#eggs and Easter and chicks come from eggs..

[spade-12]

Can you tell Deuce to stop coming into my chicken coop late at night? Thank you.

Sorry the chicks like him 🐤

Oh happy Easter too >^<

[curiosityschild]

These two young chickens are roosters and they love each other SO much. They go everywhere together.

[rafeandonlyrafe]

easter day

words: 1.3k

warnings: 18+ only, smut, dad!rafe, mom!reader, fluffy and cute, talk of pregnancy, p in v sex

“when are they getting here?” rafe questions, hands on your hips, leaning over your shoulder to look at the counter where you're finishing frosting the sugar cookies with various pastel colors.

“uhh…” you glance at the clock. “any minute now.” you set down the piping bag as you finish the last detail and turn to look at rafe, changing your voice to a whisper. “are all the eggs hidden?”

“yup.” he nods. “and i already told harper that the small blue ones are for her brother so to let him get the easy ones. the easter bunny told me specifically.”

“smart.” you chuckle, letting rafe pull you in and press your lips together.

“i do just have one complaint.” rafe says, hands moving from your hips to grip your bum. 

“and what would that be?” you look at your husband, one eyebrow raised.

“this dress.” rafe shakes his head. “you look too good in it, you're practically begging me to put a third kid in you.”

“not until elijah is two, remember?” you remind rafe.

“he's 18 months, that's practically two!” rafe lies through his teeth, his grin turning mischievous, knowing just how big of a difference six months can make in a baby's development.

“ill tell you what…” you run your hands up rafes chest. “why don't we sneak away when my parents get here? you know they act like we don't exist anyways.”

you can't blame them, harper just turned 5 and is a handful, which is only added to by elijah. while he's an angel, he's still a toddler and will get into anything and everything if you turn your back for even a minute.

“sounds perfect.” rafe gives you another kiss as harper runs into the kitchen, elijah still distracted in the corner in his bouncer.

“mommy!” she squeals, launching herself at you. you pick her up and easily turn her so she's on your hip. “mommy, mommy.” she continues. “the easter bunny came! i saw eggs in the backyard!”

“oh, yay!” you bounce her slightly as elijah giggles, reacting to harper's excitement. rafe heads to the bouncer and lifts him out.

“and look, mama made cookies.” you show her the frosted sugar cookie eggs and baby chicks. “and i left a couple unfrosted for you to do with grandma and grandpa!”

harper lets out another squeal and wiggles excitedly. “elijah, gammy and gamps are coming over!”

rafe chuckles at her mispronunciation. it started when she was first learning to talk and their names haven't changed since, even elijah calling them their nicknames.

there's a knock at the door and harper wiggles out of your arms to run towards the front, quickly followed by you and rafe, who unabashedly checks you out as harper opens the door to your parents.

“harper!” your mom steps in, wrapping her in a big hug, completing it with pressing kisses all over her face.

“and there's my little man.” your dad takes elijah from rafes arms, whose happy to give him up, itching to get that alone time with you.

you quickly usher your parents in, showing them the unfrosted cookies and other activities to keep your kids attention. 

“rafe and i are gonna go finish their easter baskets.” in truth you've had their baskets finished for a week now, but there's no reason for them to know that.

“okay, that's fine dear.” your mom says, barely glancing to you as harper grabs a butter knife covered in pink frosting.

you grab your husband's hand, and he practically sprints up the stairs, pulling you right along with him into your bedroom.

“god, you knew this would happen didn't you?” rafe questions, hands gripping at your dress, pulling it up as he backs you up towards your bed, keeping the door slightly cracked so you can hear if anyone comes up the stairs. “you know i can't resist this dress.”

you keep your sundresses at the front of your closet, wearing them whenever you find a reason to, purely because of how rafe reacts to them.

“stop talking and hurry up.” you chastise rafe, fingers swiftly undoing the buttons of his crisp shirt until your hands can delve in and feel his muscles.

“yes, ma’am.” rafe smirks, lowering you onto the bed as his lips find yours again, fingers coming to your underwear to feel the wet spot that has started to form. his fingers swipe over the material until you’re moaning quietly, eyes shut.

“god, need to get inside you.” rafe groans, standing to undo his shorts and grab a condom from the nightstand as you take your underwear off, tossing them in the general direction of your hamper. 

you use the moment of silence to listen, seeing if you can hear anything coming from downstairs, but all seems to be calm as rafe pulls your hips to the edge of the bed, lining up his cock with your entrance.

rafe sinks in slowly with a low groan as you gasp, gripping the bed sheets. its been far too long since you’ve been able to have a moment alone like this.

“so good, mama.” rafe wraps your legs around his hips as he begins to move, thrusting in and out of you, thumb already rubbing over your clit, knowing you both need to cum and get downstairs as soon as possible.

“yeah, feels good.” you whine, covering your mouth with your palm as you let out noises, rafe always able to get the sounds out of you even when you should be quiet.

rafe moves faster, cock pushing at your walls, stretching you open for his length.

“shit.” rafe groans. “we need to convince your parents or aunt wheezie to take them for a weekend.”

“mmm, that’s exactly what we need.” you nod. you know that you’d probably end up pregnant again if you had an uninterrupted weekend with rafe, you already feel the urge to reach down and pull the condom off of him, but the thought of dealing with elijah at his current age while pregnant has your mind clearing quickly.

“or we can start sending elijah to daycare once a week.” rafe says, glad that the conversation is helping quell his orgasm somewhat, not wanting to burst inside of you too early.

“fuck, whatever it takes to get more of this.” you push at rafes stomach. he takes a step back as you flip over on the bed, toes touching the floor as you turn onto your stomach.

“god, i wanna marry you all over again.” rafe pushes quickly back insides, thrusts now speeding up as his hands grip your ass, squeezing it and watching the way it jiggles with every thrust.

you push your hand below your body to touch your clit, rubbing it in pace with rafes cock pushing inside of you, pressing your face into the mattress to drown out your noises.

“gonna cum, baby.” rafe warns, cock swelling inside of you before hes releasing with one more deep thrust, triggering your own orgasm as your body shakes.

rafe pulls out, flipping your dress back down over your ass just in case someone sneaks upstairs as he discards of the condom and redresses before heading back to you, helping you turn over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“i love you.” rafe coos, pressing kisses to the top of your head as you lean against him.

“i love you too.” you take his hand in his. “and we should get back downstairs before they get suspicious.”

“absolutely.” rafe nods, following you out the bedroom and down the stairs, leaning in to whisper in your ear when he sees everyone is still occupied with frosting cookies, a smear of orange frosting across harpers nose. “and don’t think i forgot that you aren’t wearing panties anymore.”

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[bekolxeram]

The sheer number of times Eddie is mentioned when Buck comes out to Maddie has been pointed out time and time again. Some take it as a sign that Buck is subconsciously in love with Eddie, some see it as foreshadowing for these two to be romantically involved in the future, while others simply think it's an Easter egg left in by writers as a nod to shippers.

The way I see it, there is a reason why Eddie keeps being brought up in this scene, but it's not what you think.

If you've rewatched this scene as much as I have, you'd remember that Buck actually isn't coming out to Maddie on purpose in this scene. He originally goes there to talk and ask for her advice, because he feels bad about the hot chicks incident when Eddie walked in on him and Tommy at the restaurant.

In fact, he fully intends to keep the identity of his date hidden. He can't even risk Chimney getting wind of it, in case he or Eddie puts two and two together and figures the whole thing out.

Maddie is always there to talk things out with her brother, but she would never turn down a chance to gossip.

He completely dodges Maddie's question and quickly changes the subject. He needs to tell Maddie the full story of his disastrous date, but he can only refer to Tommy as his date, or "this person". The more he does this, the higher the risk of slipping up, Maddie would likely ask more questions about this mysterious person as well, so Buck frames the whole narrative around the only person he can safely refer to: Eddie (and Marisol, but she isn't important in this story).

Maddie picks up on Buck's secrecy, now she really wants to know who this person is and why Buck refuses to reveal their identity. Buck again immediately shuts it down, and brings the topic back to Eddie.

While I'm sure Buck feels bad for lying to his best friend, especially when there's no reason to expect Eddie reacting with anything less than acceptance, when Buck starts actually talking about his behavior and what upsets him the most, it isn't really about Eddie. He's ashamed of himself for lying right in front of Tommy. In fact, he's so upset over Tommy cutting the date short and leaving him on the curb that he accidentally uses a gendered pronoun.

Maddie "I am 9-1-1" Han makes a career out of being a good and thorough listener, so of course she notices the pronoun. From this point on, the subject of the conversation shifts from Eddie to Buck's newly discovered sexuality, and later, Tommy.

Buck knows he goes to Maddie because he feels bad, but he still hasn't fully processed the fact that he's into men too and what it means to him. He's still calling himself an ally, a supporter of queer people, but he's confused as to why it doesn't seem to apply when it comes to himself. Maddie correctly points out that he's no longer just an ally, and the recency of his discovery might have been the cause of his strange and panicked behavior during the date.

This is the prime example of acting turning the same line into different meanings. The first "wow" seems to me like Maddie is finally connecting the dots. She practically raised her brother, it's not unlikely that she has previously witnessed Buck having boy problems. I feel like it's a "wow, everything makes so much sense now" wow. It looks like Buck takes a little offence at it and asks Maddie to clarify what she means by "wow". Maddie tells him it's more like a "wow, this is a nice surprise" wow.

Oh, boy is completely clueless. Maddie is just trying her best to keep up with Buck's increasingly oblivious statements.

Buck suddenly brings up Tommy, probably because he hasn't been able to stop thinking about him since the kiss. Apparently, he's so attracted to Tommy both physically and as a person, it makes him realize his interest in men, something no other has achieved thus far. Maddie recognizes the name her brother has been harping on for the past few weeks.

Poor Maddie must be so confused. First her brother and husband-to-be keep talking about how cool this pilot who saved everyone is, then he becomes Eddie's friend and Buck gets all jealous about it. Most recently, Maddie is horrified by Buck's action on the basketball court, because he only has a history of hurting himself to get someone's attention, not the target of his attention seeking. And now Buck has gone on a date with Tommy? So Maddie decides, one step at a time, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Buck initially tells Maddie about lying to his best friend and how he feels like a fraud, so she tackles (no pun intended) this part first.

