought you to their place in the woods

Originally you were terrified of fire due to the trauma of accidentally killing your parents, even though they ignored you often

Mandalay introduced you to her nephew Kota, Kota saw how terrified of fire you were and showed you his water quirk

Together with therapy and the joined help of Mandalay and Kota, you slowly learned to accept your quirk and lost your fear of it

Kota also helped you with speech therapy and you slowly learned to speak

Every step of progress you made, no matter how small, was celebrated and praised, even when you relapsed your were congratulated for your effort

[waltwhitmansbeard]

Sitting in the other one’s lap when they have no where else to sit(during appropriate times 👀) with Vaxleth, please?

Sitting in the other one’s lap when they have no where else to sit(during appropriate times 👀) going a lil off-script with this one and setting it in vamp machina, pre-kidnapping

Keyleth asks every night for three weeks straight until Vax finally relents. He doesn't know why she's so set on this, easily the dumbest idea she's ever had, but when she makes her eyes all big and shiny like that, what's he supposed to do, let her down?

So he takes her to a vampire bar.

It's the sleazy dive near the docks, the kind of place that the kind of girl like Keyleth would never accidentally stumble into. When he picks her up from her apartment, she's dressed in what he's sure she thinks is something incognito—skinny black jeans, one of his t-shirts, a baggy gray flannel, boots that have seen better days. And it's true, she looks the part—she looks fucking incredible, if he's being honest—but it's not going to change the fact that she smells undeniably human.

They take a taxi, and on the entire drive, Vax goes over the rules three more times, low so the cabbie doesn't hear. "Never more than two feet away from me, don't take any drink offered to you, keep Pike's holy symbol around your neck at all times—"

"—conjure sunlight if things get hairy, yes, I know." She rolls her eyes at him, but Vax can tell she's excited. "I promise, I'll be on my best behavior."

"Yeah, well, it's not you I'm worried about."

The cab pulls up outside the bar, which looks identical to every other brick-faced building around it, cracked sidewalks and all, and Vax gets out first, putting himself between her and the door. As he helps her out, he murmurs, "We can leave now. The night's still young, we can probably catch that movie you were telling me about."

She ignores him, brushing past him to head for the door. He scrambles to catch up to her. When they enter, it's exactly as he remembers: low lights, throbbing music, vampires and their rented donors lounging on all configurations of couches and tables. The whole place smells of copper and cigarette smoke, and instantly Vax is starving.

He keeps a hand firm around Keyleth's waist. Her presence does not go unnoticed; at least half a dozen of the closest vampires swing their eyes up and down her body, one obviously comparing her to the scantily-dressed woman his teeth in whose neck his teeth are currently buried.

Vax hates this place.

"C'mon." He starts to urge her toward a table farther away from the main bar area, but Keyleth resists. "What about a drink?" she asks, gesturing toward the bartender.

"You offering?"

Vax yanks Keyleth away from the burly, seedy vamp suddenly leering over her. "Fuck off," he hisses, letting his fangs finish the rest of the threat. He's not surprised when the other vamp slinks off; this place sucks, but at least it's generally understood that you don't eat off of anyone else's plate without permission.

There's a table free in the corner, which makes Vax antsy, but at least it's empty. As he shepherds a too-curious Keyleth towards it, he's stopped by an annoyingly familiar drawl. "Never thought I'd catch you here, brother."

Vax freezes. Keyleth stumbles, then turns to see what made him stop. "Are you...oh, wow." Her head swivels between Vax and his sister, who is seated at a booth along the wall across from two other vamps whose names Vax can't remember but whose faces he recognizes from the many, many nights he spent bouncing between haunts like this one. "You two look...I mean, you must be Vex!"

Keyleth is beaming, like this is always how she imagined meeting her boyfriend's twin sister. Vex is draped along the back edge of the booth, looking as casually sinister as ever, her eyes surveying Keyleth in a way that Vax knows means scrutiny, not hunger. "And you must be the witch." Her eyes swivel over to Vax. "You brought her here? And here I was thinking you stopped being fun when you started eating at home all the time."

Keyleth's cheeks tinge pink, and the other vamps—Vax is going to remember their names any second, he's sure of it—start to salivate at the smell of her blood pooling so close to the surface. Keeping his voice low, Vax murmurs, "Play nice, Vex'ahlia."

Vex throws her hands up in surrender. "I'm always nice, brother." She smiles sweetly at Keyleth. "Would you care to join us, darling?"

Before Vax can protest, Keyleth chirps, "Of course!" She eyes the seats beside Vex, which will definitely not fit the both of them. Undeterred, Keyleth grabs Vax by the arm and shoves him unceremoniously beside his sister. He's just managed to right himself when she perches on his lap, swinging her legs beneath the table. "There!"

Everyone stares at her, Vax easily the most dumbfounded. She's never been like this. Keyleth tends to be shyer than most, preferring to keep her affections behind closed doors, which is more than fine with Vax—so sitting on his lap and playing with the fine hairs at the nape of his neck in a den of vampires and iniquity is about as far from the Keyleth he knows as she can get.

Vex, on the other hand, seems bemused. "You are a wild thing, aren't you?" She leans in, teeth glittering in the light of the candle in the middle of the table. "I can see why my brother likes you."

"And I can see why he speaks so highly of you. You're so confident. I admire that."

"Aren't you sweet?" Vex whacks Vax's shoulder. "You should be sweet like her."

"Oh, he's plenty sweet." Her fingers have abandoned his hair and are now playing with the sensitive tip of his ear, and even in the tense atmosphere of this bar, it is...doing something to him. "He's a real gentleman, walks me home from work, brushes my hair out before bed, always stops drinking before I get dizzy—"

Vax chokes. "Keyleth—"

The woman across from Vex—Jenna? Jemma? It's driving him crazy—smirks. "Quite the pair you two make. I don't suppose you ever share..."

"Oh, I don't share." Keyleth lifts the hand that isn't torturously teasing his ear, and Vax's eyes blown wide when small sparks of sunlight dance between her fingers.

The vampire couple shies away with a hiss, and then the man grumbles, "We should go." The two slip easily out of the booth and disappear among the crowd.

Just like that, Keyleth slumps against Vax's chest, barely giving him enough time to catch her before she slides off his lap. "That was a lot."

"I'll fucking say. I've never seen you act like that before."

She smiles sheepishly. "Did you see her face when you walked up? She wanted to eat you up." She shrugs. "I had to...educate her."

Oh, if they weren't in the most dangerous place in the city right now. Vax's jaw hangs low, but Vex's head tips back as she cackles. "Oh...oh I like you. Feisty little witch you've found yourself, Vax. I rather think this vine's got thorns."

Keyleth preens. Vax presses his lips to the crook of her neck. "And what lovely thorns they are."

[luveline]

How about some protective big brother Steve learning that shy reader has a crush on Eddie or Eddie asked you out.

tysm for ur request! ♡ fem!harrington!reader | 0.7k words

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Steve asks. 

Despite his use of expletives, you don't think he's mad. He actually sounds pleased. 

"What do you mean?" you ask, looking up from the note in your hand. 

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look happy. Really happy. It's weird." 

