#her parents are dead and some horrible stuff happened when she was younger and her big sis ends up getting arrested

[c0la-queen]

Hellooo! I just found your page and saw that you write eddsworld stuff! (It’s hard to find fics like yours) and I was reading some of it and I just had a request I wanted to ask (if you don’t mind :D) okay so imagine tords father being actually affectionate with his wife (in private of course) but not just like kisses and stuff he’s LITERALLY all over his wife and is literally not afraid to drag her into the bedroom and tries to tell tord to be like that with his future wife! Btw I love all your fics I’m still reading them now lol

Okay this is a little funny to me because I'm just imagining my version of Tord except he has zero to minimal amounts of daddy issues compared to what he has in my usual timeline. So for this ask, we're delving into Tord: Healthy Family Edition. (Also I am so sorry for being dead. I'm a freshman going to college for the first time and have been adapting to everything!! You guys' support and patience means everything to me!)

--

So we're running off the scenario I gave in my Red Leader dating headcanons. If you haven't read that, see my General Dating Headcanons post.

If you're not interesting in reading that, which I totally understand, here's a brief summary of how Red Leader and Reader met:

Reader starts out as Red Leader's personal secretary. He's notorious for having such a horrible temper that he runs through secretaries like Sarah Boone ran through lawyers (true crime joke, sorry). However, Reader handled his temper and returned it to him tenfold, earning his respect and eventually his love.

Now, in this world, Tord actually had a healthy family life. As the ask said, his father was very openly affectionate and in love with Tord's mother when in private. With Tord and his younger sister, it was what you'd see from parents in media that were happy and in love. Open PDA, frequent dates, and compliments galore. Tord's father, as the Red Leader, would shower Tord's mother in gifts - the finest jewelry in whichever metal she preferred, luxury chocolates, trips to different countries, etc. But it wasn't always money. He spoiled her in other ways, too. Filling the house with vases of her favorite flowers. Giving her massages in the privacy of their bedroom if she was sore. Doing everything in the house on days when she's especially tired. When his mother was pregnant with Tord's younger sister, his father's already heavy spoiling was increased tenfold. Tord was old enough to perceive the world at that point, so his father made sure to hammer into his brain that when his future wife is pregnant, he needs to treat her like a goddess incarnate. Tord took that to heart.

When Tord got older - about his teenage years, maybe around when his father had "the talk" with him (he had no idea Tord didn't need "the talk" and that he had been exposed to copious amounts of hentai when he was 15) - his father started to teach Tord how he expected him to treat his future wife all the time. Of course, Tord had grown up seeing how his father lavished on his mother. But there were some parts that he didn't quite understand as a child that his father clarified. Like his mother's periods! His father taught Tord that while all periods were experienced differently, there were a few different things that generally all period-havers enjoyed. I recently saw a TikTok where a woman said "however much you're spoiling your girlfriend during her period, I want you to triple it." This is something that Tord's father would say to him.

As for bedroom happenings, Tord's parents would do what good parents should do and make sure that the kids are never exposed to that part of their lives. When they're old enough to know what sex even is, Tord wants NOTHING to do with even thinking about his parents having sex. It sends shivers down his spine. For your pleasure as the dear readers on the other side of the screen, I will just say - Tord definitely got his father's genetics <3. Tord's mother was a very content woman.

Back to present day Red Leader (Tord, not his father), there are two stages to his relationship with Reader. The first stage is when they're still dating. Well,, dating in Reader's eyes. As I said in the general headcanons, Red Leader sees dating Reader as an unneeded formality. But Reader, being sensible, still wanted to take it slow instead of jumping straight into marriage. She would continue to work as his personal secretary - its his fucking army, whose going to stop him? The HR department isn't going to say anything since they're both consenting adults and any soldier who is stupid enough to try to accuse Reader of being a gold-digger is going to be cleaning every bathroom on base for a month.

Where it differs in this timeline is that Red Leader wouldn't try to keep a professional air around you in public. He'll come up behind you and wrap his arms around your torso, resting his chin on your shoulder. It doesn't matter if you're talking to another soldier about some paperwork or some other red tape nonsense. If the soldier you're talking to has any objections, they're quickly silenced by Red Leader's piercing stare. They're not risking putting their ass on the line. If you berate him for it afterwards, Red Leader will just pout and whine like a petulant child. He was getting bored doing paperwork and just wanted to hold you, how is that a problem :( He's so protective of you and is even more open about it now. He'll give you at least one body guard if you're going somewhere without him. Makes sure that you're exempt from normal soldier duties because HIS darling should only be tending to him and that's it. He openly shows so much favoritism toward you that even if you two were trying to keep your relationship a secret, every soldier was able to see it within like a week.

Once you two are married, you don't have the option of still getting to be a soldier. Red Leader will let you have whatever hobby you want - no matter how strange, niche, or complex it is, he'll fund it just to make you happy - but you're not going to be doing ANY kind of work if he has anything to say about it. Even if you just end up sleeping through most of the day, he's perfectly content to let you nap the day away all safe and cuddled up in his luxury satin bedsheets. Shows so much PDA all the time. Doesn't matter where you are or who is there. If you're in the base and some soldiers come into Red's office for something, he'll talk to them with a straight face while you lounge on his lap doing something or other. Discussion over drinks with an ally world leader of his? He'll still have you pulled flush to his side with his arm around your waist. Out in public with cameras on you? You bet your ass he'll still pull you in for a sweet, chaste kiss or press his lips to your temple as a silent reminder that he loves you.

Took all his father's advice to heart. You are the most spoiled person on the entire planet, you think. Cleopatra would be so envious with the way that you had Red Leader falling to his knees at your feet just to make you happy. Anything you want, anything at all, he'll get it for you. There has been multiple times where you were craving something specific from a certain country and Red Leader made it his mission to fly out to that country just to get you your craving. All the same kinds of presents that he watched his father shower on his mother - he would get for you, too. Jewelry in your favorite gemstones or ones that matched your eyes. Diamonds in every form, shape, and size. Clothing made of the finest imported materials. Desserts from around the world that were made for queens. Hundreds of dollars of perfumes in your favorite scents. Anything and everything just for you.

Takes your periods very seriously. He somehow knows your cycle better than you do. Tracks it like his life depends on it. He knows that your period is coming days before you're even aware that its time. The morning it starts, he's already got everything on hand. Whatever things work best for your period. A heating pad or ice packs, a bottle of Midol, and every snack and drink that you crave. He'll have the base kitchens make bulk desserts just to have on hand for you. Ice cream is already in the freezer. You're aching or bloated? The bath is already full and has your favorite bath oils added. That metal arm does wonders to massage your aching muscles. If you need something weighted for your cramps, what better than a buff soldier to lie on top of you! (If you need any kind of release, Red Leader isn't afraid of a little blood ;3)

If you ever get pregnant? Forget ever getting up for any reason other than daily exercise that's healthy for you and the baby. Even then, you're only allowed to walk around you and Red Leader's living quarters or out in the grassy training grounds with Red Leader by your side the entire time. Other than that, you are confined to bed or couch rest at all times. You are literally growing his child every hour of the day for the next nine months. Red Leader doesn't want you even thinking of doing anything other than resting and being the amazing person that you are. He'll do everything that the base doctors said would be good for you and the baby. He makes vitamin and herbal drinks for you, gets you every craving, and makes sure you're at top health. He deals with your shifting hormones without ever making a fuss. The affection is cranked to maximum - with the gift-giving having the added bonus of baby oriented items. He was never happier than when he sat on the floor of the nursery, putting together your new IKEA crib while you researched nursery themes on Pinterest in the plush chair against the wall. Not to mention, he increased base security more than ever during those nine months. He didn't want any of his enemies even sneezing within 1,000 miles of the base without him knowing about it. Not when the love of his life was more vulnerable and fragile than ever.

Tord's father in this timeline would be proud of the man he raised. Women are a gift to this world and deserve to be treated as such. Reader is Tord's entire world and he wants her to feel like it.

[niko-jpeg]

NIKO!!! HAI!!!!

Got any fun facts about Camp Green Hill (or any other AU's you might have) you'd like to share with the class?

Also stay safe! It's getting hot!! Drink water and wear sunscreen!

HI SCRAP!!! I do. I always do. I'll run through a bunch of misc Camp Green Hill stuff <3

Blaze has a family! She's the eldest daughter and in line to inherit the throne when her parents step down, and has a pair of twins for siblings, who are a few years younger than her. Silver is quite well liked among her family (and in the Sol dimension, lol), and they have a little nickname for him: Slipper! Both in regards to how clumsy he was growing up, and also just because its really cute. This is based on the intentional incorrect spelling of his name when referring to him affectionately in the fandom. It tickles my brain, lol. Not only is he practically a member of the royal family, but one time, one of the twins asked who would get the throne if Blaze were to not be able to. Without missing a beat, their mother informed them that it would be Silver, actually.

...He doesn't realize they're dead serious, by the way. If things really were to go wrong, they want Silver to take over until the twins are old enough to take care of the empire. lol. Also, Marine! She comes way late, but she does eventually show up!

Shadow is not only a trained agent, but also a trained therapy hedgehog! I'm serious. He was taught how to manage other people's emotions and act as temporary therapist. He's also warm, fluffy, and okay with being cried on, so he's perfect for the job.

Omega is in the au! He shows up later down the line, and after the events of the au, goes to live with Rouge and Shadow in the city working for GUN too.

Sonic has a horrible history with water activities and accidentally getting stuck in the mangroves and brambles lining the shore. Its really funny how horrible his luck is.

Shadow was based loosely on a hedgehog to appeal to Maria, since he was planned to be part time therapy-hog from the start. Mephiles was loosely based on Shadow. This makes Mephiles EXTREMELY far removed from a real hedgie to some degree. Its kind of hilarious.

Amy has a never ending stash of jelly bracelets, Shadow has a never ending stash of coffee beans, and Tails never seems to be in short supply of goggles. Where does he get them?

Tails and Sonic have their own rooms on the camp, but stay in the dorms with the rest of the campers during the summer!

Tikal is a really sweet ghost who haunts the ruins nearby. She's plot relevant, trust me ;)

The Storybook games are planned to be fever dreams from our dear Sonic while fending off a cold. But they could have a little more validity behind them than it may appear...

Rouge plays saxophone! In fact, there are several musically talented members of the camp, both campers and staff!

Uncle Chuck eventually gives up on paperwork and makes his campers swear that whatever happens in camp stays in camp. He decides this after the SA2 plot equivelent. Especially now with 2 whole government agents there, one working as a counselor and the other a camper.

The Chaotix are a fun bunch! Vector works whatever misc job he can get around the camp so Charmy and Espio can go for free. They're an inner city family, and don't have much money. He also has a crush on the camps' nurse, Vanilla. Espio wants to be a detective, and has a special interest in detective work. Charmy came into the equation more recently, as Vector took custody of the kid after a family friend begged him to.

I've always got more, if anyone would like to ask about a specific character, game, plot point, or ask about details on the camp! Asks for the characters will open very soon too, and you can send them in if you'd like. Thanks for asking <3

[ghostboneswrites2]

would you write caryl with an oc perhaps a 20 year old girl they’d taken in since before henry died. maybe she struggles with her relationship with carol because of henry until smth happens to her too

Had trouble writing a full story for this one, but I didn’t wanna leave you hanging so I hope this suffices!

Warnings: TWD stuff, grief, mild angst

You spent most of your life on the run. You had a family when you were young, but the rotten world around you had slowly picked them off, one by one, until you were left on your own.

You were only about eleven when your brother, your last remaining family member, died from an infection of all things.

Spending six years alone was no easy feat. You had to learn to survive, sometimes filling your belly with leaves and worms just to get by.

Being on your own for so long, without peer interaction or any kind of friendly social contact, somewhat stunted your development. You didn’t have a lot of social skills, if any, and your mannerisms and behaviors hadn’t changed much since you were eleven.

Carol found you one day in the woods, asleep by a stream in the dead of winter. You were frostbitten and malnourished, and you had a horrible fever.

Despite the cards you had been dealt, you were still a smart person. You’d kept track of the seasons as they passed, and you remembered your birthday was in the summer sometime. So, when it became swelteringly hot outside, you’d count another year past.

