#God I love my grandpa but he surely loves to talk and drive me up the walls when I need it the least

[weaselle]

i want to talk about real life villains

Not someone who mugs you, or kills someone while driving drunk, those are just criminals. I mean VILLAINS.

Not like trump or musk, who are... cartoonishly evil. And not sexy villains, not grandiose villains, not even satisfyingly two dimensional villains it is easy to hate unconditionally. The real villains.

I had a client who was a retired executive for one of the big oil companies, i think it was Shell or Chevron. Had a home just outside of San Francisco that was wall to wall floor to ceiling full of expensive art. Literally. I once accidentally knocked a painting off the wall because it was hanging at knee height at the corner of the stairs, and it had a little brass plaque on it, and i looked up the name of the artist and it was Monet's apprentice and son-in-law, who was apparently also a famous painter. He had an original Andy Warhol, which should have been a prize piece for anyone to showcase -- it was hanging in the bathroom. I swear to god this guy was using a Chihuly (famous glass sculptor) as a fruit bowl. And he was like, "idk my wife was the one who liked art"

I was intrigued by this guy, because in the circles i run this dude is The Enemy. right? Wealthy oil executive? But as my client, he was... like a sweet grandpa. A poor widower, a nice old man, anyone who knew him would have called him a sweetheart. He had a slightly bewildered air, a sort of gentle bumbling nature.

And the fact that he was both of these things, a Sweet Little Old Man and The Enemy, at the same time, seemed important and fascinating to me.

He reminded me of some antagonist from fiction, but i couldn't put my finger on who. And when i did it all made sense.

John Hammond.

probably one of the most realistic bad guys ever written.

If you've only ever seen the movie, this will need some explaining.

Michael Crichton wrote Jurassic Park in 1990, and i read it shortly thereafter. In the movie, the dinosaurs are the antagonists, which imo erases 50% of the point of the story.

book spoilers below.

In the book, John Hammond is the villain but it takes the reader like half the book to figure that out. Just like my client, John is a sweet old man who wants lovely things for people. He's a very sympathetic character. But as the book progresses, you start to see something about him.

He has an idea, and he's sure it's a good one. When someone else dies in pursuit of his dream, he doesn't think anything of it. When other people turn out to care about that, he brings in experts to evaluate the safety of his idea, and when they quickly tell him his idea is dangerous and needs to be put on hold, he ignores his own experts that he himself hired, because they are telling him that he is wrong, and he is sure he is right.

In his mind, he's a visionary, and nobody understands his vision. He is surrounded by naysayers. Several things have proven too difficult to do the best and safest way, so he has cut corners and taken shortcuts so he can keep moving forward with his plans, but he's sure it's fine. He refuses to hear any word of caution, because he believes he is being cautious enough, and he knows best, even though he has no background in any of the sciences or professions involved. He sends his own grandchildren out into a life-threatening situation because he is willfully ignorant of the danger he is creating.

THIS is like the real villains of the world. He doesn't want anyone to die. Far from it, he only wants good things for people! He's a sweet old man who loves his grandchildren. But he has money and power and refuses to hear that what he is doing is dangerous for everyone, even his own family.

I think he's possibly one of the most important villains ever written in popular fiction.

In the book, he is killed by a pack of the smallest, cutest, "least dangerous" dinosaurs, because a big part of why we read fiction is to see the villains face thematic justice. But like a cigarette CEO dying of lung cancer, his death does not stop his creation from spreading out into the world to continue to endanger everyone else.

I think it is really important to see and understand this kind of villainy in fiction, so you can recognize it in real life.

Sweetheart of a grandfather. Wanted the best for everyone. Right up until what was best for everyone inconvenienced the pursuit of his own interests.

And my client was like that too. His wife had died, and his dog was now the love of his life, and she was this little old dog with silky hair in a hair cut that left long wispy bits on her lower legs. Certain plant materials were easily entangled in this hair and impossible to get out without pulling her hair which clearly hurt her. When i suggested he ask his groomer to trim her lower leg hair short to avoid this, he refused, saying he really liked her usual hair cut.

I emphasized that she was in pain after every walk due to the plant debris getting caught in her leg hair, and a simple trim could put an end to her daily painful removal of it, and he just frowned like i'd recommended he take a bath in pig shit and said "But she'll be ugly" and refused to talk about it anymore.

Sweet old man though. Everyone loved him.

[pendragonsclotpole]

so i just saw a gif on this site where percy apparently calls kronos “grandpa” and like given how many changes to the adaptation rick has made, imagine if he just went off the rails

percy starts calling kronos grandpa over time and he just. does. not. stop. kronos is lowkey annoyed at first but progressively gets angrier and angrier because all it does is remind him of the actual ties he has to percy and the generational trauma he’s inflicted on his kids and that gaea inflicted on him

begrudgingly, kronos starts to respect percy for being brave enough to keep calling him grandpa, and standing up to him. like sure they’re mortal enemies fighting over the fate of the world but it potentially gives us so many cool scenes with kronos playing into the grandpa role and trying to convince percy to join him

“your father? my dear boy, he cares as much about you as he does about me. such is the fate of those that love the gods. i knew from the moment he breathed his first—no matter how much i loved him, he would one day take everything from me. he would cast me aside, rip me apart piece by piece, and throw me into tartarus.”

“yeah, but you ate him first gramps, all because of a prophecy you had no idea would come true. i think it’s kind of justified.”

the titan looks at him and bursts into laughter.

“oh sweet boy, what do you think he sees when he looks at you? why do you think your birth was forbidden? they fear you. the mighty gods of olympus fear the destruction you might bring, not just to your precious mortal world, but to olympus itself. ask yourself why. ask them if they have told you everything. if they tell you the truth, see if you change your mind.”

“what’re you talking about? hey wait—”

“do be careful grandson, no mortal should ever know their fate. it tends to end badly. even we immortal beings struggle to handle such matters. we fear everything that threatens our immortal existence. it drives us utterly mad.”

or with kronos defeat, him giving up at the VERY end because he feels bad knowing that gaea is rising and that percy will be at the center of another prophecy

[deadratdonoteat]

Jotaro Kujo x Reader

An awkward aquarium “date” with some edgy teen

Tags- Fluff, Awkwardness, hand holding, Sitting on his lap, reckless driving, perverting(From Jospeh and Polnarff), aquarium date

W.C= 1.6k

This was humiliating. This is not what I thought I'd be doing when I was offered to join the group to defeat a vampire. When I visited Jotaro in jail with his grandpa. I just thought we were bailing him out, not going to egypt. I don't even know how Mr. Joestar found me. I was walking out of school and he said he was there to pick me up, what a creep. But I went with him when he said his grandson, Jotaro, was in jail.

Yes, me and Jojo are friends. He sure doesn't act like we're friends, We eat lunch together on the stairwell. We always partner up for class projects. He acts like he hates it but I'm always his first choice. His fangirls hate my guts.

Now here I am, sitting on the broody teens lap. There are six of us, not including Iggy. Joestar insisted on this model of car. It only had five seats. We sat behind Avdol, Mr. Joestart driving (For some reason), Kakyoin in the middle, Polnareff behind the driver's seat, Iggy on pPlnareff’s lap with his head out the window.

Since Mr.Joestar was driving the drive was bumpy and swaying. Jotaro refused to use the seat belt. His left hand was by his side, while his tight rested on the window seal. I had to hold on to nothing. Of course Jotaro wasn’t going to hold me to ensure my safety. If we crashed I would definitely be screwed. Another bump. I held onto Advol’s seat. Praying to myself that I’ll gladly drive next time.

“HOLD ON!!” The old man yelled while speeding up. I couldn’t see the road so I didn't know what was coming. I can see Joestar moving his hands on the steering wheel, he was about to make a sharp turn. Why’d he speed up?I screamed to myself. This was the end. I’m about to go out the window. I’ll never see Dio get destroyed. Suddenly a tight grip was around my waist.

Jotaro had wrapped his arms around me. Pulling me closer into him. My back was flushed against his chest. Thank god he could see my face, it went completely red. The car made a turn. Me and Jotaro were pulled against the car door. Thankfully Kakyoin was wearing his seatbelt so he only tilted. Polnareff was holding Iggy for dear life while screaming. Joestar held his hat as if he wasn't the one causing this.

Once the car was straight on the road again, we all calmed down. The yelling began, it was only Polnareff.

“WHO THE HELL ALLOWED HIM TO DRIVE??”

“WHY DID YOU SPEED UP??”

“I VOTE TO MAKE Y/N DRIVE,” Polnareff called out. Kakyoin and Avdol nodded and agreed with him.

“Stop whining!” The homan user retorted, “I don’t mind driving Mr. Joestar,” I spoke to him. He took his eyes off the road to face me. He loved it when I called him that. His smile was huge.

“Face the road,” Advol reminded the driver. I was so focused on the others talking that I didn't realize Jotaro was still holding me.

“I told you to stop calling him that,” Jotaro’s deep voice whispered into my ear. My face heated up. “I’m just being polite,” I tilted my head back to whisper back to him. Our faces are only centimeters away. He grumbled something about his grandfather being cocky. He looked out the window. His face always looked so serious. His jaw was always tight. I was staring. Jotaro met my eyes.

“What?” He asked while furrowing his brows.

“You look g-” “Y/N!” Polnareff interrupted me. I was about to complement Jotaro. This stupid frenchman. I look at Polnareff, Jotaro quickly unwraps his arms.

“Take Iggy!!! He's Farting over here!!” The white haired man whined. I made a face of disgust.

“Keep him away from over here,” I called to him, he whined more. Just as I was going to yell at him, Joestar interrupted me.

“WERE HERE!!” He yelled for no reason. I could see his leg move. He was definitely going to stomp on the breaks to park. I grabbed Jotaro’s hands, which were by his sides. I wrapped them around myself and pushed my back into his chest again. He got what was happening and tightened his grip. As predicted the car screeched at a sudden stop. Polnareff let out a completely manly scream as his head smacked a seat in front of him.

“A warning next time,” Avdol said, releasing his grip from the safety handle.

-

“Three rooms available at the moment,” the front desk lady told Avdol and Joestar. After buying the rooms, they told us to pair up.

“I call Y/n,” Polnareff said with a smug grin. What a creep. “Don’t even think about it,” Kakyoin told him. The red haired teen grabbed a key card from Avdol, then dragged the frenchman to their room. Avdol handed me a card as well. Jotaro, who was behind me, said his classic phrase. I guess I'm sharing a room with him. I don’t mind it at all, I hope he doesn’t either.

-

Thankfully there were two beds. After saying goodnight to the others and changing. My pajamas were just comfy shorts and a simple black tank top. Jotaro stayed in the same outfit. After getting settled for bed I was going to tell the stand user goodnight but he wasn’t in bed. The balcony doors were open. As I walked outside I smelt smoke.

Jotaro was leaning on the railing, with a cigarette betweens his lips. He looked magical. He didn’t turn to face me.

“Need something?” He asked before tagging a drag of the cigarette.

“I was gonna go to bed,” I replied, “Are you gonna head to bed soon?” He just grunted at my question. My eyes followed his gaze. He was looking at a building. I walked up to the railing with him. Leaning forward to get a closer look. The building was an aquarium. Of course that's where he was looking off to.

“Would you like to go there?” I asked him. His shoulders tensed. His head slowly moved to face me.