"I don't usually look happy?" 

"You usually look constipated." 

You wrinkle your nose and check the note again. Meet me at 5 at the end of your street. E♡

He'd drawn a heart. He'd really drawn one. You press your thumb into the dark indentations and feel yourself smile again. 

"What is that?" Steve asks. 

"What?" you say loudly, in your younger sister tone. An unconvincing I don't know what you're talking about is implied. 

"I can see your hand." Then, in a move you anticipate, he throws himself over the back of the couch and dives for it. You shove it under one of your thighs and glare at him, half-hearted. 

"Privacy, Steve." 

"That's what I said last night in the shower, too-" 

"We have a curtain! I needed to pee!" 

He flops dejectedly beside you and his hair falls in his eyes. You groan as he climbs over the back of the couch like a fish out of water, his feet kicking into your thigh as he gets comfortable. 

"What is it, a love note? Secret admirer?" 

"I hate when you do that." 

"What, guess right?" 

You shrug and hug your tummy, eyes averted. "It's nothing." 

"It's totally a love letter." You sit in silence. He perks up, says, "Oh my god, it's a love letter from someone you like." 

"Steve! Jesus Christ." 

"Who is it? Do I know them? Did they go to Hawkins High?" Then, at your silence, "Are they older?" 

You stand up and pull down your skirt, the note in your hand crumpled and now damp from clamminess. "Steve, please." 

"Sorry!" He doesn't look very sorry, but his face does soften. You pull his shoes off of the couch and he rights himself with a huff to stand beside you. "Don't be shy with me. Just tell me who it is so I can give them the talk." 

You check the time and grab your bag. "I'm going out." 

"No, you're not. Not until you tell me who sent the note." 

"Steve," you chide, pouting. "Please, I'll tell you. Just… Let me work it out for myself first. I think I really like him, and-" 

"You like him?" he asks incredulously. 

You bite your lips and sneak past him. He's still demanding to know who you're seeing as you close the door. 

You take a deep breath and smooth down your clothes. 

When you reach the bottom of the street, Eddie rolls down the passenger side window. "Hey, sweet thing." 

You melt internally and wrap your fingers over the rolled down window, smiling shyly. "Hey, Eds." 

"Are you getting in? Movie starts in twen'y." 

You nod all bashful and beaming and pull open the door but haven't managed to get even one shoe inside when a loud voice shouts, "Eddie Munson?" 

You climb in fast. Steve jogs down the sidewalk, his expression creased with unhappiness. Okay, that's understating things; he looks mad. 

"Drive, Eddie!" you say with more volume than you've ever said anything to him with. 

Eddie grins with teeth and turns the wheel. "You got it, princess." 

You're too distracted by Steve's outraged shouting to feel embarrassed at the pet name, looking out of the window at him as you pass with an apologetic smile. "Sorry!" you say.

He says something too scathing to bear repeating. As soon as he's out of view you turn to Eddie with an apology on your parted lips and find him laughing. Silent, heavy things, his eyes wet with mirth.

"Oh god," he laughs, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, "Baby, if I weren't taking you on a date, I'd say that was the best moment of my life. I've never seen Harrington so mad." 

You cover your face with both hands and sigh. 

A big hand drops onto your shoulder. "You're fine. I'll let him give me the shovel talk when I drop you off." 

"Thank you," you whisper, almost inaudible. 

He squeezes. "Sure thing. Are you hungry? I brought donut holes." 

You're not sure you can stomach anymore sweetness. 

[saelterlude]

lc musical clips pt.5!! can't believe this reaches 5 parts. to be fair, the more i watch the cooler the actors are and the more i love each of their quirks.

funfact before we start, if we exclude CMZ(bcs wtf. you are not 124 y/o CMZ), the average age of LG actors is 28 while the average age of CXS actors is 25 (I didn't take their birth month into account so give or take one)

The oldest being Du Guangyi at 34 y/o and the youngest being Jing Yangqiao at 20 (21 this April).

(pt.1, pt.2, pt.3, pt.4, pt.6 here)

68. BONUS, the composer for the musical songs, metablue, posted a composing diary/vlog of her making 'forget about it' aka the encore sofa song. It's a really cool watch, and it's pretty short too.

69. 14/03/2024, Wang Minhui made Cai Qi laugh and break character so hard by sliding on the table that they skip rock paper scissors altogether. Thank youu shimmeringweeds for finding this clip, youre a life saver.

70. 15/03/2024, Zi Bowen is really fun/bratty during CX and his mom's song, he's also been really into that hat and his panicked face during 'Dive Back in Time' tutting is gold. Other than that, Ji Xiaokun and Guo Hongxu are fun as usual.

71. Zhang Jiahao short vid, I love how nonchalant he is. Who gives a damn abt rehearsals when you can play basketball. We got snippets of other songs. And where did he get the random card reader??

(ooh, i'm putting the side actor into focus for once. also, i just realized ZJH is the actor who started swinging when WMH mistook director Li Haolin's name lol i love him.)

72. 16/03/2024 day, blind dog Cai Qi is so funny plss and the way Wang Minhui just let him live with the consequences.

73. 17/03/2024 night, Du Guangyi focused but you can hear Teng Chunpeng cutely messed up 'Dive Back in Time' in the background.

74. 23/02/2024, I don't think I've shared this clip of Du Guangyi playing pattycake(?? IDK the english name. I call it mimimi) with Wu Hanglu.

75. 18/03/2024, Bai Zhuoming mic mishap here, aggressive feet flailing with Wang Minhui and Deng Xianling, and also extended rock paper scissors!

76. 17/03/2024 day, I'll be honest I miss Ding Xingchen. That said, him and Xian Dongyue are having the best sibling wrestle.

77. 17/03/2024 day, same performance as above, and there's Wu Yihan doing overhead RPS.

78. 16/03/2024 night, Guo Hongxu fumbles the sofa/leg choreo again (left leg first man!), Shu Rongbo blubbering bcs GHX twist his arm post-RPS, and Wu Hanglu being the teasing big sister ever.

79. 21/03/2024, he once did overhead, now Wu Yihan is doing hip-height RPS, and he cheated. Shu Rongbo being confused. And they once again give the cutest hug, even for a side hug.

(heh, funny how JXK likes to hogs/blocks the sofa to annoy LG meanwhile SRB is always clearing the sofa for LG.)

80. 23/03/2024 day, very fun performance with Wang Yifei, Zhu Hanbin, and Deng Xianling. I highly recommend watching this. It's so fun I wrote a whole post about it. Also, harmonizing.

81. 22/03/2024, very short but look!! A Jing Yanqiao clip!!! I'm happy, I recently brainrotted on him. I wish he could perform more since I really like his voice but unfortunately I'm pretty sure he's still in school and have a limited schedule. But I will make you all love him before his BDay!

Today's bonus clip is a voice reel of Du Guangyi as Enforcer from the game Arknights! It's very soothing, I can fall asleep to his voice. He's so cool, he's an actor in everything. Musical actor, stage-play actor, TV and films actor, voice actor, he was a child actor too.

