#Speaking of which should I tag my OCs? I guess why not?

[runnning-outof-time]

The Joys of Being a Girl Dad | Tommy Shelby & Alfie Solomons (set in Girl Dad series)

Request: no - written for @justrainandcoffee ‘s 2 year ‘Alfieversary’

Pairing: Tommy Shelby (x Reader mentioned) & Alfie Solomons (x fem!OC & child OC mentioned)

Summary: Tommy stops by Margate to congratulate an old associate…adversary…friend.

Warnings: language (it’s Tommy and Alfie we’re talking about here), a slight bit of Cyril slander

A/N: I’m sorry it took me soooo long to write something for your celebration, Flor!! I guess I could call this a present for Rose’s 1 year anniversary too now, even though she’s not really in it. Thank you for sharing this beautiful au with us!!

A/N 2: I should also say that this story was supposed to be shorter, but I just kinda became invested and ran away with it…I hope you don’t mind. Also it’s been a bit since I’ve written for Alfie, so I hope he’s not too ooc here. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! — YOUR COMMENTS & REBLOGS HELP ME WRITE!

Comment/Message me if you’d like to be tagged!

“Who let you in?” the man who was sitting facing the open balcony door asked.

“How’d you know it was me?” the other man, who was standing at the entrance of the room, responded with his own question.

“Smelt the smoke and horse shit the second you stepped through that archway,” the first man mused, earning a snort from the second. “So I’ll ask again: who let you in?”

“Your wife…”

“Figures she did,” the first man cut the second off, muttering the comment under his breath.

“Your wife’s assistant let me in after she told me to get lost and slammed the door in my face,” the rest of the statement was shared, which made the first man finally spin in his seat to look back towards the archway.

Silence hung in the air for a few moments, the two men staring at each other from several paces away…much like they had on that fated day all those months ago. “So why didn’t ya listen to her?” the first man finally broke the quiet, his quip conjoined with a look of query.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Alfie?” the second man asked, his eyebrows just slightly raised.

“It has,” the first man nodded, pursing his lips together for a moment before he continued, “yet it is still sooner than the day in which I thought I’d see Tommy Shelby again.”

Tommy Shelby just shook his head at the man’s remark, looking at the ground as he pursed his lips. It didn’t faze him in the slightest.

“Why’re you here then?” Alfie asked, still wanting to get to the bottom of the Birmingham man’s presence. However, he interjected again before said man even had the chance to speak: “you’ve come to finish me off, haven’t ya? Since ya couldn’t get it right the first time.”

“I’ve come with something,” Tommy answered, not even bothering to respond to Alfie’s second comment.

He then stepped towards the chair that the other man was sitting in, his hands still behind his back. Anyone else would have wondered if maybe they’d got it right…maybe he was actually there to finish his old adversary off. But Alfie wasn’t bothered in the slightest. No, he could tell from the manner in which Tommy approached him.

“I want to offer a congratulations…on your daughter,” Tommy finished his statement once he was standing in front of Alfie. Alfie looked him over with raised eyebrows, wondering just how a busy, business-minded man like him would have gotten such information. “(Y/N) told me the news. She got word of it from Rose,” Tommy gave the curious man some more information.

“That Rosie…” Alfie mused with a slight shake of his head, “I had a feelin’ that she hadn’t cut off all contact with you Shelbys.” He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of his wife still keeping up a regular correspondence with the wife of the man who’d shot him.

(Y/N) and Rose had hit it off practically from the moment they met each other. Their friendship went beyond their husbands’ business partnership, and so when one disgruntled husband aimed a gun at the other and pulled the trigger, the two women tried hard not to let it come completely between them. There some time where radio silence prevailed…actually most out the time over the course of the last year was filled with radio silence, but it didn’t seem like a beat was missed when Rose contacted (Y/N) to tell her of the newest addition to the Solomons family.

Although Tommy was more hesitant to make amends, he couldn’t deny his wife’s request to deliver something to the newest Solomons.

“She wanted me to give you this,” Tommy then said, finally revealing the tan, stuffed rabbit that he’d brought with him. “To give to her,” he included, making his intentions more clear.

“I knew you weren’t givin’ me a stuffed rabbit,” Alfie quipped, snorting to himself before continuing, “or at least I hope you were plannin’ to.”

“I wasn’t planning on doing that, Alfie, no,” Tommy shook his head, dismissing the comment before it gained any ground. “The rabbit’s for your girl.”

Alfie took a moment to look over the other man again. He was still holding the rabbit out in front of him, waiting for Alfie to take it. Tommy wondered how long Alfie was going to make him stand like this.

Finally he took it. “She’ll like it,” Alfie stated, eyeing over the animal from close up now. He couldn’t deny that it felt soft in his hands. Allie would surely love it. “Thanks, Tommy.”

“My three couldn’t go to bed without it,” Tommy commented, a small smile gracing his lips as he thought of his three daughters and the love they had for that very stuffed rabbit.

A look of realization flashed across Alfie’s face as he heard Tommy’s comment. He brought his hand up to his jaw and ran it down his cheek slowly, stroking his beard as if he was in thought. “Have a seat,” he then said, gesturing to the chair that was set directly across from the one he was sitting in. He waited until the other man was seated before continuing, “three girls, huh?” he mused, sounding like he was talking more so to himself than anything.

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded in response.

“A proper girl dad,” Alfie commented then.

“A what?” Tommy asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“You’re a dad that’s got all girls, hence the fucking term girl dad…stick with it, Tommy,” the response came laden with derision.

Tommy raised his eyebrows at the other man’s comments, looking to the ground as he let the air cool off before he cleared his throat and nodded his head. “Yeah, a girl dad then.” He ran a hand along the back of his head as he spoke, wondering if he was even using the term correctly. Alfie didn’t comment, so he guessed that he didn’t seem to care none.

Instead the newer father continued on with the conversation. “Does it ever get hard?”

“What? Being a girl dad?” Tommy looked over at him again.

“No, not being able to hit your fucking mark when you’re fifteen fucking paces away,” Alfie retorted, “yes, being a girl dad,” he then exaggerated his words.

Tommy bit his tongue yet again. He wasn’t here to get into a fight with Alfie Solomons. The rabbit currently sitting in the other man’s lap was supposed to serve as a sort of olive branch.

“It does,” he finally answered after a moment’s pause.

“Give me some fuckin’ detail, mate,” Alfie asked.

“Fuckin’ hell, Alfie,” Tommy sighed under his breath, pressing the pads of his thumbs against his eyelids. He cleared his throat again as he thought of how he’d answer the question. “It’s been hard from the moment we brought Thea home. A different sort of hard than the ‘hard’ I’ve experienced prior. But it’s also been rewarding...with Thea, then Evie and now Juniper. I’ve learned more from them than from anything else I’ve ever done.”

Alfie took a moment to digest what his confidant had just shared with him. He truly didn’t expect Tommy Shelby to come out with such meaningful statements. I guess even the worst of men can change their tones, he thought to himself. “I didn’t know ya had it in ya, Tommy,” he commented, exuding a breath of a laugh as he shook his head.

Tommy kept his eyes locked on Alfie unsure of how to respond to his comment. He wondered if this was all some sort of game…if Alfie now wanted to toy with him; getting him to open up just to use the information against him.

“Thanks for sharing it though. I, uh…” Alfie paused, the sound of his voice cutting through Tommy’s thoughts and making him focus in again. “I’ll take all of the help I can get with this one. They say that raising a child takes a fucking village, or however that fucking saying goes.”

“There’s a great deal of joy in it too,” Tommy made sure to add, hoping to convey that having daughters, or kids at all for that matter, wasn’t only stressful. “I just know that I wouldn’t be able to do it without (Y/N) though.”

“That’s the same with me and my Rosie. A fuckin’ trooper, that woman is,” Alfie agreed in regards to his wife. Truthfully, he wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for Rose Solomons. He genuinely owed his life to her…and he was going to spend the rest of it showing her.

Silence fell between the two men then, both sitting comfortably in their thoughts of the women they had in their lives, and of how much their respective wives meant to them. The silence hung until the sound of small feet came pattering off of the hardwood in the hallway.

“Daddy! Daddy!” a shrill voice of a small girl soon accompanied the hurried footsteps. Said girl quickly appeared in the archway of Alfie office. Along with her frantic demeanor, Alfie was also able to see streaks of tears on her chreks.

“What’s wrong, Allie?” he asked her, his brows furrowing together.

“Cyril chewed on my stuffie, daddy!” she exclaimed, hiccuping as she spoke through her tears. “It was my favorite stuffie!”

“Awe now love, I’m sorry about that,” Alfie began, opening his arms to the child as she came over to him. She quickly fell into them, and he wasted no time in hugging her tightly. “He’s just a brute that knows nothing of favorite stuffies,” he consoled her as she continued to sniffle her tears away.

Tommy watched on as the moment played out in front of him. He laughed to himself as hearing the reason behind the problem at hand took him back to the moments where Cyril had chewed his girls’ stuffies; there had to have been several instances during the dog’s stay at Arrow House.

“I don’t have a stuffie now, daddy,” Allie whimpered, finally lifting her head from her father’s chest. “Mum said it was too covered in slobber to be saved.”

“Well I’ve got just the fix for ya, Allie,” Alfie began, unwrapping one of his arms from her so that he could blindly search for the stuffed rabbit that Tommy had just handed him. He continued when he found the animal, “now I know it’s no bear, and I know that your favorite stuffies have all been bears, but this lovely little lass was just placed upon my lap moments before you came runnin’ in.”

Allie’s eyes immediately found the rabbit, and she had it in her tight embrace within an instant. “This stuffie is so soft! And she has a lovely bow!” she observed, now beaming with excitement. “Thank you so much, daddy!” she smiled at her father.

“Thanks have to go to that man,” Alfie told his daughter, nodding in Tommy’s direction. He bit his tounge and stopped the urge to add ‘the one who shot your father’ because even he knew this wasn’t the time for that. He didn’t want to bring that feud into Allie’s realm.

“What’s his name?” Allie asked in a loud whisper, her shy eyes finding Tommy’s.

“Tell ‘er your name, mate,” Alfie beckoned Tommy to share the information.

“It’s Tommy,” the other man followed suit, smiling as he spoke.

Allie observed him for a moment, surely trying to decide what she felt about him. A few beats of silence passed before a smile formed on her face. “Thank you, Mr. Tommy,” she said in a small voice.

“You’re welcome, Allie,” Tommy nodded, his smile widening.

“Dad you have to yell at Cyril now,” Allie turned back to her dad, a deep frown present on her face.

“I’ll make sure he knows what he’s done,” Alfie assured her, “go play, love.”

With one last smile, Allie hopped off of her father’s lap and exited the room almost as quick as she entered it.

“That fuckin’ dog…” Alfie trailed off, shaking his head, “why’d you give him back?”

“You wanted him back, Alfie,” Tommy answered in a monotone voice.

“You may be right,” Alfie conceded, cracking a smile as he thought about the dog.

“Your daughter’s lovely,” Tommy commented.

“She is, ain’t she?” Alfie answered, “light of my fuckin’ life, that girl…both her and her mum.”

Tommy nodded, his mind going to his wife and daughters. There was no doubt that he shared the same sentiment towards his girls.

Oh, the joys of being a girl dad…even if — or rather when, because it’ll surely happen again — Tommy and Alfie were at odds with each other, they’ll always have the shared title as something they can both relate to.

MASTERLIST

The Story of Rose and Alfie

Tagged: @mystcldydrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21

@mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @notyour-valentine @theshelbyslimited

@peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss

@alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl

@emotionalcadaver @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife

@anotherblinder @cillmequick @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @garrison-girl-08

@insanitybyanothername @depxiety @justrainandcoffee @dragons-are-my-favorite @forgottenpeakywriter

@cljordan-imperium @brummiereader @red-riding-wood @everythingelseisextra @little-diable

@thomashelbyswife @shaddixlife @jomarch-wannabe @ryecosse @padfootdaredmetoo

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 23. brb x oc

(ill just repeat gifs guys)

a/n: I GOT MY NEW KEYBOARD AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA yes YESSS yes ok yes. we're back in business guys. Also I kinda worked a little bit on Rooster's past??? Just tiny things really.

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff ,Rooster being horny (do i even need to tag this anymore) and supportive.

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21

-

 “He said yes?”

“He did!” Beatrice says with the phone on her ear, holding it up with a shoulder as she folds her laundry, “Didn’t even hesitate.”

“Huh…I mean, you did tell him he’d be like fresh blood on shark infested waters right?”

“Yes, Leo, I made that very clear.”

Her brother on the other end ‘huh’ed again, the sound of kitchen utensils being washed in the background, “Brave man. I get freaked out sometimes and it's my family too…did you just call me to tell me that?”

“Kind of,” Beatrice changes ears while propping the laundry basket to her hip bone, “I just wanted to ask you when we get there, to let him in on some info, who to not talk to.”

“Like the Bitch Trio?” while she wouldn’t call her cousins that, Leonardo wouldn’t be wrong, “Those would be the first ones he should avoid.”

“I don’t get why people keep inviting them.” the brunette huffed, walking up the steps to the loft area, Jolene following her right behind, just waiting for her to drop the laundry basket so she could hop inside and enjoy the warmth.

“‘Cause they are family, which is some bullshit. Everyone knows they love starting drama. Especially Melinda,” he makes a disgusted noise, “I swear, aunt Martha is just too nice, I would never invite them to any celebration.”

Beatrice chuckles, kneeling to the floor with the basket by her side, giving Jolene a sigh when she hopped inside immediately. Instead of pushing her off, she just scratched the top of her head as the pittie got comfortable, “I wouldn’t either. Is there anyone else you think he should be careful with?”

“Oh, oof, man…I think everyone pretty much is a huge warning sign before they meet him for real. I do think uncle Roberto will like him, maybe even uncle Elia.”

“Uncle Eli is coming??? He never joins celebrations.”

“The wedding thank you gifts are expensive wine bottles, Little Bitty. Do you really think he wouldn’t come?”

“You got a point.” she says, gently tapping Jolene’s butt so she could move and Beatrice finally could put her clothes in the armoire “Do you think he’s going to try and sing on stage, pushing the actual singer off?”

“Oh absolutely, he is the reincarnation of Louis Prima after all. With aunt Sonia following behind as his backing vocals.”

“Jesus.”

Leonardo laughs on the other end, shutting the water off when he’s done washing dishes, “But, I dunno, I think it’ll be fine. Him saying yes is already a good sign.” his sister’s less than enthusiastic noise doesn’t stop him from speaking, “Hey, you guys will sit with us, I’ll help him out the best I can. Plus, having Bibi there will help with distraction.”

Beatrice smiles looking down at her folded laundry inside the drawer, “I guess you are right.”

“She’s very excited to be the flower girl,” he begins, “But even more because she thinks the vineyard will have frogs that she’ll try to bring home and scare the fuck out of Cyn.”

Beatrice chuckles softly, remembering the time Bianca grabbed a bunch of frogs and put them inside the little bag she was holding. When asked by her mother what it was, she just opened and Cynthia shrieked in fear, running away to hide inside the house while Leonardo had to tell Bibi to let the frogs go. There was a knock to her front door that made Jolene scramble to her paws, whining all the way down since she knew who’d be, “Leo, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you before the wedding, okay?”

“Sure Little Bitty, just a tip, you should come by during lunchtime ‘cause everyone will be too busy to notice any car coming to the hotel.”

“Oh,you are right, thanks Leo.”

“No problem, talk to you later.”

She finished the call, rushing down the staircase with her bare feet hitting the steps loudly, the smile already on her face before she even reached the door. Jolene’s whole body shook with excitement when Beatrice opened it, the pittie immediately greeted Rooster by jumping around him and standing on her hind legs with her paws on his stomach. Beatrice allowed him to pet the dog first, knowing Jolene would neve leave him be if he didn’t, then leaned up to kiss his lips when he stood to his full height. “Hey,” she whispers, giving him another peck, “How was the gym?”

“Fine.” he smiles, fixing the duffel bag on his shoulder as he enters, Beatrice closing the door behind him, “By the way, I found out your friend Evelyn’s last name.”

“Oh?”

“Yep, Simpson.” 

“Oh, oh yeah.” she smiles, oblivious as to why he seemed so elated on telling her that, “How did you find out?”

Rooster chuckles, “Well, yesterday Hangman tried to score up with her again right?” she nods, signaling she was still listening, “So he walks up with her through the base until he sees Cyclone, who’s a vice admiral and whose name is what? Beau Simpson. I wasn’t there but Nat was and she said that Hangman’s face lost all color when he figured out who her father really was.”

