#hope you know that's the real jeff in the box

[remuslupingf]

Dustin, whose your friend? II

E.M

Eddie Munson x shy!reader

word count: 1.3k

warnings: fluff, shy reader, anxious reader, nice eddie, dnd

Part I

You hear Eddie before you see him. You just have time to give yourself a once over in the mirror before you open your door, and hop down the steps to your house. Eddies sat there in his van, waiting for you. When he sees you, he grins and jumps out. He runs to the passenger side to open the door for you.

“M’lady,” he says, while bowing you into the van. You smile and pat his head while climbing up into your seat.

Eddie had been teaching you how to play dnd and tonight was the first time you would partake in a real campaign. With real players. With people you know. You were beyond nervous.

“It's gonna be fine baby! They were all first timers once! And we never judged them or made fun of them. We're gonna have so much fun.” He says while smiling at you.

“Okay, if you say so.” You answer quietly. He takes your hand and kisses it, making you smile. He knew you could get in your head about things. That was fine, as long as he could bring you back out to him. Only he knew how to talk sense into you.

You arrived at the school, and he hopped out fast so he could get your door for you. He loved doing that. Being able to do things boyfriends do for their girlfriends. He was the kind of guy who took pride in being a real gentleman. Someone who you could brag about to your girlfriends. 

“Hey guys!’ You hear behind you. Of course Dustin is here early to set up. 

“Hey Dusty! Are you excited? The start of a new campaign should be pretty epic.” You gush to him, hoping that you don't sound like an idiot.

“I know! The guys and I are so excited you're gonna play with us. It's gonna be legendary.” Dustin smiles at you, while helping Eddie unload some of the equipment he would need for the campaign. Apparently Eddie has spent some money on some new props. 

You help them bring in the boxes to the drama room. What the hell was in here? They were so heavy. You set down your box as soon as Eddie had unlocked the door. You were starting to get more nervous than excited. What surprise did Eddie have in store? No one knew.

“HOLY SHIT” you hear Dustin yell. You whip around, to see him with an open box in front of him. Before you could think, Eddie was behind him, holding his hand to Dustin's mouth.

“Dammit henderson. You weren't supposed to open that. Do not tell anyone. Alright?” Eddie says, while slowly dropping his head.

Dustin slowly nods, mouth agape. “I won't tell, but how they hell did you pay for those?” he asks.

“Just renting them for the campaign, they gave me a deal too, they know Wayne.” Eddie says smugly.

You take a step closer, trying to sneak a peek at what is in the box. Before you get any closer, Eddie has you by the shoulders, spinning you around. “Let's go look over here angel, I’ll let you sit on my throne.”

—---

Now that Dustin knew about the secret, he got to help set up the surprise and you had to wait in the hallway. Before you knew it, the other members started to show up.

“Hey! We didn't know you were staring tonight.” Garett said when he and Jeff walked up to the drama room.

Before you could reply, Jeff pointed to the door, “Is Eddie not here yet? I have a spare key so we can get in.” He says, starting to take his backpack off so he can grab the key.

“No! Eddie and Dustin are setting up a surprise so we have to wait for them to let us in.” You tell them. They lean on the wall with you, making small talk. Some more members showed up, while you and Garett explained why the door was closed.

The collective group were all curious and excited for what was to come. Some had guesses, none very realistic. You explained whatever it was, had fit into 5 cardboard boxes. Before the group could start theorizing, the door creaked open. The lights were off. That wasn't normal was it? You look at Garett and he looks just as confused as you feel.

He pushes the door the rest of the way open. There's a break in the dark light. A deep red is emanating from Eddie's throne. Suddenly the floor fills up with smoke, where the hell had Eddie gotten a smoke machine? But that wasn't it. Once everyone was through the door, a menacing sound came from unseen speakers. Holy shit. Is this what hellfire was always like? 

As the music rose, the lights got brighter, and Eddie stepped out from behind his throne. He was grinning like a maniac. Once he sat, everyone raced to their designated seats so they could start. You found an empty chair next to Dustin. You smiled at him and sat down, pulling out your folder that Eddie helped you work on. You were so excited to see what was going to happen. It was comforting that you had the help of your party.

Throughout the campaign, the music flows with the energy of the campaign. How had Eddie orchestrated this so perfectly? He was an amazing Dungeon Master. There came a point where your character was the only one who could save the party. This was up to you to save them. You stood at the end of the table, facing Eddie. You were shaking the D20 in your hands, praying that you got enough to take down the thessalhydra that had attacked your group. 

You looked around the table, at your friends who were counting on you. You looked at Eddie, who was staring at your hands. Usually he would stare down the saviour of the campaign, but he wanted you to do well. He needed you to. Because if you didn't, would you still want to go to hellfire permanently? 

You let go of the die, crossing your fingers. You couldn't look. What if it wasn't enough to save the party? Would the campaign be over? It would be all your fault. They'd never invite you back-

“FUCK YEAH” Garrett screams while everyone cheers and celebrates. You looked down. You had just taken down the monster, saving the party, and ending the progress of the campaign for the night. 

You stood there shocked, with your mouth open. You turn to look at Dustin, who is mirroring your expression. You both stare at each other. “FUCK YEAH” you both yell while putting your arms in the air. You did it!! Everyones cheering for you. The party has a group hug, with you in the middle. You get a glimpse of Eddie, who is smiling from ear to ear. 

After all the commotion had died down, the group rushed to Eddie, asking him if they could rent the lights, smoke machine, and speakers again for next week. Eddie pretends to think about it, before yelling out “Of course we can, are you kidding me? That's the best session we've ever had.”

The magic of the night had affected them all. They had all been playing for years, but this felt like dnd reinvented. It was like they all fell in love with it for the first time again. It was magic. And Eddie had created that. They worshiped him for it. 

Before you knew what you were doing, your feet carried you to Eddie's throne. You threw your arms over him and kissed him. Eddie was shocked. Was he that good that you kissed him in front of EVERYONE? He didn't think much more than that because his brain literally stopped working.

You broke apart, instantly getting shy. What did you just do? It was only your second date! What if he thought you were easy? Before you could think much more, Eddie pulled you in for another kiss. Pulling you out of your head and back to him. 

[samirant]

Dungeon Crawler Carl & You

*taps microphone*

Okay, so I've been going off about Dungeon Crawler Carl for months now and I do not see it stopping at any point, so let's see if I can entice one or two of you to join in my madness.

DCC is Lit RPG and written like a video game come to life, from the point of view of the contestants trapped within the game. There are levels to conquer and loot boxes and quests and an AI running things that has a very tenuous hold on stability to begin with and doesn't keep it for very long.

Carl is just... a guy. He's just a guy with a traumatic backstory that he's squished deep down inside himself because he doesn't like drama and he thinks he's doing just fine because it's done, you know? It's in the past, can't change it, can't hurt him anymore.

(It can hurt him. It does hurt him.)

The world as we know it is destroyed in a split second, Carl surviving by mere happenstance and the only reason he goes into the dungeon is that he will literally freeze to death otherwise. At no point is this guy searching for glory or thinking he's a savior, he's just trying to survive another day. That Carl happens to have his ex-girlfriend's prize-winning tortie Persian cat with him is a coincidence - and it turns out to be his major lifeline in the entire series. Princess Donut is his partner in crime, his bestie for life and if he ever loses her, he will lose everything. Goodbye to the last vestiges of his sanity.

The first couple levels are pretty contained, Carl & Donut learning the ropes and how to survive every encounter with increasingly powerful enemies who want nothing more than to see them dead, the eyes of the universe and the corporations running the shitshow ever focusing on them and trying to eke out as much profit as possible at the same time.

Then they meet other survivors - both good and misled - and the beauty of humanity comes out, the sacrifices they are willing to make for one another, the knowledge that they aren't likely to survive, but they make the right choices anyway because dying might be bad, but letting each other down is worse.

The secondary characters grow in complexity with every level. Where it was once just Carl & Donut, it becomes dozens of characters, from all over the world, all of them gifted in their own way, all of them fighting as best they can, some of them betrayed, some of them dying, some of them choosing to go out on their own terms. Men and women and animal alike, they are individual and committed to the greater good.

Matt Dinniman has written a series that takes an emotional toll on its readers: pain, loss, horror, humor, desperation, walking through life with an unrelenting grief. There are dick jokes and drug-dealing, lava-spitting llamas and riffs on Wonderwall and lines like: Trauma does that, I thought. It's an explosion with your heart at the center. It changes everything all at once.

Also, there are velociraptors.

And a decapitated, talking sex doll head that wants to kill everyone's mothers.

It's a LOT of stuff going on, all right?

And just as you think the story can't get any better, enter Jeff Hays. Our audiobook narrator, our man of a hundred distinct voices. Good god, he's phenomenal. I've listened to so many books and while there are some very talented narrators out there, Jeff Hays leaves them in the motherfucking dust. I honest to god thought he was using an app to manipulate his voice for different characters until I saw him narrating in real time and I was utterly blown away by his talent.

The combination of this story by Matt Dinniman and narration by Jeff Hays has me going back, time and time again. I recommend the experience wholeheartedly and hope you'll give it a chance.

[briarberrythornedhart]

Prompted by: “sitting in his lap would probably fix me”

“Hey!” Eddie snapped his fingers in your direction. “You’ve got initiative, what’s your move?”

It works, his long, strong, fingers are able to snap you out of the near fugue state you’d been in, just staring at the dungeon master and lusting after him with every fiber of your being, pining because he is so close and so far away and sooo unattainable. You clear your throat.