But since that's not a musical and it's kinda cheating, here's an actual bonus clip of Zhu Hanbin in Dr. Bloodthirsty (? 嗜血博士) musical. A small 3 person play which is giving me Jekyll and Hyde vibes. He's playing Jonathan, a young psychologist called to examine patient 13. It's really cool, please check it out!

(if anyone ever have a request on who the next bonus clip should be (even the side actors) just say so and I'll do my best. i'm always up for exploring new things)

[heyidkyay]

Who can say no to bridezilla? |

Part Three

Just gonna say this now, this story actually has a mind of its own. I started part three and got carried away with the ending so expect a fourth, maybe even fifth part😬

So beyond grateful to everyone who showed the last two parts any love, it means a lot!! Hope you enjoy this next bit too:)

Summary: With no date to your sister's wedding, what are you to do? No worries though, she's already got it covered, well, sort of...

Masterlist

^found this picture and couldn't not use it

--

The party was now practically in full swing, but all I could really do was watch on from the sidelines. That guilt from earlier was still very much eating away at me, only now it had been accompanied by the sudden stress of my extremely complicated feelings towards Matty.

My sister had somehow managed to successfully avoid me since our previous conversation, dipping and diving amongst the throng of guests to evade my piercing stare. And I’d tried to keep my mind off of it all, really I had, but it was only proving to grow harder as the night went on.

“Here you are, my lady.” Came Matty’s sarky voice from over my shoulder as he handed me another tall glass. “Vodka coke, as promised.”

I smiled in appreciation as he dropped into the seat beside me, “Thank you. Was there much of a queue?”

Matty wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “Nah, just got caught up chatting with your nana. Has plenty of stories to tell, that one.”

I choked a little on the sip I’d just taken and immediately snapped my head back towards the bar, where, sure enough, my nana was still sat. She gave a knowing little wave and wink when she spotted me and I raised an eyebrow in turn. 

“Everything she’s ever told you is a lie.” I declared wholeheartedly, knowing first hand just how little filter the woman held. 

I’d grown up having to bare witness to it, after all. At family get-togethers, during every Christmas party, at the plethora of weddings… And now that I was older, I’d come to quickly realise that it wasn’t the fact that she was oblivious to what she was doing or saying really, she simply just did not give a single fuck. She said what came to mind, and no one could tell her differently. 

Headstrong was a word often used to describe her, a big gossip too- but to me, she honestly was the definition of stubborn to a fault. I loved that about her though. Albeit having said that, I also tended to get the brunt of it whenever she’d decide to spin a tale or two about my spotted past. 

Nana really was the best of the best, and I’d defend her to the grave, but she was also the biggest shit-stirrer I’d ever met. Knew it too. 

Matty snorted, his eyebrows raised in delight. “Well, that was a reaction and a half.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “What did she tell you?”

He hummed, deciding to drag it out as he necked a fair bit of his wine.

“Healy.” I demanded, giving him an unimpressed stare.

Matty laughed and rolled his eyes, but he was wearing a shit-eating grin when he tugged his chair in closer to mine. God, he smelt good. 

I had to refocus my attention though when his eyes met mine, shimmering with mirth.

“Might’ve mentioned the time you shit yourself stood in the deli queue at Asda’s.” 

My eyes widened on their own accord, and I had to place my drink down to make sure that I didn’t down it then and there. That woman.

He’d said it with so much confidence too, and used this little shrug that told me he was far too thrilled with the newfound information he'd been gifted.

“I was four!”

Matty scoffed at my argument, apparently pleased with the fact that he could get me all wound up so quickly. 

“Also told me about that time you showed up to your cousin’s birthday party completely plastered, thinking no one would be none the wiser. Think she mentioned that he’d just turned four that day, too.”

I groaned, recalling that very day clearly in the forefront of my mind and slapped a hand over my face to hide my sudden humiliation. I swivelled round in my chair to send the woman in question a well deserved glare, which she paid no mind to. Of course.  

“I can’t believe her. The smarmy cow.”

I turned back upon hearing Matty’s heightened laughter and pouted. 

“Don’t laugh, you dickhead! I was mortified afterwards. I thought I’d played it off so well! Proper chuffed with myself that next morning. Only to then get a few choice words off my uncle that same afternoon.” I pursed my lips at the reminder. “Turns out tricking a bunch of kids into swearing like a couple of sailors is only funny when you’re hammered or have an actual sense of humour. Mum wasn’t too impressed either.” 

“Nana was though.” Matty countered with a delighted little chuckle. I rolled my eyes.

“Nana’s a gossip.” I responded in kind. “Who should know by now that what goes around comes around!”

I yelled that last part over my shoulder, and chose to ignore the strange looks I garnered in favour of throwing a knowing look at the woman in question. 

“I’m near seventy-four, dollface! No hide nor hair off of my back what you tell people as long as you let ‘em know I was havin’ a good time!” Nana called back in that strong Yorkshire accent of hers. She raised her glass in cheers.

I couldn’t help my breathy chuckle, and neither could Matty as it would seem, who was still laughing happily away beside me.

“Should’ve known she’d’ve put her hearing aids in.” I shook my head in complete levity, toying with a small smile, “Doesn’t want to miss a single thing said in a place like this, but ask her where she put the tele remote during a run of Corrie, well…”

“Fucking love your family.” Matty grinned at me, and I watched with baited breath as he just continued to glance around the rest of the venue as though he’d said nothing of the sort at all.

I inhaled quietly once his attention was then captured by someone he knew in passing, and shook off the strange feeling I’d felt as I finally downed the rest of that drink. 

—

“Hann! Hann, mate!” Matty called over the shitty dubstep remix that was currently playing. I was just behind him, giggling at the sight he made. He’d no care in the world for anyone who was currently stood in his way as he waved haphazardly, wanting to garner the attention of his best mate.

We’d actually spent the better part of our time stood waiting in line for the buffet just shitting all over the DJ’s set, both claiming that we could’ve done a much fucking better job with just a Spotify playlist on hand. 

But you win some, you lose some, I supposed. Though, I’d still be lording it over Adam’s head for the rest of forever- he was meant to be some sort of hotshot musician from what little I knew of his job, and he’d actually paid for this knobhead to spin a couple of early 2000’s records at his reception party and call it a day. 

I was still chuckling away at the thought when I noticed the man in question wandering over to us with a big, fuck-off grin on his face.

“Mate!” Adam greeted cheerily as he tugged Matty into a one armed hug, pulling me along with the pair of them too, seeing as I was still holding onto Matty’s hand.

Matty had only taken it as we were parting our way through the crowds, but I realised now, that neither one of us had yet to let go.

Adam seemed to realise it then too, if the way his eyes travelled between our intertwined hands and my surprised face was anything to go by. Though, I noted that Matty stayed blissfully unaware in his slight tipsy state. 

Thankfully Adam was mature enough to leave it be. For now, I could only suppose. Knowing that my sister would probably be the first one he’d let know. Oh, how I was looking forward to that conversation.

“Both having a good time?” Adam asked us as I let myself be roped into a hug from him as well.

“Been great, man.” Matty answered with a grin, pulling my hand with his again as he further exaggerated his point. “Can’t believe you’ve actually gone and done it! Locked that shit down, Hann. Don’t know whether to congratulate or console you.”

