#THIS IS LIKE. THE 4TH TIME SOMEONE WAS INSPIRED TO MAKE AN OC BECAUSE OF ME THATS INSANE LOL

[onlineviolence]

djd anon again. thank you for inspiring me to make an ultrakill oc :3

YESSSDSDEDHDHDHHDFHJEJDHFJRJHDD thankYoy i am #1 ultrakill oc fan ever

[isa-ghost]

I need the headcanons, Isa. I need them like I need air. (I also have had very little time to watch QSMP overall, so all of my q!Phil info comes from you) -River

OH FUCK I WASN'T EXPECTING TO GET MULTIPLE ASKS ABOUT THEM. /POS

Here's Headcanon Set 1

NOW MORE

He's an expert at playing stupid. I don't have any actual situations from canon off the top of my head to apply this to, but his wits are sharp enough for him to pull it off when shit isn't explosively hitting the fan

He hates not being able to fly, flying is/was the main way he would de-stress. Nothing makes him feel lighter than the breeze in his feathers and a breathtaking view

This man's commitment to The Bit is so underestimated. If The Bit was a person, it'd be part of his polycule. People just overlook his ability to commit to a bit because he has to personally find the bit worth committing to

Obligatory Shiny Good Crow Brain mention. Why do you think his backpacks need sorting like once every few weeks (though he neglects them for longer than that)? And shiny is not always literal. Sometimes it means flowers or pretty types of wood or a neat mob.

Every once in a while someone can get him to laugh in a way that Almost sounds like a squawk. He doesn't know how it happens, it's like an involuntary snort laugh, but with cawing.

Unfortunately for him, playfully raising his blood pressure (stares at the kids, Tubbo, the polycule, some others) is kinda funny. It's the way he gets louder the more exasperated he gets.

He has 100% slept so hard that he snored loud enough to earn a kick in the side from Chayanne

Speaking of sleep, this idiot will pass out in that wooden chair and then wake up in the morning and bitch about his neck aching as if he isn't the reason it's aching. Lullah especially has roasted him for this

His dedication to Chayanne and Lullah can go unmentioned bc it's just so obvious but I need everyone to understand it's not just how he'd burn the island to ashes for them. It's also how he'd stop mid-tea party with Lullah, Pomme & Co, dressed the whole nine yards in a tutu, tiara & obnoxious amounts of pretend jewelry to beat the ever-loving SHIT out of a threat

At first Irish Goodbyes were unintentional (which is what made them so funny) but now it's become one of the biggest bits he's committed to. This man loves embodying that gif of the dude going ✌🏻 and vanishing.

Lullah totally told him about the Duolingo "It's Spanish or Vanish" meme. It won't leave his head now

Anytime he does the reverb voice or something he is pulling a megaphone out of his backpack and yelling into it

Because I forgot it in the first hc set and it's too funny for me not to include, I must once again tap the sign that says "Phil and Fit fuck nasty behind Fit's gym." Why do you think the shit Fit says like "big boy" gets such a reaction out of Phil? He's heard it elsewhere

He thinks he has too much self-respect to do it but if he didn't, he'd 100% be the dad to dab or whip-nae nae just to make Chayanne and Lullah faceplant on the ground out of embarrassment

Speaking of faceplanting, Lullah is so good at timing when she does it, it absolutely kills Phil every time. It's like one of the Top 5 ways to get him to crack up

Calling back to the Bit Commitment hc: "The 4th Wall" is a bit he made up and won't stop referencing. It's not that he's fail rping in meta, he's getting conspiracy-style existential as a joke and that's why Lullah hates it so much

Stealing this one from my hcs about my angel OC inspired by Phil: If you put him in water, his wings will involuntarily flap like a bird in a bath. It isn't nonstop, it's like a stim he can't help doing every so often.

He loves Rose so much. She instantly makes him feel safe. He regularly has to resist the urge to passionately gush about her to people because he knows they'd be like What The Fuck Are You On About. Rose is blorbo from his brain (little does he know, she isn't entirely)

He likes to pretend he isn't, but he's sentimental as hell. Why do you think he hasn't changed the ugly dirt shack? Why do you think he has so many backpacks of stuff? He's got that crow hoarder brain but he also just attaches to things to easily. Nostalgia and love for history has him in a death grip. Little does he know, it's a trait he's kept from his past

Speaking of his past, until I get canon story explaining otherwise, in my mind he IS hardcore!Phil but the Federation wiped his memory after somehow managing to invite him to the island. The Ender King & Rose's arrivals into qsmp canon are two very different ways of attempting to trigger his memories. What he thinks are dreams are actually those forgotten memories of what he was doing before coming to the island

Okay that's long enough, look out for a third set because I got another ask waiting for more >:)

EDIT: Here's Set 3 :D

[amaiguri]

OC ORIGINS TAG

Thanks to @anyablackwood both for tagging me and for the very cool post about her relationship to Japanese immigrant names! The rules for this one are:

"Talk about the origins of the names and personalities (and maybe even the design?) of a couple of your OCs!"

We don't have time for a couple so we will, of course, do Arlasaire from my Untitled Yssaia Game!

🏷NAME

Arlasaire comes from the Googly-Translated words for "Of Fire" in Irish. But then I spelled it more French because Thuillean (before I made it into a real Conlang) was me taking Irish words and spelling them "more French."

In universe, Giluniques d'Magnia made the name up for her because he was 10 and 10 year olds think stupid names sound cool. (Take me at 10, giving all my characters Japanese names to make them "more anime". Ick!) Why did he name her something? Because she was burned so badly and all her family died, so she couldn't speak for a long time. She couldn't read or write either, so House d'Magnia just said "Gil, this is your new human pet! You name her!" And so he named her Arlasaire.

"But she was like 8, right? What was her name before that?"

Good note: Before that, she was named Tjen-Sa -- which is a Saegen name because her father was Saegen. It means Boon.

This is because, before I was adopted in China, I was left on a orphanage with a note pinned to me, saying my name should be "Tian Zao" (which I think is 1st-tone, 4th-tone?) which means like "To be a talent from the Heavens". So yeah, Arls is fully a self-insert and I'm happy to own that -- make me the next Dante's Inferno.

(Sidebar: I've always thought of that as like... "My True Name", if that makes sense -- like in the Fantasy Magical Names sense. But that means it is too sacred to go by on a day-to-day basis. It's like... I'm Belle and you should call me Belle. But my legal name is Isabelle and my True Name is Tian Zao. I also had other Chinese names because of the way orphanages work and stuff. It's like... a gradient of trueness. Also, while I don't know much about Chinese culture, I know names are tied to your fate and sometimes, kids have to change their names if their fate is too big or something. But I have always felt that's the name that fit me best -- it SOUNDS the most like the kind of person I want to be.)

🕯CONCEPT

Arlasaire was most inspired by Tehanu from the Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K LeGuinn and Violet from Violet Evergarden.

🎨VISUALS

Visually, Arlasaire was inspired by Zuko and Todoroki, but while their scars make them look more handsome, I explicitly wanted her scars NOT to make her prettier. It was important to me that you wince when you look at her for the first time -- because that's what people in the world do. And I think, IRL, that's what we do too when we see someone who or hear someone who is little bit mutilated and we're not used to it -- even if we don't want to!

That being said, Arlasaire is also supposed to be babygirl. Look at her. She's just a little blorbo! She's just a baby 🥺 She only stabs a little! I want her to have these big gold eyes -- like how a scared black cat will hiss and bite and then look up at you big when you pet them and they realize they like it.

Her First-Half outfit is supposed to be simple but recognizable -- SO I CAN DRAW IT over and over and not die. You know how a lot of anime takes elements from Western fantasy but you look at it and go "Nah, that's so Japanese"? That's what I wanted to do in reverse, is take vaguely Japanese influence and then make it Victorian/French-ish. (So basically, I did western clothes without the buttons!) And then her simple outfit became the backbone of all Thuillean fashion moving forward!

SO YEAH now you know :D

[jedi-enthusiast]

For the fanfic ask game: 💖 👀 🥺 🤲 🥰 (sorry I know that's a lot LOL feel free to pick and choose!)

The ask game <3

Oh no don’t apologize! I love people asking a bunch of questions because I love rambling about my fics!

💖- What made you start writing?

I have two answers for this question, since I actually stopped writing a while ago and then got back into it.

I first started writing in general because I was primarily a Wattpad user (I had no idea Ao3 existed, but give me a break I was like 13) and I was reading fan fiction for a manga/anime series called Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler and I just wanted a heroine reader like me.

Most of the "readers" or "ocs" in those fics didn't really stand up for themselves and often let the guy characters walk all over them--or they would be referred to as "badass" but were never really given a chance to be badass. And, at the time, they were also mostly blonde haired/blue eyed.

So I started writing because I wanted a heroine reader that stood up for herself and didn't take anyone's shit and was actually badass on paper--and who had brown hair and eyes like me. I actually still have the full outline of the fic I was working on, and a draft of the prologue, and here are two commissions I bought for my oc:

I did eventually stop writing for a while, though, because I was just tired of writing and rewriting and rewriting (the outline and draft I have currently is my 3rd rewrite of the entire thing, 4th if you count the other completely different version of it--I get very nitpicky with my fics sometimes).

What got me back into writing was actually you. I started reading "Shoulder the Sky" and I saw how much work you had put in and how passionate you were about your fic and I just...got inspired. I already had an outline for The Great War sitting in my Google Docs (from back when I first got into Star Wars) and I basically decided "fuck it, if they can do then so can I, I'm gonna start writing again" and I did, and now I have two fics ongoing and several in the works that I can't wait to get to.

👀- Tell me about an up and coming WIP!

Ok, one of my WIPs that I'm working on (that I hope to start writing soon, once I finish the outline) is a Modern!AU called "Deeper Roots."

Basically Cody and Obi-Wan are high school sweethearts who have had a long-distance relationship for over a decade now, since Obi-Wan had to move away from their town when he got custody of his siblings (Anakin, Ahsoka, and Reva) from their father (Qui-Gon) due to family issues.

Well, Obi-Wan and Cody decide that he should move back to town since Anakin will be starting college soon (he's 21, but took a gap year and then waited since he had an accident that took his arm) and the college of his choice is nearby + Ahsoka wants to go to that same college + they all miss Cody a lot and want to see him more.

Only one problem. Cody hasn't come out to his family and they have no idea he's dating someone, let alone that he has a boyfriend and that he's--for all intents and purposes--technically a father of three. They all try to keep things a secret from his family still, but things obviously get a whole lot more complicated once the two sides of Cody's life start to intermingle.

(also, I think Reva should be incorporated into their family in Modern!AU fics more often, I think she'd make a great youngest child)

🥺- Is there a certain moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Ok, slight spoilers for BCC, but one interaction that always makes me emotional when I start to think about it is this one line that I have planned for the end of BCC.

Basically Obi-Wan and Cody are hiding away in a storage room after a hard battle and Obi-Wan says something about "not wanting to be High General Kenobi."

So Cody says that they don't have to be Commander and General. That, when it's just them, "they can just be Obi-Wan and Cody."

👐- Would you please share a snippet of a WIP?

Nothing else is really written yet, so here's a snippet of the next chapter of Bloodshed, Crimson Clover:

The Force sparked restlessly under Obi-Wan’s skin as he stared at the empty holomap in front of him, eyes searching it for the readouts of a battle that hadn’t happened yet—or, rather, was happening, but just out of reach. He could look away. Attempt to meditate, or finish last mission’s report, or do something more productive with his time, but the near-blinding blue light of the blank screen had already seared itself into his mind and he knew that, even if he walked away, it would follow him. 

So he stayed. 

Staring. 

He hesitantly reached out along his and Anakin’s Force Bond, gently pushing forward the memory of Crys announcing they were only fifteen minutes out and an impression of– you? Them? Safe? 

Part of him didn’t expect Anakin to respond, and another part of him dreaded that very fact, but—as always—Anakin was full of surprises. He was quickly hit with a twin pair of waves, harsh impressions of impatience and frustration that burned the back of his throat, and their corresponding memories—one of the 501st’s Star Cruisers disappearing in a flash of fire and smoke, a supply ship they were escorting quickly succumbing to the same fate, Anakin’s admiral informing him that they couldn’t hold out much longer. 

The taste of ash felt thick and heavy on his tongue, and it took him a moment to recover from the sheer intensity of it all—although he was careful to keep his expression devoid of any emotion. Anakin was strong in the Force, but that meant he often forgot to take into consideration how his power might affect those around him. Obi-Wan was used to it, however, so he was able to disperse the effects quickly enough, and the emotions that followed were all his own. 

🥰- How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!

*cough* ahem.

I love getting questions about my fic and I love getting comments and people talking about it--all of it just makes me so happy! I love my fic and I love to see people loving it too!

[claitea]

can you tell us more about alto 👉👈

here's the basic rundown on them!

some more things about them though:

i use the day i finish designing an oc as their birthday, so alto's is september 13. they're 23 at the time of bw2

full team is fearow, unfezant, swanna, rufflet and vullaby. they're like 4th-5th gym level kind of strength in battle

somewhat inspired by the time that as a kid i went to this beach, known for having a one-winged pelican around. i never got to see it but i always remembered it. alto's initial partner pokemon was going to be a pelipper, but i did want to give the underappreciated fearow (which i actually really like! a lot more than pelipper haha) a little spotlight. i still kept the one-winged pelipper concept - it's now the logo of the skyline sanctuary visible on alto's second outfit. it lives with the rest of alto's family at the sanctuary as one of the helper pokemon

taught themself how to sing and dance as a kid so they could play with the birds in the sanctuary, but ending up really liking it and they do it as a hobby. you could NOT convince alto to sing or dance in front of other people though. gun to their head they will not

sucks at throwing poke balls but thats what the capture styler's for

afraid of thunderstorms, not in the afraid of loud noises way but because their family are all extremely wary of them. they're dangerous times for bird pokemon so they have to be on guard during them, so even when they're not at the sanctuary, storms put them on edge

alto doesn't battle often, but people who have battled them think they're annoying to fight lmao. when facing wild pokemon as a ranger, their main tactics are dodging and disrupting to get openings to use their styler, and they incorporate those same tactics in their battles

also despite part of why i made alto being that they were going to be paired with n i dont think i explained their whole story here???

between the remains of team plasma that either joined neo team plasma or are making up for their actions in the driftveil safehouse, there's a small number that still fully believe pokemon should be separated from humans for their sake. they operate independently, still convincing some to release pokemon or outright stealing them just like the original plasma. this is one of the reasons some rangers were dispatched to unova to help recover these pokemon

alto gets assigned to capture and calm an ursaring who took its release very badly and is now rampaging through the forest. while searching for it, he runs across n who was busy playing with pansage so deep in the forest he didn't get the evacuation memo. n asks what someone else is doing so far into the woods, alto explains their mission, n volunteers to help, alto thinks thats insane you cant do that and leaves. "i don't need help. i got this"

they don't got this

they end up taking a direct slash, and it would have been worse had n not worried about someone going that far into the forest alone with a dangerous pokemon and went in the same direction. n jumps in, calms the ursaring himself, and drags alto out to get medical help

alto usually takes a while to warm up to new people but on account of n literally saving their life he gets to skip most of the aloof alto phase. they end up great friends, alto admiring n a lot

alto, however, has a very strong sense of justice and never forgives criminals. in particular they hate team plasma because of what they've had to witness firsthand. n is ex-plasma, the ex-King no less. n soon learns about alto's views and knows that he should tell alto the truth soon. its harder then when he told hilda though, he's already such good friends with alto and this aill likely ruin it

he finally ends up telling them about a year after their first meeting. just as he thought, alto's distraught and leaves

over the next month though alto feels like shit over the whole thing. yes they're not sure if they can trust n after he kept that information from them for a year. but n was different to how any of the still malevolent team plasma members were like...?

they happen to get assigned to work with the driftveil safehouse to help them handle some pokemon

surprise asshole n's sisters live there and they've been told all about you

both of them are reluctant to work with alto not just because of what happened with n but because it shows they don't trust anyone at the safehouse. for the sake of professionalism alto promises to put all bias aside and carry out whatever tasks needed of them

working with the safehouse makes them realize that people can change. every ex-plasma member here is genuinely trying their best to atone. alto finally admits to themself that they really screwed up with n and asks anthea and concordia if they can tell n they want to apologize. they slowly patch things up with him from there

[ink-flavored]

☠️ - Would you survive in the shoes of your favourite original character?

💕 - What inspires your writing most?

😈 - What is the worst thing you've down to an original character?

thank u !!! <3

☠️ - Would you survive in the shoes of your favorite original character?

