#Facial expressions are fun though

[ragdolls-and-such]

Some background practice starring the beatles

[crystallizsch]

redrawing jamil's r cards in my (usual low-effort) style 😤💪

also the sr cards but i gave up on coloring (especially robes because this is just supposed to be quick and i’m NOT attempting those patterns 😭)

[egginfroggin]

quite possibly the cutest mabel I've drawn to date

[loverboybrightsideghost]

i often forget i'm attracted to men on account of lots of men sucking so horribly bad. of course i am not immune to manipulation myself however historically only one man person has ever been attracted to me and otherwise i fly under the radar so like. thank fuck for that. ew

[impzone]

hm. after all this time i still get angry about this so i think it’s about time i make a comic about how i feel about personality disorders

[thoughtpeek]

I'VE FINALLY FINISHED BROTHERSHIP IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!

[razurisea]

here's my daily stupid brain worm but this time i drew it and it's a shitty doodle

[justashadetalkative]

Some outfits for @oflostinfound 's Starlight Ball event! I probably won't have much time to write tomorrow, but I had some time to draw today. :)

[spikes-got-anger-issues]

Spencer Boldman's line delivery and comedic timing in Lab Rats gives me life

[batsandbirdbrains]

I’ll probably elaborate more on this tomorrow but I think it would be SO funny if Batman and the others create the justice league maybe a year or two after Dick has been going out as Robin.

And people have heard of Robin, sure, but never seen any pictures. Gotham is very territorial, and they don’t want news of their little bird reaching the wrong ears. Most people think Robin is some strange eldritch horror or cryptid like Batman, they don’t think either of them are really human. Gothamites know better, of course, but they don’t correct any outsiders. It’s a joke for them, really. It’s entertaining.

So then Batman co-creates the Justice League. And they all start asking about Robin.

“He’s my…associate.”

They all assume Robin is an adult. That he’s like Batman. They know now that Batman is human (most of them do, at least - some are still skeptical), and they assume Robin is an adult human too.

“Why doesn’t he join the League?” Superman asks one day.

“No,” is all Batman says.

Eventually though, after a year of needling him, they get Batman to agree to bring Robin in to meet them.

And boy are they shocked when they hear a child’s voice complaining after announcing Batman’s designation and a new “Robin, B-01” designation.

“But why can’t I join!”

“You’re only here to meet them. You’re not allowed to join.”

“Why not? That’s no fair! I’ve been around longer than some of them even!”

“You’re too young.”

“Until when?”

“Until you’re thirty.”

“Statistically speaking, I won’t make it to thirty.”

They hear Batman make a strangled sounding noise, like a whine and a wheeze.

“Don’t say that,” Batman pleads.

“Why not?”

“Because it makes me sad, Robin.”

“Oh.” There’s a pause. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I know.”

There’s another pause, before Robin’s voice perks up and asks, “Is Superman gonna be here?”

“He is not taking you flying and you will not ask.”

“That’s no fair! Why not?”

“You could get hurt.”

“I could get hurt doing anything! Are you gonna wrap me in bubble wrap and lock me in my room?”

“I just might.”

“Please, please? Can’t I just ask him to toss me in the air? He’s Superman, he won’t hurt me!”

“He might hurt you because he is Superman,” Batman says. “You’re small. You’re fragile. He’s a very large alien with super strength.”

“But you’re big and strong and you toss me up in the air all the time!”

“That’s different, Robin.”

“You’re such a spoilsport!”

And then suddenly Batman and Robin are standing in the doorway to the meeting room where everyone is sitting around, shocked. Because Robin looks like he’s maybe 10 or 11. He’s a child.

And he beams at the sight of Superman before darting over to him, his hand leaving the hold he had on the edge of Batman’s cape.

“Superman!” Robin greets, stopping straight in front of him and bouncing on his toes. “Can you throw me in the air like I’m flying? Please, please, please!”

Clark’s throat is dry and his mouth can’t move, because even though Batman has a cowl on hiding his eyes, he can feel the glare being sent his way.

“Um-”

Robin has noticed the look Batman is sending Superman, and he’s quick to send a scrunched up facial expression Batman’s way before moving closer to Superman, practically in his personal bubble.

“Ignore him, he’s being big and broody today!” Robin says quickly. “You can toss me up, I’m real good at flying!”