Adam’s mouth quirked to the left as he watched his mate with an indulgent expression. “Don’t be a wanker. Just let me enjoy this one night before you start getting all jealous on me.”

“Jealous? Ha, funny one, mate.” Matty retorted in good jest.

I rolled my eyes at the pair of them before I looked towards my new brother-in-law. “I’m gonna choose to offer my congrats here, but remember that if you upset my sister, I’ll do more than just hurt you.”

“Ooh, tell me more.” Matty said in a teasing tone, whilst Adam opted to ignore my date, simply raising his hands up at me to feign surrender.

“Wouldn’t dare.” He assured with a fond smile.

“Holding you to it.”

It was then that two more grown men came barrelling over- I say grown, but in reality it was like watching a bunch of ginormous kids kicking and scuffling with each other to get the first turn on the swing-set as they all embraced one another. I couldn’t hide my amusement.

“And who’s this beauty?” The one with the buzzcut encouraged, only noticing me when he’d slung an arm around Matty’s neck.

I looked him over then as I smiled at his compliment, I could see why he felt so confident in his approach, he was a right stunner. From the rolled up sleeves of his shirt which exposed the many tattoos that dotted his arms, to the slight smirk his pouty lips held as he watched me.

“This is y/n, y/s/n’s older sister.” Adam introduced us with a tilt of his chin, “And y/n, that idiot over there with the big gob is George, the bearded one's Ross.”

“I like it. Very manly.” I said, gesturing to Ross’s beard. Matty’s face twisted slightly when Ross smiled back at me with an appreciative nod, but before he could get a word in edge ways, George was speaking again, half-dangling over Matty to get a better look at me. 

“We’ve met the once before, haven’t we? ‘Round Hann’s that one New Years, no?”

My face brightened at the sudden realisation, “Ah, yeah! You’re the weirdo who pulled out every pot in y/s/n’s kitchen to recreate that old Beach Boys song.”

Matty snorted beside me, whilst Adam laughed at the vivid memory.

“And if I recall, you also got so shitfaced that night that you actually ended up putting yourself to bed before the clock’s even struck twelve.”

My date and his friends all cackled at that, but George made a slight hissing sound as he inhaled sharply, holding a hand over his heart. 

“Way to humiliate me there, cupcake, could’ve just left them with the knowledge of my sick rendition of I Get Around, but you had to go and start a war.”

I grinned in retort as I shrugged, “Learn to hold your drink better and I wouldn’t have to show you up, babe.”

George smirked, eyeing me closer now.

“Oi, no, no, no. You can fuck right off! She’s my date tonight, G.” Matty informed the drummer, elbowing the giant to shrug him off his shoulder. 

George relented with a soft chuckle and sly smile. “Is that so? Reckon you’d have a ton more fun with me though.”

Adam shook his head, chuckling, whilst Matty and George started to scuffle.

My eyes widened briefly when they nearly went headfirst into the dessert table, but luckily they were quickly saved by Ross who redirected them onto the dance floor.

“Are they always like this?” I found myself asking Adam, watching as the trio interrupted a group of younger girls with all their pissing about. It was like looking at the live adaptation of a human bowling ball.

“Yeah.” Was all he offered, which made me laugh, and we both continued to watch the free show from the sidelines.

“Go on, Matty. Defend my honour!” I hollered over towards them, unable to help myself, and was rewarded with the sight of my date popping back up out of the brawl he’d created like a meerkat, wearing a comical grin.

I winced slightly when a strong arm tugged him right back down though.

“Someone should film this.” I overheard someone murmur somewhere off to my right, and I was quick to agree before the voice continued, “Imagine how much The Sun would give for an all inclusive on this.”

I frowned, confused, but continued to listen as best I could whilst I watched.

“Oh yeah, I can already see the headlines.” Came another excited voice, this one chuckling as they prattled off, “Matty Healy ruins guitarist’s wedding! Jealousy or just another downward drug spiral?”

Anger blew through me at that, and although I was bewildered by what they were saying, I couldn’t stop myself from immediately jumping to Matty's defence.

“What did you just say?”

The person in question was some guy I didn’t recognise, but he looked rather surprised by my sudden appearance. He fish mouthed for a moment before he just scoffed out a small laugh.

“No, go on.” I goaded with a narrow eyed stare, “I’m sure everyone here's desperate to hear what you have to say now.”

He rolled his eyes at me which only proved to aggravate me further. I was about to take another step forwards when a gentle hand took my shoulder.

“What’s happening here?” Came Adam’s familiar voice and I watched in satisfaction as the idiot before me stuttered slightly.

“Just making a joke, man.”

“Is that what you call it then?” I spat back, feeling Adam’s grip falter a little. “‘Cause it didn’t sound too funny to me.”

“What'd he say?” Adam attempted to intervene.

“Something about an article, or whatever. Wanting to make some money off of the lads just messing about.” I told Adam, still staring the twat down. “Made it out like Matty was off his head on something.”

Adam looked almost as pissed as I was in that moment, but then the man himself arrived, with George, Ross, and my sister trailing just behind. Matty seemed to have sobered up a bit at the sudden seriousness that must’ve overcome the rest of the party, as he came to a standstill by me, using his body to shield me somewhat from the opposing man.

“What’s gone on?” He demanded, eyes hard.

“Nothing.” The guy claimed, shrugging the whole thing off, but Matty was having none of it.

“Come off it, mate. You look stupid enough to start on my girl, but don’t lie straight to my face when I can see you’ve upset her.” Matty derided, then he turned to me, voice strikingly much softer. “Tell me what’s been said please, darling.”

I swallowed, surprised by the subdued attention Matty was now giving me, as well as how he’d chosen to handle the idiot.

I quickly recovered though, my anger still simmering beneath the surface. “I didn’t understand much of it, but he was spouting some nasty shit about you.”

Matty’s brow furrowed but he looked to Adam when the groom leant in nearer. “Tabloids and crap, claiming he could make a quick quid.”

“Shit stirring, you mean.” I said, scowling at the guy who’d drawn up quite the crowd. “Tried to make it seem like you were ruining Adam’s big day, spouting shit about how you were jealous, high or whatever.”

Matty merely chuckled, amused by it all, and I really should’ve known he’d react like that.

“Ad?” My sister called out then, pushing through the sea of onlookers to understand just what was going on. I instantly felt bad for having made a scene.

“I’m so sorry, y/s/n.”

She shook her head at me, waving my worries away as she took her husband’s hand. She looked back to him again.

“Just someone being an arse, babe.” Adam spoke and pulled her into his side to comfort her before he nodded over towards Ross. “Mate, grab that security guard for us.”

Ross did so, whilst George and, surprisingly, Jamie had the same idea to usher the fucker out. 

“Take Thing Two with you whilst you’re at it, Jim.” I added, jerking my head over to where the lad’s friend had shied away from the commotion. He winced at the sudden attention I’d attracted.

My cousin dipped his head once at me and squeezed my shoulder in passing as he hauled the guy and his mate outside the venue with George.

Matty drew me in near, his careful hand in mine. “You alright? Got pretty wound up there, sweetheart.”