I don't like to pick favorites because they're all my children, plus my favorite OCs tend to be "the ones I'm writing most frequently," and fluctuate over time. Also I don't want Pride's ego to get any bigger than it already is.

But yeah absolutely not lmao. I would be so extremely dead, or at the very least have lost so much of myself, motivation, will to live, etc. I would be "as good as" dead.

💕 - What inspires your writing most?

So when I was a very young child, I became obsessed with Eragon and all of its sequels. To date, I have read the first book at least 8 times, and the entire series all the way through 5 times. I was into them before the 4th book had been released, and when it did finally come out, I read it as fast as I possibly could. I still remember exactly where I was when I completed it: on the back porch of the house my family had rented out for us on our yearly summer vacation, sitting by the pool in one of those long beach chairs.

When I was in middle school, the author came to a local university to speak. I went with my dad and a few family friends, with my giant ass hardcover copy of the 4th book. I was one of the few people who got to ask a question for the Q&A (and I wished I had asked something better but I was like 12 lmao), and afterward I got my giant ass book signed.

Walking out of the building, I had my epiphany. I wanted to be an author, so I could make people feel exactly as deeply about my books as I did about his. It is genuinely the only thing I have ever been able to imagine myself doing since.

😈 - What is the worst thing you've down to an original character?

Hm. I guess it depends on your personal perspective of what the "worst thing" for someone's life?

Going to Hell, obviously bad. Getting violently wounded for ritual exile, eternal torment, plus all the other shit Pride goes through with Lust. Xinya lost her mom to illness then watched her dad fall into a catatonic depression, took the throne at 19 while all of this was happening, busted her ass to serve her country, and then watched it all crumble before her eyes again. Teconia loses her father to war when she's very young, has to raise her sister and take care of her mom from the same age, and then she gets arrested and thrown into magic bootcamp jail to be trained for war herself. I haven't thought about Out of the Park in ages, but I sure do make Park choose between his life and his passion huh.

And those are just the protagonists!!!! Ollie is a side character and I gave her religious trauma, parental abuse, transphobia, homelessness, and poverty!!!! Imagine what else I can do!!!!

[send me an emoji ask]

[paddockbunny]

All Too Well : Chapter Three

Summary : Alessandra Lucciano tells herself she has it all. She is Daniel Ricciardo's girlfriend after all. Isn't she? Well, sometimes she has to work hard to feel like it and no more so than when some girl shows up and makes her question her life as she knows it. So what happens when someone else starts paying her more attention than her boyfriend? Pairing : Daniel Ricciardo x (OC) Alessandra Lucciano Rating : 18+ Word Count : 3,995 Trigger Warnings for this Chapter : sorry sad vibes again, angst filled chapter, rocky relationship, language, slight NSFW, adult themes, implied sex, sexual tension, food discussion, intrusive thoughts & mentions of broken family. Song Inspiration for this Chapter : "You're so much older and wiser, and I wait by the door like I'm just a kid." - Tolerate It

*Author's note: Thank you so much for all the love people have given the last two chapters. You have no idea how much it means to me. I just want to say this is the last chapter featuring the Montana lodge backdrop and the story will move along a little from here. There is a little Italian in this chapter but I am in no way able to speak Italian so if anyone does and something doesn't make sense please let me know so I can amend it. English translation is at the end of the chapter. Again, this is a slow burner so please keep that in mind. Please note that this is set in 2020, covid doesn't exist, Daniel stayed at RBR and no IRL timelines have been stuck too as this is a work of fiction. Hope you like it!!! **Thank you again for all those requesting to be added to the taglist, I'm so happy you like this fic! 💞

August 4th 2020 – Montana

As the whole house lay sleeping, Alessandra had already been up hours. Jet lag had somehow crashed down on the latecomers with feverish alarm. Daniel simply turning over and snuggled even more into his pillow when she whispered a good morning to him at 8:30. She waited till 9 to try again before resigning herself into spending the morning alone at 9:30 when she finally got up. Ali didn’t mind having the mornings to herself usually but when she was supposed to be here with her fun loving, easily excitable, adrenaline junkie of a boyfriend she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Especially after what happened the night prior.

It had been intended to be romantic. She had made sure his wine – his own fucking brand of wine none the less – was at the right temperature and she had asked the housekeeper to have the hot tub turned on and set just right for them. And when she meant them, she meant the pair of them, her and Daniel. She had gone to change into a skimpy bikini that left very little to the imagination and suggested Daniel change into a pair of swimming trunks. Something, which he totally refused on claims that he was far too tired to go swimming. And Ali almost allowed him to foil her plan right there in the bedroom. In hindsight she wish she had given into him because it certainly wouldn’t have been half as embarrassing as what transpired. With some of the guys already sleeping off their time zone induced sleep, she told Daniel it was fine to stay in his teal coloured sweats as long as he put his legs into the water. She wasn’t even sure what she was requesting triggered anything in his brain. Even when she grabbed the wine and the glasses it didn’t seem to twig. But none the less she she was sure he would appreciate what was going to happen once it finally dawned on him. Ali led Daniel outside and once by the warm hot tub with steam caressing the cool night air of the mountains, he still didn’t seem to have anything firing in his brain she felt utterly disheartened once more. As she held the cup of hot coffee to her chest she wished that she could erase the memory of what happened next from her mind. Her towel fell away – deliberately – to reveal a sinfully small bikini. Daniel’s eyes, naturally, drunk in her body. So at least she knew he was still sexually attracted to her. She asked him to uncork the wine and pour for her and he did exactly as commanded.

“Do you remember that night in New York?” Her voice was practically a whisper as she gently slid against his still fully clothed body. She had always wanted a repeat of that night. The one where he had gotten so hard that she had to help him out underneath the water. The same one that after he had came he had her on the edge of the tub, thighs apart, spread-eagled while he went to town on her. Not stopping till she had practically let all of Manhattan know exactly how good he was with his tongue. “I thought we could repeat it.” She breathed out with a slight sigh. It was then she should have realised his hesitation but instead she ignored it and went to the tub herself. It took minutes – two agonising minutes – for Daniel to pick up the towel on the floor and approach her. “Ali, I’m not using this as an excuse but I really am tired. And besides, anyone could walk out here and I don’t…. lets not give them a show.” And now, as she observed the view with her coffee the next morning, her eyes still stung. She had returned to the bedroom she was sharing with Daniel and faked nonchalance while he got into bed and she went to shower off the chlorinated water. Realistically, she only went to shower so the sound would help hide the sound of her sobbing her heart out. The heart that all these hours later was still bruised. She didn’t even want to get into bed beside him that night. She seriously contemplated sleeping downstairs on a sofa.

But now, as she lifted her cup to her mouth she paused and thought of her grandparents. Her Nonno and Nonna. They were the closest to a picture perfect marriage, as she had ever known. Together having survived many tragedies that could have tore apart any normal family, and yet remained together till her Nonno passed away at the age of 84 a few years ago. Her mother always told her that Nonna claimed her Nonno only stayed with her because no one else could make his favourite Tiramisu like she could. Nonna always reiterated that saying “a way to a mans heart is through his stomach.” And then it dawned on her that she was going about this whole thing the wrong way. She wanted Daniel to see her. All Ali truly wanted was for Daniel to really recognise her and involve her in his life, in all aspects of his life. Ali knew all of the feelings she had toward this Haylee girl were projections of her own frustrations. So, in that moment she decided that regardless of how she felt and how this invader thought she could take over, she would stand her ground. And do it in the best way she knew how, by making dinner.

So when the sleepy men started finally tumbling down from their beds in search of coffee, Red Bull and breakfast she was hard at work compiling a shopping list. Ali had already asked the housekeeper of the lodge to help her source some of the ingredients that were not already available in the fridge, pantry or cabinets. She even shared the list with Michael to make sure he was ok with Daniel eating so many carbs and straying from his usually strict diet plan. He replied by demanding he be fed too and Ali was ecstatic knowing her little plan would pay off. When Daniel eventually arose she didn’t hold last night against him. Nope. She actually played his game in keeping things low key. She didn’t so much as give him his morning kiss that had almost become tradition. Something, which Ali caught him pouting over when he finally sat down but that, was his own fault for wanting to stay on the down low amongst his friends. Nosily he asked what she was scribbling down and she told him he would find out later before changing to the subject of the groups plans for that day. Scotty was filling her in about the bikes that were available at the lodge’s main reception area for free and they all seemed keen on getting out for the afternoon. While she engaged him in excited bike talk – a topic that Daniel had helped school her on months ago – Haylee came down and joined the rest of the team. Sitting down purposefully on the arm of the sofa next to Daniel. Now was the time to stake her claim. And Ali didn’t even need to do it with purpose. She didn’t need to kiss him till he couldn’t breathe in front of her. No, she just let her arm flop on to the back of the sofa and slowly play with the hair at the nape of Daniel’s neck. The move was a classic way of reducing Daniel to a puddle. He turned into a puppy dog having his ears scratched. And as his head rolled back a little in appreciation it allowed Ali to see the girl (who thought she was Ali’s rival) make a twisted face.

“What are we doing today?” She piped up and Scotty announced they were going biking. “Ah cool, space for a little one.” Ali didn’t let the muscling in bother her. It was an obvious move. One that she couldn’t help but eye roll at. She could hang with the boys. She grew up with two older brothers. She could certainly hang with the boys. But she had a much more important task today. Keeping her man well fed and happy. “Well, I’m staying here. I’m going to make you boys the most authentic Italian meal you will ever eat outside of Italy.” There were appreciative groans and Michael informed everyone that the statement was very much true and Ali was a wonderful cook. “You’re really staying here?” Daniel whispered and for a quick second Ali thought maybe he was disappointed she wouldn’t be going with him. A slight wobble ran through her when his big chocolate eyes looked sad that she wasn’t going to be hanging out with him on the first day of his actual summer break. But she brushed it off. “Arancini” Was all Ali needed to say and he smirked broadly at her. She barely made them for him but when she did he could eat them all one right after the other. And Ali kept her thoughts to herself when Haylee scoffed under her breath, commenting she could be a housewife.

While passing the freshly made pasta through the machine quickly enough it didn’t stick and slowly enough it made perfect thick lines, Ali sang along to the song playing on the radio. It was some old fashioned 80’s soft rock thing that she vaguely knew the words too but the ones she didn’t she pulled a Daniel and made them up. She had made shifted a pasta tree out of two coat hangers and hung them on the cabinetry. Daniel loved her fresh pasta. Just like he loved the Arancini, the other three small dishes and the desert. She really was slaving away but she tried not to think of the “housewife” comment from earlier. Housewife? Yeah Beverly fucking Hills Housewife darling. She scoffed but then her phone pinged beside her and it was Daniel sending her a photo. It was of him and the boys all holding their stomachs pretending to be hungry. It was sans females meaning Haylee had obviously taken the picture. And Ali was glad that she didn’t have to have a picture saved in her phone of some other girl that was continually shooting Daniel suggestive eyes.

AL: Cute! When will you hungry Oliver Twists be home for dinner?

He texted back and she received a reply almost immediately.

DR: Soon, maybe an hour. Do you need more time?

AL: Nope! Do you boys want dinner on the table when you get home (I can be a proper 1950’s housewife for you if you want? Suspenders and garter belts et al) or shall I wait till your back?

DR: Cheeky! I’ll text you again when we’re close so maybe start then. Love you xx

Her heart clattered loudly in her chest when she read the last text he sent. He had no idea how much two small little words meant to her, especially after the past few days. Fuck he really knew how to get to her. She wiped her eyes with the kitchen towel she had over her shoulder. Ali’s only wish was that he had said it in person instead of through text. It felt like an age since he had said it to her and she missed the way the words sounded as they poured from his mouth. She was happy with his response because she had prepped everything. The bits that needed to cook were cooking and the things needing to set were setting. Meaning she could go away and freshen herself up. She wanted to not only blow each one of their male minds with the food but also look good enough to eat herself. Guys being jealous of Daniel would stroke his ego and show him how hot his girlfriend must be – another way to really drive home that she was way better than any imitations.

Ali sprinted downstairs with a skip in her step. She was wearing a sundress that was definitely a little too much for dinner at home and certainly too little in terms of how cold she would be but then that gave her the idea that at some point during the night she could ask for Daniel’s sweater. He loved her in little dresses and he loved her more when she wore his clothes. Nothing gave him a more solid hard on than seeing her in one of his oversized t-shirts and she knew it. She reached the kitchen and looked at her watch. It had been slightly longer than an hour so she grabbed her phone. No call or text from Daniel but she didn’t worry. She poured herself a glass of wine and slowly drunk it as she slipped up on to the marble kitchen island. Ali simply willed time to move faster. Patience was not something she was blessed with. And due to this annoying lack of patience she began picking at the Band-Aids that adored both of her thumbs from where she anxiously picked at the skin only 24 hours before. She didn’t want to have to go back upstairs to replace them with fresh Band-Aids from her toiletry bag so she checked her phone again in order to distract herself. Time seemed to move slower and slower the more she wanted it to move faster and faster. She checked on the sauce and made sure other things were seasoned well enough. She added a dash more chilli flakes to one and pepper to another and sat back down again while sipping more of her wine. The irony of the situation didn’t pass her by. She had been put straight back into the same situation as she was the day before. Waiting on Daniel, again.

Nearly an hour later than Daniel had suggested, the door opened and in they all traipsed like a bunch of naughty school kids. “Why are you all wet?” Ali initially laughed but then it dawned on her that dinner would be delayed even further now because they would all want to go have showers. Daniel uncharacteristically came straight over to her and kissed her gently on the lips. The contact was very much appreciated but it only made Ali more confused. “We went for a post ride swim in that creek down there.” Blake answered for the bunch. Truthfully she could have deduced that herself just from observing the smell from them. It wasn’t exactly fresh so she only hoped it wasn’t contaminated, stagnant water that would make any of them ill. “Yeah, it was absolutely freezing!” Haylee exclaimed and came into view beside Scotty. When Ali’s eyes fell on her the smile was wiped away from her face straight away. This girl stood there in Daniel’s hoody. In the hoody that Ali had been just fantasising about having on her own body. But here Haylee stood with it on hers and a subtle smirk painted across her mouth as if she was able to read Ali’s mind. But then, it got worse because this ungracious female said Daniel’s name to get his attention and Ali had to physically hold herself back when she made the next move. With Dan’s full attention on her she began to remove said hoody. Slipping it up her body with a very deliberate slow pace. Ali swallowed to stop the words that were threatening to vomit out of her mouth. Choice words that would send her straight to hell were bubbling in her throat as she watched this shameful display in front of her. Her nails on her middle fingers dug into the skin underneath the Band-Aids so harshly that she could already feel them begin to bleed. Her teeth ground together out of a mixture of pure frustration and from the stinging she felt in her thumbs. Worst of all was that her fucking boyfriend never looked away and in fact has a smirk plastered on his own face. He looked like the cat that got the cream for another girl. And that simply killed her.

As everyone peeled off to shower and get ready for dinner she once again checked the sauce and turned on the oven to heat the main course. But then she didn’t really have anything else to do so she went up to find Dan. Her plan wasn’t to do anything other than chat really. She wanted to hear him talking about his day and at least have a few minutes alone with him. She certainly didn’t expect him to be on her as soon as she walked in the room. But she was not complaining considering he was clad only in a towel fresh out of the shower. Was a dip in a freezing icy lake really responsible for this sudden horniness Daniel was experiencing? “Fuck…” fell from her mouth as his teeth grazed that spot under her ear and his hands instantly grabbed handfuls of her peachy round ass. This was exactly what she wanted all along. A low moan came rumbling up Daniel’s throat when she ran her nails across his back. She felt like he was breathing fire into her soul. Too long had she been deprived of this feeling so now she let her mind forget all about dinner. Sex was her only objective and as he pulled her body flush against him, she could feel it was very much his as well. “How long do we have?” He groaned against her mouth and without a single shred of hesitation, she pushed him back to sit on the bed while she straddled his perfect thighs. “Half an hour. You think you’re up for the challenge, Daddy?” The word was always guaranteed to get Daniel going and right now with an erection like the one pressed against her inner thigh, she knew it was only a matter of time before he would have them flipped over and he was pounding into her. “Please, Dan…” His hand went around her throat and he gently squeezed. The tilt of his head told her he was desperately awaiting her to finish the sentence. “…. Fuck me…” “Oh God, I’m so sorry…” FUCK! Haylee’s voice came from the doorway. Since she walked in on them yesterday, Ali was very aware to close the door so now with her standing there she clearly had opened it without knocking. Where did she get the nerve? The rage built inside her again so quickly that this time she lost her cool and was ready to bite her head off. “I was just wondering what time dinner was?” “NOW!” Exclaimed Ali furiously. “Ok, sorry again.” The door then shut and Ali exhaled hoping all of her irritation would go with it. But when she opened her eyes, Daniel was staring at her. “You didn’t have to talk to her like that.” He was defending her? In different circumstances Ali could remember at least three occasions they had been interrupted like this before. And on at least two of those occasions Daniel almost bit the person’s head clean off. Now he was reprimanding her for doing the same thing? Ali got off of Daniel’s lap and stood trying to keep her composure.