Daryl was reasonably cautious upon your arrival. Carol had thrown you in her horse and walked you home with her the day she found you. It took her twice as long to return home since she had to walk.

Carol told him they could send you on your way if need be, but something about the sight of you freezing on the forest floor made it impossible for her to just turn away and leave you there. She reasoned it was her motherly instincts. A mother can never really lose those, she reminded him.

They were both shocked when you woke and you told them you were fifteen. Years of poor diet kept you small. You looked much younger.

Days passed with you under their roof, stealing their hearts as Carol cooked you warm meals and Daryl taught you how to help him clean a kill.

After some months, you had formed quite the bond with the two. Carol taught you some recipes, Daryl took you hunting.

You never really knew if they were together, but sometimes you’d catch a lingering gaze or a soft touch that felt too intentional to be nothing.

When Carol started to form a relationship with Henry, after his brother died, you also became friendly with the boy. The two of you would often fight with sticks as if they were swords and play hide and seek around the Kingdom when you visited.

Carol and Daryl resided with you in a home not far from the Kingdom, so you visited often. Plus, you had a tendency to pester them about going to visit Henry. Even if he was younger, you enjoyed him.

After the war with the Saviors, Henry chose to come live with Carol, which meant you and Daryl as well. He wanted to live somewhere he wasn’t constantly reminded of his brother, or his parents whom you never met.

As you and Henry grew, Carol seemed to take him in as a son, which you were happy for. Your relationship with Daryl had always been closer than it was with Carol, so it was almost perfect.

When Henry died, you all felt it. Carol withdrew, hell-bent in revenge, while Daryl felt a sense of responsibility and grief himself. You had lost your closest friend, someone like a brother. You were used to losing people, but it still hurt. You still suffered.

Somehow, Carol’s grief manifested into a coldness toward you. You accepted it, but it hurt you.

One night, you had an idea to honor Henry. You snuck out when Daryl and Carol had retired for the night. You followed the roads over to an old convenience store, where you and Henry had hoarded random things for years. Toys, books, weird knickknacks, cool rocks. If you found it, and liked it, it ended up there.

You loaded a bunch of Henry’s favorite finds into a bag to bring home. You wanted to make a sort of emo rial for him, like a shrine. You thought Carol might like to see some of the things Henry enjoyed in his lifetime.

On the way home, you got cornered by a small herd. You had to fall back into a random shop, where you barricaded yourself and survived for two days.

Daryl grew sick with worry the morning he discovered you gone. Carol did too, but she figured you had run away or something stupid. “Kids do stupid things, Daryl.”

Still, he couldn’t rest until he knew you were safe. He and Carol set out to find you.

On your second day, they found you, and surprisingly the first one to embrace you was Carol. You melted into her arms. You hadn’t felt a maternal comfort such as a warm hug in ages.

She scolded you about being stupid, but all you could do was smile at her worry. She did care for you.

You showed her all the stuff you’d taken for Henry’s memorial. She teared up at the sight, and the three of you built a shrine for Henry at home that night.

[idyllic-affections]

DON'T.... BECAUSE KAVEH'S YOUNGER!SIBLING BEING ANGRY IN THEIR STEAD.. im so sorry for swarming ur inbox but ydbihsjakdas

i could just IMAGINE their arguments about it

"she's our MOTHER, you don't disrespect her like that!"

"yeah, but she ABANDONED us!"

"she didn't abandon us-"

"YES SHE DID! she ran away and left us here, in sumeru, because she was hurting. i know."

"she deserves to be happy-"

"but what about us? what about me? what about you? she sounds SO much happier with our step siblings, and she doesn't even visit us! you can't keep defending her!

you can love her all you want, i don't care. you say she's our mother, but she's been absent ever since dad died."

"you have to understand-"

"I DO UNDERSTAND! and you took care of her when she was sad. you took care of me because she was sad. you were a child too, and you were more of a mother to me than her!"

"don't say that-"

"just because she's my mom doesn't mean i have to like her!"

kinda projected here but good god this makes me wanna explode. i like to think kaveh's younder!sibling has been going through that "rebellious teen phase", but it's not a phase, it's just how they are after growing up with a pretty absent mom and dead dad. they see how much their brother suffer, they 100% wanna help him, but they're going through it too yk??

imagine how frustrating it is for them whenever kaveh talks about their mom and he always says nice things about her but they could see the sheer bitterness, guilt, and melancholy in his eyes. they can't help but hate her for not being there for them (i like to think they're maybe an infant or very very young when it happened) n making their big bro, their parental figure, go through this horrible mess.

n they just kinda grew up with that hate w/o telling kaveh bc they didn't wanna add into his plate of problems. but the hate slowly manifested with other stuff until they went from 'not wanting to cause trouble for kaveh' to 'i cause trouble because i can't control myself and i need to release my anger on something else'

so ya i think kaveh's younger!sibling would be temperamental n people see them kinda like a bully, opposite of kaveh :( even if kaveh raised them kindly, i think reader's hatred to their mom saved them from copying kaveh's self destructiveness...

which caused kinda of a strain in their relationship when reader became a teen

(on the flip side for some reason i think reader would get along with alhaitham more (which would hurt kaveh tbh) bc alhaitham's mentality clashes so much against kaveh's n it's probably what reader needs more... they probably preferred alhaitham's "you're allowed to get angry at things you felt was unfair, even if she's your mother" than kaveh's "she still loves us... she just- she just needed to move on to be happy. she deserves it.")

sorry i kinda developed a whole reader here and maybe this is incoherent blabbering im gonna hide now >q< feel free to ignore !!

NOOOOO NO DON'T HIDE I AM HEARING YOU OUT SOO MUCH RN WE ARE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH

ohhh the strain that would come as a consequence of that rage and pain... sigh. parentified kaveh is so real, honestly, because with how bad faranak's mental health became, she definitely would not have been able to raise her youngest child. kaveh would be the one to raise them. kaveh would be the one they ran to when they scraped their knee. kaveh would be the one to kiss away their tears. kaveh would be the one to help them with homework and little things like that.

it would always be kaveh.

(and i think faranak would be painfully aware of the way they no longer come to her for comfort and consolation, but i don't think she would be able to feel bad about it until years later, because she's already so... fucked up. she would just be glad that someone was nurturing her child, even if that had to be kaveh.)

i think [name]'s anger would be a good and important testament to how well kaveh really raised them, though.

(but of course, it would also prove dangerous and self-destructive which i mention a bit further down in the post!!)

one who values themselves is one who feels angry when mistreated.

and [name] is fucking livid, for both themselves and kaveh. [name] is aware of faranak's neglect. because kaveh taught them to love themselves more than he could ever even hope to love himself. kaveh raised them well, even if that responsibility never should have been his in the first place.

so it honestly hurts them both when they fight like that.

"don't you dare disrespect her, [name]. you have no idea what she did for us." "what she did for us?! what the hell-- kaveh, she left us for some random fucking guy neither of us have ever met! how can you not see what's wrong with that?!" "do not talk about her like that. she did her best. doesn't she deserve to be happy, [name]? doesn't she?!" "oh," they'd scoff, "so 'her best' is abandoning her kids, parentifying her oldest son, and running from her past like a fucking coward?" they would roll their eyes and turn away at that point. "no, kaveh. she doesn't. neither of us are, so why does she deserve to be happy?" they'd then leave.

and consider this dialogue somewhere in there:

"she isn't my mother. she didn't raise me. you can like and defend that woman all you want, but she never was and never will be my mother."

they care so much about what kaveh went through for them. they are so painfully aware of the sacrifices he made to raise them. you know how parentified oldest siblings are usually the only ones aware of the abuse and neglect, whereas the younger siblings they raised think their parent is an angel who did no wrong? it's the opposite here.

and [name] getting along better with alhaitham in their teens... you are so right. they would.

i can imagine them fighting like this in alhaitham's home, and when [name] finally gets pissed off enough that they just leave to cool down, kaveh also retreats and stays in his room for a bit. but a few minutes later, when he comes back out, alhaitham is gone.

he left after [name], because a pissed off teen out wandering alone in sumeru and possibly sumeru's wilderness is unsafe.

(i feel like [name]'s anger could translate into ambition. hmm. pyro vision [name], maybe?)

kaveh knows they get along better with alhaitham nowadays, and i think it hurts him so much. but... he also does want what is best for them, and maybe. just maybe he is not best for them anymore.

(little does he know, they cry a lot to his roommate about just... wanting their brother. but not being able to open up to him like they used to because he'll only keep making excuses for their mother. and he'll only keep hurting himself in the process. and they don't want to see him destroy himself.)

alhaitham would validate their feelings more than kaveh would. he believes they should be pissed. he's not good with tears and feelings in general, but he is rather decent when it matters. and it very much matters when it comes to kaveh's mentally and emotionally wounded younger sibling.

i think alhaitham is better for them at this point in their life. and, you know, i feel like... in a way, he could help them learn to be less destructive. because also i feel like [name] is self-destructive in their own way, too. they get pissed and push away the people they love (aka kaveh). and they're hurting themselves in the process, but it's in a less obvious way than how kaveh is hurting himself (all the overworking, constantly doing everything for everyone, etc etc).

alhaitham is so blunt and straightforward and it would be refreshing compared to the mental gymnastics kaveh does to justify what faranak has done. and honestly, the factual truth is that [name] is allowed to be angry. alhaitham knows that and he's very clear about it.

and hear me out--

[name] enrolling in the akademiya, but instead of the expected darshan (kshahrewar or something similar)... they enroll in haravatat. just a thought.

they're probably just kind of mean in general compared to their brother, and i think that comes as a surprise to a lot of people, but i mean... who can blame them?

they need to go to family therapy HELSPDKDHSKGA

[mushroomnoodles]

So Simon is just gone just like that!? That must've been horrible Morri to see when he woke up!😢 like imagine saying goodnight to your dad and thinking what you'll do the next day together and he's just...gone. And how did Marceline react to Simon's death and Morri now down a parent?

tw parental death, grief, angst in general, god kid is raising themself

churning out some of these questions that i wanna answer with no art, mostly because i want people to know what happened/my thoughts even if i don't feel like drawing or don't have time to.

it was absolutely horrible for little 13 year old (250 year old) morrigan! they were very distraught and confused, because simon didn't even age or give them a warning. a thing they won't forget is the coffee machine was still on, with a full pot.

the emotional devastation sorta kickstarted their dormant god powers, and when they were silently trying to preserve simon's body (they didn't want him to rot, they wanted him to stay with them forever) they initially turned him to stone. morri has been highly intelligent since conception, so they don't exactly think like a teenager, more like a naive adult i'd say, but they're also still a child if that makes sense? they want their papa, they feel safe around him, they love him.

after their initial bewilderment they realized they could sort of force his body into whatever they wanted (remembering those long past memories of grasping for things with their powers while simon was still carrying them, changing those objects and hearing simon react to it) and turned his corpse into a crown that they could hold onto.

they couldn't really bear to be in the house, and they just wanted their dad back, so they simply left with some stuff they thought they'd need (they did want to be an adventurer when they were younger, so they had a loose idea of what to take).

when their judgement wasn't so clouded by leave me alone, my dad is dead, they were afraid pb would do things like she did when they were still in the womb without simon to protect them and also feared that they would be suspected for simon's death due to their. uh. nature. and they didn't want to tell marceline.

morri chose to navigate their puberty alone (and it was such an itchy one, growing spikes and claws) and when more powers came in (portals to other parts of the world, portals to other universes, floating) with no stable guide of their own they took to.. less than healthy coping mechanisms when they found bringing their dad back to life was going to be a lot harder than anticipated. every now and then, they'd hear of marceline looking for them, and they'd avoid her, ever so determined to "fix" things so they could go back to normal and their family would be fine.

morri did have a few on and off parental figures, especially when they were younger- kind strangers looking out for them for a bit before they scampered off again.

marcy, by the way, was having an equally terrible time. from her point of view, simon and morrigan both up and disappeared without a trace. why? how? she couldn't find simon, and with morrigan's inability to be physically documented, it was very difficult to pinpoint where her little sibling went. at first she thought GOLB had something to do with it, and sort of still does. but the thought that simon has died has crossed her mind many a time.

marcy is a bit harder for me to characterize so i think i'll leave it there for her.

