#matt wouldn't like her... like mother like son

[universalfanfic]

Here it is!

Sutton meets Frank and doubtlessly creates problems she'll have to help fix later.

Edit: Sutton saw more of the MCU in this AU bc I think it’s more fun.

Sutton sat curled up in the back corner of the meat freezer she was locked in. The frigid air bit at the bruises and scratches that marred her face and legs as she continued to shiver. She was so cold. Sutton wiped tears away before they could freeze. 

All it took was a couple wrong turns in Hell’s Kitchen for her to be nearly knocked unconscious and dragged into a cartel base. She just wanted to find a little bakery she’d seen online, and now she was in real danger of not making it to the end of the day. 

The men outside in the butcher shop were still arguing. Sutton didn’t speak Spanish, but she knew enough to understand that the one who’d grabbed her recognized her in connection to Tony. She didn’t have to speak Spanish to understand that the rest of his gang thought his, likely a ploy for ransom, idea was stupid since Tony was Iron Man. 

But Sutton had dropped her phone when he struck her from behind and she didn’t know how often Tony checked in on her location. By the time he noticed her missing, it would probably be too late. 

No, no, no. She couldn’t think like that. She had to believe she would make it out. 

But the freezer was locked from the outside and there were cartel members standing within sight of the door. 

They were discussing what to do about her now. She could feel it in her gut. 

A shot rang out above their bickering; their arguing turned to yelling and the thudding of feet. Sutton’s eyes cut sharply over to the freezer door. More shots went off. There was a scream cut short. 

Her reactor sped up her heart rate in response as she struggled to stand but her legs were nearly frozen together. More screams managed to pierce the freezer door and she stuck in place, her eyes locked on the small window in the door. 

The cartel in Hell’s Kitchen, being attacked in a butcher shop. It felt familiar, but her mind was too panicked to pinpoint why.

When the screaming died down she forced herself to the freezer door. It could be another gang attacking this one, sure, but either way she wasn’t in a good spot; and she’d rather take her chances outside the freezer. 

The window in the door was too high and too small to be of much use to her. Sutton banged her fist on the door and hoped that someone was close enough to hear it. 

“Help! Help, please! I’m- I’m locked in here!” 

It felt like the vibrations from her knocking froze in the air and crashed to the ground every time she tried. She couldn’t even tell how hard she was really hitting the door with how numb her hand was. 

They would hear her, they would hear her, they would hear her. 

They had to. Otherwise she wasn’t getting out. 

The door handle clicked and turned, and Sutton scrambled back. A gun barrel pushed through first followed by a man. 

Her mind finished computing its earlier thought about this all being familiar. 

“Frank! Oh, thank God.” 

Frank Castle stared at her with a stoic expression as he took her in. His gaze flickered over her bruised face and scratched limbs and he refused to lower the barrel of his gun. 

“Who are you?” 

“My name is Sutton Regan; those guys abducted me because I work for Tony Stark. I mean, at least, that’s the gist I got. I just want to go home.”

Getting the important information out would help, right? Identifying herself and her reason for being there so he wouldn’t confuse her for anything other than a victim. 

She shivered violently and Frank lowered his gun only marginally. 

“How do you know my name?” 

That stopped her. The cold made her thinking slow, slower than usual, and she blinked once as she processed the question. 

She should not recognize Frank Castle. 

Frank Castle probably wouldn’t like that she recognized Frank Castle. 

She could have said a lot of things. She could have said she read about his family in the paper or seen an article about his company’s tour online. Anything remotely plausible, which still probably wouldn’t have helped, but would have been a lot better than, 

“I’m not part of the cartel, I swear.” 

Frank stared at her again, unreadable, then grunted and holstered his gun. 

“You gonna try an’ fight me?” 

Sutton sighed and it took more coordination than it should have to pinch the bridge of her nose. 

“No.” 

“Can you walk?” 

“Not as quickly as you need to get out of here.” 

He grunted again and moved closer to her. Sutton didn’t try to scramble away as he picked her up in a princess carry. Frank backed out of the freezer and Sutton instinctively looked to the side. She wished she wouldn’t have. 

The cartel members hung on meat hooks like animals and it- it was real. It wasn’t something she could reassure herself was special effects. She recognized the guy on the end as the dumb one who’d grabbed her. 

They were horrible, dangerous people. She had no doubt they’d killed plenty of others and probably would have killed her before the end of the day. 

But she still didn’t want to see their guts.

Sutton turned her face away, which inadvertently had her pressing her nose against Frank’s chest. It took her body a moment to finally realize he was warm. She pressed herself closer in a desperate bid to thaw. 

Frank started to head for the back exit and Sutton snapped her head up. At least her thinking was starting to thaw faster than her body. 

“Wait!” 

“If you’re gonna beg for me to let you go, I can’t do that.” 

“No, no. I get it. But I can be tracked.” 

“Excuse me?” 

His tone shifted downward and Sutton peered up at him as she pulled her shirt low enough to reveal her arc reactor. Frank’s brow puckered in surprise, but that was about it. His stare was piercing, calculating. Sutton had thrown a wrench in his plans and now he had to recalculate. 

“Can you just, you know, do the tin foil thing?” 

“You’re talkin’ about a Faraday cage.” 

“Yeah, if you cover my reactor-” 

“That’s not how-” 

“It’ll work.” She said sharply. “Just, don’t tell me the specifics on how a Faraday cage operates. Please, trust me. Make one around the reactor as best you can and it’ll work.” 

“I don’t know who you are,” said Frank. 

“And we don’t have enough time for me to convince you to trust me.” 

He at least agreed that time was of the essence now. Frank grabbed a roll of plastic wrap and tin foil from the shop’s stores and had her hold onto them as he picked her back up and left the butcher shop. 

There was a car waiting parked in a back alley, and Frank put her down in the passenger seat and shut the door quickly as if she might try to make a break for it. But her legs were still mostly frozen and she wasn’t stupid. 

He hurried into the driver’s seat then locked the doors before driving away. 

An awkward silence bloomed in the car and Sutton shivered as she fiddled with the boxes in her lap. Frank glanced at her then turned up the heat and swiveled the fans in her direction. 

“Thank you.” 

“Are you gonna start talking or am I gonna have to start asking questions?” 

Sutton waggled her pointer finger at her head. 

“I was in that freezer for a while. How about you ask questions.” 

Frank snorted lightly. 

“How about you start with how you know who I am.” 

Sutton tried to rapidly consider her options, but every millisecond damned her. She didn’t particularly want to spread the news to every main character she met that she knew who they were, their secrets, and their life trajectory. Plus, her knowing Frank’s tragic past would make it easier for him to convince her to tell him everything she knew about what may come next and how he could change it. 

She still wasn’t sure if she cared about that anymore. 

And anyway, he may not even believe her if she told him the truth. Aliens and superheroes were one thing. A girl from a world that used yours for entertainment was quite something else. 

“I saw you in the, uh, paper. The newspaper.” She finally said. “I, um. I remembered because it was sad.” 

“Uh-huh.” Said Frank. “You wanna try that again with the truth?” 

Sutton dropped her head in exasperation and groaned. 

“Seriously? Every time?” She muttered. “If this were a running gag, it’d be getting pretty old by now.” 

“Well?” 

“Pass?” 

“Not an option.” 

She groaned quietly again and let her head fall back against her seat. Maybe she didn’t have to tell him the entire truth. Maybe she could spin it without technically lying. 

“Look. You’re not going to believe me.” 

Frank maneuvered the car through traffic and spared her one quick glance. 

“Tell me anyway.” 

“Fine. It’s- I used to have…visions, of a sort.” “Visions,” Frank said flatly. 

“Yes. Visions. Kind of. It was,” Sutton rolled her hand in the air as she pretended to think about how to explain it. “It was like watching a scene in a movie or show,” she said. “I would get snippets of people’s lives. Moments. But, as you may guess, I don’t exactly like sharing that with people. They get the wrong idea about what I actually know.” 

Frank was silent as he absorbed her explanation and Sutton hoped she was convincing. It wasn’t a lie, so hopefully it would be. Enough for him to not dig for specifics at least.

“You had visions. Of me.” He said. “But you don’t have them anymore.” 

“I don’t have any anymore. I, well, I lost that…ability.” 

The car turned into a public parking lot and Frank parked in a back corner, out of direct line of sight of the road. He turned off the car and just sat and stared at her for a moment. Sutton shifted in her seat and pulled at a loose strand of hair. 

“Do you believe me?” 

“Dunno. I think there’s plenty you’re not saying.” 

Sutton nodded slowly. 

“Yeah.” 

His brow puckered again as if her cavalier answer confused him. Instead of responding or demanding further explanation, he jutted his chin at the supplies still in her lap and she passed them over. 

“You wearing anything under that?” 

Sutton assumed he meant her shirt and nodded. She pulled the shirt off without him asking further and sat in her cami as Frank grabbed a first aid kit from the back seat. He dug out a roll of medical tape and then set to his task. 

He ripped off strips of plastic wrap and tin foil and alternated them in several layers before he ended with a last layer of tin foil, put the entire thing over her reactor, and taped it over her skin. 

A Faraday cage would keep the signal from getting out and giving anyone the ability to track her, but it wouldn’t interfere with its functioning. That’s definitely how Faraday cages worked. 

“Why did you tell me you could be tracked?” 

Frank’s voice broke her out of her concentration and Sutton swallowed. 

“You’re not supposed to be caught right-” she quickly stopped herself from adding ‘now’,  “and, well, I don’t want to mess things up for you.” 

He eyed her more sharply. 

“You know what I’m doin’, don’t you? You saw what I did to those scumbags.” 

Sutton avoided eye contact by busying herself with putting her shirt back on. Frank looked away while she did.

“I know.” 

“And you don’t feel like you oughta turn me in?” 

It was complicated. There were still a lot of emotions churning inside her, and Sutton didn’t know how to express all of them. At least, not in a way that didn’t make her sound like a cold-hearted psychopath. 

“They were going to kill me,” she said. 

And for the first time the idea really sunk in. She’d known it, on a superficial level, the entire time, but now it meant something. She shivered again despite being mostly thawed out. 

She would have died today if it wasn’t for Frank. 

“Yeah.” Frank agreed.

“You saved my life, by doing what you did. You probably saved other people that they would’ve hurt in the future. Why should I turn you in?”

Frank’s head tipped back as he looked down at her, his expression somewhere between impressed and slightly dumbfounded. He grunted again and started the car back up. 

Silence settled in the car once again, and Sutton thought it wasn’t quite as heavy this time. Frank parked along a curb and once again reached into the back seat, this time pulling out a baseball cap. He held it out to her and Sutton accepted it and put it on without complaint. It was probably to try and conceal her bruised face.

He turned his head towards her before he opened his door. 

“You’re not going to run for it.” 

“That’d be pretty pointless, wouldn’t it?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Then let’s just go. Might as well happen today anyway.” 

Luckily she’d thawed out enough to competently walk, and she followed silently after him as he walked to a building down the block and opened a door at street level. He pushed it open and gestured for her to go in first. Sutton wasn’t sure if it were due to chivalry or making sure she really didn’t run.