Beatrice blinked, walking into her kitchen with him following, “Oh…did that scare him off?” 

“I mean, he looked terrified according to Nat.” she hums, which in turn makes him look at her, “What?”

“Well…Evelyn’s main issue with Navy guys is how they’d always freak out once they met her dad, running away.” Maybe it was the hopeless romantic in her, but she felt the two of them could work out, “I guess, I don’t know, maybe if Jake really is interested in her he could show he had no issues with her father being who he is.”

Rooster blinks in silence, then a smile slowly spreads over his lips, “You are so cute.” he says, stepping closer to kiss her,  “But I’ve never seen Jake with a girl for more than twenty four hours, babe.”

“Maybe Evelyn is the change he needed.” she says it back, wrapping her arms around his neck while he does the same to her waist, he showered at the gym before coming so he smelled so fresh, “Would it be so weird?”

“Yes. It’s Hangman, Bea.” Rooster smiles at her little pout, rubbing the pad of his thumb on the plump flesh of her lower lip, “You are very sweet, but I don’t see Jake changing how he is just because of a woman.”

“I still think there’s a chance.” she murmurs, “If Jake wants to make the effort.” 

He sighs deeply, making a face, “I don’t think it’s possible but I also don’t want to talk about Hangman anymore,” he cups the back of her legs to pick her up and set her on the counter, pressing a trail of kisses down her jaw to her neck, “It’s weird when I’m trying to kiss you.”

She giggles, leaning her head back to give him more space, her hand dragging up from his nape to the top of his hair, nails dragging on his scalp. He moans quietly, pressing his hips to hers while her legs wrap around his waist, “Brad…” he hums, keeping his teeth and tongue on her skin, “I thought you said you were coming with me to buy Halloween candy for tonight. Remember?”

The pilot groaned on her neck, dropping his forehead against the skin, “I did, didn’t I?”

“If you don’t want to–”

“No I do, it’s just,” he inhales her lavender scent with a happy groan “You are just so sexy I can’t think straight.” he pulls back from her neck, after pressing a kiss right under her jaw for good measure, tugging her out of the counter.

She just blushed even harder, laughing softly at him, “We’ll be back before you know it.” she pecks his pouting lips, “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

-

“I haven’t eaten Halloween candy in years.” Rooster says, leaning his elbows on the back of the shopping cart while Beatrice was picking colorful bags of soft chewy candy, in her hands. Bradley followed the bag being dropped inside the cart with his eyes, picking it up for him to check what it was.

“Oh I used to sometimes.” she giggles, “Bibi liked to share hers with me. So I always had a little bit to myself.” Beatrice crouches down the aisle to pick another bag of candy, this one shaped like witches hats “Halloween was always a nice holiday for me.”

“Yeah?” he asks, not being able to keep the smile on his face when she nods, the movement shaking the french braid behind her head, “Was it your favorite holiday?”

“Christmas is my favorite, with Halloween in close second.” she walks forward a bit more, with Rooster following close behind, grabbing a few Nerds packets to drop inside too, “I loved dressing up for Halloween, it was always so fun.”

He smiles, pushing himself off the cart to step close to her, one of his hands touching her jeans clad hip as she struggled to reach a bag of cherry Twizzlers, easily grabbing a good amount in his hand, “I loved getting treats.” he says it while pressing a kiss to the edge of her jaw, making Beatrice smile and kiss him back quickly.

“We can’t make out in the middle of an aisle, Roos.” she whispers but still presses her lips to his once more.

“Why not? It’s not like I’ll…push you into a dark corner and just make sure you get out of breath just by kissing.”

“Roos!” the brunette giggles, pressing a hand on the middle of his chest, just to hold him back. “You’ll have to be patient.” he sighs, straightening himself before returning to his earlier position by the red handle, his lips pursing into a little pout. She smiles sweetly, going back on her quest to get as many candy types as she could, tossing a few Halloween toys in the cart as well. 

His smile however, only got bigger when he noticed how excited she got while getting treats for the trick or treaters. When he got to her place earlier that morning, he saw the front of her house adorned with several spooky decorations, including a pair of fake pumpkins that glowed from the inside and a ghost made out of fabric and a wire stabbed in between her flower pots. She did tell him this would be her first time getting trick or treaters at her house and she wanted them to have a good time.

Hence why she was so pumped on getting a variation of sweets, of toys and things she knew kids would love. While looking down to the slowly filling cart, Rooster couldn’t help but ask her “What’s your favorite?” she turns her head to him in question and he nods to the candy bags inside the cart “Halloween candy.”

“Oh!” Beatrice purses her lips, “I don’t know, I always liked Twizzlers, the cherry ones…and gummy bears and Butterfingers. What about you?”

Rooster hums, looking around the aisle to wrack his memory “I don’t know,anything with chocolate I guess.” he chuckles, “But I do like Butterfingers too…and Sour Patch Kids. I loved those, I liked beheading them.”

That makes a laugh sputter out of Beatrice’s mouth, dropping a few more bags inside the cart, “Weirdly cannibalistic but very cute.” she smiles, “I used to do the same too.” she looks down at her phone, peeking her tongue out while checking her notes, “I think we got pretty much everything…I already have the baggies at home, so!I think we are done here.”

“I think the kids will love it.”

“Yeah?”

“Hell yeah, look.” he spreads his arms over the cart, grinning up at her “If I was a kid getting treats, I’d go insane for all of this.” her smile makes his heart flip with happiness, her cheeks dusting with red over his compliments. God he loved it, he loved her…he still had to find a good time to say it, which he wanted badly, but it had to be the perfect time. Nothing to interrupt them, no one to ask them questions, just two people confessing to one another.

Yes, the perfect time. He hoped it would happen soon.

Beatrice slid her phone back into her back pocket, “I hope so…” she walks next to him as he leads the cart for her, “I can’t wait to see their costumes. Some kids can be very creative!Or…their parents, in that case.”

“I don’t even know what kids watch these days.” he mutters, “Is Muppet Babies still a thing?”

“I don’t think so.” she chuckles, “They’ll probably dress up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or something, they never go out of style.”

Rooster keeps her in his peripheral, her smaller hand covering his own when he moves the cart, so he decides to push it one handed to interlace their fingers together. They approach the cashier, who looks bored out of her mind with a bat fascinator on top of her head, who rings everything quickly, her monotone voice wishing them a ‘Happy Halloween’ before they leave the market.

Beatrice was so busy putting everything inside Rooster’s Bronco, that she did not notice the pair of eyes looking her way…but Rooster did. He looked over his shoulder to where a guy, a bit shorter than him, watched the two from a Chevrolet red pickup truck. He could only describe his appearance as an off brand Vanilla Ice with longer hair. While he was wearing his sunglasses, his head was turned right in the guy’s direction, so he was sure the dude could notice he was looking.

The guy moved his eyes from Beatrice to Rooster when the pilot stepped right in his line of sight. Clearly the guy wasn’t expecting him to move, nor the not so subtle nod of ‘what are you looking at’, he sent his way. He followed the guy with his eyes narrowed, watching him scramble to get into his truck and speed out of the parking lot.

Rooster stood behind Beatrice for a little while longer, just until she announced she was done. His annoyed façade dropped, turning into a smile when he looked down at her, “Let’s go then.” He didn't feel like sharing the info about the guy yet, he didn’t want to scare her with the news of a creep looking her way. 

“Ohh,I’m so excited!” she said happily, shimmying a bit on her seat, his anger fading completely once he got in, “I hope this is enough, do you think it’s enough?”

Bradley laughs when he turns the car on, “I think it’s more than enough. You’ll make a lot of kids happy tonight.” her little smile only got bigger and brighter, clasping her hands together on her lap. “Are you dressing up too?”

“Oh, no, I’ll just wear black and call it a modern witch.” she giggles, “My costume is set for tomorrow.”

His ears perk up with interest, then his brain makes the connection “Penny’s Halloween Party?” she nods, unaware of how his jaw moved with a question “I didn’t know you were dressing up.”

“Oh,I mean, Penny said we could if we wanted to.” she shrugs, leaning on a hand while looking outside the window. He was quiet for a while, making Beatrice blink in his direction, finally noticing he wanted to know what she was going to dress up as “Oh! Julie Newmar’s Catwoman.”

It took every fiber in his body to not swerve in the road, choosing to instead clench the steering wheel tight enough to make the cover creak under his grasp. When he was a prepubescent boy, he discovered the Batman series by random. He couldn’t remember if there were vhs tapes or some channel was running the show again just for shits and giggles. But what he did remember was his crush on every single version of Catwoman from that show, but especially Julie Newmar.

He was just a young boy whose interest in girls hadn’t developed fully yet, he knew he liked them but not enough to be gobsmacked by one of them. Then he saw Julie Newmar’s Catwoman and his brain exploded, discovering that he was really into brunettes. But of course, it wasn’t only Beatrice’s hair color that attracted him to her, it was much more than that but it genuinely made him pay more attention the first time.

So to hear that her, his very gorgeous girlfriend, was going to dress up as one of his childhood crushes was doing something to him.  He cleared his throat, accommodating himself on the seat when a sudden heat came from below towards his neck, definitely flushing the tanned skin, “That’s nice.” he croaked out, “I mean, you’ll look nice.”

Bea smiled, “Thank you, I’ve always wanted to dress as her and Ev knew someone who could make her outfit with my measurements.” he let out a shaky breath just imagining her with that skin tight outfit, shaking his head to refocus, “I don’t know what Shells will be dressed as, I know Penny will be Wonder Woman.”

“That’s nice.” he had to remember he was driving a car, in the middle of a road in the afternoon, with candy that could definitely melt if he chose to park the car somewhere and just figure out how flexible he could be in the front seat. “Do we have to dress up too?”

She shrugs, pursing her lips “If you want. I know some patrons will dress up…and Phoenix said she will too.” he arches his eyebrow at her “She said she’ll dress up as a cactus.”

He was about to say something, but knowing how Phoenix humor could be sometimes he chose to just keep his mouth shut. “I have an idea for a costume.” she tilts her head towards him, waiting for his reply “A strapping pilot who likes to wear Hawaiian shirts.” Beatrice rolls her eyes laughing, which in turn makes him laugh as well, parking the Bronco in front of her house “No, but seriously, I don’t have any idea what I could dress up as.”

“Well,” she unbuckled her seatbelt, pursing her lips, “You could be…hmmm…oh you’d be a great Gomez. You know, from the Addams Family?” 

“I do look great in a suit.” he chuckles, stepping out from the car to open the passenger seat for her, helping her carry the bags “But I couldn’t be a Gomez without my Morticia, and you are dressing up as Catwoman.” her cheeks flushed under his words, “So maybe a second option is needed.”

Beatrice held two bags up, allowing Rooster to close the passenger door and lock the blue Bronco as she got closer to her door. She gasped, turning to him with a smile, “I know! Magnum P.I! He has a mustache and likes Hawaiian shirts too.”

Rooster couldn’t help but chuckle, “I mean, you have a point.” He waits until she enters the house, Jolene greeting both of them with leaps of joy, running between their legs, bringing her sock monkey as a welcome gift. Beatrice rushes to the kitchen where the colorful Halloween baggies were waiting to be filled inside a large pumpkin bucket, “I could do that.”

“You’d look really good too,” she throws over her shoulder, dropping the bags on her kitchen table -which she just got!! -, the different types of sweets spilling over the dark colored wood “You’d just have to use your shirt, no top underneath.”

With her giving her back to him, Rooster smiled, approaching her from behind to wrap his arms around her waist. “You just want to make it easier for you to take it off,” he kisses right below her earlobe “Which is completely fine by me.”

“Roos…” she bites back her smile “I have to set everything ready and you said you’d help me…” her pilot groans, letting her go with a heavy sigh but he’s smiling, removing his sunglasses to slip them on the collar of his tee, taking a seat next to hers. She was so happy, so excited to do this he had no other feelings but pure adoration towards her.

Every baggie had candies and a gift, a tiny notepad with crayons. She didn’t want to give the kids something that’d be too locked within a gender and pretty much every child liked to draw so it’d be a good gift! While they were busy, she was a lot faster than he was too, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to her backyard where he knew she was painting from the time he was deployed. “So…did you finish your picture?” she looks up from tying the baggie with a bright green bow “You said you were painting something when I was gone. Did you finish it?”

Beatrice slows her movements, her cheeks reddening “Oh…um…not yet.” she doesn’t meet his eyes, choosing to focus on filling the baggies instead. His eyes squint humorously, so she was hiding something from him, he was too used to her mannerisms for her to hide stuff like that.

“Do you still want to show it to me once it’s done?”

“Yes.”

“You sure?” his smile turns boyish, the idea it was probably something of a surprise for him making him feel giddy.

“Yes.” she repeats, biting back her smile “You just gotta be patient..and we have to finish this now so we can’t focus on anything else.” he laughs but nods, offering a shrug in her direction as they continue fixing the baggies. 

-

She peeks through the curtains again, the pumpkin bucket on her hand as she looks outside “There’s no one yet.” she murmurs, “What if they don’t come here,Roos? I don’t even know if this neighborhood has a lot of kids.”

He steps behind her, nudging his head on her shoulder to look out just like she did “They’ll be here, gorgeous.” she makes a sad noise, her crestfallen expression when she looks down at the bucket tugs at his heart “Hey, hey, they’ll be here. Okay? Give it a few more minutes.”

Beatrice gives him a look, the dark kohl around her eyes making them appear even bigger “Okay…” she couldn’t hold back the smile when he kisses her cheek, “Thank you.”

“You are welcome, pretty girl.” he chuckles, “You sure you don’t want my help?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Just go ahead and relax, you are my guest after all.” she smiles, a soft laugh tittering out of her mouth when he presses a noisy kiss to her cheek again, walking back to the couch where Jolene remained. Beatrice couldn’t help but sigh happily, remembering that after she told him about the wedding, he suggested he could spend the few days before it happened if it helped her feel calmer. So he’d packed up his duffel bag with enough clothes and hygienic products for the time being, choosing to get the suit for the wedding early Friday.

It was comforting having him there, just lounging on her couch wearing his gray sweatpants and no shirt. It was…very nice to know he was in her space. Beatrice’s line of thoughts broke when she started to hear the sudden noise of voices approaching, “Oh my god, oh my god!!” she peeks through the curtain again, seeing a group of kids wander by “Roos!!They are here!”

Rooster chuckles, looking back at Beatrice who was bouncing on the spot with how happy she was, watching her open the door and greet the kids with as much joy as the kids had. He heard the kids gasp and thank her when she gave them the heavy baggies filled with candy, while his eyes remained on the tv, watching Kandy Muse and Tamisha Iman argue during Untucked.

Beatrice remained close to the window, while Bradley and Jolene stayed on the couch, watching Drag Race together. The pitbull’s large head resting on top of his thigh, her eyes blinking sleepily when he petted her head repeatedly, before she succumbed to sleep. He was so focused on watching Drag Race - it was a great show and he already shared his own thoughts with the others, especially Nat who was an avid watcher as well - he didn’t see the time go by.

His girlfriend was just so happy being able to give the kids a good Halloween night she didn’t even move too much from her spot by the window. She did however, blink in surprise when a black Toro pick up truck rolled to a park right outside, a large figure walking out of the driver’s seat to open the passenger door, where a tiny person rushed out.

She could only blink in surprise, seeing the large figure wobble closer, then the doorbell rang. When she opened her eyes immediately focused on her brother looking downright miserable,”Leo?” he purses his lips, then nods “You…uh…what are you doing here?”

“Bibi wanted to see you.” he gestures to the little girl, which makes Bea drop her gaze as well. Bianca was wearing blue overalls, a red shirt and a large red cap with a big M on it with her blonde hair pulled back into it. Not to mention, the paper mustache glued above her niece’s lips. 

“Oh…I–”

“Its-a me! Mario!!” Bibi shouts with gusto, pulling out a tiny stuffed mushroom, playing that she bit into it, then bouncing as if she got bigger - much like Mario did.

Realization hits Beatrice, her eyes slowly dragging back to her older brother and his costume. It was a full green onesie with a sewn on head, big fake eyes staring down at her “Oh my God…you–”

“I am Yoshi, obviously.” 

“No!” Bianca looked back at her father, “You need to make Yoshi sounds!!”

Leonardo sighed heavily, licking his lips and saying the word ‘mlem’ in the highest tone his voice could get. Beatrice sputters, biting her lips to prevent her grin, “Yes, yes laugh all you want.”

