#oh yeah Hollie's a child

[vani-candy]

i was perfectly content with taking this OC to my grave with me because she has extremely self-indulgent properties (ie. oc x canon but the purely platonic version because she's a literal child!!!), but then i got a job and the job made me realize that no, fuck it, i no longer care if i'm considered being 'cringe on main' because i have more important things to worry about than terminally online people on social media LMAOOOOO

OKAY SALT ASIDE,

this is my Pokemon protag OC!! she was made primarily for PLA and is still technically part of that, but ive been thinking of how she'd act in SV too. its a good thing Gallade is in both and ive been envisioning that as her bestie/ace.

Her name is Hollie and she's 6 years old, LITERAL CHILD, and she fell from the space-time rift with no memories. all she really knows are small details about herself and doesnt really know much about the world at all, so she's that type of kid who constantly asks questions HAHAHAHA,, she's super shy around strangers but can get pretty attached to people she's close to

i'll probably talk n draw her more in the coming days, especially if people wanna see her more c:

[foodlesoodlesdoodles]

Who cares about canon when you can draw Johnny in a wolf t shirt and a trans sweater

[zhongrin]

using a random name in my delusional daydream as another character's s/o ❎

using my moot's name in my delusional daydream as the name of their fav character's s/o ✅

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine giving Shanks baby fever

At a tavern

Child: I wanna join your crew!

Shanks: pfft, no way

Child: I'm a real good fighter, I won't get in the way, I promise!

Shanks: hmmm, [taps his chin and looks like he's thinking about it]

Child: [thinks he's going to get a chance]

Shanks: hmm...Hmmm?... No

Child: aw come on

Child's mother: [barges into the tavern holding her infant] Julius Antony D. Frost! What do you think you are doing here? You haven't finished your chores, the goats got hungry and two of them broke into the house!

Child: but mom!

Child's mother: here hold this [foists her infant into your arms and drags her son off by his ear]

You: ??? [Looks to the local barkeep for help]

Barkeep: she'll be back when she realizes, just look after that little girl until then.

You: [pulls the infant closer to you and glowers]

Barkeep: I know it's a little unorthodox, but that lady has six kids, you're holding her only daughter, and her husband is a fisherman. This means he's gone most of the time, and her five eldest boys keep her busy, so please don't judge her, we help her out as much as she'll allow.

You: fine, [goes over to your table with Shanks]

Shanks: [cocks his head and gets a good look at the baby]

Baby: [looks at Benn and starts to cry]

Shanks: [pushes Benn away] You're scaring the baby.

Benn: ay! Ay! Alright, alright, I'll move.

You: [bounces the infant, pats it on the back, and starts to sing to try]

Baby: [settles down, and relaxes against your shoulder]

Shanks: wow, I didn't know you were so good with kids.

You: I didn't either... [Turns to the barkeep] Can I get this table wiped down so I can set the baby down?

Barkeep: [ obliges]

You: [sits the baby's weight down on the table, but keeps your arm around her so she's still leaning against you] Are you the cutest baby in the world?

Baby: ◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜

You: [gasps] Yes you are, you are the cutest baby in the whole world. [Gently tickles her tummy]

Baby: [giggles]

The crew: [find the two of you painfully adorable]

Baby: [ turns to Shanks and makes grabby hands at him]

Shanks: [ leans in closer]

Baby: [grabs a handful of his hair]

Shanks: she's got a good grip on her, how old is she? A year?

Barkeep: yeah, fourteen months, I think.

You: oh I could just eat you up, yes I could! In fact, I think I will. [Blows raspberries on her tummy]

Baby: [erupts into laughter]

You: [ pulls the baby back to your chest, leans back against Shanks, and smiles up at him] She still has that baby smell.

Shanks: (⁠๑⁠♡⁠⌓⁠♡⁠๑⁠)

Child's mother: [bursts through the establishment's doors] Holly!

Baby: [whips around to look at her mother]

Child's mother: oh thank God, thank you for looking after her, I'm so sorry.

You: it's okay, she's easy to deal with, plus from the looks of it you had your hands full. [ Passes her her child]

Child's mother: she is, isn't she? Thank you have a nice day. [Leaves with her child]

Later that night

Benn: you've been eyeing them all night, what's up.

Shanks: [shifts his gaze from you to Benn] So I'm not as subtle as I thought I was... I dunno. Ever since seeing them with the baby, what was her name? Holly?... I guess I can't get it out of my head.

Benn: oh you've got baby fever, don't cha?

Shanks: [blushes] maybe

Benn: I thought you didn't want kids on this boat anymore?

Shanks: I don't, that hasn't changed. [Gets up and heads over to you] What do you say we call it a night?

You: hmm, alright, I'm getting tired anyway. [Lets Shanks lead you to the Captain's quarters]

Shanks: [is handsy with you the whole way]

You: [doesn't mind] You seem rather frisky tonight, or at least friskier than usual.

Shanks: Sorry, but seeing how good you are with kids really ignited something within me. [Smooches up and down your neck]

You: I thought you didn't want kids?

Shanks: For Fuck's sake, I don't, not yet, but that doesn't mean I don't want to practice. [Dumps you on the bed and starts to take off his pants.]

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[thyme-in-a-bubble]

the slow night

buttercup, chapter six

a/n: he a hoe and I love him. thank you and goodnight.

summary: as the peck blossomed into something much more ravenous, a soft laugh began to billow out of you, “Mr. Murdock,” you tilted your head back as his lips began to flutter down your neck, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you came over here to seduce me.”

warnings: matt murdock x baker!reader, smut, neighbours to lovers, rape recovery, ptsd, the black daredevil suit, kissing, semi public sex (at the bakery), clothed sex, dirty talk, hair pulling, oral, protected sex, penetrative sex, multiple orgasms

word count: 3244

∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽

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Leaning against the doorway to the small bakery bathroom, you watched Walter’s tongue poke out the side of his mouth as he flicked glittery stripes of eyeliner over his lids. 

“You sure you’re okay with closing up on your own tonight?” you heard Howard ask you as he sat on a low stool some space behind you, bending down to tie his shoes. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” you smiled, glancing back over your shoulder at him, “you two deserve a night off.”

Staring out into space, your uncle leaned his tattooed forearms on his robust thighs a moment as he murmured, “you know, I don’t even remember the last time we went out…” casting a glance past you at the bald man in front of the mirror, Howard raised his voice, “honey, did you find out what queens are performing tonight?”

Popping the lid back on the pencil, the former club kid tilted his head approvingly in the reflection, “I think Holly Day still works Friday nights there, but other than that I have no idea,” he exited the bathroom, only to press a small peck to your cheek as he slid passed.

“Urgh,” you groaned with a smile, letting your inner child temporarily show as you dragged the back of your palm over the faint lipstick stain, “well, have fun you two!”