“I try to reason with…”

All the groans from the other players and the slap of Gareth’s hand to his face suddenly overwhelm you with noise and you feel ever so slightly unwelcome again.

They weren’t gatekeeper-misogynists at all and had welcomed you without prejudice - they’d had girl members before so you were nothing new… but your wanting to solve everything through non-violence was getting on even sweet Grant’s last nerve. He’s biting his nails, which you know means he’s losing his cool too.

“Silence!” Eddie commands the other players. He leans your way from his perch in his throne. “They are goblins. You don’t speak goblin, they are going to attack you…” It’s a teeny bit patronizing. He is equal parts threatening and pleading with you. Warning you he can’t save you from yourself. He isn’t going to go easy on you. He isn’t the type and that has only intensified your crush on him.

“You have the perfect spell…” Lucas points to the relevant spell on your character sheet. Max’s boyfriend is hoping to smooth things over, help you make a good decision, for the good of the party.

But you are relentless. “They are not mindless zombies, they have language and art. They live in villages and raise their children. You can’t tell me they are evil because of their... genetics. It’s the god Maglubiyet who is the real villian.”

Eddie smiles but it is 40% grimace. “I agree with you.... and Whilst I respect your commitment to your alignment and your character, you know you can’t personally resolve milennia-old war between the Goblins and....everyone. And you are running out of time, one is raising a horn to his mouth....”

“I bend down and draw in the dirt road - I draw a box...” You sketch your idea on some loose notebook paper from your journal. “With three stick figures in it, and then draw jail bars over the stick figures.”

Eddie watches you - bemused - as you attempt to negotiate a hostage exchange via cartoons drawn in dirt.

He nods, lips set in the smirk that usually means he’s contemplating a rug pull. “The Goblins look at your drawings. Their mouths hang open. One scratches his protruding belly. One nudges the other with his elbow. Dustin, you rolled next highest Initiative. What do you do?”

You know Dustin has your back. And Lucas will probably want to see how your gambit plays out. But Gareth sneaks up behind the goblins and captures them and everything devolves into violence from there.

Jeff ends up with a Goblin speared on his sword, Grant gets an injury you’ll have to heal next game. No one seems pleased. You feel like you’ve been through the Kobayashi Maru test.

Eddie calls a break for pizza and asks you to hang back for a second.

This is when I get kicked out for ruining the game for everyone, You think.

“You are working through something, aren’t you?” Eddie is hugging his knees in his throne. He is threading his pointer finger through the worn holes in his jeans and popping the threads.

“What?”

“Well, you have been staring... like eyes unfocused and hands clenched and - like - it’s totally okay you don’t want to fight. It’s not all about dungeon crawls and fighting baddies... but if you need to talk about... it. Whatever it is - I’m here. You know.... I c-care. Okay? We’re friends - I want you to know I’ll support you.”

“That’s sweet.” It is - it stings like a slap that you are only ever going to be friends, but it’s sweet too. Sweet-Bitter.

Eddie sighs, looks down and then back up at you through his messy curls, “You know, sometimes I think you’d be happier as dungeon master. You wanna try running a one-shot sometime? See if you’d like it?”

You laugh, “As if you’d share your throne.” You tease. He’s got you all wrong. You don’t want to be in control. You just want him to tell you to do different things. Put you in different situations. Hellfire Club has gotten so much more difficult lately because you can’t stop thinking about Eddie and wanting him in every way.

“I totally would.” Eddie looks faux hurt. He scoots himself to the side in the throne, closes his legs together like he NEVER does and brings his hands in to shove between his knees, leaving you maybe 6-8 inches of space. “Look, I can make room.”

“That’s not enough room for my ass.” You shake your head, smiling. Probably blushing, you feel the heat on your cheeks.

You measure your hips and hold up your hands to show him.

You think he probably doesn’t notice that you bite your lip whenever he is this close. You can just catch the scent of his leather jacket and his aftershave or deodorant whatever it is that makes you want to tear his Hellfire club shirt off with your teeth?? Whatever it is, It’s delicious.

“I see your point. You’re just gonna have to sit in my lap.” He shrugs. Smirks. Pats his thigh.

[stephaniebrownslover]

HIII! :D

I've read your Jeff and Liu's relationship hcs and I REALLY LOVED IT OMG

Soo can you please write a fluff oneshot about 'em?

(AND I THINK YOU'RE WORKING ON FOR TICCIWORK RELATIONSHIP PART 2 SO I'M SORRY IF I MADE YOU BUSSY THIS REQUEST CAN BE WAITED IF YOU WANT TO-)

I know I talked too much but thank you so much from now <333

HIIIIIIII!!!!!

I'm still surprised that people other than mt friends are reading and even liking my writing lol that means a lot really!!

And of course I can write about them since you asked! I love their bro-ship and it's cute and we deserve more Woods Family Fluff.

I'll write for Main AU, again, but this won't be lore related because everything important with them after the incident includes angst or other creeps but I want to write a dumb cute thing for you. Hope you don't mind, but if you do, please ask again for something lore-related like ticciwork oneshot.

NO NO I'M WORKING ON IT BUT I ALREADY MADE PART 1 FOR THAT FRIEND AND DON'T EVER WORRY ABOUT TALKING TOO MUCH OR MAKING ME BUSSY OMG NEVER PLEASE

Thank you so much for your ask and hope you like it too!!!

(I kinda wanted to write them stealing a tank lol)

(Also so sorry for late reply, my brain is so foggy lately which prevents me from writing)

Main AU Jeff and Liu Oneshot

Date: 2014

While Jeff was excitedly waving the board game box he was holding and trying to show it to Liu, Liu had his head buried well into the book in his hand, although his focus had not shifted. No, he might have loved his brother, but he definitely wasn't going to play monopoly with him.

"C'mon, L!"

"My name is not L. It's Liu."

That was the last straw. He knew that one Because Jeff was watching an anime called "Death Note" on the influence of his friends and Jeff had tried to make him watch it too. Liu would rather watch artistic films or something with real depth.

"Whatever, bet you're afraid of losin'."

"If it makes you feel better, then sure thing."

Liu wanted to continue reading his book, while Jeff senselessly waved one hand in the air. It could be read in his eyes that he had an unnecessary desire to challenge.

"Your loss, we all know I'm better at math."

"You did not."

"Oh yes, I did."

"Oh so you want to play a game, huh? Let's play a game."

Liu suddenly looked up from his book, he closed the object he was holding in one hand hard. It was hardly possible to say that he enjoyed being challenged.

Having a brother like Jeff who loves a challenge was a big problem for him.

Jeff looked in amazement at his brother, who had risen from the coach and was walking towards him with rapid steps. His green eyes were ablaze with an emotion that was not easy to understand.

"You in?"

Liu sarcastically crossed his arms, the menacing smile on his lips was enough to scare anyone, anyone except Jeff.

"Oh, how in that you would be surprised.

"Okay, so we're gonna play Monopoly, I know you like dumb nerd games, and I can rule kingdoms."

Jeff definitely didn't know how to play Monopoly. It was an even bigger problem that he talked more nonsense as if it was possible to do more, but it was Jeff.

Actually, Jeff didn't know how to play any board games. Of course, he knew, but either he didn't remember, or he was hitting the sense spot until the person he was playing with became really pissed.

"That's not- you know what? Just use the calculator on your phone."

"Which one?"

Jeff's rather confident disclosure of his secret caused Liu to pause in surprise once again.

What kind of idiot would disclose the application in which he kept secret photos and things that should remain hidden?

"... The one with numbers, not secret things of yours. God, I can't believe that I had to use this sentence."

"Why the fuck I need a calculator?"

Jeff's eyebrows were furrowed with anger. If it wasn't for Liu, he would have already responded with insults or attacked the person in front of him.

He might have been stupid, but he wasn't that stupid.

"Can you sum up high numbers?"

Or he could.

"... Fuckin' fine."

As Liu passed towards the table in the living room, Jeff followed him with a defeated attitude. While he pulled the chair out fairly and sat down, the fact that Jeff almost fell created a thin smile on Liu's face. It wasn't such a big deal.

He just liked that even after years later, he knew his brother next to him felt as comfortable as possible.

However, their feelings were not very mutual, because Jeff was a bomb ready to explode at any moment.

"You know how to play this, right?"

After Jeff sat down in the chair with a grunt, he shouted at Liu's question.

" 'course I do!"

Liu took the box from Jeff's hand and gently slapped on his hand when Jeff tried to reach out.

That's how Jeff realized that Liu was going to want something from himself first. Waiting for what he wanted, he responded only with a grunt.

Stupid nerd.

"Explain how we start the game."

He raised the index finger of his right hand in the air as he spoke confidently. With his other hand, he also pressed on top of it for emphasis.

"First, ya' choose a pawn to make your slave."

"Eh, kinda true. Go on."

Jeff raised his second finger and stepped on it, too.

"Then you roll the dice to occupy areas."

Well, that was where the mistake started.

But Liu didn't need to be so distrustful. Maybe his brother could surprise him, today could have been that day.

So he calmly made the explanation.

"No, you don't occupy the areas, you just pass them as you move just as the dice says."

"Told the same."

Jeff, on the other hand, breathed with an exasperated attitude.

"It's not the- okay, carry on. What happens when you stop on a point?"

"Easy."

The fact that he paused after saying this, didn't even deign to say anything, made Liu think that he was just bluffing.

And he probably was.

"Then explain."

"Um, you buy them?"

Liu raised one eyebrow in the air.

"To?"

"To... to throw them to the enemy!"

Taking advantage of Liu's confused moment, he pulled out the box and took out several household figures, which he threw at Liu. Although there was nothing to hurt, it was annoying.