[shrikeicee]

tell me about rocky and smokey

rubs my hands together like a fly sit the fuck down for this

this is part 1 cause i got super lengthy with rocky, ill reblog with smokey soon, theres less about him

so rockys an 1800s bandit cowboy thing. his father was a famous outlaw (rattlesnake) who taught rocky everything he knew about thieving, stealing, and murdering. rocky didnt go to normal people school with normal people kids. as a result hes awkward and doesnt super care about social cues. when he was younger, too young for his father to take him on heists, rocky would spend allday everyday playin out in the woods and foraging for berries n bugs n stuff. enter: marcie.

marcie was born to stuck up, aristocratic parents up in maine. they moved down to kentucky (where rocky is) when she was 8-ish. they keep her cooped up inside all day with schooling, lessons, whatever boring shit they can come up with so she’ll often escape and play in the woods for as long as it takes her parents to find her. one day out in the forest, she meets rocky while his fathers away and theyre instantly best friends (they r the only child the other has ever had prolonged contact with (both only children))

so as they grow up, rocky starts going on heists with his dad, starts getting better and banditing, and starts becoming a Horrible influence. marcie thinks hes the best thing ever. (platonic, theyre both gay) she likes hanging out with him so much cause she thinks hes just so much more interesting than anyone shes ever met and leagues more fun than any of the snooty kids her age that her parents try to get her to hang out with

rocky hangs out with marcie cause shes also a lot different than anyone hes ever met. shes all prim and proper and knows weird skills that he thinks are fun. i have spent far too long on the backstory ok

so theyre 18, and marcie parents want to ship her off to a boarding school to be a doctor or whatever. fuck that. she runs away to bandit with rocky. now rockys dad, alameda is dead by this point, he was killed in a shootout and rockys learned from his dads mistakes. some time passes and rocky n marcie become a fearsome outlaw duo, cottonmouth and screech owl. i dont have any specific scenes that happen here so we’ll gloss over it.

so one day,

edit: look in the reblogs for more i accidentally cut this off

[tk-duveraun]

@pangolinheart i tried to write an ask and it got too long hahahaha lmaorip

You've activated my ADHD.

Coming up with interesting concepts for characters has never been a particular strong suit of mine (which is why I'm terrible at TTRPGs like D&D).

If you have attempted to play a TTRPG and felt like your character/your playing was boring that is not your fault. TTRPGs are a collaborative affair and the right DM for you could have pulled out the cool shit.

I actually did a write up on how to create a character last year.

I think it's likely you've been convinced by something in your life that you're not creative. Criticised too harshly, mean comments, comparing your own ideas unfavorably to people far more practiced, who knows.

Enjoying and participating so much in ask games shows that your creativity is there it just has to be teased out correctly. Like I said in my other ask, I have so much practice teasing out ideas. I've read so many books teaching me how to do it and I've spent years practicing the skill constantly (thanks ADHD).

Constraint breeds creativity. You know this because when you get a prompt in an ask box, you have an answer, but when you're asked "What's the cool thing about my OC?" you come up with nothing. That's just how human brains work with this kind of stuff!

It's hard to break down the process bc I have severe ADHD, but let me try.

So, personally, I try to design characters with "What would be funniest?"

So Lian is au'ra and all min sliders. So it would be funny if she had a bunch of younger brothers that were just GIANTS. Right? That's funny. Let's throw in more siblings because that makes it funnier, right?

So now the facts we have:

Lian is the oldest of 7 kids

Lian is the Warrior of Light

Lian can fight

Lian has the Echo

Lian is a Raen Au'ra

So we take these facts and run them past the list of potential character/personality archetypes

Eldest daughters are often portrayed as super responsible and protective. This can also come with resentment for having to have looked after their siblings.

So I like the first part, but I don't want resentment. Resentment isn't funny. What would be more funny? If she wanted to parent her siblings, but her parents were like "No, you're a CHILD" and didn't let her.

Now we have a character with a bunch of younger siblings who is a hero saving the realm and desperately wanted to be the mom to her sibs and now it's the Scions' problem. Mom-friend overdrive, especially with the twins.

Enter Estinien. He was my first choice wolmance. He's a horrible raccoon of a man and I love him so much.

So I start going through scenarios and it's not looking great. Mom-friend, mostly-well-adjusted Lian is just gonna end up being a kind of weird therapist to our raccoon man.

But you know what our raccoon man has that we can leverage? A dead family. .... .. :)

So, now Lian's family is dead, they have beautiful mutual survivor's guilt and are gonna fuck about it.

But wait, there's more! I just did the DRK quest. Ishgardians killed a bunch of au'ra for looking kinda dragon-y? :))))))))))))))))))

Estinien is openly hostile and aggressive towards Lian at first.

Well now we need some kind of explanation for what happened to Lian's family. What could kill off 9+ people in one fell swoop? Guess who's in Stormblood now :) Lian's from an underwater raen village. You know what is great at killing 9+ people in isolated villages? Disease :))))))))))))))))))))) Not gonna lie, COVID being on definitely contributed to this.

So Lian's family all died to illness. How did she survive? Was she not there? Zero percent chance she was not there. Too much filial piety for that. So she got sick, but didn't die.

Let's lean into it, take it one step further. Not only did she get sick, she was patient 0. Now the survivor's guilt is even guiltier.

She would have been considered severe bad luck at best by her village, so she feels she has to leave. Well, how does one, orphaned, get from under the sea near Yanxia to Eorzea? Not easily. It was difficult, she couldn't speak the language, she was surely set upon by bandits...

Over time these elements developed into the conceit that Lian can't die. She didn't die from the illness, she didn't die on the way to Eorzea or anything that came to that point.

And now I have something I can leverage into the Big Bang fic where Lian gets speared through at the end of The Vault, and fucking dies but also doesn't die and Haurchefant is super fucked up about it, because no one else seemed to notice or care. They just assumed she was fine.

What I'm getting at is, when I made Lian, I wasn't in the CC thinking "Okay, now the Blessing of Light makes her immune to death for reasons of enjoyable story :)"

I was in the CC thinking "Dragon girl!!!! Dragon girl from asia? Okay I am really into Cdramas, let's make her ~Chinese instead of ~Japanese like Yugiri, DRAGON :))))"

The rest came in increments over time. Taking each new idea and then leaning on it, squeezing it until I had the maximum interesting stuff come out.

Next time you do an ask game, when you write your answer, once you finish, read it again and go "okay, but how can I make this more extreme? More funny? More tragic? More cute?"

Just rinse and repeat and ta da your character is just as cool and complex as everyone else's!

[yutopia-eleftheria]

Partinus Family Headcanons (Christmas 2022 Special)

This one will contain OC’s. They are visible in the drawing below.

- Edgar has three siblings, more specifically three sisters ; he is the only boy among the children.

- He has a twin sister named Melody, and she was born before him, making her the oldest sibling.

- Loreena is a year younger than Edgar and Melody. Their last sister, Milly, was born seven years after Loreena.

- Their parents’ names are Finley and Victoria. Edgar’s second name, Arthur, comes from his uncle. Moreover, the children are said to look like their mother, as she also shares blue hair, with different tones. The only one that doesn’t share the same hair tone as their mother is Loreena, as the combination with Finley’s dark hair made her hair look darker than her siblings.

- They are really close with their cousins David and Elizabeth, nicknamed Lizzy by her family.

- Their parents were very loving, but they were always with their mother since their father was often away because of work.

- The family was happy until a plane crash occured and their sister Loreena went missing. She was believed to be dead (She was 3 and her siblings were 4).

- Despite all of that, they tried their best to live on with that loss. The parents were strong together.

- Unfortunately, one day, Victoria died some time after Milly was born, leaving her husband alone to take care of the three children.

- Since he was almost never home, he started to freak out as he thought he could never be able to do it alone without his wife. He thought he could do it one day with her, but she was gone way too soon...

- Finley lost his mind and ultimately decided to experiment on his children, starting with his only son Edgar. As he was taught to be a gentleman, he protected his sisters as he did not wanted his father to experiment and harm them, especially considering Milly was just a newborn.

- He got experimented on endlessly for an entire week. Thankfully, he was freed by his best friend Philip who was heavily worried of his absence. His family reacted quickly and brought the girls to safety. they were all alone when they find them, as their father was at work.

- Some time after that horrible discovery, Aaron Adams adopted the Partinus children. However, Melody was very distant and even mean to him.

- After everything that happened with her father (literally everything at once), Melody grew hateful and violent, the perfect opposite of her brother. She was even in really bad terms with Edgar. It was said by the doctors that it must be a trauma about her father’s doings that made her that way.

- What might be another proof of that “mental illness” is the fact that she always do different hairstyles everytime, showing her possible different levels of violence according to the doctors. She even smokes without her brother and foster father ; she said it helps her calm her nerves.

- She may seem hateful towards her twin brother, but in reality she loves him. Deep down Edgar knows that too, and he was never mad at her because he knew her condition. However, he can’t stand the fact that what his father did made her so different to the point of violence due to trauma.

- Loreena was taken care of by a loving family in Italy after she was found and saved by them from the crash.

- She doesn’t like her eye color ; she is envious of her siblings’ beautiful eyes.

- Loreena was the opposite of Melody ; she was pretty mean when she was young, but she grew a lot calmer over time.

- Edgar never thought at any second that she was dead, he kept on believing that she was safe wherever she was and that they would hopefully meet again one day.

- Despite her young age, Milly loves make up and stylish stuff.

- Their birthday dates :

Melody and Edgar : July 24th (Leo)

Loreena : November 20th (Scorpio)

Milly : March 1st (Pisces)

Elizabeth : May 17th (Taurus) {She shares the same birthday as Byron Love)

David : March 3rd (Pisces)

Aaron : December 17th

- Not all family members play football : Edgar plays as a forward, for the others :

Melody : Defender (n°3)

Loreena : Defender (n°2) and Manager

David : None (He doesn’t play football but he loves watching his family playing football.)

Elizabeth : Midfielder (n°16) and Manager of Knights of Queen

- Edgar taught Excalibur to Elizabeth.

- Melody wants to be a Math Teacher when she grow up.

- Both twins are Demi : Edgar is a Demiboy whereas Melody is a Demigirl.

- Since she lives in Italy for quite some time, Loreena really like the Italian team too. She even fell in love with one of their members, Raffaele Generani.

- Melody, on the other hand, fell in love with Joseph King’s brother James.

- Edgar has different relationships throughout his life :

He was with Thiago for a year.

He was with Sue but it didn’t last long because of their opposite personalities.

He stayed with Camellia for a fairly good amount of time.

He ultimately ended up with a woman named Elieth who is also from England. (She is German too !)

-Their mother got their first children at a fairly young age : She was 21 when she had Edgar and Melody, and she had Loreena a year later. However, she met her demise a few moments after giving birth to Milly. Which unfortunately means that she died way too soon, being only 29 years old. Moreover, she was born on February 3rd.

- Some of the IRL football players exists in this world too. Harry Kane exists in this world and he was like a mentor to Edgar. It was also him that helped him come back to football after what happened to his father. Considering Aaron Adams had a lot to deal with those 3 children and training the children, Harry often took care of Edgar and that made him better and give him more confidence about his capacities. He is like an idol to Edgar. Harry saw his younger self in Edgar too. People even associated a song for their relationship since Harry helped Edgar to get through this “shadow of him” ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_FkM0S-PgY&ab_channel=lyricmaker102 

- Because of her mental illness, Melody can also be rude and violent towards her cousins, but also towards Harry Kane. But since they know about her condition, they don’t reply or do anything, otherwise this could be worse.

- Their heights and weights :

Edgar : 5′6″ (166cm) and 101lbs (46kg) ~~~as a 14 years old.

Melody : 5′3″ (160cm) and 112lbs (51kg) ~~~as a 14 years old.

Loreena : 5′1″ (153cm) and 93lbs (42kg) ~~~as a 13 years old.

Milly : 3′10″ (116cm) and 46lbs (21kg) ~~~as a 6 years old.

David : 5′8″ (173cm) and 137lbs (62kg) ~~~as a 16 years old.