“Night, night, cupcake,” Howard blew you a few brief kisses as the pair scurried out of the shop, “don’t forget to feed the sourdough starter, oh! And mix a new batch of ginger maple cookies, portion them out and pop them in the freezing–, also–”

“Howard,” you interrupted him with a smile just as Walter pulled open the back door for them to exit, “I know what I need to do. I’ve done this countless of times before, I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Alright,” he exhaled slowly.

“If it’ll help, I can send you a picture of the place before I lock up.”

A relieved smile then warmed up your uncle’s features, “thank you, sweetie.” 

Half yanking his husband out of the door, Walter offered you one last wave, “bye, Y/n!” before the solid door slammed shut behind them. 

Bending down, you put the last one of the wide and clean bowls away on the bottom shelf of the metal storage system in the corner of the kitchen. 

The skirt of your dress swooshed gently around your legs as you straightened back up, like a summer breeze, fluttering against your skin. Reaching for a clean cloth, you briefly ran it under the tap before wiping down the aftermath beside the sink following your dance with the dishes. One of the tiny puddles of splashed water soaked your apron as you leaned over the steel table to reach deeper, turning it a darker shade of brown right over your belly button. 

Just then, from out of nowhere, “hi,” the voice of your neighbour echoed throughout the kitchen, thoroughly startling you and causing the rag to drop from your grasp.

“Ah!” you jumped, haven not even heard the back door creak open, “Matthew!” pressing a soothing palm to your chest as you spun around, a light giggle flowed from your lips, “oh my god, you scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry,” he chuckled, leisurely leaning against the far counter close to the back exit. 

You already knew he’d be out on patrol tonight, but actually seeing him stand there before you was something else entirely. The black suit clung tight to his physic, and now that grave injuries no longer distracted and adorned his visage, the vision of the obsidian vigilante that stood in front of you proficiently provided you with a sinful shiver that trickled down your spine. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked, attempting to brush off the tingle that bloomed between your thighs. 

A bold smirk bloomed on his lips, visible below the dark mask, as he slowly stepped closer to you, “it’s a slow night,” gently tugging his gloves off and tossing them to the table he passed, an action you didn’t expect to find as seductive as you evidently did, goosebumps now blossoming all along your arms. 

“A slow night, huh?” you chuckled, tilting your chin as he neared. 

“And I was in the area,” he cocked his head as his hands settled on either side of your frame, leaning against the counter behind you.   

“How convenient,” you smiled, his light-hearted explanations not convincing you in the slightest. Matt’s fingers then found your chin, tilting it further up as he bent down to brush his lips against your own. Your knees nearly buckled as you felt yourself swiftly sink into the intoxicating sensation, your arms gliding up and over the black fabric that hugged him, till they were locked around his neck. As the peck blossomed into something much more ravenous, a soft laugh began to billow out of you, “Mr. Murdock,” you tilted your head back as his lips began to flutter down your neck, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you came over here to seduce me.”

Mirroring your own chuckle, he playfully tested, “and what if I am, huh?”

“Wait, really?” you giggled, your hands seized each side of his face and pulled him back a bit as his hot mouth worked wonders at making you lose your train of thought, “you sure you weren’t just hungry or something?”

“Hm,” his palms slid up to cup over yours as he cheekily said, “something, yeah…” peeling your fingers off of his stubbly cheeks, he placed a few pecks in your open palms, “I would fucking love a taste of something sweet.”

Tearing your gaze away from his onyx visage, you briefly cast a glance around the space, “uhm, I don’t really know what’s left over from today, but there might be someth–”

“Nuh-uh, that’s not the kinda treat I was thinking of,” he smirked brightly as he wrapped his arms around your waist, drawing you in closer to his warmth as his fingers sneaked under the apron’s knot. 

Finally reading his obvious subtext, “o-oh,” you couldn’t help but giggle as he then leaned down to kiss you again, swallowing your laugh till it melted away into a low moan that vibrated against his lavish tongue. 

Scrambling closer, you damn nearly climbed him like a tree with how desperately you clawed at his mass. When his touch slid further down your frame and curved around your ass, he briefly offered you a squeeze that you swore soared all the way to the sensitive nerve endings in your throbbing clit, before he scooped you up and sat you down on the steel countertop. As he slotted his width in between your parted thighs, his teeth playfully caught your bottom lip. 

Fluttering your fingers further up, you cupped the sides of his face as the heated make-out slowly began to ease. The tips of your touch grazed the bottom of his black mask as you gently pulled back.

Blinking back at him through your lashes, your digits ghosted over the material as you uttered, “…can I take this off?” 

A faint smile tugged at his lips as he softly nodded, “mhm,” and let you peel the charcoal mask off of him. Letting it drop to the table right beside where you sat, you gazed back at him for a moment, his chocolate eyes gently crinkled up in bliss as you briefly traced a light caress over a few of his newly revealed features before you sealed your lips with his once more. 

Undoubtedly, your panties must have clung to your core at this point from how soaked they felt. 

Abruptly, Matt’s soft lips suddenly strayed from yours. Fluttering your gaze open, a giggle bubbled out of your lungs as you saw him slowly sink down to the tile floor beneath you. 

“Matty,” you beamed, your touch straying from his cheek as he settled down on his knees. 

Slowly raising a sliver of your hemline up to your knees, his lips grazed against your shin and leisurely roamed further north. 

Burying your fingers in the fabric of your dress, you gently began to hike it up till it, and the brown apron, bunched above your hips. 

Your breathing was ragged, and your mouth hung agape when his kisses neared your centre. One of his warm palms stayed planted on your inner thigh after he’d split your legs further to grant himself better access as you sat there, nearly dangling on the edge. 

A shiver ran through you when he placed a brief kiss to the soaked spot soddening your underwear, before his reach extended and hooked the cotton to the side, a sting of your slick clung momentarily to the fabric before snapping back against your core. 

“Fuck,” he let out a gravelly groan and you felt his breath tickle your cunt before his hand, the one not clutching your soaked panties, curled around your frame and tugged you towards him, closing the minuscule distance between his zealous mouth and your glistening centre.

Parting your petals with dizzying laps, Matt let out a moan as he made out with your pussy, the tickling vibrations caused your thighs to tremble beside his head. 

“God…” spellbound, he pulled back for but a second, “your pussy tastes like fucking heaven,” before he tilted his chin and enraptured your clit, fervently sucking down on it in a way that made your eyes roll in your skull. 

“Oh my god, I–, I–…” you panted, sensing yourself race towards the finish line, but even with how incredible his tongue made you feel, deep down within you rumbled a feral feeling for more. As your pelvis bucked lightly against his efforts, you gasped, “Matt… get up…” unsure if you’d ever felt so empty in your entire life, “get up right fucking now.” When he rose, the lower part of his face glinting with your want, he didn’t get a chance to say anything before you yanked him by his shirt and crashed your lips against his. With the intoxicating taste of yourself lingering on your mouth, your heavy breath fanned across his face as you desperately uttered, “in the corner behind you, on the hook beside where my coat is, my bag, the little front pocket.”