“I-I’m s-sorry..” she tried so hard to hold back her laughter, but only managed to cackle even harder, “I-I, you–” she snickers, covering her mouth with a hand while her brother looks at her unamused, “Oh…oh my g-god…I-I’m so sorry. You look-” a quiet snort comes out of her nose “You look gr-great.”

“Uh-huh.” Leo’s drone reply didn’t help the situation, “Bibi, ask auntie.”

Bianca blinked, holding up her pumpkin bucket, “TRICK OR TREAT!! YAHOO!” Beatrice, after wiping her eyes from laughing so hard, dropped a few of the baggies inside her niece’s bucket, smiling down at her when the blonde girl gasped, whispering a ‘cool’ when she opened the baggie already.

Rooster, hearing the commotion - and Bea’s laughter- decided to put on a shirt before he walked closer to the open door. His eyes widened briefly as he took in Leonardo’s costume, “Hey…Yoshi?” Leonardo nods, unamused, gesturing to his daughter who was sniffing a crayon, dressed as the Italian plumber. “Oh hey, nice costume.”

Bianca looks up, her paper mustache crooked as she gasps, “PRINCE ROOSTER!” she shouts, standing to her feet with her tiny arms up in the air “You are here!! Hi!” 

“Hey, Bianca,” he smiles, “Nice mustache, you are going to make me jealous. It looks much better than mine.”

Bianca’s eyes widened, “I’m Mario!” she grins her few toothed smile, “I’m going to get all the candy and defeat Bowser!!” 

“You do that, I believe in you.” Rooster replies, enjoying how the little girl growled out in triumph, her tiny fists in the air. He didn’t even notice his arm was around Beatrice’s waist, force of habit really, but he did see Leonardo’s eyes move to it immediately. He didn’t want to remove it, even if Leonardo’s eyes zeroed on it the moment he noticed it. But Bea’s brother just gave him a small smile and an even smaller nod - which with him dressed as Yoshi was downright hilarious- before grabbing his daughter’s fist.

“Come on BIbi, time to go home.”

Bianca frowned, looking back at her aunt and Rooster, “But I wanna stay! Can’t we stay daddy??”

“Uh… no, cause…mom is waiting for us.”

“Mommy is asleep!”

“Mommy is waiting for us while asleep, let’s go.” he swoops down to grab the little girl in his arms, kissing her cheek “Say bye, Bibi.” the little girl pouted, but did so, before pressing her cheek to her dad’s shoulder in annoyance. 

“Bye!” Beatrice smiles, leaning onto Rooster’s chest as she watches her brother turn around to his car. The moment he does, her eyes just double in size, “Oh my god YOU HAVE A TAIL TOO???”

“SHUT UP!” Leonardo retorts, covering the plushy tail from his costume with a hand. “STOP LOOKING AT MY TAIL!” but his sister was already laughing and Rooster was trying very hard to not laugh a long, rubbing the tip of his thumb against his lips while looking away. Beatrice was still giggling when her brother got into the truck, telling Bianca to cover her ears as he dropped an ‘f’ bomb, but he was laughing just as hard. Beatrice in return, shouted she loved him as he drove off.

Her laughing diminished and she looked down at the bucket in her hands:  empty. She did it. She had her very first Halloween in her house, gave out candy by herself and saw her niece and brother! It was a great night, so great she just turned to Rooster to wrap her arms around his torso, pressing her ear to his chest to hear the heartbeat, “That was fun,” he comments and she nods, “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” her body was also finally relaxing from all the excitement “And tired…but I had fun.”

“You did, it was really nice to see.” he kisses the top of her head, pulling her back inside, “What do you say we get something to eat?” she hums positively, letting go of him to drop the bucket to the floor. But she goes back to holding him,inhaling his cologne before her eyes move back to his, lashes fluttering with the promise of something else. Rooster’s eyes drooped, his tongue wetting out his lips, “Or…you have something else in mind.”

“I did say I’d make it up to you.” she whispers, biting her lower lip while grabbing his hand to lead him upstairs, “Didn’t I?”

“Hmhm.” he mutters, letting her lead him up before he looks back to where Jolene is sprawled on the couch, “What about Jojo?”

“She’ll be asleep…but if you are worried she’ll come upstairs, I have a pet gate that I use when I have to clean up here and she can’t come over.” she says, “I keep it in the laundry room.” She just laughs when he lets go of her hand to bolt downstairs, turning the lights on in the laundry room - her dog just lifting her head then dropping without much interest - before he comes out with the pet gate.

She had never seen someone set it up so quickly, but he did, rushing back upstairs to wrap his arms around her waist. Much to her surprise, he just tossed her over his shoulder, “Rooster!” she yelps, trying to balance herself the best she could, letting out a shout when she feels his hand immediately hit her ass. “Bradley!!”

“Can’t hear you! Going to get my treat!!”

[morvantmortuary]

Our Sokovian Cousin --

(A FranticFanfic collaboration!)

So I was hanging out with my buds @maximoffwxnda and @fairyysoup last night, and after a fun round of FranticFanfic (which, if you write fic, you should definitely either look into playing solo or with your friends at franticfanfic.com), we were digging back through some of our older rounds, and I found this little gem from like? summer of ‘22?? I asked the other two if they were okay with me posting it, and just thought I'd share it here for funsies ✨

for those who don't know how it works, basically you set a time limit (three minutes or five or more or less depending on how much of a masochist you are) and after everyone throwing in some character suggestions at the beginning, you pick two out of the proverbial hat, and start to write a fic. it's then an exquisite corpse situation where you're randomly shuffled someone else's fic where they left off and write as fast as you can, and then after three switches, the fics are finished and shared and everyone reacts and votes and has a gay old time. it can be played with blorbos or OCs, and obviously in this case, we used both! it's a blast seeing how everyone reacts to weird character combinations, as well as getting to play with your friends' OCs for a few minutes like the beloved barbie they are (and seeing how well they know yours is just!!! a whole other kind of love omg 🥰). we usually play with our friend @bigtiddythanos in the mix too, and it’s always a fantastic evening 🖤

I'll tag the places where we switch off -- but at the end of each section, so if you want to guess who's who ahead of time, feel free. :) I think we were working with around three minutes apiece here?

and, if you haven't read either @fairyysoup or @maximoffwxnda before, definitely go give them a look!! we all met in the Zemo fandom, but they've both covered a plethora of characters since then across multiple fandoms, including Stranger Things, The Alienist, Peacemaker, and Moon Knight, among others, and they're all *mwah* Quality. 🤌🏻🥰

soup's masterlist is here.

wanda's masterlist is here.

this isn't super long, but it is near and dear to my heart 💜 all under a cut so I don't throw off anyone's flow!

Maxi squints at the man who just stepped into the antechamber of the House, dressed in an overly heavy coat for the hot Louisiana weather.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Hector asks, whispering from behind his hand in the most non-confidential way possible.

Maxi thinks for a moment before he makes a note of the oddly close resemblance he has to the man. "Oh, it's our cousin from Russia or whatever."

"Sokovia." Their cousin, Zemo, glares caustically at the two men as he closes the front door. "Your cousin from Sokovia, thank you. It appears the House hasn't changed much in the twenty years I've been away. Not a bad look, but still, it has that rustic charm you never could get rid of."

Maxi's eye twitches. "Why are you here, exactly?"

(this was by @fairyysoup!)

"And what's with the coat, man?" Hex laughed.

Zemo fixed his icy eyes on him.

Unlike with most people, Hector refused to shrivel under the force of his gaze. "It's like a million degrees out there."

"Some of us know the meaning of fashion. I like your… shirt."

Hector looked down at his t-shirt and scoffed. "Whatever. I'm gonna bother Rora. Lemme know when Moneybags McGee leaves," Hector said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

"Now… Why are you here?" Maxi asked once more with thinly veiled frustration.

"You've heard of James Barnes? The Winter Soldier?" Zemo asked conversationally as he pulled off a set of leather gloves.

Maxi shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zemo tilted his head at his cousin. "Then surely you've heard of Captain America."

Maxi had. Everyone had. Anyone who hasn't was living under a rock. Or dead. Speaking of which… Maxi had a body currently waiting in the basement. It was in rough shape and needed to be disposed of.

While Zemo had seen and caused his fair share of corpses in his life, he didn't need to know his extended family's secrets.

"Well then, The Winter Soldier and Captain America are currently on their way. I suppose I should've led with that."

(this was @maximoffwxnda!)

Maxi blinked, trying not to let the utter drop in his gut show too much on his face. "Uh, you fuckin' think? Jesus Christ, man," he turned back towards the basement door. "You're family, you know what kind of operation we run around here. You couldn't've just shot me a text as soon as you heard?"

Zemo arched an elegant brow. "I much prefer to handle these things in… person."

"Well that's fantastic for you!" Maxi let his full exasperation shine through. "You're not the one who's got a corpse in the fuckin' basement!"

"This is a mortuary," Zemo waved a hand dismissively. "I'm sure it's not that out of place."

"Look," Maxi took his glasses all the way off, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off an oncoming stress migraine. "What the fuck do you want? Why are you here, and are you actually gonna help with any of this?"

"I'm more than happy to distract them," Zemo said in a way that would've been soothing and not condescending on anyone else. "Though I do wonder why your affairs aren't more… in order. If I remember," he cast a gaze over the room. "My uncle ran a rather… tight ship. Vincent, I believe?"

Zemo wasn't used to people suddenly shoving a scalpel against his throat unexpectedly, or for it to glow a blazing red to match the eyes of his cousin.

"Give me one good reason not to add you to the assembly in the basement," Maxi muttered, his voice layered with something that wasn't quite human.

Zemo's eyes, after so long, flickered with their own light - a deep, ominous amethyst. "Because," he murmured, his voice velvet and low. "The last thing we want to do is deny They Who Provide one more potential heir. Don't we, Maximilian?"

Maxi blinked, admittedly looking caught off-guard. "Since when did you--"

They both stopped, turning with wide eyes as a singular knock seemed to echo through the vast foyer.

They looked back to each other with a frown.

(aaand obviously this was me -- it's two years later and I just noticed I shifted into past tense out of habit instead of present, lmao. :'D)

anyway! I'm in a space where Zemo and the Morvants each have control of half my brain right now, so this was right in the sweet spot of what I needed, lmao. thanks again to my friends for letting me post this little snippet, and looking forward to writing more with y’all soon!! ✨🥰

[purplefangirl42]

Eyes of Stone, Hearts That Glow

Summary: After being torn apart, Silco and Olillia must find their way back to each other.

Pairing: Silco/OC (Olillia)

A/N: This is the Silco/Arcane half of my follower celebration, which was voted to be a happy Silco & Lil AU by my lovely followers. This AU doesn't have anything to do with Who We Were apart from the use of my OC Lil. Thank you to @silcoitus and @juniper-sunny for beta-reading this for me and to June for giving me the modern AU idea in the first place!

Tags: Modern AU, Angst with a happy ending, breakups and make ups

AO3 Link

“I know what’s good for him, and it’s not you.”

Lil stared blankly at Vander, not believing the words leaving his mouth. While they didn’t have the best relationship, she never thought he would say something like that. 

“How can you say that?” she asked. “Just because we’ve had a few rough spots doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be together.”

“Arguing every other night is not having a few rough spots, Lil.”

“Couples fight sometimes, we aren’t any different…”

“He’s right,” a voice behind her said.

Lil turned away from the large man in front of her to face the speaker. Silco stood in the doorway to the apartment he shared with Vander. He was looking down at the floor rather than at either of them.

“Silco…”

“We fight way too much. At this point, it would be better to call it quits.”

Lil could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Hearing it from Vander was one thing, but hearing it from Silco was another thing entirely. Her heart felt like it was dropping to the floor. She took a step in Silco’s direction, her hand extended toward him.

“I don’t want to call it quits. What we have is worth working things out. I love you, Silco.”

Silco looked up from the floor to meet her gaze. He didn’t have any flicker of regret in his eyes, no sadness, only firm resolve.

“Is that why you called me a selfish bastard last night?”

Lil dropped her hand down to her side and shook her head.

“I said you were acting like one, not that you were one.”

“Same difference,” Silco said with a scoff. “You made your opinion of me quite clear. Vander’s been telling me to end things for weeks, but I was holding out and hoping things would get better.”

Lil looked over her shoulder at Vander, hurt that he would encourage such a thing. Vander’s eyes widened at Silco’s words and he gave her an apologetic shrug. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lil beat him to it.

“I should have guessed. You’ve always hated me. Surprised you didn’t convince him to get rid of me sooner.”

“What? No Lil, I don’t…”

Lil raised a hand to stop him, closing her eyes to prevent the tears from spilling over.

“Save it, Vander.”

“Don’t blame him,” Silco said. “We’re no good for each other, Olillia.”

Lil felt as if she had been slapped. Silco hadn’t called her by her full name in years. Her lip began to quiver as she grabbed her keys out of her pocket. She pulled the key for their apartment off the ring and slammed it down on the counter in front of Vander.

“Put all my stuff in a box and bring it to my place tomorrow. You can leave your key as well. I’ll leave your stuff in a box by the door.”

Lil stormed past Silco, flinging the door open and leaving it open in her retreat. She walked as fast as she could down the hall of their apartment building, just keeping herself from running. Heavy tears streamed down her cheeks, dropping down onto her shirt. She wasn’t watching where she was going and almost ran into their neighbor, Sevika. 

“Lil? Hey, what’s wrong?”

Lil stopped and pointed down the hall, a sob escaping her when she tried to speak.

“What happened?” Sevika asked. “Come to my place, sit down and take a breather.”

Lil shook her head and pushed past the larger woman, the words still stuck in her throat. She didn’t want to sit and take a breather, she wanted to run. As soon as she reached the top of the stairwell, she descended as fast as she dared. At the bottom, she increased her pace and by the time she was at the front door, she was running. She ran, pushing through crowds of people as fast as her feet would take her.

The next afternoon, Lil sat in her bedroom window, staring out into the rainy fog. The weather seemed to have taken her mood into account and decided to match it. She had cried herself into a restless sleep the night before, waking early to the sound of the falling rain. She had scoured her apartment for Silco’s belongings, placing them in a box for him to take when he brought her stuff later. The box was sitting by the door, just as she promised, holding everything that was his or that he had bought for her. Everything except the simple teal pendant she wore around her neck. 

As she looked out into the rain, Lil twiddled the stone between her fingers. She had stared at it for a long time, trying to find it in her to add it to the box. It was the most precious thing she had, and had decided that she couldn’t part with it. Silco had given it to her one time when he was going to be away for a while on a trip. She had said it reminded her of his eyes and he bought it so she could look at it and think of him. 

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for her to keep it. Thinking of his eyes felt like a stab to her already bleeding heart. She reached up and pulled the necklace over her head, holding it in the palm of her hand. The stone almost felt heavy, as if all of the pain associated with it was inside it. Lil closed her fist around it, hiding it from view. 

A shuffling sound followed by a click came from down the hall, indicating that someone was unlocking her front door. Heavy footsteps entered her apartment, which meant it wasn’t Silco that had come to retrieve his stuff. He had gone the coward’s route and sent Vander in his stead. Lil heard the thud of a box being set down before the door closed. She hadn’t heard any retreating footsteps, which confused her.

“Lil? Are you here?” Vander’s voice called out.

Lil closed her eyes and leaned against the window, silently willing him to go away. Unfortunately, she had left her phone out in the kitchen when she had been out there earlier, so it was obvious that she was still home. The heavy footsteps started again, making their way down the hall until they reached her bedroom.

“Lil…”

“Just take the stuff and go, Vander. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

Vander didn’t seem to want to follow her instructions, instead walking in and sitting on the end of her unmade bed. She could feel him staring at her, but she kept her eyes firmly shut. If she looked at him, she knew she would break down again.

“He couldn’t even come himself, the coward,” she said bitterly.

“He didn’t want to risk seeing you again,” Vander said.

Lil sniffed and shook her head. She didn’t think he would feel so badly about her so soon.

“Am I that awful? That he couldn’t bear to lay eyes on me?”

“If he saw you again, he would take back everything and never leave your side. He loves you.”

Lil let out a disbelieving laugh.

“No he doesn’t. He wouldn’t do this to me if he did.” 

Lil heard Vander sigh and the creak of the bedsprings as he stood up. 

“I’m sorry this happened, Lil.”

“No you’re not. You wanted this to happen. I’m no good for him, remember?”