“Touch him and I’ll break your kneecaps,” Batman threatens.

Superman believes him.

“You’re such a party pooper!” Robin whines s Batman yanks him back, tucking his cape around the boy. “You can’t just drag me up here and not even let me have any fun!”

No one can believe what they’re seeing. No one can believe Batman is dad.

Superman isn’t afraid of much, but he’s terrified of finding out what Batman might do if anyone were to accidentally harm Robin.

[bbyseok]

thinking about teen gojo who’s still learning how to control his powers… and just starts floating every time you kiss him.

you just started dating after he won your heart some time around your first year as jujutsu high students, and there’s not really a difference from when you were friends compared to when you’re now together but—

there are the closer cuddles during movie nights and the spotanenous hangouts now established as dates amongst other things, and of course, the kisses.

funnily enough, it was you who intiated the first kiss, even after his oh so bold and confident claims that he’d be the best boyfriend and kisser, despite never having been in a relationship before.

some might consider that your first kiss with gojo wasn’t so special, but it’s special to you.

it had been a convenience store run he had dragged you out on during the ungodly am hours. satoru rummaging for his newly bought sweets in the grocery bag, his tongue poking out of his mouth. his expression had lit up when he pulled out his candy, eyes flitting to yours and then-

you leaned in to press a quick, chaste kiss to his lips.

his snowy eyelashes fluttered in shock, staring at you like you had just strung up the stars in the current night sky overhead. the dim light from the convenience store casts a glow over your facial features, and it takes him a moment to realize that the curvature of your lips had just been on his. that you had kissed him.

and then he started floating.

you couldn't help but laugh and pull him back down and in for yet another kiss.

and it keeps happening every time you kiss him now. it doesn’t matter what he was doing before, as soon as your lips leave his, his feet leave the floor too — quite literally.

you’d think that he’s doing it on purpose, but he swears that he isn’t! it’s not his fault that his technique goes haywire whenever you bless him with a kiss!

it’s to the point where you’ve decided not question it now, and even the others don’t too.

“suguru and i are going off for our mission!” and suguru watches his best friend lean down expectantly towards you, tapping his lips with a finger, “can i have a good luck kiss, sweetheart?”

and you oblige sweetly with a hum, “have fun, you two. be safe!”

suguru’s hand is already outstretched to tug satoru down to the earth by his jacket once he starts drifting upwards. “c’mon, satoru.”

hell, he’s been half-asleep, still drowsy as you give him a kiss while leaving his dorm early in the morning before you’re caught by yaga, and gojo starts hovering off the mattress like an exorcism is taking place, the thin blanket slipping off his legs.

(“i guess you can say that you really sweep me off my fee- ow!”)

and while it’s ridiculous, you also find that it’s rather endearing.

but god forbid you start making out with him though. you’re not quite sure on what might happen whenever that comes around..

[bluebeads-art]

2024 November 2nd

(You see a vision of the fuchsia.)

Context and some BlueBead Drawing Workflow Lore™: I convert a copy of my line art to pixel art by crunching it with levels and posterization so that I can quickly paint bucket in flat colors. However, when making the flats layer, I fill it in with a "missing texture" bright fuchsia first so I know if I missed any spots or if there's orphaned pixels.

While working on my last major drawing, Isabeau and Siffrin got to rock some fuchsia hair dye and Mirabelle got to enjoy a flashy shawl for a while because I thought they looked cool. And out of that trio, I deemed Isa most likely to inflict minor psychic damage on his friends for the bit. 😆

A close-up, the WIP Fuchsia Gang, and more rambling under the cut

Gosh I love drawing disgruntled / disgusted expressions so much, you can get so scrunchy with them. I think drawing stupid facial expressions is my favorite part of being an artist, genuinely. 😂

WIP of [this drawing] from October 15th! Siffrin with partial pink hair dye unironically slaps in my opinion.

Time taken on the comic was 20 hours and 31 minutes. Been trying to speed things up, but I was having too much fun playing with new line art brushes and special effects. I'm getting better at ignoring tiny inconsequential things I'd want to endlessly tweak though!

Will I ever draw in the same art style twice in a row? Who knows. :) I've been slowly trending towards the style I draw my OCs in, but it's not fully there yet, lol.

Is this post spoilers??? I feel like it's only spoilers if you know the right context for things, but heck it, it gets spoiler tagged.