“We haven’t had sex in weeks and every time you so much as touch me, she magically shows up.” “You’re being rude to her because we haven’t had sex?” Daniel’s tone was trivialising everything she felt. He reduced it to nothing. He made it seem so meaningless. He made her feelings so meaningless.

8:44pm

“FUCK!” Blake shouted so loudly it echoed around the whole lodge. “Marry me!” He added and it sounded more like he was begging her. Ali couldn’t help but laugh loudly. Moans and appreciative groans rebounded around the table. The meal was nearly over and they were currently on dessert. Tiramisu. Her Nonna’s Tiramisu. Anyone who ever had one single bite of the light as air traditional dessert always made these noises. Noises that always made Ali think of sex. Daniel moans beside her were exactly what he sounded like when he was fucking her but now, after their earlier argument, it pissed her off. The residual frustration from two hours ago still gripped on to her. She felt it in her bones. The worst part was the only thing that would get rid of it would be if he actually did fuck her into next week. But that was highly unlikely to happen now.

“This is the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had. You’re a lucky man, Daniel.” Michael stated and it was such a welcome compliment but also one that made her feel like she was somehow living a lie. Just as she was about to answer for him and tell the whole table that while she was talented at cooking, Daniel had many more – much more important – talents. She would allow them to be as suggestive with her words as they wanted. The thing was, she never got to say them. “The best Tiramisu is in LA. There’s this place near Mulholland that doesn’t make it too strong, y’know the coffee taste and they put pistachios on the top and oh my god, it’s the best.” It came from the other end of the table and Ali’s eyes rolled. Then her Nonna kicked in. The Sicilian kicked in. “Il Tiramisu Americano meglio del vero Italiano? È fottutamente pazza?” * and suddenly with a slightly louder voice Daniel glared at her and replied; “Alessandra fermati! Non lo intendeva in modo negative” ** The fact he had just done that to her, once again writing off her feelings like that just set her off. “Sì ha fatto. Pensa di essere migliore di me.” *** Ali told Daniel exactly what she thought but the man opposite had already picked up his wine glass and was ready to move the conversation on.

So as quickly as Daniel moved on, so did Ali. She grabbed the finished plated and cutlery and began tidying things up before people has even completely finished. She needed out of that room. Her lungs were crying out for oxygen so desperately she began to feel ill. But then she had felt this horrible unease ever since she got here a few days ago. The more that she tried to pinpoint what that unease actually was the more she realised it had a name and a pair of tits. Flinging the plates into the sink for washing she braces herself for a moment. She didn’t cry. She didn’t let herself cry over men. She had done enough crying over one man that was supposed to be there for her and love her unconditionally for the whole of her life. And that man didn’t deserve her tears no more than Daniel did in this situation.

“Uh...” She spun round rather dramatically to see Michael holding plates. She motioned to the counter top and as he placed them down he asked her if everything was ok because things got heated out there for a moment. “Fine. Everything is just fine.” Ali said it as thought she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him. She couldn’t share anything about how she was feeling or how fucked this situation was with Michael. He was Daniel’s best friend and would just run and tell him. “If you need to talk.” It was just words people said when they tried to get information from people. Girls used it to garner gossip and guys usually used it to get girls to trust them so they could eventually get into their knickers.

God, please let this fucking weekend soon.  

*American Tiramisu better than real Italian? Is she fucking crazy?  ** Alessandra stop! She didn’t mean it in a negative way.  *** Yes she did. She thinks she’s better than me     

💞TAG LIST :

@inkfablesandstories @ggaslyp1 @thelightnessofthebeing @nunchuck-daddy @deathmet-al @pleasantducktimetravel @scotlynaurora @squidwardsluverxx @zxlla

[yuzukimist]

Tagged by the amazing @ladykittenfair. Thank you so much! I love doing these. <3 (And sorry it took me so long lol)

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 143, apparently! Which is, uh. Wow. Although in fairness, some of those aren’t actually fics (just picture accompaniments to an older fic) and some of those fics are on hiatus. Still, I didn’t realize I had so many things posted lol.

2. What is your total AO3 word count? 832,822. And always growing, haha, especially since I’m going to be posting a lot of Whumptober content very soon. ;D

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Oh geez. A lot! I tend to dabble in whatever catches my interest. Let’s see…right now I write mostly for (in no particular order): Final Fantasy XV/Kingsglaive (and I’m loving every minute of it!), Batman (the Red Hood comics specifically, because I love Jason Todd), Owari no Seraph/Seraph of the End (although I will admit that I write for one pairing specifically and have not really been keeping up with the actual manga storyline), Chaos Legion (a really fun video game that no one but me even remembers but that’s okay because I love it enough for a hundred people lol), Cursed (the Netflix show), FFVII/Crisis Core/Dirge of Cerberus (although all I have posted is one OC fic that’s on hiatus, I have various other WIPs kicking around that I will get around to polishing up and posting. Hopefully. Eventually. Someday. ;D), Final Fantasy XII, Megaman X7/X8, Lord of the Rings, Naruto, Tales of the Abyss, the Originals, and a few others as inspiration strikes. My fanfiction career can basically be summed as me going “ooh shiny!” and then making that everyone else’s problem because I have ideas and a keyboard and very poor impulse control. ;D

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Oh boy, let’s see. Counting just standalone fics and not anything that’s technically a drabble series (because otherwise I think my Nyx time travel series beats everything through cumulative kudos lol and that doesn’t seem fair to my other fics haha), I think my top five fics are actually all Batfam/Jason Todd fics! Which is kind of entertaining actually, considering how hyper-focused I’ve been on FFXV lately lol.

Anyway! Are We Living In The Darkness (Do We Listen To The Light) has the most kudos (~1874), while the sequel to it, Won’t Stay in the Shadows Now, comes in at second place (~1655). 3rd place goes So Hard to Find the Way Back Home (which is actually the 5th installment of my ongoing Jason Todd-centric Batfam series, A Motley Little Crew of Dysfunction). 4th place goes to the first Motley Little Crew of Dysfunction drabble, I Turn at Last to Paths That Lead Home. 5th place goes to When the World Says Give Up, Hope Says Try One More Time, which is the 3rd drabble in that same Batfam series.

Honorable mentions go to some of the other drabbles in the Motley Little Crew of Dysfunction series (2, 4, & 7), as well as my KagaTobi Naruto time travel fic, you’ve got ten more thousand miles to go (because you’re one of the living), and my most popular OnS fic, a 5+1 titled Five Times Shinya Suffered Through a Panic Attack Alone (and One Time Someone Showed Up to Help).

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Oh man, I try to!!! I really love interacting with people who read my stories and forming those connections with other members of a fandom is always really great. That being said, I sometimes take reeaaallly long to reply (which I always feel guilty about lol) because I am just stupidly crazy busy these days. Like, I work one full-time job, do freelance writing on the side, and generally have two college classes going on at the same time, all while trying to stay on top of my household chores and do fic writing. So if I ever respond, like, 3 months late to someone and you’re like ??? that’s why lol. But everyone should definitely know that I absolutely adore feedback and every single comment I get makes me grin so wide my cheeks hurt. ;D

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Uhhh…I don’t know if anything I’ve ever written has an angtsy ending??? I mean, normally if I’m writing a fic it’s because I want a happy ending lol, or at least a hopeful one. So while a lot of my fics can have a lot of angst in the main body of the work, the endings are generally not that bad. Like, I think my most commonly used tag is “Angst with a Happy Ending” haha. Maybe my Tales of the Abyss drabble Pâro qualifies because it’s sort of an angsty introspective piece? Idk. ;P

7) Do you ever write crossovers?

You know, I actually don’t think I ever have? Huh. They seem like fun, though, so maybe someday I will!

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic? Who hasn’t, lol. At this point I have enough self-confidence for it not to really get to me the way it used to so I generally just do my best to ignore it.

But! If someone is being *really* obnoxious I will absolutely return fire without hesitation lol. My eight+ years of working retail has also helped me to have a No Fucks To Give mentality when it comes to jerks so that probably contributes to my attitude haha.

That being said, it’s been a while since I got any hate on anything; the most aggravating hate I’ve ever gotten was way back when I was still actively posting on ffnet, and it was literally years ago now. Since moving over to ao3 I’ve had fewer problems by far, so that’s nice! Plus the fandoms I’m in right now are mostly full of very nice people, so that definitely helps. :D

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Uhh, not really, no. I think the only actual smut piece I’ve ever written was a request for someone on ffnet way back when I was actively writing for the Originals fandom; I had a longtime reader following along with my hundred chapter OC-centric longfic and as a holiday gift I wrote them a smutty one-shot for a pairing they liked. Other than that I think any other love scenes I’ve written are done, like, fade-to-black style lol. Like, smut is just. Not really my area of expertise in any way, shape, or form lol.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen? I think something of mine got stolen a couple years back when that one paid fanfic app was developed? I don’t even remember what the app was called lol but I remember me and my fandom friends all being Really Mad when we heard about how someone was snatching fics off of ao3 and then charging people to read them. It’s possible that other things of mine have been ripped off since then, but if so I haven’t found out about it yet; I know some writers do periodic searches to make sure their fics aren’t being posted other places without their consent, but I just don’t have time to do that lol.

11) Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, not yet! Regrettably my hectic schedule doesn’t really lend itself well to co-writing. My work hours combined with my other responsibilities mean I write kind of just whenever I can, and if I were to ever make a commitment to co-write with someone I’d like to be able to offer a little more consistency so I don’t accidentally let them down. I hear it’s a great experience, though, so maybe someday I’ll give it a whirl!

12) What’s your all-time favorite ship? Oh jeeeeez. I don’t think I have an all-time favorite ship lol. I kind of flip between OTPs depending on whatever my hyper-fixation is at the time ahaha. At this particular moment I’m super into Promptis (Prompto/Noctis, FFXV), GureShin (Guren/Shinya, OnS), and KagaTobi (Kagami/Tobirama, Naruto).

Other OTPs that I still like but am not currently obsessing over include Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Sterek (Stiles/Derek, Teen Wolf), and KakaObi (Kakashi/Obito, Naruto), Zack Fair/Aerith (their scenes in Crisis Core are The Cutest), Vincent/Veld (because of @ladykf-writes who writes them So Well) plus a bunch of others. Honestly, I’ll read just about any pairing if it’s written well. ;D

That being said, for most of my own fics I focus more on platonic relationships (I think good friendships are just as important as romances, if not more so), although I am unapologetically GureShin trash and also have an extreme fixation on Nyx Ulric/happiness. ;D

13) What was the first fandom you wrote for? Uhhh, I don’t know if I remember lol. I think the first thing I ever posted might have been a Stargate Atlantis OC fic but I think I wrote a few different Final Fantasy and Naruto things before that? Didn’t post them though, so maybe that doesn’t count? XD

14) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Ack, this is like asking to pick a favorite child lol. I love everything I’ve written for one reason or another. My Nyx time travel series is currently at the top of my list, I think, although another one I’m proud of is my Megaman X fic the past cannot be changed (the future is yet unwritten) because while I am writing in a small/mostly dead fandom it’s definitely a labor of love that I’ve put a lot of effort into and even though updates are really slow/sporadic right now I still have a lot of fun working on it. My LOTR and FFXII OC fics are very near and dear to my heart as well, because both feature pretty extensive world-building and that's something I love to do. That being said, some of my Whumptober2021 drabbles ended up being very shiny to my gremlin brain so I think they’re favorites at the moment too lol.

Now to tag some people! Let's see, uh...@phantomchick @gingersnapwolves @ocfairygodmother @darknightfrombeyond @whostarlockeda03 @garbria @ceruleanmusings @comebackolivia @yumearashi @wandererriha plus whoever else wants to! No pressure to do this, of course; if you don't feel like it, that's fine, too. <3<3<3

[allsassnoclass]

hellooo hazel <3 can i pls know more about malum kidfic and ice dance au ?

hello adi!!!! these are two that i'm actively loving right now so i'm glad you're asking

malum kidfic - i really like kidfics!!!! ones where someone has a kid, not where they are kids. but when i first got into this fandom i felt like no one else really liked them? there were more people who said they disliked them than liked them, so it took me a long time to actually write one and now i'm lowkey planning on making this a set (where i do one kidfic per 5sos duo, just like the fake dating set). anyway! that being said, i'm really really mad that this fic is still a wip because when i started it i was intending for it to be a shorter, 6k thing, but because i am me i have managed to turn it into a longer, more serious, 15-25k thing. however, i did add words to it earlier this week!

the kid in question is a 4 year old named Mason :) he likes dinosaurs and he's a morning person. i love him to death he's one of my favorite ocs

ice dance au - during the 2022 winter olympics i got really into figure skating, specifically ice dance! then i watched a little youtube documentary on the ice academy of montreal, where a lot of top ice dancers train (they had like 10 pairs go to the olympics, including the 1st place, 3rd place, and 4th place duos) and that's such an interesting and cool environment and i got double inspired :) i've been wanting an ice skating fic for a long time, i've been talking about it since well before the olympics, and i guess if i want something done i have to do it myself!

this au is especially interesting because i'm basically cutting out two (or three, we're still in the planning phase) ice dance couples and slapping the 5sos people in there, so actual olympic figure skaters like papadakis/cizeron or diaz/smart are major characters as well, which will be strange and fun to try and write! i also have to come up with 4-6 olympic ice dance routines which. is something lol but yeah i'm excited about this fic i just need to plan out more before i continue :)

send me an ask based on my wip list

[wiypt-writes]

Riding On

Ch 8- Buns (And Cookies) In The Oven

Summary: Frank and Fliss attend Mary’s end of year fundraising gala at school, the Nursery is finally finished and plans are made regarding Mary’s adoption.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, NO UNDER 18s!).

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N:  LONG update here guys but a lot happens! First off, please bear with me if the legal terms are a little off- from my research they seem to be similar to the UK ones but if I get some things wrong…just go with it! Also the photo I used for the Nursery inspiration was found in another fic on Tumblr- I can’t for the life of me remember which one. I did, however, ages ago ask permission so if you recognise it that’s why. 

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist 

Chapter 7

  “You braved the outhouse yet?” Bill asked as he skimmed that last bit of the wall he had been working on, the trowel he was holding sliding in a large arc, spreading the plaster evenly.

“Had a brief glance but there’s all sorts of shit in there.” Frank said, dropping his tools onto the dust sheet as he stood back to admire their work. “Some larger pieces of wood and a few engine parts I had spotted that might come in handy but other than that think it’s all for the dump.”

“We can hit that this weekend if you want?” Bill added, hopping down from the step ladders.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind helping?” Frank looked at him and Bill shook his head. “No problem.” He said. “Still thinking about getting a boat?”

Frank gave a smile “I thought about getting one and doing it up. The garage is big enough to use as a workshop." "Well it’s good to have a hobby.” Bill nodded.

“Plus if I get one it will stop Lissy converting it into stables.” Frank said, looking around the room again. “She still wanting to expand?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, she’s talking about buying more of the land that surrounds the yard but…” Frank scratched at his chest “I told her to wait until Bean is here.”

“Good plan.” Bill smiled, before he turned to Frank “Speaking of Boston Bean, any ideas on names?”

Frank smiled “We had a few but we need to give it some proper thought. Mary wants us to call him Theodore.” “Theodore?” Bill arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Teddy for short. Something she saw on TV.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s not going on the list, trust me.”

The two of them cleared away their tools, tipped the pots of water down the sink in the main bathroom before Frank quickly cleaned up after himself, heading back into the nursery where Bill was taking a look at a patch on the wall. Deciding it was ok he turned and nodded and the two men made their way downstairs and into the main area at the back of the house.