If you come into this scene with preconceived notions, the word "feelings" being in proximity to the name Eddie may seem like to you that Maddie is pointing to "Buck's misplaced romantic feelings towards Eddie". But if you put these lines into context, Buck simply isn't sure of how he feels about his bisexuality in general. In fact, the only thing he's certain of in this entire conversation is his attraction to Tommy. Maddie also isn't bringing up Eddie out of the blue because she thinks her brother is secretly in love with his best friend. Again, Buck originally does want advice about lying to Eddie, albeit partly using his name to avoid revealing his date's identity, so Maddie gives it to him now, no need to read too much in between the lines, especially after the "wow" exchange.

Now that the Eddie stuff is out of the way, Maddie can comfortably gossip about Buck's new hot pilot crush. And Buck looks absolutely smitten at the mere mention of Tommy.

Eddie is undoubtedly a very important person in Buck's life, and it must be killing Buck inside for lying about something so important to his best friend. Though in this scene, Buck seems to be mostly using Eddie's name to circumvent the necessity of mentioning Tommy's name and to deflect any probing question about his identity. Once he accidently lets it slip that he was on a date with a guy, he pretty much drops the whole Eddie act entirely.

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

PSA to my brethren

Because St. Valentine's day has ONCE AGAIN given fake news regarding Christian holidays AMPLE opportunity to spread like wildfire, I am obligated to point out the following, for the umpteenth time:

No, Christmas is NOT Saturnalia or Sol Invictus. Jeremiah 10, by the way, is NOT a text about Christmas trees.

No, Easter does NOT come from feasts of Ishtar. It is literally called an equivalent of "Passover" in practically all non-English Western languages.

No, Halloween is NOT Samhain. The two do not even fall close on the calendar.

No, St. Valentine's day is NOT Lupercalia. There is no link between the two, any more than the Greco-Italian war is related to the fiscal policies of the Song Dynasty.

No, Sunday worship is NOT a hidden celebration of Sol. We celebrate Communion on Sunday because our Lord rose from the dead on a Sunday, not because we have "changed the day of the Sabbath"; we have not, and I also assure you that Constantine had NOTHING to do with this.

I cannot believe that we have reached the point where I really have to emphasise this: St. Patrick has nothing to do with Pan, much less with Peter Pan.

If you are interested in learning about the origins and evolution of Christian feasts, consult the work of actual scholars like Ronald Hutton. Jack Chick, John Ramirez, The History Channel, and ChatGPT are NOT reliable sources, for crying out loud.

Quoting Isaiah 5:20 and James 4:4 whilst presupposing that your argument about holidays is true...does not prove that your argument about holidays is true.

Most importantly: especially if you are a follower and worshipper of Jesus Christ, washed in the blood of the Lamb and partaker of the holy Sacrament of the altar, then you cannot "accidentally" worship pagan deities which nobody has worshipped for millennia simply by virtue of decorating a tree, or making a log-shaped pudding, or hunting for chocolate eggs, or going to a ball dressed up as Legolas or Esmeralda, or giving your wife red roses.

Please let us calm down at last. The Holy Spirit does not go on annual leave on 2/14, 10/31, 12/25 or ANY other day of the year. Stop propagating lies and half-truths peddled by attention-seeking "armchair pastors" -- this cultivates an increasingly strong mentality of "touch not, taste not, handle not" which borders on adding to the Gospel.

Stop giving the devil right to call dibs over innocuous practices; rather reclaim the good things of life in the power of Christ.

[sashaisready]

Best Laid Plans

Lee Bodecker x Female Reader

When your plans for the town's Easter egg hunt go awry, you find help from an unlikely source...

This is for the lovely's @buck-star 's Easter Special ! Felt very inspired so started this earlier this afternoon and it just flowed! Way longer than planned lol sorry.

Character: Lee Bodecker

Trope: 🌷 Enemies to lovers

Prompt: 🐰 Easter egg hunt

Wordcount: Approx. 3.9k

No major warnings. I have also been deliberate vague about when this is set - so it's up to you! Hope you enjoy - as always I love hearing your thoughts ❤️

🐰

A satisfied grin spread across your face as you arranged the model chicks and bunnies, a sea of pastels brightening up the tired storefronts amongst the floral arrangements you’d already hung. Perfect. You smoothed down your polka dot sundress as you took in the scene. Just beyond the storefronts were the stalls for the fair later, selling everything from lemonade to chocolate, handmade crafts and freshly baked goods. A few of the vendors had started to set up, but there was still a nice amount of time before people would start to arrive. You’d given yourself a wide margin to prepare everything, hopefully you’ll have a little downtime to relax before the festivities began.

Your vision was finally all coming together. It was touch and go there for a while, especially with the well-meaning-but-pretty-useless Jake as your helper, but it was actually starting to pay off. It actually looked…good! Especially for a smalltown fair. You couldn’t wait to see the kids’ faces when they arrived later.

“Looks like the Easter bunny threw up out here,” someone chuckled from behind you.

Your smile dropped as you turned to face the culprit. But you already knew who that smooth voice belonged to.

Ugh. There he was. Again.

His uniform looked surprisingly crisp for him, stretched over his broad shoulders. He must’ve finally given the iron a try. Or maybe he’d convinced old Mrs O’Malley to help out a busy bachelor. You could still spy the curve of his stomach peeking out over his waistband from under the starchy white shirt. Not that it mattered, you normally liked a hefty man.

Just not this hefty man.

He stood there confidently surveying your handiwork, like a judge at a dog show. His sheriff badge caught a flicker of morning sunlight as his mouth pulled into a pensive sneer. He was normally quite handsome, not that you’d ever admit that. He had a gorgeous smile on the rare occasions you saw it, almost boyish in contrast to the severity of his short hair and tense jaw.

“Very funny, Sheriff Bodecker,” you replied in a deadpan tone. “Come up with that one all by yourself?”

He leaned on the roadblock barrier and chuckled. “Yeah. Spent all morning workin’ on it,” he grinned devilishly as he manoeuvred the toothpick in his mouth from one side to the other, his eyes alight with mischief. Lee Bodecker had the most beautiful blue eyes, you’d noticed…

…Shame the man they belonged to was utterly insufferable.

“Glad my tax dollars are going to good use…” you sighed as you moved to collect the baskets for the egg hunt.

“Hey, you’re gettin’ free labour from my men and a whole street closed off for your little Easter party here, maybe save me the sass,” he scoffed. You didn’t like the patronising hand gesture he used to emphasis ‘little’.

You sighed incredulously, continuing to arrange the baskets, “it’s not my Easter party. And it’s a fair by the way. And it’s for the whole town. It’s about community, being together – whether you celebrate Easter or not. A little morale goes a long way…”

He rolled his eyes “Mm. Well the residents who lost their parking spaces to the roadblock this morning certainly didn’t have much morale when they came to bitch at the station about it…”

Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. You turned to him again, one hand on your hip and the other clasping one of the little yellow baskets which you pointed at him accusatorily. You knew exactly who he was referring to. That same vocal minority had also come to PTA meetings, written angry letters to the school – and once even ambushed you at the market. They seemed unmoved that it was a joint effort from the school and the church to do something nice for the town. The way they reacted, anyone might think you were responsible for evicting them from their houses, not using their preferred parking spaces for a few hours. You’d already repeated the same arguments so many times that you could probably recite them in your sleep. You were simply sick of talking about it, which you quickly made clear to Lee.

“Listen here, Sheriff. I’m going to tell you what I told all of them. It’s one day. One. We gave them plenty of notice about it, explaining it was so the kids could do the Easter egg hunt without the fear of getting mowed down, and folks can set up their market stalls with plenty of space. God forbid they park in that lot a few streets over and walk the short distance to main street – they can all fit in there, we’re not exactly New York City levels of population here in Meade…And most of them walk to town anyway!! Besides, the district owns those spaces, not them – just because they park in them most days when they come to shoot the shit at the barbers doesn’t mean they’re theirs.”

A little sharper than you had anticipated, but it did the job. You exhaled, trying to calm yourself down as you felt yourself get riled up.

Lee smirked, cocking his head to the side as he studied you. “Wow. Is that how you talk to your students when they act up? Or is it just me that the local schoolteacher likes to put in his place?” his voice was low, almost a purr.

You didn’t like the strange flush that he somehow brought to your cheeks. You briefly felt off balance. You needed to shake that off.

“My students know how to behave,” you quipped. And just like that, the flush had gone. The familiar irritation had taken its place.

The two of you stared at each other for a moment, a strange buzz between you that you couldn’t quite identify. You felt that with him sometimes. You didn’t know why. Maybe it was just anger.

His eyes were on you so intensely it seemed like they could tear a hole in your skin.

Then he just laughed. The irritation burned through you, down to your bones.

“Why are you even here? The roadblock is up, nothing starts officially for another couple of hours…” you shrugged. “Surely the Sheriff has better things to be doing than supervising me putting up toy bunnies…” you muttered.

“Wow…so much for community and morale,” he replied in a mock-outraged tone.

You didn’t know why you let him get to you so much. You didn’t know why he did get to you so much. It had always been this way with him, nothing but a sliding scale from feisty jibes to outright loathing.

You weren’t like this with anyone else. You were a schoolteacher, priding yourself on being approachable and kind – a figure in the community who was happy to be a listening ear, who took her responsibility for the town’s children and their education very seriously. You were heavily involved in the church, in the PTA, volunteered at the old folks’ home when you had time. This strange feud with the Sheriff was the one misshapen puzzle piece that didn’t fit with the rest of the picture. A fault by the manufacturer.

And it had been like this since day one, since you moved to town just over a year ago. You had been keen to meet the local Sheriff, hoping to ingratiate yourself with him and work together to benefit the community – but he’d shut you down almost immediately when you’d introduced yourself at a town meeting. He’d lazily looked you up and down in a way that could only be described as with contempt. Your smiled had faded as he introduced himself with disinterest, moving back to talk to his deputies like you were some chore he couldn’t wait to finish. You had no idea what you’d done wrong.

Since then, you had just never met eye to eye. Never been on the same wavelength. He just had a way of getting under your skin, of draining your patience in a way that even a rowdy group of six-year-olds couldn’t pull off. Although you generally aimed to always be the bigger person in life and rise above petty things, Sheriff Bodecker seemed to be the exception to that philosophy. Maybe his dismissal of you before he’d even properly spoken to you was what provoked such strong feeling, but you couldn’t explain the inevitable descent every time you met him.

