#bash extravaganza

[aviaviator]

Imagine being Infinite about to beat the shit out of Sonic the fucking Hedgehog and all of a sudden a working class human man in overalls and a bright red shirt jumps on your head outta nowhere. And the most humiliating thing is that there are cartoon sound effects when he does it

[firestorm09890]

beep beep dnd smash bros update zexion the fragile level 13 wizard bard just convinced a level 20 paladin bloodhunter with a bajillion bonuses to all saves who is completely consumed by bloodlust after millennia of burning as the dark souls 1 protagonist to drop a magic sword and not kill something (the magic sword being an aegislash who used to be chairman rose but got pmd'd and no longer remembers any of it and the "something" being an umbreon he likes)

[ricketricket]

I’ve been dying to ask about bash extravaganza. I desperately need to know how the most authority avoidant hedgehog in existence ended up with not one, not even two, but FOUR adoptive parents.

(No I’m not asking in hopes of curing my writer’s block why do you ask)

okay so (cracks knuckles)

the biggest difference between Bash and Beyond is that in Bash, the most recent game on the timeline was Forces. this seems small but it is actually incredibly extensive because forces is the game where the developers just casually dropped hey, Sonic has been prisoner for six months, and Eggman has been torturing him for fun!

when we actually see him, sonic is seemingly unaffected by his captivity. he breaks himself out of his cell in style (in front of cages just like his, which are packed with hundreds if not thousands of other people, who he was presumably caged alongside for the entire six months) and when he reunites with the resistance, they ship him out to battle immediately after they confirm he's with them and alive. he barely gets five minutes to breathe

so, a lot of this is simply forces's bad writing. bashwise, I figured that if he was that nonchalant during his escape and willing to go into active combat so soon, he must have been holding down all that frustration and pain for the entirety of his tenure. there were other people there, after all, people who needed him. if he broke, they'd lose what little hope they had left.

forces is the game that teaches sonic, accidentally or otherwise, that his friends need him to be alright. he loses one fight, and they lose the whole world.

(I have extensive thoughts on how Sonic's loss and capture affected each one of his friends, but you asked about Sonic so I'm focusing on Sonic because otherwise we'll be here all day)

bash extravaganza also has the smash bros timeline to contend with, and as I've said in a previous post, World of Light happened almost immediately after Forces. for Sonic, the Bash Extravaganza tournament has traditionally been a break for him. it's on a completely different planet, and all of his friends there aren't from his home. they know him for his heroics, yes, but all of them are known for heroics (or villainy, as it were), so it cancels out. after Forces, he accepts his invitation to the tournament to get away from it all, just for a while.

and then World of Light happens.

but OKAY, its FINE, he can HANDLE world of light its FINE (don't look at the Robotnik and Infinite spirits. don't think about him having to contend with those two and team up with them so soon after they tried to ruin his life. don't LOOK AT IT.)

AND THEN, the year after WoL, the campaign starts.

The thing about Bash Extravaganza year 1 is that, well. This is a d&d campaign. it needs a BBEG. so, naturally, on the tournament's opening day, it gets attacked by an unknown enemy, Kiatro (this enemy is original to the campaign, i would ask our dm, @aviaviator for information on them if you're curious, but it's not wholly relevant to this rant). while we're dealing with Kiatro, though, people start running their own events with their own smaller overarching villains; monokuma (Danganronpa) teams up with Alina Gray (Magia Record) and it's a whole thing. Alina starts dating Junko, it's exactly as fucked as it sounds. there are a shitload of other people attacking the tournament as well, but this was almost five years ago in real life by now so i don't remember all of them. but, basically, it's a lot.

so, to recap

this clusterfuck is happening a year after World of Light, which in turn happened a few weeks after Forces. Sonic went from one war, into another, into another.

and throughout all of this, he's carried the one lesson that forces beat into him for six months: you have to be able to handle it. You have to be able to handle it. You cannot lose. You are not allowed to lose, not even once.

(if this seems out of character, it's because it... Honestly kind of is; sonic isn't acting like himself, and that's exactly why it sunk in so recently on the timeline, exactly why he's now making an active effort to peel it away, and exactly why these are the single worst days of his life.)

but, of course, not even he can carry that perfectly. eventually people start catching on.

the main reason sonic gets adopted by mario and peach is because he's actually known them since he was very young (another difference between Bash and Beyond. think around the transition between the Classic and Adventure eras) and they've had time to wear him down. he doesn't consider them his parents until the events of the campaign, but they're his friends, he knows them, on some level he trusts them. they're long-time veterans in the heroic field. if anyone understands the weight he carries, it's them.