The apartment was sparse, even in the entryway, and Sutton paused as she realized she could attempt to prove herself as being honest. 

“You’re taking care of a dog,” she said. Frank looked down at her sharply. “It’s a gray pit bull, and you took it from the Irish after you shot them up. You patched its wounds.” 

Frank eyed her a second longer then brushed past her and entered another room. There were radios and gear strewn over every available surface. A board with notes sat on the other end. 

And there was the dog. 

“The dog was in one of your visions.” Frank said flatly. 

The dog wagged its tail on their entrance and Sutton smiled at it and made her way over. It welcomed her in the exact way a vicious guard dog shouldn’t. 

She kept her eyes on the dog as she scratched behind its ears.

“It was part of one, yes.” 

“You’re trying not to say something again.” He commented. “You know, I’d appreciate not having to play games.”

Sutton winced and straightened as she faced him. She considered him, her situation, and wondered how long he’d insist on keeping her here. 

She didn’t doubt he’d let her go before the end of the day. Frank was a man on a mission and he had bigger fish to fry than her. 

But he could still get enough information from her to severely alter the future. At least for Matt Murdock and a few others. 

“I know you’re a no-nonsense kind of guy, and I get you want me to tell you whatever I know. But I’ll be honest with you, Frank, I don’t know if it’s a good idea.” 

“Then you know something important.” 

She winced again and Frank tipped his head back in a gesture of victory. 

“Look, it’s not like I don’t want to- I mean, there’s plenty of ways for all this to go more cleanly, but I could also make things worse.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Frank said with a wave of his hand. “You could make things worse?” 

Sutton frowned. 

“Yes. By telling you what I know.” 

“You think what I may do with the information you have is on you? You think you’re responsible for my choices?” 

“In a way,” Sutton argued. “Because there’s a chain of events with bad things that happen and good things, and if I tell you, you’re going to alter some of your choices, or try to jump ahead, and it could cause other bad things to happen.” 

“You don’t know what I’d do.” 

“Maybe, but I know what a few other people have done. And they never just sit on what I know and do nothing.” 

Frank said nothing in response and they stared at each other before Sutton broke and looked away. The dog pressed against her leg and Sutton rubbed at its head absently. 

“How long do I have to stay before you decide I can leave?” 

“You know who I am, where I’m holed up, and what I’m aiming for. You can understand why I’d be reluctant, ma’am.”

Sutton rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not going to turn you in. I already told you that.” 

“Because of your vision stuff?” 

She shifted slightly. 

“Partially, yeah.” 

They kept coming to stand stills and Sutton wasn’t sure how to progress. If she told Frank about the Blacksmith, it could save an entire court case and quite a bit of bloodshed. It could also get Karen killed. 

Unless, of course, Frank went after his former Major first. 

If he even believed her. 

She shook her head and rubbed at her temple. Was she even considering it? Was she open to being stupid just because Frank had a tragic backstory and saved her life? 

Tony and Thor were told of future events and took advantage of them. The world hadn’t collapsed and no one she knew died from it.

And wasn’t that a horrible, justifying thought. 

No one she knew. 

“Doing some serious thinkin’ over there.” 

  “Thinking about how much trouble I’m going to be in later for not only getting abducted twice in one day, but also telling someone else I… know things.” 

“You get in situations like this often?”

“I wouldn’t say often.” 

“Mhm.” Frank crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin at her. “Well?” 

Sutton squinted, crossed her own arms, twisted her lips to the side in annoyance. 

“How stubborn are you?” 

“Ma’am, I was in the Marines. Ninety percent of my job was to hurry up and wait.” 

“Dang it.” 

The horrible realization that she’d have to tell him the big thing, give him the name of the guy at the top, just to try and circumvent any truly heinous fallout was daunting. 

Any different than Tony knowing Aldrich was his next nemesis? Any different than telling Thor Malekith was his next threat?

To be fair, she didn’t think Tony or Thor would grab an AR-15 and immediately set out to cap a fool. 

Well, to be really fair, Thor didn’t have or need an AR-15.

“You actually believe I know something useful? You’re not just waiting to see what I’ll say and then halfway commit to seeing if it’s true? Because, let me tell you, that could cause major, horrible, unforeseen ramifications.” 

“Ma’am.” Frank said sternly. “You tell me something substantial and the devil himself couldn’t stop me.”

Sutton snorted lightly even as she steeled herself. She took a deep breath.

“Off the record,” she said with an eye roll, “um, hm, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but the- the gang… shooting you got caught in was supposed to be a sting to catch a main drug supplier. A guy called The Blacksmith.” 

Frank’s gaze sharpened and he leaned forward; the intensity of eye contact made Sutton’s stomach twist. He licked his bottom lip and nodded. 

“Who is it? Give me his name.” 

Sutton grimaced. 

“You have no real reason to right now, but I’m begging you to believe what I’m about to say. Because, as it is, he almost kills someone when you didn’t find out until later.”

Frank nodded. 

“I don’t actually remember his name, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the, uh, vision. But it’s your old Major. The one who didn’t listen to you when you wanted to retreat and you had to clear a way to the helicopter alone. The first man you’d think of for a good character witness.” 

Frank didn’t move. His stare was hard. 

“Ray Schoonover,” he said. 

“Yes.” 

The air turned thick. Frank turned away and rubbed at the back of his head, the pointer finger on his right hand twitched rapidly at his side. Sutton swallowed and turned her attention back to the dog. She kept her eye on Frank’s pacing so she noticed when he turned back to her. 

“Tell me something else.” He said. “Something so I know you’re real.” 

“One batch, two batch, penny and dime.”

He looked like she’d struck him. His back was stiff and his eyes were wide as he stared down at her. His chest heaved. Sutton sighed and forced herself to not look away; it felt disrespectful to try to hide in any way after saying something he held so sacred. 

“Alright. Okay.” 

She stood and Frank braced himself against one of the tables, his fists curled. Sutton inched closer at the growing look of violence blooming in his eyes. Tentatively, she placed her hand over his. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” 

This time he didn’t look at her. His eyes were set ahead and he only vaguely swayed in her direction. 

“That you have to go through this. That I didn’t get here sooner, I guess.” 

He looked down at her hand and Sutton pulled away. 

“Was that substantial enough?” 

He swallowed. 

“Yeah. 

Sutton nodded and took a few steps back; Frank didn’t try to stop her. She waffled in the doorway as she looked at the dog. 

“Maybe I should take him.” 

“What?” 

“The Irish are looking for you,” she said, gesturing. “I never really found out what happened to him.” 

Frank’s jaw clenched. 

“Take him, then. His name is Max.” 

She untethered his leash and Max happily went along with her. 

“Max. Did you name him?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Ugh, fine.” 

That, of all things, seemed to throw Frank off enough that his rage dimmed. 

“What? You got a problem with the name?” 

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s just- you know, he feels more like a Cupcake.” 

Frank snorted in bewilderment. 

“You’re a grown woman. Do not call my damn dog Cupcake.”

“Food names for animals are funny. And he’s sweet. He’d be lucky.” 

It felt very strange to take a vigilante’s dog and leave him after dropping an information bomb on him the size of the one she had. There were too many loose threads dangling that she had no control over and she knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep. 

She had yet to process any part of the day. 

“You gonna need a ride?”

Sutton waved dismissively and tried to smile.  

“No, I’ll just set off an alarm on this and Tony ‘ll come get me,” she said, pointing to her reactor. “But, seriously, thank you, Frank. You saved my life and- and I know I probably shouldn’t agree with what you’re doing but-” She mulled over her words as she tried to figure out how much to reveal about her own thought process. “It’s effective.” 

“It’s nothing less than they deserved.” 

“Probably.” She cleared her throat and feigned lightheartedness. “Well, if things feel like they’re not going the right direction, just look me up. I’m on the Stark Industries website. I’ll help if I can.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” 

“Good luck, Frank.” 

Sutton limped down the sidewalk, Max trotting at her side, and she made sure to at least be a block away from Frank’s hideout before she peeled off the questionable Faraday cage. Her reactor beeped shrilly and Sutton assumed that meant Jarvis was already aware something was wrong. She leaned against a building to wait. 

“You know,” she said, looking down at a wagging Max, “I thought Cupcake was a perfectly good name.”

[ryemackerel]

these two being complete dorks as kids <333 some kid tom and matt stuff and headcanons.

im gon yap so much in the next few seconds, lock in guys

tom and matt were childhood friends since they met on a playground near their neighborhood, which they JUST SO HAPPENED to live mere minutes away from each other. tom would approach matt, thinking matt was so cool for having weird features like him (matt with his pointy ears, eyes, and teeth. tom with his black eyes)

they bonded over their shared uniqueness and eventually became closer friends. :) tom also found matt's ability to play guitar at a young age the coolest thing ever?? and was even inspired to play bass later in high school because of matt.

tom's mother would work for hours, and the fact he wouldn't be able to see her as much would prompt him to hang out at matt's house a lot. matt's parents were like a second family to tom, during times where his mother would be away.

to make things funny?? i could imagine matt was born as a vampire, straight out of the womb. since both of his parents are human, they have. no idea why he's a vampire?

"is... is this genetic?? hun, do you think your own grandparents were vampires??" -mumthew to dadthew

nevertheless, matt's parents did their best to adjust to their newborn vampire son and his abilities. there were times where he would constantly turn into a bat and fly around the house, and his parents would have to chase him just to get him to stop. 😭😭

- matt's dad taught him guitar at 6 years old!!

- it's most likely that matt's greater grandparents were vampires, and it got passed down to him. (like great great great grandparents or whatever? so old that even his own parents didn't know it was a part of their family tree)

[otdiaftg]

The Raven King - Chapter Seven

Day: Thursday, October 5th Time: 11:00 AM EST

"Andrew hates her, you know. Andrew's not really big on the idea of Aaron's happiness, see? So if Aaron likes Katelyn, Andrew doesn't want him to have her. Andrew might smile awful bright but he is a master of childish spite." "That doesn't make sense," Neil said. "It's complicated," Nicky said, rubbing the back of his neck as he leaned back in his chair. "I didn't really get into the gritty details last time because those aren't really Dan and Matt's business, but you're family, so I can tell you." He looked over his shoulder again. "I told you Aunt Tilda gave Andrew up, right? That's only half of it. Truth is she put both of them in the system at first. One week later she changed her mind."