"No, Jeff, stop."

Jeff was waiting for his brother to laugh like himself. Or to have an amused reaction. Or to be serious.

Anything, but not him getting off the table.

"I don't know why I trusted you with this. Clearly, it was a mistake."

While he was sitting at the table himself, he was almost begging for Liu to continue to stay as well.

"I was joking, I know Monopoly rules. Just don't go!"

"One last chance."

Liu took a deep breath and sat down at the table again. He really didn't know how long he could tolerate his brother's childish behavior, and he wasn't willing to find out.

There was silence between them for a while. It could not be said that it was a peaceful silence, although it was not uncomfortable either. This silence was more like the silence that occurs before something important.

Just when Liu was about to speak because he was starting to get uncomfortable with it, Jeff spoke by looking at his hands. And the whole time he was talking, he never lifted his head from the table.

"I was actually going to say that we can play Scrabble. I know you don't like this game and you can get bored or something and you shouldn't blah blah, somethin' somethin'."

Liu felt bad for a moment after hearing this.

It was obvious that his brother wanted to spend time with him. He was also aware that he had been neglecting him a little bit too much lately, but it wasn't his fault. He was just too busy and didn't have enough energy to deal with anyone. He definitely couldn't tolerate a hyperactive person like Jeff after a tiring day.

However, these were not an excuse.

He should have been a better brother.

"Okay, we can play both."

After Jeff heard this, he suddenly raised his head, quickly waved his hands in a way that meant no.

"No, no, you don't have enough time and-"

"I can always spare some time for my brother."

Jeff was relieved to hear this. After releasing his shoulders, he smiled. This was not a fake or sarcastic smile as usual, it was a real smile.

"Yeah. Me too."

Jeff and Liu were two brothers who cared about each other.

And nothing or no one could come between them.

It's awful lol sorry for that

[nobrashfestivity]

I hope this does not resonate with some meanness that i do not intend but I feel i should make a brief statement here about who I *Ahem* block.

 I want to say first that most of you are great, real art lovers, people with interesting facts and insights and personal stories that enhance everyone’s appreciation. I’m grateful my followers here are these people, many of you have great blogs that have introduced me to things I didn’t know about,  but there are a couple of things I just don’t like to see here.

Most of these categories are obvious, bigots, hateful speech etc., but something less onerous that does get on my nerves after a while, are people that feel a need to talk about how bad the art is. I know this may seem minor and it’s a free country and all that, but it bothers me on couple of levels to the point where if it keeps on happening, I block the people doing it. I’m sure this is not great offense to them and most of them probably never even notice, but I’ll just explain why, not be grandiose, but to avoid further misunderstandings.

The main issue is a pretty broad internet trend, which is the idea that if you have an opinion, you must share it. There’s nothing wrong with your opinion and in fact i have posted art myself that I don’t particularly like but I find interesting or significant in some way. Thought provoking is a good category itself even if it does not check your aesthetic boxes. But i’d ask people to examine what is supposedly added, outside of ego satisfaction, by showing up just to try to knock holes in something other people enjoy.  I’m not talking here about a discussion. I think discussions are great about why someone likes or doesn’t get something. God knows I have a long list of art I can’t stand and am happy to chat about it. But, what I don’t do is find Jeff Koons paintings on tumblr and reply to them all “Garbage”. As tempting as that might be,  It’s not adding anything and it might be inhibiting to someone from discovering something new they might like, when they have to read random hatred about it. i know it seems like a mild thing but I think it’s good for all of us to remember we don’t hold the definitive stance on art. 

I find this particularly absurd and egotistical when it comes to everyone’s favorite easy target, abstract expressionism. You don’t have to like it! But Mark Rothko painted his last painting over 50 years ago. I guarantee you every learned pro or con is already on the books. Your “My kid could do that” comment embarrasses you, not him. It’s an annoyance to everyone to get these “I’m an artist and...”. Trust me, everyone is an artist, it’s not a special taste license. And, it also brings up the obvious point that, formalistically, your argument on de Kooning has no merit. Basically arguing that the only good painting is the one that really, really looks like the thing it is supposed to represent is, at best, an intellectual house of cards.

So please let people enjoy what they enjoy. I came late in life to certain things  like On Kawara, who didn’t make a lot of sense to me until I saw in person how beautifully he painted. In sense there was a line for me to Japanese art traditions of craftsmanship that I already admired and he was following. It lent weight to his presentation of conceptual art. It became not just the idea but the beauty of the object and that made me love him. 

Mostly, artists are just trying to express themselves and if they don’t do it in exactly the way you prefer, consider chalking that up to a difference in opinion.

As Orson Welles said, “When in doubt, don’t do anything.”

[gucciwins]

harry and y/n attend the grammys 

Word count: 2318

A/N: hi friends! grammys night was huge for harry and I thought a little blurb would be fitting (wrote this in mind with harry and bel but can be read as a stand alone) 🫶 love you!!!

+

Harry was nervous, and you could tell because he was picking at his nails. You took his hand in yours and gave it a tight squeeze. "You'll be alright. It's a big night, I know, but you didn't make this album for the awards," you remind him. "You do it because you love the music you're making, and sharing it with everyone is the real reward."

He lets out a deep breath he was holding, "what would I do without you?"

You shrug, "go insane, maybe."

Harry kisses your cheek, "think I can convince you to sneak away with me for a bit."

By the placement of his hand low on your back, close to your ass, he has one thing in mind to do with you in private, but you know Lambert is rushing you all to leave, and here is Harry wanting to sneak away and cop a feel. You'd happily let him, but it's his night, and he's already pushing really close to not making the carpet.

"I love you, amor. I do, but I'm not going to make you late," you tell him sternly.

He pouts, kissing your lips, "please."

"No, mi vida."

Harry sighs and lets you go. "Tell Zerina not to dress you this good unless I'm able to ravish you first," he mumbles.

You giggle because you and Zerina, your stylist, were going for a look that would not take away attention on the carpet but also make sure your outfit would leave others speechless. You wore a satin bodysuit with a low neckline, showing enough cleavage to leave tabloids talking, with a sheer robe over the bodysuit with voluminous sleeves. It was something you felt gorgeous in and knew would match Harry's outfit. You added a silver necklace Anne gifted you during the holidays that she found in her jewelry box and thought would be a perfect match for you. The rings on your fingers were old, and each had a different story. Harry knew all the stories; it was always his favorite part after getting ready to see what rings you would wear for the night. Here's to a fun night.

"I'm walking the carpet alone," he repeats as the car stops, his hand gripping your thigh tightly. "Jeff," Harry whines, "you really won't let her."

You lay your head on his shoulder as they wait for the cars ahead to pull away. "Amor, es tu noche." It's his night, and you in no way want to take away from that. He sighs because he knows you're right. You'll get off but stick back as he tries his best to get through the carpet quickly. Honestly, you're hoping to find time to sneak into the photo booth that they were rumored to have.

His red carpet look was extravagant. It forced others to stop and look at him. Harry was wearing a rainbow harlequin jumpsuit. The crystals shined under the lights and photographers' camera flashes. His chest was on display, every tattoo shining in this light. You took a back exit with Jeff and smiled as Kid got in to take a few photos with Harry. You saw Kid's hand snake too low to your liking and decided to make them laugh.

"Hands where I can see them," you yelled, causing Harry and Kid to shake their heads, neither of them able to contain their laughter.

"Y/N, jump in for a photo!" Photographers were quick to yell. You looked at them, eyes wide, forgetting that it wasn't just you watching him. You saw cameras pan over to you, and you graciously flashed them a smile before declining. Next thing you know, Harry's holding tight to your hand as you're ushered inside a green room where Harry will change into his award show outfit.

You sit on the couch with Sarah as you wait for Harry to come out, and when he does, he takes your breath away. He's wearing custom Gucci (of course he is), a white cropped jacket with a black collar, a silver sequined top, and brown wide-leg trousers. Adidas sneakers back for his comfort.

"Pretty sure you're going to be the prettiest star out there," you tell him, not caring that a room of your friends can see you gushing over him because the truth is you'll never stop.

"No lovefest, we got to get seated," Jeff reminds you, and out the door, you all go.

Harry, your shy boyfriend, was sitting at the front of the room, at the table closest to the stage. You already knew he'd be the most popular table from the start. You were happy you got to sit next to him, supporting him. Jeff assured you it would be okay to squeeze one more he checked with Ben, and it was okay. If anything, he'd be happy to join Lizzo and Adele's table.

Bad Bunny opened the show, and you were out of your seat dancing with Lizzo. She told Harry she was stealing you away for a bit, not that he seemed to mind. He enjoyed seeing you dance with her. You knew Harry was a fan of Benito but only danced to him in private with you, and that was enough for you. The night seemed to move on quickly between awards and commercial breaks. The fact that the room was filled with so many amazing artists you loved was a dream. Harry's first win of the night was significant and set you all in a good mood.

Harry held tight to your hand, keeping a serious look on his face because he was sure it wasn't him. There were amazing artists nominated with him, knowing it would be okay no matter the result, but when the announcer reads "Harry Styles," you jump out of your seat, cheering proudly for Harry as he sits in shock. He shakes his head, standing up to hug Kid, Tyler, and Jeff. You squeeze him tight when it's your turn, "proud of you, Harry."

He kisses your cheek and walks up the stairs, happily accepting his grammy. He looks out at the crowd in disbelief, he's quick to catch your eye, and you blow him a kiss. Harry grins before stepping close to the mic to begin his speech. "Thank you so much. This album, from start to finish, has been the greatest experience of my life, from writing it with my best friends to playing it for you, it's the greatest joy. I'd like to thank Rob, Jeffrey, Tom, Tyler, Tommy, and Tom." He looks down at the grammy. "Thank you to everyone who inspired this album, thank you to all my friends, I wouldn't be here without you, thank you." Harry lifts the grammy, gives it a kiss, and walks away.