[wttcsms]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖࣪ keep it on the low !!

ᝰ.ᐟ if there's one thing every celebrity needs to master, it's the art of the soft launch. building up the anticipation by teasing your fans, leaving little easter eggs that only the two of you could possibly pick up on, playing coy whenever questioned about your relationship status... looks like you and him could write the how-to guide on this art form. alternatively: a headcanon post on how the two of you soft launch your relationship. ( sfw + fem!reader )

features osamu miya, kiyoomi sakusa, wakatoshi ushijima, tobio kageyama, tooru oikawa author's notes blue lock version!

౨ৎ OSAMU MIYA. you are: a famous influencer notorious for being bad at cooking. you could burn water at this point. it's okay, though, because at least your makeup tutorials and your day-in-the-life vlogs are always entertaining and fun. you always joke that you feel bad for your future husband, convinced that a life of takeout and restaurants is the only sustenance your future family is going to know. you posted: a tiktok of a man cooking in a kitchen that isn't the familiar one your fans have seen from your vlogs. he's wearing a black apron, a black t-shirt that hugs his biceps, and the veins in his forearms pop out as he quickly dices the vegetables on the cutting board. you don't show his face, but you do caption the video when he tells me it's okay i can't cook <3. suspiciously enough, the owner of onigiri miya has his own tiktok page where he posts cooking videos, and his kitchen looks exactly like the one you're recording in. matter of fact... osamu miya always wears that plain apron, too...

"thank you for the meal!" your feet don't hit the ground when you're sitting on this stool, and you're literally kicking your feet as you stare down gleefully at the plate of food he's prepared for you. the meal is great, and for dessert, you decide to read the flood of comments tagging miyaosamuofficial on your latest video. you won't confirm or deny, but when osamu convinces you to stay the night, you know that you'll be more than happy to share a when he cooks you breakfast <3 video next.

౨ৎ KIYOOMI SAKUSA. you are: a cheeky pop princess. with your promiscuous persona, your flirty songs laced with sexual jokes, and your minidresses that you flounce around in while on stage, you're the girlie that has parents gasping when they take their daughters to one of your shows. while there's been speculation that you're already in a relationship, since clearly there has to be someone inspiring all these ovulation songs, you've never confirmed anything. you performed: a special dance routine at your latest concert. while you normally wear extremely bright colored bodysuits or pastel babydolls, tonight you're dressed in a sparkly black and gold getup. all your male dancers are wearing fitted black shirts with three golden scratches down the back, and you make a show of grinding against one of the dancers, running your nails against his back. you're staring into the crowd, smiling cheekily. that same night, grainy footage is captured of kiyoomi sakusa standing in the crowd, watching the whole show. the mask he's wearing covers his facial expression, but he barely blinks throughout the entire show, as if he doesn't want to miss anything.

"and there's a special guest here tonight." your chest is rising and falling from how out of breath you are after an hour and a half of nonstop singing and dancing. this is your ending speech for the concert, and the crowd is going insane. "i really hope he enjoyed tonight's show as much as i know all of you did. the love songs... they all are about him." the screams from your fans are deafening, and kiyoomi's glad that his mask covers the blush that creeps on his face as he hears your confession.

౨ৎ WAKATOSHI USHIJIMA. you are: literally ushijima's wife. you're a fairly private person to begin with, and it's not like you two have been married for long. you've been engaged for nearly a year, and you do attend most of his games, but ushijima specifically requests that the suite you watch him from doesn't get filmed. he wants to protect your privacy as much as possible, until you're okay with being shown to the public. he posted: a picture of you smiling on christmas day as you open up a gift from your husband. the boulder on your finger can be seen from a mile away, and as dorky as ever, ushi captions the photo with a happy wife happy life 👍🏻

"what does this mean?" ushijima shows you his phone screen, and you squint at it before laughing. one of the tweets tagging ushi reads leave it to ushijimawakatoshi to fucking hard launch his wife one random xmas morning. "it means you posted about our relationship out of the blue. usually people soft launch before they confirm anything." "soft launch?" his eyebrows furrow adorably as he tries to piece together what you just told him. "like, if you were to soft launch us, you would post a picture that maybe doesn't show my face but people might infer that you're in a relationship based off the photo you took." "that's dumb." he says, in his familiar ushijima cadence that had you falling for him. "i'd never take a photo of you without showing your face. why would i want to hide you?"