"They know she gave them both up?" Neil asked. "When Andrew's foster mother called to set up that meet-and-greet, she asked Aunt Tilda how only one of them ended up in the system. Aunt Tilda told her, and Aaron heard it on the upstairs line." Nicky gestured up as if indicating Tilda's bedroom. "I don't know why the hell Andrew's foster family told him, but yeah, he knows. I'm thinking that's why he wouldn't talk to Aaron when Aaron wrote to him. He was—justifiably, I think—pissed off." "But it's not Aaron's fault," Neil said. "It was their mother's decision." "That's Andrew for you: making sense since never." Nicky spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "Finding Andrew again was a turning point for Aaron in all the worst ways. Aunt Tilda moved them cross-country, started drinking more than ever, and got heavy-handed with Aaron. Aaron got into all kinds of trouble in some sort of traumatized rebellion. He took her drugs and got into fights at school and in general grew up to be a bit of an asshole. Mom wrote me about it when I was in Germany because she was worried about him. The only good thing Aaron did in South Carolina was play Exy, and he only picked that up so games would get him out of Aunt Tilda's house. Then Dad found out about Andrew and began this years-long campaign to bring Andrew home. Told you last time, right? He wore Aunt Tilda down until she agreed to take Andrew in, then talked to the courts and Children's Services and Andrew's last foster family. He met Andrew, who apparently wasn't at all interested in a triumphant return with his mother, and introduced Aaron to Andrew. That's when things started moving. Andrew suddenly got motivated. He started behaving and toeing the line and got released on early parole about a year later." "Andrew decided he wanted a brother after all," Neil said. "So what went wrong?" "Aunt Tilda died, and Aaron blames Andrew." "Did Andrew do it?" "The night Aunt Tilda died, she and Aaron got in a fight. That's how Mom and Dad finally found out Aunt Tilda was beating on Aaron. He showed up at their place with fresh bruises and cuts. Dad called Aunt Tilda over to sort things out, but she didn't stick around long. She took Aaron and left. They didn't make it home. She went over the median into oncoming traffic and wasn't wearing her seatbelt.... It wasn't Aaron in the car. Aaron was standing in for Andrew at a study session. That was before Andrew was on his drugs, so it was a pretty easy act for Aaron to pull off. He didn't know why Andrew asked him to do it until the police called. I still don't know what happened, if Aunt Tilda panicked when she realized which son was with her or if they were fighting or if it was intentional, but... It's not like Aaron liked her, but she was his mother, you know? And Aaron never got to fix things with her, never got to understand why she was so messed up or why she messed them up so bad. Aaron can't accept that she's gone. He misses her. He can't forgive Andrew, and Andrew doesn't understand or care about how much it hurt Aaron. Stalemate."

He spoke slowly, giving himself time to think and to bleach the grief from his voice. "Andrew did care. That's what went wrong."

Art used with permission by Aymmidumps. Thank you @aymmidumps!

[swissboyhisch]

The Beginning of the Hockey Couple

Pairing: Matthew Tkachuk x Ivy Lemieux (OC)

Summary: When Ivy was a kid, her dad took her on a road trip while her mother was away. Everyone wouldn't know that that was the start of beautiful friendships and a relationship.

Word Count: 363

THE MASTERLIST JOIN THE TAGLIST HOCKEY DISCORD

Mario Lemieux thought it would be a smart idea to bring his only daughter, 3-year-old Ivy Winter, to St. Louis. Where Blues was hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. His wife was away visiting family in Australia so his choices were to have Ivy stay with another family for the string or take her with him. Since the road trip was short, he thought why not bring her along. It wasn’t like it was a 2 week roadie.

The older hockey player held his daughter’s hand as they walked into the stadium and to the family room for the away team. Ivy was dressed in her favourite shirt, her dad’s jersey, and a pair of leggings. A matching black and yellow beanie she adores; a was a present from her favourite uncle, Brooks Orpik. He walked alongside the father-daughter duo, chatting to his captain about the coming game. 

Young Ivy did not recognise where she was, so naturally she was curious. She could see people she had never met before everywhere. Her hand slipped from her father’s hand before she ran away from her father, giggling as she ran past different players.

“Ivy Winter!”

Said girl only giggled more at her father’s voice, acting like it was a game of chasey. She turned the corner and slammed into another person, falling onto her bum. The petite child looked up at a young boy not too much older than her. He had curly hair and was wearing a Blues jersey. 

“Are you okay sweetie?” The woman beside the boy questioned, kneeling to help the girl up.

“Yeah,” Ivy replied, taking the woman’s hand to stand. “I’m Ivy.”

The older boy sent Ivy a wide smile, “I’m Matthew.”

“Ivy Winter,” Mario huffed as he spied the familiar little 66 jersey and pigtails in front of the family. “I’m so sorry Tkachuk.”

The man comes up behind his wife and kids, chuckling as Mario picks up his daughter. “All good Lemieux.”

“Keith, Chantal, this is my daughter, Ivy.” The girl sent the family a smile, waving at them.

“Where’s your wife?”

“Family,” Mario replied. “Isn’t that right, bug?”

“She’s seeing nana,” Ivy stated, looking up at her father. “I get to see Daddy play.”

“Who’s looking after her?” Chantal asks, lifting her youngest son onto her hip.

Mario sighed, “I have one of our staff taking her in a corp box. None of the friends or family are here for this game.”

“Do you want me to take her with me?” Chantal offered. “I have both the boys and I’m with the other wives in the box. Ivy can play with Matt and Brady.”

Ivy looked up at her father with a cheeky smile, eyes glinting with the familiar childlike mischievousness, “Can I?”

“You sure it’s not too much trouble?”

Chantal shook her head, “Nonsense, I’m happy to take her. I’ll bring her back to you after the game.”

After Mario made sure Ivy would behave, he sent her off with the family so he could get ready. Ivy on the other hand was so excited to be with other kids her age. 

“Do you play hockey?” Matt asked the young girl as they found the family box.

“Of course,” she sassed. “You?”

“Of course.”

“You my best friend now,” Ivy grinned.

Matthew wrapped his arms around the girl, beginning her into a hug. “Best friends.”

“Me too,” A voice joined the convo, with Brady coming to join the hug. Well try to at least. That was until Matt pushed him away. Brady looked like he was about to cry. “But me too.”

“Matthew,” Chantal warned, watching the wholesome moment soon turn sour. 

“Fine,” The older Tkachuk groaned and turned to his baby brother. “You too.”

The three shared a hug before turning their focus onto the ice to watch the game they all loved so much.

TAG LIST

@findapenny @mp0625 @hischierhaze @11zegras @lvrzegras @francesfarhadi @cixrosie @dasiysthings @dancerbailey3 @puckmaidens @cole-mcward48 @sammiejane22 @kajasagmo @poufsouffle21 @there-goes-thefighter

[sunrisemill]

♡ The little things ♡ PT.2

Summary: Matt has always been pressured to live up to his father and everything that he expects him to be. Y/n has always been very quiet and has been pressured by her whole family to step out of her comfort zone and live her life free from her worries. What will happen when they unexpectedly run into each other at a random ice cream shop?

(Warnings: mentions of verbal abuse and slight physical abuse and self harm)

Pt.1

(Matt’s POV)

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The sound of the clock on the wall echoes throughout the classroom.

I try to focus on the test in front of me but I can't get her out of my mind. There's just something about her…

Something that makes me yearn to know more. But I blew my chances by lashing out at her. I sigh.

I look up at the clock for the twelfth time this hour, Silently cursing under my breath once I realise there are only five minutes till the bell rings, sending us all home.

I look back down at my test, I feel hopeless.

My eyes scan the questions but all I see is her soft hair flowing in the gentle wind.

I press my pencil against the paper but freeze.

The serene look she had on her face as we walked out of the ice cream shop.

The winter air made me want to run and seek comfort in the warm buildings surrounding us.

But the look on her face was different.

She seemed…Happy.

Happy to be in freezing weather. Happy to be shivering. I don't think I'll ever understand her. She's just a mystery to me.

An enigma.

~~~~

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

My father says. His voice is cold. Cold enough to send a shiver down my spine.

I bite my lip.

I look down at the table, praying for any form of escape from this. From him.

“I– I don't know.”

Even though I'm not watching him. I can tell his body tenses as he presses his palms against the dining table.

“Oh. You don't know, huh?”

He chuckles. I know that's not a good sign. I knew he was going to be furious when he found out I failed my test.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I scratch the back of my hand.

It's a habit I picked up when I was younger.

The pain from the scratches makes me forget about my father's condescending eyes staring down at me for a moment.

“You know, Matt.”

He spits my name out of his mouth like venom.

“Ever since I was your age. I had always dreamed of having a son.”

My eyebrows furrow with confusion. I finally found the courage to lift my head.

“What-”

“DONT Interrupt me.”

My head quickly snaps down to look at my lap. I drag my sharp nails harder against the scarred skin of my hand.

“I had always dreamed of having a son. So you can imagine how elated I was when your mother and I found out we were having you.”

I swallow as I feel a tingling sensation rise in my throat. Please. Not now.

“But as you grew up I started to notice things…”

I hear his slow footsteps thump around the table, coming towards me.

“The son that I wanted was someone I could have a simple conversation with. Like this one. And they wouldn't start crying like a fucking baby.”

Out of nowhere, he grabs my chin. Forcing me to look up into his cold dark eyes.

“But you couldn't do that for me, could you? I had to be left with a sissy for a son.”

His harsh words make my lip quiver. He watches over my saddened face with a look of disgust.

He lets go of my chin, Making the point to brush his hand off on his shirt.

“Get out of my site.”

I quickly scramble to get up from my seat and run to my room.

Choking back sobs as I do.

~~~~

I stare up at my ceiling.

Just listening.

Listening to the creaks in the floors.

The cars honking as they drive past.

Listening to the sound of gravel moving under the tyres.

Listening to the sound of my sniffles as my tears stream out of my eyes and into my ears.

I close my eyes as I feel my heart rising in my throat.

I try to look back at the good parts of my week. Hoping it could cure the sadness deep within me. I try to remember anything.

Just anything.

But all of my memories slip through the cracks of my fingers like water. All except one.

Her.

Why can't I stop thinking about her? I try to shake her out of my mind, but that only makes the thoughts worse.

Her... Her... Her...

I sigh. I slowly peel my eyes open.

I have to fix this problem.

——————

(a/n: Hey omg 😮‍💨 I’ve honestly never written something like this before so I would really appreciate some feedback if you have any 🙏 thank you so so so much for reading and don’t forget to keep yourself safe!!! I love you <33)

Tags: @guccifrog @junnniiieee07

[utilitycaster]

I’m not sure if you have seen this theory but what’s your thoughts on “the raven queen could be Ludinus’s mother”? I’ve seen it float around on twitter and honestly, to me, it seems a little far fetched.

I have, and I agree with you.

I guess the best way to put it is that there's a lot of theories about Ludinus, and that's extremely valid, but I've found that people are extremely weird about these theories in a way I haven't really seen elswhere.

Personally, I find the idea that Ludinus is lying about most of his past - that he is just a guy from immediately-post-Divergence Issylra who moved to Molaesmyr, destroyed it in an attempt to commune with Ruidus, and established himself as a permanent fixture in the relatively young Dwendalian Empire in order to further his ultimate goals - is by far the most compelling. It feels extremely real for someone with grandiose designs to deliberately invoke an idealized version of the Age of Arcanum that was destroyed; we see this all the time in real life appeals to classical Western antiquity from would-be dictators. I also think he is, in many ways, not sympathetic per se but very...human (well, elven) for being frustrated at having to gather information of this time he believes to be lost and far better than today piecemeal, from whatever scraps remain. I think if he had firsthand knowledge but still took 800 years to figure out what the fuck to do? He's less clever and less heartbreaking and somehow, despite not lying about his age, far more of a windbag.