Breathlessly, his expression fogged up in soft puzzlement, “what?” 

“I went to the drugstore earlier,” you said, hoping that you wouldn’t have to spell it out for him. 

It actually took him a second for him to realise what you were talking about, “oh,” as if he hadn’t hoped or expected anything more than what you’d just let him do. Crossing the room in mere moments, a playful chuckle rumbled from his chest as he fished out the box of condoms, “this is a big pack… were you planning on seducing me?”

Rolling your eyes, you giggled, “oh, shut up and get back here.”

As soon as he was back in your reach, your fingers began to fiddle with his belt, impatiently freeing him as you virtually drooled seeing the imprint of his cock strain against the dark fabric of his pants. 

“Put it on, please, please, I wanna feel you so bad,” you begged as he ripped the foil packet open. 

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Yes, please,” your hungry eyes were glued to his breath-taking fist as he offered himself a brief pump before he hastily rolled the condom on, “Matt, if you don’t fuck me right now then I’ll lose my fucking mind.”

Sighs flowed from the both of you in unison when Matt sank into your drooling cunt. You almost felt drunk, that’s how wound up you’d gotten.

“Oh, you feel so fucking good,” Matt exhaled, letting his forehead melt against your own as he rolled his hips, getting impossibly deep before drawing back a bit and finding a rhythm that caused your legs to be like crickets, shakily rubbing against either side of his frame as fucked you, “sweetheart–, christ… you’re about to cum, aren’t you?” his lips tilted up into a smirk. 

“D-don’t you dare stop,” you panted, clawing needily against his torso. 

“I won’t, I promise,” he then sank a hand down between your frames to tickle your puffy pearl, “I could do this all day, baby.” 

You collapsed back on your elbows when your pussy fluttered around him and a lewd cry accompanied the high. 

Panting against the cool table, you hazily blinked up at him as he then uttered in the deepest sincerity. 

“God, I'm crazy about you, Y/n,” his expression was soft and dreamlike, “you know that?”

Your eyes went wide a moment, entirely forgetting how to fill your aching lungs, “really?” you then regained control rather gracelessly as you nearly coughed, “sorry... I forgot how to breathe for a second there,” the grin that bloomed on your lips nearly hurt.  

Snatching one of your hands up in his, he weaved his fingers with your own, “you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m amazing…” you gazed up at him, “I’m also completely and utterly wild about you,” you then tugged on his hand, drawing him down enough for your lips to graze against his. 

His hips instinctively rolled as your tongue flicked across his own, grinding briefly into your sensitivity before he noticed and went back to being completely still within you. 

But when your sloppy kiss then parted, you tilted your own hips a bit, slowly fucking yourself shallowly on his cock. As he gently offered you a tender thrust, gradually pulling out of your clinging cunt just a tad, you glanced down between the shy space betwixt you and spotted the ring of your cream that stained the base of his dick. 

“Fucking hell,” you whimpered as he straightened his spine back out and brought the back of your palm up to his lips, “I don’t get how I bounce back so quickly with you. It’s like you just have to smile and then I’m just–, oh my god!” you moaned as he changed his angle, brushing directly against a spot that sent a delicious shiver down your spine. 

“Oh, you like that? Right there?” he repeated the same lavish motion. 

“Y-yes–,” with your interlocked fingers, he then pulled you back up to a sitting position, the shift leaving you breathless, “fuck. You feel so good right now,” his hand let go of yours as it then snaked around your back, his burly forearm supporting your spine as the fingers reached up to weave within your hair, gently scraping his short nails over the nape of your neck.

Drawing you in even closer, your chest pressed against his as he kissed your cheek sweetly while he kept his pace meticulous and precise. 

Hugging onto his broad shoulders, your head dropped down to rest against one of them as you then muttered, “harder,” your gaze hazy on the kitchen behind him before your eyes fluttered shut. When he then snapped his hips forward a little more electrically, you weakly repeated in his ear, “harder.”

Slamming into your needy cunt so fiercely that the sound of your skin colliding echoed off the tile walls and a bit of drool began to stain his dark shirt as your cheek stayed smooshed against his width. 

“That it?” he growled silkily, “huh?” but when you couldn’t form any coherent words within the mess of moans that flowed from your lips, you didn’t have to see his face to know the grin that bloomed on his face, “aw, it’s alright, sweetheart,” his grip tightened in your hair, “you’re doing so good for me,” tugging intoxicatingly right at the roots, “just relax… that’s it… good girl…”

Keeping his pace rough, he lavishly slid out of you till just his bulbous tip plugged you up, before ramming his cock back in so feverishly that you could scarcely breathe at all, just tremble in his embrace, listening to the pure filth that he murmured in your ear, till you both tumbled over the edge. 

With his spent girth nuzzled against your tender pussy, faint hums of contentment flowed from your lungs as Matt gently stroked your hair, his other arm wrapped around you as well as he kept your sluggish frame close to his long after you’d both regained your breaths. 

As your fingers disappeared below his neckline and softly rubbed against the warm skin, your voice eventually found his ear, “okay, so I know that you didn’t come in here for a late-night snack,” the corners of your lips tilted upwards, “but now I’m kinda hungry.” 

With a gentle chuckle rumbling within his chest, he briskly tugged himself away and untangled himself from you, “one second,” his lips pressed against your hairline before you saw him turn around and wander out of the kitchen. 

As you watched him disappear into the front of the bakery, you tugged your panties back over your mess and pushed your dress back down, “oh, I'm not sure if there’s anything left out there–”

“Do you want a raisin bun or a very seedy one?” he asked and your brows flew up as you still hadn’t gotten used to how perceptive his heightened senses let him be. 

“Oh, uhm,” you blinked, completely blown away, “raisin.” 

Appearing before you once more, he handed you the speckled bun, “here.”

Smiling adoringly back at him, “thank you,” you sank your teeth into the pillowy treat before offering him a small bite, which he gladly accepted as a tender laugh rolled out of him. When you had consumed the sweet bun, a soft yawn promptly flowed out of you, “fuck,” his palms were warm at your waist as your arms briefly curled up beside your head, “I can’t wait to get back home and sleep.”

“How much do you have left to do till you can lock up?”

“Not too much,” your hands dropped back down and rested atop of his for a moment, “how about you? How long do you think you’ll be out there?” 

“Probably not too much longer either,” his head tilted gently before he leaned back in. 

“Alright,” you smiled, tenderly pressing your lips to his before he snatched up the discarded mask and tugged it back over his features. As his feet began to carry him towards the exit, he paused as soon as you said, “hey Matt?”