he meets layton and jodariel during the campaign year 1 tournament itself. layton, mystery game protagonist that he is, starts picking up on Sonic's emotional repression like. two weeks in, and he starts working to establish rapport and trust to urge him to. y'know. get help for allat. layton is, ultimately, someone that he can't lie to.

jodariel adopts him and Tails like the day after they meet. she just doesn't tell him about it. sonic is endeared to her slowly, admittedly, after the other three have already opened him up, but the fact that she is incredibly eager to threaten eggman at spear-point on his behalf does help. she's someone who can handle things that have traditionally been his job and his job alone

the keystone in all of this is that none of them are people he actually views as authority. none of them try to put themselves above him. his parents were all his friends first and foremost, and even to this day he doesn't really see them as authority, but they're people that have never made him feel like he has to pretend around them. they not only protect him, but they encourage him to be himself, and in the wake of Forces that's the one thing that's slowly been taken away from him.

it's important to recognize that Sonic didn't know what the fuck to make of this at first. like, it's not something he's ever had before! what the fuck does he do with it? huh??? huh????? it's like bringing a feral dog or cat inside. it knows on some level that this is better than where it was before but also what the fuck. WHAT the fuck. who are you what are you doing to me. like. this campaign has been going on for five years and he STILL doesn't really know what to make of it all.

but the main reason he trusts them is because they're the people who have never tried to make him act like something he's not, or something he can't be. they're people who are there in situations where he would've otherwise been alone in a crowd. they don't ask anything of him, they're just there for him if he needs them, and no one has been there for him before.

because, like, he's come to terms about a lot of the fucked up shit that happened to him, but there are still things where he went "hm. hey this was kinda fucked up. this was a fucked up thing that happened to me/that someone did to me." and there was no one who he could grieve that with except for these four so he just kept it to himself. (if you want an example besides Forces, i would look into Sonic Battle if you haven't already. im not sure if you've played it, and what I'm referring to is pretty major spoilers, but if you have seen it let me know and i'll elaborate on it). they don't make him feel like he has to feel terrible about anything, but if he did and he wasn't able to express that to anyone before, he is now.

i guess what I'm getting at is that Sonic's parents are his friends first and foremost, they're just friends who have slowly been able to teach him that he can collapse in front of them without the world ending. i suppose he's less like their child in the traditional sense and more like the street cat who knows that if he needs food, shelter, affection, or help, he goes to their house. they let him be free, they let him go where he wants and do as he pleases, but they're there if he needs them.

so the answer to your question is that the authority avoidant hedgehog got four parents because his parents have never given him any reason to see them as authority. they're people he cares about, and people who he knows care about him. it took time (this campaign has been going on for five years and there are still things he hasn't told them), and he still doesn't live with any of them permanently (and likely never will), but they let him be himself, even when "himself" is someone no one has ever known how to handle, not even Sonic.

(and to address something that came up in Beyond, yes, sonic is technically a Prince in Bash, but he has the freedom to completely ignore that title. he's also the King of Camelot, but half of the citizens there hate him anyway (see: Worst of knights, slayer of kings) and it's not like they could ever make him do anything he doesn't want to do. he just Left. he's still technically king, but it's not something he really cares about. people give him weird nicknames all the time, it doesn't mean he has to answer to them.

he has the confidence to assert that his place in the world is exactly where he wants it to be, not where they say it is. prince and king are just words to him, they don't mean shit and they can't make it mean shit. even if the paperwork says he has a given title, he's the sort of person to pick and choose what he wants and discard everything else, regardless of what the "right" way of doing things is. he says "im not a prince" and that's the end of the conversation, why would he let a sheet of paper tell him what to do? sonic, i feel, is the sort of person who never feels like he has to defend himself to people very much. they're free to think of him as whatever, but it doesn't change who he is, it just makes them wrong, and why should he care if they're wrong?)

[sharoo]

I will not explain further

[ricketricket]

@doctor-yoshi-soul

looks at google dnd sheet. looks at mercs. looks at google dnd sheet. looks at mercs. looks at the man with a knife standing behind me. looks at mercs.

[decorationinside]

Light Up the Night: A Guide to Throwing a Glowing Birthday Bash

[flyertemplates]

Night Club Flyer Template is very modern psd flyer that will be the perfect invitation for your Night Club event or party! All elements are in individual layers and the text is fully editable!