I exhaled and tried let go of whatever anger I had left, but my body was still trembling slightly with adrenaline as I nodded at him. Matty soothed that thought with a gentle caress up my arms, ducking his head to catch my eye.

He raised a brow.

I gifted him a small smile as I softly shook my head, biting the inside of my cheek when he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. He just really pissed me off.”

“Don’t have to get all riled up on my account, darling. Had a lot worse said, trust me.”

I frowned, “I couldn’t not say anything, Matty, he was being a right prick towards you.”

My chest tightened at the fond, albeit exasperated, smile Matty gave me then. “I appreciate it, but I’d rather have you enjoying yourself than occupying your time with twats like that, yeah? Ain’t worth it.”

I knew he was right, but it still didn’t sit right with me. “You don’t deserve that though, not with how hard you’ve worked, with how hard you’re still trying.”

Because he was. Recovery was a fucking hard road. And I only knew about it due to the fact that he'd been pretty open about it all with me- proud of the fact too, of how far he’d come since then. To hear someone just slag him off like that, it irritated me beyond belief, especially when it was said as some sort of sick joke, without him around to even defend himself.

“You’re lovely, you know that?” Matty commented then with an endeared little grin that threw me so off guard I felt like I’d been pulled through a blackhole. But before I could do or say anything, Matty was wrapping up the scene. “Alright, you fuckers! Party’s over- or well, party’s back on, I guess. So you can all sod off and stick your noses elsewhere now.”

I snorted out an ugly sort of laugh that had my sister’s brows raising before she merely chuckled. “Should’ve known that something like this was bound to happen. Surprised it held off as long as it did actually, especially with you around.”

I narrowed my eyes at her but did end up giving her a sheepish sort of smile. “I said I was sorry.”

She laughed again, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, and you can make it up to me by getting your arse out on that dance floor, alright? Don’t think that I haven’t noticed you avoiding it.”

“Avoiding it?” Matty asked, glancing between the two of us, “What do you mean?”

“She means to say that I’m shit at dancing. Like, beyond bad." I tell him myself, wanting to just quickly sweep it under the rug. "It’s why I’ve not gotten up yet.”

Matty, being his dramatic self, let his mouth drop wide open. I rolled my eyes at the theatrics before I pressed my knuckle under his chin to shut it back up again.

“I don’t believe you.” He said.

I furrowed my brow with a faint chuckle. “What is there to not believe? Don’t for one second think that you can get me to prove that I’m a shitty dancer, Matty.”

The man simply smiled at me, and he looked so smug when he clasped my wrists and begun to lead me towards the dance floor.

“No, Matty.” I deadpanned. “There's no way I’m dancing.”

“We’ll see.”

I gave him a humourless look. “No, we won’t. There's not a chance in hell.”

By that point we’d already made it onto the borders of the dance floor, where everyone else had seemingly wandered back towards after the argument had been doused out. Matty was still grinning as he bopped his head up and down, taking turns to move my stiff arms back and forth. It only brightened when the DJ finally put on a decent tune, increasing his enthusiasm by a tenfold.

“Come on, don’t be that person.” He drawled, taking the piss now. “You know you want to.”

I attempted to send him another dirty look, but it was overshadowed by the tiny lilt my mouth made, giving me away.

“Ah, see! Knew you loved it.”

I threw my head back lightly and groaned, unable to hide my smile now as I laughed more freely, letting him move us in whatever way he pleased. And it wasn’t half bad once I let myself get pretty into it, deciding to just say ‘fuck it’ and enjoy a dance for once. 

Matty wasn’t too shabby a dancer either. In all honesty, he really did look so effortless dancing across from me, the way he pranced about, hips moving madly, as though his soul purpose was to simply perform. I loved watching him.

That reminded me— but as I went to ask my unanticipated question, the song changed. Or slowed, rather. 

I was a little surprised at first when Matty’s arms encircled me to wind themselves around my waist, but I just followed his lead, lifting my hands to rest on his shoulders.

Everyone else around us seemed to be doing the same thing, or something of the sort, and I watched as a few more couples got up to join us.

I smiled past Matty’s ear at the sight of my sister and Adam, who, in that moment, couldn’t have looked more in love. And then at my pops who was twirling my nana about without a care in the world, his smile making him look twenty years younger. 

I let myself rest my cheek against the jut of Matty’s shoulder to simply take in the entire day. A gentle smile limned my lips.

“Thank you for today.” I muttered softly as the chorus started, “I’ve had the best time.”

I felt Matty’s hold tighten around me slightly as he pulled us closer during a turn.

“What, even with that arsehole from earlier?” He joked quietly into my ear and I chuckled.

“What was up with that anyway?” I couldn't help but ask him, pulling away to look at his face. I watched as he blinked, wearing a significant look on his face that I couldn’t quite place. 

“You really don’t know?” Matty said, though he’d phrased it less like a question and more like a revelation. More to himself, than me. He shook his head faintly as surprise worked its way across his features. “Honestly thought you’d clocked on when I first turned up.”

“Clocked onto what?” I questioned, more confused now than I was before. Mostly by his reaction.

“Just my job, really.” He replied, and for the first time he looked a little abashed. It threw me a bit. “I’m in a band.”

Ah, well that made a bit more sense. The lingering looks. The pointed lenses. The whispers and pointing. The obvious gawking I’d tried not to ponder too much on. And then what the lad from earlier had said about The Sun Newspaper. Realising that now made the situation all the more worse in my head. 

I questioned, internally, whether it changed anything.

I mean, it was like Matty had said, it was just his job. But whilst most worked the usual nine to five, he had this big, interesting job that probably took him all over the globe.

It was a little daunting, in truth. And I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d agreed to this whole facade in the first place, knowing he definitely had his pick of the lot. Whether that was generally speaking, because everyone could easily see that he was a charmer, but also from the dozens of girls he probably had dying for his attention.

“A band…” I prolonged.

He hummed, eyes picking apart my reaction.

I quirked my lip, brightening slightly, “Is it a big one?”

He wore a wry smile then, and his squinted brown eyes flickered between both of mine.

“Massive.”

I just had to laugh then, and so as I shook my head, I pulled him in closer, fingertips finding the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Don’t think you can be that famous- I’ve never even heard of you.” I commented playfully, though it was mostly the truth. I say mostly because if they were as big as those boys had made them out to be, then I figured I’d had to have heard a song or two of theirs in passing.

Matty heightened his reaction- like always, as I’d come to quickly realise- and gasped, not loud enough to be overheard, just so that it would make me laugh and roll my eyes. He smiled when I did. 

“I’m hurt. Well, and truly, hurt.”

“Reckon you’ll get over it, rockstar.”

“And if I don’t?” He quipped, an eyebrow raised in retaliation.

I pretended to mull it over. “Then you’d best find some groupie to boost that ego of yours.”

“Why are you so nasty to me?”

I laughed loudly at that, too loudly actually, and had to quickly duck my head to hide my face in Matty’s chest when people’s heads darted towards the sudden noise.

“Are they still looking?” I questioned after a moment passed, my voice muffled by the man’s tailored suit jacket.