“What are you talking about,” He said while pulling his hat down to cover his eyes.

“We can go tomorrow…together,” I mumbled the last part.

“We don’t have time for that nonsense,” he stood to leave.

“What if we went right now?” I questioned. I know that he needed to take a break. Why not walk around one of his interests? That seemed to pique his interest. He fully turned to me. He still had a stoic face but his eyes were glowing. He turned back to the room and walked in. Was he seriously not going to say anything? He kept walking.

“Are you coming?” He said with a tone of annoyance, opening the door.

-

The walk to the Aquarium was cold. I didn’t have time to change with Jotaro leaving so fast. The lobby staff gave us weird looks. It was 11:00pm, two teenagers, one wearing heavy clothes while the other was barely wearing anything. After buying the tickets and getting a map.

“So the first tank is the touch tank,” I held the map higher to show Jotaro. He just glanced at the paper.

Touching the sea animals was fun. One of the fish really likes Jotaro, following his hand everywhere. It was a nice scene. Jotaro had a small smile while leaning on the open tank. His sleeves rolled up while his hand was in the water. He pointed to one of the fish I was wagging my finger at.

“That's the Slender danios, mostly in a school of six,” He told me. The small fish did have five others around it, though this one seemed to be the bravest. Some smaller fish would follow our hands. There was even a shark, which Jotaro taught me was a tiger shark. Jotaro was ready to see the next animal but I wanted to stay in the tunnel for longer. The teen grabbed my hand. I would have protested but the way he grabbed it was different. He wasn’t dragging me, he was holding my hand and walking. My face heated up as we left the tunnel. He didn’t let go. We continued to hold hands

Before leaving I told Jotaro I needed to go to the bathroom. He stayed by the exit doors telling me to hurry. I went to the gift shop that wasn’t closed yet. I looked for a dolphin keychain. Finding the perfect one and buying it, I met Jotaro by the exit.

“Took you long enough,” the taller teen huffed, “Oh shush, I was doing something,” I retorted. He side eyed me. It sounded a little weird when I said it like that.

“I got you something,” I spoke as we exited the building. We stopped on the sidewalk. He turned to me, his eyebrow raised. Reaching into my pocket I revealed the keychain. The simple dolphin charm attacked. I held it up for him to take. His eyes followed my hand. Jotaro picked it up and inspected it.

“Not bad,” he mumbled. Before I could say something he held out his fist. Opening it to show a shark keychain, similar to the dolphin one. This grumpy teenager had seriously sneaked away to buy me this. My heart fluttered. I laughed at the coincidence, he smiled.

“Not bad,” I say mockingly. His smile dropped and he snatched the shark from my vision.

“I was joking!” I say as I grab his hand that held my keychain. He showed me his now empty hand. I sighed and took his hand. We crossed the street with intertwined hands.

“You can get yours in the morning,” He grumbled as he held the door open for me. “You’re so mean.” I sighed.

“Or you can not get it at all,” I gasped at his words, “Jotaro! You're so unfair,’ I complained.

I woke up to find the shark keychain on my nightstand

<3

[sgtmickeyslaughter]

68 + 96?

68 Husbands In Love + 96 “Take That” Kiss/“Shut Up” Kiss

Hello!! Thank you for sending, I know the prompt was husbands in love, but I've been writing husbands non stop and was feeling nostalgic for boys in love (and denial) and thought i'd have a little fix it fun

as always my fics exist in my own cinematic universe where the cta is not a centrally organized transit system and is actually the most convenient form of public transit to use

“Did you just kiss me to shut me up?” Ian asked suddenly.

“Jesus Gallagher, keep asking pussy fucking questions like that and you’re going to get us kicked out for being underage,” Mickey huffed lightly, picking at his beer bottle.

Ian flushed with anger and indignation. Mickey was the one being a fucking pussy, he kissed Ian before robbing Ned’s house, he ran back to the van and kissed Ian like he fucking meant it and for a few minutes while they robbed Ned’s sleeping wife blind, Ian’s mind spun out of control with the possibilities that kiss opened up. 

He’d ridden that high the whole drive back to the Milkovich house, running home like he promised to help dig up the body in his backyard. He even avoided a near disaster with the CPS workers waiting innocuously on the sidewalk, turning the misnamed Gallagher charm up to ten and convincing them to come back later in the week. 

“It’s just that the county is doing rolling water shutoffs this week-and I know it will be a demerit if we don’t have water. But it’s unfair to put us at risk for something entirely under the county’s jurisdiction.” Ian reasoned easily, trying to make sure they don’t walk onto the property as soon as someone unearthed Aunt Gingers rotted corpse. 

They agreed to come back after Friday, because Ian could be incredibly persuasive when he needed to be. And thank god for it because the scene he walked into was a fucking horror show, and that was before Fiona walked in with a femur in her hand. 

They’d all hustled to make the house presentable and keep it that way, and his whole family left to find Frank, so he would actually show his ugly fuckin’ face when they called to talk with the social worker, so Ian was the only one home when he heard a knock at the door.

The last person he expected to see was Mickey Milkovich waiting wide-eyed on his porch. He was wearing jeans and a clean teeshirt with he sleeves in tact. They stared at each other for a moment before Ian finally opened his mouth to ask if Mickey wanted to come in. 

Mickey just scowled and nodded his head towards the street to say come on, Gallagher. Like it was obvious and Ian was the one being difficult, but Ian was just shocked to see Mickey on his porch. Not trying to blend in with the shadows on the street, but standing under the flickering porch light, so he just followed the shorter boy. 

Mickey led him up the stairs to the L, then over the turnstiles and onto the train, they leaned on the pair of train doors and got two stops before Ian worked up the nerve to ask where they were going. 

His question was met with a non-committal shrug, “already pawned a couple of the overpriced trinkets we stole from naughty grandpa, figured I could buy you a beer for bringing us into the deal.”

From the way Mickey was looking up at him through focused eyes, rocking from the wobbling train car, his answer was a long winded way to say I’m taking you out to a bar, please be cool about it for once in your fucking life, Gallagher.

Ian grinned, ducking his head and trying to play it as cool as he possibly could. They got to the bar okay, it was divey little place on the Westside that Ian couldn’t believe Mickey would ever set foot in. Sure, it wasn’t very nice, but Ian wasn’t emitrely sure Mickey knew there was a whole city beyond Chicago’s southside.  

The bartender tried to give Ian a funny look but Mickey just stood in front of him with a nasty glare until she handed over a couple of Old Styles.

The question came when they sat down at a table tucked cozily in one of the corners, Mickey grunted and mumbled at Ian when he tried to coax him into a normal fucking conversation, like they usually did when they hung out at the convenience store. His eyes were bouncing around, scanning the room anxiously, or boring into Ian in a way that made him want to squirm in his seat. 

He seemed cagey, uncomfortable in the bar and in Ian’s presence, so the question was: “Did you just kiss me to shut me up?” 

Mickey’s eyes snapped back to his face, searching and evaluating. “If I wanted to shut you up, kissing wouldn’t be my first option.”

Ian rolled his eyes, “whatever, I just don’t really get what we’re doing here. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you kissed me because you’re jealous and you brought me out here on a date.”

He watched Mickey’s face twitch as the word date fell out of his mouth, so he sighed and continued after a sip of his beer “but I do know better, you kissed me to shut me up and I don’t know why the fuck we’re here. You don’t need to worry about me fucking off completely just ‘cause I like going out with Ned, you’ve got a great ass and we have fun. If that’s all you’ve got for me, I can live with that, but don’t jerk me around like you’ve been doing today.” 

Ian finished his beer and moved to get up. He was playing it a lot cooler than he felt and knew he would probably crumple when he got home, but in that moment he didn’t really care. 

“Gallagher, wait- just sit down” Ian looked at where Mickey was staring up at him with a hand outstretched on the table, finally he added a quiet “please.”

And because Mickey was wearing his hair in that slicked back, pretty boy way Ian liked, looking up at him with pretty blue eyes and worrying his pretty bottom lip, Ian sat back down hesitantly. He tried to stare him down from across the table, but doubted he could pull off threatening to someone like Mickey. To his surprise, Mickey’s bitchy, nonchalant expression crumbled into something sad.

“I don't want to shut you up or anything, you’ve got it all wrong. I did want to… go out with you tonight, like that” Mickey admitted. “But I’ve never really - I don’t date. I don’t have a lot of friends, or hobbies. I’m not very smart, or funny and I think that as sad as it is, my life is going downhill from here, so I’m not really sure what we’re doing here either.”

“I’m a fucking asshole” Mickey looked up at him finally, daring him to disagree “and this, this thing we’re doing is stupid, and dangerous but I kissed you because I wanted to.”

Ian sat in shock, his mind spinning. Of all the things Mickey could have said, that was nowhere near what he was expecting. 

“I think you’re really funny” was the first thing he could think to blurt out “and probably pretty smart, if you actually tried to use your head for anything.”

Mickey stared at him with a blank expression and the air turned awkward around them, Ian exhaled a quiet sigh “Can you just be normal with me? I like you, a lot. I would want to be your friend even if we weren’t hooking up, so let’s just hang out. Can we do that?”

That earned Ian a grin, finally. Mickey was easy to talk to when he wasn’t so deep in his own head spinning himself into agitated circles. He was surprisingly non-judgmental of Ian’s blunt, stupid humor and unusual moralistic view of the world, as much as he had a worldview at sixteen years old. 

Ian got buzzed off three beers and they left when the bar closed down. The streets were pretty empty since it was a weeknight, and Ian boldly grabbed his wrist in a hard grip and pulled him into a darkened ally. 

Mickey pushed a little but mostly allowed himself to get backed against the warm bricks of a nearby building by two of Ian’s strong hands snaking down his sides to settle on his hips. It felt like he’d wanted to do this a hundred times before, so Ian took just a second to grin, joyful and a bit gloating, before leaning in.

Hope you had fun!! :)

[autumnaaltonen]

How do you think alucard would react to a gen z humor? For example: would he enjoy tiktok and vine? Would he be confused by our memes? How would he react to our self-deprecating humor?

This will be a running theme in my fanficiton, so I'm all for this. Also, I am barely Gen Z, and continuously learn new slang from my students, so excuse the cringe 😅

In my personal opinion, Alucard very much gives supportive grandpa vibes.

He's happy to view whatever "KidToks", "YouViews", or "Bumblr" memes you shove in his face. He's not going to understand it, but he's happy to watch if it makes you smile.

He really loves BookTok for reading material when he's chillin in the dungeon, especially murder mysteries and modern fantasy.

When he first got a taste of your Vine-Vocab, he legit just thought that was the way you spoke.

Seras delivering you a birthday gift: "so you just gonna bring me a birthday gift on my birthday to my birthday party on my birthday with a birthday gift?"

Giving the Hellsing taskforce driving directions for their next mission: "Road work ahead? Uh, yeah, I sure hope it does."

Joining him in the shooting range for target practice: "Don't fuck with me! I have the power of God and anime on my side!"

When you eventually informed him it was from a dead meme-site that defined your generation, he was very impressed that you young-folk have such an extensive reference log to communicate with each other.

Like I said, grandpa vibes.

His favorite moments are when your Gen Z slang is directed at him. He has no idea what you're talking about, but he loves it cus it's you. You love it too, because you can use it to your advantage and flirt with him incognito.