Elizabeth 5′0″ (150cm) and 104lbs (47kg) ~~~as a 13 years old.

Aaron :  5′10″ (178cm) and 159lbs (72kg) ~~~as a 39 years old.

Victoria Partinus, Edgar and the girls’ mother

[lovecatsys]

130-140?☺️

130. What’s the craziest thing you’ve learned about the music business?

crazy in a "wow I had no idea way" but my mom told me about this episode of a show she was watching or smth where there was an interview with some sort of music production guy who said that almost all singers throughout the history of recording music needed minor adjustments from autotune to get the voice to the right pitch. Apparently this guy also said that David Bowie was one of the few musicians who NEVER needed that! Because he took so many voice lessons when he was younger, he had the training to hit the notes perfectly. I wouldn't quote me on this exactly but I can ask my mom what show and episode it was if anyone is curious.

131. What’s an artist band you couldn’t even be paid to see live?

Taylor Swift. Or Imagine Dragons tbh

132. What’s an artist you’d kill to see live?

Placebo, I wanna see them so bad dammit! But idk if they'll ever come to America and I don't have a passport :(

Also David Bowie if this hypothetical killing someone else could bring him back from the dead.

133. What’s some the most obscure band/artist you know?

Omg okay my favorite answer to give to this is Otis Zee and the Zambuka band who I found on this random obscure playlist album called "Gems of the 60s and 70s" that has like a stock photo cover of gems with SUPER obscure artists that I doubt anyone has heard of before. Anyways they only have two songs on spotify and both are about Christmas. They're like a funk band. I think I found this playlist through another artist on it who I found a spotify link to on this website that had like.... thousands of links to musical artists on Spotify categorized by genre. No clue what it was called this was a while ago and I'm no longer friends with the person who showed it to me 😭.

134. Which non English sung music(and excluding your mother language) do you listen to the most?

Oh man, I barely listen to anything non English at all, but I'm gonna say Japanese because I used to listen to YMO a lot and I have a headmate who listened exclusively to J-Pop when she was around.

135. What’s a music pet peeve of youre?

when I find an obscure artist who's music I love but they turn out to be a terrible person. Like with famous artists who are bad people its not really the same and u can just pirate them, but when you find someone who has like 2 fans and their music and vibes are immaculate but they turn out to be a TERF (actual thing that happened to me 😭) it sucks so bad

136. What are some of the most creative musicians you can think of?

Bowie is definitely up there for me. Also Nova Twins, their music is super creative and interesting. Maybe Placebo goes on this list to. I feel like Nova Twins though, you have a hard time really putting them in with a specific genre, they're just so unique!

137. What is your first favorite song based on memory?

My parents listened to a lot of folk, americana, bluegrass, and country when I was little, so that was pretty much most of what I had exposure to at the time lol. I remember my favorite song being Caroline by Old Crow Medicine Show at one point, probably the earliest I can think of.

138. What is your first favorite band/artist based on memory?

I really loved Dido at one point, idk how early that was but I think it might be her. I still listen to some of her stuff occasionally, I love her voice and her style, plus it gives me nostalgia now.

139. What is your first favorite album based on memory?

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette was the first "album" I was really conscious of, and it definitely was my favorite when I was like 12, because my mom would play the CD in the car as we drove places. Funny, because she would always tell me it was her favorite album when she was 12-13, because thats how old she was when it came out, and shed play it in the CD player in her room.

140. What’s a lyric you’ve horribly misheard?

Oml I just figured out I was wrong abt this one like a couple weeks ago but for a long time I thought Bowie was saying "inspiration have I none just to touch the flaming gnome" instead of "flaming dove" 😭

[pagesofkenna]

ema skye (idk anything about asexual attorney but she seems like your kinda character just from aesthetic)

did you randomly google ace attorney characters and just happen to stumble onto literally my favorite character based on the way she looks?? am i that much of an open book??

[batpham-discord-highlights]

Maddie is Tim's Bio Mom

Source: #ghosts-and-bats

A

GUYS

GUYS

SK

What what

L

?

A

WHAT IS TIM IS BIOLOGICALLY MADDIE'S SON????

SK

Omg

A

He's older than Jazz and Danny, having been born before she married Jack

Because Jack and Janet totally seem like the kind of parents who would adopt for appearance's sake and then be horrible parents and pay off CPS

This is a Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton only story

L

Yeah, wouldn’t that suck to find out as Tim tho

A

Right?

Maddie only knows who adopted him, so she knows he's Tim Drake, but she's not allowed to make contact and has no clue anything is wrong

He finds out when going through some of his parents’ old papers

He's rattled, but curious

So, he reaches out to them, something about touring their lab and a potential business partnership

And so, they meet

SK

And he finds out he has younger siblings who could definitely use his help?

L

I have so many ideas but brain no translation

EP

Danny: This guy looks like me, but has posh manners and is talking about becoming business partners with my parents, despite everyon thinking they're crazy...Oh no, did the Frootloop make a stable clone?

Danny: Look, he may say he cares about you and he's a good man, but he's not. He's a rich basket case who can't let go of the past

Tim: I know, but he's trying his best

Danny: He really isn't

(neither realizing the other is talking about a completely different one percenter)

A

Tim is a little confused as to why his little brother is trying to sabotage his relationship with Bruce

Like

What could he hope to gain by this?

another thought

Maddie totally tracked down a Lazarus pit to study for her thesis

She met Talia

For that single summer they started a fierce rivalry

L

I like where this is going

A

Tim has to call in his Mom due to a ghost problem in Gotham (this is post reveal, she's better with ghosts now)

And the Wayne's sit there and watch her kick butt

Damien is unexpectedly quiet and wary around her

"That's my Mom," Tim brags with a smirk after she finished and starts clean up

And Damien hisses

"you're related to MADDISON???"

He steps back and gives Tim a long, considering look

Then nods

"Acceptable, Fenton"

Then he leaves

He refuses to call Tim a Drake again

SK

Lol yes I love this so much!

A

This is especially good because I'm pretty sure it's canon that Maddie is a black belt in at least one martial art

She is fully combat capable

She's a genius inventor

She is every inch Talia's equal

What she lacks in lethality, she more than makes up for in ingenuity

SK

I love Talia and Maddie being enemies, but please also consider:

What I'd they're exes?

A

how did you read my mind????

What if Talia still misses her???

What if Damian has to call him brother now?

SK

Perfection✨✨

A

Talia joins the "let's kill Jack" club with Vlad

Danny was excited to fight ninjas at first but now they're boring and such a bother

Why does everyone want his dad dead?

Jason is impressed and deeply intimidated by Tim's Mom

He's heard stories about her at the cradle

She put the fear of God into Ra's

SK

This keeps getting better

A

And when she finds out about what happened during Brucequest...

She might need to go visit the old man and see how he's doing 😁

Pru calls Tim after it's over and absolutely gushes about his Mom

She has a new goal in life

Be Maddie Fenton

Ra's is so upset he let Tim get away in the end

What do you think is Maddie's maiden name? Or did Jack take her name?

SK

I kinda like the idea that Jack took her name

A

Right?

Damian is very wary of her and looks like a cat whose fur got rubbed the wrong way when she's around

He finds her very unsettling

Dick is in awe

This woman can get Damian to do things with minimal fuss

“Teach me your WAYS!” He cries.

Cass likes her a lot and is very curious about her homemade equipment

Jazz isn't sure what to think about this whole thing

She sure did get a big brother out of it

It's very disorienting for her tbh

She's not quite sure how to process the whole thing and it keeps taking longer because stuff just won't stop happening

Poor Danny is being worn thin and just wants a nap

Then he realizes that neither Vlad or Talia have blackmail on him

So, he tattles

And Maddie is very upset that there are people trying to kill her husband

SK

She protecc

S

Talia gets a very angry phone call

A

Vlad is flat out cut out of her life

She gets a restraining order on him for her entire family

She pulls obscure League lore knowledge out of her back pocket and declares a personal war on Talia in a way that makes Damian pale and Talia shocked

Ra's has already "stepped down due to health reasons"

So, she's essentially challenging Talia for control of the league over the crime of trying to kill her husband

[shmobugsbrainrot]

gravity falls character headcanons!!!!

dipper played baseball for a while, and was pretty good at batting. he can't catch for shit though cause he's scared of getting hit by the ball. that's why he used the shovel as a bat and hit that disco ball at the zombies (scary oke)

mabel is really good at wiring, since she has those sweaters that light up and play music and stuff. mcgucket would definitely give her instructions on stuff like that during future summers

wendy's actually a lesbian going through comphet. my reasoning for this is that she breaks up with guys pretty fast and often, and doesn't really seem all that excited to get into a relationship with them: "yeah, I guess so."

(also I'm a lesbian and kin her so it's basically canon /j)

dipper and mabel are both pretty chubby, mabel moreso than dipper. she has a bit more muscle mass whereas he doesn't have much muscle at all

as the younger twins grow up, it became clear that mabel is the taller one. she beats dipper by an inch and so he wears shoes with padding inside because he's petty

once pacifica started getting more freedom after weirdmageddon, she started getting into more grungy/alternative fashion. since her favorite color is hot pink, she started actually buying like crop tops in that color and pairing them with ripped jeans and combat boots and cool jackets and stuff. she's more expressive with her style

stanley and ford eventually came clean about everything to their ma, who gave them a long and hard lecture about being knuckleheads and to never do that again, before hugging them super tight and saying she missed them

filbrick is dead. as he should be

caryn pines is a badass and a GOOD MOTHER. she couldn't do anything about filbrick kicking stan out cause she just woke up and was caring for a BABY like she didn't know what was happening and I don't think filbrick would've let her bring stan back. if I see anyone hating on her I'm tearing up your lawn

wendy likes shitty romcoms cause she can make fun of them, and gravity falls by far has some of the worst she's ever seen. secretly she thinks they're sweet but it's hard to take them seriously when the filming is done so horribly

soos actually is trilingual, knowing english, spanish, and japanese. he taught himself japanese and since he's a huge fan of animes it helped to watch subbed shows until he got it, same way with spanish even though he already grew up with it

pacifica is a major germophobe cause of her upbringing. her parents essentially taught her to be afraid of not being clean, which is why she acts the way she does about the shack or touching mcgucket's hands during weirdmageddon

pacifica eventually works at greasy's diner, and actually enjoys it. even though it isn't the cleanest, she likes being able to earn her share and repairing her relationship with the townsfolk

they're all autistic. every character. all of em, and here are their stims

mabel: flapping her arms and legs, echoing what people say, pressure stim, rocking, chewing her hair

dipper: chewing, wringing his shirt, rocking, shaking out hands

stanley: patting himself, lip trills, clicking, some verbal stims where he sings, humming

stanford: tapping, pulling on his hair, twirling pens and dice between his fingers, swaying, hitting himself (only during meltdowns), pressure stim

wendy: pacing, swaying, tugging her hair, spinning her axe, humming

soos: patting himself, mouth popping, rocking on his feet, messing with his tools

pacifica: screeching, rocking, pressure stim, pulling her hair, hitting herself

fiddleford: slapping/patting himself, tapping his feet, dancing while standing, swaying, tilting his head back and forth

[redrobin-detective]

The 101 Deaths of Danny Phantom

AO3 link

One of the first things people learned about dealing with ghosts, other than not to try and date them, is to never asks about their death or obsessions. That doesn’t mean the citizens of Amity Park aren’t curious though, especially about their resident ghostly hero and the confusing and concerning comments he sometimes makes.

“Are you okay?” Phantom asked Maisie as she shook and tried to hold back tears after that car had almost slammed into her. She sometimes joked about getting hit crossing the street of her college campus to pay her obnoxious loans but it was another thing entirely to almost experience it herself. Maisie was nearly twenty, she shouldn’t be comforted by someone younger than her little step sister but here she was, shaking like a lead and leaning into Phantom’s comforting, chilly touch. 

“Sorry,” she stuttered, “thank you, I’m sorry I’m just-”

“Hey, it’s okay to be upset that was very scary. The thought of dying is very scary.” Through her adrenaline and her tears, she took in the ghost’s unnatural glow, his faded, barely visible appearance and the fact that he was floating a foot off the ground. Maisie knows this ghost, this boy, knows more than she ever could about death. 