“I shouldn’t have said that. You didn’t deserve it. I just hated seeing the pain you put each other through,” he said, taking a step toward her, “Believe it or not, I don’t hate you, Lil. I made the suggestion that you take a break from each other to sort things out, I didn’t think he’d take it so literally.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me causing pain anymore. Just take the stuff and go.”

Lil got up from her seat at the window and walked past Vander into the hall. She saw the box he had brought sitting on her counter. Right on top of the rest of the stuff was a bracelet. Much like her necklace, Silco had a bracelet with a brown stone. He had said it was only fair that he had a reminder of her eyes too.

Her fist curled tighter around the necklace in her hand as she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Her heart clenched in her chest and she felt like her breath had been stolen. Vander came down the hall to stand right behind her. Lil held out her hand with the necklace and dropped it into his hand when he extended it. 

“I had planned on keeping this, but I guess he made a different decision.”

Vander sighed again and walked over to the box with Silco’s stuff in it. He placed the necklace in the box and lifted it into his arms. 

“I left the key in the box,” he said.

Lil nodded her head to acknowledge that she heard him. He turned the knob of her front door with his free hand and left her apartment, pausing in the hall outside the door.

“He really does love you, Lil.”

Lil didn’t respond. She crossed the room and shut the door in his face, silencing him. Leaving the box on the counter, she walked back toward her bedroom. When she reached it, she fell onto her stomach on the soft surface of her bed and buried her face in her pillow, letting the tears she had been holding back fall freely.

Silco tore through the contents of his bedroom, searching desperately for his missing bracelet. It was the one thing he had planned on keeping. Even if Lil never wanted to see him again, he never wanted to forget the color of her eyes. He never wanted to forget the way they sparkled in the sunshine, or how they glowed in the moonlight. 

The sound of the front door opening grabbed his attention, signaling that Vander had returned. Silco left his disaster of a bedroom behind and walked out into the main room of their apartment. Vander placed the box down on the counter before turning to look at him.

“Have you seen my bracelet?” Silco asked, “the one with the brown stone?”

Vander froze, a look of regret covering his face.

“You left it on the counter, I thought you wanted it to go in the box.”

Silco’s heart sank. He hadn’t wanted to send it with the stuff. He shook his head and rubbed his hands over his face. The one thing he would have had to remember her was gone. 

“I’m sorry, Sil.”

Vander reached into the box and pulled out a necklace. Lil’s necklace. He handed it to Silco, guilt in his eyes.

“She was planning on keeping it, but when she saw the bracelet in the box, she handed it over and kicked me out.”

Silco held the necklace tenderly in his hands, his thumb brushing over the teal stone. He remembered Lil’s face when he had gifted it to her. She had been overjoyed and he never saw her without it after that day. The face in his memory morphed from joy to sorrow as her face from the night before took its place.

“I can’t do this,” he said. “I need her.”

He moved toward the door, but didn’t get far before Vander stopped him. The larger man stood between Silco and his exit, preventing him from leaving. 

“Silco, no. What’s done is done. You both need some time to heal and figure yourselves out.”

Silco clutched the necklace tightly in his hand as he thought about Vander’s statement. Maybe he was right. He would give Lil some time and then he’d try to talk to her. Even if they couldn’t salvage their romance, perhaps their friendship could survive. She was too important to him to let go. 

2 weeks later….

Silco took a deep breath before he pressed the call button on his phone. He held it up to his ear and waited as it rang and rang. Eventually the line went dead, not even offering Lil’s voicemail message. Confused, he hung up and tried again with the same result. He brought up her contact and sent her a message.

When you get this, please call me. I want to talk.

A few seconds after he sent his text, he received a message in return.

Your message could not be delivered to the recipient.

Silco hummed in confusion. He heard a noise in the hall and opened the door to see who was out there. He saw Sevika leaving her apartment and called out her name. She turned to him and raised her hand in greeting. He walked down the hall toward her and showed her his phone.

“Did Lil change her number?” he asked.

Sevika shook her head in response to his question.

“That message usually means your number has been blocked,” she said, an edge of sympathy in her tone.

Silco nearly dropped his phone in shock. Lil blocking his number had never crossed his mind. Between this and the returned necklace, the message was clear. She was done with him.

3 years later….

Lil tapped her fingers on the desk beside her laptop as she scrolled through the job postings before her. None of them sounded like a good fit for her, apart from one. A bartending job at a place called The Last Drop. It seemed to have a decent wage and it wasn’t too far from where she currently lived. Her search said that it opened at 4 o'clock, which meant that she could go in to see if they still had the opening in about an hour. 

Lil quickly hopped in the shower and started to make herself look presentable for an interview. She put the last touches on her makeup and pulled her purple hair back into a neat ponytail before exiting her room. Her roommate and friend, Mai, sat on the couch watching TV and looked up when she entered the living room. 

“Where are you heading off to?” she asked.

“There’s a bar not too far from here that’s looking for a bartender. I thought I’d head down and see if they would be willing to give me an interview.”

Mai waved at her as she walked out the door, wishing her luck. Lil looked up the address on her phone and followed the directions until she found herself at the door of a cozy looking bar. The open sign wasn’t lit yet, but a paper sign on the door advertised the open position, telling interested people to come in between 2 and 4. Lil pulled on the door handle and found it unlocked, so she entered the bar. 

Gazing around, she could see that it was as cozy on the inside as it had looked from the window. A bell above her tinkled as the door opened and she heard a voice call out a greeting from the back room. A large figure emerged from a door behind the bar, his hand half raised in greeting. The beard was different, but she knew the face behind it. 

“Vander,” Lil whispered.

Vander crossed his arms over his large chest and gave her a small smile.

“Well well well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Lil crossed the room to stand beside the bar. She appraised the man before her, taking in how much he had changed in 3 years. Vander leaned on the bartop, looming over her even in that position.

“You look good, Lil.”

“Thanks, so do you,” she said. “I like the beard.”

Vander chuckled and rubbed his hand over his chin.

“Glad someone does. Silco says it makes me look old.”

“Silco?” Lil said, her breath hitching in her throat. “How is he?”

“Ask him yourself,” Vander said. “Hey Sil, get out here!”

Lil backed away from the bar at his shout. She wasn’t prepared for this. She hadn’t seen Silco since the night he broke her heart. She had blocked his number and completely cut him out of her life. Would he even be happy to see her?

The door to the back room swung open again, a lean figure emerging from the room behind it. Silco was holding a clipboard in his hands, looking at some papers clipped to it. He didn’t look up as he entered the main room of the bar, walking over to the two of them with his eyes glued to his paperwork.

“What is it, Vander?” he asked.

Vander rolled his eyes and tapped Silco on the shoulder to get his attention. Silco finally looked up from his clipboard and his teal eyes met Lil’s brown ones. The clipboard slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor at his feet. Silco’s mouth hung slightly open, a shocked expression plastered on his face.

“Lil?”

Lil tried to give him a smile, but she couldn’t get her mouth to move like she wanted. Seeing him standing in front of her after so long made her heart ache. It opened all the wounds like they were freshly made. It seemed like her decision had been made, she couldn’t handle this.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”

Lil turned away from the two men and started moving towards the door as quickly as she could.

“Lil, wait!” Silco’s voice called out from behind her. 

She heard a scuffling sound, followed by a thump and rapid footsteps across the worn floor of the bar. Her hand paused over the handle for the door, shaking as it hovered above it. She heard the footsteps stop directly behind her and felt a soft touch at her elbow.

“Please don’t go.”

Lil closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before turning. When she opened them again, she found herself face to face with Silco. He was looking down at her with a pleading expression, his hand still resting on her elbow.

“It’s good to see you,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”

Lil let out a huff and turned her gaze away from him, instead staring at the floor. Silco placed his finger under her chin and gently lifted it so she would meet his gaze again. Unlike the last time she had looked in his eyes, they were full of emotion. The regret she had wished to see before was front and center, flanked by hope and adoration. 

“I mean it, Lil. I never wanted things to end like that between us.”

“Then why did you let it happen?” she asked softly. 

“Because I was angry, hurt, and frustrated. I didn’t expect you to shut me out with such finality.”

“That is a proper response to having your heart torn out and stomped on,” Lil said, pulling away from his touch. “I’m sorry for the things I said, for calling you selfish, but I didn’t deserve that, Silco.”

“I had hoped we could at least salvage our friendship. It seemed foolish to throw away years of closeness because we didn’t work out as a couple.”

“I don’t think I could have done that,” Lil said, taking a step back. “I still can’t. I’m sorry.”

Lil turned and pushed on the handle, stepping through the door and walking out onto the sidewalk. She thought she had cried all of her tears for Silco years ago, but once again she could feel them starting to fall. She wiped at her face, angry at herself for reacting this way. 

“Lil! Please stop!” Silco called out.

Lil couldn’t stop this time, so she forced herself to keep walking. She could hear footsteps behind her and for a second time, she felt a touch at her elbow. This time it was more insistent, pulling her to a stop and dragging her sideways. Lil found herself being dragged into an alleyway before she pulled her elbow from Silco’s grip.

“What part of ‘I can’t do this’ don’t you understand?” she shouted, rounding on him.

“You don’t even know what I want,” he retorted.

“I don’t care what you want! I stopped caring the moment I saw the bracelet in the box.”

Silco reached into the front of his shirt and pulled something out. It was her necklace. He was wearing her necklace.

“If you want a reminder of your own eye color, you can just look in a mirror,” she said. “What does you wearing that have to do with anything?”

“I didn’t put the bracelet in the box. Vander did. If I had a choice, I would never have parted with it.”

Lil was at a loss for words. She had never thought it made it into the box accidentally. She had blocked his number less than a week after the break-up, so he wouldn’t have had a chance to explain if he had wanted to.

“Why are you wearing that?” she asked, pointing to the necklace.

“Even if it wasn’t the right color, it was the last thing of you that I had. I wanted to talk to you, but you shut me out. So this is what I had.”

“Why would you want a reminder of me? I’m no good for you, remember?”

Silco stepped towards her, causing her to take a step back. He continued moving closer until her back was against the alley wall. He braced one arm on the wall beside her head, leaning in.

“You were the best thing in my life. I loved you more than I can put into words.”

Lil felt a lump in her throat and cleared it before speaking again.

“Loved?”

Silco moved closer to her, his face mere inches from hers. His eyes darted down to her lips before moving back to meet hers. He raised his free hand to cup her cheek gently. 

“Love. I still love you more than words can express. You are stubborn, headstrong, beautiful, and you drive me crazy. But, I have never been able to get you out of my head.”

Lil felt her heart beating a mile a minute. How long had she waited for those words? How many times had she heard him say that he loved her in her dreams? It seemed too good to be true. 

“Silco…”

“Please say you feel the same,” he whispered, desperation heavy in his voice. 

Lil lifted her hand, pulling her sleeve up her arm to reveal the bracelet sitting on her wrist. She held it up where Silco could see it. His eyes widened in surprise and that hopeful glimmer from before returned.

“I could never stop loving you, Silco.”

Silco surged forward, pressing his lips against hers in a desperate kiss. The hand that had been cupping her cheek moved to the back of her head, holding her in place. His other hand left the wall and moved to her waist, pulling her body flush against his. Lil wrapped her arms around his torso, holding on as tightly as he was.

Eventually, they ran out of air and had to pull apart. Silco didn’t release his hold on her, instead pulling her into a tight embrace. Lil rested her head against his chest, her hands moving up his back to rest on his shoulder blades, holding him tightly against her. A shaky whimper escaped her lips as she released the emotions that had been building in her for so long.

Silco shushed her and began to gently rock her back and forth as she cried into his shirt. His hand rubbed comforting circles on her lower back. He turned his head and placed a kiss against her hair before leaning away from her a bit. His hand moved from the back of her head back to her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek to wipe away her tears.

“I love you, Olillia.”

A final soft sob escaped her before she lifted up on her toes to press another kiss to his lips. This one only lasted a moment before she pulled away.

“I love you, Silco.”

Silco smiled at her tenderly, and she could swear she saw the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes as well. 

“Don’t you start crying, or we’ll never recover,” Lil said.

Silco laughed softly and looked away from her, staring up at the sky in an effort to get his eyes to cooperate. Satisfied that the crisis was over, he looked back down again.

“Was there a reason you decided to walk back into my life today?” he asked.

“Oh! I was going to apply for the bartender job!” 

Silco smirked at her and reached down to grab her hand. He started to walk to the edge of the alley, pulling her along as he walked.

“I think I can pull some strings and get you the job. I know the owners afterall.”

When she had left her apartment, Lil would never have foreseen this outcome. It was more than she could ever dream of. She would have a job, and she would have Silco back in her life. 

1 week later…

Silco looked across the bar from where he was sitting with Sevika at one of the high tables. Lil stood behind the bar, talking to patrons as she served them their drinks. Her lips were pulled back in a bright smile, which drew his gaze to her face. His eyes drifted down to her neck, where a teal stone once again graced the hollow of her throat. He reached for his own wrist, fingers grazing the brown stone resting there.

It felt right, having it returned to him. It gave him the comfort he had been lacking the past few years. But, there was something else that surpassed it. The pair of eyes that matched it. The ones that still sparkled in the sunshine and glowed in the moonlight. The ones that lit up when they met his own, causing his heart to glow just as bright. 

A/N: Give this a like, comment, and reblog and let me know what you think! Divider credit to @firefly-graphics.

[katyspersonal]

i get what you mean, with the fandom being so slow and the in-groups being so tight-knit that it's really hard to get involved and you end up always afraid of stepping "out of line" and losing visibility that any breath of fresh air is good enough. and also most new people who seem promising seem to quickly join with the in-groups, too. i don't know if you can relate, but there are some people who just appeared a while ago who i wish i could speak to but since they already associated with someone who is already known for not play nice, i end up just keeping my distance...

Ahhhhh shoot yeah, sometimes I wonder if this image of the fandom is just my delusional hallucination... but then people that can see more than me sorta confirm it, and now you do too, so I guess I still have it in me to complete the correct picture from only small pieces. I can't really relate to the "fear of losing visibility" though as someone who occasionally does followers purge to prevent becoming popular, but I can relate to feeling the pit in my stomach when a new fan quickly latches onto the "bad guys" or their "sponsors" x)

It is also for this reason why our group of mutuals (the so-called Lore Council) and OUR "sponsors" (I just think this is a very funny word for avid supporters sorry xD) do whatever we can to look unassuming and goofy, as well as prevent possessiveness or control-freakery within our camp? We even almost never block people, ffs. Nobody should be forced to choose the covenant (in passive fandom state) or side (in active fandom drama state). And the interesting bit? Some people didn't! And you can only find out by coming forward! I am not sure whether by "not play nice" you mean starting pointless media literacy discource or really hardcore stuff such as slander, stalking and harrassing but in either case, you see a fan that interests you interact with 'em? Interact with that fan too! One or several of the people you wanna avoid sending asks to that fan or tagging them in a meme or even drawing their OC does NOT mean they have marked their territory like a dog or whatever! We are all civilized adults here, not animals. Show 'em that they did not "claim" this person by just interacting first, show 'em that you are not afraid and you will show interest and support to whoever you damn please! You will find that actually enough people do not consider themselves to be a part of the "covenant" and thus obligated to stick to some rules and blacklists- and heck, many will feel defensive if peer-pressured to play this ridiculous game!

Yeah yeah,, I knowww, easier said than done x) Still, many people who are sensitive to the conflict (active or passive) keep mistaking someone from "another camp" interacting with The Guy for the possessive boyfriend grab thing, which it isn't. If anything, any new fan will be the happier the more interactions they get, they just wanna discuss their ideas, no matter with who! And if they do decide to disown you... well, isn't it better to find it out for sure when it happens, instead of just assuming the worst from the get go?

[auxiliarydetective]

Sorry I'm not explaining myself right

Literally just see you reblogging on your personal blog and then there's fyeah - but if there's other mods, then forget that what I said. I guess what I mean is I see you interacting with the same handful of people or if you pick a new person it turns out they're popular or in that group you already talk to like starcrossedjedis elmunson xotejays and others. I don't see you branching out of that little circle of people. You send them asks all the time, speak to them, reblog and praise them and ita just like why you so honed in on them. I don't mean your friends I just mean like people coming out and making OPLA OCs that you discover and like and never interacted with before. What makes them better than the rest of us. All I can say is that they command a big audience and also all know each other already and you want in and now they're your friends

It's like being back at high school

But please don't worry this is the last time I'm bringing it up I think I worked out my answer. I hope things get better in the community 💕

Okay, listen. It's quarter past midnight and I do not have the energy or braincells to deal with this right now. First of all, I think the point you're making is funny because:

1) I actually pretty much never interact with elmunson. They're a mutual-in-law, but I think I've only ever interacted directly with them once on here and twice on Discord

2) I rarely send asks. It's something I'm trying to work on because I would like to be sending more asks but I haven't sent any of them any asks lately

3) Reblogging is literally how Tumblr works? Like, what do you expect me to do, not reblog stuff from them?