౨ৎ TOBIO KAGEYAMA. you are: japan's favorite nepo-baby model. with a face card like yours (and connections from your parents), it's no wonder why you're gracing every billboard in the city, and you're the spokesperson of a premier skincare brand. your fame gets you international publicity, and you're selected for the latest skims campaign. with an entire country in love with you, it might be a hard pill to swallow for your intense fanboys when they find out you're in love with japan's best setter. he posted: so many reposts of your campaigns. tobio still wants to support you, even if he knows that you two can't go public with your relationship just yet. he's actually branded (and sometimes mocked) as one of your biggest fanboys, and it doesn't help that during your skims campaign, he reposted every single ad featuring you.

"tobio, baby, you're so sweet, but you don't have to repost every ad." you tell your boyfriend, watching as clicks repost to yet another one of your photoshoots. "but i want to." he says. you kiss his cheek happily. "and that's exactly why i stayed back and did some extra photos on the skims set, just for you. these are pictures you might not want to repost, though." tobio isn't sure whether his eyes should stay glued to the personal photoshoot you did just for him, or to the real life you who's ready to show him what the set looks like in person.

౨ৎ TOORU OIKAWA. you are: currently visiting your beloved boyfriend in argentina. people know that you two are together, even though neither of you have confirmed it explicitly. it's pretty obvious, though, considering you're constantly seen with him, and he talks about how lucky he is that his girl is his number one supporter. someone posted: a viral video of a toned man wearing aqua blue swim shorts taking pictures of a beautiful girl laying down on a beach towel. not only are the two of you so hot that you look fresh out of a perfume ad, but to have a boyfriend so devoted to getting your best angles? iconic, truly. fans don't even realize that it's you and oikawa until someone points it out.

"tooru, are you taking multiple photos or just one?" you try not to move your lips too much when you speak, uncertain of when he's going to snap a pic. "you trained me well." tooru whines. "obviously, i'm taking several at once." "and make sure the lighting is good!" you remind him. "it doesn't matter how i take the photos, baby. you're still going to look good in them, regardless." "aw... are you sweet talking me because some of the pictures are blurry?" when your boyfriend starts showering you with more compliments, you know the pics are definitely not going to be instagram-worthy. he's lucky he's so cute.

[ghelullu]

Okay I survived this ritual surprisingly and wrote down a few thoughts, in a mostly chronological order and I probably forgot 90848 things

Tldr: Absolutely fabulous 20/10 he sounds amazing and he looked so happy the whole time

Spoilers under the break(also for length of rambling) :)

octogonal (with the usual nose in the middle) stage setup, they can walk around the while thing now (a bit similar to the cardi days setup but no elevation in the back)

No new ghouls except for the one new ghoulette, also none of the "more ghouls" that were spoken of in that one interview

Peacefield sounds cool!!!

Lachryma live is 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽he did the high notes himself!

Spirit! Pinnacle!! So much meliora on the setlist!

Papa talked very little sadly, but when he did it was fun! No accent, too!

He said he's new and asked us to be nice to him since it's his first time; then wanted us to treat him rough instead after someone said no

Almost ran the mic stand over during ftpttp

Entertainer!Phantom!! He was phenomenal the whole night tbh, incredible guitar player

Papa in full robes sitting in the back of the stage being lifted by some thingy while singing Majesty (hands free mic!)

TFIAL made the audience go crazy, changed the lyrics to 2034

Cirice without wings

DATHOML! Much better live than I expected honestly

I think he has a screen now at the front of the stage where he can read lyrics? Not sure though, but from my seat it looked a bit like it, good for him

Still managed to miss some and now we know his "fuck, wrong lyrics" face

FACE! SO MANY SMILES AND FACES HE MAKES!!

No really, he looked SO happy seeing everyone vibe and sing 20/10

Big robes only made an appearance for majesty, other than that It was a black leather jacket with batwing seams on the bottom, the silver jacket (it has a sparkly grucifix on the back), the cassock (BEDAZZLED SPINE AND RIBS AND HIP BONE AND TAIL????) and a pink jacket for squammer

"Whoo!" - Papa V

Appeared from below the stage via trap door to deliver a cowbell to Swiss lmao, umbra rocked - but the mix was bad, you could barely hear his singing, sadly

He sounds amazing without the mask

Especially the new songs are sung rather raspy, incredibly hot. Older songs sound more copia/terzo, but I assume that will change as usual, transitions are never immediate with him

In general he's very copia, but moves different than him, less focused and dancer-y, more.... Theatrical, joyful idk the right word?