2 PSD files – 4”x4” with 0.25” bleed + 1080×1080 Rgb Social media ready

[candylandphotos]

Balloons Happy Birthday Party Girl

"Celebrating Another Year of Wonderful Adventures and Joyful Moments 🎈🎂🎉 #BirthdayBliss"

[beingjellybeans]

Flash Portable Studio presents a world of magic with its enchanting mirror booth

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most unforgettable of them all? Look no further than Flash Portable Studio’s brand-new magic mirror booth! This portable marvel is set to redefine the photo booth experience and give event and party organizers a surefire way to create unforgettable memories for their guests. So grab your wand and get ready to embark on a whimsical journey filled with…

[solxamber]

Maybe a Skully request for him learning the reader's birthday is really close to Halloween? I just think he'd get excited to hear the reader's had a Halloween themed birthday every year because of it, and due to it not being ON Halloween its like having two in 1 year, would absolutely be his dream if he doesn't already do that

Skully J. Graves x Reader

I'm so sorry for the wait, I hope you like it <3

You casually mention your birthday while lounging in Ramshackle, almost as an afterthought. "Oh, yeah. My birthday’s next week. It’s always super close to Halloween, so I’ve had a Halloween-themed party almost every year."

Skully, who was dramatically arranging some black and white decorations in the room (for "aesthetic purposes"), suddenly freezes. He turns toward you slowly, his eyes widening with a mixture of awe and reverence. He drops the cobweb-covered garland he’s holding and rushes to your side in an over-the-top theatrical flourish, coat sweeping across the floor.

“What did you say?!” he asks, his voice high, almost like you’ve revealed some ancient secret.

You blink at him. “Uh...my birthday’s next week?”

“And every year…” He leans closer, eyes locked on yours like you just said the most magical thing in the world. “...it’s Halloween-themed?!”

Grim, who’s curled up in front of the fire with a snack, snorts. “Pffft. Why’s that such a big deal? We don’t even get extra tuna just ‘cause it’s spooky time.”

Skully completely ignores Grim, focusing all his energy on you. “This is...this is...this is the dream.” He grabs your hand and dramatically bows over it, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You’ve been living my ideal life all this time, and I never knew! You, my friend, have been blessed with not just one, but two Halloweens every year!”

He gets this far-off, dreamy look in his eyes, as if he’s envisioning a world where he, too, has two Halloweens, one on your birthday and one on the actual holiday. "A prelude Halloween, and then the real Halloween...It’s a masterpiece of planning, a work of art." He lets out a breathy sigh, “Jack Skellington himself would be proud!”

“I mean, it’s not that big of a deal…” you try, but Skully’s already on another planet, his face lighting up like a jack-o’-lantern.

“Do you know what this means?!” He suddenly grabs both of your shoulders, eyes wide with the joy of someone who’s just unlocked the key to eternal happiness. “We can have TWO Halloween parties in a row! One in your honor, and then the official Halloween! Two nights of pure, spooky glory!” He releases you, spins dramatically, and gestures around the room. “The decorations, the costumes, the endless dark colors—just think about it! It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of!”

Grim rolls his eyes, crunching loudly on his snack. “Yeah, yeah. And where’s my tuna in all of this? I’m not seein’ how this benefits me.”

Skully waves his hand dismissively at Grim. “You’ll get all the tuna you want, little furball. We’re talking about a double Halloween extravaganza! This is bigger than any feast of fish!”

Grim’s ears perk up. “Double the tuna, huh?”

“I said parties, not tuna,” you point out, but Grim’s already on board.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go with double the parties, double the snacks,” Grim says, throwing in his vote for this wild plan. “I’ll bring the fireworks.”

You groan, pinching the bridge of your nose. “No fireworks inside the dorm, Grim.”

Skully looks ready to faint from excitement. “Imagine it...we’ll start with a pre-Halloween bash for your birthday. Dark, moody decorations, not a single bright color in sight. No candy—just the eerie emptiness of true Halloween spirit.” He twirls around, his cape billowing behind him. “Then, on the real Halloween, we’ll raise the stakes even higher. There will be no sugar. No colors. Only shadows.”

Grim looks horrified. “Wait, no candy?! That’s...that’s sacrilege! You can’t have a Halloween without candy!”

Skully turns to Grim, his voice deadly serious. “The only true treat...is fear.”

Grim groans. “Ugh, you’re the worst.”

Skully turns back to you with a grin. “What do you say? Two Halloweens! Double the spooky goodness, twice the amount of dark, colorless celebration...”

You laugh, watching the pure joy radiating from Skully. “You’re absolutely obsessed.”

“I am obsessed!” he says proudly, puffing out his chest. “You are living proof that Halloween is not confined to one day. It is a lifestyle, a way of being. And now, you and I...we shall celebrate that lifestyle together. Forever!”

Grim mutters something about “weirdos” and “no candy,” but you just shake your head, feeling both exhausted and entertained by Skully’s antics.