4) You literally just described how friend groups work. You have your circle on friends and you get along and you support each other. But my friend circle isn't closed off, which leads me to...

5) I "hone in" on those people because I see them. I don't think they're better per se, they're just there. I've asked you multiple times to send me a message or a link to your OCs but you still haven't. I've been nothing if not polite but now I'm losing my patience. Discovering people and messaging them even though you've never interacted before is how you make friends on this website and it's how you could make me see your OCs so that your issue isn't an issue anymore. I literally looked through both the opla oc and one piece oc tag just for you and I didn't see any hints towards your OCs' existence? Maybe consider tagging correctly? Or send me the posts?

6) Regarding your "they command a big audience and you want in" point... That's literally not true? Some of them I knew before OPLA even released. One of them I got into OPLA. Most of them I literally just stumbled across in the fyeah tag.

7) Lastly, the ask you sent after this one: That's one conversation. A conversation in which, only one of the other three people involved is one of the people you said I was interacting with a lot in this ask. Things just aren't adding up anymore.

It's like high school because high school works just like that. You sit next to someone in class, you talk to them, you become friends. You don't even have to know them before hand. That's just how humans work. I really hope you stick to your last paragraph because, in my eyes, the OPLA OC community is thriving, and I've tried my best to help you. Have a lovely day, my friend, I'm gonna go to sleep now. Maybe you should sleep too, because you're not making sense.

[thequeenofthewinter]

Fic Friday

Hello fine gentlepeople of TESblr! 'tis I, Winter, peddling off my fic again as it is Friday, and I have updated.

In a review by the lovely @oblivions-dawn it is: "Excellent . . . Emotional . . . Effervescent . . . . . . Yes"

The author herself describes it as, "Politics, some boats, emotions, and metaphors. Please someone take this chapter away from me so I don't add any more to it."

A random person I found on the street has said, "Eh? Who are you, and why are you bothering me while I am eating my lunch?"

So, there you have it! Reviews are generally positive! Go read it now!

Rating: E (canon-typical violence, explicit content, check the tags)

Genre: Romance, action, adventure, drama

Pairing: Dahlia Wintersnow (OC Dragonborn)/Ulfric Stormcloak

Link to AO3: An Invincible Summer

Snippet:

While the news is no surprise to Lydia, this is the first time Dahlia has opened up to her personally. It is only logical for gossip like this to spread quickly, especially with Dahlia and Ulfric’s frequent visits to a small grave which bears no name—only a sad inscription. Loose tongues and morbid curiosity did the rest of the work to assure that it has been publicized across the population. How else would Elisif been able to hit Dahlia where it hurts the most?

Both Dahlia and Ulfric had expected it to catch up to them at some point in time; however, at least on her part, Dahlia did not expect the cruelty which came with it—the speculations, the rumors, and the pointed digging. For the most part, she has tried to ignore it as best she can while finding solace in Ulfric’s arms. But, no matter how much she runs and tries and ignore it, it always come back to her, haunting her like the hazy nightmares which leave mentally and physically tired, even if she refuses to show it. 

Slowly, Dahlia is learning better than to expect kindness from any but those who are closest to her. She’ll shut herself away and patch up all the exposed holes on her leaking ship if she must to preserve herself.

Lydia smiles at her sadly as Dahlia looks at her with uncertainty in her gaze. She isn’t sure what hurts her more: the fact that her friends has been suffering with this information and the weight of it for weeks or that she thinks that she would judge her for it. 

“It’s okay, Dahlia.” Her housecarl sighs, “I mean—no, it isn’t okay. That isn’t what I meant. What I mean is that you’re safe here, and I know you wouldn’t ever intentionally do anything to hurt anyone, and it’s not your fault and—“

Tears make their way down Dahlia’s face. How long had it been since she had spoken to Lydia? And how long has she been holding this in and putting on a brave face for the rest of the world?

“I—if we are talking about technical blame, it is my fault. I was the one who—”

Lydia stops her yet again. She has heard so many versions of what had happened: Dahlia sacrificed their child to Sithis to bring Ulfric back, she dabbles in necromancy, she speaks to Talos directly—that she can make a pretty good guess at what actually happened, but with better results. “You didn’t know, and you had a choice. One that is unspeakable, impossible, and one that no one should ever have to make. They don’t understand you, and they are not you. Only Akatosh can judge you, and it seems to me he has deemed you worthy, so you should forgive yourself.”

For a moment, all she does is blink. Dahlia isn’t sure what she expected, but it should not have been anything less than this. Lydia’s own thoughts echo Ulfric’s.

I cannot pretend to know what you felt, and I was not the one in your shoes. I cannot tell you what was right and wrong, and while it hurts me just as much as it hurts you, I would have made the exact same choice if I had been in your situation. We can try again when you’re ready.

And isn’t that what life is all about? There is pain, but there is joy. Darkness and light. Winter and Summer. You cannot have balance without both. Fus ro dah. You will push the world harder than it pushes back. Now is when she should push because after the rain is when the plants start their new growth.

[worstutfanonthingpoll]

Hello haters!

Now if you know me you know I like two things:

HATING (and please don't call me an anti)

MAKING DISCORD SERVERS

So! I have decided to combine these two things

Now, some backstory:

(Spoiler warnings for Xtale)

Backstory~

I was coming back from holiday in Port U Gal (it was nice, other than the fact i burned to death a lot) and decided HEY! I DOWNLOADED THE LAST EPISODE OF XTALE TO WATCH ON THE PLANE! I SHOULD DO THAT!

Before this, I had slowly been dragging myself through xtale (adhd means i needed to spread it out). I liked it, other than the fact I had no idea what was going on 30% of the time. Anyway.

So I watched Xtale episode the last, and suddenly Sans was relevant despite only having about two speaking roles beforehand. And suddenly he and CharaFrisk were claiming to be besties. And suddenly FriskChara tried to make him kill them bc... it would force XGaster into reseting, weakening him (i think).

All of a sudden everyone's memories were back and they were about to kick XGaster's ass. WONDERFUL, thought me. THIS CUNT'S HAD IT COMING FOR TEN EPISODES. But then GUESS WHO SUDDENLY DEVELOPS MARY SUE SUPERPOWERS AND DESTROYS THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, BECAUSE... I genuinely do not know.

Did he feel CharaFrisk betrayed him by overwriting him? Maybe, but I think their actions were justified. They didn't see any other way out and they genuinely thought sans would be willing to help bc theyre besties for some reason.

Did he feel for Gaster bc he raised him? Valid enough, but if that's the case why did Papyrus (who was also raised by XGaster), Mr Spare a Genocidal Maniac, join the Gaster torture?

And again, WHY WAS HE THAT OP? There is no explanation for where those powers came from and I think that it is ridiculous he destroyed everyone and everything with full control over his powers, and then had the gall to wail about it. Like dude. No one was forcing you to do that?? Jeez.

And then Ink, who somehow failed to notice the Ten Variations of Hell Gaster created despite multiversal watch being his LITERAL JOB, comes in like. Oh! Hi sans variant in a destroyed universe! You're invited to the main plotline now! ;D

Wow.

Nothing against Ink, but according to the poll runner server, Ink's inaction is kind of a thing that happens a lot in Underverse. Rip.

End of Backstory~

(Please don't hate on me if you like Cr#ss. If you are a fan of him, good on you! Enjoy the pleathora of fanon content, and feel free to block me. Just no hate pls)

To sum it up, I think Cr○ss Sans sucks but there is nothing on tumblr or ao3 or anywhere agreeing with me

So! I am starting a Cr♡ss Hate Club™ where we complain about him and make that hater content we've been craving, including shipping him with TECtale Sans (an oc of mine who is kind of the worst) and creating the "Cr□ss Sans is a Jerk" tag on ao3 (if swapfell sans gets one, SO DOES CR%SS)

The hate club will be a discord server, the link to which doesn't even exist yet. This is mostly a post to see if people are interested. If not, and I'm right about everyone's undying love for him then that's okay! I'll delete the post and move on with my life.

If you're interested but fear hate, feel free to dm me. But if anyone dms to yell at me for not liking Cr0ss, you're getting blocked.

And remember:

Me saying I don't like someone or something doesn't mean I'm saying you're not allowed to enjoy it, because guess what? People are allowed to have opinions! If he is your fave, good for you! Just please please don't send me hate.

Hell, send me Cr☆ss centered fics that portray him positively if you like, its good for me to broaden my horizons and shit. Also I like the Nightmare's gang found family stuff lol.

Yeah that's pretty much it. Will censor Cr◇ss's name so it doesn't come up when searched.

@inksans-unofficial @worstutcanonthingpoll

[b0nked-spy]

You know what always baffles me? The fact that people think there can’t be non incestous spyscout at all? Like only Red Spy and Red Scout are related, so why is blu scout x blu spy off the table here? Or Red spy x blu scout or blu spy x Red scout? These should all be fandom “fine” or whatever, I swear these people are just so narrow minded about things it’s so annoying

But then again this is the tf2 fandom that launched a full blocklist hate campaign against someone who only shipped their spy and scout OCS of all things, like I guess giving you’re ocs the same jobs as two related characters is incest every time now 🙄 this fandom wasn’t this bad back in the day what the fuck happened??

Anyway spy and scout kiss with tongue 💐 have a good afternoon ok ✌️

lol yesss speak the truth. i really only think of spyscout as the blu team honestly? and i think my art on here reflects that. though that's not to say that people who ship incestuous spyscout or write/read it support incest in real life or are bad people, either. it's like no one on here has the capability to think critically or just live and let live, lol. like, if i see a ship that personally makes me uncomfortable i block/filter and move on. the fact that people are comfortable sending death threats and creating harrassment campaigns over ships in this modern era of the internet is honestly so concerning.

and yeah, the fact that you can't even have OC spyscout in current-day tf2 fandom is absolutely rediculous. i don't think i know exactly who youre refering to in your ask, but i know there was drama even on blogs like @/dontneedadispenser for having OC spyscout rbs on their blog tagged as #non-incestuous spyscout. (people were asking how you could possibly have non-incestuous spyscout.......... which proves your point that literally NOBODY thinks about blu team/crossteam spyscout or OC spyscout???? like??????? and my only explanation for that would be that they only consider comic-canon and never think about the game-lore????)

anyway, thanks so much for sending in this ask! i hope you have a good day too :-)

[blairsanne]

Writing Questions Tag Game:

Thanks for tagging me @residentdormouse ♥

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Um, so the two favourite ideas of mine are not things I can link you to because the first one, which is a faerie story about (among other characters) the fae prince of Winter, is a story I'm writing (I guess it's on hiatus) with my irl bff and it's not finished or available to the public. I don't know how much I should share tbh, but I love all the characters and the world we've built so much.

The other is just my special daydream OC character whose story I will never actually write because it's a mashup of various fandom lores and very complicated and while fun to daydream doesn't sound fun to write. She's a priestess who gets murdered on the altar of her world's gods by her bff and they revive her to kill him (he was a priest who took the power of the gods and then proceeded to basically demolish the world around him). She does so, but is essentially left alone in her world and becomes a guardian of sorts. Her role is to link herself to one person (anchor) in every one of the worlds/dimensions/realities that the collection of souls her gods watch over reincarnate into. She can call on power from the other realities to protect them from outside threats (basically, if the gods were creator beings, there are destroyer beings who want to devour the souls/realities). She ends up being kind of a tragic character though, since she's stuck between a bunch of "lives" so to speak and beholden to different people in different worlds but never able to settle down and be done. She keeps getting revived by the gods when she dies (with all her memories, instead of reincarnating), and she struggles with grief. Why is this my favourite idea? IDK but I keep thinking about it.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

Well one time someone on anon complained that I wrote a self-indulgent mary sue oc into my fanfic and asked "who asked for [that]". To which I replied that I did. Because, you know, I write shit for myself first. As a fun hobby. I'm in no way saying that I write anything great, and if you think my writing is cringe, like, okay, you're right? Die mad about it, I guess? Get a life? Idk. I'm just having fun playing pretend with these fictional worlds.

What is your favorite part of being a writer?

Re-reading finished things because I write the type of stories I like to read, so it's really satisfying to get to reread them later. Close second is when someone else likes what I've written, that's pretty cool. ♥

What parts could you take or leave?

The agony of the time between posting something online and that first bit of feedback on it. Now that I actually have people looking at my stuff there's a little bit of like "well I hope at least one person does end up reading and enjoying this" and like... if not then it feels like why bother posting it online? (Honestly I started posting my BWOC fic in 2013 just so my irl bff could read it. I started posting my newer fics on tumblr in 2021 just so I'd move on and finish the missing parts of the story I had been writing... which hasn't worked, in case anyone wondered haha.)

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

I am constantly coming up with stories in my head. There's something about writing them down and crafting them into something I can read again later that lets me put them down, if that makes sense. Like a brain dump. I don't need to remember just how that scene went or why that was happening in this plot, because it's written down now. I can revisit it later if I like. Or never.

Second-biggest motivation is when I'm writing a fic with someone else in mind, like a request or gift, or for an event, or just something I know that one person in particular will like. In the hopes I contribute something good to their day. (Even if it's smut.)

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

I've honestly been writing since I was a child, so I wish I could tell you. XD

What I would say to someone new to writing is this: You get better at every skill by doing it. So, if you want to write, you're better off writing a ton of stories, badly at first and reworking, refining, revising, etc. than to wait until you're "good enough" to write the story you want to write. You can always write a version two or twenty-five, months or years later. Done is better than perfect, and shitty-first-drafts are better than forgotten ideas.

What is your favorite story you’ve written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you’d like and can!

Probably Homecoming, a smut-fic for Bofur in the Durin's Garage AU. Mostly because I haven't written most of my stories to completion, but also I love that fic.

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

"If anyone can do it, so can you."

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

In one of my original fiction stories, one of the characters is an emperor who is basically taking over the world bit by bit, and has zero remorse about it. He believes that nobody can love him (for good reason unrelated to his status/warring) and has decided not to love anyone or anything either. At one point, frustrated with how passive his stolen fiancee is, he orders his brother to strangle her to death in front of him and then gets mad at her when she doesn't fight back (he orders the brother to stop, it was just like... a test?). He's very aggressive and believes that everyone only looks out for themselves, etc. so he does the same. (So her passivity sort of challenges him in a way. It's complicated.) It think it's a very toxic but easy-to-fall into worldview when someone thinks that the world is cruel to them, to decide to be cruel back. That's probably the most controversial mindset of my OCs, but that's sort of the point. Obviously I think he's wrong, and eventually things happen to change him.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

She'd probably be confused why we stopped doing forum-RPing and be completely amazed that a single stranger anywhere in the world had read and enjoyed something we wrote all on our own. Honestly I think little me would think I was pretty cool and living the dream. Maybe I should remind myself that more often.

I really value the community in fandom spaces, which I think is why fanfiction is so appealing. We all get to play with the same dolls in different ways and go "ah yes, that's a cool way you played" and learn from each other and grow, and it's all around a shared love of stories. Storytelling is how humans make sense of the world, and community is what makes life feel like it has meaning to me. So this is a pretty cool place to be.

No pressure tags: @laurfilijames @i-did-not-mean-to @i-am-still-bb @silvermoon-scrolls @sotwk @middleearthpixie @sketch-and-write-lover @enchantzz @lordoftherazzles and OPEN TAG to anyone who wants to do it. :)

[duckprintspress]

"Get to Know Me" Tag Meme

Oh gosh, this is the first time we've ever been tagged for a meme! Thank you for thinking of us, @felinesomnambulist. I SUPPORT YOUR MICHELANGELO LOVE, he's the best turtle and April should see that.

I'm gonna fill this out based on me (@unforth) since I run this account (And, ya know, own the Press). :D

Three Ships: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu), Mo Ran/Chu Wanning (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat), Shen Qiao/Yan Wushi (Thousand Autumns by Meng Xi Shi), are probably my three favorite ships right now.