However, this is just my preference! It's also entirely possible he is from pre-Calamity. And here's where I start to get less generous. Because pre-Calamity? Totally fine. He insinuates that he is. He does so in the same conversation in which he insinuates he is Ruidusborn, which we know he isn't, and it's implied that not many people have caught on to his age (indicating that he probably appeared pretty young when he arrived in Molaesmyr) and since his device appears to have possibly been invented in Molaesmyr my gut feeling is that he was either a child during the final years of Calamity or immediately after. That's just a gut feeling. He easily could be older.

The thing is, literally all we have is "might have been around pre-Calamity" and it feels like people treat two very common specific theories - that he is from Aeor, and that he is the son of the Raven Queen - as fact, when all of the Ludinus theories are purely vibes-based. All we can say with any confidence is "older than he looks, definitively over 500 and almost certainly over an elf's natural lifespan of 750."

Re: The Raven Queen theory, what personally strikes me as far-fetched is that the Raven Queen's original name is lost, but who she was was not lost. She taught Patia. Wouldn't people...know that Ludinus was her child? Like, I suppose the answer can be "Matt didn't want to give spoilers away" but it feels like it raises questions about EXU Calamity that in all the discussion of people interested in ascension, the fact that the Raven Queen had a son doesn't ever once come up. And if he were a secret? That's also a question! And if he were the child of the now forgotten deity of death? What does that mean for him? Wouldn't he be a demigod, probably, of sorts? Can the gods reproduce? Was he the Raven Queen's child with some random guy? It's not that it's not possible, but I feel like boiling his stuff about the gods down to "Mommy issues" is reductive, far less interesting, and it raises more questions than it answers which is always in my mind a sign to steer clear of a theory.

And then there's the Aeor part, which just...I don't actually know where this comes from because if he were the Raven Queen's son it's pretty clear he'd be from Avalir, as she was all but stated to be, but people seem to treat these two things as both true sometimes. I feel Aeor feels far-fetched specifically because I think he'd have been far more able to rebuild Aeorian tech if he was from there. I suppose it's possible he was just a mediocre schmo while Aeor still existed, and has taken on a last survivor, must reclaim the glory of "city that was about to nuke another city simply as a weapon's test" mentality; but also, Aeor expeditions are relatively recent in the timeline of Post-Divergence Exandria. You think this man couldn't have popped up there and taken a leisurely look at the ruin of the Malleus Factorum any time before the past 60-ish years, before Uthodurn started poking around? Why didn't he mention Aeor in his notes in Molaesmyr? Again, more questions are raised than answered, and that casts doubt for me.

So it's hard for me to be objective here just because I find so much of the "Ludinus is pre-Calamity" theorizing to be just...really humorless and brittle and presumptive, and often not terribly interesting. Obviously if we get a definitive answer, and he is the child of the Raven Queen or is Aeorian (if he's both I'm going to roll my eyes because that's just sloppy, Matthew) or even if he was just a guy from pre-Calamity and not terribly important, I'll incorporate that into my understanding! But there's this childish demand that everyone treat what is ultimately an unconfirmed theory as immutable fact. I've seen people act like shitposting about Ludinus is somehow offensive because it violates their personal headcanons, and that's just peak main character behavior on their part. The idea that Ludinus is 800 and deliberately building a cult of personality rooted in the idealization of the Age of Arcanum (while conveniently ignoring that this age was when the Prime Deities -and only the Prime Deities - walked the earth; and that life outside the flying cities was rather less idyllic and wizard-run, and that the titans were still sealed away) is no less valid than the idea that he's 1200 and the son of the Raven Queen and/or from Aeor. All we know for certain is "definitely has been active and accounted for for over 500 years, almost certainly more, is definitely extending his lifespan through eating fey souls."

[danjaley]

Another Bold-the-facts

This time I was tagged by @happy-lemon , and picked Nicolas.

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other (His mother had the typical aristocrat's biography, having been married to the ageing Baron de Montigny as a young girl. She rebelled by seeking contacts among the bourgeoisie, where she believes happier lives are led. She had a strong influence on her son.)

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other (His mother encouraged him to pursue an academic interest – strictly as a pastime of course, not as work. Their money comes from the land.)

✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed (Slept with more than one man. Though preferably in the big Italian cities, where a blind eye is turned on unlawful relationships, especially when foreigners are involved.)

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children (Didn't really want children, but it's expected of him.)

◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased (He's always charming and considerate towards Roseanne when he's home, and he gets along well with his mother. His children he only sees occasionally to admire their growth.)

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between (He's far from shy, but he always remembers his manners.)

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between (As long as he can afford it and nobody is directly coming to grief, he feels he has a right to whatever he happens to want.)

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between (He's not even wearing a wig!)

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between (The only thing he really puts an effort into are his studies and hunting up antiquities. Which is supposed to be his pastime.)

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown / in between

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown / in between (I added “in between” to the last two. He's cheating on Roseanne with Jonathan and I wouldn't put it past him to have the occasional one-night-stand abroad. However, he knows where his loyalties lie, should there be a political crisis (God forbid!) or some other emergency. His idea of being faithful is more like not let one relationship damage the other.)

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic (As a French nobleman, he can't help being catholic. At present though, he puts his own judgement above any religious morals and sometimes also the law.)

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care (He'd laugh at Jon's ghost stories - they're one of those topics he can only share with Matt.)

✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

❀ Philosophical: yes / no (Like Jonathan he's fascinated with the classical authors.)

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable /naive and clueless / romance suspicious

❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious (He discovered his taste for men on his Grand Tour, when he tried out most available forms of buyable love. But he hasn't been sleeping around so much since he's in his two relationships. Finding a male lover who'd also be some sort of partner used to be a secret dream of his.)

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none (Had fencing lessons but forgot everything.)

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic (I imagine in 18th century Italy the rule still applied it's better to drink something mildly alcoholic than water with germs.)

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / Chain-smoker (Like Jonathan: Smoking was part of a gentlemanly dinner at the time.)

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater (At any rate he can afford to eat something with fat and sugar whenever he feels like it. Also, sometimes while travelling he has to put up with food he'd rather not inquire too closely about.)

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic (As mentioned above, if he wants something, he buys it. He's sensible enough not to ruin himself though.)

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler (Like smoking, an activity enjoyed at upper-class gatherings)

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Tis the Damn Season

Day 14: Upset

AO3

Christmas Eve at the Anderson house used to be a quiet affair. Just the four of them eating dinner, fighting over which Christmas movie to watch, and getting to open one present before bed. Since Blaine turned 16, things shifted. Pam and William Anderson threw huge blow-out holiday parties. Family, friends, old classmates, everyone was invited.

Blaine had asked Kurt to come but Kurt’s family still celebrated a quiet night in. Kurt wasn’t too sure he’d be able to make an appearance. And Blaine tried to enjoy the festivities, his old Dalton friends didn’t seem to find anything amiss but Cooper could tell Blaine was upset.

“Hey, try not to look so down when mom comes around,” Cooper suggested, “you know how she gets.”

Blaine understood. His mother would stop the whole party and question her son’s mood. He wanted anything other than attention tonight.

“Sorry, it’s just…”

“Kurt, I know.” Cooper patted him on the shoulder and steered them into the kitchen. “Try to have some fun.”

Cooper poured himself more eggnog and grabbed a glass for Blaine.

“Drinking? Really?”

Cooper just glared at him.

“Oh c’mon Blainey, if I was trying to get you drunk it wouldn't be with eggnog, this kind is non-alcoholic anyway.”

An hour later found Blaine sitting around the fireplace with his Dalton buddies. They were in the midst and recounting yet another Sectionals where Blaine’s solo was the tipping point to a Warbler win or so they claimed.

“And then the spotlight BAM!” Matt said

“There’s Blaine Anderson center stage…” Wes continues.

Blaine finds it easy to get lost here. In the memories with his high school best friends. He remembers how good it feels to be wanted, to be included. This is special. He wonders if the other Warblers know just how special it is.

“Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Blaine knows that voice. It snaps him right out of his head.

Kurt made it.

“You’re here, I thought…” Blaine trails off.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d make it but my dad practically kicked me out of the house. He thinks I don’t get out enough with people my age.”

Blaine smiled. “My parents are the same way.”

The Warblers murmured in agreement.

Which is when Blaine remembers he’s not alone with Kurt.

“Oh geez, guys this is Kurt. We go to school together.”

“Kurt, these are the Warblers. Well, former Warblers.”

“No way! You did glee, me too!”

“Oh no, don’t tell us you’re from McKinley,” Wes said.

“And what if I am,” Kurt said, crossing his arms.

“You kicked our butts sophomore year,” Matt replied.

“Well, my freshman,” Blaine reminded them.

Kurt gets this faraway look on his face as if he’s trying to remember that competition.

“Noooo, you weren’t the lead singer, were you?” Kurt asked.

Blaine nods, a little nervous as to where this is heading.

“I had the biggest crush on you but definitely too scared to have done anything about it.”

For a second, Blaine thinks he may faint.

The Warblers and “oooo-ing” and “aw-ing” like fireworks are going off in the room and not just inside Blaine’s stomach.

“Well, now you have to sit and tell us everything, Kurt,” Wes instructed, patting the open spot beside him.

“And I’ll pour the eggnog,” Nick said.

[udekai]

MattFoggy 27?

27.) Things you said through a closed door

Matt hesitates before knocking. He's standing in the hallway with a grocery bag on his wrist and more under his eyes. He has a spare key in his pocket, but Foggy had left the office with a melodrama he didn't usually manage, and he doesn't want to assume that he's welcome at the moment.

For once, it's not his fault.

This case has been killing all of them, one by one. Karen excuses herself three times a day to get angry at everyone involved. It's a disgusting use of copyright law; Mrs. Clark lost her son in May, who was an illustrator. Before he passed, he made some beautiful drawings for his mother, but the contract he had signed meant they belonged to the company. They wanted to keep the prints in their vault for their own use.

Mrs. Clark was willing to pay. She shouldn't. She would, though, to keep some memories of her son. They wouldn't even let her have that.

Foggy had the floor today, and he stammered; he let the cold, dead eyes of the bailiff intimidate him, and he dropped the ball. It was a rough tumble from there, and they'd be lucky to settle.

He wasn't happy.

Matt isn't much good at this; He's never found the right things to say to make failure feel better, because nobody else has, either. He knocks anyway.

"Leave it in front of the door," Foggy groans.

Matt sighs.

"It's me."

There's a beat of silence.

"I'm fine, Matt."

When Matt lies about being fine, he tries to make it convincing. Foggy does no such thing. He says it in a way that implies he'll prove how fine he is by biting him. Matt is not well-known for his sense of self-preservation.

"I know," he replies. "Can I come in, anyway?"

A shuffle. A couple of footsteps. And then a little thud on the door as Foggy bonks his head against it.

"I don't want to be an asshole, Matt, but I really just want to... sit down. For a while. Y'know?"

"Alone?" he asks.

There is another beat of silence.

"You're not the only one gets brooding time, Murdock. I can brood. I can brood hard."