"Alucard, I admire the 40s coat and sunhat drip, but it's a little camp these days. We really need to give you a glow up."

"I saw the footage from your last mission, and I have to say, you were an absolute snack. Totally bussin'."

"You high-key live in my head, rent-free, Alucard."

He enjoys your silly words. Such admirable youth.

But when it came to your self-deprecating humour, it was kind of 50/50 for him. He understands it with no issues, and as long as it wasn't too hurtful towards yourself, he thought it was hilarious.

"Sorry, demons! There’s no room inside me because I’m self-possessed." Hella relatable for him.

"I question my sanity a lot of times. Every now and then, it replies." He's like, "same."

You'd think he would enjoy it all, given his dark-humour streak. However, when you talk too poorly about yourself, it really puts a damper on his mood.

Even though he's a grandpa, we have to remember that Alucard is incredibly intelligent. So whenever you're shitting on yourself, he plays your game to his advantage.

You: "I'm the human equivalent of a typo."

Alucard: "But you'll always be my type."

Wait. What?

You: "If I remember correctly, the last time that I was someone’s type was when I was donating blood in the blood drive."

Alucard: "I had it for my dinner last week, it was one of the best bags I've ever drank."

Motherfucker. There more you try to put yourself down, the more creative he gets. It's like a ping-pong game of put-downs and affectionate counter-attacks.

You: "My life’s purpose is to be a cautionary tale for others."

Alucard: "I'll just have to be your happily-ever-after."

You: "I wouldn’t even settle for me, so why would you?"

Alucard: "Because we could be settling together in my coffin when we sleep."

You: "When I’m ready to sleep, I don’t bother checking if my foot is hanging off the end of my bed anymore. Come get me, demons."

Alucard: "Is that a proposition?"

You finally admit defeat, as your red cheeks and blood pressure could only handle so much.

Damn that sexy old man.

[naturesfirstgreenisgold]

Childhood lovers with Jake ‘H_ngm_n’ Seresin

All the Pretty Girls- Kenny Chesney

American Kids- Kenny Chesney

Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not- Thompson Square

Austin- Blake Shelton

Beautiful Crazy- Luke Combs

Buy Dirt- Jordan Davis, Luke Bryan

Carrying Your Love With Me- George Strait

Chicken Fried- Zac Brown Band

Cover Me Up- Morgan Wallen

Cowboy Take Me Away- The Chicks

Crash My Party- Luke Bryan

Craving You- Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris

Diamond In My Pocket-Cody Johnson

Die A Happy Man-Thomas Rhett

Dirt On My Boots-Jon Pardi

Dirt Road Anthem-Jason Aldean

Do l- Luke Bryan

Drunk On You-Luke Bryan

Even Though I'm Leaving-Luke Combs

Fast Car- Luke Combs

Feathered Indians- Tyler Childers

Fire Away- Chris Stapleton

Footloose- Kenny Loggins

Forever & Ever Amen- Randy Travis

Galveston- Glen Campbell

God Gave Me You- Blake Shelton

Greatest Love Story- LANCO

Hard To Love- Lee Brice

Heading South- Zach Bryan

Head Carolina, Tails California- Jo Dee Messina

Heartache On The Dance Floor- Jon Parti

Heart Like A Truck- Lainey Wilson

He Could Be The One- Hannah Montana

Hold My Hand- Lady Gaga

Home- Blake Shelton

Hometown Girl-Josh Turner

Honey Bee- Blake Shelton

Hotel California- The Eagles

I Ain’t Worried- OneRepublic

I Don’t Dance- CHAD, Ryan, Disney

I Don’t Dance- Lee Brice

I Don’t Want This Night To End- Luke Bryan

I Drive Your Truck- Lee Brice

If I Didn’t Love You- Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood

If I Was Your Man- Blake Shelton

I Like The Sound Of That- Rascal Flatts

I’ll Name the Dogs- Blake Shelton

I’m Comin’ Over- Chris Young

I’m In A Hurry (And I Don’t Know Why)- Alabama

I Wish Grandpas Never Died- Riley Green

The Kind of Love We Make- Luke Combs

Last Night- Morgan Wallen

Life in the Fast Lane-Eagles

Life’s a Dance- John Micheal Montgomery

Like I Love Country Music- Kane Brown

Love Like Crazy-Lee Brice

Lovin' On You Luke Combs

Meet In the Middle-Diamond Rio

Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right-Billy Currington

My Maria-Brooks & Dunn

New Kid In Town - Eagles

Night Shift- Jon Pardi

Nobody But You- Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani

ONE BEER- HARDY, Lauren Alaina, Devin Dawson

One Of Them Girls- Lee Brice

One of These Nights -Eagles

One Thing At A Time- Morgan Wallen

Playing with the Boys -Kenny Loggins

Play It Again- Luke Bryan

Renegade- Styx

Rhinestone Cowboy-Glen Campbell

Rumor- Lee Brice

Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)-Big & Rich

She Got the Best of Me- Luke Combs

She Had Me At Heads Carolina-Cole Swindell

She's Country- Jason Aldean

Sixteen-Thomas Rhett

Slow Dance In A Parking Lot-Jordan Davis

Small Town Boy- Dustin Lynch

Sold- John Michael Montgomery

Somebody's Problem-Morgan Wallen

Something in the Orange-Zach Bryan

Song of the South-Alabama

Southern Nights- Glen Campbell

Stay-Florida Georgia Line

Strawberry Wine-Deana Carter

Sure Be Cool If- Blake Shelton

Take It Easy -Eagles

Take My Breath Away -Berlin

There Was This Girl-Riley Green

Things a Man Oughta Know-Lainey Wilson

Thought You Should Know-Morgan Wallen

Til You Can't- Cody Johnson

Two Dozen Roses- Shenandoah

Unforgettable- Thomas Rhett

Wagon Wheel- Darius Rucker

The Way I Talk -Morgan Wallen

What Ifs- Kane Brown, Lauren Alaina

Why Don't We Just Dance-Josh Turner

Write This Down-George Strait

You Should Be Here-Cole Swindell

[maddyshome]

Wassup yall. Back again with another natal chart reading. This time I’m talking about my fave, my angel, the only character who deserves the world and the only character I will fight Satan himself to protect. Here’s Yuuji Itadori.

(warning: i talk too much)

Annnnnnd he is a pisces. Wow. Color me surprised. Is anyone reading this actually surprised? If you know even a little bit of astrology or hell even just zodiac signs you know damn well this is no coincidence. Gege is playing with us. He’s actually into astrology and no one knows. 

Yuuji Itadori is a pisces. The sign of the martyr. The one who throws his life away to save others. Pisces is a sign commonly associated with Jesus because of his sacrifice that gave humanity a chance for redemption. It is said that humanity at that time was so horribly rotten and twisted that God wanted to destroy us all. He sent his son to decide our fate. His son, tortured and crucified, still saw hope in humans so he gave his life to save ours. I’m not a particulary religious person. In fact, according to the bible, I’m very much a sinner. I use astrology, I don’t fear God. I have times where I’m awful and I make a lot of mistakes. But I do not believe in the bible and I do not live my life blindly following religion. I digress. I wanted to talk about this story because no matter if you, reader, are a christian or not, this is still a beautiful story. And it is a story that is similar to Yuuji’s.

Yuuji is an orphan. All of his life he has never known how a parent’s love feels like. He was raised by his grandpa. A very bitter old man that most likely never truly fullfilied a child’s need for love or attention. This old man surely loved him, but you need to show people that you love them. Especially to a child. They need to learn what love is and how to love someone else. That’s what they learn with the help of their parents. Or grandparents that are capable of letting go of their pride. Grandparents that accept the love of their grandkids and express joy when they are visiting them. So yes, his grandpa was a very bitter old man.

Going back to his natal chart. This is not a character analysis lmaoooo sorry guys.

Yuuji’s sun is not only in pisces but it’s in the last degree. The 29 degree. This degree is known as the anaretic degree. The anaretic degree is defined as the fate degree. A person with this degree in their chart has no more lesson to learn from that planet or that sign. They have learnt everything. They have mastered everything. This is the peak of the sun. From his birth Yuuji was blessed with knowledge that we might never reach in this life. This is why he stands up, why he has strength to keep hoping, to keep believing in a better world. 

His Sun-Moon combo can indicate he is a person who puts a lot of weight and meaning into his relationships. Any libra moon is defined by their relationships. They need friends and a support system to live a happy life. Libra moons are pacifists so it’s very easy for them to form friendships. Combined with his pisces energy, he is a very empathic boy that relates to all kinds of people. He can understand the man that lived his life as a beacon of hope for all humanity until he became the mask that he wore. He can understand the man that destroyed everything that crossed his path until he became a natural disaster and lost his entire meaning. 

For such a impulsive boy, his Mars is really quiet. He has a Capricorn Mars. Capricorn is the exalted sign for Mars so that means it is the highest form of expression of Mars. That means a near unstoppable drive. But....he has no meaningful aspects in Mars. It’s just very quiet. Maybe he no longer needs it.

Since he is a Pisces, Neptune is a very important planet for him. Yuuji himself represents the themes around Neptune (spirituality, intuition, enchantment, illusions, confusion and dreams). His Neptune conjuncts his Venus (planet of love). So he saves, he does it all out of love. He loves the world, people, his friends, strangers. He sees worth in all so he gives them all of him. 

Sadly, as we know, the world is not always open to receiving love and sometimes it will ruin such beautiful acts. His Pluto and Saturn shows us he will not have a easy life. Pluto squares his Sun and Mercury. Saturn squares the same planets. His Pisces Sun and Pisces Mercury. Pluto and Saturn are there to transform his piscean energy.

I’ve seen some of you talk about how Yuuji has almost no self esteem. That he needs to see worth in himself, in his own life. And I think it is true. This is the big lesson that he needs to learn. 

[antlerx-art]

GOOD OMENS 2 EPISODE 3 REACTION - CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️

ok so the resurrectionist minisode is in here

jim’s mug

nina my girl silence that damn phone at work

wait IS SHE THE WOMAN WITH THE JAUNTY HAT?

THE SCENE! THE CLIP! FINALLY!

but if aziraphale had already talked to muriel why does it seem like they don’t actually know each other? or do they both know it’s an act?

WHAT NO WAY WE WERE ALL WRONG THE WHOLE TIME? we were so sure crowley was moving to the bookshop but he’s actually just taking out the plants to let aziraphale use the car😭 nooo let me stay delusional

HES LEANINGGG HES GONNA SIT THERE WITH AZIRAPHALE AAHH HE DID IT

no okay muriel is trying to keep the disguise but aziraphale and crowley know they’re an angel, just maybe aziraphale didn’t really know them that well in the past

“word with you angel, in private” I’LL FINALLY KNOW WHAT THE WORD IN PRIVATE IS

THEY/THEM PRONOUNS FOR MURIEL YES!!!!!!!!!

aziraphale’s got used to lying to heaven huh

“one fabulous kiss and we’re good, i have a plan” yeah 🙂

AZIRAPHALE DRIVING THE BENTLEYYY

intro 🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻🕺🏻

watching the intro more carefully my guess is that we’re going to see the gabriel statue thing here

“Ay Zed Fell”

THIS IS THE DIARYYY THE CONFIDENTIAL JOURNAL watch as aziraphale uses a pink glittery pen to write Crowley

and it’s in the past!!!! minisode incoming

“DEAR DIARY” he’s such an high school girlie

AZIRAPHALE WRITING ABOUT HIS DATE WITH CROWLEY AHHHH ripping my hair off

yup as i said statue of gabriel here

crowley is so she/her in this minisode

“that’s lunacy” / “no, that’s ineffable” HAH

classical music in the bentley is a crime aziraphale

“angel, WOT are you doing.”