In general less horny than copia, fewer action in mummy dust(jumped kneeling on the stairs though), no fingering in ritual, no serpent deceive, etc, but some thrusting in dance macabre etc hehe

The way he ran to change into the cassock for year zero rip, man was in a HURRY

The explosion at the end of year zero shattered the stained glass backdrop and then he performed he is in front of the splintered glass, beautifully done, especially as it reassembled into a religious image again

Generally lots of cool effects for the backdrop during majesty too and then afterwards BECAUSE

for rats the whole backdrop exploded, the church architecture deflated! and it was performed in front of a wasteland, super cool

Frater money!

Really his facial expressions the whole time help

lipstick was GONE

I can't read my notes anymore lmao

He said he's only there to show up and shake ass and that's what he did

MONSTRANCE CLOCK - HE DID THIS FOR MEEEE

Encore was the usual (Good!!!) and there were so many people left after monstrance clock lmao???

Inrpobably forgot a ton but holy moly that was so much and so cool and he sounds SO GOOD I CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH, he looked extremely happy and comfortable, it was nice to see, audience was great and engaged, the whole new setup is very cool (and expensive looking damn)

10/10

[hades-in-bloom]

A Necessity

Vergil Sparda x Reader

summary: an unbearably human gesture to show that he wished you well. Prequel

warnings & contents: fluff with tEnSiOn (no other way to write it); Vergil is vergiling; flower gifting (with Vergil, definitely a warning); could be age gap, could be none; the reader could be any gender; no mentions of y/n

a/n: am having way too much fun writing for this man. As always, proceed at your own risk. Minors DNI! Masterlist xoxo

soundtrack: now that we’re alone — the people’s thieves

***

Whatever he was doing in that moment, it was not necessary. And anything unnecessary felt unnatural to him. After all, necessity had been at the core of his actions for far too long; it was ingrained into his very being for decades. Since he had become lost, since his childhood he pursued no desires—only needs. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have commanded the impressive power he wielded now. In his opinion, desires existed only to weaken human beings, and neither weakness nor humanity was something Vergil could afford to embrace—or truly wished to, given the circumstances. After all, greatness demanded sacrifice.

Then why, despite being unnecessary, did those visits to you—both promised and unspoken—start to feel so natural lately? He had far more important things to focus on than indulging his own curiosity while standing at your doorstep. He had always excelled at managing his priorities. So how could you, his poisonous desire, his deadly want, have become one? How did it come to be that you transformed into a need? A necessity.

In his world, necessities were meant to make him stronger—while you were meant to be his forbidden weakness. Now, in his world, you were a walking and talking contradiction. Uninvited. Yet, welcomed. Impossible. Yet, inherently natural.

“Vergil.”

You opened the door just moments after he knocked. Had you been waiting for him? Impossible. Yet, it might have felt natural for you. He was only beginning to realise that you might have foolishly waited for him like this many times before. At the thought of it, he felt nothing—at least, that’s what he wanted to believe in. Feeling anything else would’ve been unnatural. Dangerous. Forbidden.

In the meanwhile, you stared at him. You couldn't believe it, and both your facial expression and tone of your voice conveyed that clearly, unmistakably.

He wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or a bad one.

“What is this?”

His gaze dropped to the object in his hand. Pale violet flowers, brought into a small bouquet, were cascading down his palm.

“Wisteria.”

“Why?”

He blinked at your question, his shoulders tightened. A wave of frustration washing over him. Why had he even bothered? He felt like an idiot, and he should’ve seen this coming. This was consequential, after all. He had taken the foolish advice of his equally foolish brother—and somehow acted on it. He should have known better.

You noticed his discomfort and shook your head gently. With his silent permission, you took the bouquet from his hands, admiring its simple beauty. He watched you with a hint of puzzlement in his furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry. That came out wrong,” you acknowledged softly. Naturally, you needed no explanation for why he brought you flowers. It was an unexpected gesture on his part, but common enough—though among humans. “Why wisteria?”