Frank opened the door to their kitchen living area and the smell of baking hit the pair of them immediately, but it was the view that made Frank stop in the doorway. Mary was stood on a chair at the kitchen counter, mixing something in a bowl. To her left Verity was supervising, nodding when Mary showed her whatever it was she was mixing, and to Mary's right, Fliss was wiping the surface down, one hand resting on her belly. It was the sight of his girl stood there, in that gorgeous blue and white checked sundress, all barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, with her mother and Mary that had him feeling suddenly quite emotional. Mary giggled and looked at Fliss who smiled at her, reaching out and brushing her cheek with the back of her fingers. Nanna, Mom and Daughter, a matriarchal trio Frank never imagined he would ever get to see Mary part of. And it was beautiful. "You OK lad?" Bill looked at him and Frank blinked and turned to face him, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Yeah, sorry. Was miles away" "I noticed." His future father in law smiled softly, squeezing his shoulder before he loudly asked if there was any chance of beer before he died of thirst. "You know where the fridge is." Fliss shot back. "I just spent all afternoon with Frank plastering the walls in that Nursery and that's the thanks I get?" Bill shook his head as Frank chuckled and walked to the fridge. He opened it, grabbed 2 beers and once he popped the tops off he passed one to Bill. "All finished?" Fliss turned to look at Frank as he gave her a soft peck on the lips. "Yeah." He smiled as she rubbed her hands up his arms to his shoulders "Once its dried out which should take a day or so we can paint." Flies smiled and was about to say something when they heard Mary and Verity yelling, their shouts punctuated by Bill's loud guffaws as he jumped back, a freshly baked cookie in his hand as he ran away from Verity who was swatting at him with the tea towel. "There's like a hundred of them!" Bill sniggered shoving the cookie into his mouth. "You can spare one." "We actually made extra." Mary looked at him, hands on her hips "Because Fliss and Nanny V said you and Frank would both walk in and rob some." Frank looked at Fliss, his eyebrow raising as she grinned before he glanced at Mary who smirked back. "Well in that case..." he mumbled before he grabbed Mary easily, hooking the arm that held his beer round her midriff, swinging her off the chair as he snatched a cookie with the other, taking a huge bite. Mary's giggles died down as he set her on the floor and made an appreciative noise. "These are good." "You sound surprised Francis..." Verity pointed the wooden spoon she was holding at him and he shook his head. "You know what I think of your cooking V..." he flashed her a wink and she rolled her eyes and turned back to whatever it was in the bowl. "OK Mary, this frosting is ready so you wanna do the cupcakes?" She nodded and the two of them moved, Verity handing Mary a little spatula so she could start to dish out the yellow frosting. "Shall I ring through to The Shack and order us a burger each?" Frank asked, and everyone made appreciative noises. Already knowing his, Mary and Fliss' order by heart, he ordered what Bill and Verity wanted before the two men strode out to Bill's car to pick up their food.

“You sure you’re alright, Frank?” Bill asked, and he turned to him, smiling.

“Yeah, honestly I’m fine.” Frank smiled. Bill looked at him before he turned his head back to the road.

“It’s overwhelming isn’t it.” The older man said gently and Frank looked at his hand, shaking his head as he gave a soft laugh.

“You can say that again.” He said “Doesn’t seem five minutes since our first date and here we are. Our own home, weeks away from our baby being born and me taking a weeks’ worth of annual leave to finish the decorating.” “You’ve done it once.” Bill said gently. “The baby thing I mean, not the decorating…although we did do that once too…”

Frank chuckled before he took a deep breath “Not like this.” Frank shook his head “Never done the first 6 months. Not really. I mean I helped Diane but…” “Well you got us to help out.” Bill spoke again, taking a right turn “I know Verity can’t wait. Another grandkid for her to spoil.” “I do appreciate everything you’ve both done for us Bill.” Frank looked at him. “I mean the money, helping out with the decorating, everything you do for Mary.”

“I know son.” Bill smiled, “And it’s our pleasure.” Frank smiled and looked back out of the window.

“What else is on your mind?” Bill probed gently and Frank looked at him, giving a little scoff.

“You’re just like Fliss.” He said with a chuckle and Bill grinned.

“Well you’ve been a little quiet all afternoon.” Bill said.

Frank studied him for a moment, and then realised that he actually had a perfect opportunity here to talk to someone who had been through something a little similar to what he was struggling with. And he trusted and loved Bill, like a father.

“We had an incident with Mary, last week at school.” He took a deep breath he explained to Bill what had happened and the decision he and Fliss had come to about the adoption. “We were planning on asking her at some point but…well, the time hasn’t bene right you know. We don’t want her to think it’s a reaction to what happened at school.” Bill looked at him before he slowed the car to a halt at a red light. “That makes sense.” He said gently “But I’m getting the impression you’re not so sure.” “It’s not that I’m unsure as such…” Frank sighed, “I just…Oh I don’t know Bill, the whole thing just seems so fucking shitty and complicated. How did you know it was the right thing to do? With Fliss and Steve I mean?”

“I just did.” Bill shrugged. “Our circumstances were slightly different thought. I met V when Fliss was 2. Steve's mother, my first wife, Andrea, she died when Steve was 3. Brain tumour. I never thought I'd love anyone again but then when I met Verity one evening 2 years later through friends she blew me away.” Bill smiled and Frank watched as his face went softer before he continued “We dated for 3 months before we met each other’s kids and the first time I saw Lissy she was fast asleep in the car seat in the back of Vs battered old fiesta and...” Bill sighed “I loved her from the minute I laid eyes on her. So did Steve.”

He set the car into drive again and they continued down the road as Bill spoke again.

“She started calling me dad on her 4th birthday. I’d been with V just over 2 years then and it was at her birthday party and we told her to make a wish. She blew her candles out and then later that night I was tucking her in and she said to me that she knew she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone what her wish was, but if she didn’t tell me then it wouldn’t come true.”

To Frank’s surprise the man’s eyes misted over and his voice became a little bit croaky.

“She’d made a wish that she was my daughter.” Bill shook his head “That she wanted to call me dad. So I told her I didn’t have a problem with that as long as she didn’t and…” he smiled “But I get that your situation is different. Fliss’ shitbag father walked out on Verity before Fliss was even born. You’ve got a whole other scenario you’re dealing with.” “Mary told me months ago she wishes I was her real dad.” Franks sighed “You know I explained to her that a label doesn’t matter and then the whole thing with the kid at school kicked it off again and she broke her heart to Lissy that evening. It got me thinking that I’d bene so wrapped up in my own worries about Diane and whether it would be right to allow Mary to refer to me as her dad that I hadn’t really given much consideration about how my refusal to do so was affecting her.” Bill pondered something for a moment. “You know I had the same concerns over Steve. I know that sounds hypocritical because I was over the moon when Lissy first called me dad but, well Steve was

3 when his mum died and had a few vague memories of her. I was worried that by letting him refer to V as his mum those memories would fade and it would in some ways disrespect her, you know? Almost like it would invalidate who she had been.”

“But you did it anyway?” Frank asked.

“With Steve it just happened.” Bill said, “He started naturally slipping into calling Verity Mum, and we just decided not to make a big deal out of it and let him do what he felt was right for him. Even now he alternates sometimes, calls her Verity instead of mum but I know it doesn’t change a thing. He loves her like she is his mother, and she loves him like he’s her son, which he is anyway of course as she adopted him too.” “And that felt right?”

Bill nodded “It did to us, but the most important thing was it did to Steve and Fiss too. So we floated the idea a year or so before we got married. Fliss...well she had no reservations at all. Burst into tears and hugged me saying she couldn't wait for me to be her proper dad and have the same surname but Steve was a little more subdued, I suppose, is the word. We assured him if he didn't want V to then she wouldn't be offended. He took his time to think about it. Came to his conclusion a week or so later and announced over dinner he wanted to do it. So that was that.” Bill pulled up outside the shack and cut the engine, turning to Frank. “I guess what I'm trying to say is Mary will let you know if she's not happy. From the sounds of it I don't think you'll have any problems, but the important thing is like Titch said, you give her the choice...” “I know.” Frank nodded, “Liss and I discussed this. I don't want to make her call us mom and dad either it she doesn’t want to. To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about that but I suppose if we do adopt her then…” “You still worried about how it would make your sister feel?” “A little.” Frank smiled softly. “I'm sure she would be happy Frank.” Bill said gently “This is the same internal debate I had about Ange. But you have to remember, she left that little girl with you for a reason. If you ask me, the very fact we're having this conversation proves she was right. I think this is exactly why she chose you, because she knew that whatever decisions you make regarding Mary are done with love and care, and this is the best outcome she could have hoped for.”

Frank felt the lump in his throat again and Bill gently reached over and grabbed his shoulder.

“Thanks Bill.” Frank smiled at him.

“Any time, now let’s go get this food, I’m starving.”

It wasn’t long before they were all sat outside back at home, eating happily as Mary filled them all in on what she was going to be doing at the gala the next day. Frank watched her, smiling to himself at how excited she was. Such a contrast to the sullen, obstinate 7 year old that he’d had argument over argument with about going to school. But then again their entire circumstances had changed, dramatically, and for the better he may add.

His heart to heart with Bill had made him feel a little more at peace with everything. If truth be told, since Mary’s little breakdown last week he’d been worried about a lot of things. Worried he was making a mess of things with her, worried he was going to do the same with Bean. But he realised now he wasn’t doing it on his own anymore. He had Fliss and her family to help him, and even his Mother too if he so required. Whatever bump in the road the encountered in the future then they would face it as a family, and this eased that nagging, gnawing anxious feeling a hell of a lot.

At just before 8 Mary was dismissed to bed, despite protests, and a little after 10pm Bill and Verity also decided to head home. Frank thanked them both for their help, Verity for giving up her entire afternoon by shopping, picking up Mary and then baking enough treats to feed a small army, an Bill…well, for just about everything he’d done that day.

They stood on the porch area of their home, waving the two of them off and Fliss turned to Frank.

“I can almost hear your mind whirring from here, Sailor.”

Frank chuckled as Thor headed back up the path, having given up chasing the car down the drive. “Yeah, I had a moment before. But your dad set me straight.” “Moment? About Mary or-“ “To be honest about everything.” Frank looked at her as they headed back inside, closing the door “Mary, Bean, about not fucking everything up.” Fliss looked at him before she shook her head “Baby that’s not gonna happen.” “I know.” He smiled “I just had my worries, that’s all.” “You don’t think I worry at times too?” she asked him gently “I’m fucking petrified about him arriving and how I’m gonna cope with a baby but…” she stepped forward and took his hands “I know that as long as we stick together an work through whatever we face together, we’ll be fine.” “Yeah, we will.” He smiled, bending down to give her a soft kiss. “Wanna sit outside?”

She nodded and together, Thor padding behind, they made their way out to the back garden. Fliss dropped heavily onto the wicker garden sofa and Frank lifted her feet up setting them in his lap. He expertly ran his thumb up the arch of her right foot and she gave a little groan of satisfaction.

“Back still sore?” he asked glancing over at her and she shrugged a little.

“A little, nothing major though.” She sighed “I’d kill to get in the hot tub though, unwind a little. So not fair I can’t.” “There’s always the pool.” Frank suggested and she looked at him.

“How is going in the pool going to help me unwind?” she looked at him and he grinned, arching an eyebrow.

“You’re a bad, bad man.” She snorted as she swung her legs off his lap and moved to straddle him.

“And?” he smirked as his hands ran up the side of her thighs, creeping under the hem of her dress which had ridden up.

“Just pointing it out.” she grinned, leaning down to kiss him. His hands came to a rest on her hips, squeezing gently as his mouth moved from hers to find that spot just below her ear. With a sigh, Fliss tilted her head back as he continued to nibble gently at her skin, her fingers tangling in his hair. She gave a soft pull, tugging his head back so she could kiss him again, pushing down on his lap as he thrust his hips up to meet her, the pair of them giving a little groan at the contact. And that was it. Hormones raging, sending a fire through her entire body, Fliss stood up, slipped off her panties and then reached to Frank’s jeans, undoing the button.

“Ok, so no foreplay then?” he asked as he lifted his hips so she could slide his jeans and boxers down, his already hard cock springing free.

“Less talking, more fucking…” she reached down, wrapping her hand around him. Frank let out a hiss as she gave him a few tugs before she straddled him and lining him up sunk straight down, letting out a groan as he tilted his pelvis upwards, filling her as he bottomed out.

“Fuck, Lissy…” his voice was gravelly, his head falling back against the rear cushions of the garden furniture, hands on her hips as she rolled them forward, finding a rhythm that was soft, deep and perfect for the quiet, late summer evening.

Despite the fact they were outside and Fliss’ earlier demand, there was no rush to any of their love making. It was slow, gentle and sweet. Frank’s thrust’s upwards weren’t measured, he hardly put much effort into moving, keeping in synch with the rolls of her pelvis, rocking them together as Fliss leaned over, capturing his mouth again. The gentle breeze from the night air ruffled through her hair whipping it around her face and Frank moved his hands, brushing it away as he cradled her face, his nose brushing against hers. After a particularly deep push upwards Fliss let out a shaky moan into his mouth, tightening her fingers in his hair as she felt him striking her spot again and again. Her bump was causing her to lean forward slightly, which meant he was hitting her as deep as he possibly could and the feeling was intense, her toes curling slightly as she could feel the heat in her belly burning, the slick from between her legs rubbing off on his thighs slightly which was driving Frank wild.

“So wet baby girl…” he mumbled as she slid a hand between her legs, his fingers gently teasing her clit.

“Who needs a pool?” she manged to quip between her gasps, and Frank smirked a little, watching her face intently as her eyes locked onto his. His fingers never once quickened, his touches light and teasing, and their pace continued on to that very end, until with a breathy gasp and a shudder it became too much and she surrendered to the inevitable bliss that washed over her entire body as she came hard. Her hips stilled and Frank moved his hands back to her hips, pulling her down onto him as he bucked upwards, his thrusts now quickening as he chased his own end, spilling into her with a loud groan before his eyes flickered shut, his head falling backwards.

Fliss leaned forward, peppering soft kisses up his neck to his jawline and he let out a smile as she dropped her mouth on his, biting his bottom lip softly his hands rubbing at the base of her back.

“How was that for un-winding?” he asked, opening his eyes to see her smiling at him. She bit her lip and smiled, kissing him again.

****** “Where do you want all these?” Fliss asked Bonnie as her and Frank walked across the school yard, Frank’s arms laden with the various boxes of baked goods.

“How much did you bake?” Bonnie snorted as Frank set them down on the wooden tables that Bonnie indicated

“My mum does nothing by halves” Fliss smirked as she glanced around. Mary was stood showing Frank something on a chalk a-board, Rosie interjecting here and there.

“Hey Stack.” Fliss stepped over to her “All set?”

“Yeah we were just working out the pricing and what best to charge if we wanna make a certain percent profit.” Mary said.

“You suss it?” Frank asked, “Although that’s a stupid question…” “Yeah, it is.” Mary shot back, causing Frank to smirk a little as he glanced at Fliss “Bo-I mean miss Stevens we thought a dollar a cookie, or 3 for 2 and then 2 dollars a cupcake or brownie, and 3 for 5” “I think that’s fair.” Bonnie nodded.

“Ok, cool… “ Mary grinned standing the board up and giving Rosie a high five.

Bonnie and Fliss helped set up the cakes on the stall and Frank found himself getting roped into helping one of the male teachers set up the field where a few events and fun races were going to take place, the man thanking him profoundly when he headed over, spotting him struggling to set the soccer nets up.

“We had someone due to help but…well, most parents shy away from this stuff.” He sighed “They want their kids to enjoy and experience it but don’t wanna help us out.” Frank smiled “Well, to be honest I’m happy to be here. This is the first one Mary’s taken part in.”

The teacher smiled “Yes, she was a bit of an enigma when she started but she’s come out of her shell recently. Lovely girl too Mr Adler, always polite. You must be very proud.”

Frank beamed and turned back to where Mary was behind the stall, Fliss talking to her with Bonnie and Rosie both listening and nodding before he turned back to the man and smiled “It’s not all down to me but…yeah, yeah I am.”

Hour or so later more people had arrived and Frank and Fliss wandered around a bit. They chatted to Rosie’s mom and dad, a dark haired, bespectacled man called Phil and a smaller, red haired woman called Melissa, and the couple invited them over for dinner in a week or so which they both accepted. Whilst Mary and Rosie were close, Frank’s interaction with her parents had been minimal simply because Fliss had fallen into that role of being the one that set up the girls’ little togethers, and he was keen to get to know the couple simply because Mary seemed to be taken so much with their kid. They were inseparable at school, and Mary had already said that over the summer she wanted Rosie to come for a sleep over which, given her previous position on such things had knocked Frank for 6. Of course they had said it was ok, and Fliss had simply told her that Rosie was welcome at any time over the holidays, even saying she’d arrange for them to do something with one of the riding school ponies.