“Well,” you say with a grin, “I guess I’d better start planning for two spooky parties this year.”

Skully nearly faints from happiness. “This...this is everything I’ve ever wanted!”

Grim groans dramatically. “Great. Two days of weirdos and no candy. Can’t wait.”

Skully, in all his dramatic, Halloween-obsessed glory, was in for a treat. And now, you’ve somehow roped yourself into throwing a double Halloween bash. Lucky you.

Masterlist

[lalalaurieart]

🎨✨ The Official Stobotnik Birthday Bash Edition! ✨🎨

aka "How my tiny lil ship celebration spiraled into a full-blown art extravaganza with cash prizes because I have no self-control."

🚨 PRIZES (aka your incentive to go feral with love & creativity):

🏆 Best Overall: $100

🎬 Best Animatic: $75

😂 Best Comic or Funniest: $50

🌌 Best AU Concept: $50

😈 Best Villain Stone (yes, him): $50

🎲 Random Entry (pure chaos reward): $25

📅 Deadline to enter:

May 9th @ 11:59 PM EST

📣 Winners revealed on May 11th!

🖼️ Rules for participation (they're easy, I promise):

Follow me on socials: [@LalaLaurie or @LalaLaurieArt]

TAG me in your post AND use #LalaStobotnik (don’t make me go detective mode to find your work)

You can submit 2 entries max

Art must be created on or after April 9th – time travel art doesn’t count

Be cool, be crazy, be original ✨

📚 SEE ALL THE ENTRIES HERE:

🔗 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1csrADebxO1NepZNmzkXdQlCAuLljF0rCHJK_zasbrV0/edit?usp=sharing

🌟 I’ll try to feature most entries, and I might make a book of them all because I’m sappy like that.

👀 Hint for bonus serotonin points: I’m a sucker for Movie 1 Robotnik, but truly? Any era, any flavor, any wild AU is welcome. Surprise me. Delight me. Emotionally devastate me (in a good way).

🧠 Got questions? Slide into my DMs or yell them into the void (but I respond faster to DMs).

[morskijez00]

Beat (TWEWY), Hugo Fact (Ys Origin), Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls), Youmu Konpaku (Touhou), Robin and Royal (Iconoclasts), Noel Cerquetti and Caron (Noel the Mortal Fate), the mc from PLA and Sissel (Ghost Trick) are all currently on a trip to New York (actual legit) with the goal of getting Neku Sakuraba (TWEWY) back

Yes there will be a Reaper's Game involved. In New York. Don't worry about it

So I'm running a Smash Bros inspired D&D campaign where each session is based on a different games, and players can choose to play characters who aren't even in the canon Super Smash Bros games. There's also some text roleplay channels in the discord server for this and it's generally an all around Great Time™. Here's some highlights from the past two months

Sonic is a werewolf

The Batter (Off) almost vored Pikachu

Professor Layton gained the title of Tournament Dad and practically adopted half the roster

Sonic, Tails, Issun (Okami), Layton, and Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) solved a murder

The party found out that CR-S01 (Trauma Team) was falsely accused of bioterrorism and demanded that Phoenix Wright be his attorney in a retrial.

Descole (Professor Layton) constantly gets memed on by a bunch of teenagers

The crows from A Hat In Time are slowly overtaking the tournament. There's so many of them

Professor Layton is a Phantom Thief (Persona 5)

[firestorm09890]

something super fun about the smash bros crossover rp is that Zexion's sort of moved into a state of "domesticated villain" where he's not fully evil (though tbh I think it really is just a matter of environment, put him in different conditions like in a big library away from his fucked up coworkers who want to kill him and he'll be relatively agreeable) but he's nowhere near Ienzo either. Ienzo in my mind is halfway to a mental breakdown at all times and is constantly trying to repress any "bad" thoughts he has and is feeling way too much.

This guy right here however? Totally comfortable with his routine. He very rarely puts in the effort to be nice but he’s fallen into a pattern of going “oh wow that seems like a really difficult problem to have, yikes. I can tell you that this book has resources you need/this is what this inscription says/you guys all missed this important detail but aside from that it’s not my problem. bye” and his reputation is generally “a bit of a stick in the mud but will show up to help if there’s a puzzle he’s interested in and very good at finding and sharing information”. They don’t know about whatever crimes he’s committing elsewhere but that’s fine.