The puzzlement on his face shifted to surprise, and he seemed genuinely pleased. He hadn’t expected you to be this thoughtful.

“It represents good luck,” he replied, his eyes locked on you. “As well as long life and prosperity. I thought these would never hurt.”

He also chose wisteria because the very thought of bringing you something as vulgar as roses—like Dante suggested—was threatening to give him a heart attack. But he also wanted you to know that he wished you well, despite his chaotic presence in your life.

You hummed in response. “I see,” a smile tugged at your lips. “Thank you.”

He nodded, awkwardly lingering at the doorstep.

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

You stepped aside, allowing him to slip into the apartment. He set Yamato down, leaning the sword in its sheath against the wall as casually as someone might drop a set of keys onto a table upon arriving home. Then he knelt to unbuckle the straps, removing the protective leather piece from his shin, and only after did he take off his shoes.

When he stood up from his knees, you had already placed the wisteria in a delicate vase and set it on the bureau in the hallway.

And now, you stood directly in front of him.

“Why?” you asked again, your voice quieter this time.

This time he could sense what was on your mind. Why had he returned?

“Because I promised,” he replied calmly, thinking it was obvious. He’d been many things, both good and bad, but he wouldn’t break this promise.

“You didn’t have to,” you insisted. He took a deep, steadying breath.

“I didn’t,” he admitted. As he had thought before, this wasn’t necessary. “But I wanted to,” he added.

Your eyes widened, your limbs froze, and your heart stuttered.

“I needed to,” he concluded at last, his eyes never leaving yours. His wants and needs had now intertwined, leaving him with a growing headache and a fearful pit in his stomach. Yet there were no regrets; he had enough of those over the past couple of decades.

You said nothing at first, the weight of his confession sinking in. At your silence, he thought of the worst, as he often did, so he muttered. “But if you don’t want me, I’d understand.”

You thought about it, then stepped right into him, encroaching on his cherished personal space as your arms wrapped around his waist. Caught off guard, he faltered under your affectionate touch.

This wasn’t supposed to feel right. Instead, it felt necessary. After a moment of hesitation, his hand settled on your back, pulling you closer.

“You thought,” you scoffed gently, a hint of approval in your voice.

[pitchsidestories]

The Little Lioness II Keira Walsh x Reader

romantic masterlist | platonic masterlist | word count: 2008

summary: Keira steps in as a stepmother for Reader's child. requested

author's note: Hey everyone, we had a great time writing this oneshot, and we hope you enjoy reading it. As always, your feedback is very appreciated ! 💗

disclaimer: everything in this fanfiction is purely fictional and nothing corresponds to reality.

You knew it was a good idea. You and Keira had been on a few dates already and it went extremely well between the two of you. So, it was only reasonable that it was time for Keira to finally meet your daughter from your previous relationship.

Still, the thought made you a bit nervous. For the past two years, it had only been you and her. And even though she said she was thrilled to meet Keira, you weren’t fully convinced that your toddler had understood what that meant for your family.

But Keira didn’t have to know. So, you kept a polite smile on your lips when you opened the door to your flat and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

“Lou’s so excited to meet you, Kei.”

“I can’t wait to meet her either.”, she said, her own smile a bit wobbly. For some reason, seeing Keira being nervous too, calmed you a bit.

You asked her in and called for your daughter: “Lou, we have a visitor.”

You heard her close the picture book she was reading with force and jump up from the sofa. She came running within seconds, her eyes wide with curiosity.

They even turned a bit rounder when she laid eyes on Keira. Her mouth dropped open in a small o-shape.

“A lioness…”, she whispered quietly to herself.

“Hi, uhm… I’m Keira.”, the football player waved awkwardly, clearly surprised by her reaction.

Lou nodded happily: “I know, mum talks a lot about you.”

You felt the blood rush into your cheeks instantly: “I promise it’s actually a normal amount.”

Keira grinned at you with raised eyebrows before turning back to your daughter: “Well… she talks a lot about you too.”

This time you couldn’t deny it. “I do.”, you admitted.

“Really?”, Lou asked, still not tearing her gaze away from Keira.

The football player nodded, seemingly becoming more confident around your child.

“Yes, like how you love football training with your friends and that you love to draw in your free time.”, she told her.

“Oh.”, was all Lou could say. Her facial expression was somewhere between impressed and overwhelmed, but you were convinced that she liked getting Keira’s attention.