As Frank was mid conversation with Phil about a boat he was currently repairing, Fliss excused herself to go to the toilet. On the way back she decided to detour to the cake stall to see how Mary, Bonnie and Rosie were getting along, and as she passed 2 women stood a little way away, deep in conversation, she heard something that stopped her in her tracks.

“Child prodigy, apparently.” One of the women was saying.

“Well whichever way you dress it up I feel sorry for her.” The other sniffed, flicking her blonde hair behind her shoulder, the ridiculous sized ring on her left hand catching the sun as she did so “I mean, her Dad, sorry, Uncle is a total fuck boy and only went and got his new girlfriend pregnant a year or so after they got together…no wonder the kid’s apparently a screw up. Did you know a when she first started here she broke a boy’s nose?”

“Excuse me?” Fliss blurted out, her neck and cheeks flushed with anger. Both women spun to face her, the blonde one looking at her “Who the fuck are you calling a screw up?”

“Erm, private conversation…” The woman looked at her and Fliss snorted

“Yeah well maybe you should keep your shitty opinions to yourself, just in-case that Fuck Boy’s pregnant fiancée overhears you.” She shot back, and the woman’s face slipped a little as she suddenly realised who Fliss was. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Frank, meanwhile, had finished up talking to Rosie’s parents and was now looking around for Fliss. He spotted her pale green maxi dress in the crowd as she stood talking to two women, and then frowned as he realised she wasn’t talking as much as angrily ranting, her hands flying out to her side before she pointed at one of them directly. He had no idea what the fuck had sparked her off, but he jogged quickly over, catching the end of the rant.

“I don’t see any of your kids going to university 2 days a week or being asked to run a stall handling money because they can do sums in their head like that.” Fliss snarled, clicking her fingers “So keep your shitty, horrible comments about my family to yourself.”

“Hey, hey…” Frank gently grabbed her arm. “Honey…come on.” “You know nothing about us. Any of us.” Fliss shot at her as Frank looked at the women, realising instantly he recognised one. With a groan he moved himself in front of Fliss his back to them and looked at her.

“Stop.” He said firmly but calmly and she looked at him, her eyes blazing with an anger he had never seen before. “Come on.”

She shot a glare at the women before she turned and allowed him to steer her away. He dropped an arm round her shoulder and gave her a squeeze “What the hell set you off into momma bear mode?”

“Her!” Fliss seethed as she shot a final glare over her shoulder at the bitch "She was making shitty comments about you getting me pregnant and saying it was no wonder Mary was a screw up…I mean who the fuck does she think she? I swear to god if I wasn’t pregnant I’d kick her ass." "Don't let her get to you honey." Frank said softly, kissing her temple.

“Does it not bother you?” “Only because it’s got you so wound up. I’m not going to let the opinions of two Stepford Wives bother me. They clearly have no idea what they’re talking about.” "Bet she's called Karen." Fliss spat. "Carly, actually." Frank replied without thinking and Fliss stopped to look at him. "How the hell do you-" she groaned "tell me you haven't!" "It was a drunk night a very long time ago!" He began to protest and Fliss shook her head making a noise of disgust.

“Well suddenly that makes a little more sense.” She said, before she snorted "Is there anyone in this State you haven't shagged?" "I love it when you swear in British." He grinned before sighing as his attempts at humour fell flat. "Oh Lissy come on...it was years ago. I was a total fuck up till I met you." "Was she married back then?" "I don't know!" He shrugged "not exactly a great topic for pillow talk is it?" "You're disgusting." She rolled her eyes before she stepped away from him and headed over the stall that had been or original destination, leaving Frank wondering what the fuck just happened. With a sigh he followed her over and smiled at Verity who had just arrived with Bill, who was at that moment teasing Mary, trying to haggle with her over the price of the Brownies.

“Hey…” he tugged on Fliss’ elbow “Are you seriously pissed at me?” She looked at him, pushing her shades up off her eyes “I just don’t like being reminded of your Four F stage.” “My what?” he looked at her, blankly. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“The Friday Fergs Fuckboi Frank stage” And at that Frank snorted, shaking his head.

“Ok, well, I can categorically tell you that now I’m in a double F stage.” “What?” it was her turn to look puzzled.

“Yeah, the Fliss’ Frank stage” He flashed her a cheeky grin and she blinked before she snorted and shook her head.

“I hate you.” She mumbled as he pulled her in for a hug, giving her head a quick kiss, the chuckles vibrating from his body to hers.

*****

The rest of the week passed fairly uneventfully. Mary broke up for summer on the Friday and Frank finished the painting and the wallpapering in the attic. On the Saturday he got 3 out of 4 of the walls in the Nursey painted, leaving just the feature one for Sunday, which he was ridiculously excited about. However, his plans of an early start were derailed when he slept in a little later than he had anticipated. Fliss was still out for the count when he climbed out of bed, and he dressed as quietly as he could, dropping a kiss to her cheek before he headed down to the kitchen and was joined by Mary a few minutes later. For whatever reasons she was in a particularly raucous mood, probably because she had realised she didn’t have to go to school on Monday, bouncing around the kitchen telling Frank loudly what she was going to do that afternoon which involved riding Monty and swimming in the pool until it went dark. Then, apparently she was going to watch a load of movies and stay up all night…Frank didn’t bother to tell her there was no chance, as both he and Fliss still had to go to work. As with the previous Summer, Roberta was looking after her Monday to Wednesday, and Verity and Bill had her on Thursday and Friday, which meant she was basically going to be up the same time as normal every day so he could drop her off.

However, that was an argument for later. Right now he was simply trying to get her to calm down.

“Mary, for the last time, be quiet!” Frank groaned “Fliss is still asleep.”

“But it’s almost 10 am.” Mary whined.

“It’s Sunday and she’s cooking another person, she can sleep however long she wants” he replied “Now come on, we got painting to do.”

Mary looked at him and let out a groan. “I’m 9. Making me paint this house is child labour”

“You wanted to help with the nursery.”

Mary glared at him “He ain’t even gonna be here for another like 7 weeks or whatever.”

“Yeah, and the rate you’re going it’s gonna take us that long to sort it. Come on it’s the last wall.” He cajoled as she bit into her toast “We did your room first, then the attic. I even let you pick that horse wall paper for up there.” Mary shoved the last of her toast in her mouth and hopped down off the stool “Fine…” she said with an exaggerated eye roll. “I’ll go change into my painting stuff.” He watched her go, tossing the crust from his toast to Thor who caught it expertly, before he headed upstairs. Fliss wandered out of the bedroom and onto the landing, still in her sleep set, yawning.

“Hey…” she smiled at him and he beamed back as she shuffled to him for a hug.

“Did Mary wake you?” he asked and Fliss shook her head.

“No, I was just dozing.” .

“Ok, well we’re finish painting the nursery.” He smiled and she pulled back grinning. “Want me to get you breakfast first?” “I’m good.” She smiled “I’ll sort myself out and then come help”

Pressing a kiss to her head he stepped back and watched as she headed down the stairs before he walked into the Nursery, joined shortly by Mary. All bar one of the walls were painted a cream colour, and he checked the paint for patches, happy that it looked ok before he looked pulled the print out of the theme they’d looked at on Pinterest and handed it to Mary once he’d taken a look at it. Grabbing the stepladders he set about marking squares out on the wall where the crib was going to lie against with tape. Then with a pencil he supervised as Mary checked the photo and wrote a letter in each square to signal what colour they were going to be painted to make a block pattern of different greens, browns and blue.

Once the squares were marked out he handed Mary a paint brush and told her to keep between the lines. He knew he might have to go over a few patches on the areas she did, but even that was quicker than him doing it all himself and it was important to both of them she felt involved, even if it was under duress.

Half an hour or so later Fliss joined them and the 3 of them finished the wall in little over 2 hours, standing back to admire their handy work. Fliss beamed as Mary nodded in satisfaction.

“Can I go see Monty now?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’ll head over.” Fliss nodded.

“I’ll get the furniture up whilst you’re gone.” Frank smiled.

“Sure you can manage?” Fliss teased. “We’re supposed to be at my mum and dad’s in 4 hours.”

Frank shot her a look and she grinned cheekily before she headed out of the room to change into her stable gear.

With the radio on, Frank unwrapped the packaging to the crib and got to work, humming gently to himself as he powered through, following the instructions. It was fairly easy all things considered, and he had the crib fully assembled and in position in 45 minutes. Smiling to himself the chest of drawers were next, then the little wardrobe and the changing unit. Then he fixed the blind to the window and added the stencil he’d bought over the top. All in all it took him just under 2 hours until he jumped down from the little step ladder and looked around.

Now it looked like a nursery.

He took the cardboard boxes and wrap down to the garage and slung them on the pile of other garbage that needed slinging during the week and then back into the nursery, removing the dust sheets from the new carpet and then he set about unpacking the various bags and items of things they’d bought for bean. He placed the blankets in the crib, the lamp on the table, shuffled the rocking chair around and then stepped back to admire his work.

“Oh my God…” He jumped a little and turned to see Fliss blinking. He’d been that wrapped up in everything he hadn’t heard her come in.

“Frank, you did everything...”

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out, cursing himself. “I got carried away. I didn’t think. Did you want to do the accessories or…” “No, I mean yeah, but…” she shook her head, stepping into the room “It doesn’t matter. Sailor, it looks great!” She slid her arm round his waist as he dropped a kiss to her head, her eyes scanning the room. She stopped and frowned at the stencil above the window blind. Frank swallowed a little nervously, that was one thing she hadn’t seen before. He watched her profile as she read the cursive writing, which spelt out the words ‘All because two people fell in love’, and she turned to look up at him, tears in her eyes.

 “Oh, Frankie…”

He smiled at her, his own eyes threatening to fill up again as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “It’s true.”

She turned back round to look once more at the room, her hand falling to her bump as they simply looked around the bedroom that would soon enough house their little baby boy.

“It’s perfect.” Fliss said, and Frank smiled, his arms wrapping around her from behind, his hands cupping her bump as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

After the usual Sunday roast Verity’s which was filled with the normal laughter, teasing and also some cooing from Verity over the photos of the nursery which Fliss had taken they headed home and after breaking the news to Mary that she was up early, which resulted in a mini- melt down until Frank threatened to send Monty to the dog-food factory if she didn’t stop right away.

“Whatever Frank, Fliss will never let you do that.” She glared at him, hands on her hips.

“Fliss won’t have a say in the matter.” He shot back, “Bed, now Mary. Don’t make me count to three.” “You know, I really don’t like you right now.” She glared at him.

“Well that suits me fine, because right now I’m not your biggest fan either.”

With a filthy look she turned on her heels, stomping from the room and muttering something under her breath, from which Frank made out the words Uncle and douchebag.

“I might be getting older but I can still HEAR YOU!” he yelled after her.

“GOOD!” came the shout back before the stairs thudded under her feet and her bedroom door slammed shut.

Frank exhaled, ran a hand through his hair and then checked all the doors were locked before he headed upstairs. “What was all that about?” Fliss asked as she emerged from the en-suite dressed for bed.

“Her being a pain in the ass about going to bed.” He grumbled, face planting onto the bed with a groan “Do we really want another one?”

“Too late for that now Sailor.” She chuckled. “She called me a douchebag.” He said, rolling over onto his back and Fliss let out a laugh.

“No comment.” “Hey.” He pouted, a hurt expression on his face. Fliss stuck her tongue out at him before he sat up with a heave and stripped off ready for bed.

They lay awake for a couple of hours, chatting, and talk turned to baby names after Bill had teased them over dinner that they still hadn’t decided on one. They had discounted a few, but had yet to settle on any that really grabbed their attention.

"What about Max?" Frank asked. He raised his head from where he was led, nose pressed against the curve of Fliss' belly as his hand gently tracked the movements his son was making. Boston Bean was being fairly active considering it was past 11. Fliss, who was sat propped up by a mound of pillows against the headboard looked down at him, her hand pausing where it has been raking through his now very fluffy hair and she wrinkled her nose. "Mmm not keen" she mumbled. "Although I like the X. The way it melts into Adler." Frank blinked before he snorted and Fliss laughed "God you talk some shit" he chuckled and she swatted at his head as he moved back to where he had been before, nose brushing her skin. "Benjamin..." he offered again, "Benjamin Billy. Then we can keep calling him BB" "That's actually kinda cute." Fliss said. "And its after my dad, although he's William." "William." Frank rolled the name around a little "I like that." "Could be a middle name." Fliss said "I don't really like Will, which is what it will no doubt end up shortened to and Bill...no, that's dad. And an old man's name" "I'll tell him you said that." Frank smiled and she shrugged. "I tell him he is an old git all the time" she retorted. Frank's hand stopped as Bean gave a particularly harsh kick and Fliss jumped a little. "Jesus..." she groaned. "Looks like we got a future footballer on our hands. You gonna be the next Tom Brady huh buddy?" Frank chuckled talking to her bump before he stilled "hey, what about-" "No." Fliss said, shutting that suggestion down immediately "We are not calling him Tom or Brady. Besides, that abomination you refer to is not football..." "Excuse me." Frank scoffed "It’s better than that damned shit you Brits play! Soccer." He muttered the word, shaking his head. "No, THAT’S football!" Fliss said indignantly. "Soccer" "Football!" Fliss repeated "it's a ball you kick with your foot! We invented it, we named it!" "Okay, okay!" Frank chuckled "Calm down before you go into labour!" She swatted playfully at his head as she grinned. "You know I would have loved you to have met my granddad and had this debate with him. He'd be spinning in his grave if he could hear us. You know he was actually a professional at one point?" "No kidding?" Frank askes and Fliss gave a hum. "Way before I met him, obviously" Fliss sighed "he played right back for Preston North End but had to retire early when he broke his leg. Never recovered from the injury. Dad said he had a pretty mean right peg on him. I mean leg..." she corrected her slang. "He was their designated Penalty taker. In the 10 years he played he took 60 penalties and missed a total of 2" "That's pretty cool." Frank admitted. "OK, so maybe if he grows up playing soccer that wouldn't be so bad..." "Alex Gallagher." Fliss chuckled "not quite as famous around here as Tom Brady...but still the GOAT. Well, in my eyes anyway." And then she took a deep breath. Frank paused, his hand staying still as he looked up at her smiling softly. "Alexander." They both said at the same time, Fliss' mouth curling into a little smile, her hand falling on top of his. "Alexander William Adler." She beamed down at him and Frank nodded, his own smile growing wider. "Yeah. Yeah I like that." He leaned up to give her a gentle peck, smiling against her lips "I really like it. Alex for short..." She smiled at him as he gently cupped her face. "Alex Adler it is." She nodded, her eyes misting up slightly before he kissed her again. ***** The next morning they packed Mary off to Roberta’s. She wasn’t in quite as bad a mood with Frank as she had been the previous evening. She was talkative enough to ask who had been on the phone when she had walked into the kitchen and why it meant Fliss had ended up re-jigging her morning around. The told her they had some stuff to sort for Bean, but in truth they were heading to see Greg who had called following Frank’s text message to say he could fit them in to talk about Mary’s adoption before his first appointment that morning.  

"Hi guys!" Greg strode out of his office greeting the pair of them with a smile "Damned girl you getting bigger by the day?" He teased, gesturing to her bump. "Bloody well feels that way." She grumbled. Frank placed a hand on the bottom of her back and guided her into the room where they both took a seat at one side of Greg’s desk.

“So…” he smiled “Tell me then, what’s sparked this off?” Frank briefly explained about the school and how he’d been thinking about it for some time as Greg smiled, pausing only to thank his PA who walked in with two coffees and an apple juice. Once Frank had finished Greg leaned back, a finger trailing over his mouth before he smiled.

"So the process you’ll go through, if you decide to go through with it is called Kinship adoption." Greg repeated "In general, the procedure of adopting a family member’s child is considerably simpler than other types of adoption because some parts of the domestic adoption process will not apply ergo it is normally easier and faster. And given the fact that you already have legal guardian status this negates any requirement for home studies, nor will there be any need for a supervision period post an initial care placement period as she is already in your care." "So what do we need to do?" Fliss asked. "First off we need to obtain permission from Polland." Greg said "He needs to surrender his legal parental rights by law." Fliss frowned and Greg looked at her before he began to expand on his explanation. "A child can’t have more than two legal parents at a time." Greg looked at her "So as you both would be Mary's legal parents via adoption, it means that Polland's legal rights to her will be completely severed." "I thought they were already terminated?" Fliss looked at Frank who shook his head. "We discussed petitioning for it but it would have prolonged the whole hearing process." Frank looked at her. "I just wanted Mary to settle and legally be allowed to stay, and, well to be honest, it didn’t feel right to sever him completely whilst she was so young, even though he is a total dick. Mary could have changed her mind down the line about all sorts of things so…” he trailed off.