The night only seemed to get better from there. There were terrific performances, but Harry's was something magical. He got to perform the song that started this new era, and you couldn't be prouder. To be at his side supporting him from the post-production of this album to the release to now was something you'd never forget. You'd spend forever at his side rooting for him. You were an emotional mess most of the show, unable to stop leaning close to Harry and whispering how much you loved him and how proud you were. He never told you to stop because, with a squeeze of your thigh, you knew he was happy to have you there.

It's the night's last award, and everyone is on edge. Harry sits there, smiling as they announce all ten nominees. Harry teases you if you want Benito to win, but you shake your head, assuring him the person walking up that stage in a moment will be him. Harry's eyes gleam with tears because he's thankful to be surrounded by the people he loves most.

Trevor opened the envelope, and before reading the name, he walked over to the woman part of the "superfans" and had her read the name. You knew it was Harry. She was there for him, and now she had the honor of reading his name.

"H-Harry Styles," she spoke into the microphone. The crowd cheered in congratulations. Harry hid his face in his hands. You had tears streaming down your face as Jeff, Kid, and Tyler shared hugs in congratulations. "Amor, you won. You won."

He raises his head, looking at you in disbelief. You help him stand up, letting him wrap you in a hug as you kiss his cheek, whispering how proud you are that he deserved this. Harry laughed into your ear. "I can't believe it, baby."

"You did it, H. Go on." He stays with you, his eyes locked with yours, and before you can ask him what he's thinking, his lips connect with yours in a short but welcoming kiss. "Thank you, my love." Harry accepts hugs from everyone at his table, stopping to hug Lizzo before going on stage with Kid and Tyler behind him. You look at Harry with pride, Jeff clutching you close to his side.

"That's our star up there," Jeff tells you as Harry fist-pumps while giving his fan a big hug and taking the grammy from her. You laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. Jeff hands you a tissue as you do your best to be careful with your makeup, even if it is waterproof.

"Shit." Harry starts his speech, causing you to laugh, and you know he can hear you because he does it again. "Well, shit." He looks out into the audience staring at everyone in disbelief. You were hanging on to his every word and knew he was shocked he won, but he was grateful and thankful in his speech. "You have no idea how you helped finish this album. Thank you." Harry is looking right at you when he says that you have no idea what he means. "This is really really kind. I'm so, so grateful. This doesn't happen to people like me very often, and this is so nice. Thank you very much."

You cheer for Kid and Tyler, thanking their family and Harry during their acceptance speech. You know he was looking at you. There was no missing it, but this album was finished during tour. Jeff guides you backstage, where you'll see Harry in the green room after he's done with the interviews. Mitch is quick to sweep you in a hug. "HE'S A THREE-TIME GRAMMY WINNER!" It was the start of your tears all over again. Sarah came in and joined the hug. Harry had the best team and friends supporting him.

This was family and soon Harry would come in to be showered by all the love. You all stood around talking, looking back at videos; you were tempted to ask Mitch what Harry meant but decided it was best to wait for Harry. Then the man of the hour comes i,n and the room erupts in cheers. Harry greets everyone in the room with a hug and a thank you. By the time he made it to the other side of the room, he was close to tears. He was glowing, the happiness radiating off him.

Harry opens his arms, and you fall right in, coming together like two puzzle pieces. "Amor, mi vida. Te amo. I love you. I love you." It's all you can think to say.

"Baby, look at me," his voice was gentle.

You raise your head and meet his shining eyes. Harry presses his lips against yours. You follow his lead allowing you both to get lost in each other for a moment.

"You've heavily inspired this album," he tells you, knowing that is exactly what was on your mind. You look at him confused because he told you this album was written before you (many times). That seems to be the only thought running through your head. Harry laughs, his thumb tracing over your lips, reminding you the gloss had faded and needed to reapply. "Why do you look so surprised?"

"B-b-because you told me this album was written between your movies being filmed." That was long before you joined him on tour in St. Paul. He laughs because he remembers telling you that he's surprised you haven't picked up on the sprinklings of you in the album.

"Cinema?" He asks.

You shake your head, "stop."

"Love of my life?"

Harry looks at you with so much love, and you know he's not lying to you. Why would he? You let your head fall against his chest. "You're insane," you whisper.

"Love of my life," he promises. "I had songs ready, but some weren't finished. Why do you think I stayed in Nashville? We recorded all day. Tyler and Kid were shocked at all I brought. My biggest muse walked into my life. Of course, I wrote a song or two." Harry smiles at your look of disbelief.

“I love you, Harry. I’m honored to be by your side, seeing you accomplish everything you dreamed of.”

“You’re proud?” Harry asks.

“Of course,” your hand rests on the back of his neck.

“Does that mean I’m getting lucky tonight?” He teases.

You smack his chest playfully, “not with that attitude.”

“Baby, please. Don’t you think I deserve kisses,” he puckers his lips. You close the distance and give him a quick peck.

You sigh, “you deserve the world, Harry.”

He shakes his head. “You’re all I want. You’re all I need.”

Harry and you get lost in your own world in the corner of the room, sharing kisses and whispering about how much you love him and how proud you are. No one in the room tried to rush you because they knew Harry was about to be the most sought out person at the after-party. They simply let you be two people in love celebrating this momentous night.

taglist: taglist: @alienorknight​ @harry-is-on-route-66​ @myfavfanficsever​ @springholland​ @michellekstyles​ @harryismyfwend​ @japanchrry​ @charlessgf​ @golden-hoax​ @itsmycorneroftheinternet​ @harryspirate​ @tenaciousperfectionunknown​ @thurhomish​ @thelovecayon​ @shawnieeboyy​ @dontworrysunflower​ @a-strange-familiar​ @caramello-styles​

[free-for-all-fics]

Stupid, silly Namor or Attuma fic ideas. Don’t think too hard about these they’re just funny little ideas. Pls tag me if you write or get inspired by any of these. Like always, there are no rules:

1. The reader is labeled as the village idiot because she likes to sing with her head underwater to "sing to the mermaids". The village ridicules her for it. One day, she is swept out in a riptide, and no one is willing to come to her aid—no one from the village, that is.

2. Reader is full of bad puns and dad jokes, much to the chagrin of Namor/Attuma. "Why are seagulls called seagulls?"

“Stop now.”

“Because if they flew over bays, they'd be bagels! Oh hey, What did one wave say to the other?"

“I swear, if you make one more ocean related pun, I will murder you on this island and tell everyone you died in a shipwreck."

"...well, someone's salty."

3. You put a message in a bottle and set it out to sea in the hopes it’ll reach Namor/Attuma so you can be pen pals. “Oh my god I love you but you’re so stupid.” They say because you have no idea that’s not how mail works.

4. You’re in love with Namor/Attuma, but you’re also obsessed with monsters and cryptids so you keep asking them questions like “Is the Kraken real?? What about 6 headed hydras? Have you seen Nessie?? Are they friendly? Darling tell meeeeeee”

5. Reader does that stupid prank thing where she pretends to do a magic trick with an egg and a bottle of water. She’s like “Ok now look inside” and squeezes the bottle, spraying water in Attuma/Namor’s face and runs away cackling.

6. You introduce Namor/Attuma to a wonderful human invention - Water beds. They are less than amused. Reader, consider your sexy time privileges revoked😑

7. Attuma/Namor trying to teach reader combat and how to fight like a Talokanil but reader keeps making it sexy and Namor/Attuma is like “Ok maybe we should stop. You’re not even listening to me or learning anything properly!” And reader is like “Oh I’m learning all the right techniques perfectly. 😏😘”

8. Those videos from EVNautilus of the people in a submarine coming across a dumbo octopus and a googly eyed stubby squid but instead it’s scientist reader being shown Talokan by Attuma or Namor and fawning over the sea creatures because they’re just little guys. Sweet underwater babies. And reader being like “it’s just a baby can I adopt it pls” 🥺 and Namor or Attuma being like “pay attention. Remember why we’re here.”

9. “Your child brings home a raccoon, mistaking it for a cat and begs to keep it” trope but instead it’s Namor/Attuma and their child has brought home an anglerfish or some other hideous abomination of the sea. It’s surprisingly docile and follows the child around like a pet anyway so can we keep it??? Please father 🥺

10. Namor and Jeff the Land Shark crossover. That’s it. That’s the post. Reader wants to adopt Jeff as their child. He’s just a baby 🥺

11. Peter Pan “They were just having a bit of fun, weren’t you, girls?”

“We were only trying to drown her” Mermaid Lagoon AU

12. “General, I’ve brought the cartographer into the war meeting today. I believe you owe her an apology for ruining all her maps when you stab them to dramatically mark a location.” (What if the “cartographer” is actually Attuma’s small daughter or sister drawing doodles of maps and playing pretend/mirroring what her dad or brother does because she wants to help and it’s all in jest hehe)

13. 2 days ago you went to an animal shelter and adopted the most adorable cat. What you don’t know is, he’s the reincarnation of an Aztec god. Your food offerings are unacceptable and that ugly small box that feels like it’s made from scratchy carpet will not do. No. He’ll be sleeping in your bed with you. Don’t try to lock him out; he’ll just scream and sing the songs of his people until you let him back in. (Or maybe through a magic mishap Namor has been accidentally transformed into a cat. Yeah Namor as a cat AU. I told you these ideas were silly.)