“And getting run over by a car sure is a bad way to go,” the ghost kid chuckled awkwardly, taking his cold hand off her shoulder to scratch at the back of his neck. “You should see how my dad drives or my mom or my sister if she’s running late enough,” Phantom paused in thought. “No one in my family should have a license now that I think about it. Anyway,” he dismissed with a wave. 

“My sister and I were getting ready to head out to school and my dad was backing out of driveway too fast and didn’t see us and uh, luckily I got my sister out of the way in time haha,” Phantom trailed off awkwardly. Was it because of the uncomfortable conversation or because he noticed her dawning horror.

Her best friend ran the community college’s Phan club so Maisie was a member by default. Phantom’s death was sometimes talked about late at night, everything from wrongful murder to a freak accident. She never in her worst nightmares imagined being him being runover in front of his own house by parental ignorance. It was so normal, a quick mistake and a life lost.

“Oh my god,” he said with an adorable little green blush. “Why am I babbling about that? You almost got hit by a car, I’m probably retraumatizing you or something. I should probably go get the jerk who almost hit you,” he said before disappearing into thin air. 

“Tia is not going to believe this,” she whispered to no one. All she knew is that for the rest of her damned life she was going to look both ways when crossing the street. She’d seen first hand what a single moment of reckless driving could cause.

XxX

Matthew, not Matt or Matty or Hughie, Matthew shivered from the cold. He was only in his boxers with little Pacman on them. It had been fine when he’d gone to bed considering it was mid-August but Phantom and this stupid flaming mecha ghost had tussled outside the summer camp he was working at. He could see some of the kids snickering at his state of undress though he was just extremely glad they were alive enough to disrespect him like this.

“Oh man, I’m sorry,” the ghost kid said with big, sad eyes that looked so human despite the fact that they were literally glowing. He looked around at all the snow and ice left over from his fight. “Jeez you guys must be freezing, I wish I could warm you all up but all I can do is make things colder.”

“S’okay,” Matthew said through his chattering teeth. “Teaching the kids how to start a fire was supposed to be next week but we can get a jump on it.” That got a smile out of the ghost and within a half hour, the other counselors were distributing blankets and hot beverages to the kids clustered around multiple fires. They didn’t seem particularly upset by the potentially fatal attack, Matthew will breakdown about that at a later time when he was alone. For now, he just smiled as the children chattered happily with the ghost while he cleaned up as much of the damage as possible.

“So you spend all day fighting ghosts?” Zoe asked with stars in her eyes.

“A lot of the nights too,” Phantom nodded, “I do other stuff but yeah it seems ghost fighting takes up most of my time.”

“Where’d you learn those cool powers?” Zuri asked, miming a punch.

“Comes with being a ghost,” Phantom shrugged, “my ice powers came in later though so I still struggle a bit with them but I’m getting better every day.”

“Why ice though?” Morris said with his cocked curiously to the side. “I see some ghosts use fire or shadows, why do you have ice?”

“Ah that’s a little personal,” Phantom chuckled but his posture was easy despite the invasive question. “Specialty powers like my ice require special circumstances and a certain uh connection to the ghost. Someone like me couldn’t use fire or electricity or plants, ice is in my soul, it’s who I am.”

Matthew paused in drinking his lukewarm coffee as a horrible thought came to mind. He’s been an outdoorsman all his life, practically from the time he could walk. He’d been a deep woods camping guide for a decade before switching to working at summer camps. But the years working in the relative comfort of a stable camp didn’t erase his knowledge of how unforgiving and deadly the woods in the winter could be. A grown man, much less a young teen, would freeze to death in 20 minutes if it was cold enough. 

It made sense for ghosts to develop powers related to their deaths. Had Phantom been one of the dozens of unfortunate kids he read about every year who ran away in the middle of winter only to found later as a frozen corpse. He eyed the boy’s snow white hair and frigid aura he exuded with mournful trepidation. God, what a horrible way to die. 

“I’d get chilly with ice powers,” Tabby said with a shudder, she held out her cup of cocoa. “You want some of my cocoa to warm you up?”

“No thanks,” Phantom said with a soft smile that was warm despite everything. “The cold hasn’t bothered me for a while.”

XxX

Ghost attacks may be the norm but, if there was one good thing that came out of whole mess it was the fact that violent human crimes went down drastically. So when the rare murder did happen, the shock and fear rippled through the whole town. 

Stanford Newton had only been sheriff of Amity Park for eight months after the last guy had gone gray overnight and moved to Florida the next day. It was a daunting position but one he bore proudly. This wouldn’t be his first murder investigation having initially cut his teeth as a beat cop in Chicago but it would be the first in Amity. And it certainly was the first in which the dead served in an active capacity.

“Amanda Chastain, 27. Officially she was a waitress down at Spengler’s Diner but she’s been picked up for prostitution twice in the last year,” Stan said calmly, ignoring the cold, angry presence over his shoulder. “History of polysubstance abuse as well, not that either of those things mean she deserved this.” Used, beaten to death and then dumped in the trash like yesterday’s paper. 

He wondered if she’d come back a ghost or if she’d finally get some peace this world hadn’t offered her. “We don’t have many leads right now, I’m afraid. Acting illegally as they are, there’s not a lot of resources these poor girls have to turn to.”

“I’ll find them,” The Phantom said with blazing conviction, his voice thick and sharp as ice. “I’ll find and bring them to justice and make sure no one else is hurt again.”

“I believe you,” Stan nodded, shutting his notebook as he finally turned to face the teenage superhero haunting his town. He can’t say he liked what he saw. The Phantom looked even less human than usual, his aura flaring and flickering like the foggy mist before a heavy snowstorm. His unnatural green eyes glowered, painting his too young face in a terrifying light. 

The kid looked furious, clearly taking this death to heart. He’d read the Fenton’s memos about obsessions and such but this seemed beyond that. “But don’t hurt anyone to do it, or yourself while you’re at it.”

“I won’t, I’ll make sure they’ll face human justice and don’t worry,” Phantom gave a snarling smile. “No mortal can hurt me, not like this,” he growled causing the hairs on Stan’s arms and neck to stand on end. He flew off after that, presumably to track down Amanda’s killer.

“Not like this,” Stan mumbled to him, pulling out his handkerchief and wiping his brow where a cold sweat had broken out. “Jesus Christ that poor kid.” Stan had seen plenty of murdered and mutilated bodies in his lifetime, some of them even kids. He just never got to talk to them after they’d had their life forcibly snatched away. It would explain the ghost’s near fanatical determination to save others, why he took a stranger’s murder so personally. 

“I hope your own murderer is behind bars,” Stan said as he tucked his handkerchief back into his coat pocket. “Or even six feet under, for killing a good kid like you.” Stan made his way back to his squad car so he could head back to the station and move forward with the official investigation. But he’d eat his hat if there wasn’t a stammering lowlife there by tomorrow ready to turn themselves in.

 Maybe after all this was settled down, he’d delve into some of the cold cases stacked in the cellar. Maybe in there he’ll find a picture of a smiling, carefree teen who’d disappeared and returned with the power now to ensure no one else suffered as he had.

XxX

“Yes, I know about the Phantom,” Luis Oliveira will say to anyone who so much as brings up the ghost kid. Locals know better by now but the tourists eat it up every time. He twists his finely combed mustache and gestures to the floor where his audience is standing. “He died right there oh ten or eleven years ago.”

Luis has worked his way all across the the United States since he emigrated from Brazil in the 70s. He finally settled in Amity Park about twelve years ago. He’d never intended to stay in the small Midwest town but the fatal shooting of a young customer kept his little corner market open.

“He was a nice kid, always said hi to me and paid in exact change. Was big fan of the snacks I made, would stop by after school and take half my inventory. He had big brown eyes and a crooked nose,” Luis would smile at the memory before closing his eyes and frowning sadly. “One day, he came late. His teacher made him stay after to go over a failed test, I remember he complained. He was pulling out his money when robber burst in, demanding my money. I fumbled for the register key, dropped it. I bent down to grab it and I hear shots going off. Two over my head, another right into the boy’s throat.”

Luis will hear the sound of that sweet boy’s guttural choking sounds as he drowned in his own blood until the day he himself died. The robber left after the shot, Luis called the police and held the young man’s hand as he died. The would be thief were never found and Luis never did learn anything about the boy who’d died on his floor for getting hungry after school.

“As soon as I saw Phantom on the TV,” Luis would say, perking up after his moment of somber grief, “I knew it was that boy come back. Those kind eyes, I’d recognize them anywhere. He’s never come here but one day he will and I will be able to pass on my regret on not being able to save his life that day.”

XxX

“I think he killed himself,” Mikey whispered to Lester during lunch period, angling his voice low. “The jocks may love Phantom for his powers but I just know he was one of us, an unwanted nerd. I’ve seen him chatting up a ghost I’m pretty sure is Poindexter, Casper’s suicide kid. They’re probably bonding over their similar deaths and the circumstances that led to it.”

“That’s pretty dark,” Lester whispered back. “I also get unpopular vibes from him but I don’t think he’s the time do uh do that to himself; he’s too stubborn and protective. But I bet he was the victim of a prank gone wrong. Dash locked Fenton in the Janitor’s closet last Wednesday, he got out okay somehow but maybe something like that happened to Phantom. He always looks kind of annoyed at the A-listers, maybe they remind him of old bullies.”

“Nuh-uh,” Clara said, pushing up her glasses with her middle finger. “The ghost kid totally got electrocuted or something. He was fighting that weather ghost and he sent lightning bolts his way and Phantom flinched. He fought the Ghost King and yet a little electricity scares him? It might not’ve even been a lightning strike but something manmade like a machine backfiring or something.”

“Get real,” Mikey scoffed, sipping his milk with an eyeroll. “I’m sure we’d have heard about some poor kid getting zapped to death; this town isn’t that big.”

“We’d have heard about a suicide too,” Lester noted with a wry grin.

“Shut up Mr. I base my theories around Fenton who’s a known weirdo”.

XxX

“I’m telling you, the ghost kid died of some debilitating illness,” Abbie McMillian, retired school teacher and three year reigning champ at the Tristate area’s Daylily Competition. She sipped her tea and spoke with as much confidence as she had back in the day wrangling Amity’s impressionable youths. “The superhero thing is clear wish childhood fulfillment, a chance to live and be free like he never got to in life. You see how happy and carefree that young man looks while flying? Clearly he spent his formative years sick and weak.”

“No way,” Greta von Martin frowned as she aggressively stirred her own tea to show her displeasure. “I worked in a hospital for close to 30 years and I know what chronically sick kids look like and Phantom doesn’t fit the bill. I will agree he’s carefree when he’s not battling spooks but he acts like a stupid teen. I’m telling you, the boy got into his parent’s liquor cabinet or took a few too many of whatever pill was going around his school. Tragic but something that happens every day.”

“Greta, dearie,” Abbie said with a pinched frown. “We’ve been friends since grade school and I love you like a sister but you are wrong and until you admit it, I won’t share anymore of my recipes.”

“You’re just being stubborn because you can’t see what’s right in front of you even after working with kids half of your life, Abbie, love,” Greta sniffed. “And you can kiss my grandson’s help weeding you garden goodbye until you relent.”

XxX

Perhaps one of the most human traits is curiosity, especially about what comes after death. Now the good people of Amity Park know a great deal about the dead so the lives before is what attracts their attention and none so more than the ghost boy. Maybe it’s because he’s their hero or maybe it’s because he’s so young. Or perhaps it’s because Phantom is such a mess of contradictions that it’s very hard to guess how the unfortunate boy met his end. But everyone has their own theories, from the mundane to the fantastic, some with evidence backing them up and others pure poppycock. 

But for all their curiosity, as much as it burns them to know, they’ll never ask. They don’t want to risk the powerful ghost’s wrath but, moreover, it seemed in poor taste. The boy risked his afterlife to keep them safe, they couldn’t ask what traumatic and miserable circumstances had led to this point.

And besides, it was so much more fun to look up at ghostly figure as he sped through the skies and wonder.