“So all that means that technically he still has the right to apply for visitation if he so wishes." Greg looked at Fliss “But an adoption would stop that." "What if he objects?" Frank asked, the thought suddenly springing into his mind. "Then we would file to the court to have his objection overruled, and request they sever his rights regardless of what he says." Greg said "And given the history with this case, I think there's a pretty good chance we would win." Frank nodded "Ok, so rights removed one way or another. Then what?" "Then we petition the court, file the paperwork, all the boring stuff like the welfare checks will happen, which, will predominantly focus on you Fliss as Frank went through all of this already. They may want to meet your family but I wouldn't worry about it at all. It’s a safe, stable and loving environment that Mary has. That's clear to anyone." Frank gently took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he gave her a smile. "And then, once that's over you’ll attend a finalisation hearing where you’ll be granted legal parental status." Greg says. "It sounds complicated but it’s fairly straight forward because, as I keep saying, she's been with you for a while now and she's a relative." "So how long would it take?" Fliss asked. Greg wrinkled his nose "if Polland doesn't object I'd be surprised if it took longer than 3 months. Given that Bean is due to arrive in just under two, you might wanna hang off until things have settled down a little. Maybe kick it off at the end of September, give you both time to get to grips with the fact you have a new baby. Leave it with me, I’ll speak to one of the guys at the Welfare department, see exactly what parts of the process they will need to do and then we’ll take it from there.” “Sounds like a plan.” Frank smiled, as Fliss squeezed his hand.

*****

"I prefer Theodore" Mary shrugged when they told her over dinner about the name they had settled on. "But William is cool, after Bill." "Well when you grow up and have your own kid, and by grown up I mean 35 on account that you won't allowed to date until you're at least 30..." Frank pointed his fork at her "...you can call your own kid that." "I might have a girl" Mary shrugged, the towel she was wrapped in slipping from her shoulders slightly. "Theodora then" Fliss said, shoving another fork full of chicken into her mouth. Mary pondered this for a second before she shrugged and Frank simply arched an eyebrow as he looked at Fliss who leaned back in the whicker chair and grinned. "So why can't I tell anyone the name?" Mary asked after she swallowed more of her dinner. "Because we want something to stay a surprise Stack" Frank explained "everyone already knows he's a boy. We just wanna keep a little something to ourselves for the 5 weeks or we have before he arrives." "But we wanted you to know." Fliss smiled. Mary grinned "Ok. Secret's safe." She placed her fork down on her empty plate "I'm finished, can I go back in the pool?" "Give it 5 minutes for your food to settle yeah?' Frank looked at Fliss who nodded at him and he cleared his throat slightly. "And while you're waiting, there's something else we wanted to talk to you about." "Ok..." Mary looked at him. "You know how you asked us where we were going this morning?" He looked at her, his hand dropping to Fliss’ knee under the table and she tangled her fingers with his, giving them an encouraging squeeze. "Yeah" “And I said it was to do with Bean?”

“Yeah…” "Well, it was actually to see Greg. And it was about you." Her eyes widened and she swallowed her food with a gulp. “They're not taking me away again are they?" "No, no nothing like that." Fliss soothed her quickly, "In fact...kinda the opposite." "I don't understand" she frowned. "We went to see Greg to ask him about how, if you want us to, we can start the process to adopt you." Frank looked at her. Mary blinked and she looked at Frank who held her gaze before she turned to Fliss. "Adopt me" she whispered. Frank nodded. "But only if that's what you want. It won't mean anything will change, not on a day to day basis anyway, it just means that me and Fliss will both have full-“ He was cut off as Mary jumped up out of her seat and flung herself at him, wrapping her arms round him, pressing her face into the crook of his shoulder and neck as she began to sob. Fliss watched them both, a lump forming in her throat as Frank glanced at her, his eyes glassy. "I'm hoping they're happy tears." He said, clearing his throat. Fliss smiled gently as he simply sat rocking Mary slightly till she calmed down enough to sit back, her hands reaching up, fingers threading into his beard. "So..." she sniffed "you would be my mom and dad?" "Baby we already are." Fliss leaned forward as much as she could to gently rub her back. "I told you that a few weeks ago." "But legally?" "Yeah." Frank nodded. "It will take a little while but Greg says that it will be quicker than usual considering its something called a Kinship Adoption." "What does that mean?" Mary asked quietly. "Basically because you're a relative to me and you've been living with me for so long, some of the process may not be needed." Frank explained. He hesitated for a moment, debating how honest to be before he decides to explain fully to her. She had to understand, she deserved to. "What it does mean, however, is that to allow both Fliss and I to become your parents, they have to completely cut your father off. Which means he has no rights to see you at all going forward. He might refuse our application because of that." "He could refuse?" Mary frowned. "Yeah, but I don't think he will." Frank shook his head "And even if he does we can fight it." Mary nodded, her head bowed a little "He never wanted me anyway..." "Well we do." Fliss said firmly. “And he’s a jackass for not wanting anything to do with you Mary.” "If he does refuse will I have to go live with him?" she looked up her eyes wide. "No." Fliss shook her head "it just means things stay the same as they are now." "That's not so bad." Mary shrugged and Frank gave a huff of a laugh. "Glad to hear it." Frank raised an eyebrow as Mary began fiddling with the collar of his t-shirt "Now, we're going to need to wait until after Alex is born as things are gonna be busy for us all when he arrives but we wanted to give you chance to think about it and make sure it’s what you want. And whatever you decide it doesn't change a thing, ok? You'll stay here and we will still love you no matter what." Mary swallowed and looked at Frank earnestly "I do want. I know already. I don't need to think about it." Frank smiled and brushed her hair back off her face which was getting rather long now and she beamed back at him. "Will I still need to call you Frank?" Frank took a deep breath "that’s up to you. Why don't you see how you feel OK?" She nodded and reached up to kiss his cheek before she hopped down and turned towards Fliss. She chambered onto her knee as best she could and wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her tight. "I'm so happy." She sniffed and Fliss let out a little noise that was half laugh, half sob and she held her back tightly. Frank wiped his eyes, sniffing a little as he fought to keep it together. He had expected an emotional response from Mary, but it still hadn't prepared him in the slightest for how he was going to feel. For so long he had resisted being referred to as her father and now here he was about to embrace it, and make it 'legal'. Whilst he still had that tiny little bit of guilt regarding Diane, he was pleased to find he didn't feel a shred of doubt, nor after all the soul searching and conversations with Bill last week, and then his mother this afternoon who had, rather emotionally, told him she thought it was a ‘wonderful’ idea, even stating that if Polland did object, she was ready to go onto battle alongside him. Greg was convinced they would have a great chance of winning if it came to it, and even if they didn't, like Fliss said, nothing would change. But for now, he pushed all that to the back of his mind, focusing on the here and now as Mary sat on Fliss lap, her hand skating over her bump as they both giggled, Mary pulling her arm away and squealing. "He just kicked real big!" She looked at Frank, drawing out the word real as he smiled. "Clearly he likes the idea too." He quipped as he stood up "and you know what I like the sound of?" He whipped off his t-shirt and in a flash plucked Mary off Fliss' lap and ran full pelt to the pool with her in his arms as she shrieked and swatted at his back playfully, Thor running behind them, his loud barks booming around the garden. With a huge jump Frank propelled them straight off the side and under the surface of the cool water. They both emerged a second or so later, Mary spluttering as she splashed him causing him to reach out and grab her leg, pulling her back under. "I’m going to be living with 3 children Bean." Fliss patted her bump, just as Thor gave one final frustrated wine before he launched himself into the pool too. Mary let out a huge laugh and pointed to him and Frank grinned as she chambered onto his back. "Hey Frank look..." she giggled loudly "doggy paddle" Frank found that far more funny than he should.

**** Chapter 9

[imaginationintowords]

Folklore [song series]

illicit affairs

Modern Day AU! Bucky Barnes x OC!Reader; Steve Rogers x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s life throughout the years

Word count: 2393

Warnings: some swearing, nothing too unsettling, Bucky being Bucky.

[a/n: please let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist or if you’d like to be removed. If you’d like to be added to the taglist just simply message me]

Previous part

Series Masterlist

Age: 19

Year: 2013

Location: New York

When Bucky had brought up taking it slow with Elizabeth he truly meant it because he wanted to give their relationship a fair shot. He really did want the relationship to work. He really wanted to be with Elizabeth again.

At least that's what he had thought.

For the past year, while away at school he always had this notion that they would be getting back together once they returned fro the summer.

For the first couple of months at school Bucky ignored any person who tried getting with him. He was determined to change, to prove to not just Elizabeth, but to himself that he's a changed man.

He was going to focus on himself. Truly work on himself.

And it was all going well until he and his roommate Sam went to a party. The party was being thrown at a nearby fraternity. Everything was going well until these two girls started to flirt with him and Sam.

Bucky ended up leaving with one of the girls and as did Sam.

Bucky had woken up the next morning feeling completely awful about what he had done. He spent the greater part of his morning self-loathing.

Once Same had gotten back he became worried over seeing the state Bucky was in.

"Hey are you okay?" Sam asked

"No, I fucked up," Bucky said sitting at the edge of his bed, pulling on his hair.

"What did you do?" Sam asked concerned.

"I hooked up with that girl from last night."

"Are you serious?" Sam shook his head in disbelief over Bucky's freak out.

"Yes, I'm serious."

"Aren't you single?"

"Yeah," Bucky looked at him as if he had three heads.

"Did you both consent to having sex?" Sam asked sitting down on his own bed across from Bucky.

"Yeah."

"Then I don't see the problem," Sam said, "You both consented and you're both single. So what am I missing?"

Bucky froze. Realistically he didn't do anything wrong. He and Elizabeth weren't together, and it's not like she knew he wanted to get back together. Plus, she was on the other side of the country. It's not like she would hear about this.

"You're right. There isn't a problem," Bucky said, feeling himself calming down, "Just had a bit of a moment."

"Are you sure you're good now?" Sam asked, "I don't want to come back from taking a shower to find you spiraling again."

"Yeah, I'm good," Bucky assured Sam.

That girl wasn't the last girl Bucky hooked up with. But he also didn't go crazy with it. He was at NYU on partial scolarship, so he needed to also focus on maintaining high grades.

Over the course of his first semester he found a good balance between school and having a personal life. The one thing Bucky did make sure not to touch was alcohol. Growing up he had a front row seat to the negatives of what alcohol could do to a person. The last thing he ever wanted to do was be like his father.

By the end of his first year of school he was thriving, mentally and physically. He had made it onto the Dean's List and he made a lot of wonderful new friends. He had also decided to take some summer courses, wanting to speed up his timeline to graduate.

For the first time in a very long time Bucky was proud of himself. He couldn't wait to show Elizabeth the young man he had become. Someone worthy of being with her.

Bucky was back home a week before Steve was due to return. He had spent part of the week unpacking and spending time with his family.

It was one day, the same day Steve was flying back in, that he took Rebecca to the mall.

Rebecca was browsing the candles in Bath and Body Works, that's when Bucky bumped into her.

Natasha Romanoff.

He hadn't seen her since the end of last summer before she left to go to Yale University.

Nothing romantic had happened between them after everyone found out about their affair. Natasha did try bringing up the idea of them giving it a try, but Bucky had told her he wasn't ready for that. His head space wasn't in the right place to be with anyone.

"Hey Bucky," she smiled brightly, subtly checking him out.

"Uh hey Nat," he awkwardly said.

"You look good," she complimented him.

"So do you," he cleared his throat, finally taking in her appearance.

He would be lying if he didn't say she didn't look good, hell even better than before.

"I see you're back as well," she lightly laughed, trying to make small talk.

"Yeah, just got back last week," he said, "When did you come back?"

"Two days ago," she said, "It's kind of weird being back home, not going to lie."

"Yeah I know what you mean. Even though I was close by, it feels weird," he laughed.

"Bucky, I'm ready to go," he turns around to see Rebecca walking up to them with a bag in her hand.

"Hi Rebecca," Natasha friendly greeted.

"Hi," Rebecca said curtly forcing a fake smile.

Bucky's eyes widen at his sister's rude behavior. Before he could say anything Rebecca was already by the exit of the store.

"Sorry about that," he embarrassedly apologized.

"No worries," Natasha lied, shaking off the feeling.

"I better go," Bucky said starting to walk away, "It was good to see you again."

"You too," she said.

As Bucky walked away, Natasha called out his name. She walked to where he was standing in front of the open store door.

"Maybe if you have some time today, you want to meet up for some coffee?" She hesitantly asked.

Bucky didn't know what to say. He knew he should've rejected the offer, but after the way Rebecca treated Natasha he felt like he needed to accept. And a part of him was missing her.

"Sure," he smiled, "I have to drop off Rebecca first, how about we meet at the cafe a block away from the high school in 30 minutes."

"Deal," she winked.

Bucky thought he was being careful. He thought he had covered up the tracks of what had happened in his car two hours before picking up Steve.

He thought wrong, the second Steve held up Natasha's red lace panties.

After his hook up with Natasha he had promised himself that that was it. With Elizabeth being back home, he couldn't risk her finding out.

Bucky was clearly lying to himself.

That first week Steve was back he alternated going from Steve's to Natasha's. Making up excuses about where he was. Steve didn't suspect a thing, too focused on unpacking his things.

Bucky was actively avoiding his house, afraid of seeing Elizabeth. Part of it was that he wasn't ready to see her quite yet, the other part was guilt for what he was doing with Natasha.

He tried to push that guilt aside, reminding himself that the difference this time was that he was actually single. He and Natasha even agreed to keeping it casual, seeing as Bucky would be busy with school this summer.

When Bucky saw Elizabeth walk into the Rogers' backyard all his thoughts stopped. Steve was right, she looked happy.

He was taken back when she made the first move to talk to him. He was even more surprised when she invited him into her empty house. Which he declined. It's not like he didn't want to, because he really did. His conscious wouldn't allow him to do so. He knew if he really wanted this to work with Elizabeth, they couldn't rush the process. Bucky went to bed that night promising himself he would end it with Natasha in the morning.

That didn't happen.

He told Natasha the truth, that he and Elizabeth were going to try again. When she asked if they were officially back together, Bucky told her no.

He ended up back in her bed.

That's how he spent his summer, going back and forth between the two young women.

It was going well. Or so he thought.

Word had gotten around that he and Elizabeth were spotted out on a date.

Thanks Inez.

So Bucky and Nat had to be extra careful about their meetings. They found themselves meeting in empty parking lots during the early mornings before Bucky headed to class.

As July approached Bucky found his schedule getting much busier, he and Elizabeth weren't seeing each other as often as they were used to.

Truth be told he and Elizabeth weren't even being physical with each other.

Not for the lack of trying on Elizabeth's part. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, not when he had spent his mornings with Natasha.

He knew she was getting slightly frustrated. He just kept telling her that he needed them to take it slow. He knew he would have to end it with Natasha, if he wanted to be with Elizabeth.

So that's what he did.

The week of Steve's birthday Hamptons getaway, he ended it with Nat. He explained to her how he really needed him and Elizabeth to work.

Natasha pretended to understand letting him know there weren't any bad feelings between them.

She spent that week crying over the same boy who couldn't love her back. She felt humiliated about letting him do this to her once again.

Yet she couldn't help but to long for him.

She loved Bucky like she had never loved anyone else.

If that meant always coming second to Elizabeth Sanchez, she would. As long as she had him.

______________

Natasha ended up going to the Hamptons with some of her sorority sisters for the 4th of July. They had heard about a party down the street and decided to check it out. Natasha wasn't expecting to find anyone she knew there, let alone Bucky, with Elizabeth by his side laughing.

She managed to avoid Bucky and any of her hometown classmates. She didn't want that drama. She also didn't want her new friends finding out about her past.

When everyone went out front to watch the fireworks she stayed behind. She just wanted some time alone, away from the crowds. She also didn't want to see the happy couple together.

As she sat on the couch scrolling through her phone she heard someone walking in. She looked up expecting to see a stranger's face, only to be met with a surprised face Bucky.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" He asked, turning around making sure no one had followed him inside.

"Don't worry, I didn't come here to stalk you," she rolled her eyes, "I'm here with some sorority sisters, didn't expect to see you or them here."

"Oh," Bucky tried to ease his nervous tone, he was standing awkwardly by the living room entrance.

"I'm not going to bite," Natasha said annoyed by the way Bucky is behaving, "So either come into the room or leave."