14. “Would you still love me if I was a worm” meme With Namor or Attuma but instead it’s “Would you still love me if I was a sea cucumber” or something ocean related

15. Namor or Attuma are taking their daughter trick or treating this year and ask what she wants to be for Halloween. A superhero, a mermaid, a princess? No. She wants to be a horseshoe crab. Possible Modern AU.

16. Reader goes to the beach often and befriends the seagulls/pelicans. So they start to bring her gifts like shells, rocks, etc. Except one day they bring you a golden bracelet, beaded necklace, or jade earrings (your choice of which). It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. A few days later, Namor shows up at the beach, looking very annoyed as he asks for his necklace/bracelet/or earrings back.

17. You and Namor or Attuma meet on the beach in your special spot. You don’t get to be with him often considering he’s kept away by his responsibilities and loyalty to Talokan, and you’re human. It’s usually your only chance to have time where you can just quietly love each other. Except a stupid fucking seagull or pelican has been following you to both the beach and your home; squawking incessantly, wreaking havoc and basically cockblocking you. Untitled Goose Game AU but it’s a seagull/pelican.

[fleshhhteeth]

At first I was just gonna say the first stupid thing that came to my mind, like How would Habit react to being stuck in a box, but no, I’ll actually ask for some real headcanons szxghg- How do you think each of the emh guys hug/cuddle? Ranging from full on nearly knock you over, to awkward side hug/not huge on touch

YESSS my emh boys (and Mh since u mentioned that as well in ur other ask, thanks for asking btw! :) )

Evan: Hugs, cuddles, general closeness, this man is on the physical touch GRIND bro. With hugging, unless its some playful 'run up behind you and tackle your ass to the ground' hugs, he's probably more of the type to make it short and sweet, with one of those hefty pats on the back and whatnot. But cuddling? He's like a human magnet. Once he's on you that man is not coming off. He's more of a 'find a comfy position to get trapped in and stay there' kind of guy, doesn't fiddle around or shift all that much. Movie nights are essentially just an excuse to get you in his lap for the next hour or so, with his arms clinging around your waist the whole time. Hope you peed beforehand!

Habit: Similar to Evan in the sense that once he's got you, you're not going ANYWHERE for the foreseeable future. Plans? Places to be? Sleep to catch up on? He's never heard of it. He's not really one to INITIATE any touching, though. Hugs? Not happening. Like, ever. He doesn't really feel the need for any physical contact, and he certainly doesn't recognize that need in other people. It's just another weird little human quirk to him, something that isn't his problem. But if you get a little ballsy and crawl into his lap or something (and somehow find him in a good mood) prepare to be stuck in that position until he feels like getting up. He'll probably tease you for having the audacity in the first place. (tbh, you're probably coming out of it with some nasty ass bite marks too) ((Also he purrs. felt like I should add that. Probably growls a bit if you try to get up too.))

Vinny: Someone hug this man. Asdgfdjkgh no but seriously, he's never been all that big on cuddling and being close or whatever, but something about a good, solid hug is just so cathartic to him. Maybe its the pressure, the closeness, or the human contact alone, but its something he finds himself wanting pretty often. He'd probably be a bit too fidgety for any real cuddling, but come up behind him out of nowhere for a hug? All that pesky breath in your lungs is imminently going to be squeezed out, sorry.

Jeff: Probably not all that big on hugging, but definitely a casual cuddler. His idea of a perfect afternoon is being sprawled out across the bed, legs tangled up with someone he cares about as the two of mess around on your phones or something. He likes to move around a lot (because if he stays still, he'll just fall asleep lol), expect a good amount of face nuzzling and wandering hands. More often than not its gonna end up with either the two of you falling asleep together, or a nice lil makeout sesh ;)

----------------------------------------------------------------

MH BOYS

Jay: Awkward hugger. He's not good at it, never has been. He's all gangly limbs and fidgety hands, not exactly great hugging material in the first place. Cuddling is a different thing entirely with him, though. He'll never be the one to initiate cuddling for the sake of cuddling or anything, but he has literally zero spatial awareness. There could be a million empty seats in a movie theater and he'd still end up sitting right next to you, leaning absentmindedly on your shoulder the whole time. Stuck sitting next to each other? Personal space doesn't exist when it comes to legs- not to him, at least. Touching knees and bumping shoulders is a common occurrence with him, and he never even notices.

Tim: Lets be so real, this guy grew up isolated as FUCK. Textbook case of touch starvation (and a whole lot of other shit, but I digress.) He knows *how* to hug, and can cuddle someone if they're really pushing about it, but you can guarantee he's going to be stuck in his head the entire time. He's not even bad at it or anything-he'd be pretty good at it tbh- but he just overthinks it all and doesn't end up enjoying it in the end. Unless you're really upset, or he's gotten VERY comfortable around you, don't expect him to get anywhere near your personal space. I think secretly he'd really want to do those things, but he'll never do it on his own- too afraid of making things weird.

Alex: Assuming this is *pre* operator induced madness, he's surprisingly more cuddly than he comes off as. He won't exactly go seeking it out, but he's more than happy to continue chilling on the couch if you decide to come and cuddle up with him, he sees nothing weird about it. He may find it annoying if he's in the middle of something, but he's easy to pry when it comes to some good old fashioned quality time. A little stiff when it comes to hugging- he'd honestly be more surprised than anything else that you chose *him* to go to for comfort or something- but he gets the job done well enough.

Brian: Step aside, peasants, the professional has entered the scene. Nah but really, if he's chill with you? You can get away with just about anything. Latch onto him in the middle of the night, hug him out of nowhere from behind, crawl on top of him on the couch, he couldn't care less- just continues going on about his business, with no issue making space to accommodate you're presence. Maybe a kiss on the forehead or something if that's the kind of thing you seem to be after, but that's about as affectionate as it gets unless you really start pushing it. He's happy to simply exist in the same space, the added warmth and comfort is just a nice bonus.

[dotthings]

1x06 of Alaska Daily was heartbreaking and scathing. The ep addressed systemic inequalities in searches for missing white women are treated vs how searches for missing Indigenous women, after a white woman falls overboard from an Alaska cruise ship and an Indigenous woman goes missing in the woods.

Stanley and Roz’s deadpan exchange where Stanley (the paper’s editor in chief) is required to do an obligatory reprimand of Roz after she raises questions about the inequalities at a press conference and says he is “talking” to Roz about her “behavior” was gold.

“Are you done ‘talking’ to me?”

“Yeah. Good chat.”

And then Stanley heads out to the woods to join Roz in the search for Jade. I appreciate Stanley.

The gala having Indigenous performers while a million dollars is being spent on the search for one white woman and almost nothing spent on the missing Indigenous woman — Jade’s search gets done by the community, not official forces. A gala attended by the wealthy who are profiting off the governor’s puff PR “task force” where most of the money is spent on PR not resources.

The rapid-fire dialogue and the wry or deadpan humor of the team of reporters and the friendships among the reporters at TDA is enjoyable and the show finds humor while being raw about a range of issues from corruption to inequalities. I also liked that this ep developed Stanley and Roz’s friendship, the mutual respect, Stanley being a mentor and ally.

It’s interesting how the show depicts Roz, Eileen, and Stanley’s different kinds of angers. Roz’s anger is deep and quiet and stirred higher by being not listened to, not heeded, being overlooked. Trying to get people to listen. Eileen’s is sometimes a bulldozer and at times, well-intended white liberal crusader but she doesn’t always stop to think about the real personal impacts, she latches onto causes, but genuinely cares. Stanely’s anger is a tired anger. He knows how broken the system is. He’s given almost no budget to run the paper. He believes in the power the press has to bring about change, uncover truths, so Stanley tries to push and encourage his team to do work past the external limits set on them. Stanley and Roz in different ways both live in frustration, boxed in, but they know where the hidden cracks in the walls are and how to apply pressure to get them to crumble. While Eileen rams her her way head-on at every wall.

The whole cast is stong, and Hillary Swank, Grace Dove, and Jeff Perry (who plays Stanely) deserve a ton of critical attention of their roles in this. The show itself deserves a lot more attention. I hope it gets a S2.

Don’t sleep on Alaska Daily.

[clearkidhideout]

Fucked up kid

pt. 3 well isn't this great

sorry here is the next part

"y/n open your eyes", the woman says, "sweetie it's safe here, don't worry". You don't trust her never have she was just like the rest of them and you were right.

"please......stop ...please, .....make it stop it hurts. MAKE. IT. STOP." your screams echo through the room.

"should we continue with the procedure Dr. Page", the surgeon asks.

"proceed."

your body withers in pain. the screams coming from your mouth shattering the glass like gunshots.

"sedate the subject now before she kills us all" page says through the intercom. she saw you grabbing the scalpel they put down. They grab the Midazolam sticking it into the vein in your neck. you are able to scream one last time a throat ripping bone chilling scream before everything fades to black...

Y/N

wake up

wake up please

you wake up gasping for air and your hands clinging to your neck as if that was going to protect you. shooting up you see newt and Thomas with frightened looks on their faces. forcing yourself to calm down you ask

"what happened"

Newts pov:

screams that's all i bloody heard, her screams. we all did running to her bed. i tried shaking her awake but nothing happened no response she just kept screaming like she was being killed

"come on y/n wake up"

"somebody get clint and jeff"

Cint comes running in holding a needle.

"what the bloody hell are you doing with that thing"

"pain usually wakes them up remember when you broke your leg you weren't waking up we used a needle to get you to wake up"

"and if it doesn't work"

"the best we can hope is that she wakes herself up"

i nod and clint pokes it into the back of her neck. she shoots up and grabs her neck like someone suffocated her.

she asked me what happened

"Darlin' you had a nightmare you were screaming, are you alright?"