“Yeah, they’re all pointing and laughing too.”

I shook my head at him and felt the soft rumble of his chuckle from where my forehead was now pressed to his chest. 

When I poked my head back out, I flashed him a bashful smile and had to actually make the effort not to let my gaze linger too long on his mouth or his eyes. Instead, I let myself survey the surrounding crowd.

My mum was on the dance floor now, I found, scolding and rolling her eyes at Jamie, who seemed to have two left feet and was galloping them around the dance floor.

George wasn’t too far away either, dancing the night away with Gracie, my overly-enthusiastic six year old niece. He winked when he caught me looking and mouthed the words, ‘You’ve pulled, cupcake!’.

I bit my lip to conceal my sudden amusement then mouthed back, ‘Fuck off!’.

He just cackled and little Gracie started rattling away again, regaining his focus.

Adam, it appeared, had whisked my sister off somewhere, because they were no longer anywhere in sight. I only hoped that they’d found a decent place to shag because porcelain did your arse no favours when you were getting railed against the nearest bathroom sink.

“What’re you thinking about?” Matty asked, drawing me back to the present by pinching my hip. I tugged on the ends of his hair in retort. He just smirked, “Careful, sweetheart, I quite like that.”

“You’re insufferable.” I snickered, but answered his question when I looked back at him. “Honestly?”

He nodded.

“Was just thinking about the last time I had sex in a bathroom.”

Matty visibly fought down a giant grin at that. 

“That bad of a date, am I? Or are you just hoping I’ll offer up the chance to improve?”

I gaped a bit, not having expected him to be so forward, but then again, I couldn’t really blame him when I’d started it. 

“Keep on wishing there, Healy. You’d be so lucky.” I scoffed with a sarky sort of smile.

He looked me up and down slowly as he hummed his appraisal. “Doubt I'd say no.”

I rolled my eyes at him and tugged again at the ends of his hair. Harder this time.

“Ow. Kinky.”

I had to swat him then, because even as I laughed I couldn’t let him get away with it.

When I’d calmed somewhat and found Matty to still be staring at me with that humoured grin of his, I gently shook my head.

“I just meant that-”, then I exhaled a small chuckle, “I merely noticed that the newly weds had disappeared and took a wild guess on what their current whereabouts might be.”

“Ah, I see.” I watched as Matty’s eyes trailed the rest of the room. “Reckon they’re going at it 'round the back.”

With a snort, I couldn't help but ask, “Why’d you say that?”

He shrugged, “Fire exit door over there by the DJ booth leads out there- be my first choice after seeing the queue to the toilets.”

I glanced back and found that he was correct, a line of seven or so people were all waiting to use the bathroom and the slit in the tent was discreet enough to slip out of unseen. It was also close enough to where the couple had just been seen dancing.

“Hm, and if I were to drop a certain kind of hint? Where would you head to next.” What could I say? I was intrigued.

“Chapel.” He said without a second thought.

I raised my brows at him. “Really?”

He hummed, linking his hands behind my back to bring us that much closer. And grinned, “Reckon it could be sexy- could play at being a nun... Or I could be your choir boy-”

I cut him off right there with a hand to his mouth.

I rebuked him with a small shake of my head but couldn’t hold back my amusement. “You’re actually so bad, you know that? Almost as bad as nana.”

Matty unwound his hands so that he could pull mine away from his lips, but he didn’t let go afterwards, simply held them together against his chest. And if I concentrated hard enough, I could just about feel the rhythm of his heartbeat.

“No one outranks your nana.” Matty assured me, “That woman’s got a hell of a vocabulary on her.”

Lightly laughing, I looked down at our paired hands, at how Matty’s thumb kept running over the back of my own and I wondered whether he felt it too.

“Oi, Healy!” Someone called out, breaking the moment, “I thought that was you!”

And just like that, as I looked up and caught sight of the goddess of a girl headed straight towards us, I knew that I’d just let myself get far too caught up in the moment.

Part Four>

[authortobenamedlater]

E3 deep dive, brought to you by illness and cold medicine, you are warned.

I maybe should start just doing the highs and lows of each episode, because these take forever to write and I’m not sure how interesting they are for the rest of you. I was going to do highs and lows at the end of this post but it got too long.

We open up with Silver Team going rogue at Visegrad Relay, looking for their Cobalt comrades. It’s becoming increasingly clear that not only is this mission off the books, but John hasn’t told his team this. Not great for unit cohesion, Master Chief.

The base is eerily empty and there’s a rhythmic thumping sound. The Covenant? No, just a door opening and closing. Somehow that doesn’t feel much less scary.

Instead of the Covenant, we meet a swarm of Marines led by an impressively gutsy and likely ONI officer who puts herself between Silver Team and the ominously thumping door. She accuses John of stealing a Condor and falsifying a flight plan. This is news to the rest of Silver. John doesn’t care and barges through the door expecting to find Cobalt. He finds a whole lot of nothing. This doesn’t look like a cover-up at all, nope.

Next we whiplash to Ackerson having a touching and mundane moment with his father, who’s senile but not so far gone he doesn’t know he’s senile. Evidently Ackerson has been spilling classified information to his dad. In light of everything else going on, that’s pretty far down on Ackerson’s list of misdeeds. We also learn that “Julia” the mysterious flash clone was Ackerson’s sister. Why did he clone a bunch of her for Halsey? Ackerson Sr. reminds his son “You promised not to let them [the Covenant, presumably] take me alive.” Once again, nothing ominous here.

Then we have Dadmiral Keyes dressing down his overgrown children for ripping through the UCMJ like it’s wet toilet paper. You also get the feeling Keyes is getting squeezed into this and has information he should have shared with Silver, but was ordered not to. John asks if Ackerson is behind this, and everyone knows the answer but can’t say it.

John’s team is rightly furious with him for lying to them. Kai at least tries to reason with him but John’s not hearing it. The audience knows John is right and the UNSC-ONI machine is gaslighting him into thinking he doesn’t see what he knows he’s seeing. However, he’s still being a jerk about it and turning his own people against him. He doesn’t help his case when he mops the floor with his ONI babysitters like Steve Rogers taking out the Hydra guys in The Winter Soldier elevator scene.

Laera is trying to escape the Rubble and go after Soren, only to get wrapped up in Soren’s crew’s plot to steal the “Madrigal money.” Kwan continues to prove herself both useless and useful. With Madrigal glassed now, one has to wonder what role Kwan has to play. At the same time, she’s tough and resourceful, I have to give her that. She also tries to do what’s right. She knew Laera would die and went to rescue her, probably thinking she could reunite mother and son at some point but mom has to be alive for that to happen.

Laera, too, shows herself to be more than just a pretty face, resisting Antares’s interrogation even with a gun to her head. And the part where she says “I can usually reason with my husband” 🤣 it takes a real woman to hang with Soren-066. Plus, Laera always looks fabulous! I want to look that good if I ever get shoved in an airlock.

Got ahead of myself there, but some things work best tackled as a big chunk.