Matt's already smiling, but he feels it widen from something sad into amusement.

"I can tell. You're knocking me out of the park here."

"I... Can you do court without me? Tomorrow?"

This coming from the guy who wiped the floor with Matt in college debates.

"Maybe. I don't want to, though."

"I just don't know if I can look her in the eyes, man," Foggy says. He doesn't bother raising his voice to speak through the door. He knows Matt can hear him.

Matt drops his head into the wood right where he knows Foggy's is on the other side, and knows he can feel it. The jokes aren't working, and Foggy blames himself. Even these little hiccups of self-doubt make Matt feel like he needs to extol his every virtue in front of a crowd, assuming he could even list all of them before he ran out of breath and died.

"C'mon Fogs," he begs, frustrated. "It's one slip-up. How many times have you ever actually made a mistake in court?"

"This one's kind of a doozy, Matt," he bites back.

It was. Matt couldn't deny that. He switches strategies.

"We're partners, right?"

"Obviously. It says so on the sign," Foggy replies, more tired than annoyed.

"And partners let partners into their apartment to eat ice cream and figure out how to fix the case?"

There's a scoff of laughter. The door shakes a little with it.

"You seriously brought me ice cream?"

Matt grins. Every time he wins him over, he feels like the biggest hotshot on the planet.

"Yeah," he says. "With the little chemically-brownie bits in it. I'm standing in a puddle of thawed condensation, by the way."

The door wrenches open, and Matt has to jerk away from it before his body weight goes with it.

"Lead with that! Jesus, my landlord's gonna have my ass on the wall."

Foggy drags Matt in by the front of his shirt, and he lets himself be herded out of the hallway.

They spend the evening watching awful movies that still get aired on cable, eating ice cream, and pouring over case files in rotating shifts. Foggy's warmer with him than Matt can ever remember, and it feels easy.

They win the case by a landslide.

_

Thank you for the prompt :D

[witchcraftandgeekness]

Let's talk about Vicki Donovan

I am currently rewatching first season of TVD and I noticed thing that I never noticed before. A lot of people in the fandom hate Vicki Donovan, and this shocks me after understanding this character.

So, she was raised without her father and the fact that she never knew who he was is really painful for her (she mentioned it to Damon). Also, in the town so small the lack of father may produce rumours about both their mother and Donovan siblings, tho I think Vicki is more affected by this. I mean, if her mother has reputation of careless, "available" then Vicki would inherit this reputation (and she did, if you listen closely to what others say about her) because "like mother like daughter".

Her mother was ignorant and alcoholic who had little care about her children, clearly, she wouldn't abandon them if she did care. Vicki probably started working as soon as she was able to (I don't remember what age is allowed for part-time job in US, 14?) because how else can she and Matt survive? I don't say it is not possible for kids with parents to start working at young age due to financial issues, but Vicki and Matt had no parents to bring actual money home (or if Kelly cared enough to send the kids some money, I doubt it was sufficient to support both of them), only what they gained themselves.

It leads to discussion of how did Vicki, as an older sister, managed to support both herself and her little brother? Nothing was said about this in canon, but Vicki's involvement with drugs may be connected to her trying to earn money. Maybe she met wrong company, and knowing her financial struggles, somebody offered her money if she would help with dealing?

Returning to her "inherited" reputation, Tyler provided us with a lot of things that are told about Vicki among her peers. "Vicki Donovan says no, that's new". She has reputation of "available", to the extent that in the Pilot Tyler tried to rape her, probably thinking that nobody would believe that it was done by force and what is her, some lower class girl's word, against his, right? He is son of mayor(s), who would dare to punish him for anything. Especially for assault of the girl with bad reputation. Later on season one Tyler tried to ambarass and belittle her numerous times, always reminding what place in society she occupies.

Knowing all of that, Vicki still hangs out with Tyler and seems genuinely excited by the fact he gives her his attention. This tells us that she rarely receives attention from anybody, and thus boys being interested is the only substitution for what she really needs and craves – somebody to care about her.

You may say that she still had Matt who was interested in her wellbeing, but maybe that was the problem. She told that herself, it seems to her that Matt is naturally getting out of this situation – he is good at foodball and has opportunity of some college offering him scholarship, he is nice and handsome, which means that girls still like him and he can "marry someone and have kids", like Vicki placed it.

And Vicki? She is drug-addict, with reputation which makes Mrs. Lockwood wince from mere idea that her son may have something to do with this girl, Vicki is not too good in grades (was that caused by her skipping classes? Was she skipping because of her attempts to earn more or because of drugs? Or maybe first one gradually morphed into the latter?) and doubts in her ability to recieve any scholarship.

In Vicki's eyes, she is hopeless. No future, no one who cares for her, besides her brother who has his own life to live, and little Gilbert boy who wants to play white knight and safe her from her misery, stupid teenage obsession that she may see patronizing (she mentioned that his interest in her is temporal and later he will return to his good, middle-class life, and forget all about it). And his family doesn't want Jeremy involved with Vicki, Elena didn't like her brother fawning over Vicki long before she turned. Notice that nobody tries to prevent anybody from interactions with Matt. Because Matt is polite, Matt is nice, Matt is the "golden boy" who everyone likes. Vicki is none of that.

Additionally, she was tormented by vampire. She survived few attacks that almost lead to her death. At that point Vicki is so lonely and unneeded that her only option is to pour out her soul to Damon, the guy who she barely knows, who tried to eat or simply kill her more than once, and who obviously can't care less about her fate. Damon heard it. And helped in only way he knew – he killed her. Saved her from her "pathetic" life.

Of course, we know that Vicki was not dead completely. No, the life was not quite done with her yet. Vicki has last chance on life she wanted as a vampire. Damon didn't care much for his now sireling, and let her leave (tho he mentioned leaving would be a bad idea, but never tried to actually make her stay and explain her new status as undead), which lead to the line of stressful events. In her transition Vicki suffered physically and mentally, all her supressed depression and loneliness felt on a higher level due to vampire's enhanced emotions. Even then, she tried to not harm the only two people she cared for and who cared for her – Matt and Jeremy.

Despite all the effort, Vicki did in fact finish her transition. She became vampire. And I think that truely, Vicki had a chance. Vampirism would leave her with a lot of perks that might make her life better.

Unfortunately, not everyone would agree. As an addict, Vicki has little self-control because she never tried to have one – she had no hope of escaping this circle before. She probably thought that one day she will die from overdose and quit being a burden for Matt. But now Vicki needs to learn it extremely quickly because two grown up vampires are watching over her and vampire hunters are at loose in the town.

But that was not how story was destined to end. Her actions lead to her being impaled by Stefan. Which seems a bit unfair. I think that there were other options. Yes, she tried to kill Elena dearie, was that the only reason she end up dead? Because Caroline was turned too, and more than that, she actually killed a man but nobody murdered her. They helped her, they taught her, and she became one of the most natural vampires in the whole show. Why was Vicki not granted with this chance? One may argue that she had less self-control than Caroline but who may think that s1 Caroline would be so excellent in vampirism? Giving Vicki some time would have been fair.

In her 18 years Vicki Donovan suffered more than some adults, and what did she received in return? Evil words about her, terrible attitude, abjection from society. Did she deserve Tyler being ashamed of presenting her as his girlfriend? Did she deserve Mrs. Lockwood calling her trash? Did she deserve anything of what she got in her life? She went through all of this, just to end up being dumped like a trash Carol Lockwood described her as, and forgotten? Just another hopeless girl without future died, right? Not a big deal? Naturally, she wanted revenge in afterlife.

So no, I don't understand why her character is showered in hate. Vicki Donovan was complicated person with personality that was not polite or too likeable, but that was not the reason to hate or despise her. I ask for justice for Vicki Donovan.

[stleoshi]

Top 4 Fic Recs

If I could only read four fics per fandom for the rest of my life, I would choose these.

Under the cut are recs for Danny Phantom, Daredevil, House M.D. Rurouni Kenshin, Sherlock Holmes, Supernatural, and Thor, though I may add more later.

Danny Phantom

The Disparaged Series by imekitty (gen, rated T) Long

Maddie Fenton’s obsessive quest to capture Danny Phantom brings disastrous consequences.

A recent take on the classic “dissection fic”, with Danny/Maddie’s relationship at the center of it. The first two fics in the series are complete, and the third is currently being updated monthly.  The author skirts the limits of the readers comfort in an absolutely fascinating way which would not work in a lesser authors hands. I’ve been loyally following it for a couple years now and I find that I’ve never had to reread a previous chapter in order to remember whats going on. It’s very memorable.

Masks by Cordria (Gen, rated K+) Mid-Length

Sometimes, people hide who they truly are behind masks. This is a short story about the day that Lancer decides enough is enough when it comes to Daniel Fenton. Sequel is 'Plunge'.

It feels a little blasphemous to pick this Cordria fic when they have many, far more iconic fics to choose from (*cough* PITS) but this one just holds a special place in my heart.

Phantom of Truth by HaiJu (gen, rated T) Long

Locked away in a secret government lab with Phantom as her subject, nothing stands between Maddie and the truth... except, perhaps, herself.

Everyone and their mother recommends this fic, and that’s because it fucks severely. There’s a complete sequel now, but I find that I prefer this fic over it. The progression of Danny and Maddie’s relationship is titilating, you’re constantly on your toes wondering how he’ll make it out of this situation half-alive. 

What A Nice Surprise by DarkNymfa (gen, rated T) Long

A ghost and two ghost hunters, sitting around. Like a family. Which they were, but, well. The other two didn’t know that. --- AKA the story of how the Fentons accidentally adopt their own son.

In a fandom full of fucked up and sad fic, it’s nice to have this cute, fluffy series to come back to at the end of the day.

Daredevil

Lucky Devil by ChuckleVoodoos (Matt/Foggy, rated T) Mid-Length

Matt gets caught, Foggy gets a clue, and cases get won.

Emotionally intimate, loving and believable. I’ve read this fic a thousand times and can never look away once I’ve started it.

Of Monstrous Shape by RosaLui (Gen, rated M) Short

“Put me in the ring,” Matt said. His glasses were cracked like a spider’s web, and in the shifting shadows it looked as if he was raising hackles in disgust.

“The House doesn’t profit from quick deaths,” said the jailor.

This fic is dark, violent, dramatic, and insanely engrossing.  The author deftly paints the world of Daredevil and I am always in particular gripped by the climax.

Trial and Error by shyday (Gen, rated T) Mid-Length

'You're a lot of scary adverbs right now, my friend. Trust me when I say that "fine" is not one of them.'

This author loves to get into Matt Murdock’s head and imagine the world the way he perceives it, and they do it very well. Each fic of theirs is a sensory trip, but this one is my favorite. Very strong dialogue between Matt and Foggy as well.

Trust: Handle With Care by ceterisparibus (Matt/Karen, rated M) Long

Matt and Foggy's new client is a mother whose son was sexually abused by a priest.

This is a fic that deals with the heavy topic of abuse in the Catholic Church, but if you are able to stomach that it is an expertly executed fic. Not many authors would be able to craft a fic like this, but you can tell that every aspect of it comes from a place of deep personal knowledge and care. Also, the author is a lawyer, which is a rare treat in that the legal case is legit.