HE CAN FEEL WHEN HE DRIVES THE BENTLEY UNDER THE SPEED LIMIT LMAOO

NO WAY IT’S YELLOW I CANT BREATHEHEEE

“change it back😠” / “but it’s pretty☹️”

CROWLEY THREATENING TO GIVE BOOKS AWAY i’m sure i’ve seen people drawing a scene like this in some comic i love this show

OOOHHH AZIRAPHALES FACE WHEN HE SPEEDS UP IM SICK

what the heck is in the background are those?? TARTAN MOUNTAINS?

is that furfur? no wait prime video says “demon josh” 👍🏻

crowley and gabriel scene I KNOWW ITS GONNA BE FUNNY

the fly is beelzebub IT HAS TO BE

“vavoom” is the new “wahoo”

jim looks so focused but there’s not one (1) single thought behind those eyes

stop making david tennant say he’s a doctor

AHH aziraphale still can’t drink here

bro you messed up restore that dead body rn

DETECTIVE AZIRAPHALE WITH THE HAT

i think gabriel was with beelzebub

NOO whats happening poor girl

so she was sick already

CROWLEYS HAND

what’s Laudanum Poison

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CROWLEY HELP😭 is it that thing he drank 😭😭😭😭

where did he go

HES LITTLE OMG WHYYY HES SO TINY if aziraphale puts crowley in his pocket i’ll be dead

alice in wonderland crowley

BIG TALL WOMAN 😍😍 if crowley puts aziraphale in his pocket i’ll be dead

oh this is the part where they mention kwording yourself

i’ll need to rewatch this whole thing it’s so chaotic

OH. MY. GOD.

THE WAY AZIRAPHALE IS TRYING TO STEADY HIMM

THE HAND AROUND HIS ARM AND WAIST IM SO WEAK I CANT DO IT I CANT THEYRE A COUPLE IM NOT OKAY

THEY’RE SOOO CLOSE

if hell noticed you’d already be WHAT crowley

oop he fell (lol)

ahhh this is the meme template scene

“mostly i just use it for twitter” damn bro same

“and grindr” damn bro NOT same

aziraphale is my grandpa using a computer for the first time thinking he has to talk to it BUT IT ACTUALLY WORKS??

jim is about to remember stuff

“mm good job” / “oh, do you really think so?” i’m fine i’m completely okay

aziraphale’s relief after crowley says he hasn’t sold books 😭 also crowley being in charge of the bookshop because aziraphale asked even if he had said to nina “not even at gunpoint”

in company 🫵🏻with beelzebub!!!!!!🫵🏻

“and twitter and grindr whatever they happen to be” H E L P.

THE LITTLE HAT THING AND THE LITTLE LAUGH AND HIS FACE I LOVE AZIRAPHALE SOOOOO MUCH

RAINY RAIN!

she wasn’t having an affair but she felt like it

ARE NINA AND MAGGIE GONNA KISS RIGHT NOW?

CROWLEY I KNOW YOU LIKE ROMANCE

nah i should’ve expected this 😔🙏

OHHHHHHHH jim is spilling the tea

hi shax 😄

VERY CLOSED

NO CROWLEY DONT LEAVE THE BOOKSHOP something’s gonna happen to him NOO IM NOT READYYYY

oh i thought shax was gonna see jim but there’s the miracle i forgot about that

anyway jim is obsessed with books falling and gravity i think it means something

WAR ON AZIRAPHALE?

OH MY GOD PROTECTIVE CROWLEY

“it’s always too late” i’m sick S I C K

i need to recover but i can’t wait to see the 1941 scenes

anyway so far i like how even though this season is very quiet gentle romantic and love centered, it’s not that different from season one, i noticed how well the plot and the romantic moments are mixed together and it’s not really just aziracrow

tagging @neil-gaiman since he said he was interested in reading live reactions

[crinkled-emotions]

ok! it’s a very basic request, i love ur daderick story and the dynamic u show between amelia and rooster, can u write a fic elaborating on that and maybe showing more of their relationship? i love the idea of protective older brother rooster so maybe u could add that in🥹

Heheheh, here it is!! I took a break from writing sickfics to get this published, and for some reason it's giving Last of Us vibes??

I would just like to say it's not giving those vibes because there's zombies. There are no zombies in this fic. No clickers, no stalkers, not even a shambler (this is way past a joke lmao).

Anyway! It's time for... *checks spreadsheet* Big Brother Bradley! I hope this is what you were thinking about!

Maverick tossed the last of the luggage into Penny’s car, quickly closing the door so the luggage didn’t come back out. Penny rolled her eyes, snorting as she glanced over at Amelia.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? You could stay with grandpa,” she said. Amelia fixed her with a glare.

“I’ll be fine. It’s, like, three days-“

“-it’s a week, kid,” Pete said as he walked over with his hands on his hips. Penny pressed a kiss to his cheek, smiling.

“I don’t like the idea of you home alone, it’s not too late…”

“Penny, I think she’ll be okay.”

“I’m not okay with it!”

“Amelia, who do you call in the event of an emergency?” Pete asked.

“Bradley.”

“And last person?”

“Bagman.”

“Ah, see, Pen, she’ll be fine.”

Pete walked away, pausing in front of Bradley who had come to say goodbye to Pete and Penny who were going away for the week. It wasn’t a honeymoon, it wasn’t Pete’s retirement holiday or him using all of his leave, it was just a holiday.

Okay, maybe it was something similar to a honeymoon and maybe it was Pete’s retirement present.

No one’s allowed to talk about him retiring.

Now that Pete was gone, Penny gave her daughter a hug, pressing a kiss to her hair.

“Now, who do you call first?”

“Grandpa.”

“And last?”

“Bagman.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s right. But what if grandpa’s not available?”

“Call base and ask for Bradley.”

Bradley appeared out of nowhere, Pete right behind him. He was going to hang around for a little while after Pete and Penny left, just in case Amelia got cold feet, but she was counting down the minutes until he was gone. She had pizza to order and Animal Crossing to play; with Bradley gone she could play music too. God, she had all of the plans.

“Alright, honey, we should get going. Be good, I love you, call us tonight.”

“I love you too, mom. Have a good trip.”

Amelia held on tighter to her mother for just a little longer, squeezing her eyes shut. As excited as she was to have the house to herself, a part of her was also scared as hell.

“Alright kid, be good. You know who to call if you need anything.”

Pete gave her a hug too, and despite only being back in her life for less than a year she felt just as safe with him as she did her mother. When she glanced over at Bradley he was leaning against his Bronco, sunglasses on. He didn’t look particularly bothered at all.

He never really did.

Ah, well, except that one time Hangman picked at him at the Hard Deck- heh. Story for another time.

“Be good, Bradley!” Pete yelled as he got into Penny’s car. Bradley waved him off as they pulled out of the drive. The second the car was gone he pulled up his sunglasses and Amelia turned on her heel to follow him into the house.

-

“What are you doing?”

“Thank me later.”

Bradley was working through the liquor cabinet, pulling bottles out and into reusable bags. Amelia crossed her arms.

“Y’know I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be watching me, not robbing my mom’s liquor cabinet.”

“That’s cute.”

He kept going and she tugged on his shoulder.

“Seriously, what are you doing?”

“You have the house to yourself for a week. There’s no way in hell you’re not going to have a party.”

“Ew, socialising? Fuck no.”

Bradley lifted his head finally, staring at her.

“No party? How old are you again?”

“I’m sixteen and I have a date with my switch and a pizza that’s arriving in half an hour.”

Bradley shook his head.

“Okay, I stand corrected. You scare me a little.”

“Look, I’m good. You don’t have to hang around, I know today’s your only day off. I’m sure you want to, I dunno, go hang out with your friends or whatever people do at your age.”

“At my age? Did you just- did you just call me old?”

“Yes. Yes I did.”

Amelia crossed her arms. Bradley rolled his eyes.

“Okay, fine. I’m going to go, but- just… call me. Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Be careful.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

He stood and headed for the door. As much as she was glad to see the back of him a part of her wanted to call out and ask him to stay.

Then she had a better idea.

“Hey, Bradley?”

“Yeah?”

Bradley stood by the door, hand on his hip.

“Did you… when you were my age…”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He winked, and then walked out the door. Amelia heaved a sigh.

-

“How did it go?”

“Eh, she’s fine. I honestly think Mav and Penny were more worried than Amelia was. She was more concerned about what pizza she was going to order.”

“What did she end up going with?”

Phoenix stepped back to let Rooster into her apartment, raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

“I dunno. She wasn’t eyeing Penny’s finest so I figured she was good to hang by herself.”

“She’s not you at fifteen, Roos,” Hangman said from where he’d draped himself across the top of the couch like a cat. Rooster was suddenly tempted to push him and see what happened. When he glanced at Phoenix she shook her head and he pouted. She was right; he’d have to wait until there were no witnesses. Fanboy and Bob were sitting on Phoenix’s other couch, Fanboy glancing up.

“Hey, did you lock up the booze?” He asked Rooster, who shrugged.

“She honestly didn’t seem interested. She said she had a date with her switch and a pizza.”

“That’s a mood,” Bob said at the same time as Hangman snorted in amusement.

“Yeah, I didn’t seem that interested either in front of my parents but I definitely was. My sister came to check on me and I seem to remember her gagging as she mopped the bathroom.”

He scrubbed at his eyes, glaring at Rooster.

“I know what you’re thinking. Do you want me to kick your ass?”

“It’s just so tempting,” Rooster deadpanned. Hangman’s grip on the couch tightened a little.

“You wouldn’t-“

“-hey! Focus; are you going to go and check on Amelia later?”

Payback snapped his fingers at Rooster who shrugged.

“I’ll text her at dinner, then again before I go to bed. She’s fine, she’s been home alone over the weekend before.”

“That’s not a week, Brooster,” Bob said. He kicked his legs up and on to Fanboy’s lap, reaching for his phone.

“Damn, really?” Rooster deadpanned. He facepalmed.

“She called me Bradley.”

The others all burst out laughing, Coyote patting Rooster on the shoulder.

“That is your name, right?”

“Shut up.”

-

Amelia stretched, lazily glancing up at the clock. She realised it was nearly 8pm and she was… bored. She never thought she’d see the day she was home alone and bored. She put her switch down and reached for her phone, realising Bradley had texted about ten minutes ago.

Bradley: you alive?

Amelia: consider this my notification of death

Bradley: hilarious

Bradley: have you eaten dinner?

Amelia: what are you, my mom?

Bradley: I could never make a whiskey sour like your mom

Bradley: have you?

Amelia: yes I ate chill out

Amelia: do you need a Xanax??

Bradley: surprised you know what that is

Bradley: are you in your mom’s med cabinet?

Bradley: just making sure you’re okay

Amelia: bye Bradley

She put her phone down and got up, searching for the TV remote. She was in the mood for something a little… spookier, now that Bradley had riled her up a little. If he asked later she’d say it was his fault. Criminal Minds popped up and she knew exactly what she was going to spend the rest of the night doing. She also reached for her phone again. Criminal Minds went really well with cookies and cupcakes.