Riz seems to be increasingly disenchanted with Spartan life, not that I can blame her after how John treated her last week. Never mind that she’s been in constant pain for six months. She ends up at Louis’s place where we learn he and Danilo the PT are married. Riz asks Louis what “other things” there are to be besides a Spartan. We don’t get the rest of the conversation, but it looks like Riz might be getting ready to jump ship. She may find her options more limited once Reach falls, though.

Back at the ranch, we discover what actually happened to Cobalt. They were in fact at Visegrad, and ran into the Covenant. We don’t know if this happened before or after Silver Team showed up, but it confirms what we all thought: There’s some conspiracy to keep Covenant activity on Reach under wraps.

Keyes is clearly distraught over the four (remarkably intact) bodies in the morgue. THE DADMIRAL LOVES HIS OVERGROWN EMOTIONALLY STUNTED SPARTAN CHILDREN I am not taking questions on this. The exchange between him and Ackerson here is top-tier. When Ackerson tells Keyes to leave and Keyes says “I won’t run”? I don’t think you’re going to be in season 3, Jacob.

Kai goes to Ackerson, who admires her for defending her “CO.” John isn’t her “commanding officer.” He’s not an officer. I don’t know what they’d call him, though. “Your team leader”? I won’t bug you all with nitpicking terminology. Kai is so stir crazy that she asks to be deployed alone until John is cleared for combat. This, I suspect, is how she ends up with the S-IIIs.

John takes his concerns to Parangosky, who to the surprise of no one, has not really left ONI. He tells her the Covenant is on Reach and no one is listening to him. Parangosky doesn’t give him the help he’s looking for. She tells him to go back to FLEETCOM and lay low, and she’s brought a cadre of spooks to ensure his compliance. This does not placate the increasingly agitated Master Chief.

Ackerson visits Halsey in holo-jail and gives her a speech about how she made the Spartans “fragile” by implanting those pellets. He tells her that “these things [she] made, broken as they may be” will be the foundation for something greater. I suspect this is the Spartan-III program. It’s also what Adun says to Halsey’s clone right before he kills her and dissolves her in acid.

Then the bomb drops: Julia, Ackerson’s sister, was a Spartan who died from the augmentations. Suddenly everything about Ackerson makes sense.

But the bombs aren’t done dropping. Ackerson leaves, then walks back in with none other than Soren-066. He tells Halsey “I didn’t want you to be alone” and walks out. Halsey looks legit TERRIFIED when she sees Soren.

Finally, John goes to see Talia and finds her in church. I’m going Gaga over the religious references this year, you all don’t even know. Talia has a recording of the “interference” on Sanctuary, which we find out is also a prayer offered by the Arbiter not named Thel ‘Vadam, stating his intention to offer Reach as a burnt offering and place the Demon’s head on the altar.

While Talia is translating the prayer, we see a montage that notably shows us Ackerson giving his father a pill, probably cyanide, reiterating his promise that he wouldn’t let the Covenant take his dad alive. He tells his father “I have to go away” which is the third time he’s said as much in two episodes. As he’s walking out, Ackerson brings in a final Julia clone, and his dad thinks he’s seeing his little girl one last time. A teary-eyed Ackerson walks out, and the next time we see him he’s strapped into a troop transport. Going where, we wonder?

Then an explosion shatters the church’s windows and the episode ends.

All this sets us up for…next week it’s all going down.

[eskawrites]

sports anon got me thinking about a ronance volleyball au so headcanon list let’s go

Nancy is a fiercely clever setter, she can take in the whole court and make a decision in a split second and her precision never falters

she has a rough first couple of years dealing with hitters who can’t keep up with her--and jealous hitters who just want every set to go to them (looking at you, Carol). but once she and Robin start working together she really shines

Robin is an opposite hitter (she’d be a great outside too but i lowkey hc her as a leftie so she’d do great as an opposite, plus the backwards set-spike combo is so fucking beautiful)

a setter who consistently sets to her opposite over her outside would also probably throw people off, at least in shitty midwestern public school leagues (yes this is from personal experience), so Nancy and Robin get a few easy points that way

Robin takes a while to find her confidence on the court. they place her front row because she’s taller than most other girls, but she’s clumsy and nervous during her first year or so. no one hits the net more often than her and yes Nancy yells at her about it at some point

she figures it out eventually though. gets her form down, learns to place herself better, gets better at spatial awareness. and once she starts actually trusting herself to do it right? damn is she powerful on the court

even after Robin and Nancy start getting along more, no one actually thinks they’re that close until Robin rolls her ankle during a hitting drill. she’s coming down from absolutely nailing a back row attack and lands directly on a loose ball. it’s actually really harrowing, watching her go from a perfectly controlled jump to a crumbled heap on the gym floor. but no one reacts more than Nancy, who rushes to her side, already snapping at the freshmen who let the ball roll loose, then turns so gentle as she tries to help Robin. she doesn’t leave her alone until they get Robin off the court and their coach forces Nancy to get back to work

it’s not a serious injury, but Robin does have to sit out for a few games. she does her best to play it down so she can keep playing, but Nancy is the one who calls her out on her bullshit and forces her to rest (this is incredibly hypocritical of her and everyone on the team points it out. Nancy tells them all (except for Robin) to shut up)

Max is libero btw. and she’s constantly covered in scuffs and bruises from diving to get the ball, but damn if she isn’t the best passer they’ve ever had

Nancy only paints her nails before a big game. the color doesn’t matter, but the feeling of the polish itself is just enough to make her more aware of her finger placement, so she makes no mistakes while setting (like she makes mistakes anyway

once they get closer, Robin starts painting her nails for her as a way to help her de-stress before a game

Karen Wheeler is volleyball mom. Ted hasn’t been to a game since Nancy was in middle school but Karen has never missed one. she coordinates meals for the team before away games and follows their summer league with plenty of sunscreen and a cooler full of gatorade

Mike is reluctantly dragged along to a lot of Nancy’s middle school games, and once he gets older he fully intends on never going to one again, but once Max joins the team Lucas makes everyone go to support her and him, Dustin, Will, and El are immediately so into it, so Mike finds himself dragged to all of Nancy’s high school games, too

Robin and Nancy both help run the elementary school volleyball camp in the spring. Holly always goes because her big sister is there, of course she does. but the year Robin and Nancy start dating, Holly chooses Robin as her pepper partner every single day. Nancy tries so hard to be jealous, but she can only barely manage to hide how fond she is

Max and Robin pepper whenever they need to have a serious conversation. it gives them both something to focus on that isn’t the heart-to-heart and makes it easier for both of them to open up

Nancy and Robin practice serving together and they’re super competitive about it. Robin has the best jump serve on the team and she can put so much power into it--she’s great at nailing those back corners. but Nancy has this gorgeous topspin to her serve and she can get the ball to drop almost as soon as it clears the net, so she’s great at putting the opponent setter out of commission. every other team in their district hates both of them

Nancy is so damn hard on herself and takes every loss and even some of their victories really personally. after hard games she’ll sit alone at the front of the bus, curled up against the window, going over every little detail of the game and all the things she could’ve done better

she tries to push Robin away when she tries to sit with her, but Robin just stays quietly by her side. eventually, Nancy will uncurl and lean against Robin a little bit, or they’ll talk softly about it

other times, after better games, Nancy will fall asleep with her head in Robin’s lap, and Robin will play with her hair and hold her in place on windy roads so Nancy can sleep peacefully

[sidewalk-cracks]

Badger Cereal Fic Recs

I am heinously picky when it comes to fanfic, so for those of ya’ll hungry for badger cereal and in need of good fics: COME GET YA’LL’S FOOD. 