You bickered every time you crossed paths. Arguing in line at the market, squabbling in the street, once there had even been (hushed) strong words at the back of church during a service.

You’d turned up to the station one afternoon to meet with Deputy Carter about arranging a school safety talk and the officers on the front desk had audibly sighed knowing what was going to happen. The whole town was aware of this rivalry, and just sort of took for granted that this was just how things were with the Sheriff and that schoolteacher.

…and yes. The officers were right. You and the Sheriff had managed to get each other’s backs up after a mere few minutes because you had laughed a little too loudly when his hat briefly slipped off his head. Business as usual.

You couldn’t really admit it to yourself. But maybe you also kinda enjoyed it. Just a tiny bit. Sometimes.

“Oh whatever…” you hissed, trying to focus on the task at hand. You didn’t have time for this, you can’t let Lee distract you when you have so much still to do. “Go. Stay. I don’t care either way. I need to hide the eggs and-”

You froze as you tugged at the trash bag containing the coloured eggs that you were going to hide for the hunt. It didn’t feel…right. The weight was off. It didn’t sit like a bag of small toy eggs.

You untied the bag and gasped when the contents were revealed.

Not eggs.

Not even close.

…a bag of trash.

You let out a pained moan as you fell to your knees, rifling through the bag in the weak hope that the eggs were at the bottom, and someone had put trash in the wrong bag by mistake. But no. Not a one there.

How could this-

And then it all fell into place at once. Jake, the enthusiastic but somewhat hapless school coach who had offered to help with the planning. Yesterday, after school you’d given him the eggs as you bagged up the classroom waste bin…he then offered to take it out for you as he was parked near the dumpster…so he must’ve mixed up…

Oh.

Oh God.

…And trash pick-up had been early this morning.

Those eggs were long gone.

Even if by some miracle you managed to somehow track them down, they’d most likely be crushed by the truck anyway – or all mixed in with the town’s other garbage. Covered in God knows what.

You stomach churned. You thought about the kids in your class, how excited they were about the hunt. They’d all been talking about it for weeks, all claiming they were going to win and find the most eggs – win the ‘mystery prize’ that the flyer tantalisingly offered (a brand-new bike, sponsored by one of the richer families in Brewer Heights. You had been so proud to source that).

How could you let them all down? See the disappointment on their little faces when they realised?

You couldn’t.

So, you switched into problem solving mode. As satisfying as it would be to tear Jake a new one for his mistake, that wouldn’t help the kids. Where could you get more eggs? You had already bought out almost the entire supply locally to ensure as many kids as possible could participate. You could drive to another town, but would you make it back in time? What if they were sold out too? This close to Easter…how many eggs were going to be left in stores exactly? Would they even be open? A lot of places had already closed up to spend time with their families. It was that way around these parts, these were mom and pop operations - not national chain stores. You could call ahead but-

“Well. That’s gonna be a weird egg hunt,” Lee interrupted your internal monologue as he toed at the now ripped open bag of trash. “I know the school budget has been cut, but damn…”

You closed your eyes. You’d been so caught up that you’d almost forgotten he was still here. “Just…not now, please,” you snap without looking up.

“Didn’t need to close the street just for you to hide garbage. Ain’t that just littering…?” he chuckles.

You look up at him, tears of frustration swimming in your eyes. “Coach Jensen must’ve switched the bags by accident,” you say softly.

Lee furrows his brows, his ever-present smirk shrinking as he takes you in. Maybe for the first time ever. His features soften as he starts to absorb that look on your face. The look that tells him this is serious. “That guy’s an ass…” he replies, his voice low.

“Yeah, I know,” you whispered. “God…The kids are so excited…”

“You can’t just call it off?”

“No!” you said incredulously. “This is all they’ve been talking about in class, all through school! I can’t just cancel it. I just need to figure out how to find more eggs before the hunt. There’s none left in our store but maybe I could drive to the next town over…”

He put his hands on his hips, his stance authoritative like he was doing a traffic stop, or talking to a perp. He checks his watch. “At this hour? You won’t make it back in time…”

“Thanks for your help Sheriff, as always,” you snarl.

He sighed defeatedly. “Could you just…hide something else for them to hunt? Matchsticks or something? I dunno…”

“It’s Easter! They were promised eggs!” you huff, “what kind of easter egg hunt would that be?”

You are unable to stop the few tears that break through the barrier and onto your cheek. You’re just so frustrated, so tired after staying up late to prepare all of this. And all your hard work is coming unravelled because of a few lousy eggs and a feckless man who doesn’t check garbage bags.

God, what a mess. Why do you even care so much? This is silly. Mistakes happen. The town will understand.

Right?

“Hey, hey,” Lee coos gently and takes a step closer to you, “don’t get upset…it’s just eggs…” His voice is softer than you’ve ever heard it, it barely sounds like him at all.

You feel a wave of shame, mortification that he is bearing witness to this. The unfamiliarity of his tone is so unexpected, so jarring, that it adds to your embarrassment rather than soothes it. Why did he have to be here? Why him of all people? And what, he pities you now? More ammunition for his side in your little war – the silly, emotional teacher who cries over easter eggs. A chink in your armour, vulnerability for him to mock and dine out on for years to come…as if he didn’t already think you were a fool…

“It’s not just eggs,” you reply dully. Your eyes lock onto his. He simply doesn’t understand how important this is. How many children are counting on you. He doesn’t understand anything about you.

You turn away from him, taking a deep breath as you quickly wipe away your tears with your knuckles. You won’t let him have any more of you than you’ve already given. You shakily get to your feet.

“I’m gonna go around to a few parents’ houses and see what I can find,” you say out loud, more for you than for him. To anchor you, make you feel like you have a plan – however weak. “I should be able to rustle up some from their Easter decorations at least. I’ll be back to finish setting up”.

Lee stares at you. It seems like he has more to say, but he remains quiet. He clears his throat, nods. “Uh. Alright. Well, I’m going to go back to the station. Check on a few things. Good luck…with the eggs…it’ll work out.”

You nod, but don’t turn around as you leave him behind. You don’t believe him.

🐇.•*¨`*•.¸ 🐇.•*¨`*•. 🐇¸.•*¨`*•. 🐇

A little while later you make your way back to the fair. You feel so downtrodden that there could almost be rocks in your pockets, every movement takes effort and energy you no longer possess. You dread every step closer as you trudge heavily across town.

Despite a committed campaign, working your way across several neighbourhoods, you were only able to source a pathetic few eggs. Nowhere near enough to sustain a full-on egg hunt for all of the town’s children. Maybe even neighbouring towns if word got out. You check your watch; and you’re running late, too. You were going to have to explain to dozens of disappointed kids (and their angry parents) why their most anticipated Easter activity wasn’t happening. You practiced your speech in your head as you walked.

As you rounded the corner to the roadblock, you took a deep breath and prepared yourself for the worst. Your stomach swam with nausea, your heartbeat echoing in your ears. You should’ve called Jake and made him do this. It was his fault after all.

You brace yourself for the crowd of confused children, when…

You can’t quite believe your eyes.

The kids are here, yes. But they’re running around, yellow baskets in their little hands as they shriek and holler, darting underneath doorsteps and plant pots to hunt. A small pile of coloured eggs sits in each of their baskets. Every single one of them is having a blast. Their parents watch on proudly, sharing their joy.

Are you going insane?

Some of them notice you and wave excitedly, calling your name and shouting over to you about how much fun it is. Their parents echo similar sentiments, and you just wave back gormlessly, trying to figure out what the hell is happening.

Is this some sort of hallucination?

“Phew. Told ya it would work out.”

You turn to the figure who has sidled up next to you, your eyes wide with surprise as Lee watches the joyful chaos unfold in front of you both.

“How…what…” you splutter.

“I remembered we did a similar thing a few years back,” he says casually without taking his eyes off the fun. “It was a police fundraiser around Easter time. One of my dim-witted deputies thought he ordered 100 eggs…turns out he ordered 100 cases…”

Your mouth falls agape as realisation slowly dawns.

“Shoved ‘em in the old outbuilding and forgot we had ‘em if I’m honest, ‘til this morning. Never thought we’d use them all, but here we are”. He laughs and rests his hands on his belt buckle.

“You…you did this?” you whisper, your throat tight with shock.

He shrugs, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Sure. Rounded up a bunch of the boys and we got ‘em all out. Not the most creative hiding places, you probably woulda done better – but the kiddos don’t seem to mind. Some of them are a bit dusty from storage – but again, kids are paying that no mind. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell no one. So, you’ll still get all the credit, you deserve it anyway – you put all the work in”.

Your eyes round as you stare at him. He stands there nonchalantly, like he didn’t just save the day. Didn’t just save you.

“You did that…for me?” you ask, bewildered.

“Sure. You needed help. That prick Jensen wasn’t gonna fix it, was he?”

“B..but. You don’t even like me?” you stammer weakly. Your brain simply can’t absorb any of this.

He finally turns, an eyebrow cocked in confusion. His blue eyes squint as his lip curls. “What? ��Course I like ya”.

You feel like you’re going insane. “What?? We fight, all the time! You are always jabbing at me, making fun of me, riling me up…”

His face mirrors your own puzzlement but for a different reason, “yeah, but it’s just fun, isn’t it? Banter. I love fighting with you. It’s always a highlight of my day. You’re so…fun. Feisty. I love it. I never actually meant any harm…”

If you’d been sitting on a chair at that moment, you would’ve fallen out of it.

“WHAT?” you roar so loudly that some people turn around. You hush yourself immediately, trying to avoid a scene. “You were SO RUDE, the first time we met…it’s been hell ever since…”

He finally has the decency to look embarrassed as his eyes drop to the ground. “Oh, right. That. Yeah. That was shitty. I should’ve apologised…you just caught me off guard…”

“What do you mean?! All I did was say hello?” you sneer through gritted teeth.

“Yeah…and be gorgeous. Nobody told me the new teacher was a goddamn beauty. I panicked, couldn’t form words. You made me feel like a damn teenager with how nervous you made me”.

You just stare at him as you try and process what he’d just said, your mother would say you could catch flies with your mouth hanging open like that.