[btsqualityy]

Assuage: Chapter 19

Yoongi x Reader

Genre: ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) dynamics, angst, fluff, smut, enemies to lovers

Warnings: Mentions of abuse

“You did what?!” Taehyung screamed and everyone in the room cringed from the sheer volume of his voice. After the chaos of the day, everyone was gathered in Namjoon and Hyorin’s cabin in an attempt to regroup and discuss what needed to happen next. 

“Tae, let it go,” Jungkook whispered but Taehyung shook his head as he looked at his brother. 

“Fuck that! I can’t believe you kicked Yoongi hyung out of the pack!” Taehyung yelled. 

“It’s what had to be done,” Namjoon shrugged. “His loyalties came into question and I had to make a judgement call.”

“Oh yeah, so damn near choking him out was a part of that judgement call?” Taehyung scoffed.

“What?” You spoke up and everyone looked over at you as you were laid out on the couch, your head placed in Hyorin’s lap as she stroked your hair. “Joon.”

“He put the pack at risk, not to mention the fact that he betrayed you, Y/N-ah and Tae and all of us,” Namjoon pointed out. “Me choking him was honestly the least harmful thing that I could’ve done to him in that moment.”

“But he has nowhere to go and you know that!” Taehyung chastised. 

“That’s not my fault Taehyung,” Namjoon spat back. 

“Yeah well, you’re no better than Seo-hyun then,” Taehyung snorted and everyone in the room froze. 

“Tae Tae,” Jimin tsked in disapproval but Namjoon held his hand up, silencing him. 

“You know Tae, I realize that as our spoiled younger brother, the concept of responsibility may be lost on you but to me, it’s not,” Namjoon started. “As Pack Alpha, it is my job to ensure this pack’s safety. That means you, Y/N-ah, my mate, my pups, and everyone else that belongs to this pack.”

“So that means you would kick a member of this pack out if you thought that they endangered it? Even by accident?” Taehyung questioned.

“Yes, because that’s what has to be done sometimes,” Namjoon shot back. “Making difficult choices is what comes along with being Pack Alpha and it’s hard but you do what needs to be done in order to preserve the futures of the people who trust you. It’s a thankless job but I do it, without hesitation or reservation, because I fucking care and the last thing that I need is bullshit flack from one of the main people that I’m trying to look out for.”

“Joon hyung,” Taehyung tried to say but Namjoon swiftly turned his back and walked over to the front door, yanking it open and storming out. Hobi looked over at Hyorin and after receiving a nod from her, followed behind him and shut the door as he left.

“God, I can’t believe him,” Taehyung huffed as he began to pace back and forth around the living room. 

“That was a low blow Taehyung, and you know it,” you admonished him. “Joon just did what he thought was best.”

“And you know how he can get sometimes,” Hyorin added. “Joon’s extremely intelligent but he’s still an Alpha and you know how Alphas react when they or the people that they care about have been threatened.”

“That’s no excuse though,” Taehyung replied.

“It’s just different for Alphas, Tae,” Jungkook said. “As much as I don’t agree with what Joon hyung did, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same if I were in his position. It’s about principle.”

“Fuck principle!” Taehyung exclaimed. 

“This is all my fault,” you whispered suddenly and everyone immediately looked at you, shaking their heads firmly.

“No, it’s not,” Jin told you. “You fell in love and you can’t be blamed for that.”

“Yeah, but I fell in love with a lone wolf that we didn’t know from a hole in the wall,” you sniffled. “I didn’t even ask him to explain more about his old pack because I didn’t want to be insensitive but look where that got me. Where it got us.”

“It’s not like you knew,” Jimin tried to say. “And don’t blame yourself for trying to be respectful of someone’s trauma, there’s never anything wrong with that.”

“Jimin’s right, you don’t need to beat yourself up over this,” Hyorin agreed. 

“But I can’t help but to feel so fucking dumb,” you huffed. “I let him spend my heat with me Hyo, all because my Omega liked his Alpha and I let that cloud my judgement. I should’ve thought things through more and not have rushed into it.”

“You let him spend your heat with you based on what you knew about him at the time,” Hyorin pointed out. “And don’t blame your Omega. Our wolf side doesn’t always follow the same logic as our human side but you know your Omega would never knowingly lead you astray. If your Omega trusted him, it’s because he made you feel like you could.”

“Something is off about all of this,” Taehyung announced suddenly, making everyone look over at him. “This entire situation just isn’t making sense.”

“What are you talking about?” Jin wondered.

“Y/N-ah, did you let Yoongi hyung explain when he came to talk to you?” Taehyung asked and you arched an eyebrow.

“What was there to explain Tae?” You questioned. 

“I just don’t know if any of us should be taking Seo-hyun’s word at face value,” Taehyung explained. “We don’t know that there’s any truth to what he said other than him saying it and we all know he’s a liar and a master manipulator.”

“For your information, yes, Yoongi told me himself that he was from Seo-hyun’s pack and that he knew Seo-hyun was the one who killed our parents,” you revealed. “But even if he didn’t, just the fact that he either belonged or still belongs to that pack is enough for me to never want to see his face or smell his scent again.”

“Maybe you should back off a little Tae Tae,” Jimin suggested. 

“Fine,” Taehyung huffed, reaching out and grabbing Jungkook’s hand before stalking over to the front door, pausing only to throw it open before stomping out. 

“You know, I really think you should calm down,” Jungkook told him as they walked down the front steps of the cabin. “We should head home and get some sleep.”

“You go, I’m gonna go to the Head Hall,” Taehyung shook his head.

“I really don’t think Joon hyung wants to talk right now.”

“No, not to see him,” Taehyung rolled his eyes as he began to walk away from Jungkook. “I’m going to look through some history records.”

“History records?” Jungkook repeated. “History records of what?”

“The Great Pack War,” Taehyung smirked knowingly and Jungkook groaned loudly, knowing that his fiancée was up to something. 

“I knew he wasn’t going to let this go,” Jungkook whispered to himself as he followed behind Taehyung.

..........................................

Since joining the Kim’s Pack, Yoongi hadn’t allowed himself to reflect back on the 10 years that he spent as a part of Seo-hyun’s pack but as he roamed around the woods carrying only a backpack and a duffle bag full of clothes while trying to find shelter for the night, it was almost as if his mind couldn’t help but to go back to that dark time. 

Of course, his life in that pack wasn’t always completely horrible. As a pack comprised mostly of Prime Alphas, they were always seen as desirable so there was always an ample amount of Omegas to fuck and that were willing to treat him like a King. In addition to that, being in a pack with several amazing hunters and builders meant that food was always plentiful and the cabins that they lived in would’ve been the stuff of royalty, if they had been living in medieval times. 

However, for every positive thing that Yoongi could remember about that pack, he could counter it with two negative things. Toxic masculinity was the basically the law that Seo-hyun’s pack lived by, and Yoongi couldn’t even remember how many times he had been referred to as weak by Seo-hyun and most of the other Alphas in the pack because he wasn’t a complete asshole like them.

He remembered how they would starve him if he didn’t hunt big enough animals. He remembered how getting into fist fights with other Alphas in the pack was the only way that he could somewhat prove himself and his worth. He could even remember the time when Seo-hyun demanded that he be chained up outside, in the dead of winter, all because he had given a pregnant Omega one of his extra blankets for her nest. 

Yoongi’s life had been like a rollercoaster every since the Great Pack War had started and he had thought that maybe he had finally found a stable life that could make him happy with the Kim Pack. Boy, did he feel foolish now. 

After walking for over an hour, Yoongi managed to find an abandoned cabin. After searching through it and finding no signs of human or animal life, he set his bags down and began to look through it. The cabin seemed to have been abandoned for a good while, so Yoongi figured that it was as good a place as any to stay while he figured out his next moves. 

“I don’t even know what the fuck that would be,” Yoongi muttered to himself as he spread a blanket onto the old, ratty couch that was placed in what Yoongi assumed was once the living room before laying down on top of it. Actually, as he thought about it, Yoongi realized that this was the first time in his life that he had ever been truly alone. Sure, he felt alone after his parents died and he was left in Seo-hyun’s pack, and he had felt alone when he first joined the Kim’s Pack but there was something different about now. 

Without any other bodies around, Yoongi found the silence deafening and with only his own thoughts to keep him company, he could only hope that he wouldn’t be forced to be left alone with them for too much longer. 

..........................................

Tag List:  @jikook-enthusiasts @veryuniquenamegoeshere @seolarsyj @littlrmills14-blog @preciouschimine @kt-rny @copenhagenspirit @min-yus​ @cheysjimin

[softomi]

butterflies

prompt: I read in a book once that blue butterflies symbolize many things but I think my favorite was that they are wish-granters. So if you see a blue butterfly, make a wish.

pairing: atsumu x reader

word count: 3.3k

general taglist: @graykageyama

Between the twins, Osamu was always your favorite and it was clear that Osamu preferred you over his brother. Atsumu was the bane of your existence ever since they moved across the street from you. Seven years old, the parents happily introducing themselves, the children staring at each other awkwardly. One held a volleyball, the other staring at you. They were supposed to be your new friends, though all of you were seven, technically you were older. You were a grade above them having just made the cutoff to enter school early, that didn’t stop Atsumu from addressing you as though you were younger than him.

“Ow.” You fell onto your butt, Atsumu had harshly pushed you, “Tsumu.” You began to whimper, tears forming in the corner of your eyes.

He didn’t mean to push you so hard, he just didn’t like that your cooties were going to stain him. There’s a pretty blue butterfly pin in your pigtail braid and when he reaches out, your cries lessen. Your eyes widening, perhaps he was going to help you up. His fingers tug on one of your braids, a little too harshly that the butterfly pin falls out. You begin to wail more at how hurtful he was being.

“Tsumu!” Osamu rips Atsumu’s hand away, shoving the boy to stand between you and his brother. Osamu has dirt on his face from playing far away, he had left momentarily to dig through the ground but as soon as he heard your cries, he came running, “Don’t be mean!”

Atsumu doesn’t know what he did wrong, was it so bad that he was interested in your braids, “She’s the one being a cry baby.” He sticks his tongue out, scowling at you for ruining his fun.

The twins parents have emerged from the home, their mother helping you up and dusting off the dirt from your dress. Osamu lunges at Atsumu, they’re pulling each other’s hair, Atsumu is shoving his brother’s face with his palm, Osamu’s knee is pressing against his brother’s chest. Their father lifts Osamu off Atsumu, scolding the boys loudly for starting a fight.

“Apologize!” Atsumu’s head is forced in a bow by his father.

Atsumu’s fingers are clenched in a fist, “I’m sorry.” He’s gritting through his teeth. He has a scar on his cheek from his brother and he watches with a heavy glare at the way Osamu has his hand in yours, leading you into the home with their mom.

Atsumu plays by himself outside, his father watching him throw around the volleyball for an hour. He catches the ball and holds it still when he hears the door of the home opening. For a second he turns thinking Osamu has decided to come out and play but he scowls when you’re walking to him with your pretty blue polka dot dress.

“I brought you a cookie.” You have a plate in your hands, chocolate chip cookies looking freshly made. He reaches but his hand knocks the plate out of your hands, the cookies sadly falling onto the floor.

“Miya Atsumu!” His father’s stern voice sends a chill down his spine. Before he knows it, he’s being dragged into the home by the back of his shirt.

Atsumu thinks, it’s your fault he’s always getting in trouble.

After Osamu walks you home, Atsumu is allowed to come out of his room. He’s back outside and when he walks through the grass, something shiny attracts his attention. His fingers reach out, gripping the butterfly pin he remembers in your hair. He stuffs the pin in his pocket, running to throw around the volleyball with his brother.

As time went on, Atsumu, Osamu, and you fell into a respective trio dynamic. You were close-knit with Osamu, sharing similar interests in movies, games, and books. With Atsumu, you bickered and spat with him over every little thing; he stopped pulling your hair but that only egged him to think of other modes of torture. Osamu was always there to beat his brother up for you, someone’s got to knock him down a peg and that’s exactly what Osamu did.

By the time the twins entered junior high, Atsumu was beginning to notice he was the third wheel and the only way you’d ever look his way was when he tormented you. He’d spill his drinks on you, eat your food, purposely poke your sides to make you jump, scare you from around the corner, and even just plainly verbally hurt you.