1. (we are) the fault line by @iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid . This is my number one favorite dp fic of all time, tho... it’s not technically badger cereal? Danny’s only in the fic for like, 2 seconds, but it’s still got parental/protective Vlad and found family, and it’s flawless so I’m including it anyway. A basic summary is: Sam, Tucker, Dani, and Valerie team up with Vlad to rescue Danny from the government. Road trip fic featuring angst, hurt/comfort, buckets of found family, and incredible humor. Word count: 46k

2. How to Mentor a Troubled Ghost Child by @ectopal (and its sequel oneshot). This is my second favorite dp fic of all time, and it’s an actual proper badger cereal fic lol. Quick summary: Vlad has a mini-crisis and starts to work on getting his life together, starting with how he treats Danny. Enemies to friends to mentor/mentee, hurt/comfort, EXTREMELY FLUFFY AND WHOLESOME. Word count: 23k

3. Humans and Ghosts by RedGhost1010. I think this was one of the first dp fics I ever read. Not centrally focused on badger cereal, but it comes into play in the last one or two chapters, and I at least was surprised and delighted by it. Quick summary: Danny’s life is basically just falling apart, largely because Jack and Maddie aren’t the best parents. Angst warning, Danny whump, lots of Good Sister Jazz, protective Vlad at the end. Word count: 26k

4. Overshadowed by @whereonceiwasfire . This fic’s a commitment but it was a super cool read; the fight scenes were awesome and I was vibing so hard with the badger cereal. Basic summary: College-age Danny is having a rough time and it just gets worse when a certain enemy- heck, you could even say his ultimate enemy- comes back for a rematch. Fic is 95% heavy angst, some crumbs of h/c, heavy focus on badger cereal, character death and it might not be who you expect, epic anime-style fights, not sure if you’d call it a satisfying ending but it’s an ending. Word count: 142k

5. Untethered by  @life-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it (”draculard” on AO3). This is a brand new badger cereal fic that was posted only a week or two ago, so only the first chapter is out, but that so far is excellent. the Official Summary for the fic: There was a dead boy on Vlad Masters’ doorstep. So far featuring angst, hurt/comfort, big Danny!whump and protective!Vlad. Current word count: 486 words

6. Conspiracy by @elowenp . Super cute oneshot! Vlad’s not actually in it, but it’s still about badger cereal. Quick summary: Jazz (and friends) are trying to convince Danny to stay with Vlad since his parents are constantly trying to kill his alter ego. Humor and fluff. Word count: 1.5K

7. Still Better Than Google Translate by Hollyflash. I legitimately laughed out loud reading this one. Basic summary: Danny reluctantly asks Vlad to teach him Russian. This isn’t an overly spectacular idea, and it almost immediately dives off the rails. Humor/comedy, Vlad’s suffering is hilarious. Word count: 2k

I probably have more in my ao3 bookmarks that I’ve forgotten, and I’ve got a bunch of potentially good fics I’ve saved for later that I haven’t read yet, so if I find any more good ones I can reblog this or make a second post with them! :)

[bangtanmix73]

Being best friends with Paul Lahote

Warnings: Gn!human!reader, platonic, swearing, dog jokes, slight mention of sex (not with reader), Rachel (Paul’s actual imprint), might make one for each of the pack members, I have more for a whole part 2

Chaos duo.

He’d take you cliff diving, even if you’re scared of heights. If you refuse to, he pick you up and jump with you.

You poke fun at other pack members together.

You jokingly insult each other, none being taken to heart. Of course, if you have boundaries, he wouldn’t cross them. He can be a dick, but he’s respectful <3.

Just randomly texts you “you wanna go raid Jacob’s kitchen?”

You’re friends with Rachel. She was iffy about you at first, but once she realized you and Paul have the ‘everyone thinks you’re a couple, but you’re not’ friendship with no romantic feelings on either sides, she warmed up to you.

Dog jokes.

“You should phase so I can play tug of war with you” “ok, first of all, fuck you..” “or maybe fetch”

Rachel definitely calls you when she doesn’t know what to do with him

He’d talk about his ‘fun nights’ with Rachel and you’d just sit there like “this is the same guy I made slime with 15 minutes ago.”

Coming up with weird nicknames for each other, mainly insulting.

“Wolf boy”, “ratatouille built bitch”, “dense prick”, “bland pork chops”, “godless thot”.

Absolutely goes to a random fast food restaurant at 2am with you.

Can be protective of you if you’re into guys, only because he knows how they think and how the world is :/.

He’s fine with you dating, he’s not your dad, but if they’re toxic? Hell no, he ain’t tolerating it. Break up now.

Don’t even think about going near the Cullens. He doesn’t 1. Want you to get hurt, turned, or killed. 2. He doesn’t want to lose his best friend to one of them.

If you ever go missing, it’s probably his fault. He drags you out of bed at 8am, into the woods, just for his entertainment.

“If I got a cat, would it piss you off?”

When it snows, he drags you out early in the morning with the pack. You go on a drive, not just any drive…someone drives, someone holds the rope, at the end of rope is a sled, and someone’s on that sled.

One word: wrestling.

Now he’s not very rough with you like he is with the others, but that’s only because of his super strength.

Having deep conversation late at night then laughing at whatever was said and making jokes.

If you’re upset, he’s not very good at comfort, but he’s good at listening. Sometimes you’d have to remind him to listen and not go beat someone’s ass.

If you have your period, again he’s not good at comfort, but he’ll buy sweets and drinks at the first sign. He’d throw them like grenades then duck and hide. It’s entertaining to watch really.

Since he imprinted on Rachel, the three of you have spent a lot of time together. Which means, (if you have your period), yours and hers are in sync.

You and Rachel are the only people he’s actually scared of. 

One time you fell while climbing a tree, he won’t admit it, but he was worried about you.

You were doing something you parents told you not to do once and he threatened to snitch on you. It didn’t work well for him, you took off your shoe, throw it at him, he fell and you dragged him outside and left him there.

You get along well with the pack. You’re not fond of Bella because she hit Paul. You can’t lie, you probably would’ve punched her if you were there.

You think Jacob’s fun when he doesn’t go on and on about Bella.

When Paul has time off from patrol, he’d take Rachel and you on dinner dates.

Always together. People ask where’s the other when they’re not there.

“The coffee shop guy asked me where the ‘ripped gang dude’ was because ‘I’m always with you.”

Rachel’s Halloween idea was her as Lilo, you as stitch, and, for her entertainment, Paul as the big sister, Nani.

If you’re shorter than him, he makes fun of you for it all the time.

“Aww does Y/n need help down?” “Hey Rachel, I hope you didn’t want Paul alive.”

Probably has copies of your baby photos for blackmail.

In marko polo, you yell “Paulo” instead of polo.

Two hot best friends