As if Keira could read your mind, she smiled at your daughter: “We can play some football later. Only if you want to of course.”

Without missing a beat, Lous entire face lit up and she bridged the gap to Keira to hug her. Lou was only tall enough to wrap her arms around Keira's thighs, which made for a funny picture. You chuckled quietly.

“Of course I want.”, your toddler nodded enthusiastically.

With a reassuring smile, you whispered in your girlfriend’s ear: “You’re doing great.”

“Thanks,” Keira muttered gratefully, a shy grin appearing on her lips.

When you noticed your daughter already on her way to grab her little football boots, you reminded her: “But we’ll have dinner first before playing football.”

“Ugh, Mum,” Lou groaned, clearly annoyed.

You looked at her apologetically. “Sorry.”

After dinner, Keira and Lou were in their element, passing the ball back and forth and cheering when the ball landed in the small goal. You couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the moment.

Normally, you were the one taking photos at women’s football matches, capturing everyone in a good light. But this time, they encouraged you to play with them, which was a fun change of pace.

Time flew by as the three of you had fun together. By sunset, when Lou started to get tired, you all headed back home.

To both your and Keira's surprise, Lou, now ready for bed, asked, “Mum, can Keira bring me to bed tonight?”

“Sure, love,” you replied, her question warming your heart.

The midfielder turned to you nervously. “What do I have to do?”

On the pitch, she knew exactly what to do, organizing and dictating the play for both her team and the opposition. However, when it came to putting a young girl to bed, she had no experience.

“Usually, she just reads from her picture book,” you explained, giving her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder.

The footballer stepped into the child’s room and was immediately charmed by the way it was decorated. In the centre of the room stood a bed that looked like a tent, softly illuminated by a string of lights.

As Keira and your daughter settled in, the midfielder noticed the starry mobile hanging above their heads. This is magical, she thought to herself, feeling a sense of wonder. The cozy atmosphere calmed her as she began reading aloud from the picture book.

Amazed, Lou glanced at Keira. “I love your hair.”

“You do? I didn’t straighten it today,” the older woman said, flustered by the attention. She ran her fingers through her curly hair, trying to regain her composure.

 “It looks a bit like mine,” your daughter realised in awe.

Your girlfriend confirmed with a smirk, “Yes, it does.”

“That’s so cool,” Lou yawned, a happy expression spreading across her little face.

“Yeah, I think so too.”

Smiling fondly at her, Keira tucked your daughter in before quietly closing the door behind her as she left the room.

Watching your girlfriend walk toward you, looking tired but content, you questioned, delighted: “Worked well, huh?”

“Very, she was asleep in no time.”, Keira nodded, a slight hint of pride in her voice.

You winked at her: “Must have been the football session earlier.”

“Maybe.”

You considered Keira for a moment and took a step closer to her, quietly changing the topic: “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

You would fully understand if she said no, if it was too much already. So you weren’t too surprised when her eyebrows knotted together, forming a little crease.

“Is that okay? For her too?”, she asked.

You blinked at your girlfriend, speechless. You hadn’t expected such a thoughtful answer at all.

“Yes, we talked about it earlier and she said it would be okay for her.”, you finally replied, suppressing the overwhelming urge to kiss Keira right there.

She smiled, nodding slowly: “Okay then, I would like to stay.”

You pressed a quick kiss to her lips and led her to the bedroom.

As it turned out, your initial anxiety had been unfounded. Lou had embraced Keiras presence in your life and the two quickly became inseparable. Watching those two together, your heart always did a little happy jump. You could have never imagined that it would be that easy.

Lou had a deep admiration for Keiras football skills too. So when Keira surprised the two of you with tickets to the England vs. Spain game at Wembley, and even asked Lou to be her mascot for the game, your daughter was completely smitten.

While you took your seat among the 46,550 fans in the stadium, Lou was excitedly bouncing next to Keira in the players tunnel. With a quick grasp of her hand, she had Keira's full attention: “Mum?”

Keiras had snapped towards the little girl: “Mum? I’m Keira. Your mum is waiting for you outside.”

Lous little face shifted into a frown: “Should I call you mami then?”

Keiras eyes widened: “What? Wait, are you calling me your mum?”

“Yes.”, Lou nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Not only Keira was surprised. Her England teammates turned towards the pair, holding their breaths.