“Wait…You were rude because…you thought I was pretty?”

“Damn beautiful, actually. And I didn’t mean to be rude. Really. My brain just damn near stopped working”, he says bashfully.

“So, wait, this whole time you…”

You trail off as you suddenly reframe every interaction with him in your memory in a matter of seconds. The strange, unidentifiable buzz you felt with him sometimes. The way he got to you like nobody else. His smile widening every time he saw you, which you’d always assumed was just him getting ready to rile you up. How he would always gravitate to you if you were in the same place. The way he seemed to take so much pleasure in making fun of you, of talking with you…

…being with you?

“I should’ve just not been a coward and spoken to you properly, I’m sorry,” he sighs as he looks down at his feet. His voice more passive than you’d ever heard it. “Ask you on a date. Treat you nice, court you a little. I guess I never thought a pretty girl like you would go for a schlub like me, and I always had your attention when we argued – so why risk it?”

You look over at the giggling kids, the proud parents, the townspeople enjoying the stalls, sipping lemonade and laughing. You look back at him. You think of him hauling those old boxes from the station, getting his staff to help. Trying to find good hiding places for the eggs, wiping the dust from them. Greeting the kids and their parents as they arrived, giving them the little baskets. Doing it all for you without being asked, doing it for you because he wanted to.

Maybe he understood more about you than you realised.

He cautiously stands in front of you, you look deep into his cerulean eyes and before you know it, you’re kissing him. He wobbles slightly in surprise but corrects himself and finds his feet, kissing you back, his arms around your waist like they’d always been there. The rest of the world melts away and suddenly everything feels right. You don’t care that they can all see. You don’t care about anything else.

You break away and rest your forehead on his. You both laugh at the hooting and hollering from behind you, the cries of ‘about time!’ from his deputies. Apparently everyone could see it but you.

“Don’t I get a thank you? For fixing it?” he grins.

“Why? It’s just eggs,” you beam.

“…it’s not just eggs,” he chuckled as he moves to kiss you again.

THE END

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Eri Reader x Record of Ragnarok Easter Special please?

Everyone had to calm Reader when she was learning about Easter, mainly about the Easter Egg Hunt, as she thought it was about stealing eggs from mama and papa birds (She got confused about the Easter Bunny as she asked where do the eggs come from)

Though she became excited when she learned there are small goodies and treats in the colorful plastic eggs

Reader also painted some eggs with Buddha’s help, which she gave to each of her family members as a Valentine’s Day gift (She a little confused but she’s got the spirit) wishing them ‘In sickness and in health’

She is joined alongside Ganesha, Zerofuku and other children for the Easter Egg Hunt which is on a Farm, with Reader and Zero looking for the eggs together, both sharing any if they notice one has fewer eggs than the other

Reader also pets some of the animals and even befriends a baby chick who she named Peep because they make little peeping noises!

Please take your time and get plenty of rest and hydration! 🫶

-You were a bit nervous as you were with Ganesha and Zerofuku as Eve tried to explain the concept of the Easter Egg Hunt, as your massive family took you all out to a large farm to see the baby animals and to have fun.

-Everything started off okay, as you sat with Buddha, Loki, and Hermes, painting eggs with them. You had decorated yours with hearts and gave one to everyone, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” nobody had the heart to correct you that you were celebrating the wrong holiday.

-Raiden and Shiva sat with you and Ganesha as baby rabbits and chicks were swarming around the two of you, coming up to greet you and you were smiling so brightly that you were nearly blinding them with your cuteness.

-One baby chick hopped into your hands, surprising you, peeping up at you and you smiled, “Is that your name, Peep?” Peep peeped loudly, flapping its little wings and you squealed, it was so cute and soft, and you didn’t even realize that many members of your family collapsed, clutching at their chests, unable to handle your lethal power.

-When Eve told you it was time for the egg hunt after Zerofuku told you about the Easter Bunny, you immediately burst into tears, wailing that you didn’t want to steal from the Easter Bunny.

-You were so cute!

-It took a couple of times to explain to you that you weren’t stealing from the Easter Bunny, but that he had prepared the eggs for children to search for, to have fun.

-You still weren’t sure until Buddha got all three of you excited, “All the plastic eggs we brought earlier were filled with candy by the Easter Bunny.”

-The three of you all cheered at the thought of candy which made Buddha grin lightly as Shiva handed you each a basket to collect your eggs in and took you over to the area where the eggs were hidden.

-Twenty minutes later you were sitting with Ganesha and Zerofuku, the three of you counting out each of the eggs you had found, sharing with each other until you each had an even amount.

-Shiva, Buddha, and Adam were all collapsed to their knees, seeing how sweet the three of you were with each other.

-The picture that Adam managed to get, when they surprised you three with a large chocolate bunny each, was one that would be cherished for years to come, as you had bright sparkly eyes, excited to see the bunnies.

-However, this may have not been a good idea, when Loki and Buddha asked you three which part of your chocolate bunnies you were going to eat first, and instantly you were all in tears, not wanting to kill your precious chocolate bunnies.

-Thankfully, by accident, Peep surprised Raiden who accidentally knocked the bunnies over, shattering them when they hit the ground, but thankfully they were still in their bags but since the bunnies were now in pieces and you three didn’t ‘kill’ them, you enjoyed the chocolate as Peep sat on your head, completely content.

-Peep wasn’t going to let you leave the farm without him, but your family thought it was cute and allowed you to keep Peep as Zerofuku and Ganesha took turns holding their tiny new friend.

-While not perfect, this Easter celebration was a success, seeing the smile on your faces.

And yes I'm projecting. I always get sad when I get a chocolate bunny and have to 'kill' it to enjoy it lol

[scary-noodlesblog]

Soulbound Ch 6

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Soulbound Masterlist

(A/N): Reminder: I am skipping episodes Castiel isn't in unless it helps play into the story. If it doesn't I will do a lil flashback of sorts to show what (Y/N) went through in that episode.

After facing a case of an actual magic wishing well, or an ancient coin inside of it, the boys and I ended up having a "chick flick moment" as Dean calls them. Dean admitted that he remembers everything from Hell, and admitted that he lied about it. And I told the boys what I know about being bound to Castiel.

"So, (Y/N), Uriel said to ask you why you can see Castiel's wings." Sam starts after Dean apologized. We are standing on a pier, the three of us leaning on the railing as we look over the water. I stand between the two brothers, running my hand over my face.

I sigh, looking down at the water below, "I, uh, Castiel told me that my soul...is bound to his grace." 

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asks.

"Well, he explained it saying that every angel has someone they're tied to. And Castiel is tied to me. He said we are 'soulmates'." I explain nervously. "Though he said it's more like a guardian angel thing." 

"So what? Is he, like, in love with you or something?" Dean continues to interrogate.

I shrug and Sam says, "you're forced by God to be with him?"

I shake my head quickly, "N-No, Castiel said I have that choice. But it kind of felt like a reassurance more than the truth."

Dean grumbles, his eyebrows furrowed, "Son of a bitch."

~~~~~~~

Sam is pretending to be drunk, playing pool with a random bar patron named Brian. I sit at the bar nearby, watching with amusement while nursing a cocktail.

"Brian, come on, man, just one more. Just -- just give me a chance to win it back." Sam slurs his words.

Brian shrugs, "It's your cash."

Dean walks up to the pool table, "Excuse me. My brother's a little sauced to be making bets."

"He insisted." Brian says.

Dean gestures to his 'drunk' brother, "Yeah, but you've already taken, what, two bills off him? I'm just saying."

Sam pretends to get annoyed, "Hey, shut up, Dean. I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're drunk!" Dean snaps. These two should be actors.

Sam looks back at Brian, "Let's make it five hundred."

"Five hundred?" Dean asks incredulously.

Brian shrugs again, "Sure."

Sam holds up the wad of cash and slams it down on the pool table

Brian removes the pool triangle, setting it aside, "Five hundred. Your break."

Sam lines up his shot and breaks, sinking several pool balls into the pockets. Brian looks at him in shock as Sam looks up. 

His face seems to sober up as he tells Brian, "Keep the money." He tosses the pool cue on the table and walks off.

My eyebrows furrow as Dean asks, "Keep the money? What --" Then Dean stops, nudging me and pointing out Ruby.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I grumble, hopping off the barstool, following Dean as he follows Sam.

"Hey." Sam greets Ruby.

"Well, you got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near us." Dean says, gesturing to me and then himself. "Especially since she has an angel wrapped around her finger."

"Oh trust me, I'm aware of her angelic pet. I just have some info, and then I'm gone." The demon says.

"What is it?" Sam asks.

"I'm hearing a few whispers." She replies, looking at Sam.

"Ooh, great, demon whisperers -- that's reliable." Dean grumbles sarcastically.

"Girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter-egg hunt." Ruby explains.

"Why? Who is she?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"No idea." Ruby shakes her head, "But I'm thinking that she's important, 'cause the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Look, maybe we should check it out." Sam looks at me, then at Dean.

"Actually, we're working a case, but thanks." Dean lies, holding a new mug of beer.

Ruby can tell he's lying, her tone suspicious, "What case?"

"Uh, we've got leads, big leads." Dean continues to lie, making me bring my hand to my forehead in annoyance.

Ruby shakes her head again, "Sounds dangerous."

"Yeah, well, it sure ain't goose-chasing after some chick who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important."

"I'm just delivering the news. You can do whatever you want with it. Far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done." Ruby gets up to leave but I stop her.

"Wait, wait, wait. This hospital Anna escaped from -- it got a name?"

~~~~~~~

Sam, Dean and I made it to the psychiatric hospital Anna was in, now in our FBI uniforms and talking to Anna's psychologist. 

"Of course I want to help however I can." She says.

"Now, the orderly has no recollection of Anna's escape?" I ask her, my hands in my pockets. Dean is searching around the room for anything unnatural, Sam is standing next to me.

The psychologist shakes her head, "Apparently, she knocked him unconscious. The blow caused some amnesia. He doesn't even remember coming into her room."

"That's a hell of a right hook to knock out a guy that's got 80 pounds on her." Dean says, holding his pen and notepad.

"We think she may have planned this, waited behind the door." She gestures to the door and walks out of the room, the three of us following.

Sam interrogates further, "Right. Uh, you mentioned Anna's illness was recent."