First Ever Ship: oh god. if we're talking "first couple I remember getting really invested in," it's Min/Rand al'Thor from the Wheel of Time. If it's "the first ship I can remember being like 'I ship this' and it wasn't canon and it's queer and stuff" (though I have Opinions about Min and queerness, but that's a different conversation)...hmm...I wrote a little Nuriko/Yuki Miaka (Fushigi Yuugi by Yuu Watase) and Lina Inverse/Gourry Gabriev (Slayers). (Lina/Gourry isn't queer in canon, but there is no cis het explanation for Nuriko). I also had a ship for The Franchise By She Who I Wish Would Just Fucking Stop Being Awful but we don't speak of such things anymore. (I also, early, wrote a lot of self-insert OC x "my favorite character in each franchise" things, like in middle school I wrote a story with my OC x the son of Garion and C'Nedra from the Belgariad by David Eddings).

Last Song: Ateez - Deja Vu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlnMDttgTbk)

Currently Reading: Mo Du by Priest (https://edanglarstranslations.com/modu)

Currently Watching: I guess The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty? I watch things incredibly slowly, basically only when I'm packaging campaign merch, and we've only had the pin campaign recently so I haven't had much time in ages. I've also been watching TLT2 on and off. Counting things I'm watching with the kids, we're doing our second full watch-through of Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts (which by the way? super queer. y'all should check it out, it's great.)

Currently Consuming: Black cherry herbal tea

Currently Craving: at least one good night of sleep, god I'm tired (see also: why I'm doing a meme instead of editing, lmao).

Tag 9 people we want to get to know better! Um... @sarnakhwritesthings, @theleakypen, @scones-and-texting-and-murder, @jemariel, @deathbycoldopen, @wolffyluna, @faerytaleonfire, @foxofninetales, and @veronicasanders

[ficklecat]

OC Intro: Phineas Morgan

(dialogue responses to the OC interview prompt)

1. Please state your full name and occupation.

“My name is Phineas Morgan, but you can call me Finn. I’m a teaching assistant for Dr. Nichols, and I’m pursuing my master’s in classic and romantic literature.”

2. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

“Well…I like to read, obviously. I’m probably in the middle of about six different books right now, not including the ones for my studies, so obviously I’m great at commitment. But to my credit, I’ve got four dogs, and I think at least three of them love me. Um…I’m an orphan, which I guess makes me mysterious to some people. Oh and of course the obvious thing - I’ve got albinism. Just in case you were concerned, I do always look like this.”

3. How would you describe your childhood?

“In a word? Chaotic. Of what I can talk about comfortably, most is still sort of jumbled for me. I entered the foster system when I was 9, and I was pretty fortunate for a while before things got bad. I was displaced three times, which is less than the usual by a long shot. But most of my memories are either jumbled and confusing or just outright unpleasant to recall. Nothing was stable. It was…difficult. Chaotic.”

4. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

“An attorney, like my dad.”

5. Do you have any role models? Tell us a little bit about them.

“My partner Emmanuel’s father is probably one of the best people I know. He’s incredible. He looked out for me when I was a kid even though he didn’t have to. He still does. He’s hilarious and sweet, always trying to help people even when they don’t deserve it. And he can grow anything, anywhere. He texted me a picture the other day of like twenty cucumbers on his kitchen table with a bunch of emojis and the words ‘LOS PEPINOS’ in all caps.” (laughs) “He’s a gem. I love that man.”

6. Are you introverted or extroverted? Why?

“I guess you could say I’m more introverted but I can achieve extraversion pretty well when I need to, like when I’m teaching. As for why…growing up in foster and group homes it’s kind of dangerous to stand out. You just keep to yourself, you don’t know who’s safe. So I guess that’s a reason. But I really think it’s just because my nose is stuck in a book half the time. I usually prefer to listen over speaking in general, too. Easier to learn that way.”

7. How would you describe yourself in three words?

“Academic. Romantic. Cautious.”

8. What do you like to do for fun?

“You’re not gonna believe this, but I like to read.” (laughs) “But I enjoy watching movies too, and spending time with my partners. I like taking my dogs to the park or on hikes, as well, weather permitting.”

9. What's your greatest achievement? Why do you consider this your greatest achievement?

This was answered in an ask, check the tag to find it!

10. What's your biggest goal? How do you hope to achieve this?

“Big goals are hard for me. Right now the biggest goal I have is to graduate. Which I’m on track to do so…that’s good.”

11. What does your dream room/house look like? Would you mind showing some inspiration pictures?

“Ah, I don’t really have an exact layout idea. But I would love a cozy home with a little library and a yard for the dogs. And definitely a king bed. A nice rustic kitchen for Vi and E to cook in. But nothing flashy or massive. Just enough space to spread out a little. To be comfortable in a place to call my own.”

12. How would you describe your style?

“Practical for sure. Academic. I like to be comfortable but presentable. Being able to pick my own clothes was kind of a big deal for me and I went a little crazy at first before I found my style . I’m just glad I figured it out before long. You should have seen me when I was 18…far too much argyle for one man…”

13. What's your favorite song?

“Currently anything from Unreal Unearth. But Bowie’s Life On Mars? is always a favourite of mine.”

14. Where are you happiest?

“When I’m with my partners and dogs. When we cuddle up on the couch at night and I’ve got limbs and paws digging into me…it sounds uncomfortable but I’ve never been happier than when I’m sweaty and crampy and squished into a couch corner like that. It’s my favourite place to be.”

15. Who is the most important person in your life? Why?

“I have two people. Emmanuel and Violet. I love them with every part of my soul. I can’t imagine what life was like without them. I don’t want it.”

16. Do you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?

“Yes. Because I found them.”

17. Have you ever been in love?

“Many times. All the time. I’m in love with my partners. But I’m in love with Gatsby too, you know? I’m in love with Jane Eyre and Sir Gawain. I fell in love with Violet like I fell in love with Zelda Fitzgerald. I fell for Emmanuel like I fell for Alexandre Dumas. Every time I’m with them I’m in love all over again, every time I read beautiful prose I’m falling in it. It’s hard sometimes to be falling that often, but it gives the grey things in my life some colour.”

18. Have you ever been kissed?

“And then some.”

19. Describe an average day in your life.

“Wake up, take out the dogs and feed them breakfast, black tea, then shower and prep for my lectures. Do that, then office hours, lunch, classes, and then it’s pretty much dependent on what E and Vi want to do. We try to eat dinner together every night at the least, or we’ll do homework or study nights in the library rooms during busy weeks.”

20. Describe your nighttime routine.

“After dinner with them I’ll come home and take care of the dogs again. If E and Vi come over we’ll usually talk or play a game or watch something until we turn in. And if none of us get handsy I’ll usually be the last to fall asleep. But if I’m alone, I’ll read or do some more prep work if I need to, or just watch TV until I’m ready for bed. I drink a nightly cocktail of medicinal tea with CBD and some other stuff in it to help me sleep, so I’ll do that about thirty minutes before bed. Then I’ll take the dogs out and do my skincare and it’s lights out.”

21. (Make up a question) Tell us a “low-stakes” unpopular opinion you have.

“Admittedly most of my unpopular opinions are about literature, but I’ll avoid boring you and save those for my lectures. Generally speaking I feel like most of my opinions are unpopular so I have plenty, but I’ll just say for now that I think Crocs are actually fucking awesome. They’re comfortable and adorable and I have been known to wear them in public despite protest from Violet. I’d wear them all the time if I could. I once almost wore them to lecture with a button down and trousers. I don’t even care. Let my feet be comfy. And evidently my most unpopular opinion has to do with oat milk but if I talk about it a certain person I know will actually become genuinely upset with me so I’ll refrain.”

(Manny yelling from the other room) “Oye canche, don’t start with the milk thing again!”

(Finn laughs)

[bananahoard]

AO3 BananaHoard? Someday. Maybe.

Some of my friends keep asking me if I am ever going to post my fanfic anywhere & Honestly I Don't Think I Can because of the immense judgement that JUST the potential chapter tags would bring me from strangers who like. Haven't followed me for years:

Digimon fic potential tags:

Power imbalance, coercion, rough sex, corruption, mentions of abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, major character death, soul eating, physical brain trauma, literally rips a chunk out of someone's mind, amputation, sexual coersion, mentions of prostitution, drug abuse, addiction, toxic relationships, toxic codependency, bloodletting, mentions of starvation/themes of famine, TBD…

Why is this: Basically digital entities living in what is best described as a digital whalefall, where quality of living is extremely poor. One man who controls a large sector with a lot of power, really likes to abuse the power he has over people dependent on him, but it's not initially apparent why he's manipulating an unknown chain of people to get his own ends. Hint: He wants to kill (what he believes to be) god & needs something to do it. There's no human characters in this, & it's all OCs/non-canon characters.

DBZ AU fic potential tags:

Canon characters, power imbalance, injury, torture, implied physical abuse, mentions of genocide, family abuse, racism (Saiyan), space politics, major character death, toxic relationships, sexual coercion, threats of bodily harm, bruising, graphic descriptions of bodily harm, burning/burn wounds (energy attacks), choking, alien heat cycles, rough sex, TBD.

Why is this: DBZ already can be very graphic when played straight, & I'm not going to fuck around here in writing. Anything dealing with Frieza obviously should be a Given from fans, & this is no exception. I go into detail with the Cold family dynamics & politics involving the Saiyans here, & there is one relationship which has a lot of power imbalance that may make people uncomfortable (Frieza+Zarbon). There's also things mentioned with Cold arranging the pairing of Cooler with another individual as to continue the family line to to speak, but this ends up failing, as Cooler has already been in a secret (positive) relationship with a canon crew member, against his father's wishes. Cooler also sleeps around, so to speak, as to coerce a character. The result of this is Frieza's rise to power & Cooler rebelling against his father for lying about passing down his seat to his eldest son, entirely due to his perceived "flawed genetics" as a son born from a traditional birth (in contrast to Frieza, who was born from parthenogenesis 'from Cold alone'; alien junk, don't worry about it). Cold is not a nice father & that whole thing can probably make people uncomfortable. Everyone involved isn't nice, to be frank. I entirely started this very complex & super long AU just so Cooler & Salza could fuck, so sue me.

...

Sooo... if you read all that & don't hate me from just surface judgement, I GUESS spur me to eventually post junk when it's finished? Or ask me about it? Idk. I put a massive amount of work in a ton of fic I never post due to 'darker' themes, so I am hesitant to ever speak of my writing.

[dykexenomorph]

1. the character everyone gets wrong

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

6.which ship fans are the most annoying?

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

For bg3!!! (you cannot say minthara for number one i know rhats the obvious answer. Dont go for the low hanging fruit ‼️)

1. the character everyone gets wrong AND WHY CANT I SAY MINTHARA!!! YOU HATE ME FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!! if not her then i do unfortunately think its astarion. half of the fandom is alright w how they talk about/depict his chara but the other half seems to completely misunderstand his entire storyline or ignore it to shove him in ur face like a wretched little ken doll.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr [camera pans slowly over to my stupid godforsaken "which bg3 chara would you NEVER romance" poll] the notes on that thing are a terrible radioactive wasteland of bad opinions. i shall not be sharing the worst one publicly but You, Theo, should be able to guess what it is LMAO

6.which ship fans are the most annoying? CAN WE ALL PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MOVE ON FROM DURGETASH. I AM TIRED OF DURGETASH. NO MORE OF IT. LET ME GO INTO THE DURGE TAGS AND SEE PPLS OCS IN PEACE. I DONT CARE ABOUT THAT WRETCHED MAN LEAVE ME BE.

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time if people dont stop whitewashing wyll/drawing him paler than he is very soon i am going to go ballistic.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to uhh none rlly? my opinions on ships (positive or negative) have all mostly stayed the same since i started the game.

CHOOSE VIOLENCE ASKS

[a-wanderin-whirlybird]

I posted 1,008 times in 2022

That's 146 more posts than 2021!

8 posts created (1%)

1,000 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@scourge728

@firedrakewicked

@silly-bean

@rabbitsareheckincute

@ice-block

I tagged 242 of my posts in 2022

#invader zim - 10 posts

#yes - 7 posts

#gnu terry pratchett - 6 posts

#food - 5 posts

#batman - 4 posts

#invader zim oc - 4 posts

#please - 4 posts

#batfam - 3 posts

#look - 3 posts

#hell yes - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 126 characters

#look my boy is pining and i imagine kii might have had some kind of a crush but didnt realize it cause of the preassure on her

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Back on the Batclan AU cause I'm in the mood

The trip to the lake is still harsh even with the bats

But less cats die, and Tallstar survives cause Stephanie begged Jason to make sure he ate goddammit that's her favorite!

Mistyfoot takes over as Mistystar during this time and Alfred is happy to congratulate her she is grateful but confused by how he approaches her

Alfred is an enigma to the clans and no one can figure him out

Anyways to the lake

Once settled Jason, Leafpool and Crowfeather meet up to discuss the 3

Leafpool admits starclan has been harassing her about them which makes Crowfeather furious and Jason seethes

So they take a moment to cool off and discuss their options

Crowfeather has been working with Tallstae to find a better deputy than Onewhisker and they found a good candidate in Nightcloud

Crow then admits he doesn't want to be away from leafpool and would be willing to move where ever she goes

Jason encourages them to stay together

"It's obvious you deeply care about each other. Just because one cat couldn't juggle their duties as a Medicine cat and being a parent doesn't mean you cant!"

Leafpool admits she wants to be with crow but doesn't want to leave Thunderclan

They agree to approach Firestar first and tell him the situation then tell the clan as a whole

They ask Jason to go with them, hoping another medicine cat voicing his opinions will help, and Jason agrees but insists Redtip (Tim) comes to

He says they'll see why very quickly

They gather Tim and go to Firestar who is disappointed in his daughter

He agrees to let Crowfesther join if he can prove his loyalty which crow readily agrees to. He wants to be present in his mate and Kit's life and he already spoke to Tallstar who told him to follow his love

But Firestar tries to tell the clan himself and Tim blocks him, then this happens

The clan had gathered for some announcement but stopped as a ragged yowl left the leader's den.

"Don't be dumb! That's the last thing you want!" The voice of Redtip careened out into the camp making all eyes turn up. Redtip was blocking Firestar from leaving.

"Redtip I appreciate what you think-" firestar started only to be cut off.

"Don't tell me what I'm thinking! You don't know what's in my head! In your daughters mind! You do this and you'll only hurt everyone in your clan! Honesty is needed yes by why punish someone for loving?" The clan could only guess what was happening as suddenly voices went quiet. A few minutes later Firestar stepped out, followed closely by Redtip, Leafpool, Crowfeather and Doveslash. Firestar looked concerned but firm and Redtip was glaring at the gathered cats, almost asking them to misbehave.

"Cats of Thunderclan. I called you discuss a matter of the Warrior code. A matter that maybe, should have been talked about before. But first I wish to welcome Crowfeather to Thunderclan." Whispers filled the camp and Suddenly Doveslash was turning a look upon the warriors.

None dared speak their minds with the massive Tom staring them down. He may be a Medicine cat, but they had all seen him fight off a fox by himself on the journey. They knew he was capable.

"I will not speak for Crowfeather. His joining was his own decision, however onto the pressing matter. The Warrior code states that no Medicine cat may take a mate or have kits." The clan could sense where this was going. And the tension became tangible. "But this may not be the wisest rule. Who are we to say who can and cannot have kits or mates?"

"And what's to stop a Medicine cat from showing favoritism? Thats why we have the rule!" Ashfur spat. "You want to change it cause your own kit broke the rule! Don't ya?"

"Oh shut up! You decide to try and murder starclan because one Molly broke up with you!" Redtip suddenly spat and the clan froze. What? "Yeah. In the future. Doveslash knows these things. He always has! He'll the rest of Batclan does too! Doveslash just sees it clearer than the rest of us! You get turned down by Squirrelflight and decide to try and Murder her kits and after you die, you try to possess her future mate! Now shut up and sit down Ashfur."

The clan when cold and eyes turned to ashfur then to Redtip and Doveslash. Doveslash nodded.

See the full post

5 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

#4

Been working on this Fic since before the holidays! Invader Zim Ocs the lot of them.

Kiz and Kii belong to @messinwitheddie

Ophelia and Thred belong to @sketchydesertghost

Food For Thought

The Smeeterys of Irk churned away below the surface of the planet and the Mother Control Brain, Tallest Kii, turned an idea over in her mind. 

It was a rare day. The smog had been brushed aside by some combination of Wind and luck and the Night sky was clear above the land. It would remain so for a long time, according to her calculations. The Smeets and Smeetery workers did not know. But Kii saw and remembered a specific day, if only vaguely. A part of her, still clinging to the long gone past, wondered if she should let them see such a rare sight… like She had when Ophelia and Delta were around.