“Wow, that’s big.”, Leah mouthed in awe.

In contrast to her, Lucy covered her mouth with a fist in order to stifle her laughter as she watched Keira struggle for words.

“I uhm… I think I like mum.”, she stammered.

Lou seemed satisfied with the answer and gave a court nod: “Me too.”

Keira cleared her throat, pointing towards the field: “Ready to go out?”

"Ready," the little girl beamed at her.

An amused grin tugged at Lucy’s lips as she tapped the midfielder’s shoulder. “Hey, Kei, that kid’s amazing.”

“Yeah, she is,” your girlfriend agreed, a warm smile lighting up her face as she gazed affectionately at her special mascot for the night.

The football player tried to see the world through your child’s eyes—the dazzling fireworks, the pitch bathed in floodlights, and the grandeur of the stadium.

A few minutes later, the national hymns were sung, and each team gathered in a circle. Leah slipped into her captain mode, clapping her hands with energy. “Let’s beat Spain, girls. Lou, you’d love that, right?”

"Yes, go Kei!" she shouted, her voice bubbling with excitement.

Quickly, Keira knelt down, taking Lou’s hand and nodding toward your direction. "Run back to Mum, okay? I’ll meet you after the game."

"Okay, good luck," Lou replied, squeezing her hand one last time before darting straight into your open arms.

A wide smile spread across your daughter’s face as she bounced up and down, practically vibrating with excitement. "Mum! Did you see us?"

"Yes, did you enjoy it, Lou?" you asked, feeling her joy rub off on you. Without missing a beat, she began to rave, "I loved it! Keira is so cool."

"She is," you agreed, pausing before quietly confessing, "I love her." Exhilarated, Lou added, "And she said she’ll be my mum too."

"Really? That’s sweet," you replied, your voice thick with emotion as you tried to hold back happy tears. You realized, in that moment, that you hadn’t just found a girlfriend, but also a second mum for your beloved daughter.

The match continued with intensity. Suddenly, Lou jumped out of her seat, raising her arms in celebration. "A goal from Jess!"

"That’s great," you told her, sharing her enthusiasm.

After the match, the two of you made your way down to the pitch to meet Keira and her teammates.

Unlike the midfielder, Lou wasn’t shy around adults. She approached one of the defenders with wide, animated gestures. "Lucy! Did you see the blackouts?!"

"Yeah, weird, right? Were you scared?" Lucy raised an eyebrow playfully.

"A bit," Lou admitted, trying to appear casual in front of the older woman. "But when everyone turned on their smartphone lights, that was beautiful."

"Yeah, that was pretty amazing," the defender agreed with a smile.

"Oh, yes.”, the small girl continued, nodding enthusiastically.

While Lou made a new friend, Keira wrapped her arms around you and pulled you in for a celebratory hug. With your chin resting on her shoulder you paused, taking it all in.

“Wow, you hug her but not me, Kei?”, a familiar voice interrupted.

You looked up to see your girlfriends captain grinning at her.

Keira let go of you and rolled her eyes: “Why would I hug you?”

“Yeah, okay, fine. Lovers first.”, Leah winked , her smirk only making your girlfriend groan in annoyance.

“Leah, we’ve been in camp together the whole time.”, she said plainly, letting her best friend subtly know that she had seen enough of her.

The defender continued to tease her: “Yeah, and I know you missed her and Lou terribly.”

“Is that true?”, you asked, turning to Keira.

Her cheeks reddened slightly: “I mean…”

A soft smile tugged on your lips: “It’s okay, we missed you too.”

You pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth, completely unaware that Lou had appeared on your side, tugging on Keiras hand.

“Keira, when are you coming home again?”, she asked, her voice quiet but hopeful.

“Very soon. It was our last game of this camp.”, your girlfriend explained, stroking your daughters hair.

“Great.”, she smiled, seemingly happy with her answer.

“So probably around dinner time tomorrow.”

Lous eyes went big: “Promise?”

“Promise.”, Keira nodded gently.

She scooped Lou up with ease, carrying her across the grass while they both waved to the fans that remained in the stadium. You heart felt like it was about to jump out of your chest.

In this moment, surrounded by the echoes of celebrating fans, you realised that after all the time spent alone with Lou, you never imagined someone could complete your little family the way Keira did.

image sources: pinterest