House M.D.

Codependency by debbiel (Hilson-ish, rated PG) Short

 It was the sort of diagnosis that wouldn't rate a sad-face on his whiteboard.  And yet it could change everything.

I’m a huge sucker for the premise of this fic, but none that I’ve found have hit quite like this one. Like a soulmate au, but more poignant ;)

Down to the Water by Blackmare (Gen, rated PG-13) Short

After Amber’s death, House and Wilson try to figure out their place in eachother’s lives.

So many little moments of this fic have stuck with me over the last decade, it’s quiet and beautifully melancholy. There’s a sequel as well which you can find on blackmare’s profile.

The Open Road by Pun (Hilson, rated M) Mid-Length

Wilson goes along for the ride.

Another road trip fic! This one is how I used to imagine the show would end, and somehow in the end it.. kind of was. This is still better.

Two Solitudes by mer_duff (Gen, rated PG) Short

"You were protecting me," House snapped.  "What would you have done if he'd had a gun?  Stood there and taken the bullet?" Wilson shrugged.  "Better me than you."

A short exploration of Wilson’s tendency towards self-sacrificial protectiveness for House. I come back to this fic constantly.

Rurouni Kenshin

An Unexpected Lesson by Conspirator (Gen, rated PG-13) Long

Three years after the end of the Bakumatsu, a chance encounter with a kabuki troupe teaches Kenshin an unexpected lesson in survival.

A wandering era fic that gives us a window into what might have aided Kenshin in developing his “bumbling rurouni” act. I’ve read it a hundred times over the years, it is a great story with believable OCs and balance of humor and drama. 

Out of Time by Siriusfan13 (Gen, rated PG-13) Long

During a trip to Kyoto with his friends, Himura Kenshin winds up in deep water... thirteen years in the past. How will Kenshin deal with the Revolution again? And how will his friends deal with Battousai, who has traded places with him?

This is such an earnest and loving study of Kenshin, who is my all time favorite character. This is certainly in my top fics of all time, and shares a  similar premise to my other favorite fanfiction Bargaining, which just goes to show I have consistent taste lol.

Recovery by hakubaikou (Gen, rated T) Long

As Kenshin recovers from his wounds after his duel with Shishio, his friends sense a threat and take precautions for his safety. Complete.

Kenshins characterization rings absolutely dead on and the tone in general is like canon . This fic always feels like a warm hug to me, and I come back to it often. Hakubaikou was an amazing writer and she is missed every day, I’m so happy she shared her work with us.

Twelfth Knight by an_earl (Gen, rated T) Long

A bloody street-side massacre has been identified by Saito as the product of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. There are two suspects: Himura Kenshin and his master Hiko Seijuro the Thirteenth. Unbeknownst to them, a third user of their exalted style has time travelled to the future: Hiko Seijuro the Twelfth.

A fic about mistaken identity inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

An ongoing fic that reads like a fandom classic (and I mean that very, very affectionately). The author’s Saito/Kenshin interactions absolutely crackle.

Sherlock Holmes

Bel Canto by bendingsignpost (Johnlock, rated T) Long

After years of waiting for wealthy patrons to faint, Dr John Watson discovers a far more interesting patient in the opera house basement. (AU through a Phantom of the Opera lens.)

The Phantom of the Opera AU I hold all others to as a standard. So delightful and entertaining.

How Sherlock Holmes Was Compelled to Remember One Festive Occasion Per Year:  A Reminiscence by John H. Watson, MD  by MirithGriffin (Johnlock, rated M) Short

Known to the SH fandom as The Turkish Bathhouse Fic. Charming as hell with ACD canon flavor, reading this fic has become a Christmas tradition for me.

Particular Peculiarity by saavik13 (Johnlock, rated M) Long

“How high is your regard for me, Watson?” He asked abruptly, his eyes still trained on the fire.  “If I were to confess my darkest secret would you leave? Would you abandon me here to my melancholy?”

A case forces Holmes to reveal the truth to Watson and risks both their reputations and their liberty.  Just how understanding is John Watson?

An obviously well researched and beautifully characterized fic. It feels very Granada in Holmes’ mannerisms, though it can be read as ACD or Granada. This fic is like a warm cup of tea on a cold day to me.

The Quiet Man by ivyblossom (Johnlock, rated E) Long

"Do you just carry on talking when I'm away?"

This is a BBC fic, as opposed to the rest on my list. It’s well worth the read though, ivy’s prose is so organic. It was a fandom classic for good reason.

Supernatural

a turn of the earth by microcomets (Destiel, rated M) Long

Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run. Frigging fantastic.

(Or, in which Castiel gets stuck in Dean’s timeline preseries and Dean kind of hates it—until he doesn’t.)

This fic is overflowing with love, desire, longing and loneliness . It’s a time-traveling Cas fic which is something of a trope in this fandom these days, but the premise of Cas being dead by the time he meets a young Dean just lends something special to it.

I CARRY YOUR HEART (I CARRY IT IN MY HEART) by unicornpoe (Destiel, rated E)

“Take me,” Dean says. He doesn’t have to think about it. “Take me as your vessel, Cas.”

or: Cas is cursed into an endless sleep. Dean offers himself up as his vessel while they try to break it.

Compassionate, tender, and full of evocative imagery. It’s about being taken care of, and the act of caring for another.

Phantom Load by lovesrain44 (Gen, rated M) Long

Dean and Sam return to Boulder, CO, where they investigate a haunted school. The job seems simple enough to Sam, who has good, although vague, memories of living in Boulder back in 1992. Dean, however, has altogether different memories, far less pleasant and far more damaging.

Quiet, moving, and melancholy. The past-present scenes are woven together very well. Subtle where it needed to be. Just an amazing fanfic, though it deals with some possibly upsetting subject matter which is presented up front in the warning section.

So Says The Sword by komodobits (Destiel, rated E) Long

Castiel doesn’t mind working security duty; he was briefed shortly after the initial salvation of the Sword from the pit, and again before taking up his position. He knows what to do. However, it’s easy to forget that the green room isn’t real. Time moves differently there, the space ever-changing to make a prison of mountains, cathedrals, salt flats, orchards, and whatever Castiel was led to believe about Heaven’s greatest weapon—Dean Winchester is something entirely unexpected.

Original, dazzling and creative, komodobits was an absolute force in this fandom. They took it upon themself to recreate the entire Destiel relationship timeline, and did so beautifully.

Thor

Bargaining by Proantagonist (Gen, rated T) Long

Faced with an eternity without his brother, Loki strikes a bargain to change the past. Post TDW.

This is a near-perfect fanfic, and one of the most emotionally satisfying stories I’ve ever read. Cannot stress enough how much this fic means to me, it’s possibly my favorite fanfic of all time.

Mirror, Mirror by Lise (Gen, rated T) Mid-Length

While poking around in corners of the palace, Loki finds a peculiar mirror that doesn't show his reflection.

It’s clear that I love Loki’s various issues, and this fic puts an industrial spotlight on them.

Slow Poison by Mikkeneko (Gen, rated T) Mid-Length

Years before the events of Thor and Avengers, Loki is working as a spymaster for his father the King. Or at least... that's what he  thinks he's doing.

I love miscommunication and fucked up family dynamics. This fic is like a friend to me.

[briefcasejuice]

i came across a video yesterday on tiktok condemning the maggie's storyline and how she relates to matt, saying it was a bad plotline and that it was a cheap shot at a surprise for the audience and i don't necessarily disagree but it's been bothering me since i saw it.

i want to say that sure, the moment that maggie goes to pray is badly written and that at this point maggie should know of matt's abilities to some degree; like she may not understand them or how he does what he does but she should've understood that he'd hear her but that wouldn't work. she's seen speaking/whispering around matt about topics she wouldn't necessarily speak to him about multiple times throughout the season beforehand; it's already established she doesn't know his abilities work in that way.

not to mention the blatant and automatic hesitance to call the authorities when lantom mentions that he's, "jack murdock's son." he could've said that he grew up here or he's one of ours or something vague (because father lantom is very usually vague in his speech) but he specified jack murdock. in the same episode, after matt boxes with the guy swapping confession for boxing did no one else notice the lingering looks, touches and blatant pauses whenever she speaks during the conversation they have while matt thanks her? matt even asks if something is wrong and she so very obviously lies that nothing is.

i'm also pretty sure she wouldn't have put up with him living in the church for that long if there wasn't something else being added to her compassion for matthew. sister maggie at her core is a stern mother figure, indifferent and objective; it's supposed to be strange and is supposed to raise questions as to why she's being this lenient towards matt.

[kidge-planet]

Kidge headcanon 11 (ig it's 11) Pidge's second pregnancy:

It happened two years after her last pregnancy.

She this time told Keith before she did the pregnancy test. She told him that she was starting to get worried because her period was almost 2 weeks late and that she started feeling sick in the morning a few days ago.

Keith waited for her patiently in the couch, watching his son playing on the ground with a few plushies.

He was a little nervous ever since their first kid was still a baby and it was already pretty hard to handle... But he was hoping that the test would come positive too! Because becoming a father was one of the best things that happened to him. He wouldn't mind becoming a father again as long as it was with Katie.

Pidge comes out of the bathroom with a nervous expression. It was positive.

Keith gets up from the couch, gently smiled at her and huged her.

They both sat in the couch and talked about it.

They decided to keep the baby.

Keith cuddled her for a while after that, he was SO HAPPY.

Again, during this pregnancy, Pidge had morning sicknesses. Same as before.

But this time, she never really had the quick changes of emotions. Just a few times.

The first person to learn about the pregnancy was Kayden, their 2yo son. He didndidn't undertand everything but he did understood that their was something about Pidge that was going on. About a baby...

Then Pidge told her mother. She just went to her parent's house to help her mother with something. They were normally talking and Colleen started to talk about Kayden and then the fact that Krolia told her that she wanted 30 grandchilds at least... Pidge just answered "Well, she is going to be very happy in nine month then..." Colleen immediately raised her eyes toward her daughter: "Whaaaat?.." "Im pregnant, mom."

Colleen would grab Pidge in her arms and ask her a thousand questions.

Colleen would then call matt that was in a vacation with N7, his girlfriend.

"KATIE IS WHAT?!" Matt became hysterical.

then Sam came back home and Colleen would rush to him.

He would get emotional again.

Colleen would again give the name list that her and Krolia had written years ago... Pidge will refuse it because she already had names in mind...

At the annual paladin's meeting, Keith and pidge decided to announce the news.

At the end of the dinner, Pidge held Keith's hand under the table before to speak up. "Ha, also, Keith and I had news for you guys! Im pregnant."

A silence took place but quickly got replaced bt cheerings.

Space dad cried again, he was so proud.

Hunk grabbed Pidge, then Keith, then both and hugged them tightly. ("Hunk! be careful with her!")

Lance was happy for them but couldn't help but tease: "Do you guys know what a condom is?"

As for Coran, again, He wasn't that surprised. Galran have a lot of kids so he, just like Krolia, was expecting them to have a few more kids. But you could tell that he was happy.