“Yeah?” the vigilante twisted back to face you. 

A bubble of nerves suddenly fluttered in your belly as you uttered, “when you get back tonight, could you maybe–, uhm… or maybe I could–…”

Swiftly getting at what you were trying to convey, Matt simply marched right back to where you sat and pulled you in for a kiss. Cradling your cheeks a moment longer as he slowly pulled back, he smiled, “there’s a spare key to my place behind the radiator in the hallway.”

Gazing back at him, you uttered, “okay,” feeling like you were floating on a cloud. 

“I'll try not to get home too late,” he breathed, pressing his lips to yours one last time before he backed up again. 

Calling after him, “be safe!” he stopped on the threshold of the back door for a second, silhouetted by the dark city as he flashed you a grin before he disappeared into the night, leaving you in the bakery alone, feet dangling off the table as a bright smile tenaciously lit up your face. 

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[italiansteebie]

so the thing is.

steve really really wants this teddy bear.

he was never allowed stuffed animals as a child and had taken it upon himself to build that collection and nurture that part of him. and he's got quite a few now, most of them sit in his closet, save for a few under his bed for easy access, but he keeps them hidden.

because if anyone saw them, if the kids saw them, well. then he'd have to explain. and then it'd go from a funny "make fun of steve" moment to a "steve had a horrible childhood" moment.

so he hides them.

but not as well as he thought.

because eddie has seen the fuzzy little creatures in passing. seen their heads poking out from under his covers, caught glimpses of them tucked away in steve's closet.

and he thought it was cute.

he knew steve didn't have a great childhood, and hey. the guy deserved some soft things in life. eddie too, had some stuffed animals smooshed in with his bedding. so sue him, he likes to be cozy, and those little guys make him comfy.

and he too saw the teddy bear.

and saw the way steve looked at it.

it was pretty cute, eddie has to admit. it was a pretty big bear, soft pink, with a little white bow around its neck.

it was much more... childlike. than steve's others.

but.

the way steve looked at it. it was like he was watching a soldier come home from war. breifly eddie wonders if it looked like something from when steve was a kid, but he didn't delve deeper. he'd make himself too sad.

so he made a plan.

---

steve would never admit it, but he was heartbroken, having to leave that teddy bear like that.

but he was with the kids.

and robin.

and eddie.

and he couldn't exactly just go buy it. he couldn't give his usual excuse that it was a gift for the kids if the kids were with him, it just wouldn't work.

so he gave it up.

but it didn't stop him from thinking about it.

it just looked so soft. and maybe he was touched starved, and maybe this was his way of solving that. and maybe that wasn't "healthy." but it worked for him. and damnit. steve wanted that goddamn teddy bear.

it had been 2 days since steve saw the bear, and it was still knocking around in his mind. so he decided to go and get it. he had the plot in his head, it was a gift for holly wheeler if anyone saw him, and yes, he would like it gift wrapped please and thank you. and so he brushed his hair, and grabbed his keys.

and he swung open the door and came face to face with none other than eddie munson, bag in hand, fist raised, ready to knock.

"hey eds! i was just about to go get... uh. i. run some errands..." steve cringed at the awkward sentence, luckily for him, eddie paid it no mind.

"steve! can i come in? let's hang!" eddie left no room for an answer and pushed his way past steve into the large house.

"wh- eddie! i was about to leave," and he did not whine. he didn't.

"too bad, steve-o. i already ordered the pizza!"

"you pre ordered a pizza? to my house?"

"yeah. now come sit. put on a movie."

and well. steve relented, eddie wormed his way into his home and his heart and so what if he had a crush on the metal head. he was just a boy! he was allowed to have crushes, okay, robin?

so he sat.

and put on a movie.

and the pizza got there.

and they ate.

the sun was going down, and steve's eyes were slipping closed in the peace when eddie jumped up. "i almost forgot!"

steve jolted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "what?"

"i got you a present," eddie sang, waving the bag steve had spotted when he first got to his house. steve eyed him suspiciously, "what is it?" he questioned, reaching towards the bag.

"just open it steve!" eddie said, flopping back down on the couch, kicking his feet as he watched steve.

steve pulled back the tissue paper, and caught just a glimpse of the soft pink fur, and he stopped. "eddie..." he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "open it up, stevie." eddie encouraged gently.

steve pulled the bear from the bag, "oh my god," he whispered, brushing a hand over the bears head, before squeezing it against his chest, eyes shut tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

eddie smiled, placing a gentle hand on steve's shoulder.

"thank you, how- how did you know?"

"i saw you looking at it. i couldn't just let you leave it."

"eddie..."

steve sighed gently, eyes shining, peering up at eddie through his eyelashes, "i can't tell you how much i appreciate this." and with that he threw his arms around the metal head, the teddy bear squished in between them. steve pulled away, eyes locking with eddie's.

"steve, can- i hope what i'm about to ask doesn't... ruin anything, i just. can i kiss you?"

"please," steve breathed, lips meeting and eyes fluttering closed. it was soft, and sweet, and it felt like... home. eddie pulled away, steve letting out a soft whine as he does. eddie cupped his face, letting his thumb run gently over the softness of steve's cheek.

"i have wanted to do that since you carried me out of hell."

"i'm happy you didn't wait any longer because i've been wanting to kiss you since you had that bottle pressed against my neck."

"stevie, so scandalous." eddie gasped, giggling in unison with steve.

the fluffy hair boy stood, grabbing eddie's hand and pulling him with him. "i wanna show you something."

steve led eddie through the house, quiet before coming to a door, "this was my nonna's room, when she would come to visit. it didn't happen that often. but i loved it when she was here. she taught me how to cook, how to speak italian. she was my best friend for a really long time." steve spoke softly, trailing around the now plain room. eddie followed him, hanging onto his every word. they stopped in front of an old photo.

there was a young woman, holding a bear that looked very similar to the one he had just bought steve. "this is my nona when she was young. and that... that was her friend. i always called him bobbie. i don't... know why, but that was his name. and she brought him every time she visited. but she always took it home... because she knew my dad would take it away," steve's voice cracked, and eddie wrapped his arms around him, showing his support.

"she was buried with him. and. i lost two friends that day."

eddie moved to hug steve from the front, letting him bury his head in his neck. "i'm sorry you lost them, stevie."

steve pulled away slightly, "you brought them back." he whispered. and it felt like a confession of something more serious. and eddie was all in.

they shared another soft kiss, sealing in the beginning of something beautiful.

that night they slept in the same bed, the soft pink bear wedged between them.

[factual-fantasy]

20 Asks! Thank you!! :)) 🎩

@holly-opal (Sent after this post)

I'm still working out the kinks of my AU- but I've got a few ideas in mind for Wally!