-

Rooster was only half awake when he realised his phone was violently vibrating on his bedside table, and he grimaced as he reached for it.

“H-fuck- hello?”

“Bradley?”

Rooster sat bolt upright in bed, already kicking off the sheets to find a pair of sweats.

“Amelia? What’s wrong?”

“Can you come over?”

She sounded small, like the baby she was when Bradley saw her last almost fifteen years ago and she'd fit in his hands. He frowned, pulling his phone from his ear and checking the time before searching for his hoodie.

“Hey, can you tell me what’s going on? Do I need to call the cops?”

“N-no cops, I just- I’m sorry.”

Rooster paused.

“Oh, shit, Amelia, I- you don’t have to apologise, okay? You are not in trouble at all, it’s nothing. I’m actually pretty good at getting up at odd hours.”

That was a lie.

His callsign wasn't Rooster for his inability to get up with the sun-

“I’m sorry Bradley,” Amelia sobbed. Rooster winced.

“Kid, hey, can you take some deep breaths for me? I need you to slow down, you’re really scaring me. I can call your mom, if- if you feel more comfortable-“

“-no!”

Rooster stopped, mid-struggle into his pants and landing on his ass on his bed. He was also pretty confused.

“Uh-?”

“Please don’t call her. She’ll never leave me alone again.”

“Gotcha. Okay, I’m on my way. Do you need me to grab anything on my way?”

“No.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in- uh- probably ten? Fifteen at the latest.”

Silence. Then, a sniff.

“Can you bring chocolate?”

“Jeez kid, it’s- is it seriously 3am? Fuck, okay, I’ll grab chocolate on the way. Are you gonna rip my head off if I get the wrong type?”

“No.”

“Alright, I’m coming. Do you want me to stay on the phone?”

“Please,” Amelia whispered. Rooster scrubbed at his face, searching for his car keys.

“Hold on for me, kiddo.”

-

Amelia listened to Bradley chatting to himself, swearing as he stubbed his toe on his way down the stairs. He then kept up a running commentary whilst he drove, taking the piss out of people doing dumb shit at odd hours of the night. She stayed curled up in bed, pulling her blankets over her head to listen to him ranting about the way the air conditioning wasn’t working properly in his Bronco and how he was going to have to pay to get it re-gassed again.

“Surely you can just do it yourself?” Amelia whispered. She heard Bradley chuckle.

“No, kid, I can fix most of the shit but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to touch the air.”

“Oh.”

She grimaced at the pain radiating through her abdomen, curling up tighter.

“Can you fix my car?” She whispered.

“You sound like you’re in pain, kid. What’s wrong?”

He heard the pain in her voice but she knew he was confused. She whimpered.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Can’t you hurry up?”

“Amelia, I’m trying not to break the law here. Alright, I’m turning into your street. Go and unlock the front door then you can go back to bed.”

She managed to climb out of bed then walked down the hallway, pausing to unlock the door. She then crawled back into bed and pulled the blanket over her head, waiting for Bradley to get there. He’d hung up their phone call so she knew he wasn’t far away.

Sure enough, the front door opened and she poked her head out.

“B?”

“Comin’.”

She knew he was kicking his shoes off- her mom always chased him about it. Apparently she’d been doing it since he was a kid. It was kind of sweet.

Finally, he appeared in the doorway and she sniffed. His eyes fell.

“Okay, c’mon, up. C’mere.”

-

Sitting on the couch, hot chocolate in a mug on the coffee table, Amelia stifled a sob and buried her face in the arm of the couch. Bradley reappeared from the kitchen, nudging at her shoulder so he could sit. She leaned into his side when he gave her a hug.

“Do you want to tell me what’s got you so worked up?”

She hummed, taking the tissue he passed over.

“I got my period.”

“Haven’t you had, like, a million of those- ow!”

Amelia had thumped Bradley in the shoulder and he winced, rubbing the spot with a frown.

“Sorry?”

“I got my period and mom isn’t here and everything hurts.”

Her lip wobbled again and he panicked, pulling her tighter against his side.

“Okay kiddo, okay… shhhh… do you need me to go and get you… stuff?”

“Shut up.”

Despite the way she punched his shoulder and the way she acted, she still leaned into him and waited for him to figure out next steps.

“Alright, new plan; I’m gonna get you some advil, you’re gonna pick some dumbass documentary, and then you’re gonna get some sleep. I’ll call your mom later and ask her for some tips.”

“Thanks.”

Amelia didn’t move. She could feel Bradley shifting, preparing to get up, and she sat up to let him get off the couch. He went into the bathroom and came back with the box of Advil, tossing it to her.

“Drink the hot chocolate.”

She grabbed the TV remote while she was at it and flicked through the channels, huffing as Bradley flopped into the armchair. He was apparently texting according to the way his brows furrowed for a second, then he reached over and poked Amelia’s arm.

“Tash says you need a heating pad to stop the cramps.”

“That sounds so good.”

Then she sat up.

“Tash?”

“Ah. Phoenix.”

“You whore, Bradley.”

“Oh, god, no.”

He burst out laughing, highly amused.

-

“Amelia? Honey, hey, what happened?”

Penny was frantic, worried as she paced the deck. Pete watched her, reaching for his phone. Sure enough it was buzzing and he answered the call.

“Hey, Roos. How’s it going?”

“You have to promise you’re not gonna laugh.”

“Oh, god. Is this gonna be like the time with the bottle of vodka-“

“Mav.”

Rooster sounded embarrassed- humiliated, even.

“Okay, fine, I guess I can hold on to that. Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah, I got a wake up call around 3 this morning. Amelia’s fine, before you lose your shit. She’s still asleep for now.”

Maverick glanced over at his wife, watching the way she softened as she spoke to her daughter.

He wondered if he had the same look now, listening to Bradley.

[savetooru]

departures

to a-mâ, whom i love deeply: you wouldn't know this, but the thing that kept me religious the way most people understand religion was you. every night i prayed to my little bedside god that all four of my grandparents would live forever. i did this consistently and with fervent hope that the naive persistence of my pleas would exempt me from the rules of life. i stopped praying maybe three years ago. or four, give or take. when dad's mom got hit with covid and we couldn't see her until all that was left was ash, i feared asking god for anything else and not getting it would morph me into someone evil. a truly terrible thing: when you fell ill with cancer, it forced the opposite of me. i wasn't ready to wheel you to the radiation center, or to help the nurses turn you over in your sleep. being gentle was not a choice i made willingly. i've said this before, but i'd kill every good part of me if it meant you could have stayed healthy. i brush your hair away but i can’t quite look at the thinning visage of your face. i worry someday i won't remember your laughter lines but i don't want you to see me cry. i know what it's like to be sick. you don't get a choice in any part of it. not how long you've got to fight and not who gets hurt by it. grandpa, who never really cared about pictures before, makes me take multiple when you manage to sit up long enough to be hugged. he talks about the day you'll get better, and how we'll drive up to the province, to pampanga, where the air is fresher and you breathe easier. mom and i laugh about how sweet he is but it's getting harder to pretend every click of the shutter doesn't sound like a whisper goodbye. there is a stage of grief which they call bargaining where one often begs god, the universe, or some higher power for a loved one not to leave or have left. but i'm not sure what exactly i should beg for tonight. the way i see it, we are always leaving. in the language of our predecessors, the first sentence i ever learned to string together was guâ bêh khi' lo'— hokkien for i am leaving. i used to say this to every elder relative at the end of every gathering; it may very well have been the last thing i said to either of my paternal grandparents before they passed. but for the most part, my leaving was not the end of things. parting ways led to countless more meetings. what to ask for, then, when you know that to leave is also to live in a perpetual state of being: warm and palms sweaty as i read at your bedside, laughing as you walk into the pantry because you forgot exactly what you went in for, hair trimmed neat and short after a runaway trip to the stylist that involves fooling me and scaring us all. what to beg for, when you've given me so much? i don't want to bargain with anyone for anything. i've got nothing worth half the life you're still living with me right now. (once, when we were alone and watching a rerun of barbie hsu's meteor garden, you wept while telling me that you hated it here. your sisters had all left, flown abroad to settle in the states; but you knew i was going to be born so you chose to stay. i remember being eleven maybe, thirteen at most— and so confused. didn't you love grandpa? what about your daughters? your sons? not just mom but all my uncles and aunts? what about the garden with your precious orchids and the wok you use to make all your fried rice? nevermind me. so much of you is here, why would you ever want to leave?) all i can do is write this and think of you as you lie asleep on a hospital bed while i feel a million, bajillion miles away. i don't think mom's got it in herself to hold up the phone to show me your face; but i swear i'm with you this time. if i could say anything to you i would tell you i get it now, ma. that wasn't what you meant. anywhere you want to go, ma, let's go.

[gaysindistress]

Don’t mind my ramblings 😂

I have to go to the town I grew up in with my dad this weekend and I’m dreading it because I haven’t been back in like 5-6 years. That and it’ll be a 2 hr drive on super winding roads.

Anyways….I’m feeling ✨angsty✨ so if y’all want some insight into where my self proclaimed angst writing powers came from, read ahead.

Or don’t, I might delete this later. I haven’t decided if this feels like oversharing or not.

Warnings: mentions of racism, religion, and country music

I usually don’t listen to country because it’s awful most of the time and it reminds me too much of home. But when I do, that shit s l a p s and Im not talking Zach Bryan or any of that mainstream shit. ZB is great but I’m talking Colter Wall, The Death South, Uncle Lucius, the Devil makes three, and even late Johnny Cash.

I grew up in a tiny ass town (the population is literally under 200) and the only thing for miles are ranches and hundreds of acres of open land. We didn’t have wifi or cell service until 2018 and i learned to drive on a forgotten forest service road in an old manual farm truck that didn’t have seatbelts. It barely had seats to be completely honest. We would walk to the church on the hill every Sunday wearing our Sunday best where the preacher would be drenched in sweat as he spoke about the Bible and told us that the End Times were coming. We needed to ask for forgiveness, pray any chance we got, and turn off the radio. The songs that out society loved were the Devil’s music and gospel was the only thing acceptable. I couldn’t say the Lord’s name in vain or my great grandma would whack the tops of my hands and make me help her clean. God was something to be afraid of but to be loved reverently as he was out Father.

Afterwards, my great grandma and grandma would make supper for all of us. The staples of homemade jams and bread were always there but the meat and veggies would change depending on what we had available.

We did laundry in a ringer washer and dried the clothes on a line in the front yard. I learned how to sew and mend anything you could think of before I turned 10. My dad and uncles made sure I was the best shot in the family. My mom taught me how to befriend a horse so that you became one when riding. She’d say that there was nothing more dangerous than a rider and a horse who weren’t in sync. It was a running joke that I was Annie Oakley and my grandpa tried for years to get me to do rodeos but my parents wouldn’t let me. Granted I didn’t want to either, the people could be vicious and as I got older, the racism grew worse. My dad was whiter than my grandpa so few people said anything to him but if I was with my grandpa, people would say some of the foulest things you could think of. When I was probably 8, I remember asking him why that group of men yelled at us to “go back to the Rez” and to hide the alcohol. He didn’t answer me and dropped me off with my great grandma. When he came back maybe 30 minutes later, his knuckles were bloody and he tried to wipe them off before he sat down next to us but I still saw them. I knew better than to ask him about it because the look he gave me when he noticed me staring at his hand was one full of hatred, anger, and a deep pain that could never be erased and it told me everything.