And part of me thinks it'd be fun if Ienzo was more like that, a party that's generally cold and detached but undeniably helpful- someone extremely utilitarian… And the rest of me knows that’s what the roleplay is for babeyyyyyyy

[ricketricket]

i made a tier list outlining sonic the hedgehog's expansive and incredibly complicated found family as it appears in the hit smash bros-based d&d 5e campaign Bash Extravaganza. yes, i said tier list, not tree. there is no other way i could have feasibly formatted it. list itself + explanation of certain categories under the cut. click on it for quality.

tails: "our meeting is a fulfillment of a cosmic truth and the idea of a world without you is so strange and unnatural that it simply does not occur to me. i am your brother before i am anyone else's brother, son, cousin, or nephew. if i did not have any of these people i would still have you and if i had all of them except for you my life would not feel complete." distinct from sibling tier because none of his siblings are his siblings in the way that tails is [family] by relation: he shares a familial relationship with them through someone else (adopted by the same person on separate occasions, for example) and does consider them family, but probably wouldn't consider them family if not for the shared relationship. this is the "yeah sure" category [family] by choice: he considers them family, and would consider them as such with or without a previously existing shared relationship. people in "by relation" can move into "by choice" if sonic is close enough to them, or in other words if "yeah sure" becomes "100% absolutely" nebulous unlabeled family: they don't really go in any particular category but if asked if he considers them family he'd go "uhhhhh y'know? yeah" and not elaborate. [family] adjacent friend: he doesn't call them [family] nor does he consider them as such, but he behaves around them in a manner similar to how he behaves around his actual [family]. sibling-adjacent friend could probably fit more sonic characters like silver in there but i didn't feel like it family of family: what it says on the tin. he shares a familial relationship with them thru someone else but does not consider them family either because they just aren't that close, had a falling out, or literally have not met. eternally incomplete tier because all four of his parents are serial adopters and every now and then he gets a text like "hey you have a new sibling" honorable mentions: im not sure if he considers them family but while i was making the list his muse picked them up and rotated them for a bit and then set them back down without giving me a conclusive answer one way or the other. bronev: on the list for the express purpose of emphasizing how not on the list he is. fuck this guy.

note 1: making the distinction between By Choice and By Relation is important because there are situations like, for example, the fact that he is cousins with both Joker (Persona 5) and Goro Akechi. Joker and Akechi aren't cousins with each other and are, in fact, dating. Akechi is Sonic's cousin because Sonic's uncle (Jean Descole) adopted him, but Joker is Sonic's cousin because they looked at each other and went "yeah we're cousins now." but, again, they aren't each other's cousins. they both just happen to be cousins with sonic.

(akechi is in By Choice now, but he was in By Relation in previous editions of the list. he moved into Choice as they grew closer)

note 2: the picture of the house sparrow in Cousins (By Relation) isn't representative of an actual sparrow. it's a character named Sparrow (who is an oc). when i first made the list i didn't feel like hunting down his ref, so i just threw in a sparrow and called it a day, and then it became a bit. he's also descole's son, by the way.

do you see why it could not be a family tree. do you see what he makes me put up with. there are probably several people i've forgotten. i love this campaign.

[crushpunky]

when rafe picked up kook!reader for midsummers (midsummers part two)

Reader took a deep breath and looked at the clock again.

6:56

Rafe was going to be here soon to whisk her away to what he had deemed his “Best Midsummer Date Celebration Extravaganza”. He had been hyping himself up for the past week, bragging about how much he had spent on his tux, the dance lesson Rose had convinced (more like forced) him to take, and all of the time he spent cleaning his best dress shoes. She laughed to herself, picturing Rafe practicing his waltz steps in his sparkly shoes.

As she made her way downstairs she checked her phone to see if Rafe had texted. She hadn’t seen him at all the past two days, which was unusual for the pair. They had planned on meeting up but Rafe called her at the last minute saying he must’ve gotten food poisoning from the night before and couldn’t stop throwing up. Despite ordering the same thing as him (as she had for years), Reader felt perfectly fine. She didn’t bother to question it because, as often as Rafe got drunk and partied, he was never one to actually get sick. Luckily, by yesterday evening, he had texted her saying he was still on for Midsummers. 

The doorbell rang as Reader quickly went to answer the door. She had assumed it was one of the neighbors, as Rafe was a lot of things but early was never one of them. However, to her surprise, she opened the front door to the powder blue suit and flushed face of Rafe Cameron. They both locked eyes for a second before looking down at the other's outfit and meeting eyes again.

“Holy shit.” Rafe said, dropping his arm that held a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to his side. Reader felt her cheeks warm as she let out a bashful giggle. She had seen Rafe in a suit a million times, and he looked great every time. This time was different. This time he was picking her up and taking her out on a date. Not “as a date”, but “on a date”.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Cameron.” Reader laughed as Rafe’s eyes continued to look over her dress. Rafe was never shy about his affections, but something about seeing him speechless at the sight of her felt even better than any compliment he could give.