Krolia. KROLIA. She didn't keep her happiness for herself. Every members of the blade was now aware of the pregnancy.

Kolivan=Proud.

This time, they didn't want to know the baby's gender. They decided that they wanted to know only once the baby would be born.

Again, Pidge had pregnancy cravings but it was less weird than the last time... But this time, it was just annoying. She would get Keith to get her a specific type of ice-cream in the middle of the night... He would go get it but like... *sigh*

Her water broke when she was at her parent's house with Kayden, Matt and her mother. Keith was at the blade. (At the end of her pregnancy, when Keith was at the blade, she would make sure that she wasn't alone... )

She was sat in the couch with her mother, talking while UNCLE Matt (He loves being an uncle) was playing on the ground with his nephew.

Pidge will have an horrible cramp while talking with her mother.

Matt and Colleen would get worried. Even Kayden will get up and ask his mama if she is ok... Well, he tried to say it...

Pidge tried to reassure them but a few minutes after, her water broke.

Matt didn't actually know what to do so Colleen took the lead of the situation.

"Matt, take Kayden in another room and keep him busy so he doesn't ask about Katie. Im taking her to the hospital right now. I'll call you once im there."

Matt nodded, took Kayden in his arms and left a quick kiss on his sister's forehead "You're going to do amazing, like always." He then left to go upstairs with Kayden.

Kayden obviously seemed worried for his mother and was asking to see her. He was about to cry but Matt managed to change his mind (even tho he was also worried for his sis...)

meanwhile, Colleen was driving towards the hospital. While she was driving, she called Keith: "Keith! We need you on earth RIGHT NOW! Katie's water broke! She is going through labor!"

Keith panicked and left immediately, still wearing his blade's uniform .

When he told Krolia what was going on, she decided to go with him.

Keith arrived on earth with his mother and joined Pidge and Colleen..Pidge was currently suffering on an hospital bed, waiting the doctor to come.

Keith immediately rushed by her side.

The delivery was easier this time, she felt way much confident about the situation and gave everything she had to do this quick. (She still cursed the whole universe in every languages she knew and insulted Keith for getting her pregnant...)

The baby is a little girl!!!!!!

Pidge was so exhausted that she just told Keith that she wanted her daughter to be called Anaïs before to fall asleep.

Keith named her Anaïs AND added another name... Allura.

Pidge was so glad that he did that, they talked about doing that if it was a girl a few times. Their friends are going to be so happy!! ( I had to add that when I will refer to Anaïs I will just use her principal name. So Anaïs, I won't be using Allura because it feels a lil weird 🥲)

MORE HEADCANONS ABOUT ANAÏS AND EVERYTHING ONCE IM DONE WITH PIDGE'S LAST PREGNANCY!!!!!!

hope you liked that one!

[itwasthereaminuteago]

Hey. Can I have fic: matt saves reader from abusive partner (Reader has kids) please?

Love,

Emi

Thank you for the prompt! Okay, I’ve gone with more of an indirect kind of ‘saving’, and I hope that’s cool as I wanted the victim to take a lot of the credit for her actions.

T/W: Mental and Physical Abuse, domestic abuse, swearing, lawyer Matt.

¦¦ Out ¦¦

"The fuck is dinner so late? S’not like you do anythin' all day, why I gotta wait?"

"I-I'm sorry baby," she apologises, laying the table, "my, um… my art class ran a bit late and I had to pick the kids up from the daycare after."

"Art class? The hell you doin that for?"

"Well I just, I always liked to draw when I was younger, thought I'd get back into it."

He looked at her like she'd grown an extra head before spotting the folder leant up against the wall. In her haste to get dinner prepared she'd forgotten to put it away.  

He nodded at it. "S'at your stuff? Show me then."

She picked at her fingers. "Um… it's silly."

"Show me." His eyes bored into her.

She almost tripped over herself to retrieve the folder, heart thudding and hands shaking as she opened it for him.

He bellowed out a laugh as he carelessly flicked through the sketches. "Good thing you don't have a day job, kids draw better than you." He flung the folder across the table causing some of the papers to fall to the floor. "What's more important; me comin’ back to a home cooked meal after workin' my ass off all day, or your silly little art class? Don't even know why I'm askin 'cos even an idiot like you knows the answer already. Don'tcha hon?"

She looked down at the floor nodding slowly, glad her son and daughter were in the other room playing so they didn't need to witness their mother being belittled and demeaned yet again.

The next day on her way down to the laundry room she was so wrapped up in thoughts of how she could take the kids and leave him she almost bumped right into someone coming up the stairs.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! Not paying attention, as usual…"

Matt smiled, "hey, it's alright, I'm not really looking where I'm going either!" 

She almost allowed herself to laugh. "Oh shit, oh god I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise!” she stuttered as she realised he was holding a white cane and wearing dark glasses. He’d asked if she needed any help with the clothes but she felt a bit guilty asking a blind person for help and politely declined.  

Matt couldn't help but hear her soft cries from down the stairs. He had been keeping a note of when he heard shouting and the bangs of slamming doors and objects being thrown coming from her apartment, he knew he’d need it if she ever decided to do something.

Even if somewhere deep down she knew all those hateful comments were coming from his own inadequacies and insecurities it didn't make them hurt any less. The longer it went on the more they chipped away at her self esteem and the easier it was to believe them. Matt saw it happening over the next few weeks when she might pass him in the stairwell or the laundry room. He couldn't hear the sparkle of her smile anymore, whatever coping mechanisms she had slipped on dulled it and shrouded what little she did say with a hollowness. It was as if her spirit had been cut out of her.

"Hey, how're the two rascals doing?” Matt asked her one day, “If you’d like you could all come up to my apartment, it’s good for a game of hide and seek, and contrary to what you might think, I’m actually pretty good at it.” he smiled at her, being open and as welcoming as he could without forcing the issue. 

Whenever she had talked to him in the hallway for even a moment her husband knew.

“You been whoring around with that smartass lawyer again huh? Just as well he's blind, can't see how fucking ugly you are. Don’t fucking speak to him again, you got that?"

“Um, I’d…the kids would love that! But, I’m sorry. I can’t.” she replied, so quietly, so that he wouldn't hear. 

Matt tilted his head, hearing her heartbeat ratchet up with fear, but not fear of him. “Listen, I know it’s not my place to say, but if you need to talk… about anything, I’m a lawyer, and a really good listener.” 

She nodded, desperate to accept his offer but afraid of what would come after. “Thank you, but it’s really alright. Nothing I can’t handle on my own.”

Matt frowned slightly. “Well, if you’re sure… but you know I’m just upstairs.”

A week later, the abuse turned physical. Sure it was just a push, but it sent her thumping into the kitchen counter with a massive bruise on her hip to follow. She’d tried her best to be what he wanted, moulded and limited herself and her own needs to meet his just to avoid any conflict, but with that kind of a person it didn’t matter what she did, it was always the wrong thing. A push turned into a slap, turned into a punch.

She finally reached out to Matt, she didn’t want her children growing up seeing behaviour like this as normal in their lives.

“I’m glad you came,” he said as he welcomed her and the kids into the apartment. 

“He’s- he’s at work just now.” Her voice started to waver. “... I don’t know what to do, I just can’t take it anymore! He’ll know we’re here when he gets back, he’ll know!”

Matt sat her down on the couch. “I won’t let him hurt any of you, I promise. If he tries, he’s not getting in here. My partner Foggy and I can contact social services and the police, and we’ll find somewhere safe for you to stay in the meantime. There’s certainly enough evidence to grant a divorce, get sole custody of the kids, and I’m sure we can get a restraining order out on him too because of the physical abuse. We’ll get you out.”

She let out a shaky sigh. “He never used to be like this… it just all happened so fast and I couldn’t do anything, I was too weak!” 

Matt shook his head at her. “There is no way in hell you are weak. You’re here now, you’re asking for help, you’re keeping your family safe. That is one of the hardest and strongest decisions anyone could make, and you made it on your own.”

Matt tags: @saintmurd0ck @mindidjarin @castlesnchurches @peterman-spideyparker @pastafossa @mattmurdocksscars @mattmurdocksscars @marvelswh0re

@hellskitchens-whore @pedrito-friskito @sweetieswiftie @briefcasejuice @shedaresthedevil @freshabogados @insanelyobsessedwithdilfs @e-dubbc11 @father4giveme @idrinkcoffeeandobsess @imperfxctly-me @stress--relief @murnsondock @stupidthoughtsinwriting

[danjaley]

List 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to 10 simblrs whose sims you adore ♥♥♥

I had this one sitting in my ask-box since May... Here are five facts about Fiona (not entirely my Sim, but sent by @descendantdragfi )

She had a short but happy childhood at her parents' house. Although they were often away on political gatherings, she loved and respected them.

Her name Fionaghal isn't abbreviated "Flora", as was common at the time, but "Fiona", because her brothers liked to call her "Fiona-Girl".

If she hadn't met Fergus, or if their child hadn't survived, her plan B was always to go back to her old school and make a living as a teacher. She wouldn't have wanted to be an old maid or a widow with no purpose in life.

Besides her close bond with Ysobel, she feels deeply grateful to Louise and Rosalie for supporting her. They gave her some belated mothering when she needed it most. She used to feel similarly towards Andrew, but after Matt's birth he hasn't fully regained her trust.

She always meant to ask Fergus if she might name a son Matthew. Perhaps not exactly the first one - she would have liked to have more children.

[vampire207343]

Gilbert Witch

What if... after the final battle with the dark lord Voldrmort , Harriel Lilian Potter died but Lord Death allow her to be reborn in a new world simlier to her old one for returning his Hallow to him. She is reborn as Ariela Gilbert.

Before Grayson Gilbert ever meet Miranda Sommers he was enganged to another woman by the name Katelyn olsen but she died in childbirth which devested Grayson at the lost of the woman he love but at the same time happy at the birth of their daughter Ariela Gilbert his beautiful little girl. She was born with her old magic as well as wiccan magic of her new world she inherited from her late mother Katelyn.

Grayson move on from the death of his fiancee and meet Miranda Sommer who help him raise his daughter Ariela Gilbert and evenutally fell in love with one another. And after dating for three years they got married and Ariela was their flower girl in their wedding.

           5 months after they got married, Grayson's younger brother John Gilbert got a girl pregnant and their both to young to care for a child they haven't even graduate High School yet so both Grayson and Miranda decided to adopt the girl for John and pass her off as their daughter not even Ariela knowns that Elena isn't her younger half sister but her younger cousin. Miranda cares for Elena but not as she dose Ariela who is the beloved daughter of her husband while Elena is just her neice who they chosen to adopt to the family. 

Even as a baby Elena wanted their parents whole attention to herself twenty-four hours a day, and seven days a week. But it never work that much especially Ariela is Grayson own flesh and blood daughter unlike Elena who is their neice who they adopted as their daughter. And it got worse when Elena was two years old while Ariela was 5 years old when their younger brother Jeremy Gilbert was born which their parents attention are in their baby brother. Ariela made sure to watch Elena very carefully when their alone with their baby brother since who knows what she'll do to Jeremy just to get our parents whole attention. 