The woman nods, "Two months ago, she was happy, well-adjusted, journalism major, lots of friends -- Bright future."

"So, what happened -- she just... flipped?" I ask.

"Well, that's the tragedy of schizophrenia. Within weeks, Anna was overtaken by delusions." The psychologist explains.

I continue to ask, "What kind of delusions?"

"She thought demons were everywhere." She hands Sam Anna's sketchbook. Sam opens it and starts flipping through pages, I look at them over his shoulder.

"Interesting." Dean says.

"It's not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real." She explains, making Dean look up at her.

Dean chuckles, looking at the sketches as well. "Well, that -- that's just batty." Sam turns the next page, the top saying "The Rising of the Witnesses" with a creepy drawing of a girl. We all look at it in shock and Sam flips the next page. The top reads "Samhain The Next Seal is Broken", the bottom had an eerily accurate picture of Don's face, presumably when he was possessed by said demon. Dean speaks up again, "That's Revelations."

Sam and I nod, but the psychologist asks, "Since when does the Book of Revelations have jack-o'-lanterns?"

Dean clears his throat, "It's a, uh, it's a little-known translation."

She nods, not fully believing him, "Well, Anna's father was a church deacon. When she became ill, her paranoia took on religious overtones. She was convinced the devil was about to rise up and end the world. I hope you find her. It's dangerous for her to be out there alone right now."

~~~~~~~

Dean knocks on the door to Anna Milton's house, where her parents live, still in our FBI outfits. Dean peeks a little in the window of the front door after a few moments with no answer.

"Maybe they're not home." Dean suggests.

"Both cars in the driveway." I shrug, gesturing to the driveway next to the house. Dean tries the front door, finding it unlocked. 

Dean walks inside, "Mr. And Mrs. Milton?"

Sam and I follow behind him, Sam calling out, "We're from the sheriff's department. We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions."

I turn to the right of the front door, into the dining room, stopping in my tracks as I see Mr. and Mrs. Milton dead on the floor. Their throats had been slashed. I here Sam sigh as he comes up next to me, Dean following in after him.

Sam kneels down next to the bodies, running his fingers through a powder on the floor. He smells the powder and grunts, "Sulfur. The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna girl --"

Dean interrupts him, "Yeah, they want her. They're not screwing around. All right, so, I'm 'Girl, Interrupted,'" Dean picks up a pile of mail, "and I know the score of the apocalypse, just busted out of the nut-box... Possibly using superpowers, by the way. Where do I go?"

I look up and walk over to the fireplace, picking up a picture of Anna and her parents, presumably in front of her father's church, "Hey, you got those sketches from Anna's notebook?"

Dean looks up at me and sets the mail down, "Yeah."

"Let me see 'em. Check this out." I point out the window on the church, matching one of the drawings Anna did. Both Winchesters look at the drawings, then at me.

"She was drawing the window of her church." Dean says.

"Over and over. If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?" I ask.

~~~~~~~

We enter the attic of the church, guns drawn just in case.

"Guys." Sam whispers, gesturing to someone hiding behind a stained glass pane, "Anna?" We quickly put away our weapons, "We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean, and our friend (Y/N)."

"Sam? Not Sam Winchester?" Anna says, walking out from her hiding spot.

"Uh, yeah." Sam says.

Anna looks at Dean, "You're Dean. The Dean?"

Dean smirks a little, "Well, yeah. The Dean, I guess."

Anna then looks at me, "And you're (Y/N) Singer." 

I nod and give her a polite smile, "That's me."

"It's really you. Oh, my god. The angels talk about you." She looks at Dean again, "You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out, and some of them think you can help save us." She moves her gaze to Sam, "And some of them don't like you at all." And she looks back at me, "You're bound to Castiel, Uriel really doesn't like you. They talk about you guys all the time lately. I feel like I know you."

Dean's eyebrows furrow, "So, you talk to angels?"

Anna shakes her head quickly, "Oh, no. No, no way. Um, they probably don't even know I exist. I just kind of... overhear them."

"You overhear them?" I ask.

"Yeah, they talk, and sometimes I just... hear them in my head." Anna explains.

"Like... right now?" Dean questions.

She shakes her head again, "Not right this second, but a lot. And I can't shut them out, there are so many of them."

"So, they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just... tuning in to angel radio?" Dean chuckles.

"Yes. Thank you." Anna nods.

"Anna, when did the voices start? Do you remember?" Sam asks her.

"I can tell you exactly -- September 18th."

Dean looks at Sam and I, "The day I got out of Hell."

"First words I heard, clear as a bell -- 'Dean Winchester is saved'." Anna says.

"What do you think?" Dean asks his brother.

Sam scoffs, "It's above my pay grade, man."

"Well, at least now we know why the demons want you so bad. They get a hold of you, they can hear everything the other side's cooking. You're 1-900-angel." Dean chuckles, obviously flirting with her.

She smiles back at him for a moment, but asks, "Hey, um, do you know -- are my parents okay? I -- I didn't go home. I was afraid."

The door slams shut, Ruby rushing in behind us. "You got the girl. Good, let's go."

"Her face!" Anna yells, horrified. She takes many steps back, and I walk up to Anna in a poor attempt at comforting her.

Sam holds his hand up to reassure the red head, "It's okay. She's here to help."

"Yeah, don't be so sure." Dean grumbles.

"We have to hurry." Ruby urges.

"Why?" I ask, standing between Anna and Ruby.

"Because a demon's coming -- big-timer. We can fight later." The demon says.

"Well, that's pretty convenient -- showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail?" Dean asks.

Ruby shakes her head, "I didn't bring him here. You did."

My eyebrows crinkle in confusion, "What?"

"He followed you from the girl's house. We got to go now."

"Guys." Sam says, pointing to a statue of the Virgin Mary who has blood dripping from it's eyes.

"It's too late. He's here." Ruby says.

I look at Anna, pulling her by the arm to a closet, "Okay. Stay in there. Don't move."

"Okay." Anna murmurs fearfully. I walk back down to where Dean, Sam and Ruby are. Sam takes out a flask of holy water and Ruby, being the bad influence as always says, "No, Sam, you got to pull him right away."

"Whoa, hold on a sec." Dean responds.

Ruby looks from Sam to Dean, "Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going darkside. He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die."

We all look at each other for a moment before Sam outs the holy water away. Heavy footsteps can be heard approaching as we all watch the door. It bursts open revealing a man in a suit. Sam raises his hand to exorcise the demon. It's eyes change to completely white instead of the black like normal. The demon coughs, "That tickles. You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam."

The demon tosses Sam down the stairs. I splash my own holy water at the demon, making him grunt in pain as his skin sizzles. He grits his teeth and backhands me hard enough to send me flying into a beam, my back connecting with the wood. I hear more scuffling, assuming Dean is fighting the demon now. I groan and use the beam as support to stand up. 

"Hello again, Dean." The demon has Dean pinned to another beam, his nose bleeding as the demon punches him repeatedly. "Come on, Dean. Don't you recognize me? Oh, I forgot -- I'm wearing a pediatrician. But we were so close... in Hell." The demon punches him again.

"Alastair." Dean says, finally putting a name to this asshole. I see Sam coming back up the stairs so I get off of the beam, ignoring the pain in my back as I run up and jump on Alastair's back. It at least momentarily distracts him from Dean as he tries to get me off. I grit my teeth as his elbow connects with my ribs. Sam takes advantage of the situation, getting Ruby's knife and stabbing Alastair...in the shoulder.

The demon grunts, "You're gonna have to try a whole lot harder than that, son." he throws Sam to the side before reaching over his shoulders and yanking me off, slamming my back onto the floor. The wind gets knocked out of me, making me cough. Alastair turns away from us, trying to yank the knife out.

Sam helps me up, then goes to Dean. The three of us look at each other, then to a large stained glass window. We all make a break for it, sprinting to the window. Our bodies shatter the glass and we hit the Earth below.

~~~~~~~

Sam grunts as he sews a large cut on his arm. Dean is in the bathroom, I can hear the water running. I sit at the dining table, my arm laying flat on the surface. My wrist is swollen and I can't move my hand too much.

"Are you almost done?" Dean asks as he walks out.

Sam grunts again, "I'm going as fast as I can."

"Good, 'cause you know I got a dislocated shoulder over here." Dean gestures to his arm that's curled to his stomach.

"Yeah. I'll pop it back when I'm finished." Sam groans as Dean takes a large swig from a whiskey bottle. I don't mention my probably sprained wrist and take the whiskey bottle from Dean, drinking some myself.

"Gimme that," Sam gestures for the bottle and I hand it to him. He groans as he pours some of the alcohol on his wound to disinfect it.

"So, you lost the magic knife, huh?" Dean asks.

Sam grunts again, "Yeah, saving your ass. Who the hell was that demon?"

"No one good. We got to find Anna." Dean says.

"Ruby's got her. I'm sure she's okay." Sam stands up from the bed, "All right. Come on." Sam puts his hands on Dean's shoulder, "On three. One..." I cringe as Dean's shoulder pops back into place, Dean letting out a yell of pain. He groans and sits down in front of me with an ace wrap.

Dean gently grabs my arm, just below my wrist and starts to wrap it, "You sure about Ruby? 'Cause I think it's just as likely she used us to find radio girl and then brought that demon in to kill us." I grit my teeth as Dean tries to wrap my wrist as gently as possible. Sam comes up behind me, "I need to check your back." I nod quietly, Sam lifts the back of my shirt just enough to see the large bruise from where my back connected with the beam, then the ground.

Sam's fingers press into my back, checking for any broken ribs again, "No, she took Anna to keep her safe." 

I squeeze my eyes shut as Dean finishes wrapping my wrist, "Yeah. Well, why hasn't she called to tell us where she is?"

"Because that demon is probably watching us right now, waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That's why he let us go." Sam says.

"You call this letting us go?" I grunt as Sam presses particularly hard on my bruise.

"Yeah, I do. Look, killing us would've been no problem to that thing. That's why, for now, we just got to lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us. No broken ribs." Sam says pulling my shirt back down. 

"How's she gonna do that?" Dean pauses, "Why do you trust her so much?"

"I told you." Sam comes back over with two ice packs, putting one on my wrist and handing Dean the other one.

"You got to do better than that. Hey, and I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I really want to understand. But I need to know more. I mean, I deserve to know more." Dean says.

"Because... she saved my life." Sam responds. He goes on to explain how Ruby came back from Hell with another demon to kill Sam. Ruby double crosses that demon and Sam forces her to leave the secretary she's possessing. Ruby finds Sam again later, with proof that she's possessing a girl who was in a coma and that her spirit was gone. And he unfortunately talks about how they slept together. 

After getting chastised by Dean and I about how gross that is, Sam says that after, he put together omens that Lilith was in the area. He says how Ruby accused him of wanting to fight Lilith and die trying, so that he didn't have to live without Dean. Ruby tried to stop him but he went anyway. Sam says how he went to the house of a little girl that Lilith was possessing, seeing her sitting at the dining table surrounded by sweets. He quietly made it around the house until he reached the dining room. The girl turns around crying that she wants to go home and Sam was attacked from behind. Two demons almost kill Sam but Ruby shows up, fighting them off so Sam can take the little girl and run. Sam comes back and saves Ruby with his powers, successfully exorcising the demon with his mind. 

"Ruby came back for me. Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me. What she said to me... It's what you would've said. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here." Sam finishes his story.

We sit in silence for a moment before a knock sounds on the door, "Housekeeping."

"Not now!" Dean responds.

"Sir, I've got clean towels." The maid says through the door.

I get up and open the door with my non-injured arm, "Couldn't you just leave 'em at the door?"

The maid pushes her way inside, closing the door, then the curtains, "I'm at this address." She hands Sam a piece of paper.

Sam chuckles, "I'm sorry. What?"

The maid gestures to the bathroom, "Go now. Go through the bathroom window, don't stop, don't take your car, don't pass go. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot."

"Ruby?" I ask.

"Okay, yes, so I'm possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me." The maid, or, Ruby says.

"What about --" Sam starts.

"Coma girl? Slowly rotting on the floor back at the cabin with Anna, so I've got to hurry back. See you when you get there. Go!" Ruby leaves the room and we do as we are told.