My mom wasn’t safe from it either and in their ignorance, people would say whatever they thought might be the most hurtful. Her mom used a mix of Arabic and English when she spoke to my brother, cousins and me but that stopped when all the news would talk about was the war in Iraq and terrorist groups infiltrating America. My mom was terrified that someone would accuse us of being connected to these groups even though her family was from a different country entirely. So my Sitto stopped speaking Arabic and no matter how hard I try to learn it again, nothing sounds as beautiful as hers.

For the most part, I blended in but if anyone looked at me long enough, they’d see what I’d learn to hide. I bleached my dark brown hair and straightened every curl until it no longer held its shape. I covered my face in makeup so that it looked pointed and no longer held the soft flat planes it used to. I used accents of gold and similar colors to lighten my nearly black eyes. Before only the sun could bring out the yellow flecks but I refused to go out for long in order to keep my skin a lighter shade. During the summers when I spent all of my time outside and away from others, my skin would brown until it looked like the dirt and clay beneath my feet. I did all that I could to make myself blend in better and when I failed, my work ethic of sun up to sun down and my ability to keep my mouth shut made it so I was forgettable. No one bothers the average in a town like the one I used to call home.

We’d spend every weekend in late summer and early fall cutting wood for the elders in town. My dad knew everyone’s addresses by heart and didn’t need navigation when he dropped off the wood. After those long days, my great grandma would lay out old quilts she’d made over the years on the lawn so all of us could sleep under the stars. We’d laugh and giggle as we pointed out the constellations and told each other stories. It was then that I learned how our grandparents painted the multicolored hills that surrounded us. Sometimes when we all began to fall asleep, we’d hear the coyotes and once I swear I heard a wolf howl even though my dad said they hadn’t been around in decades. Rarely did I see the big black bear that liked my great grandparents’ Apple trees. I would see the aftermath of his feast though as the raccoons took their share. Sometimes the turkeys would scare them off but that was only seasonally.

I can’t relate to most country music because that’s not the world I grew up in. We didn’t have bonfires on Friday nights after the football games or go mudding when it rained. We didn’t hunt or fish for fun because it was a necessity as the nearest store was an hour away. My childhood in those rural ranch lands was beautiful but harsh and makes any spaghetti western that featured Clint Eastwood or John Wayne look like child’s play. People try to liken to it Yellowstone but i always say it was closer to the prequel 1883.

Country music has always been deeply intertwined with religion but I can’t relate to the way that Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan sing about their god even though I should. I didn’t pray to the God they sing about because the one I grew up with was something from the Great Awakening. The God I grew up with was an old one that demanded sacrifices in the form of our days spent in service to Him and forgoing what modern society offered us because it was deeply sinful. I feared the Devil would one day walk amongst us because that’s what our preacher told us would happen if we listened to the radio or watched any new movies. I imagined when he did claw his way to earth from the depths of Hell, he would wear a suit and tie with a great grin full of teeth sharp enough to snap my bones in one bite.

The “country” I grew up in is nothing like what people imagine when they listen to its music media. It’s not like Yellowstone, any of those homestead shows, or whatever else is labeled as western. The “country” I grew up in, the one that feels most like home albeit a distant one, was more like the one that Colter Wall, Delta Rae, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Death South, Uncle Lucius, the Devil makes three, and of course Johnny Cash all sang about.

[lindajenni]

sep 8

familiar friday - letter to mum (a repeat daily)

sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. she said: "How is my little boy? is he going to be all right? when can i see him?"

the surgeon said, "i'm sorry. we did all we could, but your boy didn't make it."

sally said, "why do little children get cancer? doesn't God care anymore? where were you, God, when my son needed you?"

the surgeon asked, "would you like some time alone with your son? one of the nurses will be out in a few minutes before he's transported to the university."

sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good-bye to her son. she ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. "would you like a lock of his hair?" the nurse asked. sally nodded yes. the nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to sally. the mother said, "it was jimmy's idea to donate his body to the university for study. he said it might help somebody else. "i said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'mom, i won't be using it after i die. maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom." she went on, "my jimmy had a heart of gold. always thinking of someone else. always wanting to help others if he could.

sally walked out of children's mercy hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. she put the bag with jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. the drive home was difficult. it was even harder to enter the empty house. she carried jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. she started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. she laid down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

it was around midnight when sally awoke. laying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. the letter said:

dear mom, i know you're going to miss me; but don't think that i will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause i'm not around to say love you. i will always love you, mom, even more with each day. someday we will see each other again. until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. he can have my room and old stuff to play with. but, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. you'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.

don't be sad thinking about me. this really is a neat place. grandma and grandpa met me as soon as i got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. the angels are so cool. i love to watch them fly. and, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of His pictures. yet, when i saw Him, i knew it was Him.

Jesus Himself took me to see God! and guess what, mom? i got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like i was somebody important! that's when i told Him that i wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good-bye and everything. but i already knew that wasn't allowed. well, you know what mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter. i think gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'where was He when i needed him?' "God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.

oh, by the way, mom, no one else can see what i've written except you. to everyone else, this is just a blank piece of paper. isn't that cool? i have to give God His pen back now. He needs it to write some more names in the book of life. tonight i get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. i'm, sure the food will be great. oh, i almost forgot to tell you. i don't hurt anymore. the cancer is all gone. i'm glad because i couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. that's when He sent the angel of mercy to come get me. the Angel said i was a special delivery! how about that?

signed with love from: God, Jesus & me.

author unknown

you know, God is so much more than we think Him to be. more than our understanding can understand. and so we imagine little stories that we think can begin to express the love, compassion and mercy He feels for us. but we cannot even begin to scratch the surface of His goodness. He was gracious enough to let His goodness pass before moses in exodus 33. that was as much of His glory as moses could handle and still live. even the seraphim had extra wings to hide their face from His glory in isa 6:2.

i don't know all the if's, and's and but's of why things happen. is it the enemies' work or God's mercy? i only know, "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. " james 1:17 but why in the life of some and not in other's? why did my older brother die at a young age while i survived much longer than i deserved? why will some live to see rapture and others not?

we must always strive against the devil and his works, but we must always trust we are in the Father's hand "and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand." john 10:29 the only question for us is: "do you believe that I am able to do this?" matt 9:28

righteousness, holiness - they just keep going over and over in my spirit. i know what we all deserve and that "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags". isa 64:6 and yet still He urges us to seek His face - a face no man can see and live. "what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" psa 8:4 we are His children … God breathed His breath into us. that makes us special. He has made us special again in His gift of Jesus. He loves us that much. how much do we love Him, i ask? not nearly enough! MARANATHA!

[the-firebird69]

Watch "A Few Good Men (1992) - did you order Code Red? 👨🏽‍⚖️🧑‍⚖️" on YouTube

He ordered the code red and it saved me from this madman brad. I have to admit there's a bunch of them and he's stopping them and he's having a hell of a time and it's running other stuff using them but for Christ's sake this guy is out of control okay there's some people who are out of control and this man Brad is out of control and a lot of warlock think they can just throw me in the trunk and drive off and that has to fight them everyday and then his son turned into a super enemy it is the influence of force and they're fighting his regime and his reign on Earth and he understands it fully and his Jack Nicholson when his son doesn't get it oh my God I have a pain in my arm and really you can tell and Tom Cruise understands it he just doesn't have the equation correctly balanced people say but he knows about them and it's horrifying and Tommy asked me never know he may never get it he's too used to being in power and he is done up as a black man by himself and doesn't get it what the Africans are saying they're saying you want our son on trial okay so your son is having you on trial it is prophetic and intense and extremely powerful the message is powerful and I've seen it many times and I've seen it fail and I've seen them repeat the message and I've seen it have less than desired effect all the time but this time it's a little bit different they are getting rid of their warlock which they anticipated but they also are eliminating Tommy f as an entity and he's been acting as a protector for many years and these people don't have their stuff together the max do not it's a system that doesn't run itself and they are the foods a lot of them and mak knows it and it's an uphill battle

Zues Hera

He understands the fight and he understands foreigners or an issue and my son is lost and doesn't get it and Tom Cruise is kind of lost what's everyone to fight us all the time and my grand nephew wants to have him ease off him and he won't and he pays with his life over and over and she dies over and over and it's another one and I'm wondering how it happens and it says I think of living happens first and start cloning himself and fighting with themselves a little and no that was maybe BGA and we get that who wants the cloning but they are kind of monkeys and screw themselves but the forests are nasty Asians are typically very nasty talk and talk and talk and wear you down into a break and then to do it again and I'm talking about all kinds and they are horrible and he says they are he's been there and they did it to him it's okay at all except for his grandpa and he has trouble explaining to them and it's not the gifted hello it's easier to tell things to people to do things when they're not here but still it's a horrific bunch and it's enemies their enemies you keep trying to tell him that it doesn't seem to get it and Emily blunt handles it I think over and over it's not really sure what happens because it could be the kindness not exactly loaded or real and people shoot her first love stuff like that happens because of what she did she's hated by your own and chased by practically everyone, but my book she did the right thing to brad just turned into a bad man and he wasn't always but he's horrible. And wait a minute something is making sense in Apocalypse now and brand is the journalist from Blue Velvet and someone comes in and attacks my son and he leaves with them and after that transfer a great nephew cuz he's probably blaming them for what happens when it's easy to do that to people. We call it blasphemy and sacrilege and they call it a way to survive

Mac Daddy

And I do water world first but he says it's not too far away the blockade will be broken, and it's about Cuba and once that happens pockets now will happen and then everybody goes to Cuba for some reason and he wants to revenge on communist which makes sense but if that's me dying it's horrible and I don't want to and so the film down and you can see the brain shooting off to the right

That's what my friend said I said to the bitter bitter bitter end and what the hell okay that's gross and way over the top and you need psychoactive medicine I feel better

Brad

[bi3eamtress]

You’ve Always Been My Wizard

original on ao3: You’ve Always Been my Wizard

my ao3 account: purplebookgeek17

Chapter 2 “Just be there for them.”

“Passengers we are landing in HAWKINS COUNTY AIRPORT in 10 minutes.” “Please stay seated, and fastened please we land.” Juno and Howard both looked out the window, and both of them. Were excited at how many more trees there where then in LA. Mike curiously looked out the window too. He too giggled to himself as he remembered how much greenery surrounded them. He was excited Lucas, Max, Dustin,Susy, Jonathan, and Nancy. But he especially was excited to see Will. Both him and Will were busy with work, and Will had opened an art studio that hosted art classes for every age. Mike had yet to see since being in California.

“Passengers we have official landed in Hawkins, Indiana.” Mike smiled and sighed and smiled. “Ok kids grab all your things, and then we are going to head to baggage claim.” “Okay dad!”  Mike, Juno, and Howard swifty to baggage claim. “Okay whoever can find the last bag gets to be shot gun in Uncle Wills car!”

-- “Okay I have both Juno, and Howards suitcase.” “Now where is my duffle bag.” Juno jumped excitedly onto Mike, and exclaimed that she had found the last bag. “Hahahah Dad! Dad!.” “Found the duffle bag! Haha” “ Amazing now lets go outside, and wait for Uncle Will.” 