Bucky hesitated for a second. He knew he could've just gone upstairs to his own room. That would've been the safer choice. Yet he found his body making it's way towards the couch, sitting a cushion away from Natasha.

"Big crowds?" She asked him.

"Yeah just felt a little suffocating," he admits wringing his right wrist.

"Tell me about it," she sighed.

"So are you two official?" Natasha asked looking everywhere but at him.

"Nat," Bucky sighed, not wanting to start any drama.

"What? It's just a question," she raised her eyebrows at him.

"I'm going to take that as a no," she answered for him after a few moments of silence.

"What are you trying to prove Nat?"

"Nothing," she defended, "Just don't understand why we had to end things when you two aren't even 'official'."

"Nat, I need this to work with her," Bucky admitted looking into her eyes.

He saw the hurt behind them. He feels guilty for all the pain he's caused her. He never meant to hurt her. Never meant for things to go this way. Bucky truly did care for Natasha, even though it doesn't seem like it. He really did. He just doesn't get why he can't fully give himself to her. He had no trouble physically, and at time mentally. There was just something keeping him from doing so, like a tight grip on his arm tugging him away.

Natasha just stared at the silent boy in front of her.

“I really am sorry for the way everything played out,” Bucky sincerely apologized, feeling his eyes begin to tear up, “I know I keep saying this, but I never meant for all of this to happen. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Can I ask you just one thing?” She asked clearing her throat, feeling a lump in her throat.

Bucky nodded his head, letting her continue on.

“What makes her so special?” She asked, tears threatening to fall.

“She was my first love.”

“And you were mine,” she confessed, tears silently falling down her face.

Bucky scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, bringing her into his side as she cried.

“Natasha, I really did love you,” he whispered.

“Not more than her,” she looked up in his eyes.

Bucky didn’t know how to respond to that. He himself didn’t know if he did or not.

“We never got a proper goodbye,” her voice cracked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Nat-”

“Please,” she begged, “Just one last time. I promise I’ll leave you both alone. Please.”

Bucky quietly got up front he couch, taking a moment to think his next move over.

He surprised Natasha by sticking his left hand out for her to take.

She reached out for it, letting Bucky lead her upstairs to his room. When he reached his room he opened the door for Natasha to walk in, before entering he turned around making sure no one was watching.

_______________

As they walked out Natasha made a joke lightening the mood, causing both of them to laugh as they made their exit.

Bucky walked out behind Natasha, only to meet the eyes of the last person he would want to catch this moment.

He froze in his spot.

Nothings changed.

[fanarchoslashivist]

You ruined me !!!! (;Д;) I can't read half of the rise of the guardians fics because their obsession are 4th of July anime girl or shape-shifting coyote and you're over here like "here is my oc their a regional interpretation of a local cultural hero that if you Google search the name will give you niche information you didnt learn in history class but broadens your understanding of different folk heroes in America not just white people's." P.s. I love Cantabrica I am torn in my ships.

Noon don't feel torn! Cantabrica is just as important as Jack I promise.

Also I noticed that too, not to rag at all on fellow fic writers but there is a very rich well of cultural icons on par with "Jack Frost" "Father time" and "man in the moon". Some with holidays and festivals, others regional duties. Most pull from religious pools and I do that too but I feel like you can give too much or too little significance if you handle important religious groups as if they are Santa Clause.

I lean heavy on the Indigenous icons because Jack is from America and the people he would interact with would be those icons. Unmade Bed skims along a little deeper then my usual fics by also introducing tensions between Frontier folk heroes, African American folk heroes, and Indigenous icons and folk heroes. I don't create unnamed transformer heroes just for the appeal of a shape-shifting character to match their names. I also try to treat powerful sacred entities with the respect their due. I'm not about to make Nanabush a giant rabbit or, gods forbid, "someone saw Bunnymund and it spiraled from there".

Jack interacts with Winter icons because he is of Winter and is beloved by Mother Nature and Gichi-Biboon, and because of that he has met and knows powerful people through them. If he nows Gichi-Biboon and Flint then he knows Gloskap and Moskim but those icons are (sacred) culture heroes and tricksters too and so Jack interacting with them and Pamola is within reason. Jack meeting Creator Gods who culture heroes themselves have difficulty reaching would not make sense, and admitting that one God created the world validates a religion over another and we already have Bunnymund as having terraformed the planet billions of years ago.

Frontier and Folk legends are easier because anyone whose deeds are raised to mythic standards can be used, and Wild West icons like Calamity Jane are super racist rounding up natives to put on reservations so Jack being seen as a Frontier spirit, a weather spirit, and a folk hero as well as being white passing Lenape and interacting openly with Indigenous heroes of the time such as Lozen, Geronimo, Kintpuash, Tenskwatawa, Buckongahelas, Whisper, and Pîhtokahanapiwiyin would put people like Jane and Bill off, even while some Wild West heroes were abolishionists and get on well with black icons like Br'er Rabbit and John Henry. Which means no gathering can be 100% free of racists because there are abolitionists who hate Natives and Natives who owned slaves and black heroes whose trickster myths involve theft and violence and grey morality, and they all end up getting +1'd no matter how careful you are when hosting a Frontier gathering.

Additionally you have Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan who are myths with little in the way of human ties, and Smokey the Bear with 2 different presumed origin stories. And Bunyan got beaten to death by a fish! Which gave me a great opportunity to remake him as a patron spirit of the saw line for forest fires instead of logging.

I just really don't like when the Guardians are placed on equal or greater level with powerful beings of living thriving cultures. Santa Clause is a magician that delivers toys, creator god he is not.

One of the scenes I didn't include in Unmade Bed was at a typical meet up of the Folk Heroes where it devolves into a shootout involveing Katherine coming upon them and thinking it was a weird "cowboys vs indians" mock battle since they're all immortals and trying to get them to stop and make nice so she can get their help with a search she's on and Victorio interrupting her lecture of "fighting at any provocation" with a "no, we aren't disagreeing over something silly, we are HERE because we were invited and they are SHOOTING us because they want us DESTROYED."

But if Katherine had met Jack in the past she would have noticed his mirror image to Nightlight, so I took it out. Still I'd love to work with more Indigenous folk heroes if it means more people Google and learn about them. Leaders who raised rebellions and defended their people and inspired others, religious leaders, respected elders, they are far more deserving of a place in my writing then trying to invent someone for some holiday.

[theshinsun]

A-Z for honesty hour because I'm an asshole. :D

A - If I’m in love.

...yes. I never thought I would be again, I thought I’d been too hurt and jaded to feel this way again, but against all odds, I’m back to being 17 in full force.

B - Who the last person I talked to on the phone was.

The only one who ever calls me is my mother. And customers at work.

C - How long it’s been since I’ve kissed.

damn, almost a year now… not since my last relationship ended back in October-ish. even then, it was mostly casual pecks idk if we ever seriously made out tbh.

D - If I have a preference for boys or girls.

already answered (twice) but I'll keep going… I've got a definite preference of guys over girls, but I'm also a bi disaster and sometimes it doesn't make a lot of sense why this person is instantly attractive to me while that person isn't. certain aspects of femininity do appeal to me, but weirdly other aspects seem to be a turn-off and I can't always put my finger on what or why. ...that caveat does not apply to masculinity though, even if it's traditionally "masculine" features on a feminine-presenting individual I am 100% down every time.

E - How many holes I have in my ears.

two and a half? I got a third piercing at some point halfway up the lobe but it got infected and scarred over I think. the holes I do have are also stretched (I'm up to 0G now) and I've been meaning to get some more.

F - Give me any options, like ‘hot or cold?’

wasn't given any options, so I guess I'll go with hot or cold lol. I prefer hot, I'm one of those weirdos who loves summer because of the heat and I'll usually take a hot food/drink over a cold one.

G - The last person I said ‘I love you’ to.

my mom, over the phone just now.

H - The last person I hugged.

my roommate. we're not always super touchy-feely with each other but I've been feeling kind of down and she noticed.

I - The last time I felt jealous, and why.

I'm not usually a very jealous person, but the last time I really felt that way… I'd recently broken up with my ex, and they were sitting on someone else's lap and I… felt things. part of the reason I realized I may have made a mistake.

J - Are you insecure. What about?

K - What my full name is

already answered, my first and middle are Jacob Brooks, I'm not putting my last name out there sorry I don't trust like that.

L - If I have siblings.

already answered, I've got two, an older brother and a younger sister.

M - If I forgive betrayal.

I mean, I forgive but I don't forget, ya know? like I'll accept an apology if it's sincere and welcome the person back and never bring it up again, but I'm probably gonna be cautious around them in the future, and not trust them as readily as I would have before.  

N - If you want to know how I treat my friends.

if I call someone my friend it means I really feel close with them, and I treat my friends basically like my family. I try to always be honest and supportive of them, bc I love and appreciate them and just want them to be happy. 

O - If I like my school.

I love my school. the campus is beautiful, the teachers are fantastic, and I just love being there and learning and growing in my classes. I'm really sad this semester is probably going to be mostly online because I really feel like I belong in those studios and on that campus and I miss it.

P - What kind of music I like.

already answered, and it mostly boiled down to all over the fuckin place, so this time… band recommendations, here we go. no you have no say in this.

here, have a clump of random favorite bands off the top of my head: mother mother, bad suns, nothing but thieves, hozier, shearwater, the neighbourhood, steam powered giraffe, rainbow kitten surprise, the oh hellos, gregory alan isakov, caravan palace, mystery skulls, khai dreams, autoheart, muse, silversun pickups, thousand foot krutch, two door cinema club, twenty one pilots, blue october, jukebox the ghost

Q - What the last party I went to was, and when the next will be.

I'm not a partier at All, but I did have a bunch of friends over for the 4th (okay I say a bunch but it was like four people from our usual less-socially distant circle). I have no idea when the next get-together will be, it's kinda hard to plan those kinds of things lately.

R - For me to tell 10 of my curiosities.

the phrasing of this question is weird but I'm gonna assume it means things I'm curious about? let's go with that.

travel. I haven't ever been out of the country and I'd like to see other parts of the world at least at some point in my life.

tattoos. both getting them and learning to do them, it's a niche branch of art that I'm just fascinated by and I might like to do it as a career if I knew more about it.

same thing with being a florist. I'm really drawn to it as a concept and I'm super curious how it works, but I have no idea what kind of… qualifications and whatnot I'd need for that.

 surfing. I'm surrounded by the lifestyle and now kind of own a surfboard, I just want to know what the appeal is.

this may be a bit tmi, but I'm really curious what it's like to have a dick. I don't suppose I'll strictly ever know, but I still really want to… probably one of the biggest things to clue me in that I'm definitely trans is the literal penis envy ngl. 

I've always kind of had a fascination with the ocean, and I'd love to go like, scuba diving or something someday, to see it up close and personal.

I think everyone has the impulse thought of shaving their head at some point. maybe someday I will I don't quite have the balls to do it now.

I've gone this long in my life and never wielded a sword? a travesty. I don't pretend to have the grace to actually know how to use one, but I've like, never even held a real one and the idea interests me a lot.

this one might be slightly morbid curiosity, but I don't think I've ever been like, properly drunk or high before, like I've been tipsy but I've never been wasted, you know? the idea kind of scares me and I don't think I'm going to go out and remedy it, but it's still there, and even if I know it's not a good idea, I do still wonder what that's like.

same vein, maybe even a little darker, but I've got at least a little morbid curiosity about like, death and real danger. again, not planning to act on it At All, but the thought is still lurking in the back of my mind like what if…? you asked for honesty.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

S - 2 habits.

bit of a new habit, but I have a whole ritual of disinfecting groceries when I bring them home, and then disinfecting the door knobs and counters. I don't know if it'll persist after the pandemic is over, but it's already ingrained in me and I don't feel comfortable if I skip it or do  it differently.

I apologize for things that aren't my fault. it's such an instinct at this point to say "sorry" when I'm uncomfortable or anxious that it doesn't even register anymore, even when people tell me not to be sorry, I'm still gonna say it, sorry.

T - 5 things I love unconditionally.

already answered so here's 5 more

my family. if I haven't got my family I haven't got anything, we've got each others' backs and I won't turn on them for anything

my friends. same deal, I owe so much to my friends, I love them, and that won't change no matter what they decide to do or be.

sleep. I love sleep so much, even if it's just an involuntary nap, though for someone who loves it so much I sure don't get enough of it

spotify. I know it has problems, I know there are probably more streamlined/cheaper music streaming services out there, but at this point, I've sunk too much of my time and energy into this one and I'll never give it up

my ocs. I don't talk about them very much on this platform, but I have them, they're my children, and I love them even if they're assholes and never easy to write/draw. 

U - How many texts I send daily.

already answered, the number varies, and sometimes swings drastically between like, 5 and 35 on any given day.

V - 3 big dreams.

graduate art school. it's gonna be a serious undertaking and probably take several more years and a lot of loans at this point, but I'm still determined to get there someday.

someday I want to write a book. I know I've said that before on a different prompt, but it wouldn't be a list of dreams without including this one that I've held onto since childhood. 

this one's kind of vague, but someday… I want to not be afraid anymore. like I want to finally be in a state of mental/financial security so I can live my life without the fear of what's coming next. 

W - An idol.

it's probably really basic to list a youtuber, but I've still gotta go with Chase Ross. the guy was an inspiration and a major source of information and support for me early-on in my transition, and even watching him now I still want to approach life with the pure positive energy and confidence that he has. 

X - If I’ve done something I regret very much.

yes. a couple things, really… some of which I don't think I'll ever be able to make up for.

Y - If I like my town and why.

my current town? yeah, it's got its problems but it's also beautiful and full of life and art and unique energy and I miss the days before the Corona End Times when I could actually go out and enjoy it.

Z - Ask any question you want.

??? I did not receive any specification for this one, and given that I didn't skip even the duplicate answers and this is ridiculously long, this one I'm gonna SKIP.

[dxfiedfxte-a]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Meme.

Mun & Muse

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

tagged by:  Stolen from: @niflheimqueen​​ tagging:  @pinkheartedfool​, @divinesilverlove​ @delusorydetective​ @rock-you-like-a-hurricxne​ @foolishwinds​ @chibitantei​ @apocalypsxmaidxn​ @mcmcntomorii​​ and everyone else who hasn’t yet! You have been tagged! 

MY MUSE IS:   canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated.

IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM?   YES? / NO.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. (Have you seen his charm!! PLUS HE’S A RANDOM FOODAHOLIC DORK X3 and be weirdly cute in his own way :3  If you don’t believe me. wait until he Reveals His Right Eye)

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK.  (Here’s the thing with that. It really depends if someone likes him as an MC. I’m sure their are probably others out there who may prefer Yu Narukami as a better Protag, or Akira the new P5 protag. So it depends on the person. But for the most part, I’d like to think he’s pretty well widely enough known in the fandom as the P3 Blue-Emo-Jesus who saved the world x3)

ARE THEY UNDERRATED?   YES / NO / IDK. (In terms of having his own personality, maybe a little bit? Since he’s only been able to express his own personality in the few spin off games we got for P3. Yu has been able too more, but for a while he wasn’t able to until Persona Q(P4 Side) and until the movie and now Dancing In Moonlight as well as Persona Q 2. But his personality in the P3 Manga if definitely underrated in my opinion, not too many people talk about the Manga)

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY?   YES / NO

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER?   YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG./

ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD?   YES / NO. (In my AU Main verse, he’s a famous Paranormal Investigator with his own show, so yes in my AU verse. Tho popularity level depends on verse, Main verse its his first season and he only just blew up. In my P5 Verse its 5 years after P4AU so he would be in his 4th season by then and only then be widely known)

HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION?   GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. (As a Paranormal Investigator, all his successful cases have gave him a very good rep within the Ghost Hunting community, it was thanks to his credibility how he was able ro get a 

tv contract deal. In P3 he has a great rep with his friends as their reliable leader and friend, but a not so good rep at school too many dates.. xD nice one Minato  )

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?   —  (Because I started to RP Minato when there’s wasn’t much games where he didn’t have his personality shown yet(2015)   I based him off more from the Manga’s interpretation of him, But now canon wise in terms of Personality, I still tend to use mostly his Manga personality, but now I’ve added a few small tidd-bits of how he is in the movie and how he is depicted in both PQ’s as well as Dancing In Moonlight.)