First off, he has terrible sleeping problems. :( He can only sleep for a few hours at a time before waking up with heart palpitations and feelings of anxiety :((

He's very casual about these problems and will talk to anyone who asks him about it, The neighbors will ask things like "have you tried this?" or "Have you tried eating this?" And he tries it all, but it never works.. he's not sure why :(

This is my in-world explanation for why Wally talks soooo slowly and has droopy eyes. The poor guy cant get a good nights sleep!

Now what Wally doesn't know, is that his Home is some kind of living entity.. its intentions with Wally are uncertain.. but at night while Wally is sleeping... it watches him.

The aura Home creates causes so much anxiety in Wally that he wakes up. And the feeling of another presence somewhere nearby creates so much anxiety that he cant go back to sleep.

He doesn't really recognize that these feelings could be legitimate. He just thinks to himself "No one is watching you, don't be silly!" He then double checks that his house is all locked up tight and finds a comfortable spot to rest until the anxiety subsides.. (..until home stops watching him..)

I've been experimenting with different ways that Barnaby could find out about just how severe Wally's nighttime anxiety is. And what he would do to help him.. but I haven't settled on an idea yet <:0

@greenkirbkid456u

I have not.. :( but after googling it, the art style looks really cool!! :DD

@birodactyloftheblog

XDD This ask made me laugh, and it was really sweet! Thank you!! :}}

I would love to dip my toes into welcome home a little more, I'm just a bit thin on ideas <XDD

@ivannakoopagirl14

<:0 Sorry what?

<XDD I cant tell what Wally is supposed to be. In canon he's the same height as other characters, dresses rather grown up, had his own house?? Yet so much fanart draws him/portrays him as really young or a child..? With all the neighbors treating him as a child?? <XD Which one is correct??

Not any that I can remember.. I haven't interacted with that fandom for a while <XD And when I did, I mostly stuck to my own blog and my own ideas-

@glitchhayden418

Bloop!! :))

Oof, its sad to hear that's how you found me.. 😔 But its nice to hear that someone feels the same way! :))

As for your question, that's totally fine! :D

@hershelwidget

Thank you so much!! :DDD And to be totally honest I never really think of the environment the sky animals/beasts live in <XD I usually just see the cool mask and imagine what the rest of the creature would look like! :00

Not sure for any specific advice... I'm not great at explaining art things <XDD

Yeah I have her holding an everstone XD and if she evolved she'd look like a man 💀 Which is why I'm keeping her as a cute little baby Kricketune :))

@sevenheven7011

Oh cool! :DDD

@wolfwraithartz

AAAAAA THEY LOOK SO COOL!!! :DDDD

@minnesotamedic186 (Sent after this comic)

That's right! And its a SEAHORSE MASK?? Huh :00 I didn't realize!

Oof, thanks for letting me know.. and it sucks to hear that my art is on your board, that's not good. 😔

@imaplantyay

Oof, thanks for letting me know..

@davesartdesk

👀👀👀I cant wait to see it! :DD

@orchid-harmony

Season of Abyss was a literal and figurative game changer for me. Adding swimming mechanics to sky?? That beautiful ocean(?) to swim in?? I loved it so much and it added so much more playability to the game for me.

..However..... the season of Aurora was mind blowing. Haven't cried that hard at a game before. That's gotta be my favorite season. 🥺💞💞

@stupid-thatsme (Refencing this post)

Man... 😔 I'm so sorry.. 😔😔😔

@kaiserdarken

I'm not sure! :0

XDD Nope! They Ingo and Emmet!

@livinwa

SNake! :D

(Referencing this post)

Same here 😔

@coolguyoninternet

XDD Well I do have a few side blogs, but my sona is only on this blog!

@couchwow

👁️👃👁️

@ozzytheplushiemonster

You'll find someone my frien :(

@neo-metalscottic (Master post trouble)

AAHHH THANK YOU!! :DD I was really proud of that gut punch so I'm glad you liked it! :))

As for if the animatronics have their own show.. I'm not sure :00 I made my AU without them having a show in mind.. but that's not to say they don't have one! Maybe its played on TV outside of the pizzaplex so the main animatronics don't really know about it..? :0

@kittysuicoffee (Sorry for the late reply! <XD)

WAHGGG THESE ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! 🤩🤩💞💞💞💞

XDD That's me!! :))

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Rainbow Sprinkles

A short, and hopefully cute and fluffy little fic for the very lovely, and beautiful @penguinsandpotterheads Happy Birthday Holly, I hope you have an amazing day, bestie!!!! <3

Word Count:923

Masterlist Eddie Munson Masterlist

You make your way into your home after a busy day at work just ready to sink into the arms of your boyfriend, perhaps order some take-out and watch a shitty movie that would ultimately end up getting ignored in favour of making out with said boyfriend, but as you tread into the home you shared with Eddie you come to realise those plans had been thrown out of the window.

Because there he is. In the kitchen, his hair bundled up on top of his head, with a few loose curls framing his, and a white apron tied around his body smeared with many different stains. 

You step quietly into the kitchen, trying not to draw attention to yourself.

“What’re you up to there?” you say, making your way over to him.

You watch as he jumps at the sound of your voice.

“You’re home early!” he babbles, looking over your shoulder at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, they let me go early since it’s my birthday, which was nice of them.” you explain.

“Yeah I suppose that is nice of them, I just hadn’t expected you to be home so soon.” 

“You never answered my question.” you pry curiously. 

“Hm?”

“What are you up to?” you ask again as your eyes come to scan over the mess that litters the kitchen counter. There’s cracked eggs shells, an open bag of flour that is somehow dusting more of the counter than there is in the bowl which you gather that he intended it for. The large mixing bowl is filled with what looks like a deep, rich chocolate mixture.

“Oh that.” he chuckles. “I was kind of hoping to bake you a cake as a surprise but I quickly realised that I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

"No no, I think it looks alright." you say, as you mix the wooden spoon around in the mixture.

"Wayne gave me the recipe, so if it sucks it's totally his fault and not mine" he laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. 

"Well let's get it in the oven, and see what happens! Then we can decorate it together!" You smile, placing a kiss on your boyfriend's face.

You reach on to the counter to set the timer, whilst Eddie pours the cake mixture in a round baking tin and places it in the oven.

"I'm just going to set a timer for thirty minutes" You tell him.

"There's a lot you can do in thirty minutes." Eddie says suggestively, raising his eyebrows up.

You playfully slap him on his arm as you tug him away from the mess in the kitchen.

"Keep it in your pants until later, Loverboy." you flirtatiously chastise him.

“But it’s your birthday!”

Sure enough the timer in the kitchen dings, and you pull yourself away from Eddie’s hold as he places sweet kisses to your neck. 

As it turns out, snuggling on the couch, which turned into an inevitable makeout session you always knew it would, was an excellent way to spend your birthday.  