“Did you gain weight?” Atsumu poked your stomach. You slap his hand away, trying to ignore him until Osamu arrived. You should have known better than to walk with Atsumu. He slings an arm around your shoulders, “Did you look in the mirror today when you got ready?”

His cackle is blow to your heart, you jab an elbow into his side, your palm wiping away a stray tear.

“Are you crying?” As much as Atsumu doesn’t want to laugh, because he doesn’t, he feels guilty, horrible even, but his automatic reaction is to chuckle, “Hey, I’m“ His apology is cut off when a fist forces him to step back.

Osamu blows on his fist, he looks at his brother with a grin, “Call it twin telepathy, I just knew you were being mean.”

Not much changed in high school, him a mere second year and you a third year. The only change he can think of is the fact that now you had a whole team to back you up. Kita was rather sharp in detecting Atsumu being a little prick to you, Suna took pride in tripping the blonde if he as much tried to approach you, the other’s seem to take more of an approach of just being near you. After all, you being their volleyball club manager was more important than Atsumu.

“Hey.” Atsumu’s voice stops you dead in your tracks before you can even step foot into the gymnasium to start setting up, “What’s with that on your face?”

Your hand instinctively flies to your cheeks, “What?”

His hand wildly gestures to his own face, “You trying to impress someone? Make-up won’t do you any good.”

You didn’t think anyone would notice the thin layer of foundation you put on or the minimal line of eyeliner; even your eyeshadow was so sheer, you wondered how he even saw it. You give him a cold shoulder, “Go fall off a cliff Atsumu.”

He follows you into the gym, setting his bag down onto one of the benches. He makes his way behind you, his finger dipped into your skirt, pulling at the waistband, “Oi, you have a rip in your skirt.”

“What are you doing?!” Osamu drops his bag at the entrance of the gym, he’s running, tackling his brother to the ground.

“Get the fuck off me!” Atsumu is shoving his brother.

Osamu is digging his brother’s face into the floor, “You’re being a perv!”

“Fuck you!” Atsumu is on top of his brother now.

You could clear up the situation if they weren’t so engrossed in murdering each other. They continue to roll on the floor, taking turns shoving the other’s face into the ground. You use their distracted minds to pull your skirt around. He was telling the truth, it was barely noticeable but there was a tiny rip on the waistband, probably where he had been pulling.

Atsumu is biting the insides of his mouth, he had been scolded by Kita when Osamu explained what had happened, and even when you explained he had no ill intentions; Kita still lectured him on how it isn’t appropriate to touch a girl without her permission. Now he’s running laps around the gym with the rest of the team while you fiddle with the fabric of your skirt.

“Here.” You look up at him, Atsumu had disappeared for ten minutes and when he returned, he towered over you, in his hand a small sewing kit, “If you keep playing with it, you’ll end up ripping the entire skirt. No one wants to see that.”

Even when he’s being nice, he has to throw in a blow to your self-esteem.

“Thanks.” You say bitterly, “But I don’t know how to sew.” Your finger scratches against your head, “I know, I’m stupid.”

You’re not. Atsumu wants to say.

You shift uncomfortably when he suddenly takes a knee. He pulls the thread from the kit, looping it through the needle to make a small knot.

“Can I?” He’s asking permission to touch you and you merely nod.

Compared to his usual self, Atsumu’s touch is soft. You stare at how concentrated he is, stitching the ripped fabric so that it looks almost brand new. Though your uniform skirt was black, the thread he chose was vibrant red. He leans his head near your hip, he uses his teeth to sever the rest of the thread. His breath hot, you could barely feel it through the fabric of your shirt. Your cheeks tint with a blush when he briefly catches your gaze, he looks away quickly.

“What are you doing now?!” Osamu has returned from his long bathroom break; his hand pulls his brother back by the neck of his shirt.

“Samu!” You wave your hands around, “It’s alright, he was just helping me.” You point to the red thread of your skirt.

Atsumu has his hands up in mercy, Osamu eyes him, “I’m onto you.”

“What? Why?!”

Osamu throws a volleyball at his brother’s head, “Because! You’re an asshole!”

“We’re twins, so by default, you’re an asshole too.”

Atsumu starts to run, Osamu tackles him pretty quickly.

There’re girls piled at the door of Atsumu’s classroom, one by one they come in as though they’re presenting their sacrifices to the king himself. He has chocolates stacked to the ceiling, the teachers are already spreading news that they can’t yell at him since they are gifts and if he was forced to throw any away, the female student body would wreak havoc.

The second-year girls slink back when they spot you, a third year that has all the second-year boys turning heads. Some are boldly stopping you to present their own chocolates which you take sweetly. They sigh happily when you walk away.

“Please accept my confession!”

You enter as the class falls dead silent, you’ve come to the second year classroom to give your gifts to the volleyball boys but you’ve stumbled into what seems to be a public love confession to Atsumu. He leans back in his seat, balancing on the back two legs of the chair as he looks up to the girl. She’s shaking from anxiety with her chocolates out for him, the students begin to whisper the longer he takes to answer. You pity her because Atsumu is a complicated person, you just never know what he’s thinking or what he’ll do next.

“Sorry sweetheart, can’t accept any more chocolates. Teacher says I have too much.” Atsumu settles himself onto the four legs of his chair, “You can try Osamu.”

Some of the students let out audible gasps at his comment. You watch her lower her head, brushing past your shoulder in a dejected fashion. The class goes back to bustling rather quickly. Suna sits straight up when he spots you at the door, he taps on Osamu’s desk, the male turning away from the window. Atsumu turns to look over his shoulder, his lips in a thin line when you walk towards the three.

“Happy Valentine’s day.” You have three bags in your hand, you settle one on Osamu’s desk, one falls into the hands of Suna and the last lingers between your fingers. Atsumu stares at it, he notices you have scribbled his name on the side.

The longer you stand without giving it to him, the more he gets irritated. His leg bounces rapidly, he notices the ugly boxes of chocolates squished between your arm and side; pathetic boxes given by pathetic guys. He could do better.

“I just came to drop these off.” Your voice is starting to fade as you notice the last bag still in your hand. You flip the bag around, Osamu and Suna stare at it, a weak glance to their setter, “I’ll see you guys later.”

Osamu got cookies and a gift card to the café he’s been dying to try out. Suna got cookies and a cute little fox plush. Atsumu got nothing but a blow to his pride. He’s sitting arms crossed, knee bouncing against his desk as he refuses to look at Osamu and Suna. Atsumu wonders what you had put in the bag for him.

He had thought long and hard about his gift, Atsumu wasn’t planning on getting you anything for Valentine’s day but the team insisted that it would be a good day to show their appreciation for their manager. When Atsumu asked Osamu what he had gotten for you, Osamu showed him the mug he bought that had a bunny on it. Apparently, the bunny changes color depending on the temperature of the drink. When Osamu asked what Atsumu had gotten, the male simply shrugged his shoulders but the butterfly pin in his pocket pokes at his skin.

The group chat with the team has signified that he’s the last one who hadn’t given his gift yet. He can’t seem to find the time to pull you aside and he can’t find the courage to waltz into your classroom looking for you.

Meet me after classes, near the garden shed.

You reread the text just to make sure that it was correct. A part of you thought maybe his text was a joke meant to leave you hanging outside in the cold but as you near, you can clearly see his tall figure. His back is to you, he’s kicking the snow on the ground, it’s freezing and you’re jogging slightly to reach him.

“Hey.”

He whips around at your voice. His nose is red, trying to hide himself in his scarf. His eyes fall to your hands, you still have the bag but you’re making sure that the side that has his name doesn’t show. His hands are dug into his pockets, he’s twirling the butterfly pin.

“Atsumu?” Your voice shakes him, your eyes wide and just waiting for him to say something, anything.

Snow begins to fall, you look up, your hand lifted to catch the snowflakes that melts immediately in your palm.

“I.” Atsumu can’t find his next words because as you look at him, his heart is pounding in his chest. His eyes are falling and he catches the faint red thread on your skirt; he was sure you had thrown the skirt out, he recalls you telling Osamu that you had ordered a new skirt, “I’m sorry.”

“Hm?” You lean in, “What?”

Atsumu’s clenching the butterfly pin. He’s remembering every moment he’s ever had with you, all the hair pulling, all the nasty words, all the dirty tricks, “I said I’m sorry.” His lips are chapped, cheeks turning red from the cold, or maybe from the way he feels his heartrate accelerating, “Okay?”

You’re confused, “Did something happen? Did you get into a fight with Osamu again?”

Osamu, Osamu, Osamu. Is that all the two of you will ever talk about? Is that the only topic of common ground that you had with him? Osamu this, Osamu that.

“No.” He presses his thumb on the hairpin, “Whatever.” He sighs, his hands are removed from his pockets, in his palm you stare at the pin, “Happy Valentine’s day loser.”

Your finger brushes against his skin and you stare with wonder at the butterfly pin you recall bawling to your parents for losing, “Where’d you find this?” You’re smiling, for the first time, you’re giving him a smile.

“It’s not really important where I found it.” It sat on his dresser for years, some days he forgot it was there, other days he stared at it when getting dressed.

You’re giggling with glee, you’re pushing the hairpin to pull back strands of your hair, it’s bright blue jewels contrast against the falling of snow. The pin rests above your ear, Atsumu stares in awe. A snowball smacks against his neck, it jolts Atsumu out of his trance and he’s alarmingly looking around.

“What are you doing?!” Osamu screams from a distance, Suna’s phone out had captured the accurate shot.

“Goddamit Samu!” Atsumu screams, the cold torturing his skin. Atsumu quickly forms a snowball, you scream when another snowball hits Atsumu’s side, it exploded and struck you as collateral.

Atsumu chucks the snowball at his brother, though he tried to run, Osamu was hit straight in the face. You let out a gasp in unison with Atsumu, Osamu is building another snowball and just as he’s about to throw, Atsumu grips you by the arms, putting you in front of him.

“Tsumu! No!” You screech.

His stomach jitters, you called him by his nickname. Osamu chucks the snowball and to protect your face, you turn in Atsumu’s hands, your fingers clinging to his jacket and you’re laughing. God, you’re laughing with him.

The snowball sends you forward, your cheek pressed against his chest, your laughter vibrates onto his skin. He’s burning, he’s hot, he’s sweating. He’s suddenly gulping, thirsty, aching to drink something. Another snowball is thrown, this time it hits him in the shoulder.

“Don’t use y/n as a shield, ya dickhead!” Osamu is approaching, this time he nears with a snowball in his hand.

You’re just realizing now that you’re exposed legs are freezing. You shiver into Atsumu briefly before pulling away from him. You escape from his grasp to skip over to Suna. You’re clinging to Suna’s arm, teeth chattering, and you watch through Suna’s phone as Osamu smacks the snowball into his brother’s face. Of course, this causes Atsumu to tackle Osamu; Suna stops the recording.

“I got like ten million videos of them rolling on the floor.”

Atsumu ruffles his hair, he’s looking in the mirror to make sure all the dirt and snow mixture is out. Osamu approaches next to him, running his hand under the water. They don’t meet gazes but as they stare into their own reflections, it was like they were looking right at each other.

“Don’t do it.” Osamu states. He’s pulled one of the paper towels, wiping his hands as he doesn’t break eye contact with his reflection, “Don’t go acting like you loved her this entire time. You treated her like shit and now suddenly you think you’re in love.”

Atsumu feels guilt build up in the pit of his stomach. Osamu leaves the bathroom, leaving Atsumu to grip onto the sink. The feeling of you pressed against his chest makes blue butterflies swirl in his abdomen. He shoves the feeling down, he tucks it into the back of his heart, he puts you on the back burner.

His cell rings, Suna’s text tells him that everyone has decided to head to the gym first. He takes the time to wipe his hands, throwing the paper towel into the trash, he spots a brown paper bag next to the door of the bathroom. His name is scribbled on the side in your handwriting.

Atsumu got cookies, a volleyball keychain with his name etched into it, and a card. He sits in the bathroom, card in between his fingers, streaks of tears down his cheek while he stuffs the cookies into his mouth.