~~~~~~~

Ruby opens the door to the cabin as we get there, "Glad you could make it."

"Yeah, thanks." Sam walks up to Anna, Dean and I following him further into the cabin. "Anna, are you okay?"

Anna nods, "Yeah. I think so. Ruby's not like other demons. She saved my life."

Sam nods and Dean speaks up, "Yeah, I hear she does that." Dean looks over at Ruby, "I guess I... You know."

"What?" Ruby asks, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I guess I owe you for... Sam. And I just wanted... you know..." Dean clears his throat.

"Don't strain yourself."

"Okay, then. Is the moment over?" Ruby nods at Dean, " Good, 'cause that was awkward." 

I walk over to Ruby as I hear Anna ask, "Hey, Sam, you think it'd be safe to make a quick call, just to tell my parents I'm okay? They must be completely freaked."

I look at Ruby, not as awkwardly at Dean, "Thanks for saving my brother." I give her a grateful smile. 

She simply gives me a soft smile in return and a nod, "Of course."

I tune back into the conversation with Sam and Anna, "Look, I'm sorry." Sam apologizes.

"No, they're not..." Anna's voice breaks.

"Anna, I'm sorry." Sam says, Anna breaking down into sobs.

We all give her apologetic glances as Anna cries, "Why is this happening to me?"

Sam puts his hand on her back, trying to comfort her, "I don't know."

Anna sits up with a gasp, suddenly fearful. "They're coming."

The lights above us start to flicker, the electricity crackling.

"Back room." I say, helping Ruby lock the doors and windows. Sam takes Anna to the back room, then comes back out. Dean is rifling through the duffel bag for weapons. Dean hands Sam and I guns as Ruby looks for the knife, "Where's the knife?"

"Uh... about that..." I say sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"You're kidding." Ruby yells.

"Hey, don't look at me." I look at Sam.

"Thanks a lot." He grumbles and I give him a cheeky smile.

"Great. Just peachy. Impeccable timing, guys, really."

The front door starts to shake violently before bursting open. Wind gusts inside before we hear the familiar sound of wings. Castiel enters, followed by Uriel, making me sigh in relief. 

"Please tell me you're here to help. We've been having demon issues all day." Dean pleads.

Uriel cocks his head at Ruby, "Well, I can see that. You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?"

"We're here for Anna." Castiel interjects. 

"Here for her like... here for her?" I ask.

Uriel looks at me, snapping, "Stop talking. Give her to us."

"Are you gonna help her?" Sam asks the angels.

Castiel speaks up again.

"No, she has to die."

Soulbound Taglist:

@fairy-alix @delusional-paradise @ltotheucy @harryssatellitee @moon-trash1507

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

🐇 Deuce Spade Easter Headcanons 🐇

In light of it being Easter Sunday, I decided to compile a list of Easter themed headcanons for our local baby chick boy

Also, quick word of warning - I’ve never celebrated Easter before so I deeply apologise if any of this is offensive. I just thought that the whole aesthetic of chicks, eggs and bunnies would go really well with Deuce and wanted to write about that

Reader is female

Masterlist

Since Spring has sprung, you decided to tell Deuce about a holiday from your world and him being the sweetheart he is, wanted to recreate it with you here in Twisted Wonderland

🐣 Imagine decorating Easter eggs with him, just having a blast in Ramshackle, with old newspapers covering the surface of the dining table and a bunch of paints spread out. Deuce takes this very seriously, scrunching his nose up in concentration as a shaky hand carefully applies paint to each egg. You did have a wonderful time coming up with different designs but then Ace got wind of your little date and whined about you playing favourites (“Of course, she’s playing favourites - I’m her boyfriend!”) so the next day your entire first year squad (+ Ortho) all decided to decorate Easter eggs so you ended up with a range of colourful mismatched eggs that were worth their weight in gold.

🐣 MATCHING EASTER THEMED OUTFITS. Like obviously you’d have chick themed outfits but imagine also bunny themed outfits as well with him. Of course, you have to deal with Leona’s teasing about how you look even more like a herbivore now but you kind of predicted that. Also, you send every single picture that you take of you and Deuce to his mother (that you are having constant conversations with) and whilst Deuce is so unbelievably happy that his two favourite people are getting along so well, he could do with a little less gushing about him.

🐣 Speaking of Easter outfits, imagine making Easter bonnets together, using a hot glue gun to stick on little bits and bobs like tiny chicks, bunnies and fake flowers

🐣 You handmake him homemade chocolates that are shaped like little baby chicks and bunnies. He loves them so much that he doesn’t even want to eat them, only to get slapped on the head by Ace for being a whipped idiot

🐣 You, Deuce and the rest of the first (minus Jack) totally don’t get food comas from eating too many chocolate eggs at once, by the way

🐣 You already have a habit of making him cute bento boxes or adorable looking omurice dishes, but you decided to go the extra mile and put little chick figurines inside each one. Deuce feels like he’s going to cry - he loves you so much.

🐣 You get him a bunch of those wind up chick toys - the bright eyed smile on his face outshined the sun

🐣 You organise an Easter egg hunt inside Ramshackle, consisting of chocolate eggs, the eggs you decorated and plastic eggs with little toys inside and let the first years go wild

🐣 The two of you go on dates to petting zoos so that you could hang around with actual chicks and bunnies in a safe environment and also go on picnics in the park where you feed nearby ducks (not bread. Bread is not a safe food for ducks to eat.)

[ervikirvi]

Chicken Post (Mutuals)

*This will be occasionally updated as the chicks grow. Feel free to yell at me to update on the weekend

Minor rules:

-Each mutual gets 1-2 chicks (Currently we have 23, ___ are taken)

-Mutuals get to rename their chicks

-If your name isn’t listed and we’re mutuals + we have enough chicks you can ask to be part of this

-Your chicks will be the same color to keep things organized

-Feel free to opt out at anytime

-If your chick dies then I’ll try to get you another one, may not be the same color though

Don’t be afraid to ask me questions about your chick or about their treatment!

I can also try to teach the chick their name. Most success I’ve had with training a chicken is getting them to fly onto your shoulders, ask to be held, and beg for food

The Chicks

Day 1

Distantmanicallaughter: White

Little Asshole Man (Bantam Mille Fleur d’Uccle [Hen] X Bantam Buff-Laced Polish [Rooster])

-First to hatch (A day early)

-Short man ego

-Bullied the other chicks as they were trying to hatch

-Pure white except for a little bit of brown on the face and a black dot on the bat of the head from their Mille Fleur mother

-Feathered feet + Crest

-I’m 100% sure this is a rooster

Cannabis (Splash Easter Egger {?} [Hen] X Ayam Cemani {Or one of the Ayam Cemani hybrids} [Rooster])

-Fibromelanosis (Black skin) [partly]

-Brown egg

-We we’re making bets on who would hatch first, it was between him and a blue egg, Manic won

-Took their sweet old time getting out of their egg, so much so that their egg membrane was starting to shrivel

-Fluffy cheeks + Splash patterning

-pretty chill

Rafareba: Brown

Bean (I have no clue)

-absolute sweetheart

-The reason why I couldn’t get any good high-quality photos (kept on pecking at the camera)

-Immediately tries to sleep in your hands when you pick her up

-Did not want to leave my hand at all when I put her down

-Would occasionally come over and cuddle with my hand if I placed it in there for too long (without my phone of course cuz then she’ll just peck at the camera)

-Pretty big

-I have a sneaking suspicion on who the mother is though but I don’t know her breed

Alb (No clue either) {Title shall be Alba Albatross}

-Pretty nonchalant

-Keeps to himself most of the time

-Very pretty

-Feather-footed

-He’s kind of small, not quite on the runt side though

-Sneaking suspicion on who the father is though he’s a hybrid

Continuation ↓

[dallasgallant]

Time period post: Easter

Going to try and get this one in time for the holiday! Like my other posts on holidays this is going to be a rundown of some base elements and traditions, of course families will have their own variations and it’d be fun to consider for the characters. (If they celebrate at all) similar to Valentine’s Day becoming much more of a ‘everyone’ holiday, Easter was experiencing more of a secularization. The Easter bunny really started to take off by the mid 50s and by the 60s him and Peter cottontail were mainstays.

Dresses and dress up, contests and queens-

Like I mentioned in my previous post, so many contests especially around the holidays. Beauty pageants, spring courts, it’s close to school dance seasons.