“Come on Teddy! The cake’s ready to come out of the oven!” you cheer as you tug him up from the seat with you, and practically skip to the kitchen.

“Here, let me get it out, I am the one with the apron after all.” he smirks, reaching for a dish towel.

 He opens up the oven door, the smell of delicious, warm chocolate wafts out as he brings the cake out and places it on the countertop.

“Not to be too cocky, but I reckon I’ve got this baking thing down to a fine art, Sweetheart.” he smiles, marvelling down at the perfectly risen sponge in the tin.

“Okay, Julia Child, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” You tease him lightly, which earns you an adorable giggle from your boyfriend.

“Now we just have to wait for it to cool down and then we can start decorating it!” Eddie cheers.

Eddie smears a thick layer of gooey, fudgy, chocolate frosting over the now cooled cake whilst you stand by with a tub of brightly coloured sprinkles in hand ready to scatter on top.

“She’s all yours, have at it, Picasso.” Eddie smiles as he stands back to allow you to recklessly sprinkle your cake with the decoration.

You finish decorating the cake, taking a step back to marvel at your creation.

“I think we make a good team, between your baking and my flair for abstract decorations.” 

���Yeah, we do. We make an excellent team.” Eddie agrees, pulling you into him with a one-armed side hug and a kiss pressed into the crown of your head.

“Y’know, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my birthday.” You say as you snuggle against him, a slice of your cake on your plate and a fork in hand.

“Hm?” Eddie mumbles around a mouthful of cake, his own slice sitting on his plate, almost gone from him demolishing it as quickly as it had been served up.

“Yeah, just being here and spending time with you, has made me the happiest birthday girl in the world!” you beam, as you snuggle deeper into his warmth.

Eddie smiles, he’s so warmed by your admission, and his smile only grows when he thinks about the surprise party he’s organised for you this weekend. All your closest friends and loved ones, there just to celebrate you, and have a good time. 

“I love you so much, Sweetheart.”

“I love you too, Teddy.”

[boltupbitches]

Cheers to Us - Justin Herbert

Part 3 of the Layla Herbert series

Part 1 - One Day at a Time

Part 2 - Today's the Day

“Oh my god.” Justin groaned in exasperation.

“It’s honestly fine, babe. She’s ok!” Alex adjusted his collar, careful not to bump his cast. 

Alex was helping Justin get ready as his younger brother kept Layla preoccupied. The two-month-old had started crying when she saw her favorite uncle. He had shaven his mustache off the day before and Layla, although just two months old, was not feeling it at all and cried at the sight of him when he came over to pick her up.

“He’s going to give her nightmares,” Justin grumbled. “I told him she’d notice, but he’s an idiot and said she wouldn’t. I know our daughter, Alex.”

Alex rolled her eyes and sighed at her husband’s ire. “Alright, go, go, go. You’re done.”

Justin wasted no time rushing back into his living room to rescue his fussy daughter from her mustache-less uncle. 

“She was fine with me!” Patrick protested as his brother scooped Layla up with one hand. “That’s seriously dangerous, Justin. What if you dropped her?”

“You were making her cry with your face. I am adept at holding my daughter.”

“Says the dude with only one arm currently in use. You probably can’t even wipe your ass without Alex helping you.”

Justin went to retort, but he was interrupted by the loud. “Alright, that’s enough!” Called from the doorway.

Both brothers looked towards the doorway to see their mother and the rest of the family. They had just arrived and were invited in by Alex. After hearing her sons bicker, Holly wasted no time to break it up.

“Arguing in front of a baby? You two are so childish!” She admonished, walking forward to scoop her clueless granddaughter out of her older son’s hold. “They are so silly, aren’t they Miss Layla? Just the silliest. Grandma is here now though. I’ll keep them in line.” She stopped cooing at her granddaughter to give her sons a warning look.

Their dad came over to greet them and laughed at the pouting look on Justin’s face. “You aren’t seeing that baby for the next two days, son. All she’s talked about the last two weeks was seeing Layla again.” He gazed over at his wife as she showed off the beautiful tree Alex decorated to an enraptured Layla, who stared at the bulbs in wonderment as her grandma pointed out the beautiful colors.

Justin’s eyes shifted to his girlfriend speaking to Mitch and his wife. She looked absolutely gorgeous in the deep red dress she was wearing. Her hair was pinned to one side, her hair beautifully curled. The red lipstick she wore caught his attention and he stared in a brief trance at her lips as she continued speaking animatedly to his older brother and sister-in-law.

He didn’t realize that he had walked off from his amused father who wasn’t even hiding his knowing grin. Patrick just rolled his eyes at his lovestruck brother, focusing his attention back on his niece in hopes of winning her over by the end of the night. She’d get over the lack of mustache, Patrick was certain of that.

Justin found himself standing just behind his girlfriend when he decided to wrap his good arm around her and startle her, smirking at her squeal of shock.

“I was about to ruin your surprise there,” Mitch smirked. “But I figured you’d pout some more if I did so. Mom already got you doing that enough with her hogging Layla.”

“Yeah don’t remind me. We don’t even exist anymore since her first grandkid entered the world. I gotta compete with her to hold my daughter when she’s in town visiting.” Justin complained. 

“It takes a village to raise a child,” Alex mused, finding humor in her boyfriend’s jealousy. “She doesn’t get to see her all the time. She just loves her granddaughter.”

“She FaceTimes us every day to talk to Layla. She probably has that rental out front loaded with gifts too.”

“She does,” Mitch chuckled. “She came well-prepared. It’s the reason we needed two rental cars.”

“Oh god.” Justin looked over at his parents and younger brother. “Well, I suppose we get off diaper duty tonight?” He turned to Alex, leaning down to peck her lips. “Maybe we can have a night of full sleep too.” ‘And a little something else as well.’ He thought as he peeked down at his girlfriend’s cleavage.

She blushed and smacked his arm, both ignoring the gag Mitch made and his wife laughing at him for being so dramatic. “Behave.”

“I always am.” He smirked. “That’s how Layla got here after all.” He mused as his girlfriend quickly walked off to the kitchen to check on the food, his sister-in-law following after as she reached out to punch Justin’s shoulder with a “calm it down there, tiger.”

“Sooo.” Mitch started talking, “You guys are official now?”

“We are,” Justin confirmed as he took in the sight of his living room decked out and festive for the holidays. All thanks to Alex’s good taste. “We became official a month ago, but we’ve been taking our time and keeping it between us.”

Mitch nodded. “I’m glad you guys worked it out. You almost missed out on a great girl, Justin.”

Justin agreed to that without hesitation. “I’m just glad she was willing to give me another chance. It’s been amazing.”

He took in the sight of his fussy daughter, who was wearing a cute sweater dress. She was the best gift he’d ever received. Not even being drafted in the NFL compared to the feeling of being Layla Herbert’s father. The more he stared at his daughter, the more he felt his heart warm with feelings of love and happiness. 