“The um— the blue looks very good…” Rafe stammered. “You look very good.”

“Thank you.” Reader said quietly, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by his reaction. Rafe blinked quickly before pulling the flowers back to his chest.

“Here,” Rafe handed the beautiful bouquet to Reader. “I got them from that shop downtown you like… Wheezy helped me pick them out.”

Reader smiled at the thought of Wheezy directing the tall boy through the flower shop, throwing bunches of flowers into his arms. She had done a great job though; lavender and baby's breath spun with beautiful, soft-hued blue lilies all wrapped together with a dainty baby-blue ribbon.

“Well you did a great job. Or Wheezy did at least.” Reader teased, turning to put the flowers into one of the empty vases that sat near the entryway.

“I told you I’d give you the best night of your life.” Rafe said with a shrug before offering out his arm to her.

“Well it’s off to a great start.” Reader grinned, hooking her arm into his. She looked over at Rafe’s silhouette against the setting sun, soaking in this moment and his sharp features as he led her to his car. Once they got to the passenger side, Rafe opened the door and guided her into her seat. She grinned as he closed the door gently before rushing around to the driver's side.

As she soothed her dress down she caught a glimpse of something on the dash: a white, powdery residue. Her heart dropped. Rafe had come to the door flushed, was he using again? She had sworn she hadn’t seen him high since he asked her to Midsummers… or had she? Maybe he was just getting better at hiding it. It wouldn’t be the first time she had caught him when he said he was clean…

“You ready to go, m’lady?” Rafe grinned, putting the keys into the ignition. Reader however, did not match his excitement.

“Rafe.” Reader said calmly, nearly a whisper.

“What? Are you okay? Did I forget something I can—”

“Are you high right now?” Reader said sharply.

“What?” Rafe scoffed.

“I said, are you fucking high right now?” Reader repeated firmly, turning towards Rafe. He scowled, putting the car into reverse.

“Jesus, I’m not fucking high right now. I would never drive high with you in the car, a’ight?” Rafe shook his head as they left the driveway and started towards the country club.

“Then what’s this shit on the dash, Rafe?” Reader said, trying her best to not allow the tears in her eyes to fall. She knew he was an addict but he had promised her tonight. Promised. Promises were so sacred between them, how could he?

“It’s—” Rafe sighed. “Alright fine, it’s coke. But it’s not mine. It’s Top’s. From this morning. I swear.”

“Do you seriously expect me to—” Reader scoffed.

“Yes! I expect you to believe me because I’ve been fucking clean for an entire week for you!” Rafe shouted. An entire week? For her? Sure.

“I would rather you just tell me if you’re fucking high. You know I hate it when you lie to me.” Reader said sharply. Rafe slammed on the breaks before pulling off to the side quickly.

“I’m not lying.” Rafe whispered, his hands still clenched on the wheel despite his soft tone. “I told you— I promised you— tonight and I’m going to fucking deliver. Ok? I’m not gonna fuck this up for you. I… I couldn’t forgive myself if I did.”

Reader sat there in silence, looking over at Rafe. His blue eyes looked at her sincerely, no sign of any dilated pupils or hazy glare despite what the powder covered surface might imply. He was right, he had promised her, and by the look on his face, she could tell he was struggling.

It all started to fall into line: his sluggishness the past week, his flushed appearance, and his “food poisoning”. He was in withdrawal.

“It wasn’t food poisoning you had, was it?” Reader said with an exhale.

“No. It wasn’t.” Rafe said quietly. Reader reached across the center console to take one of Rafe’s hands into her own. He could feel himself relax under her touch.

“I… I’m sorry, Rafe. I should’ve seen how hard you were trying, I was just being ungrateful and thought this was too perfect and—” Reader rambled, shaking her head.

“No, no, no.” Rafe said, reaching his hands up to cup the sides of Reader’s face, looking directly into her eyes with his own.

“You were right to… doubt me. It wouldn’t be the first time I lied about being clean.” Rafe whispered, running his fingers along her skin slowly as he spoke. In that moment, in his touch, she could feel the Rafe she remembered as a young boy. The Rafe who treated her like she was the best thing in the whole entire world. The Rafe who made her laugh more than he made her cry. The Rafe she had fallen in love with.

“Thank you, Rafe.” Reader said, taking his hands back from her face and holding them gently in her lap.

“You know I would try anything for you.” Rafe said, giving her hands a light squeeze. She could feel her heart swell at his words. He was right. He wasn’t perfect, but he would try to be. For her.

“Well…” Rafe broke the silence, placing one of his hands back onto the steering wheel, keeping the other grasped onto hers. “We should probably get going. We’re already about twenty minutes late.”