But Easter has always been a dress up holiday, especially in the south and usually among the women. Pastels and bonnets, ready for church and beyond. “Crazy/elaborate bonnets” were huge, there were contests at community centers or schools. Look at this winner from his highschool in 1958;

Eggs and bunnies-

So. Many. Bunnies. You will find them on every bit of decoration in every form; plastic, porcelain, plush. There were blow up bunnies too that were relatively popular (have photos of family with them) and sometimes chicks, like a hopping chick toy but usually it was the eggs.

Egg dying. (PAAS only 😤 they’re still around) kits make it even easier and accessible with little wire handles. In some households the eggs are eaten after, and yes it’s apparently safe.

Easter egg hunt. A staple. A classic. Difficulty varies on the age and so to the prizes, as with most. The egg roll is a very 1960s event… which is such a stick and hoop activity to me.

The 1960s also saw the Easter Bunny get cemented in the lore of the holiday forever. Having rose in popularity in the 40s-50s.

Spring-

A lot of Easter decor is general spring, with its pastel colors and baby animals (usually bunnies, ducklings and chicks). There is a lot of store bought decoration but it was a craft heavy holiday. And still is.

Now the lamb cake is a tradition being brought back in recent years by folks attempting in earnest or competing to make the most ironic and terrifying thing known to man. However there was also apparently a similar bunny cake made in a mold but it did not gain half as much traction.

Easter. Like Thanksgiving and Christmas is another major food holiday as well and the hosting culture of the time extends to it as well. Showy food, lots of appetizers and taking recipes from magazines or off packages

Toys and baskets-

Lots and lots at the time— bunnies seem to be more huggable and chicks are more battery powered. They chirp and hop and move, but there was also Hopping bunny toys.

Candy. Another major candy holiday with chocolate and jellybeans and brach’s again having an absolute monopoly.

Some families will construct their own baskets (what’s inside them) but you can buy pre filled cheaper options like with Christmas stockings.

Didn’t mention in my previous holiday posts so I will here but children’s books! So much holiday lore and good memories come out of these adorably illustrated books or novelty songs or even TV specials. Though Rankin bass won’t release “Here comes Peter cotton tail” until 1971 the song and the story existed prior.

[mevvsan]

Looking for a quick and adorable Easter project? This chubby little chick is a great handmade gift and it works up fast!

Want to make your own? I have a free YouTube tutorial showing how to crochet the chick and its egg, step by step, very beginner friendly and super fun to make!

PLUS – I’m currently running a 20% off sale on all my crochet patterns, including the full Hen & Chick pattern this little one comes from. The sale ends April 16th, so don’t miss out!

[les-ducs-de-valmy]

A basket arrives on the front step, wrapped in easter-egg and chick patterned cellophane. Within, there is an assortment of modern candies - marshmallow Peeps in Birthday Cake, regular, and Strawberry; Sour Warheads candies; Gold-foiled chocolate coins; Assorted spice and fruit-flavored jellybeans; Cadbury malted robin's eggs; a bottle each of Jolt Cola and Mountain Dew, and two small bags of Fuego Takis and Cool Ranch Doritos. There are also some meat and cheese sticks, a popcorn ball, and a bottle of bubble solution. There is a fluffy rabbit-ear headband and a small wind-up chick toy.

"Joyeux Paques, Junior! Madame and I hope you enjoy your little Easter basket!"

@le-dieu-mars et co.

Étienne smirks and immediately begins to gorge himself with all of the treats. His father, a man made frugal by various hardships over the course of his career and hell-bent on instilling those values into those around him, would never allow him such blatant extravagance, but he doesn't have to know.

Unfortunately, he could not wait until he had brought this illicit package to a more private area of the palace, and is caught by the former while laying on a couch, the area around his mouth brown from chocolate residue, chewing on a chocolate coin. He might be somewhat disappointed it isn't real money.

What in the name of God is going on here?

Étienne: I was... Sent a gift, and I figured it would not be a crime to enjoy it.

On the upholstery! All at once! Could you not find a table in this whole place? Not to mention the gluttony! Did I not raise you better than this? Stand when I speak to you!

Étienne stands up with some difficulty and sheepishly comes to attention. The Marshal has always been very touchy about food and excessive consumption in particular.

Who is responsible for this?

Étienne: ...

Come, now, you know I'll find out either way.

Étienne: General Kléber.

A man who should know better! Even in a world with unlimited resources, Easter is no time for gluttony... What happened to reflection and prayer, eh? Truly, you embarrass me sometimes.

[togrowoldinv]

Mama Nat Masterlist

Hi everyone! I wanted to put my soft mama Nat fics in the same place, so here’s this masterlist.

Find my main masterlist, Natasha Romanoff Masterlist 1, and Natasha Romanoff Masterlist 2 here. Follow my library blog @togrowoldinvlibrary for fic updates!

I’m also going to include more information about the kiddos below all of the links. Happy reading!

A Few Chicks: Spending the perfect Saturday with Natasha and your kids

Clingy Ali: Your daughter wakes up sick and she clings to Natasha.

Cookie Monster: Morning snuggles with the family

Even Though I’m Leaving: Natasha says goodbye to your daughter before leaving for a mission

Family of Four: A couple of soft moments with Natasha and your daughter after the birth of your son

Gingerbread Houses: You and Natasha start a new holiday tradition with your kids

Golden Egg: Clint invites your family to the farm for an Easter celebration and egg hunt

Her Girls: Nat gets home from a mission and needs some healing snuggles.

Her Greatest Protector: Reader is married to Natasha and they have a daughter together. Your daughter wakes up sick and you’re out of town, but Natasha takes care of her.

Her Hero: When your daughter says she wants to be like Natasha when she grows up, Nat has a hard time believing that’s a good thing. You are there to assure her that it is.

In Her Arms: You’re Nat’s wife and get hurt on a mission that she wasn’t on. She worries about you with your kids and the team as she waits for you to get out of surgery.

In the Dark: When the power goes out, Natasha makes the most of it

Let the Record Show: You and Nat make an important decision about your careers

Like Otters Do: You and Nat celebrate your oldest daughter’s birthday with a day at the zoo.

Mother’s Day: You celebrate Mother’s Day with Natasha

My New Dream: Family movie night!

Safe & Sound: Natasha sings your daughter a lullaby

Snow Day: You and Natasha play with your kids in the snow.

So Loved: You come home from a trip and reunite with your family

Something to Cherish: Natasha always knows how to comfort her daughter.

Storms Rolling In: You have a family tradition when the weather outside gets messy

Stuffed Animal Emergency: When her daughter’s stuffed animal rips, Natasha comes to the rescue

Team Mom: You coach your daughter's softball team and Nat brings the team snacks.

The Best Day: Natasha takes the kids to the park.

The Best Medicine: Natasha comes home from a mission to find you sick with a cold and your daughter worried about you.

The Family Grows: You and Natasha have been fostering two children. You have an important conversation with the oldest one

The Godmother: You and Natasha ask Maria an important question

Through Her Eyes: While tucking your daughter in, Natasha overhears you telling the little girl about her mama’s hero ways

Valedictorian: Your daughter is the valedictorian of her class and the whole team and family watches her graduate

Walks Like a Duck: When you show up at home with ducks, Natasha tries to say you can’t keep them. With the help of the kids, you might just change her mind

Welcome Home: Natasha comes home from a mission to be with her family again

We’ll Have a Little Girl: You and Natasha find out some big news about your baby.

When Did She Grow Up?: You and Nat’s daughter has her first date.

Winning Goal: You and Natasha watch your son play soccer and fluff ensues

You Are My Gift: Natasha and the kids make you a Valentine’s Day breakfast.

Meet the children:

Alianovna Yelena (Ali): Ali is the oldest child. She loves basketball, spending time with Natasha, and is a great student. Ali is your concert buddy and you have so much fun together.

Ivan Steven: Ivan is the second oldest. He plays soccer, basketball, and golf. He loves spending time with Uncle Tony and wants to help protect the world from harm.

Jackson Philip (Jack): Jack is one of newest kids to the family. He was adopted by y’all along with his little sister. Jack plays soccer and basketball. He also spends a lot of time with his uncles, but Sam is his favorite.

Belle Ann: Belle is the second youngest kiddo. She loves princesses and her Aunt Yelena. She’s adopted as well. Belle loves to snuggle and can often be found in Natasha’s office anytime she’s working.

Taylor Rose: Taylor is another new addition to the family. She clings to her brother Jack, but she also warmed up to you quickly. Taylor loves dancing to music and wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.

[sushiburritonoms]

New ETN/GT Fic

I wrote this for Matpat's retirement in March and look at me, right on time as always.

Matthew Patrick's Home for Imaginary Friends and Biblical Abominations

Rating: Gen, no ships, comedy, could be considered crack I guess

Summary: Stephanie Patrick has made a lot of adjustments and sacrifices ever since her husband came back from Everlock and has come out of the other side a stronger person. But six years later, Matthew and Nikita finally achieve the impossible and bring Joey Graceffa back from Pandora’s Box...along with something else. What do you do when your husband accidentally releases the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

You hire them for Youtube of course.

Basically a fusion of Game Theory lore and ETN, featuring Stephanie, Jason, Tom, Lee, Santi, Amy, Mirror Matt, Ash, and a ton of other Theorist cameos and easter eggs. Its the new channel hosts as the Four Horsemen; this will NOT make sense if you don't follow the Theorist channels.

Fic Snippet is below the cut.

Hey Death, whatcha doing?”

“Go away, Fam, I’m busy!”

“You’re busy in MY space! Aren’t you supposed to be off reaping innocent babies or kittens or something?!”

“For the last time, we are GUESTS; you don’t own the space, you glutinous half-wit! Leave me alone!”

“Matt! Matt, Death is messing with your kitchen!!”

“GUYS! I’M ON THE PHONE!”

Stepping into her own kitchen wasn’t supposed to feel like a SAE mission. But Steph kept a flask of holy water and a crucifix in her Lululemon hip bag as she made her way over from the stairwell. The moment she made her presence known, she saw sickly green flames brighten to life in the blank sockets of Death’s skull face.

“Ah! Stephanie! So good of you to join us.” Death nodded his head politely and lifted a skeletal hand to tug at his black hood as though it were some sort of dapper hat. His upper-class London accent made the act feel less ridiculous and more like proper gentleman behavior.