"uh yeah i'm fine, like you said it was a nightmare. I just need time to think"

I nod my head, "you heard the girl give her some space. Love, if you need anything come find me alright"

she nods

Your pov

when they leave I let out a sigh i was screaming i never scream. now everyone either thinks i'm mentally ill or crazy. the dream though it seemed familiar like i experienced it but i couldn't have i would know wouldn't I? I'll go talk to thomas and see if he knows anything

you leave your bed and look around spotting thomas in the garden.

"hey thomas"

"hey y/n you alright?"

"yeah, i just wanted to ask you a question"

"sure shoot" he looks up at you covering his eyes from the sun

"well actually in private i don't really want anyone else to hear"

"yeah uh ok we can go to the edge of the deadheads if that's fine"

you walk over there with him ready to ask him your question

"i know you're new and all but have you ever had weird dreams that seem real but could be impossible?"

"you mean weird dreams that seem like memories" he looked at you shocked. "I've had a couple the time i was in the box and the night before you came i'm guessing they are real though they seem to real to be fake"

your body stiffens hearing his words

"hey y/n you ok"

you barely hear him and nod quickly getting up. "i gotta go see you later thomas"

if the dream was real that meant whoever dr. paige was she was someone who hurt you

"well isn't this fucking great

newts pov

im worried about y/n she looked rattled when she woke up and just now she darted towards tommy and didn't even give me a second look the went to the edge of the dead heads where she asked him something and then ran away from him to.

i walk over to tommy

"hey tommy what was that all about?"

"she was just asking about her dream"

"why'd she go to you?"

tommy shrugged "i don t really know"

i let it go. "just get back to work ok" he nodded

i'll talk to her tonight. seems like that's the only time we every get to talk.

[crypticjackal13]

Hello here's my little bit of spider Brainrot <3 brought to you by my thoughts at 4 AM

*movie ends, threat defeated, uhh Miguel either dies or gets redeemed(no in between. This MF can't just *live* the way he is). Things all chill. The spider band gets to reunite, etc. And they prepare to send Miles home to the right universe, at least for now.*

Miles: Wait! There's one more thing I gotta do before we go back!

Cue a small montage of the spider gang helping him make two cakes, it's a mess at first but they look good in the end. We don't see the finished product as the cakes are put neatly into two boxes.

Cut to a shot of Miles' house. Rio and Jeff are sitting anxiously at the table as the storm's just cleared up and they wonder when "Gwanda" will come back with their son in tow. There's a flash of colors and a portal opens up in the living room, with Miles stepping through, two boxes in his arms.

But he's not alone.

As he steps into his home, his real home, he's followed by none other than Gwanda. And then a kind-looking boy with a red headband and hair that looks amazing. And a ridiculously tall punk boy with a guitar over his shoulder. And a man with a baby girl strapped to his chest. And a woman with a baby bump. Each of them is holding something else food or party related, such as a couple of big bags of chips or bottles of soda.

Miles: I know I missed the first party...so I wanted to make it up to you. And don't worry, I didn't forget the cakes!

Rio and Jeff embrace their son, and we finally get to see what's written on the cakes. It's read out loud as we see the party kick off, with the spiders socializing with Jeff and Rio.

Voiceover Miles says something along the lines of "Dad, I'm proud of you for how far you've come, because I can see all the effort you're putting in. I couldn't be more proud of you, and I hope you're proud of me too."

It cuts to the other cake, which has frosting letters on it in Miles' own handwriting, and it just says "p.s., I'm spiderman. Love you!" Or something like that

(that's it that's the end of the movie. Sony you can hire me whenever 💖)

[hidefdoritos]

Logging back on just to dump out thoughts about a bunch more work and life stuff.

Again, at work, there are 6 managers on my shift. Varying degrees of competence and likability, but I'm for sure on good terms with each of them. We also just recently lost their boss, "Tyler," a man who couldn't find his own nose in the dark. He quit and joined a pyramid scheme. Literally nobody is mad about it.

I have one manager, who I'll call Jeff, who is my biggest cheerleader for sure. He's been trying to get me on seasonal full-time. According to him last night, the admins (a group of people who collectively have their heads so far up their own behinds that they've never seen the light of day) have decided not to offer seasonal full time after all. None of the other managers had heard it yet, though.

I don't know if that means Jeff has a better line in, or if they're giving him the run-around. He's sick of the run-around too. He said, verbatim, "If I had my way, you'd already be full time, you could set your own schedule, and you could show up and do whatever the f--- you want." High praise indeed.

I have a mentor manager, who I'll call Kristy. Her daughter is my age, so she's always had a soft spot for me. Not like she has many rough spots anyway. Kristy elected to not try to win Tyler's position. "I don't want that level of responsibility," she said. I like that she's in a place where she's happy. She lost a parent earlier this year and sometimes I can still see a weight on her shoulders.

I have a frenemy manager, who I'll call Sara. Sara is "just hanging around until she runs this place." She knows how to suck up to the admits. She runs a mean newbie orientation class. I've also watched her be functionally useless in emergency situations and she truly doesn't care if people outside her department live or die. The sad part is I think she's a fine person outside of work, probably. We can talk and joke around. I like her fine when she's not my boss. I don't trust her. I know she went for Tyler's position. She wasn't there last night to confirm. I hope she didn't get it. Then again, I also don't want her directly managing real human beings, so she might be good over the managers.

I have a bestie manager, who I'll call Landon, because that's now becoming my code name for everyone in my life with one particular real name. (Same one who watched me pick up a hundred-pound box and said, in reverence, "You just scared me, CJ" which made me glow for like a week.) (Once, also, I was missing a choir rehearsal for work, and said that my director probably wanted to kill me a little bit. Landon observed, "At least he only wants to kill you a little bit," and I said, "Yeah, well, I only want to die a little bit!" Landon lost it. Jeff (mid-40s?) looked very concerned, which made both of us laugh harder.)

Landon tried for Tyler's position. I was really truly rooting for him to get it. Landon can run the place blindfolded and is genuinely nice to everyone. He compliments everyone's work and shows a belief in our abilities that does us credit. But, after work, he saw that Tyler's position was reposted to the company site. That could mean that none of the managers got promoted and they're looking for an external hire now. Or it could mean that an admin screwed up. Praying so hard for the latter. If it's the former, the admins didn't even have the courtesy to send a rejection email.

[Past child abuse tw for this section. Skip to the three big stars.] I did something so brave last night, something that past me would never have done. Landon has been doing one particular thing that makes my life way harder. Every time I report an equipment defect or something that isn't working well, he says, "Stop breaking s--t!" This is his pat response to everyone, for everything broken, because he can commit to a bit. However, I...well, I have history. Breaking things and being blamed for things are both pretty big triggers. Which I am working on. But it's happened quite a few times now, last night included.

I looped back around to him later when manager Tony (an IRL NPC) wasn't around. I asked a question about reporting broken equipment, and then said, "Hey, can I have a moment?" As best as I can recall, verbatim, I said, "This is not your fault; I'm not mad at you; just one thing. Please quit blaming me for breaking stuff."

His head dropped down but I could see him smiling, that sort of you-know-I-don't-mean-it look. But I continued. "I...grew up getting beat for breaking stuff. So I don't exactly..."

His expression went from come on to oh s--t pretty quickly. "Oh. I'm really sorry about that."

"It's okay. I don't exactly lead with that fun fact when I introduce myself."

"Yeah, but still, I'm sorry. I--"

"--It's okay--"

"I will stop."

"Yeah. Thanks!"

"I'm so sorry you've had to deal with that," he was saying, but I was already turned to walk away because that was overwhelming as heck. I sorta waved it off in the it doesn't matter way that you do when you just talked about trauma out of nowhere.

"I need to be more mindful," I heard him add before I was out of earshot.

Not my clearest communication, not my bravest standing my ground, but I think it was just fine for the situation. If it was almost anyone else, I would've kept sucking it up. But it hurts. And he's also my friend. And I trust him with that information. And it's not like he knew, so I didn't want to bite his head off about it. It didn't need to be a big deal. It took less than a minute to deal with. And it took ALL of my bravery. But I did it. And I didn't die. And now I have this as an anchor point for the next time that I need to tell a person to not do a thing.

Also, even for the rest of the night, he didn't look at me or talk to me one bit different. I'm almost crying just thinking about it. The love shown when people know I'm damaged but don't treat me any differently--I need to lie down.

***

I ended up stuck for quite a while with some paperwork snags about adjusting my schedule for holiday season/semester break. But the managers let me hang out in their office. I filled out the paperwork, hung around for a bit, asked about another thing, waited as Jeff checked some things for me, ate a muffin, and then just hung around on the clock. They all but directly invited me to do so. They value me enough to let me get an extra hour for almost nothing.

During the hour, Landon talked to me about Tyler. Apparently last week, Tyler called him up and tried to recruit him to his pyramid scheme. Could barely articulate what the company is selling, but was talking a lot about how you earn points and they're a big reward to you. Landon told him directly that it's a pyramid scheme and Tyler just doesn't see it, I guess.

I explained my favorite concept (modified from some tumblr post somewhere) to Landon. "See, the problem I find with pyramid schemes is that they concentrate all the money in the top percentage of users. That means most people are losing money. What I think is that if you bring everyone in on the top tier of profits, they all make money. Which is why I'm starting a pyramid scheme that sells pyramid scheme starter kits. That way we bring everyone in at the highest level and ensure their ROI--"

Landon cut me off devastatingly: "Ok Tyler."