Will waited outside his car and kept keeping a look out for Mike,Juno, and Howard. It had literally been 4 years since I last seen all of them. It wasn’t because of because of a bad relationship. We’ve all just been really busy i guess. I still call them with every chance I get. But yeah I guess everyones been realy busy…..

“Hey Will!” “Huh, oh hey Mike!.” “Do you guys need some help with your bags.” “Oh yes please thanks Will.” They successfully get everything in car, and Will starts driving to Mike’s parents house because that is where they will stay for most of their trip. Everyone catches up with eachother Will asks Howard how starting kindergarten has been for him.

Howard then has a 20 minute conversation about how he loves the macaroni at school. It honestly a great review though. Juno has also been doing soccer, and her team has one 2 games so far. Mike and Will also talk about how work has been going. Will says that he loves how many more kids are more interested art now. He also met some very talented artists in the studio.

“Okay everyone we made to grandma grandpa wheeler’s house.” Will parker in front of Mikes house. They all got out of the car and walked to the door. Mike quickly knocks on the door. Karen then opens the door and cries “OH MY GOD.” Karen also gets pretty emotional because she also hasn’t seen all three them in 4 years. “Oh *sniff* sweeties I have missed you.” “Come give your old grandma a hug. “You too Will even though I see you every day I barely get many hugs from you.” 

“Haha of course Mrs. Wheeler.” They all have a long embrace, and Grandpa Ted sneaks into too. Ted and Karen had been to couples therapy for 10 years now and their relationship was little bit better. Mike and El also tried that but it seem to have the same effect. “Hey Junnie and Howwie bug I have some cookies for you.” Juno and Howard skipped excited to the kitchen with the grandparents. “So Mom how’s Holly and her Girfrien been in New YorkI hear that they just had their first baby.” “I have yet seen them but they are next to see after Hawkins definitely.” 

“Oh my goodness their baby is beautiful she has the same asian eyes as Lena.’ “But even though Holly didn’t use her she really looks like both of them which is crazy.” “Really thats amazing.” “Thats great and I think I’m going to unpack do you want ot help me Will?” “Of course dude.” 

Mike and Will started unpacking. Mike for sure knew he overpacked but it’s always best to be prepared I guess. “So how long has the art studio been open now?”. “Well..” said Will “It unbeilivably has now been open for 10 years now. Will smiles to himself at what he’s accomplished. “You know I’ve missed that smile it always comoforted me.” “Oh really I always thought you hated my smile.” says Will sarcastically. “Haha no.” Will then looks at Mike longingly, and he takes a deep breath he then asks. “So…” “How has it been with divorce and all.” “I’m not picking anyones side either because I love both of you so much.” 

Mike stays silent for a while he then looked at Will. He soon then slowly to cry. He then his face and body fell to the ground, and tears started streaming down his face. “Will *sob I not looking for attention but It’s…J-just been.” Will rushes to Mike ,and puts a hand on his back. “Mike your not doing anything wrong now tell me what’s bothering you.” “It’s just I though I had gotten through the hard feelings about my divorce but.” “I feel like like I’ve failed at having the perfect marriage.” 

Mike then lays on everything on to Will. He goes into detail on how he’s alwasy wanted to have a different outcome then his parents. But he feels like a failure because he didn’t fulfull his dream. “ And also Will what about the kids for everyhting has changed so fast for them.” Mike then pauses and continues to sob. Will draws circles on his back, and listens, and speaks when he thinks it will help Mike. “Mike is it okay if I give you some advice.” “S-sure..” “As a kid of divorce, and sepration I have learned many things from my mom.” 

“Is that listen to what your kids have to say.” “And support them through this time.” “Because you might think their obliviouse, but their not your world and also their world is being turned upside down.” “So just listen them, and comfort their troubles.” “*sniff* thanks Will.” “Do you want to go on a bike ride and get some beer to get your mind off things.” “Yeah I think that would be great.”

—--

“That will be $15.00 for two beers.” “Ok thanks.” Will then went and sat down to where Mike was. He then placed the beer in front of Mike. Mike slowly sipped it. “It’s good you dont’ have to deal with divorce since you never got married Will.” Will laughed a low laugh. “Why did you never get married?” Will looked back at Mike. “Well I guess I just haven’t found the right person yet.” Mike laughed then too. “Really! there’s got to be some cute guys in their forties.” “I bet there are .” 

Mike and Will then spent the 2 hours talking about life, and remebering their childhood days. Even if they didn’t have much of childhood. Then both of them had to get going and they said their farewells.

[loudlypanickinginvenezolano]

Care for you. (Sneak, Sneak.)

Sonic has a bad day. A real bad, and rough day, that lefts him drained and tired in ways he feels are dangerous...

Shadow cant have that, now can he?

Now its a question of wherever Sonic will left him help ride this out, or not...

Soon on AO3!

You can read it under the cut though!

If you squint hard enough you can see some references to depression and/or panic attacks. If I missed something I should have known to tag, please, let me know.

Silence. Solicitude. Calmness. It wasn’t often that Sonic felt such a hard craving for them. That he felt almost a need, such a need so strong it was pretty much breathing down on his neck, and weighing down on his back.

Sonic was tired.

He was oh so tired, so weary to a soul-deep level he tried to not feel so commonly. He really couldn’t afford it, after all, and yet today… today was rough, to call it something.

Battling since early, public appearance all around the place, people screaming, calling his name, cameras being shoved into his face and all… he was used to it, it was…okay, of sorts.

What wasn’t okay was trying to manipulate him. What wasn’t right was using his name to pull people into things that really weren’tokay. What wasn’t right was getting his ears pulled or his body touched or grabbed just because they wanted a rise out of him. To invade his personal space like he didn’t have any kind of right over it anymore. Like it didn’t exist anymore.

What wasn’t right were the set up cameras always waiting for him to mess up.

Always.

The noise.

The fakeness of it all.

The sickening heat.

The hurt on his body.

The ache of his legs.

The pain on his neck and back.

The smoke filling up his nostrils.

The unsavory questions.

The objectifying looks.

It was too much, sometimes.

He ran, and ran, and ran. It felt like ages. It felt like a torture, like if everything was trying to claw out his body and just step on his heart.

His breath was shallow, hitched. His body was sweating, and shivering with an unknown force.

Sonic was tired.

he collapsed on his knees, and then on the soft moss covered ground with barely a sound, gasping with all of his might and trying to get back the feeling on his sore body.

He wasn’t even sure about how much time did he spent like that…he only came to himself when he felt someone approaching, and he had to change his sprawling figure a little, already searching into himself for the last bid of energy into his being so he could flash a smile and wave off any concern or rude question he knew may be on his way.

When he opened his eyes, startled red ones were everything he saw.

It was enough of a shock to had him of all persons spluttering rather unflattering in front of his boyfriend, who fell back on his bottom and was rubbing his eye with his fist, grimacing.

“I am not quite fond of the water plays, hedgehog. Try to keep them to yourself?” he gritted, a disgusted expression clear on his face.

Casual.

“What are you doin-How did you find me?!” Sonic squeaked, blinking furiously and trying to stand on his still jelly like legs. That was, of course, a failure.

Shadow just frowned at him, lifting the basket he held on his hand right on his eye level, half full with things Sonic couldn’t really name, and gesturing at it with this free hand.

Oh.

In Sonic´s defense he… well. He didn’t notice it, honestly, and how was that possible was a serious question he won’t dwell on.

He totally wouldn’t think about what could have happened had it been something AND someone different. Nop.

Not today!

“I was picking up things for dinner and tomorrow breakfast, as I always do, hedgehog. Always. Do. Shouldn’t you know that by now?”

“Yeah but you don’t… you usually don’t… just how late is it?”

Shadow´s frown deepened. “have you hit your head?”

“Aw, C´mon it’s a valid question! I… I…Don’t know for sure, but it is not why I- You were searching for me?” he changed the subject to what was, for him, a more pressing matter, doing the effort on sitting up even if all his body screamed at him to not do, to just lay there.

“Should I have?” Shadow tilted his head, some curiosity on his eyes as he didn’t bother in hide how his eyes trailed down Sonic´s body, searchingly, before looking back at his eyes, arching his eye ridge. “Something I should know?”

“No.” The word was out of his mouth before he ever really thought about it, a small shake that was everything his head could manage at the moment. “There…there really is not, babe. Nothing to worry your pretty head about, kay?” Shifting his weight, he reached out a hand, not minding a bit the slow spreading pain on his upper muscles, actually, it was the last thing on his mind right now. How could he stop to think about the annoying sensation when all of his focus was on the hybrid in front of him, a tender smile in those lips he adored so much as Shadow rubbed his cheek against his palm, letting him cradle his face with no complain. Damn.

He loved Shadow´s smiles.

“Up?”

“Whatever you wish.” Shadow´s hand came up as well, holding his still just so he could twist a bit and left a little kiss on his palm and then his knuckles, not paying mind to Sonic´s blush or the little burns or scratches littered on his skin. He didn’t comment, and didn’t ask neither.

Sonic thought he loved him a little bit more than before.

With barely a move, now the both of them were standing, Shadow´s arm finding its way around Sonic´s body, steadying him while holding him close, as finally, the hedgehog was able to plant a kiss on his forehead. “Sorry, I pulled you too hard.”

“…No biggie.”

Thing was…He didn’t. it was him the one at fault. The one that needed a second to find his right footing even now, as he felt his boyfriend kiss his cheekbone, and then his cheek. They just waited, for what? Shadow wasn’t sure, and he didn’t think Sonic knew it, neither, but they did, just breathing in, holding each other as the azure leaned more and more on him...until suddenly they weren’t, each taking a step back in synchrony.

Sonic stretched, glaze on the far away trees.

Shadow crouched, setting his basket in the ground so he could pick up the ingredients that fell off.

A peach bared hand was firmly perched on a dark shoulder, though, and a gloved one rested on top of it, quietly.

Neither talked for a while, content just as they were. Comfortable.

It really wasn’t something to scoff at in their life styles.

However, the sun was starting to go down, and the skies were darkening with quite the speed, suspicious raising in Shadow´s stomach as he eyed the gloomy clouds he could see.

They needed to move.

Straightening up once more, Shadow took Sonic´s hand off his shoulder, holding it to his lips so a small tender kiss could be laid on the [Wounded. Sonic is wounded.] appendage, softly lowering it and letting it go, despite his lover´s pout and confusion.

A small flicker towards the rain clouds ahead of them, and Sonic eyes cleared slightly in understanding. Good.

He started to walk away, calm, slowly, studying the plush greenery around him with scientific dedication, stopping from time to time to sniff at a few, or rub a single leaf between his fingers, sometimes taking a few and setting in inside his basket, sometimes taking the time to scribble down a few words after looking around.

If Sonic noticed or doubted his slow pace, he didn’t say something, focused in the ground at his feet, making sure the rain was still far, and trying to keep up with the ebony steps.

If he noticed Shadow´s lingering glances, he ignored them.

Shadow was okay with silence.

“I take it I was close to the house, then?”

But…maybe Sonic was not. Part of him was growing restless, and he kind of half hoped his boyfriend would suddenly propose to Chaos control away.

Usually he would say no. He knew that. even when tired, or slightly wounded.

Running, even walking, always gave him a rush. Life.