“Rafe Cameron! I knew you being early was too good to be true!” Reader teased, causing Rafe to flash her one of his signature grins before peeling back onto the road to the country club.

[episodes-ff]

Can I Love On You?

Armando

Walking around the house with the event coordinator, I pinched the bridge of my nose trying not to strangle her as she discussed the current details surrounding our New Year's party. That's right, a damn party! Diamonté was absolutely insistent upon us having a big celebratory bash to ring in the new year with our loved ones. We could have sprung for a cozy, quaint get together at Mike's but nooooo, it had to be special! I agreed because she's my Queen and I'd give her the world, but she's taking the whole thing to the next level. Entertainment, caterers, live music (I told her that was a hell no and she refused to look at me for a few days), and planners. Two chipper, annoyingly perky and overly expensive planners, named Sabrina and Becca, who were willing to give Dee her wildest dreams no matter the cost or aggravation to me.

"Are you listening, Armando?" Sabrina pondered in her disgustingly happy voice as she looked up from her planning book. "Uh, y-yea, you said we'll be doing an entrance?" "Precisely! Once the fire dancers do thei-" "Fire dancers?! What fire dancers?!" "For the New Year's extravaganza! They will be stationed at the-" "No! Hell no! Matter of fact, hold on just a moment." Nodding swiftly in fear, she clutched her planner to her chest as I turned and stormed up the stairs. "Diamonté!" "I'm in the bedroom, baby!"

Marching into the confines of our room, I saw her in the closet organizing and folding clothes. "Hey, sweetie, everything ok?" "Everything ok? This party is getting out of control, Dee. I'm putting my foot down!" Looking up at me, she frowned her big puppy dog eyes but I wasn't budging, not today. "But papa, I want this to be special! It's our first New Year's together as a family and I wanna celebrate that properly." "Fire dancers? Jugglers? All these crazy fireworks? Baby, we don't need all this craziness to celebrate our family." I cooed as I saw the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. "But I want it." "Next year, baby. We can plan and e-" "No!" She stomped snapping into a full on tantrum as my brows furrowed in disbelief. "Que?" "You heard me. I really really really want this party." She murmured staring in fear as I leaned in closer. "And just who do you think you're taking that tone with?" I gritted against her ear as I felt the goosebumps cover her skin. "U-Um, I-" "Tsk tsk tsk, nah baby girl. I don't think you heard me clearly. You'll understand in a few minutes though."

Terry

Hearing the ringing of my phone, I groaned before picking up the call. "Hey, Tee! Change of plans, we're doing the party over at Mike's. Just something simple and intimate if you still wanted to come." Armando clarified as I nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. Um, I'm still a little busy but I may stop by to show my face for a couple minutes." "Ok man, just hit me up if you do come." "Will do, thanks!" Saying our farewells, I ended the call before looking around and huffing as I grabbed another box. Hoisting it up onto the counter, I huffed before going through the remaining of my things.

After the filing I knew the best thing for everyone involved would be for me to leave, so I did just that. I gave Anaya the house and bought a small apartment a little bit away from work so that I could still provide for her and the kids and give her some peace. We agreed to co-parent for Maya's sake, but I don't want to hurt anymore and I'm trying to make good on my promise not to. I can't really say the same for her, but again that's my own doing...

**ONE WEEK EARLIER**

It was Christmas Eve in the Richmond household and things have been anything but cheerful. Despite the best efforts from my parents to have a cozy and warm gathering, tensions were still at an all time high, and getting more petty by the minute. "Terry, will you please let Anaya know that I'm putting the ham on now so she can use the stove to start the greens?" "You could have texted her." I muttered to myself earning her scowl. "On my way." I sighed before trudging upstairs. Walking up to her door, I heard her giggling sweetly in what felt like forever. Quietly smiling to myself, my grin quickly dissipated as I heard the smooth chuckle of another man. "Boy, shut up! You steady lying!" She chuckled as my brows drew together in anger. Who the fuck?! Waltzing in, I watched her shift her eyes up to me as her bright smile transitioned to a deep mug while pulling her phone to her chest. "Can I help you?" "Kitchen's available." I spat before slamming her door and heading out for a jog.

Coming back from my jog, I ignored hellos and greetings as I headed up to the room. Changing out of my clothes and hopping into the shower, I let the steam overtake me as my thoughts ran wild. Damn, she just gone hop to the next nigga like that?! Nahhh, Tee, you can't really fault her, you know you caused this. But she just fucking filed two days ago, what the FUCK?! You did her foul though, can you really blame her for wanting to move on so quick? True true true. NAH FUCK ALLAT SHIT?! WHO THE FUCK IS THIS NEW NIGGA?! Ending my shower, I tossed on some sweats and a tank before barging down to the kitchen. Seeing her by the stove, I pulled her toward me and stormed off with her in my grasp. "Hey! Wh-" "Mama, watch the stove please?" "O-Ok." "Terry get the fuck off of me!"