He couldn’t wait for what the New Year would hold for his little family. He was excited to see Layla reach her milestones as she grew and with it, he’d hope that his and Alex’s relationship would continue to strengthen.

The ring he kept locked away in a small safe under his bed was waiting for its time to shine. He just hoped 2024 would be the year he’d get to break it out.

“Say, ‘come here, papa.’” Holly had her granddaughter focus on her dad. “Say, ‘papa, papa, papa.’”

Layla stared at her grandma in confusion, causing Patrick to snicker, and instead reached for her dad and let out a loud “ahhhh,” with a grabby hand towards her dad.

Justin immediately went over to her. “Why are you so fussy, Laylay?” He reached for her with one arm, using his cast-covered hand to support her bum and his other hand to hold her head against his chest as his daughter quieted down. “She’s been fussy all day.” He told his mom, who was staring at him with teary eyes. “She was just getting over an ear infection.”

“Oh Justin,” His mom cooed. “I still can’t believe this is real. Just look at her. She’s so precious. You and Alex made the most beautiful baby. I swear.” She wiped her eyes, trying not to get too emotional. 

“Wait - what if I have kids someday? Won’t they be beautiful?” Patrick protested.

“They will be,” Justin said. “Just not as beautiful as mine.”

“She’s only beautiful because of her mom. It’s definitely not because of your ass.” Patrick sneered, yelping when his mom pinched his arm. “Oww!”

“Don’t be mean, Patrick! Your brother is not ugly.”

Justin smiled at his brother behind his mom’s back. “Well, Alex is beautiful and so is Layla. Can’t deny that.”

Before anyone could say anything else. Alex had called them in the dining room for dinner. Mitch had joined her and his wife in setting the table.

As Justin was walking in with Layla, Alex stopped him to ask for Layla. “Why don’t you eat first? And I can bottle feed her.”

“I was going to breastfeed her in the kitchen,” Alex said.

“Honestly, it’s fine. I’ll bottle-feed her from the milk you stored in the fridge. You eat and enjoy dinner with everyone. My mom will end up abandoning us anyway to come see Layla in the kitchen if you stay in here.”

Alex nodded at that, knowing he was right. “Ok. Let’s go eat then. Go get settled and I’ll get her bottle warmed up for you.”

Justin nodded and smiled at his wife. “I love you.”

She smiled back shyly, “I love you too.”

They stood there for a few moments until Layla fussed again and started pulling at Justin’s shirt, mouthing against the material. “Ok, ok,” He soothed her, reaching for her binky that was clipped to her dress. “We’re getting it, Ms. Fussy.”

Layla suckled on her binky, staring up at her dad with scrunched eyebrows, showing her displeasure with him. 

“You look just like your mom when you make that face.” He mused at his daughter as he walked into the chaotic dining room and took a seat. “But I wouldn’t have it any differently.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

Justin’s mom and dad gripped each other’s hands, looking at each other with knowing looks as Alex returned to the table with a bottle for Justin.

What was once fear of the unknown for their son had blossomed into excitement and adoration for his situation. Layla was a blessing. They were sure of that. She gave Justin so much happiness and fulfillment in life outside of football. Alex, his girlfriend, was a wonderful woman as well. They had hoped someday to call her their daughter-in-law.

2023 was a year of trials and tribulations for their son. Yet, by the end of the year, he was given one of the greatest gifts of all. A daughter to love and raise. 

“Cheers to Layla.” Mark said suddenly, lifting his glass, “Cheers to Christmas. To our family. And to a Prosperous New Year.”

“Cheers!” The rest of the table echoes.

“Cheers to Layla.” Justin cooed to his daughter who smiled around the nipple of the bottle. 

Justin smiled at his girlfriend who smiled back at him. “Cheers to us,” He said quietly. 

Alex lifted her glass of sparkling grape juice to him with a smile. “Cheers to us.” She agreed.

[riahlynn101]

Can you write a little O.S. About Mike x Vanessa during a festive period like Christmas, with Abby ( only for a moment ) and the ghosts of the animatronics, out of the bots but somehow, they still can be seen by Mike, Vanessa and Abby

I wrote more than I thought I would :D!! This request was so fun to write, so thank you for asking for it! Hope you enjoy <3

Trigger warnings: Implied/referenced murder and kidnapping (but it's not the focus of the one shot).

Word count: 1, 387

--

It’s the day before Christmas. 

Boughs of (plastic) holly and colorful tinsel hang from the restaurant’s walls. Mike couldn’t afford a tree (fake or otherwise), so he improvised (if only for the children). In its place sits the saddest bare branch tree. Hardly a tree, really, and more of a large stick with a few Christmas ornaments hanging off it. 

The children adored it, though. Which is all that matters, at least in Mike’s book. 

They sit with his sister in front of the tree. Abby’s teaching (or re-teaching. There’s no telling what they knew before they…..) them Christmas Carols. 

“They look like they’re having fun,” Vanessa says. They stand near the arcade, supervising. 

“Good,” Mike mutters, keeping a close eye on them. After what happened last time he let a younger sibling wander out of his sight, he’s not taking any chances. “It’s the least they deserve. And it’s not like any of us are going anywhere, anytime soon.”

Vanessa, Abby, and him were all snowed in during his shift. It might be possible to drive home, but he would rather not risk it with his sister in the car. And Vanessa decided to join them until the storm passed. 

It’s not a bad situation by any means, and certainly not the worst Christmas Eve Mike has ever experienced. They’re warm and safe and together. That has to count for something.

Vanessa seems to process his words, lips pursing into a thin line. “Yeah,” she agrees. 

They continue watching over the kids for a moment longer. 

“Hey,” Vanessa says, nudging his arm.

Mike looks at her. “What?”

“I wanna show you something, c’mon.” She heads into the arcade. Worry gnaws at Mike, keeping him in place. It’s not that he doesn’t trust the other kids, it’s just….

“She’ll be okay,” Vanessa reassures, grabbing his hand. “We won’t be long.”

It didn’t long for Garrett to be…

He doesn’t finish that thought. Mike allows her to slot their fingers together. The action makes a part of him feel dizzy. But the good kind of dizzy. 

The kind that feels like a thousand butterflies have taken up residence in his stomach, and are flapping their wings at the same time. 

Mike looks over his shoulder at his sister, one last time. Before following Vanessa deeper into the pizzeria.

She leads him by the hand, making idle chatter. Mike finds he likes listening to her. Not a second goes by that he grows bored of her excited ramblings. Even when she tells him the same story for the tenth time, he still reacts like it’s the very first time. 

Vanessa stops suddenly. “Here,” she murmurs. 

“What?” 

Giddily, like a child on Christmas morning, she points at something above their heads. 

“Oh,” Mike says, staring at the mistletoe hung in the doorway of the backroom. He can’t remember bringing it here, nor can he recall hanging it up. Which means….