He was so tired though. He almost didn’t want to think of it at all…

“You would be quite right, dear.” A silence. Ruby eyes snapped to his left, getting lost in the deep mess of foliage. His words were also lost, apparently. Sonic could almost see the gears on his brain working overtime. “I take it you weren’t planning on coming home?”

Home…

Well. It was curious that from all the places he could have ended in he so casually found himself that close to Shadow´s house.

To home.

Yeah. He liked that word. It was especially lovely coming out of Shadow´s lips. It was especially lovely knowing that the dark hero saw him as part of that home.

“How could I not, Hn?! Wouldn’t have missed it for nothin´!” He assured, and this time the smile that grazed his lips came easily to him. It came with life, and love, and Shadow didn’t have any kind of shame at the way he marveled at it, before a small yet equally heartfelt smile formed on himself.

I adore you, it seemed to say. Thank you, it seemed to scream.

The dark hero looked away for a moment, bottom lip softly held between his teeth. He was happy. Sonic could tell. He was so happy and the only thing they did was smile at each other.

How simple, wasn’t it?

Sonic wasn’t happy. He didn’t think he was. But it was an improvement, that was for sure. Like calm was finally edging into his consciousness, closing, and closing in.

It was a good feeling.

In a way, he was happy to had it. He was happy to have Shadow with him.

He still felt tired. But it was okay.

Once home he was going to rest. And then maybe he wouldn’t feel so bad afterward.

It was going to be okay.

[unluckyhoneybee]

Mini Norris pt2. (Lando Norris)

Being a step mum is difficult, but not as much as you thought. Fluff.

Mini Norris Pt1.

Note: The second and last part of this story. I won't write more sorry. REQUESTED. NOT EDITED.

Toby, Cinni, Lando and I had been living together for a few months now.

Life with the Norris was so easy it seemed strange. Toby was a real god boy, he was polite and so sweet and hardly ever caused problems. Lando and he understood each other perfectly, they were best friends so everything was always solved easily.

Lando had understood my position. He understood that I didn't want to be Toby's mum and that I didn't want my own kids. He understood that there were limits that I didn't want to cross and he respected it, which made me fall even more in love with him. He made it so easy. He understood that Toby and I needed space, that we could be the bestest of friends but we also needed to spend time alone with him. There were dates, weekends away just the two of us, we still made plans alone just as he had his moments with his son.

Apart from that, Toby and I were getting closer and closer. He had even told me a couple of secrets, giggling a don't tell dad before running to his room. He was the cutest boy.

At first, on race weekends, he went to his grandparents' like usual. But for the last two, we had stayed at home together. We had gone to visit them on Sunday to see the race together. The boy loved to sit on his grandpa's lap and comment with him on every single thing.

This one was the third we would stay alone and when Lando was getting ready, I heard a loud Toby being shouted. Seconds later, the kid ran down the stairs and crossed the living room, disappearing through the backyard's door.

"Toby! Come back"

I heard Lando's heavier steps and I got up.

"Lando, what happened?"

"Toby! Where are you? He opened my luggage and pulled everything out"

Lando was red as a tomato, fuming and probably not thinking straight.

"Toby!"

I grabbed his arm.

"Lando wait"

"YN, don't"

"Lando"

I cupped his face.

"Hey, he is a kid. He is too young to understand. Let me talk to him"

"Don't get mixed, YN, please"

I took a deep breath. I usually let him solve these problems. But I hadn't seen him so angry with Toby yet and he would leave in a couple of hours. He couldn't have a fight now and then fly away to a triple header. I knew him and he would regret it.

"Lando, you are too angry right now. You need to calm down. Take a deep breath, relax a bit and I will talk to him meanwhile"

"YN..."

"He wants you to stay for a bit longer. So do I. I understand what he is feeling. Let me talk to him, please. I'm sure he is under the tree sitting with Cinni with that frown only you two can put"

He looked into my eyes for a few seconds and then hugged me.

"You don't want to go and argue with him, I know both of you well."

"Okay..."He said pulling a part.

"Go and wash your face, okay. Deep breaths." I kissed his lips and then we walked in opposite directions.

I found Toby exactly where I thought he was, under the tree. He was crying and had hidden his head between his legs. Cinnamon, as his guardian sit next to him.

"Tob?" I walked slowly, not wanting to scare him. "Tob, honey. Can I sit with you?"

He nodded and I did so.

I sat next to the kid and sighed. The poor boy was sobbing.

"Do you want me to hug you?"

Toby nodded and curled into my side when I enveloped him with my arms.

"Dad is angry at me"

"He was just a bit angry, but I already talked to him." I caressed his hair. "I don't want him to go either. I'm going to miss him a lot"

"He always leaves"

That broke my heart. He was so young.

"I know, Tob. But he loves racing and we love watching him racing, right?"

"I want him to stay at home"

"I do too, honey" I took a deep breath. I knew Lando was looking through the window, I could see his shadow. "I miss dad a lot too and it's okay to feel sad when he leaves. But Dad loves racing, he has so much fun when he is driving his car. It makes him so happy"

"I like when Dad is happy"

I smiled. Toby finally looked at me. I helped him dry his tears.

"I like when Dad is happy too. That's why I let him go to race because it makes him so happy. Even though it makes me a bit sad I always think of how much fun he is having and how much he loves it"

"He is sad when he leaves?"

I nodded.

"He is, but he knows that we see the races from here and we cheer a lot for him"

"With grandpa"

"Mhm."

"I didn't want to make him angry. I just wanted him to stay"

"I know. But he has to take a plane pretty soon"

His lip trembled a bit and he looked at me through his tears.

"Hey, we have to be happy, okay? Dad wants to remember us smiling, not crying. We will call him every day and see the races and everything."

He nodded.

"You want to go and tell dad how sorry you are?"

"Yes"

"Okay, but first. Promise me something, Toby"

He nodded and took my hand, intertwining our pinkies.

"Next time you feel sad because dad is leaving, come and talk to me instead of doing that. I can help you to feel better. We don't want him to be angry when he leaves."

"Pinky promise"

We both got up and he made grabby hands, so I took him in my arms.

We went together to Lando and I's bedroom. He was redoing his luggage and turned around when he heard us coming into the room. Toby was hugging my neck tightly and his forehead was pressed against my temple. I knew that he was probably scared that Lando was still angry at him, but his dad's face was much softer now. His eyes were full of tears and his nose was a bit red.

"Lando, Toby has something to say" I said with a soft voice.

"Yeah?"

I nodded and he walked closer, enveloping both of us with his arms.

"Hey, Tob." I said moving him a bit. "What was that we talked about?"

Toby lift his head and looked at Lando. The kid was crying again and that made Lando's lip tremble.

"I'm so sorry, dad" He sobbed a bit. "I won't do it again. I will talk to YN instead and she will help me feel better"

Lando looked at me at the same time he ran his fingers through his son's locks.

"I know you are sorry, buddy. I'm sorry too." He kissed his forehead and then pulled me for a kiss. I smiled.

Toby hugged his dad's neck and Lando took him in his arms, sitting on the bed with the kid on his lap. They cuddled with each other and it was my turn to cry. A few tears escaped from my eyes.

"I'm going to miss you a lot, dad"

"I'm going to miss you too, Toby"

I wanted to go with them, but the moment felt so intimate that I felt as if I was intruding.

"YN says that racing makes you happy and if you are happy we are happy too, so even though I'm a bit sad because you have to leave, I'm happy because you are going to have so much fun driving" Toby said grabbing his dad's cheeks.

"Thank you very much, Tob" Lando looked at me then. "And thank you very much to you too, come here"

I smiled and walked to them. I sat next to Lando and he hugged my shoulders.

"I love you both a lot and I miss you so much when I'm away. But yes, driving makes me super happy and I love when you call me after the races. And it makes me happy to know that you watch the races together and cheer for me." He said looking mainly at Toby.

I kissed Lando's cheek.

"We love you a lot, too. Right, Tob?"

The kid nodded.

"Now, let's help dad packing" I said tickling him a bit.

"Yes!"

I only needed a call to Adam, Lando's dad, to get the tickets for a flight to the race next race. It was the second in the triple header and the one in the middle, so it seemed the best option for us. Toby was missing Lando, asking when he would come back and how many days were left for race day. On the other hand, Lando was missing Toby too, ending the calls with sad eyes and voice.

"Are we going to see dad now?"

The flight had been easy because Adam and Cisca were with me to take care of Toby. But the moment we put a foot outside the hotel, the kid had grabbed my hand and hadn't let me go.

"Yes. Jon is waiting for us"

Cisca was grabbing his other hand and had a huge smile.

"How happy are you to be here, Toby?"

"I'm so happy. I'm going to see dad racing"

When we reached the garage, Jon told us that Lando was in an engineering meeting, so we waited for him. And the moment he came through the door, Toby ran to him, taking Lando by surprise.

They hugged, Lando lifting the kid in the air and both of them laughing.

We had the best weekend ever. Toby was so excited and Lando exuded happiness. He spend each second of his free time with us, showing us how everything worked, the car, the paddock, the pitlane. Everything.

Toby spent the whole race sitting on my lap and talking with Adam, sitting next to me.

There were people curious about the little kid who looked exactly like Lando Norris, some people from the team who didn't know Toby yet. He would always answer with: I'm Toby Norris and Lando Norris is my dad. She is YN and she is my dad's girlfriend, we are best friends and she is super nice. Which didn't fail to make me laugh and smile each time.

When we were leaving after a very good race with a P5 for Lando, I was walking ahead with Cisca, talking about random things. Suddenly I felt a tiny hand in mine and looked down.

"YN, stop"

I frowned and stopped, looking for Lando with my eyes. He was a few meters away from us with his dad and Jon.

"My dad told me to show you this and tell you that he loves you a lot. And that you are super nice to me and he is super happy to have found you. And to ask you if you want to marry him. But I don't know what marry is"

I looked at Toby's hands, where a velvet box waited opened with a ring inside. My heart was beating fast and my hands were shaking. I looked at Lando, who was coming closer with slow steps.

"Lando..."

"I think you are the perfect person for me, you are who I want to share my life with and the person I want in Toby's life. I think I can't find anyone better than you. I... I'm so bad with speaches." We both laughed and he took my hand. I had tears in my eyes and couldn't stop smiling. "We don't have to do it know, we can wait. But... YN, will you marry me?"

"Yes. Yes Lando."

I heard Cisca laughing happily as I kissed and hugged Lando.

I couldn't be happier. I kissed Lando's cheeks a thousand times and then his lips. He looked into my eyes for a second and whispered.

"Thank you for being so good to us"

"I could not be, you both had something" I caressed his cheeks.

"Dad! The ring!"

"Oh yes" Lando gestured me to crouch down next to Toby, doing it too.

The kid took the ring with so much care and put it on the finger Lando told him. Then, he hugged me with so much force that we almost fall. Everyone laughed happily.

"I love you so much, YN"

"I love you so much too, Tob"

Lando kissed both of our heads and then it was turn for his parents and Jon to congratulate us.

As we were walking out of the paddock, Toby in Lando's arms and my hand around Lando's waist, I felt a happiness I had never felt before. I had found someone who understood me and loved me no matter what I wanted for my life. Plus, that someone came with a mini version of himself who was the most adorable thing in the world and made my days better.

"Lando"

"Tell me"

"I love you a lot. Both of you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life."

"I couldn't ask for someone better"