Walking into the garage, I slammed the door shut as she jumped from the rush of cool air. "Terry, what the fuck is wrong with you?! Don't be fucking snatching me up like that! And why you bring me down here in this cold ass shit?!?!" "Aye, shut allat shit up! Who the fuck is this new ass nigga?!" "Wh- Ahahaha!!! Yo you serious?!" "Anaya, I'm not fucking playing with you!" "And nigga I'm not mothafucking playing with you!" She shouted poking my chest before I grabbed her hand. Staring each other down fiercely, I silently fumed huffing as she puffed her on fiery breaths at me; our eyes trailed down slowly, almost memorizing one another, landing to each other's lips. You could hear an ant piss how tensely we were eyeing each other.

Leaning forward slowly, I caressed her cheek pulling her into a deep and sloppy kiss. Immediately tangling her hands in the nape of my neck, I hoisted her up feeling on her juicy ass as she wrapped her legs around me grinding her center against my waist as the kiss heated up. Smacking her ass as I held her close, her moans coated my ears beautifully before a voice called from beyond. "Anaya, sweetie! You have a guest!" We heard my mother signaling Anaya to jump off me and scurry into the house in confusion at her actions. Looking on in my own confusion, I followed her before stopping in my tracks as I saw another man standing at my mother's doorstep with flowers for my wife.

**FLASHBACK OVER**

Ever since that day it's been all about her and Rome. I can't even lie, a nigga was livid, hell I'm still livid! I did some of the lowest shit possible but am I really not worth a second chance? This is my first time ever doing something this crazy to Anaya and immediately I'm thrown to the wolves?! I think that crushes my spirit the most, but it just motivates me to do what I gotta do to get my family back. Terry Richmond is once again, a man on a mission of a lifetime.

Anaya

Waking up, I stretched before feeling warmth as his strong arms wrapped around my waist. Looking over at him, I smiled as he placed a kiss on my cheek. "Good morning, beautiful." "Good morning to you too, handsome." I giggled before he got up to relieve himself and take a shower. Listening to Rome humming from the bathroom door, I blushed before opening my Snapchat and taking a few pictures to match my glittering mood. Choosing one from the bunch, I smiled typing my somewhat petty caption before posting it to my story and getting up to go join my new man in the shower.

Rome and I have started dating and while things are still pretty casual for us, they're starting to heat up. I took that chance and texted him after the encounter at the grocery store, and he took me on our first date on Christmas Eve. Of course, Terrence was royally pissed but he'll be ok. I told him off the bat about my pregnancy and he's been so accepting and caring of the situation. It's only been a week since we had our first date but he's been treating me like a princess nonstop, even agreeing to come to Miami for New Years so I wouldn't spend it alone. We haven't slept together, but if he keeps this up, I might be breaking that rule.

Getting something for Maya to snack on, I smiled as my phone continued to buzz and ring with plenty of congratulations and well wishes for the new year. I decided I wasn't going to hide this pregnancy or separation from the world or the people in it. I was in fact a new woman, and I'm damn proud of the new woman I'm becoming. I do wish sometimes that things could've been different, but everything happens for a reason. Walking into her nursery, I smiled as I handed Maya her fruit and checked her before heading back into the room to see about Rome. I haven't had them interact yet because for me it would be too soon but I can’t wait for the day. I just hope Terry doesn’t try to ruin this for me.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tags: @theereina @violetmuses @kumkaniudaku @kaylaahisthebestest- @kimuzostar @simpledopeme @mymindisneverhere @believeinthefireflies95 @tbmotw @brisunique @madxlov3 @playgurlxoxo @mauvecherie-writes @casualsludgeshoetoad @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @geneziesm @ghettogirly @goldenjasssy @megamindsecretlair @vivaalenaa @ranikyani @luuvprincess @perfectlyimperfectme @comfortzonequeen @melanin-honeyy @qdancer22 @strawberrymoon45 @luckygirlszn @kindofaintrovert @secretlifeoofmarpessa @cmbmjbfan @summwerella @ihateyallniggas @rebelrel0987 @cheracherachera @bhristpher @cocooned-butterfly @theblessedcap @deijalee @catha2003 @magik22 @pinkbuzzlightyrrr @sweettea-and-honeybutter @j0joworld @liv10002 @justicefordeanthomas @withoutmusiclifewouldbflat @brattyfics