Which made Ariela not like her even the baby Jeremy Gilbert didn't like her that when ever Elena aproach him he start crying until he's away from her. That their mother miranda Sommers-Gilbert didn't mine since she's afraid what Elena would do to her only son if she's left alone with her do to her jealousy and she would never stand if she ever try to do anything to Jeremy or Ariela for that matter while she didn't give birth to Ariela herself that dosen't mean that she's isn't my daughter I raised her before she even gain conscious.

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The next 14 years Elena Gilbert who is now 16 trying to get all their parents attention which never work and she has always been jealous to her 19 years old  sister Ariela Gilbert who was miss perfect before graduating Mystic falls high school where she has always been compare to her sister Ariela whatever she do could never match what Ariela did no matter what it's like she's never good enough. Her younger brother Jeremy dosen't even talk to her or be seen with her not that they were ever close as kids he's closer to Ariela than herself.

(Imagin her hair longer)

Even my beauty could never compare to Ariela.....Ariela.....Ariela.

It's always about her, so during family night I snack out to go to a party my parents didn't allow me to go because it was family night so I snack out. But when I got in a fight with my boyfriend Matt Donovan that lead to their break up and she's to drunk to go home so she called her parents who didn't even know she wasn't at home they were lecture her when they end up driving over the bridage that Elena was the only one who survive while their parents died, which Jeremy unconsciously blaming Elena for their parents death if she never snack out to go at that party she wouldn't have gotten drunk and call their parents to pick her up and their parents would still be alive no thanks to her.

Jenna Sommers who is 25 years old knows she can't handel both Elena and Jeremy in one roof so Ariela took custody of her younger brother Jeremy since she would likely kill Elena if she annoy her so she took Jeremy away from Mystic falls to new Orleans to have new start, beging away from Mystic falls help Jeremy alot  move on their parents death  and away from everything that remained them of their parents.

After their parents funerals both Ariela and Jeremy left Mystic Falls without any backward glance and never went back. Ariela is finish Collage in New Orleans since skip a year grade she's already on her last year. While they were their Jeremy meet untrained witch by the name Davina Claire.

The reason both Ariela and Jeremy Gilbert return to Mystic fall was during the funural of their Aunt Jenna and they both wouldn't even know about her death if sheriff Liz Forbes hasn't called and inform them of Jenna's death it seem every person Elena is close to end up dying one by one. So after the funeral of their Aunt they left Mystic fall again that they now believe the town itself is curse. By then Ariela already gradute collage and with Harvest ritual nearing and Davina mother want her as one if the harvest witch so Ariela, Jeremy and Davina quickly left New Orlean and putting a powerful cloaking spell that prevent anyone from finding them along with a protection spell just incase.

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Elijah Mikaelson remove the daggers from his siblings chest with the help of Damon Salvatore since he dosen't believe that his brother Klaus would keep his word so he remove the dagger. While the youngest Mikaelson brother, Kol Mikaelson was quite angry of beging put in a coffin after finding out from the Witches of New Orlean that he has a mate somewhere who wish to search so it was no suprise after he was catch up to the new century he quickly left town with no goodbye or saying anything to his brothers.

And search for the soulmate he was told about he was hoping that she is alive in this era instead her beging dead already he had one of his witches descendants put a powerful cloaking and protection spell on himself that prevent anyone from finding him no matter what.

5 moths for Kol searching every country, City, and town he could find until he end up in Boston where he meet the newly turn 21 years old Ariela Gilbert who is doing her undergraduate in Harvard University when he finally found his destin mate the one he was told about in 1914 New Orlean and he was about to begin his search for her before his bastard half brother Klaus put him in a coffin for 100 years. So it was no suprise for anyone that Kol Left without any backward glace to his so call siblings who never cared or loved him not even when they were humans he was always alone, all he ever wanted was to be loved and be part of the family and even then his siblings can't grant him that. 

The momoment both Ariela Gilbert and Kol Mikaelson meet it was like love at first site and it was like some unknown force was unknowingly pushing them together. It was the first time for both of them to truely fall in love with each other even Ariela who never fell in love in her previous life as Harriel Lilian Potter who never fell in loved since she died before she could get the chance to marry at all.

        16 years old Jeremy Gilbert is now dating Davina Claire along with the 21 years old Ariela Gilbert who began dating Kol Mikaelson who Ariela manged to give back his magic with the price of not beging a vampire but he retain his vampiric sense and strength, which Kol didn't mind since he has his magic back something he thought he will never have again and it's not like he really lose something since he still has his vampiric strength and speed.

We heard rumor that one Elena's boy toys is now dead atless that was what they heard during the Elena's graduation it seem one by one the people that she surround herself with are slowly dying. But that wasn't the only rumor they heard that from other witches they heard that Klaus the original Hybrid got some werewolf pregnant with his daughter now the witches of New orleans all want Klaus miracle baby dead. By then the rest kol's siblings are now living in New Orlean. And their Esther Mikaelson want the baby dead to hide the fact that she made a deal with her older sister Dahlia Mikaelson

In order to have children she sold her first born and every firstborn from her line so one way or another Dahlia would come for Klaus's firstborn child.

      The werewolf that Klaus got knock up, Hayley Marshall gaved birth to twins instead of the one baby they were expecting they named them Hope Andrea and Faith Clary Mikaelson. They end up meeting their long lost sister Freya Mikaelson who sleep every century only waking up once a year since her life was connected to her Aunt who taught her magic growing up. Even if Freya dislike her aunt. They manged to kill their aunt by using the ritual Freya has been making for many many years in order to free herself from Dahila.

But the Mikaelson family seem to favor Hope Andrea Mikaelson who is the so call powerful firstborn witch so Faith is ignored by the rest of their family the only one who seem to care about Faith is Marcel Gerald who is her brother figure but he can't always be by her side to protect her from her family's abuse.

But something happen to the Mikaelson when the twins Hope and Faith were 2 years old they were poison by something that Freya put her siblings and herself to sleep until Hayley find the cure. While that was happen Marcel was searching for Kol since he is the only one who would most likely treat Faith right unlike the rest of his family.

5 years later...

Hayley Marshall found all the ingredient for the cure and freya was waken up by Hayley in order to make the cure waking all the rest of her siblings. Things haven't change at all the Mikaelson siblings still ignore and belittle Faith even more than they did when she was just a baby, when they found out she was a simple witch unlike  Hope who is a Tribrid, luckly Marcel finally located Kol Mikaelson after 5 years search he finally found him but Kol Mikaelson is now married 

To a powerful witch by the name of Ariela Gilbert-Mikaelson who is 26 years old by then Kol has his magic back and no longer a vampire he once was I know for a fact he would never belittle his neice unlike all his siblings in favor of Hope Mikaelson the so call Miracle baby they been married for two years now.

Kol Mikaelson and his wife Ariela has chosen to adopt their neice as their first child since Kol's siblings has failed to show her love like a child should and Marcel was right that Kol would love his neice and would treat her like his own daughter even his wife already adore Faith then again who could ever hate Faith Clary Mikaelson

Well except for her old family that is. Even Kol's brother In Law Jeremy Gilbert who is 21 years old adore faith along with his wife Davina Claire who is a New Orlean witch who was suppose to be one of the original Harvest witch instead of Alena who took her spot in ritual when she suddely disappear unexpectedly.

             Hope Mikaelson is not more special than her younger twin sister Faith just because she was born a Tribrid and she most certainly not more powerful than Faith for being a Tribrid since Faith's power is stronger thsn Hope to begin with.

The Mikaelson family didn't even know that Faith is long gone until 2 years later when they need her to saved Hope who was possesed by the Hallow that in order to save Hope from Inadu aka the Hallow the mikaelson family split it's conscious to equal parts and seal them inside themself before each of them part ways in order to save Hope breaking their so call "perfect" family they have. By then Faith is already 7 years old and Kol mikaelson has recently have children of his own, his wife Ariela gaved birth to twins and they are Henrik James and Anastasia Lilian Gilbert-Mikaelson. 

Faith loves her new siblings since even though her Aunt & Uncle has their own children now they still treated her like their own daughter which she was glad about.

Hayley Marshall was think of raising her daughter Hope in Mystic Falls but she knows that that going back their is dangerous for Hope without protection from her Father. That she decided chosen to raised her daughter in a small town in Washington D.C.

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By the time Henrik and Anastasia Gilbert-Mikaelson were both 5 years old and Faith Mikaelson was already 12 years old both Ariela Gilbert-Mikaelson and Jeremy Gilbert felt it's time for them to return home beside they wanted their children to have normal school experince which the Twins and Faith along with their 5 years old cousin Grayson Kol Claire-Gilbert would only experince in the only super natural school which is located in Mystic fall so their family move back home to enrol their children to Salvatore Boarding School for the young and gifted.

Beside the Scooby gang has never encounter Kol Mikaelson during the time his siblings were in town and left as soon as he got out of the coffin beside Elena Salvatore would never try to kill Kol that would just make her siblings hate her even more. who blamed her for their parents death and she dosen't want to give them more reason to her by killing Kol, beside this Kol Mikaelson isn't even a Vampire but Witch like their children except for their neice Faith who turn out to the youngest daughter of Klaus Mikaelson who was ignored and belittle by her parents until she end up in the care of Kol and Ariela who love her like their own child.

Faith loves attending Salvatore school for the young and gift she became friends with the only biological son Caroline Forbes and Stefan Salvatore, their son Jason "Jace" Forbes-Salvatore but the momment they first saw each other they unknowingly fallen in love not that they have known at that time. She also befriend the Saltzman twins Lizzie and Josie Saltzman who are 10 years old currently and Caroline Forbes is the Saltzman twins Surrogate Mom since their bio mother died on their parents wedding day and bio mom's coven transfer them to their mom womb.

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10 years later....

Henrik James Gilbert Mikaelson

Anastasia Lilian Gilbert -Mikaelson

Are now both 15 years old attending boarding school and is one of the most powerful witches their along with their cousin Grayson Kol Claire-Gilbert

Who is the same age as his cousin and all three of them get along great together, they always has each others back.

While Faith Mikaelson adopted daughter of Kol and Ariela Gilbert-Mikaelson is now 22 years old still in Salvatore boarding school in the university part of the school and she's been with Jace Forbes-Salvatore for 5 years now

By the time the Mikaelson manged to kill the Hallow before they moved back to Mystic fall to enrol Hope in Salvatore Boarding university part of the school to have a normal education a normal child but they never expect to see their brother Kol Mikaelson their or that he no longer a vampire but a witch once more and have children of his own even adopting Klaus youngest daughter Faith who they never thought to be powerful since she's not a Tribrid like Hope but her powers as a witch is far greater than Hope could ever dream. By then Faith no longer see them as family they are simply strangers she lived the first 5 years old her life and she want nothing to them that includes hope.

Hope Mikaelson who is a tribrid couldn't even measure with her two cousin Henrik and Anastasia along with her younger twin sister Faith Mikaelson with how much power they hold as a witch that not even she has. Compare to them her power as a witch is weak for  a first born of the Mikaelson family.