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting 

in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —    (Oh boy here we go. Minato is a food loving and very random dork who tends to be quiet and stoic 88% of the time, but he’s very kind, he always puts his friends before himself, he tries his very best to be the best leader he can possibly be and he is an all around easy person to get along with, just expect him to zone out here and there, to sometimes be very weird, VERY random. And expect him to randomly start snacking a lot x3 )

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).                      (He can sometimes have a tendency to overthink things waaayyyy too much and if it’s really eating at him a lot, it will permanently plague the back of his mind. He can sometimes be lazy, but its a habit he’s trying to break. If he’s really super hungry, he will gorge and when he gorges, his tables manners are absolutely terrible XD )

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   —  (I guess it was how I saw him when   I read the Manga. I played P3 FES first, then after beating it, I wanted to read the manga as soon as I found out about it. I also think it was the fact he dies and seeing how his friends grew up without him, it made me really want to see what it would be like if he survived, I guess I felt his death at the end of the game was just a real shame, I suppose I thought he would have been a great character to bring back in future Persona games, I understand the reason for his death and I have nothing against it. It was just that thought I had of “Man Minato could have been so much more if he survived” that drove me to pick him up )

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   —  (Well, I’ve been in the Persona fandom for 5 years now. Before when I came back, I wasn’t getting many rp’s. But ever since I came back and found an active Fuuka(MinaFuu is a ship I rarely got to rp) so that started it back up, and then it was seeing all these familiar faces(Or blogs in this case xD) come back, my motivation has been through the roof. So I guess the revival of the fandom and the wonderful people of the Persona community has fueled my fire and it keeps on burning for more!)

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE?   YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? (I think so, I’ve Rp’d him for 5 years now, I’d like to think I know him inside and out?)

DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS?   YES / NO / SORT OF? (When the motivation or idea’s are there then yeah I totally do)

DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES?   YES / NO (I definitely do, not as many as I’d like to tho, but when the idea comes to mind that you just can’t express in an rp with someone else, then its best in drabble form.)

DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY?   YES / NO           (I’m a very musical person myself just like Minato so every time I jam I do and I’m always jammin ;3)

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL?   YES / NO / SORT OF?

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING?   YES / NO / A LITTLE BIT. (In the beginning I wasn’t, but I kept at it and eventually I built up enough confidence to really make him soar. The thing with Minato is since Persona protags are silent and the game lets you make up his personality. But since I incorporate him more from the Manga I try to really channel that version of him. I’ve had a few people tell me they like my portrayal. So I must be doing something right?)

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON?   YES / NO. / SORTA. (tbh I’m more sensitive when it comes to my friends or family. Most times I’m pretty level headed when it comes to myself, nowadyas anyway.)

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   —  (For the most part yes and I don’t usually let any negativity get to me.  But if someone doesn’t like my portrayal for some reason then you’re welcome to unfollow me. Maybe I’m not the Minato for you then?)

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   — (DEF I love any questions I get so please def ask me stuff if you are curious.)

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? — (Yes, just so I can get a better idea of the flaws it may have, then I can better construct it if I see it as a valid reason for possibly not working. If I don’t see any problem with it then it’s still staying )

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   —  (If my portrayal doesn’t fit your idea of Minato then perhaps I’m not the Minato for you and the unfollow button is always there. No harm done really. )

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT? — (Hey man, just don’t try and kill my vibe by cutting down my muse right in front of me and we’re good. Of course there is always the unfollow button. ) 

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   —  (Totally, I make quite a few sometimes, if it ever bothers you, please let me know kindly and I’ll have no problem fixing it, But if it doesn’t bug ya the we good. )

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN? — (I like to think so, I used to be pretty shy on here, but after 5 years on here I’m chill with pretty much everything. ) 

[rakuyokoyo]

Chapter 285 Spoilers/TBE Spoilers

Days like today, I wish I just sucked it up and published TBE last year. Maybe then I could’ve caught up to where BNHA is at right now (though highkey doubt).

Note: major BNHA manga spoilers, major TBE spoilers

I’ve briefly mentioned a few times about how amazing it was to sometimes see ideas I’ve come up with years beforehand become canon by pure coincidence. In just One Piece alone, an idea that I came up with around a decade ago when I first started Romance Dawn actually showed up with Momonosuke and Trafalgar Law. At first I was thrilled and excited because even though the nuances were slightly different, the main ideas were EXACTLY the same and I’ll point them out once we hit those moments in Romance Dawn.

Something I did not really expect, however, was this to happen with BNHA.

One of the reasons why I love this story from a writer’s standpoint is that I’ve never been able to accurately guess what would happen next in BNHA. The ironic thing is, the one point of the plot I wanted to add but didn’t know how ended up matching with Horikoshi’s idea.

Basically, Kana is a character that mirrors the origin trio in many ways. With Todoroki, their views on family and Quirks foil each other, and I love writing about the two because there’s always something so comforting about they way they’re there for each other. With Hawks, he and Kana see Quirks as both a gift and a curse, and their different philosophies of the hero world is (in my opinion) what makes their love so sad and lonely.

Midoriya’s a bit of a basket case for me because he doesn’t foil quite as cleanly as Todoroki, Hawks, or Bakugo, but rather than having perfect foils and parallels, Midoriya is just someone that becomes important to Kana in every aspect of her life. His relationship with others, his sense of self-sacrifice and heroism, and his determination to be the best and not let his Quirklessness stop him from becoming a hero is a major source of inspiration for Kana. He gives her a purpose, something that’s so important for people like her who’s never even thought or desired a future.

And then we have Bakugo. I always have trouble writing about Midoriya, but for the longest time, I had nothing that I wanted to write about when it came to Bakugo. Todoroki, Midoriya, Hawks covered all the grounds for Kana and then some, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to fit him in. 

But as I developed Kana’s character as well as her backstory, the Overhaul arc became a major turning point for her and it became very clear to me how Bakugo could fit into Kana’s life.

This wasn’t intentional, but rather than focusing on the past which is how Kana parallels with Midoriya, Todoroki, and Hawks, Bakugo and Kana also grapple with their present and the future, and I realized how many similar things Bakugo and Kana actually go through. Post-Kamino arc they’re forced to become quite close due to something devastating happening to Kana. And then... chapter 285 leaks came out today.

Basically, once Bakugo and Kana become close, Kana gets a premonition from one of the main antagonists—an OC named Eve who has the power to see the future with multiple restrictions. Unlike Nighteye’s Quirk, Eve’s Quirk shows a possible future. Whether it’s a very likely or very unlikely future depends on how many times her mirror shows that future, and unlike Nighteye’s, Eve’s future predictions can be changed. Its major weakness is that the future in the mirror may not always be accurate (and no one knows how likely or unlikely it’ll be), but it’s advantage is that if there is a bad future, everyone can take precautions to stop it. Eve is a pretty unique antagonist (after all, how can she ever lose if she knows what will happen in the future?) and there’s a few more restrictions on her Quirk, but this is the main idea.

I intended Eve to show Kana a premonition of Bakugo dying, but I had no idea where to include it. When this arc started and I saw a city about to potentially get destroyed, I thought ‘aha! This is the perfect place to squeeze my original scene in!’

Little did I know Horikoshi would ACTUALLY do it in the arc I intended to! I’ve included three excerpts from three different chapters below.

—

This chapter was written on August 23, 2019, a year before Chapter 285 was leaked. The title is Beginnings of Endings.

Note: some spoiler names/titles/plot will be omitted with an (omitted).

“(omitted)” She snapped, azure eyes vibrant like those of a fire’s. “Dealing with the (omitted) was my problem anyways! Stop sticking your nose into it!”

“Hah?!” He cried, standing up with fists clenched to his sides. “You’re the one who’s being a dumbass about this! The white-haired brat said it, didn’t she? Her futures are reversible if we make an effort!”

Kana gritted her teeth, drawing a fist back. “Shut up!”

(omitted)

“And?” He asked weakly. “What was going on?”

Kana shook her head. “I don’t know. But there was so much debris around us—probably the aftermath of a battle. You were bleeding out in my arms. I-I don’t know if I’d tried Overdrive and it didn’t work, but your wounds just looked so fatal…”

“Did I say anything?” Bakugo asked, crimson irises locked into azure.

“(omitted)” Kana said quietly.

The two continued to look at each other silently for a few seconds, Kana with tears continuing to fall slowly, while Bakugo gave her a quiet, passive gaze.

(omitted)

Dim, grey eyes flashed, engulfing him in light. When it disappeared, he realized that he was seeing the aftermath of a battlefield. Crumbled buildings scattered debris everywhere, but it was almost deathly silent compared to how loud the actual fight must’ve been.

“Bakugo!” He heard Kana’s cry. The girl ran towards a bloodied body in the centre of it all. She was wearing a white shirt with her usual thin ribbon and maroon skirt. Her hair hung loosely below her shoulders, and her skin looked marred and injured.

—

This excerpt is from a different chapter called Where Hands Cannot Reach, written on September 10th, 2020 (two weeks ago).

She suddenly stood up and began to run, much to the shock of Tokoyami and Dark shadow. “Kana!”

“GO!” She screamed, forcing herself to face them. “Go and get help! Do whatever—whatever you can to save him!”

“They’re too far, Kana-chan,” Dark Shadow said. “You’re the only medical support around—”

“If I don’t go, Bakugo will die,” she screamed, shaking her head in despair. “Kei—Hawks might have a chance if you can find anyone else.”

“Bakugo will?” Tokoyami said, eyes widening. “Why... how do you know that?”

Dark Shadow looked down at the hero in his partner’s arms with worry. “But his wings—”

“Focus on his life first and not his Quirk!” Kana cried, reaching into her inner pocket and throwing a glass vial towards Tokoyami who caught it with disbelief. “I don’t know if that’s enough—it probably isn’t, but I need to find Bakugo and Midoriya first. That… that should at least keep him alive. Try to get to Momo if you can—she knows basic first aid.”

Kana sprinted, tears rolling down pale cheeks as she tried to grasp her bearings. Bakugo had been surrounded by rubble in Eve’s vision, which likely meant that he was close to Shigaraki.

—

And finally, an excerpt from The Ending We’ll Write, which was written on July 4th, 2020.

“(omitted)” Kana mumbled, looking at the ground awkwardly at the entrance to his room. Her toes dug into the floor and her fingers fiddled around, cloudy azure pupils averting his gaze. The boy stood up from his bed and reached for the gauntlets on the desk, tightening them around his wrists with a quiet click.

“What do you want, (omitted)?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Kana’s mind immediately quickened with the answers. What do I want? I don’t know. I think I saw a future where you die—today—so I want you to stay home. But I know you won’t do that. I want to be able to come home tonight. Eat shabu shabu or sukiyaki with everyone at the end of tonight with all of our limbs attached. I want this to not be the end for us because there’s still so many things I want to talk to you about, and I haven’t even thanked you or repaid you for everything—

“(omitted)?”

His voice was quieter and without the exasperated irritation that usually came from calling her name.

Why are you looking at me like that? She thought, carmine clashing with azure. Don’t look at me like that. Like you’re the one worried about me.

“If you have something to say, spit it out,” he said, the usual coarseness returning to his voice. “Get rid of that pathetic look, as if we’ve lost already.”

Kana bit back a scowl. “I can’t help but worry sometimes, okay?”

He gazed at her quietly. “How many people do you think we’ll lose today?”

“I don’t know,” Kana said softly, “but what are the chances of no one getting hurt and no one dying? Probably slim to none.”

—

I had to hide so much but I hope this can somehow show what I was trying to do. When this arc first started, I saw it as the perfect chance to include Eve’s premonitions, but I’ve written a lot about it even before this arc ever started. And now to see Eve’s premonition (that I intended on it not being true anyways) actually come to life is sort of insane for me.

To be honest, this premonition was supposed to be a bit more about Hawks and Kana, as the second excerpt shows her decision to abandon Hawks to save Bakugo. But hey, if Horikoshi is going to make Eve’s future canon, I’ll run with it.

I highly, highly doubt Bakugo’s injured (much less dead), but it’s just enough angst for me to work with. Seeing my ideas collide in One Piece was frustrating because I wasn’t able to use my ideas (for a hint and some spoilers, something about Momonosuke was supposed to be Falco’s, and something about Law was supposed to be Amare’s), but this time, I was actually able to integrate my plot and what I wanted from Bakugo almost seamlessly into TBE, so I’m absolutely thrilled.

No updates planned at the moment. I’m just having fun writing all these crazy chapters in TBE! Maybe more things will match up in the future.

-Koyo-

[deathboundinautumn]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE;  Meme.

Mun & Muse

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

tagged by:   @foxcharmed​ (ily) tagging:    oof this is a longer one so ima tag only a few people @rock-you-like-a-hurricxne​, @niflheimqueen​, @tacitusauxilium​, @finalhxaven​, @dxfiedfxte​, and anyone who wants to do it, steal it from me (I wont tell if you dont ;) )

MY MUSE IS:   canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated.

IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM?   YES? / NO. (I’m not entirely sure? I know he’s generally well-liked in the fandom)

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. (I’m pretty sure people think he is)

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. (Yeah he's pretty fucking strong, just most people dont use him because you only have him for like a month :/ )

ARE THEY UNDERRATED?   YES / NO / IDK. (I wouldn’t say they are.  I mean the persona 3 fandom is already small as it is and everyone seems to like him so)

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY?   YES / NO 

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER?   YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. (In vanilla game not as much but in other mediums that tell the story (which are also canon) yes they are)

ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD?   YES / NO. (just a homeless orphan) 

HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION?   GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. (Depends on who you ask.  The other members of the Senpai squad would say he’s the goodest boy.  But others call him a criminal/vagrant/troublemaker and all sorts of things.  Shinji prefers his reputation to be leaning towards the bad side as he’s more likely to be left alone that way)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?   —   I have a very very hard time breaking canon.  The big thing being his fate on Oct 4th, its very hard for me to not honor that.  I like that his story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  I like how his sacrifice impacts the rest of the group.  I try to honor that this is what the character wanted and by not letting him have it that im cheapening his sacrifice.  That being said I do have my own headcanons about things but I would say theyre hardly canon divergent.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.   —   -pulls out homeless son from the dumpster- look at him, look at this burnt cinnamon roll.  He may be just a grumpy ol sour-puss but deep down there’s a heart of gold that can’t help but shine through.  Despite his reputation, my boy is wholesome and caring who will always go out of his way to help those in need even if he’ll deny it every time.  Just because he’s crunchy on the outside doesnt mean he aint soft on the inside. -tosses him back in the dumpster-

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).   —  Boy I sure hope you like building character relationships at a snails pace because hoo boy is it gonna take a long ass time for you to get anywhere with this boy.  Opening up? What’s that?  How to do?  He doesn’t want to get to know you or your muse.  He just wants to be left alone so he can die in peace.  Don’t bother him.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   —   I dunno.  I replayed Persona 3 and just really really liked him.  Been in the RP game for a few years at that point and decided, meh fuck it.  If I don’t like it, I’ll just delete.  

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   —   His struggle is something I hold very near to me and really cut me deep and still does.  Also all of you who think of me and wanna do things with me and my interpretation of Shinjiro <3

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE?   YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? (I believe that I do/am very confident in my portrayal)

DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS?   YES / NO / SORT OF? (I think about them alot but seldom write them down.  Maybe I’ll start since Im actually starting to use tags to organize stuff)

DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES?   YES / NO (Yep yep yep.  Somethings start as drabbles that make it into the thread (-cough the flashback of Mitsuru leaving the dorms in a thread I have going with @niflheimqueen​-))

DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY?   YES / NO

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL?   YES / NO / SORT OF? (tons of praise throughout the year from the community has made me confident that my portrayal is well-liked)

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING?   YES / NO / A LITTLE BIT. (sometimes when I’m on, I’m on.  Other times I look at my writing and am just like ‘dude find a different hobby’ but I keep on keeping on and the highs have been way better than any low ive gone through.

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON?   YES / NO. / SORTA.

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   —   Aye if its constructive hit me.  But if you’re just hating then that’s not much use to me.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   — Fuck me up with this shit

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  — Sure, though I haven’t really had that happen before

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   —  Live and let live.  Throughout the years there have been other Shinji’s out there who’s interpretation I’ve looked at and been like ‘nah this aint it chief’ but hey you know what’s real easy to do?  Not give a shit, live and let live.  So if someone didn’t agree with it, I wowuldn’t much care if they liked it or didn’t  its my interpretation and if they have a problem with it and make a point to come at me about it in a way that isn’t constructive then I’d say they have the bigger problem.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?  — I’d be sad because he’s a good boy.  But again, if you really dont like him that much you don’t have to interact :’)

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   —   Ye, I make em a lot sometimes (especially if Im tired or something else).

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?  —  I think so?   I haven’t been told that I’m not easy going and I’ve always felt very approachable.  I don’t always respond to dm’s but that’s because sometimes I’m busy but im always down to talk ooc.  It’s fun :’)