I don't know exactly what my face did, but I have NEVER seen fear enter somebody's eyes that fast. His face puckered. Which made me laugh it off, which made him laugh. Of course he knows I'm not going to harm him, but still. The power is going to my head.

Landon also gave me some bonus employee rewards points. And asked me if I'd talked to Tyler after he screwed me over (no; I spent those last two weeks rehearsing "I hope your new position suits you well" as the one polite sentence just in case) and if he'd talked to me (no; the one time we walked toward each other, he crossed the aisle to avoid me). Also, this past week, Landon got a wrong number text for a "Samantha," and so Logan replied, "Oh, Sam changed her number" and gave the person Tyler's number. I laughed and laughed. Then was like, "Oh, you're just going to be giving it out to random telemarketers and signing him up for stuff." Landon's eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone and dictated a note: "Sign--Tyler--up--for--random--and--inappropriate--stuff." I'm glad that I don't have Tyler's number, email, or anything. I would've subscribed him to everything under the sun.

We all together talked about our pets. Landon has a cat. I wonder if it's fluffy. I'm thinking about Landon kind of a lot for someone who doesn't date coworkers.

I let everyone know that I want to get on track for tuition reimbursement as SOON as the paperwork gets sorted out. And that if my $5k doesn't come through, I'm quitting. Period.

I hope so hard that I don't have to follow through on that threat. I really like this job. It would suck massively to leave a job that's so satisfying with people who I care about so much. And honestly I probably wouldn't fully leave. But I'd be getting a second job at another warehouse place in town with tuition benefits, because I can't do this. The Purple Arrow Freight Company admins have already screwed me out of a trainer position and maybe out of a seasonal full-time position. If they screw me out of $5k I'm not dealing with this anymore.

All my managers are on my side. Hopefully they're able to pull some strings with the admins (without rendering themselves obnoxious, because the admins can also fire them). They know I'm an awesome worker, and additionally, they love me. They don't want to lose me because the admins are dumb.

[kingsleywrites]

About Me + Request Guild lines (Please read before requesting anything)

Hello, so I have just decided to write on Tumblr so I created this blog! I also write on wattpad my name on there is King-0f-Hearts and I am in the process of getting an AO3 account. I have a main account here where I just mess around and post on the occasion.

A little bit about me!:

My name is Elijah but you can call me either King/Kingsley or Elijah/Eli I am fine with either of those.

I am a trans man (he/him) and I'm omnisexual

I decided to start writing on Tumblr in hope of not only getting my work out there but also to help improve my writing and get requests. i also want to write without sticking to a specific book like this is any different but i guess this is how my brain will work

Request Guild lines:

My request box will most likely always be open so don't be shy to shoot a request over to me, I will be more than happy to do it.

Things I will do:

Fluff

Angst

male x male

male reader

gender neutral reader

FTM reader

platonic

romantic

Obsessive

Yandere

Suggestive scenes (No smut and as long as they are within any guidelines of the people being written)

Headcanons

Drabble/short stories (are they the same? idk)

Little disclaimer I just decided to start writing obsessive and yandere alts of characters and due to me never doing something like that before it may be very cliche and just outright bad

Things I won't do:

Smut (I do not feel comfortable writing it)

Age gap

Female reader (y'all have enough stories go read your own, there are not enough male reader and gender neutral reader stories out there so just let us have this)

character x character (I just dont really enjoy writing it, I have nothing against it just isnt what I really want to write for)

Fandoms/Characrters I write for:

Shows/TV:

Gravity Falls (Dipper, Mabel)

Arcane (Vi, Jinx, Milo, Silco, Claggor)

Anime:

Hunter x Hunter (Killua, Gon, Kurapika)

Promise Neverland (Ray, Norman, Don)

Attack On Titan (Levi, Eren, Armin)

Black Butler (Ciel, Alois, Finny, May-Rin)

Blue Exorcist (Rin, Yukio)

Movies:

None, open to suggestions :)

Games:

DSMP, only using the characters in the SMP and not their real life selves (Dream, Technoblade, Tommyinnit, Georgenotfound, BadBoyHalo, Wilbur, Tubbo, Quackity, Ranboo)

Resident Evil, only 2 and 4 because those are the only games I've seen so far. (Leon)

Sally Face (Sal, Larry, Travis, Todd, Ashley)

Cuphead, ONLY PLATONIC (Cuphead, Mugman)

Little Nightmares 1 & 2, ONLY PLATONIC (Mono, Six, Runaway kid)

Other (Books, other pieces of media etc.):

Any of Wilbur's bursonas (Simpbur, Argbur etc.)

Genloss Ranboo (I know very little about Genloss and I plan to educate myself because from what small bits I've seen it's so cool)

Creepypastas (Jeff the killer, Ticci Toby, Masky, Hoodie, Ben Drowned, Jane the killer, Clockwork)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This list is subject to change as my interests change and I gain and lose hyper fixations. Probably the Fandoms that I'm in the most in Resident Evil, Gravity Falls and DSMP but I will still write for the others.

Just because a character from one of the fandoms isn't on the list doesn't mean you can't request it it just might take a little bit because these are the characters that I know the most about.

If any of the creators or characters that are written about say or have said that they are not comfortable with stories being written about them I will remove them from the list and remove the stories if needed.

I don't have a writing schedule so if it takes me a long time to get your ask posted I am sorry! I just take forever to write and then I will get really distracted or I just won't want to write one day.

Thank you for checking out this blog, feel free to request something!

My main account:

My Wattpad account:

Update! I got an AO3 account! I already made a separate post about this but here's the account on this post so people can find it easier:

[zjofierose]

gather round, children, and let auntie zjo tell you a story about how to get shit fixed in a relative hurry when you need a hand.

on new year’s morning, about 9 am, mr. zjo and i hear a sudden series of strange and loud thumps that sounded like a bunch of boxes falling on our porch. “the fuck,” we said, and went out to investigate. turns out the gutter on one side of our house had gotten too full of water and assorted debris, had detached from the side of the house, and was now hanging, half still attached, half drooping down into the bushes, and banging against the side of the house in the wind.

“well, shit,” was the general consensus. it’s 9 am on a sunday which is also a holiday, so like, fuckin’ no one was open. also, we were expecting a Real Big Storm in the coming days, so this needed dealt with asap.

so, off to google and yelp it was. we live in a bit of a service desert - professional handy-types like to service north of us (rich people), south of us (also rich people), and the city (rich people, and also high density for a small service area), but they doooon’t super love serving our city, so it’s always a bit of a challenge running down someone who will drive out. but- i called probably 10 likely suspects. of those 10, 5 had working voicemails, so i left messages.

tip 1: always leave a message - even if they don’t call you back, when you follow up, they will already have you in their brain as Someone Who Needs Us. make sure to be very friendly, very polite, and leave as much info as you can. to wit, “hi, my name is ___, it’s 9 am on new year’s day, and i’m looking for someone to fix a gutter which has just fallen off my house! *laughter* i’m sure you all are closed today, since it’s a holiday, and i hope you’re enjoying it! but- if you could give me a call as soon as you get this at (number), i would REALLY appreciate it, thanks so much!”

miracle of miracles, the next morning, jeff at General Services called me. “hey,” he said, “i got your message about a gutter that fell off? have you gotten that fixed yet?” no, jeff, i very much have not. thank you for calling me back! “oh sure, you know, we’re pretty backed up, but you sounded a little urgent.” yes, yes i did, jeff. “but the thing is, we don’t do much other than clean gutters. we don’t have a gutter making machine, so, um, did you need your gutters cleaned?”

tip 2: don’t give up! at this point i could have just said, oh, that sucks, guess you can’t fix my thing, bye. but - people know people, and they usually want to help, you just have to show that you’re invested in getting whatever help you can get, and coach them into telling you how you can get that.

so: oh, jeff, i DO need my gutters cleaned! (i do, definitely, this was not a ploy, lol). that would be amazing, i’d love to get on your schedule for that. (jeff adds me to his schedule for gutter cleaning.) buuuut see the problem right now is that i still have half a gutter hanging from my house, and we’re having a big windstorm. it is, genuinely a hazard. there’s a big piece i’m worried is going to blow off and skewer some poor pedestrian, i just want to be a responsible homeowner and get this taken care of, dooooo you know annnnyyyone who miiiight be able to help me in a hurry? i’m reallllyy concerned. at this point i have shown jeff i’m friendly; i’ve shown him i really appreciate him (and i’m willing to book his services, which i do need), and i do really need help - i’m not just wasting his time, or being over-reactive to a minor problem. “ok,” says jeff, “give me your address, and i’ll drive by and take a look, and see if it’s something we can do. really we just clean gutters, though, so no promises.” thank you jeff, you are my hero.

tip 3: persistence.

jeff, bless him, did not drive by. nor did he call me later that day, or the next morning. so, i called him! hey jeff, my bro, my buddy, my best friend. it’s zjo. we talked yesterday? yeah. yeah, my gutter’s still hanging. yeah, it’s still a hazard. i know you’re SO busy, it’s the holidays, it’s just this storm is coming. what if i send you a pic? then you don’t have to drive over. “ok,” says jeff, “send me a pic. here’s my personal number.” aha! we have progressed. i send jeff a pic. “oh,” says jeff, “yeah, you need a whole new gutter. we don’t do that.” cool bro, i completely understand, but - doooooo you know annnnnyyyyonnee who can heeellp meee plz plz plz.

tip 4: there are secret off-the-books networks of people who do things. generally, there are jobs you want an official company with licensing and contracts to do (construction, electrical stuff, etc) and then there are things that you can get done cheaper and faster if you’re willing to be a little more open. but - they need to know you’re chill before they’ll let you in on this.