“…Hi.” Steph was never going to get used to how terrifying it was to see green fire instead of eyeballs, especially since Death towered several feet over her and Matthew. Speaking of which… “I thought I heard Matthew’s voice.”

“He went downstairs,” a smooth voice chimed in from behind Death’s black robe. “With the other dude and the chick.”

Death snorted. “Eloquent and informative as ever.”

“She knows who I’m talking about! Now move your nonexistent ass; some of us are trying to work here!”

Steph saw a thick human arm swat at Death’s cloak, and the living personification of Famine stepped into Steph’s view.

Famine grinned at her with a very normal and healthy-looking human male face. Thank God. She would take his human form any day over the emaciated, decayed corpse that was his true form. Today, he was favoring a physique that had very broad shoulders and thick muscular biceps that strained against a baby blue shirt with some anime character imprinted on it. Matthew would surely know the show, but she did not. He had a round tan face with a salt and pepper beard and very mischievous eyes that were partially hidden behind thick black glasses. He eagerly held out one of her mixing bowls, which was filled near to the brim with something that smelled utterly delicious.

“I’m making snacks!”

“Thank you, Famine. That’s very sweet of you.” Steph couldn’t help but break into a smile. “Is this the same body you wore yesterday?”

Famine nodded vigorously. “Matt said we need to pick a body and stick with it. I like this one. Check out my GUNS!” He set the bowl down on the countertop beside him and flexed one of his thick arms at Steph.

Death scoffed. “Flesh is weak. Entropy is inevitable.”

“You’re just jealous because you can’t create anything other than the same lameo body you’ve had for centuries.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the way my human form looks. Not all of us are vain like you and Pestilence.”

“Excuse you?”

Steph jumped. A small, slender woman with incredibly pale skin and long black hair suddenly sat cross-legged at one of Steph’s kitchen bar chairs. She wore a shoulderless black halter dress that went down to the floor, to where Steph could see the tips of shiny Doc Martens peeking out. On her face, she wore black eyeliner to outline her light blue eyes, which were intensely focused on Famine. She looked completely human except for one small detail. She had long, razor-sharp silver claws instead of nails resting elegantly in her lap, like ten slim stiletto daggers just waiting to be thrown.

Death shook his bony head. “How many times have I told you not to scare our hosts like that? Don’t make me put a bell around your tiny neck!”

“Hmm, I’d like to see you try,” Pestilence yawned into the palm of her hand, her claws flexing across her face. They were filed into sharp points and caught the light in a terrifying way. “Sorry to bother you, Steph, but Matt was looking for you and said you needed to be on his call. He’s with the Vessel and Nikita.”

“The dude and the chick!” Famine shrugged. “I said that already.”

“You are useless,” Death groaned.

Oh. Right. Matthew had said he was going to call Jason today. She’d completely forgotten that was happening.

You can continue the fic here

[fleckcmscott]

Frills and Thrills

Summary: A typical night becomes anything but typical.

Words: 1,398

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: This piece was inspired by the below behind-the-scenes photo; the cinematography of One From the Heart (thanks, Lawrence Sher!); and this very 80s song. No, I am still not looking forward to the sequel - but I will take a hot Arthur Fleck anytime. 😎 Please enjoy! Special thanks to @sweet-nothings04 for her help and support! A very tardy Christmas piece is on the way!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

"That'll be $43.67."

Arthur counted out the bills in his wallet. Before transferring his three prescriptions to Groves Pharmacy - a brisk nine-minute walk from his Burnley address - he'd called for the beige and blue tablets' prices. With his lack of Gothamcare, he'd hoped they'd be cheaper than at Helms. "Disappointed but not surprised" was that night's journal entry.

He'd try the new insomnia pills first, get a fourteen-day supply of the other two whenever he could. See if a good night's sleep in the bed he was almost used to would encourage positive thoughts, lighten black moods to grey. After all, they'd improved since Y/N. Still there, still a teeter on the edge of an abyss. But with a guide rope in the shape of a woman's hand.

Leaving $2.41 in his pocket, he surrendered exact change. Took the white paper bag with blue lettering. Offered a quiet thanks and sidestepped from the pharmacist's counter.

Y/N waited in the cosmetics section, purse on her shoulder, a passive expression on her face. He recognized the creams on the top shelf, a flicker from when he'd shopped for Penny. The silhouette logo, the black label, the rounded corners of the jar. Anti-wrinkle Oil of Olay, then, when money was too tight, the knock-off poured into her Oil of Olay jar. His subtle subterfuge had gone undetected. Wrinkles continued to form in the usual fashion. He'd continued to save a quarter and make the swap.

As Y/N picked up a pink compact, Arthur slinked behind her to speak in her ear. "You're already pretty."

Giggling, she hung the rouge in its spot between concealer and cream foundation. "You make me blush enough already. Did you get what you needed?"

A crooked half-smile. "I think so." He entwined their fingers and started towards the exit, an attempt to halt any further questions that might lead to med and money talk.

Aisle three's endcap had an Easter display, a thousand plastic wrappers crying out for attention. Jolly Jack chocolate bunnies and Cadbury mini-eggs, pastel baskets and cellophane grass. The plush baby chicks were awfully cute, perfect the kids at the children's clinic. He'd jot a reminder to come back after the holiday, grab some plastic eggs and props at half price.

"My parents used to dress us up and take us to our grandparents for a picnic and Easter egg hunt," Y/N said, crouching to browse a set of die cut decorations. "Do you want to do anything for Easter?"

In spite of his mother watching a televised mass and sharing a bag of jellybeans, the day hadn't ever been personal. The Fleck household was anathema to miracles. Even with the miracle he was currently living, he had no desire to celebrate a victory he didn't believe in. "No. Why?"

"You've got a heavy eye on the Peeps - my little sister likes to put them in cocoa. And I thought you were Catholic. Or at least raised Catholic, with all the prayer candles and icons in your apartment."

The answer came firmer than intended. "Those were Penny's."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. You wouldn't have hung a Madonna over the bed. I bet you weren't responsible for that ugly cat candle, either."

Snorting, he rolled his eyes, recalling all he times he'd dusted his mother's knickknacks. The sculpted candles were the worst. They'd developed a weird film sticker than nicotine stains, and grime stuck in every crevice. On bad days he'd been tempted to throw them out. On good days he'd care for them, because Penny loved them so. Inklings of whimsy in a life of indifference.

The never indifferent woman at his side rose to walk with him. Grove's automatic doors opened and they spilled onto the busy sidewalk.

Two blocks up, a light sprinkling began, lent the pavement a velveteen sheen. With each step that sprinkling grew heavier. From a drizzle to a patter to an outright shower. Puddles formed beneath their feet, threatening shoe seams with leaks. Arthur crumpled his paper bag, shoved it in his tan jacket's pocket, and jerked his hood over his head.

The toe of Y/N's kitten heel skidded past a pool as she hopped to the right. "The weather report didn't mention rain!" she cried, ambles escalating to a jog.

A fierce gust sent sheets of water sideways, whipped the hem of her pleated skirt to flash her thighs. Arthur looped his arm through hers, pulled her into an alley to take refuge under the canary, corner awning of Mott's Spirits. Cigarette smoke drifted from the crowd gathered along the storefront. Her wrinkled nose kept him from lighting up himself.

She gathered the collar of her wool coat. "Well, I'd like us to do something small, if that's all right. It's been years since I've celebrated anything, really. I want to put all that behind me again, like last Christmas. Easter Parade's playing at the Majestic this week. I haven't seen it but the summary sounded like you. A song-and-dance romantic classic."

How could he argue with the sweetness of her reasoning? That he was the reason she wanted to celebrate? He gave a little nod. "I think Tuesdays are half price."

Just then, a bell rang out, crisp and clear despite the downpour. A bicycle messenger sped their way, a dozen plastic bags hanging from the ten-speed's handles. Arthur darted in front of Y/N, sought to protect her from the incoming splash. She yanked him tighter, out of the menace's path.

But it was no use. Muddled water pelted the back of his trousers, liquid ice soaked through white socks. He jolted to his tiptoes, teeth clenched against the stinging cold.

Y/N bent to survey the damage. A groan left her, which quickly became a laugh. "What an asshole," she said, then laughed all the harder. The warmth of it loosened his stance, and he found he had no choice but to join in. She settled back against the shop's window, stuck out her lower lip to blow a damp lock of hair from her forehead. The lock remained in place. "If only I'd had my umbrella."

Neon light from a Gotham Lottery sign spilled across her face. "Winners aren't born. They're made!" was the lotto's slogan, and Arthur had finally found a winning ticket. Orange accentuated the tawny flecks of her irises, rounded the curves of her cheeks. A perfect frame even an imagination as vivid as his couldn't improve.

A drop trickled down his scalp, skimmed the side of his neck, sneaked beneath his collar. He'd caught Easter Parade on television years ago. Studied Astaire's steps, how he'd slipped a diamond ring on the leading lady's finger. What would Y/N look like, Arthur wondered, in a lace bonnet, its ribbons tied under her chin? A hat he could loosen while they kissed, hold as a shield against prying eyes?

A couple of swells like them would make a beautiful pair, better than any Vanderbilt or Wayne.

When his thumb traced her jaw, her full lips parted, as if about to ask for a dance. Dark brows raised, her pupils dilated, full of unquenchable life. The affection in them, the openness. The caring curiosity and eager readiness to accept all of him made him tremble. Her love felt like rain on his skin, and for once he understood why someone might sing in it.

He leaned closer, until her breath brushed his lips. "Kiss me."

Her arms wound about him in an instant, a sudden, welcome pressure on his ribs. He cupped her face. Guiding, following, bracing. Their mouths a messy collision of desire and devotion and dreams. Her frame vibrated against his, the pulse under his fingertips beating to the rhythm of his heart.

At last, a wave of giggles broke them apart. Arthur pushed himself to stretch beyond his shy nature towards the forward, confident instinct he was learning to polish. His eyes flitted between hers, a demure smile adorning his cheeks. "I'd like to make love, if you wouldn't mind."

The blush he caused so easily crept across her face anew. "Last one home is on top," she said, and pressed the tip of her nose to his. "Give me a head start."

With that, Y/N held her purse horizontally above her head and sprinted into the deluge.

~~~~~

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