Thousands of years ago, In Hive Cadaver:

Fifi dodged the bustling drones with ease as she picked her way to Imperial Frylord Glip's special Kitchen. Her Brother was deeper in the Hive checking on a few loose ends for the upcoming ceremony and celebration. For when the Sun finally set, and the Irken Day truly began, the Hive would be hosting their 2 Allies in a celebration of their alliance. It was a Huge deal to Hive Cadaver, who often sat alone in the midst of any conflict.

Delta wanted to show as much Hospitality as possible. His infatuation, turned full on Love, for Kii drove him forward but Fifi also knew he greatly appreciated Tallest Ophelia as well. He wanted to Impress and give his 2 allies, his two Friends, a good time. A light flashed through Fifi's eyes, her scowl lightening slightly. 

She knew and feared when Delta was Measured, that he would be alone at the top. He was a social Irken by nature, and craved Equal footing with those around him. His position as a Priest Helped some, getting him closer to the Council of Priests, but they still only saw him as Tallest, not Delta. Fifi tried to provide company, but she knew she couldn't fill the space by herself. 

So when Kii first came into the picture Fifi knew Delta was craving that equal regard. And she Feared Kii would never give it to him, let alone acknowledge any of his strong suits. But Kii proved her wrong, and she thanked The Weaver everyday for that. Kii, while Harsh like Fifi, did not see Delta as below her. She didnt Worship him either thank Irk. She was sharp and serious and above all Caring, even if she buried it under all those quips. 

Then Ophelia joined the cause. Though cryptic at times, as an Oracle was want to be, she was open and kind like Fifi's brother. Delta had found his Swarm, as the older Priests and officers said, happily over Cyder after shift. And Fifi was Glad for it. So of course she would Guarantee this Celebration went off without a hitch.

She would triple check every aspect of the Alliance ceremony herself. Roles Be DAMNED, her brother was going to enjoy himself. Her Friend Kii would get a chance to relax and so would Kiz. 

And if Thred showed up Fifi wouldn't complain. The two drones had met briefly after Alliance negotiations with Ophelia a few weeks back. Thred had not been phased by Fifi's harsh and scowling moods, had even Called her a Blessing from the Weaver when they met! Fifi wondered if her Brother felt like this when Kii payed him compliments. Light and floating…

"Priestess! What bring ya round these parts?" Imperial Frylord Glip boomed as Fifi entered her kitchen. The Sharp Spicy smell of the Yulinip fruit fermented in a special cider mix filled the room as the Massive Round Frylord spooned large globs of Deadman's paste into a large bowl. 

Glip was a Fat and tall lady, though she preferred the title Frylord. She had the softest and kindest smile with a slow drawl in her voice. She was always warm and comforting. Fifi did not mind being around her. 

Glip was a rare beauty even in their Hive. Jet black skin shone with iridescent colors like rainbows on spilt oil. Sparkling gold Chitin covered her body like Stars. Well fed, strong, and most of all, warm, Lady Glip had many suitors in Hive Cadaver. But she was only interested in her cooking and fermentation. Fifi respected that, Glip knew who she was, and loved herself fully.

It was funny, Fifi thought, Glip had gotten her Position shortly before Delta hit his growth spurt. Glip had been a young Frylord in the kitchens when Late Tallest Fiddle had found her experimenting with a better fermentation liquid for the all Important Deadman's Paste. The Paste was incredibly spicy but needed a massive punch of flavor. Fifi remembered the one time she and Delta tried the Hot Pot Deadman's Paste was used for as Smeets. It had been Hot sure. Very hot, but that was It. No flavor, just heat. Tallest Fiddle had been severely disappointed. 

Then Glip had gotten it into her head to Fix it without the former Imperial Frylord finding out. She stole the ingredients and the guarded Recipe for the paste and worked and worked for Years. Until Fiddle found her and tried the experimental paste. Fiddle had fired the old Imperial Frylord then and there and Promoted the Young Glip for her care and obsession with true flavor. Ever since no one complained about any food that came from the Mess halls. Glip insisted on strict quality control, but also welcomed changes and improvements so long as they passed Quality testing. 

Fifi, no All of the Hive knew there was no Frylord better. 

"I am simply making my usual rounds Frylord." Fifi said and Glip smiled widely. 

"Well Ma'am ah know ya don't enjoy as much heat as yer brother but Ah got some new pies ya might like. The new Apprentice down in the fifth Crypt Mess had been experimenting and found a great new fillin!" Glip bragged about the apprentices a lot. They were her legacy, she said. And Fifi believed it. 

"I would not begrudge a taste. You and the apprentices only allow the finest into the hands of the Hive." Fifi said plainly. Glip laughed and blushed a bright Violet. 

"Aw Shucks Fifi, that's Mighty Kind of ya! We just want good food for yall, nothing more!" Glip said, grabbing a small Steaming pie from the counter. It was made of Hot Nitro Crust pastry, giving it a silvery sheen and a short texture. It was in the shape of a pair of wings, a symbol of good fortune in Hive Cadaver, and smelled of tangy, and sharp veggies. Fifi could pick out the faintest whiff of Gurlic Meal, a rare delicacy in the Hive made from dried and ground Gurlic worms. 

Fifi Idly wondered if Delta had harvested his colony of Gurlics too soon in an attempt to impress. But Glip seemed to know the answer.

"Ah had saved some Gurlic meal from tha Last batch Tallest Delta had made. When the apprentice came asking about it ah gave him a little to experiment with. It adds a great flavor profile to tha mellow Siggurain Root Pulp and tha Black Heel Fungus. Should be Nutty and tangy with ah fresh aftertaste of Citrus!" Glip explained as Fifi tasted.

It was exactly as Glip said. A smooth puree of Siggurain root gave the entire pie a silky texture and a nice clear citrus aftertaste on top of its mellow flavor, with chewy Rich Black Heel fungus adding Tang to the entire pie. The Gurlic Meal shot through with a crumbly texture in the crust and the nutty flavor the Hive adored.

See the full post

9 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

#3

More of the usual Batfam has!

I said I'd come back to Jason and Pigeons/doves yeah?

Well he keeps them, he has a coop on top of his apartment building that he built.

He takes very good care of his flock and even Damien can't find fault in his care for them

They are all named after his favorite book characters

They are really smart birds and know who Jason is in and out of costume! Once Jason was held by Joker who was bragging about killing him again

Only to be SWARMED by flock of angry Pigeons and Doves

Joker fears the birds now

Jason gave them so many treats for that

BRUCE gave the birds treats for that!

More Meatloaf? More Meatloaf

So Meatloaf, Tim's Sphinx, absolutely has Opinions on his dates

She likes Brenard well enough, he supplies treats but doesn't really stop Tim from pulling all nighters

Then again Meatloaf is the only one besides Alfred who can reliably make Tim go to bed at any point

Meatloaf ended up following Tim on patrol once

Red Robin was facing Scarecrow when this sweater wearing bald cat showed up screeching in a mechanical voice "SLEEP NOW!" Repeatedly

It freaked Crane out a bit but didn't stop him from trying to fight Tim

Only for said cat to latch onto his face and start viciously clawing his face while chanting Sleep Now

Crane got a new fear that night

And Tom had a heart attack and took Meatloaf home imediatly

Sadly it didn't STOP HER FROM FOLLOWING HIM BACK OUT

She kept doing this till he went back to the manor and went to bed

Alfred has asked Meatloaf to do that to Bruce but they know it won't work

So instead they have Meatloaf translate for Ace to convince Bruce to take a God damned break!

Look Meatloaf knows which pets will convince which Bat to rest

Some don't need convincing, Steph, Duke and Barabra will gladly take breaks when they need to

Others are more stubborn

So Meatloaf started a sorta vigilante group of her own

It's made of herself, Jason's flock of birds, Ace, King Murder (Damian's puppy), Haley (Dick's Dog), Bat cow and a few of the bats that live in the batcave

They team up to ensure their bullhead humans rest and don't die of exauhstion

See the full post

9 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

#2

I'm sick with a stomach bug so while I'm laying in bed Batfam headcannons

If anyone in the mansion gets sick Alfred makes them take a break until they are at 100 percent again

Yes even you Master Bruce

You can't bribe Alfred he will make you stay home

Everyone has their own sick meals that the others make for them those who aren't sick usually run to get supplies while Alfred cares for the sick ones

Jason does help make the soups occasionally if he isn't sick

But more often than not Jason and or Dick and Damien are on Guard duty to ensure the patient doesn't try to go on patrol.

As for everyone's go to sick foods

Bruce always wants the classic chicken noodle soup if his stomach can handle it. It's an old Wayne recipe and one of the many he has memorized and has made for his own kids. Alfred always makes it for him when Bruce is sick.

Said chicken noodles soup is made from a bone broth, The household has a habit of keeping the bones from meals to make broths and chicken is no different. The bones are stewed with meat, fat and cartilage still clinging to it for several hours at a low simmer. Adding in celery salt, garlic, onion powder, oregano and a dash of ground ginger the broth itself is super comforting. Alfred adds back in any leftover chicken from the carcass or a previous dinner and adds lightly sautéed onion. Carrot and celery. Finally adding in to the serving bowl a healthy mound of egg noodles and the soup is ready

Dick wants goulash if he can handle it, the recipe was one his father used to make for him when he was sick as a little kid. Slow simmered beef chunks in a tomato based broth with soft flavorful onion and garlic and served over a Maize porridge.

Alfred spent years when dick first arrived piecing the recipe back together from Dick's vague memories of helping his father make it. When the recipe was completed it was spot on to how Dick remembered it.

Jason wants toast with peanut butter that's it. He is prone to stomach bugs and does not want anything too heavy. On occasion when he is sick but can eat more he wants The Wayne's chicken noodles soup.

Barbara likes Rice when sick. Too many flavors never helps her feel better so the plainer the better. She may add a tiny bit of butter but not much else

Tim wants tomatos. That's it. This boy only wants tomatoes when sick but can't exactly get away with only tomatoes so he usually has a tomato soup. He is banned from caffeine when sick and it usually only makes ot worse (briefly) before the headache passes.

Stephanie wants Irish Potato soup and toast when sick. Fatty ham fried until slightly brown and them drowned in a light chicken broth with potatoes. It always makes her feel better. It's salty too, so she knows she is staying hydrated with how much water she downs when eating it.

Cass didn't get sick days growing up and is still unsure what she would prefer. Usually Bruce makes her the Wayne family Chicken noodle soup, but she usually doesn't want to eat when sick.

I Honestly don't know what Duke would ask for when sick. But it would be warm and feel like a Hug. I still don't know much about Duke and I will circle back to him as I get a better feel for him I promise!

Damien wants either lentil soup or Congee. His Grandmother was Arabic and Chinese, and Talia would give him either Congee when he needed something bland, or Lentil soup if he needed nutrition. (Good Mom Talia only in this house) the first time Damian got sick at the manor Bruce contacted Talia and asked for the recipes. She came over and taught him and The other Bats (mainly Jason and Stephanie since they can actually follow a recipe) how to make not just those dishes, but several others Damien loves.

When Bruce ended up sick later that month Damien insisted Alfred taught him how to make the Wayne Chicken noodle soup, but added a few tweaks (cardamom and Colocasia aka Egyptian Taro) Bruce loved it and the recipe was added to the Wayne family recipe collection

Now when Alfred is sick, The Batfam all stay in, calling in friends and allies to cover their patrols. Alfred takes care of them they take care of him. He prefers simple chicken broth if he is truly bad or Eggs and soldiers if he is feeling OK.

Note, when Alfred is sick the Nats split up his duties based on who can do what without giving the man a heart attack. This means

Jason, Stephanie, Duke and Damien have the kitchen. They cook for everyone but especially Alfred

Dick, and Cass clean any mess that happens.

Bruce, Tim and Barbara do paperwork duties and errands

If the Bats absolutely have to go out on Patrol they fight over who stays behind to care for Alfred. One from each of the sections remains behind. More often than not it ends up being Jason in the Kitchen, Dick cleaning, and Barabra doing errands ect.

If all of the Bats are sick (Alfred included), Diana and Clark usually drop by to make sure both the Bats don't set themselves on fire/try to work, and that Gotham stays protected.

The day Wonder Woman showed up and kicked Joker's teeth in was documented by many a confused hostage and one Overjoyed and very Flustered Harley Quinn.

When the press asked why Wonder Woman was in Gotham she said the Bats needed a sick day and it was duly noted by all of the rogue Gallery.

See the full post

19 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I'm gonna write a bit on my Invader Zim OCs today, specifically the 5 Star Alliance! Its an alliamce of 5 Hives stationed on a large Island in the middle of the ocean. For context I headcannon that the ocean is made of either Hydrogen or Nitrogen. Irkens Hydrate by absorbing moisture through their skin, though it isnt water.

Some basic Alliance information. The 5 Star Alliamce was an Ancient Alliance made of 5 Hives. On the Coast was Hive Opal, they commonly had Natural Pak legs and could skim across the Oceans like water Skimmers. They made up the Bulk of the Alliance Navy force and supplied the other Hives with Seafood and resources found only at sea.

Beyond the coasts was a vast windswept Desert where Hive Sol sat. Hive Sol commonly had camoflauge based mutations or Bioluminece. They acted as the spies and Historical archives. Hive Sol has the largest collection of lost knowledge on Irk including a Genetics Vault. At its peak Hive Sol had information on the movements of every Hive on Irk.

Just beyond the Desert was a large tract of extremely fertile land. Hive Traktor lived here, tending to the land and keeping the Alliance fed. The Irkens of Hive Traktor also worked to ensure the other territories had some farm land available in case Hive Traktor ever fell. Their innovations and agricultural theories were advanced for their time before the Hive's collapse. They also worked and created the Alliance's massive network of trade routes across the island and the world at large.

Hive Traktor's land ends at the foot of a sheer cliff. Formerly active Volcanoes these mountains are impenetrable, unless you cross through Hive Geo. Hive Geo's entire territory is underground, this means the most common mutations in the Hive are Bioluminece, dark Vision, and Melanin heavy skin tones. Hive Geo is a Mining and Smithing Hive, they mine out valuable metals and gems from their mountain homes and share them across the Alliance. Their homes are protected by the Mountains themselves as the only way through to the Final Hive is by going through Hive Geo or their Mines.

Finally within the Ring of Mountains that make up Hive Geo is a massive tropical basin. Dense rainforest dotted with open meadows fills the space and is Home to Hive Octave. Hive Octave is composed of mostly Female Irkens, something very rare, and they have long Corkscrew antenna which allows each Hive member to hear even the slightest change in tone or Pitch. Hive Octave are the Foot soldiers of the Alliance and the Crafts men. Art is both a weapon and the highest honor in the Hive. Hive Octave citizens often travel to other Hives in the Alliance to assist with any projects from construction to Festival planning. The Frylords of the Alliance go to Hive Octave to train as well.

These 5 Hives made up the 5 Star Alliance. To ensure each Hive remained true to the Alliance many of Irk's important festivals and events were taken on as a group. All wars were fought with all 5 members adding to the army. In particular Fertility Festivals were held together.

For Fertility Festivals the Hives Tallest would separate the fertile Irkens into 2 groups. First would be those who stayed behind for a Local Fertility festival, as they were dubbed "lesser" either due to health, height, or unwanted genetic material being present. This group would have their own festival on a much smaller scale. The second group were those who were dubbed worthy and would go to the Mass Festival held with all 5 hives. Every Hive brought something specific to these events and were encouraged to have swarms with drones outside their Hives. This kept unity and diversity within the alliance.

More specific details on the Hives and their historical figures will come in another post. But the Founders will be touched on!

The legend of how the Five Star Alliance was found is less Myth and more History. While some elements were fabricated the core of the myth is truth.

The Alliamce began with The Colossus died and her empire Splintered. The founders were five taller Irkens each of whom carried the mutations common in their hives. The five of them had been friends under the Colossus' rule and tried to stick together. When the fighting began the friend gathered as many cadets, Smeets and Drones together and fled for the sea. They set sail, hoping to find a new home away from the fighting. They sailed for 5 years and began to lose hope that they would ever find land again. Then one night they saw five stars shoot across the sky and fall upon a single spot in the distant horizon. As they watched the five Taller Irken heard the Weaver speak to them as she guided them to a new home. Upon landing on the island they would call home The Weaver spoke once more. She divided the land into five parcels, giving one to each Taller Irken to rule. From there the five friends built their hives and created the Alliance.