Thank you for helping me that one day with my skirt. I was going to buy a new one but then cancelled the order since I’ll be graduating any way. I never did get to thank you so I’m doing it now.

The card continues with a different colored pen.

I love the butterfly hairpin, thank you for finding it. I hope that we can become friends.

Atsumu heavily breathes, you were so nice, for someone like him, you were incredibly nice. You were so nice his heart was clenching and somewhere in the world, blue butterflies are flapping their wings.

[spine-buster]

peaceful easy feeling ft. b.boeser | one

A/N: Here’s the beginning of my new mini-series!  I hope you all enjoy it.  It will definitely be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, so be prepared!  There will be five parts!

SUPPORT MY WRITING HERE: https://ko-fi.com/spine_buster

CONTENT WARNING: parents with disease/sickness (Parkinson’s); swearing; sex; alcohol use; lots of emotions.

                                                                   *     *     *     *     *

Brock Boeser felt like he was at some sort of Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, with everybody around the circle introducing themselves and their similar predicaments.  The group was in a big meeting room at the local community centre, and when he walked in, he saw a group of dads playing basketball in the gym.  He sort of wanted to join them instead of being here, in this room, with all these people that he didn’t know talking about what they were going to talk about, but he’d done this back in Minnesota, at his mother’s behest with his siblings, and he was going to do it here, too, in Vancouver, to make her happy and ease her mind and to make sure that he was easing his own mind.  

“Um, hello everyone.  My name is Brock Boeser.  I’m from Minnesota, but I’m living in Vancouver.  And um, I’m here with you all because my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.”

“Hello Brock,” everyone smiled at him, and he smiled and nodded back.

“So it was your dad that was diagnosed,” the leader, a kind, older woman named Esther who had greeted him at the door and stuck with him until everybody sat down, egged on a conversation.  He knew she was doing it because he was new; everybody in this room probably already knew each other.  A part of him actually wondered if anybody knew who he was.  “When?”

“Um, he—he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010,” Brock revealed, stuttering it out.  He knew he’d have to be open at these things – open so people could empathize with him, open so he could empathize with others – but it was still tough for him to do so.  “But he—it’s—it’s not just Parkinson’s.  Two years after he was diagnosed, he was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.  In 2017, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He beat it but then in June it returned to his liver and chest.  In July, he had a heart attack and his heart stopped beating for 15 minutes.  I was with him and—I—it’s—it’s a lot, as you can imagine,” he tried not to start crying right then and there.  Imagine that – first meeting with a Parkinson’s Society of BC support group and he’d bawl like a baby.

“Goodness me, Brock,” Esther said.  “He has support at home?”

“Um, well, money isn’t an issue now, but when I was growing up my mom worked three jobs to make sure we were all taken care of,” he revealed.  “I’d pitch in too wherever I could, obviously.”

“But it’s been tough for a number of years.”

Brock paused.  It had been tough for a number of years.  It had been really tough for a number of years.  He nodded his head.  “Yes ma’am.  I try to take it day by day.”

Esther nodded as well.  “I don’t know if you pray, Brock, but I know a couple of members around the circle do, and, well – you’ll be kept in all our prayers.”

Brock saw a few people nod their head.  Another older woman, probably his mom’s age, clutching a rosary; a Sikh man dressed in a casual suit; a younger woman, probably in her thirties, with short blonde hair.  He appreciated the sentiment.  He knew that people took prayer very seriously – that people suffering took prayer very seriously.  It was, realistically, one of the kindest things somebody could ever say to you: “I’m praying for you.”  “Thank you very much,” he said, nodding his head once.

***

There was an arrangement of cookies at the end of the meeting.  Even after the 90 minutes of everybody talking about their experiences and emotions, they apparently liked to stick around afterwards as well just to mingle.  It didn’t all have to be doom and gloom, he thought.  It didn’t all have to be about Parkinson’s or about sick people or losing your loved ones all the time.  Maybe some people just wanted to talk about the news.  Maybe some people just wanted to talk about sports.  The weather.  Anything.  Anything to make a connection with someone beyond something so tragic.  

After stuffing an entire Fudge-O cookie into his mouth, he looked up to see a young woman staring at him, holding her trenchcoat in her arms.  She was smiling to let him know she was friendly.  He was embarrassed because he knew she just saw him stuff an entire Fudge-O into his mouth.  “Hi,” he said, his mouth still full of cookie, the sound of his voice reflecting that fact.

“You’re Brock Boeser, right?” she asked sweetly.  “You play for the Vancouver Canucks?”

“Yeah,” Brock couldn’t help but smile.  He swallowed the rest of the cookie even though he didn’t really finish chewing it.  “That’s me.  Are you a fan?”

“My step-brothers are more so than I am,” she said.  “But I’m a fan of the team, yeah.  I’m Grace Gillespie,” she extended her hand to shake his.  “God, they’re not gonna believe me when I say I met you.  They’re gonna freak.”

Brock couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.  “Do you—I mean, do you want a picture?  I don’t mind at all.  I’ll sign an autograph on a napkin if you want me to.”

“Well…it’s a bit awkward to ask you at a Parkinson’s Society of BC meeting, but we could go to the Starbucks down the street and I could buy you a coffee.”

Brock was slightly taken aback at her forwardness.  He shouldn’t have been.  Girls came up to him all the time.  All the time.  And they were most definitely not shy.  But he wasn’t exactly expecting it to happen here, of all places.  A bar, sure.  Out with Petey or any of the other guys, absolutely.  But not here.  “Yeah…yeah sure,” he stuttered out.

“Then we should go,” Grace smiled.  She turned to look behind her.  Brock saw Esther picking up a few Oreos.  “Thank you for leading another great session, Esther,” Grace said.  

“Oh you are most welcome Miss Gillespie.  How is Hamish these days?  You didn’t speak much today.”

“He’s been doing fine lately.  His caregivers have been working around the clock for him.  They just work wonders, don’t they?”

Esther nodded.  “They are angels on Earth.  Anyways – we’ll catch up next week,” she said, leaning slightly on her leg to look beyond Grace and to Brock.  “I hope to see you here again next week, Brock.”

“Thank you, Esther.  See you next week,” he said, realizing he made the commitment before he could even realize what he was saying.

***

“I take that was your first meeting?” Grace asked as she set down the two lattes on the table against the window where Brock was waiting.  

“Was it really obvious?” Brock asked.

Grace shrugged her shoulders.  She didn’t want to make him feel self-conscious.  “It was the stuttering that gave it away, at least to me.  I know I stuttered a lot the first few times I came to these meetings.  I wasn’t the most comfortable talking about my dad’s condition to a room full of virtual strangers.  But within just a few months I realized the people in that room are the kindest, most empathetic, most amazing people that I’ve ever interacted with.  So I became a lot more open.”

Brock was transfixed by every word that Grace was saying.  “So you’ve been coming here a long time,” he said.

Grace nodded.  “My dad got diagnosed with Parkinson’s when I was fourteen.  I didn’t start coming here until I was about eighteen, though.”

Brock knew he shouldn’t ask.  He knew he shouldn’t.  But his brain had ulterior motives, and his mouth – well, his mouth listened to his brain, because it apparently needed to know.  “Is your—is your dad like my dad?” he asked.  “Does he have, like, other problems complicating things?”

Grace shook her head.  “No,” she said softly.  “But the Parkinson’s is enough for him.  I mean he was diagnosed just short of ten years ago and he’s already on puréed foods.  It’s not—I mean, you know as well as I do that it doesn’t regularly develop that fast.  But that’s…I don’t know how you do it.”

Brock didn’t know either.  Some days he didn’t.  “I just take it day by day,” he said simply, just like he said in the meeting.  “If I think about it too much…that’s when it’s bad.”

“I hear ya,” Grace said, taking a sip of her coffee.  “But let’s…not talk about this for too long.  Do you like Vancouver?  Do you find it nice?”

Brock appreciated the change in topic.  “I love it here,” he nodded his head, smiling.  “The city’s great.  The fans are great.  My teammates – I mean they’re amazing.  What do you do?”

“I’m a dance teacher at Goh Ballet – little kids and teens, mostly.”

He wasn’t expecting that.  She was drop dead gorgeous, sure – Brock wasn’t blind – but he wasn’t expecting to hear she was a dancer.  “Do you, like, dance in the real ballet?”

Grace snorted slightly at his phrasing of ‘real ballet’.  “No.  I pursued it only up until a certain point.  I was good, but uh, I stopped when my dad got diagnosed.”

“Why?  Don’t they always tell people like us to have, like, an outlet or whatever?”

“They do.  But I loved my dad more than I loved dance.  And I would have rather spent the time that I was spending on dance with him instead.”

He understood where she was coming from, and he wasn’t there to judge her.  “And your brothers you mentioned, did they help too?”

“Oh no no no.  Sorry – I should have specified.  I’m an only child.  Like, the only child between my parents.  But they divorced when I was six and when my mom re-married I gained two step-brothers, Jasper and Theo.”

“How was the divorce?” Brock found himself asking.

“You ever see footage of a nuclear bomb exploding?” Grace giggled as she asked the question.  It caused Brock to laugh too even though the analogy she was making was dreadful.  “It was awful.  The type of divorce nobody deserves, you know?  I became a pawn, basically, and my parents would only speak to each other through lawyers.  Even stuff concerning me.  It was bad.”

“That sounds horrible.”

“It was.  But it’s the only life I know,” she said.  “He was lucky my mom ended up marrying another rich guy.  I mean, my mom only marries rich men,” she giggled slightly again.  “That’s how Jasper and Theo became my step-brothers.”

“So your family has money?” Brock clarified.  “What’s it from?  Dad a lawyer or something?”

“Not exactly,” Grace said.  “My dad and his brothers own a private equity firm that started like this,” she pinched her fingers together, “and went like…” she continued, spreading her fingers and moving her hands around her like a bomb explosion.  “Gillespie Brothers Investments.  I’m sure as a Vancouver Canuck you’ve heard of them.  I mean they wanted to buy the Canucks before the Aquilinis.”

Brock hadn’t heard of them, but he now knew he’d have to do some snooping when he got home. “I haven’t heard of them.  But I mean – sounds like they were successful.”

“Three billion dollars is pretty successful to me,” Grace quipped.

“B—Billion,” Brock sputtered out.  “With a B.”

“With a B,” Grace nodded.  Brock had no idea he was sitting across from the daughter of a billionaire.  She didn’t act like a billionaire.  Not like Brock knew what billionaires acted like.  He’d never met one before in his life.  Well, besides Francesco.  “But tell me more about what you like about Vancouver.  What about the nature?  I always kind of fine a good long walk along the Seawall or through Stanley Park really clears my mind from all…this.  What about you?”

Brock smiled.  “I find the white noise of downtown clears my mind.”

***

“You want my number,” Grace said as a statement rather than a question as she and Brock exited the Starbucks.  They were kicked out.  They’d been there for so long that they’d been kicked out because they were closing.  Their coffees had gotten cold.  They hadn’t ordered new ones.  And now they found themselves on the deserted sidewalk, jackets put on hastily, and Grace came up with that.

Brock looked down at her.  They’d been able to look into each other’s soul for the past few hours.  “Of course I want your number,” he said.  There was no reason to hide it.  No reason to deny it.  No reason to have to wait until next week to see her again as they sat around in a circle in a community centre talking about their parents.

He took out his phone.  She gave him her number.  He texted his name to hers so she’d have his.  When that dance was done, she looked up at him.  “I’m really glad I met you tonight,” she said, her voice sincere.

Brock nodded.  “I’m glad I met you too.  I—I really enjoyed this.  And I mean—I needed it.”

Grace smiled, nodding her head.  “I needed it too.”

“D’you—” Brock stopped, trying not to get too far ahead of himself.  “D’you need a ride home?”

“Oh no no, my driver is right there,” she motioned her head towards a black Mercedes waiting by the curb.

Brock hadn’t noticed the car until now.  “Chauffeur?”

“Billionaire dad,” she winked.  Brock understood.  She took a few steps back before smiling one more time.  “Call me,” she said, before flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking towards the Mercedes and getting into the backseat.  Brock watched as it drove off, making a right at the end of the street.

He would definitely be calling.