“well,” says jeff, “i do know this guy, Jose.” there’s a pause. he’s waiting to see if i’m racist. jeff, my man, jose sounds like a wonderful human, i would be delighted for jose to fix my gutter. “ok,” says jeff, “i can send him the picture and your number if you want, but he wouldn’t be able to do it till after 3, when he’s done with his shift at (other local company). but he has his own gutter extruder, and would do it on his own.” another pause - jeff is waiting to see if i care that this is being done off the books. boy oh boy do i not give two shits. jeff, please send Jose the pic of my completely fucked up gutter, i would be thrilled for him to be in touch with me. “ok,” says jeff, “i’ll send it, and then he’ll call you.”

tip 5: be flexible, as much as you can

so i talk to jose. jose will drive by after three and look, and see what he can do. cool. i go out to run some errands. and then at 1:30, jose texts me - he’s off work early, and can drive by now. shit - i am more than a half hour away. well, the damage is all outside, there’s a gate, but it’s unlocked, and i don’t have outdoor pets - there’s no reason i actually need to be there. so i tell him go ahead, i’m not home, but text me or call if he has any questions.

tip 3 redux: persistence (with a side of follow-up)

i do not hear from jose. i finally text him at like 7 pm to be like, hey, bro, did you drive by and get a look at it? “yes”. lol ok well, at least he’s seen it. but by the next morning (now the 4th, my gutter fell on the 1st, and the storm is predicted to hit that evening), i still have no further info. so i text jose again. hey buddy, just wanted to see if you had a time frame for when you might to be able to fix my guttter? “yes,” says jose, “you have an unusual gutter, and i have to get some parts, so not till next friday. also, it will cost $___” well, fuck. ok, but - (if i don’t even question you on the quoted price) can you please come by today and take down the old bit, please please please, i am truly afraid that the dangling piece is going to fall off and cause real damage to someone/something.

…no response. well, at least we do have a date for getting it replaced, i guess. so, i decide we better do the best we can, and do some semi-ill-advised climbing on the damp side of my house to lash the gutter and the hanging bit-of-gutter to the house as best i can, so they are neither banging against my house nor at risk of detaching and impaling a neighbor, and then go back to watching the game. but then, lo, behold - the doorbell rings at 3:30! it’s jose! and his buddy! and they are going to take down my gutter!! jose, you are my favorite person, thank you SO MUCH, please, tell me how to pay you.

and this is the saga of how, literally 15 minutes before it started fucking pouring buckets, i finally got my very broken gutter pulled down from my house, along with an appointment to get a new one added and to get the rest of the existing ones cleaned. also - now i have both jeff and jose in my phone, and you better believe the next time i need a House Thing, i will ask them first whether they want to handle it or know anyone who does. but truly, the moral of the story here is that the keys to any service-needed interaction are patience, persistence, friendliness, and willingness to scratch their proverbial back in order for them to scratch yours. 10/10 would work with jeff and jose again. (also, literally none of the other places ever called me back, so phew)

[words-after-midnight]

Find the Word

@autumnalwalker tagged me in Find the Word - thank you! My words were cope, conversation, corrupt, candle, carry.

Tagging: @nanashi23, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @sunset-a-story, @frostedlemonwriter, @calicojackofficial, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @thatndginger, @arijensineink, @lola-theshowgrl.

Your words are: day, dream, dark, done, dry.

All from the previous version of Life in Black and White.

Warnings: "Carried" is suggestive (minors DNI). "Cope" contains a reference to a mental breakdown.

Cope (coping)

I nod. “The car accident. Yeah. Sorry I was kind of avoiding the topic last time.”

“I understand,” he says. “Changing the subject is as good a coping mechanism as any when it comes to things that are hard to talk about. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t challenge you a little.”

I nod again. It’s suddenly hard to make eye contact, so I look down to the floor, pretending to be fascinated by the pattern of his carpet.

He presses me. “So, this accident is what caused you to have the breakdown?”

Conversation

I’m thinking to myself, No, Jeff, I don’t know how it is. That’s the fucking problem. You never tell me anything real. You always play it off like it’s all just a big joke. But I don’t say that, of course. I say, “That sucks. Maybe you can take a nap after this.”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Would I lie to you?”

Every conversation is like this lately. I’d give anything for more time with him, but it feels like our conversations have become a bit empty, like there’s so much hidden between the lines. I just wish I knew what he was thinking. That I could read his mind. I just want to know what his life is like.

Corrupt

N/A

Candle (Note: this is from the same scene as the "Join" snippet from the other day, one of my most beloved scenes. ❤)

We heard the whistling get closer again as Jeff came back from the second floor hallway. I looked up just in time to see him reach the second floor landing, at the very top of the staircase, lit up only by the flickering, orange-yellow glow of a single candle. He peered down at us as he walked down the steps, one hand along the railing, and my eyes met his for just a moment. He probably couldn’t quite see my eyes from his standpoint, what with the darkness at all, and I found myself thinking that that was probably a good thing.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, practically stepping over us to reach the landing, at which point he turned to us and tossed a box in Daphne’s direction. In the dim orange light, I could see it was a box of candles. “See?" he said. "Problem solved.”

Carry (carried)

It was true that out of the three of them, Daphne was both the least likely to wake up and the one I’d be most concerned about waking up. Plus, it’s not like the lake was exactly next door to our campsite. It probably wouldn’t even be that loud. I said, “Okay, you win, let’s go.” He went and got his backpack - which presumably carried the fireworks - and I brought the vodka along for the ride.

Drunk as I was by that point - as we both were - I couldn’t hope to tell you how cackling at the blasts of fireworks in front of a quiet lake turned into him leaning back into a tree, pulling me up against him by my belt as I kissed his face, his neck, his jawline… physically unable to be as close to him as I wanted to be.

He said, “Kind of cold out here, don’t you think?”

I was thinking, not really, probably in part because of the vodka. “Well, we can’t go back there,” I said.

He laughed. Heartily. “God, you’re so fucking chicken shit.”

“They’re probably awake,” I said. I added as little more than a whisper in his ear, “I could probably make tent walls work, but you definitely couldn’t.”

“That’s why cabins exist.”

“You don’t mean the one cabin that everyone uses.”

He grinned into the side of my face. “Not at three in the morning. Besides, it locks. Get with the program.”

[skymaiden32]

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Thundertober/Inktober 2022 Day 2: Island

The story of the moment Tracy Island became their home.

Continuity: TOS

Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 @liseylou (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)

Prompt list is here.

------

“That’s the last one.” Jeff said as he put down the final box, wiping his brow as he straightened. He spun to his five sons, who had already started digging around the boxes for their possessions. “We’re officially moved in boys!”

A chorus of loud cheers spread across the assembled group as the announcement carried across the room that would become the lounge, and when International Rescue started for real, the main hub of communication between it’s members. The patriarch grinned at his pride and joys. “If I may say something else…” They listened with rapt attention. “I can never thank you boys enough for agreeing to follow your old man on this mission to make a true difference in the world, and help save as many lives as we can. I know you’ve all given up promising futures in your own fields for something that might not even work, and I am sorry for that, but…”

“C’mon, Dad. You gotta stop apologising for that.” Alan huffed, leaning against the closest box to him. “Didn’t you say when you first talked to us about International Rescue that the choice was ours?”

Scott nodded in agreement. “If any of us didn’t want to do this, we wouldn’t be here.”

“I… suppose you’re right.” Jeff looked between his youngest and eldest, and swept his gaze around once more to see his other three sons nodding behind them. He inwardly shook himself, addressing the room at large again. “That’s what makes us a family, I guess.” He frowned. “But if any of you want to leave, if this place doesn’t feel like home, the choice to return to your own lives is yours.”

“Sure, it’ll take some getting used to,” Gordon smirked at his brothers, and they could already tell he was planning something, “but as long as we’re together, we can make a home anywhere.” 

------

As predicted, the so-called Terrible Two had started their infamous pranks almost immediately, with the future Thunderbird 2 pilot being their first target. Virgil had just stepped out of his nice, warm shower, happily whistling to whatever song he could overhear on the radio, when he suddenly was coated from head-to-toe in water that was a lot cooler than the last batch he’d been doused in.

“GORDON! ALAN!” The second eldest’s thundering voice echoed down the corridor, managing to catch Scott and John’s ears. The pair shared a look as Virgil stormed out of his room with only his towel around his waist, soaking wet. Upon noticing they were there, the medic fixed them with a stare that made even the battle-strengthened Scott wince. “Where. Are. They?”

John pointed in the general direction he knew the two youngest brothers were. “Poolside.”

“Thanks.” Virgil grinned evilly, his goal clear. 

As he strode off, purpose in his every step, Scott sighed. “I had been hoping they’d wait at least a day or too before going ham…”

A moment of silence passed between them before John grinned at his brother. “Wanna go watch?”

Scott matched John’s smile in a second. “Oh, absolutely.”

------

Jeff’s attention was dragged away from his already huge stack of paperwork that Kyrano had been helping with when he heard it. The pure sounds of chaos. Sighing, he got up and walked out onto the balcony that overlooked the pool, aiming to tell the boys to knock it off. He stopped when he saw how happy they were. How comfortable and at peace they were as they splashed each other with small waves of water.

Kyrano walked forward to stand next to the patriarch, smirking knowingly as he put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I told you, Mr Tracy. That they’d be okay…”

Jeff smiled gratefully at his manservant and best friend, before looking back out at his sons. “Welcome home, boys…”