Hive Opal was founded by Tallest Reef, he had Natural Pak legs and took to the sea with ease. Those who also took to the sea stayed within his Hive.

Hive Sol was founded by Tallest Apollo, he was iridescent and gleamed in the moonlight. He was a scholar and a nosy Tallest. Those who took to knowledge and spy work stayed within his Hive.

Hive Traktor was founded by Tallest Terra. She was slim yet strong and loved to grow and care for the flora and fauna. Those with a knack for agriculture and botany stayed within her Hive.

Hive Geo was founded by Tallest Slate, he was as Grey as the stones he mined. He had a sixth sense for mining and forging. He took to the mountains and those with a passion for mining joined his Hive.

Finally Hive Octave was founded by Tallest Octavius. He had long Corkscrew antenna and was dotted with dark spots. He was an artistic and maternal fellow who discovered how to turn art into a means of defense. Those with an artistic flair joined his Hive.

These five were the founders of the Five Star Alliance. They wrote the first set of laws the Alliance must abide by. A set of Laws that Tallest Olst, the last Tallest of Hive Traktor, would disregard, thus ending 3 out of the 5 Hives in the late first Era. But more on him later. This is the basics of the Alliance.

26 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

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[jouska-the-deer]

A Bit Much, Part 2

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Here’s part 2, and part 3 should be posted very soon. 

Part 1: Amy helps Shadow decorate his house for Valentine’s Day.

Part 2: Sonic spends the afternoon with Amy.

Part 3: Sonic spends the evening with Shadow.

With a delighted squee, Amy ran up to her door, answering the knock she just heard. She swung the door open, revealing Sonic standing on the other side.

Before any conversation was made, Sonic got a look at Amy’s outfit for the day. She wore a long frilly red dress with matching high heels, a red headband similar to her usual one only this one was decorated with fake roses, and long white gloves instead of her usual short ones.

“Woah. You look really good.”

“Thank you!”

Sonic blushed, handing her a bouquet of handpicked flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Amy.”

“Thank you so much! And, Happy Valentine’s Day to you too, Sonic.”

They leaned down, sharing a brief kiss before Amy stepped back into her house.

“One moment. I have to put these down and grab something.”

“No problem.”

With that, Amy rushed into her house, arriving back in seconds. She expectantly held a card out for Sonic to grab, her heart racing as he took it from her.

“I made it myself- well, I bought a blank card and decorated it- but still. I hope you love it!”

Just glancing at the card showed the time and effort that went into making it look beautiful. The most noticeable thing on the front was the huge red heart in the center, with golden colored cursive spelling out “Happy Valentine’s Day, Sonic”. Looking a little closer revealed all the small details in the background, including a bunch of little hearts and roses drawn in patterns that made up larger hearts. Intricate patterns of hearts made up the edges of the card, giving it an almost professional feel.

As Sonic opened the card, he noticed that the pattern of hearts around the border of the card were the same on the inside. There wasn’t a bunch of hearts and roses drawn in the background though. Instead, there was a neatly written poem spanning both sides of the card interior. Sonic began to read it, knowing that Amy definitely worked hard on it and wanted him to.

Thank you for the unending love

You make me feel each day

Even if you’re not next to me

I feel it anyway

The past was often filled with me

Trying to be your bride

You never could evade my hugs

No matter how you tried

Today I know it was unkind

To stick to you like glue

But after decent time and space

You let me close to you

And then before I knew

You came to love me too

Sonic couldn’t help but blush bright red as he read the poem. He was only halfway through it, and he could already feel his heart pounding.

Thank you for all the time you spent

Making my life so fun

The adventures you’ve given me

Beat any vacation

There were some days I doubted that

You’d come back in one piece

As time passed and we got closer

Those worries didn’t cease.

But here you are still by my side

Despite all that you fight

Smiling the way you always do

Ridding me of most fright

Each day and every night

Keeping my spirits bright

Helping me feel alright

When Sonic looked up from the card, he noticed Amy blushing as well. She was looking away bashfully, but once she glanced at Sonic and saw he was done reading, she gave him a hopeful smile.

“Do you… like it?”

Sonic returned the smile.

“I loved it.” He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Amy and pulling her into a hug. “And, I love you.”

Amy hugged him back, sighing happily. “I love you too.”

They held each other for a brief moment, enjoying the contact a few more seconds before stepping back.

Sonic glanced down at the poem in his hand again.

“This is even better than the one you wrote last year.”

“I hoped so. I’ve been practicing so that the poems I give you are even better.”

“I can tell.”

“Thank you.”

For a second, Amy giggled happily at the compliment, before jumping at something she was forgetting about.

“Wait! I’ve got stuff for us to do today!” Immediately, Amy grabbed Sonic’s free can and began pulling him somewhere. “Come on!”

Sonic chuckled, putting the card safely into his hammerspace.

“I’ve got a better idea.” With one quick movement, Sonic scooped Amy into his arms and held her bridal style. “Just tell me where to go and we’ll get there in no time.”

Blushing deeply, it took Amy a moment before she could reply.

“O-Okay.”

“This is it. Just stop over there.”

Sonic slowed to a halt in front of a pleasant little cafe that appeared well decorated for the holiday. Valentine’s Day balloons were tied to the outdoor tables and chairs, and each table had a bouquet of fake roses in the center. Carefully, Sonic set Amy down.

“This place looks pretty nice,” Sonic commented.

“Yep! Perfect for a romantic date with the person you love~”

Once again, Sonic couldn’t help but blush, scratching his quills as Amy lead him forward. Quickly, Sonic jogged in front of her, holding the door open.

“Aww. Thank you.”

“No problem, Amy.”

It wasn’t long before they were seated at a table for two near the front windows, with each of them ordering a drink before their waiter walked off to help the other customers.

The meals they each had were well presented and tasted nice, well worth the small amount of time they had to wait for their food to be finished. While they were eating, Sonic couldn’t help but notice how Amy kept looking at him dreamily, but he didn’t appear to mind. He continued to eat his food happily while Amy did the same.

Wit their meals now finished, Amy nervously looked at Sonic.

“Hey, Sonic?”

“Yeah?”

She looked away, her cheeks turning bright red.

“Um, would you like to…” After a few breaths, she forced herself to look at him. “...Share a milkshake with me?”

Sonic blushed just as hard, clearing his throat as his heart raced.

“Well, uh, okay- I mean, sure- I mean, I’d be cool with it. Uh, yeah.”

Amy squeed loudly in excitement before covering her mouth, letting out a more contained giggle of joy after. Sonic smiled as Amy grabbed the dessert menu.

When the milkshake was finally delivered to the table, it was about what Sonic was expecting when he heard Amy order the “Endless Love, Valentine’s Day Milkshake Special.” It was definitely a strawberry flavored shake, and he could see chocolate stripes running down the sides of the glass it came in. The milkshake was topped with plenty of whipped cream, and covered in tiny heart-shaped sprinkles. Two straws were sticking out of the top, one facing Sonic and the other facing Amy.

Amy leaned in to sip the milkshake, giving Sonic a look that told him she really wanted him to do so as well. He too leaned forward, taking a sip of the shake as she did.

For a brief moment, Sonic thought about how good the milkshake actually tasted, before his nose bumped into Amy’s and he was pulled out of his thoughts. They both blushed. Amy backed up and looked away while Sonic sat up rigidly in his chair. Sonic then noticed Amy starting to giggle, facing him after a moment.

“I love you.”

Sonic relaxed a little bit, giving Amy a smile.

“I love you too.”

A short moment later, they both went back to sipping the milkshake together. Their noses touched for a second time, but only Amy backed away that time. She smiled bashfully with her lips hovering near the staw, her eyes drifting away. Her attention was caught when Sonic leaned forward more, purposely bumping his nose against hers. Amy couldn’t help but giggle, nuzzling her nose against Sonic’s. Shortly after, he nuzzled back, causing Amy to feel even happier. They continued to share their milkshake.

Sonic set Amy down again, looking up at the building she led him to.

“A movie theater, huh? So, what’re we seeing?”

Both him and Amy began walking in.

“The Violet Nightgown. It’s a captivating love story about an adventurous pilot who crash lands in a small farm town after getting caught in a dangerous storm. As she repairs her plane, she falls in love with a beautiful farmer who warns her of a curse on the town. Everyone who stays there for more than a week is forced to stay there forever. As her days there get closer to seven, she’s forced to choose between staying with the woman she’s grown to love, or flying away and continuing her life of adventure.”

Sonic smirked. “It sounds like you’re quoting the trailer or something.”

They both stopped at the ticket counter.

“That’s because I am.” Amy then turned to the person behind the counter. “Two for The Violet Nightgown, please.”

Once they got their tickets, food, and beverages, they walked into the theatre and found a good place to sit. It was a good thing that they managed to arrive pretty early because it wasn’t long before many other couples walked into the theater as well. After sitting through a seemingly endless barrage of commercials and trailers, the movie finally started.

Not too long into watching the movie, Sonic noticed that he kinda related to the protagonist, a thin white snowshoe hare named Cirrus. She was cool, adventurous, and loved flying around in her plane. It didn’t have a cool name like ‘The Tornado’ or anything, but that didn’t really matter too much. He watched the opening shot of her flying through the air enjoying the wind, until a weird storm starts and a bolt of lightning hits her plane, causing it to crash into a farm town. A little bit later, a strong yellow silkie chicken helps her out of the wreckage, introducing herself as Fennel and asking Cirrus if she was alright. The look they gave each other made it very obvious that they were already falling in love, and Sonic reacted by awkwardly looking away from the cheesy moment of them staring into each other's eyes. He glanced at Amy, who seemed to be eating the moment up. Slowly, Sonic turned his attention back to the screen.

A bit further into the movie, Cirrus was walking around outside at night, despite the warnings that Fennel gave to her earlier. She was investigating some weird noises she heard and saw a bunch of ghosts roaming around the town. Cirrus then noticed one ghost that looked a little different from the others. Instead of a mostly featureless ghost, it was clearly the ghost of a middle-aged mouse woman who wore a violet nightgown. Sonic figured she must be important to the story if what she was wearing was the title of the movie. The ghost ended up chasing after Cirrus, but she managed to escape and run into Fennel’s house where she was staying. This led Fennel romantically comforting Cirrus, which made Sonic awkwardly look away again. Amy still appeared to be enjoying the movie though, which made Sonic smile.

An idea then popped into his head. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around Amy’s shoulders, briefly getting her attention. Despite the low light, Sonic could tell Amy was blushing, but the smile she wore showed him how happy she was about the situation. She leaned against him, letting out a sigh of content as they continued to watch the movie.

Sonic could feel the end of the movie getting closer. Cirrus and Fennel were speaking to an old townsperson, who was telling the story about the woman in the violet nightgown. It turns out that her name was Alison, and she lived in the town before the curse was cast. She was childhood friends with the mayor’s son, a red rooster named Rhubarb, until he left the town in his adulthood to follow his dreams. Alison would have followed Rhubarb, but she had children she had to take care of in the town. Many years later after her children grew up, he came back to spend some time with his father, also spending time with Alison again. At the end of the week though, Alison learned he’d only be there a week and chased after him on the last day at night still in her nightgown. She was too late and he was already way out of town. The old townsperson then said that everyone suspects she cursed the town, because, after that, she screamed about not letting anyone else leave and locked herself in her basement, never to be seen alive again. After hearing that, Fennel informed Cirrus that she knows where Alison’s old house is, and Cirrus says they should check it out. It was very obvious that Sonic was more invested, as he was listening more carefully to what was going on.

A catchy pop song played as the credits rolled, prompting everyone to get out of their seats. As Amy and Sonic walked out of the theater, Amy started a conversation.

“So, what did you think?”

“I thought it was pretty good. How about you?”

“I loved it! You could really feel how much Cirrus and Fennel loved each other throughout the entire movie!”

“Uh… yeah…”

“What was your favorite part?”

Sonic took a brief second to think about it.

“Probably the part where Fennel breaks down the basement door to get to Alison.”

“Really? I think my favorite part was when Cirrus took Fennel on the plane ride out of town at the end. It was so romantic!”

Sonic and Amy threw their empty drinks and food containers in the trash and stepped out of the theater. They both stopped just outside the theater out of the way of the entry doors. An idea came to Sonic as he thought about what Amy said.

“Hmm… How would you like it if I took you for a ride in the Tornado?” Sonic looked off into the distance while thinking out loud. “It’s at Tails’ place right now so we’d have to pick it up, and we wouldn’t have too much time in the air before I’d have to land and bring you home so I can go off to Shadow’s place… uh…”

He glanced back at Amy, her eyes shimmering with excitement and smile one of the brightest he’s ever seen. “So… is that a ‘yes’?”

Amy let out a squeal of delight and rushed toward Sonic, hugging him tightly. Sonic hugged her back with a smile, letting out a small chuckle.

“Alright.” For the third time that day, Sonic scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s go!” He rushed forward, hearing Amy giggle helplessly as he went to pick up the Tornado.

“So how’s this for a romantic Valentine’s Day experience?”

Amy giggled, leaning forward from her seat in the back of the Tornado and giving Sonic a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s perfect.”

“Sweet!”

Sitting back down properly, Amy enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through her quills, as did Sonic. He looked around, enjoying the sea of green below him and the sound of air rushing by. He sighed contently, quietly saying to himself, “this is more like it.”

“What?” Amy sounded concerned.

“Huh?”

Sonic jumped, trying to keep his composure in the pilot's seat.

“What did you say?”

“N-Nothing!” Sonic was already terrible at lying, but the thought of making Amy upset at that moment didn’t help.

“It sounded like-”

“It doesn’t matter! Alright?” he interrupted desperately. “Just uh, keep having fun up here.”

“Sonic…”

He let out a whine, knowing that he wasn’t getting out of this.

“It sounded like you said, ‘this is more like it.’ Did you?”

Sonic sighed. “Uh, yeah…”

“So… you didn’t enjoy everything we did today?” There was a clear amount of sadness in her voice.

“No! No. It’s just…” Sonic ears folded back as he hunched down a little in his seat. “I’m just… not really into super romantic stuff…”

“Oh… I just thought that, you know, since you looked all happy while we did romantic stuff together in the past, that you liked it.”

“Well, I like kissing and holding hands and stuff like that, but… romantic movies, poems, and meals… just aren’t really my thing.”

“Oh…”

“Hey uh, I still had fun today. Don’t think that I didn’t.”

“But… how could you? You said you didn’t like that stuff?”

“Well, I don’t really. But, seeing you enjoy yourself, it makes me really happy.”

“Still, you really should’ve told me sooner. I wouldn’t have dragged you into everything if I knew you wouldn’t really like it.”

“Hey, I did like some of it. The poem was sweet, and the food tasted good, and the movie was pretty cool… when it wasn’t being cheesy. I’m glad we did all that stuff. I still had fun, even if I wouldn’t normally like that kind of stuff. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, though.”

“It’s okay.”

“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the time we have together, alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for all the fun today, Amy.”

“It was my pleasure, Sonic. And, thank you for the plane ride.”

“No problem.”

Sonic stood with Amy in the entryway to her house, holding hands with her as they smiled together. Gently, Sonic reached to Amy’s waist as she reached to his back, drawing each other closer until only a small gap was between them. Their eyes drifted shut, slowly leaning forward and closing the gap, letting their lips connect in a soft kiss. Sonic released a soft breath through his nose, melting against Amy’s loving touch and pulling her closer. After their lips parted, they continued to hold each other in a calm embrace, enjoying the last few moments they had together that day.

“You know,” Amy spoke softly, “I wouldn’t mind doing stuff like this next Valentine’s Day.” She sighed contently. “It may not be a huge celebration, but, it’s still really nice.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

They gave each other a gentle squeeze before letting go, smiling as their eyes met again.

“See you later.”

“Bye, Sonic.”

With that, Sonic gave Amy one last kiss and ran off to Shadow’s house.

Amy closed the door slowly, hearing it click shut. As she turned around and began walking toward her living room, a weird feeling kept gnawing at her, like she was forgetting something important. She sat down on her couch, trying to figure out what was wrong. The realization hit her like a truck.

“Shadow!”

She immediately got up, pacing around her house in a panic.

“I made him do a bunch of super romantic stuff for Sonic, and neither of them are going to enjoy any of it!”

She quickly pulled out her phone, planning to call Shadow before Sonic got there and rectify the situation. As she got to the contacts page, she remembered something else.

“I FORGOT TO ASK FOR HIS NUMBER AGAIN!”