Vanessa deflates a little, backing up. “I didn’t mean to pressure you. We can just shake hands if you-”

Her lips taste like peppermint. Mike thinks, fingers tangling themselves in her hair. Most likely from the candy canes they ate as an after dinner treat. Vanessa’s warm. Warmer than anyone he has ever met before. It’s a good warmth, too. Like a blanket on a chilly morning. 

She grips the back of his shirt, kissing him with just as much fervor. 

They pull away, panting, and faces red.

“Uh….thank you,” Vanessa says, awkward as ever. 

Mike quirks an eyebrow, trying to think of the right words. Something to put her at ease, and make things not awkward. “....Anytime….?” He tries, biting his bottom lip for emphasis. Which instantly makes Mike feel more awkward, so he immediately stops doing it. 

She laughs. “Anytime,” Vanessa says, nodding her head. Turning to leave, she looks over her shoulder at Mike. “That was….fun.”

It takes him a solid five minutes for his brain to process what just happened. And another five minutes to actually head back to the lobby. 

The kids have curled up together and fallen asleep, like a bunch of puppies. Which raises the question of how ghosts can sleep, but Mike is in too much of a good mood to put much stock in what sleeping habits the supernatural have. 

He sits beside Vanessa in a booth. Snow continues to softly fall outside. The lights are dim. All of them are together. 

“It’s peaceful,” she says, a sort of fondness in her eyes whenever she looks at the kids. 

Mike hums, resting his chin in his hand. The Christmas lights they strung up around the stage are set to change colors every so often. He watches them change from red to green, a smile forming on  his face.

“Christmas used to be my favorite,” he admitted.

“Mine, too. It was the only day of the year that my dad paid attention to me. He would make me breakfast, always pancakes in the shape of rabbits and bacon. And then, we would open gifts.” Vanessa frowns. 

Mike sighs. It hurts to talk about the past, but if it makes her feel less alone. “My parents would make Garrett and I breakfast, as well. Mom liked to change it up every year. One year was pancakes, the next was this jell-o concoction that she found in a Reader’s Digest.”

A smile returned to Vanessa’s face. “Did it taste good?”

“No.”

“No? It couldn’t have been that bad?”

“Imagine if the grossest meatloaf you’ve ever had suddenly had the consistency of jello.”

Vanessa stuck her tongue out. “That sounds disgusting.”

“It was, but mom was proud of it. So, we all ate it without complaint. You should have seen how happy it made her,” Mike says, smiling fondly at the memory. He can still recall the stomach that followed, but his mom’s genuine reaction made it all worth it. (It wasn’t until later that Garrett and his dad admitted that they gave their portions to the dog. Something they failed to fill him in on). 

“I remember one Christmas in particular. Now, Garrett was really into all things airplanes. He drew them all the time. Liked to play pilots. And even his blanket was covered in images of tiny airplanes.”

Vanessa listened to him, chin propped on her fist. 

“Well, one day, when I was walking home from school, I saw a toy airplane in the window of an antique store. I immediately thought of my brother. Our parents would give us money to buy each other a present. But the plane was far out of my budget.”

“Did you find a different one?” Her tone is soft. “I can’t imagine you gave up.”

“I shoveled a lot of driveways that year. Babysat, and did extra chores, too. I was beyond exhausted, but Garrett’s joyous squeals as he pulled the plane out was worth every penny.” It’s Mike’s turn to frown. “That was our last Christmas with Garrett.”

Vanessa takes his hand, rubbing circles with her thumb. “It sounds like you’ve always been a good big brother.”

“Yeah,” he mutters sheepishly. Suddenly, he feels embarrassed. “I guess I was.”

“Are,” Vanessa corrects. 

“What?”

“You are a good brother. Nothing’s changed.”

He thinks of Abby right then. Of her drawings that feature them together. Of tucking her in at night. And of them joking around and being silly together. 

He thinks of the children. Kids that-had that gotten a chance to grow up-would have been around his and Vanessa’s age. Mike thinks of how they seem eager to show off to him, crowding around him first thing during his shift. Pale cherubic faces staring up at him with something akin to wonder.

Even the blond-haired boy, who only occasionally finds time in his busy schedule to visit Mike while he’s at work (and less rare, but definitely not welcomed, while he’s at home). 

He smiles, squeezing Vanessa’s hand. “You’re right. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” she says, echoing her sentiment from earlier. 

And, for some inexplicable reason, Mike knows she means it with all her heart, mind, and soul. With every single fiber of her being. 

Him, too. Mike thinks, idly, staring into the most beautiful blue eyes. Like two stars shining in the deep, dark void of space. Anytime, anywhere he’ll be there for her.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

"You've always been there," Steve whispered.

The words swirled around in Nancy's head as she stared at him. The images of Steve’s dream intermingling with her own, not destroying anything or taking away from her dream. No, it was combining with her dream and making it bigger, making it brighter. She could see it, crowding in the RV with the kids and their dog, of course. She was making last-minute changes to an article with Steve trying to settle the kids down and then with them both succeeding as they yelled together. Watching Steve on the beach, talking with their oldest as they confided in him about their sexuality, and Steve hugging them tightly. Their child giving Nancy a thumbs up. She could see herself dancing with Steve on the beach, laughing as Steve let her take the lead. Both of their reflexes kicked in, and they managed to catch a kid before they did something stupid. Steve and Nancy are arguing passionately without any heat behind it.

"Nancy, are you - "

Nancy pulled Steve into a deep kiss, nails scraping against the nape his neck as she pressed her lips hard against his. She pulled back without waiting for a response. Steve looked at her, blinking slowly as his mouth fell open.

"Um, I mean, I hope you didn't feel pressure to do anything. I just thought you should know how I feel even though I know you're with Jonathan - " Steve started to say.

"We fizzled out months ago," Nancy said. "I don't think we were ever going to work out, but I think I needed to try with him, and I think we both needed the time apart to really decide what we want. In the back of mind, you've always been there too."

"Yeah?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Nancy said. "About your dream - "

"Uh, we don't have to do all that if you don't want to," Steve said nervously.

"Can we have a dog?" Nancy said.

"Uh, yeah, definitely, and about the six kids thing, I was joking - I mean, not that six kids is a terrible thing, and not that we couldn't handle it but I was thinking a couple and I always thought when I had kids, I would adopt because - ," Steve was saying quickly.

"Yes! This is going to sound weird, but I totally have a phobia of pregnancy - " Nancy said.

"Me too!" Steve exclaimed with a grin. "It totally freaks me out, but also, I want to give kids who don't have a home, well, a home."

"Me too," Nancy said and winced. "It freaked me out when Mom was pregnant with Holly. She thought I hated my sister."

"The movie Alien for me," Steve blushed.

"There's so many things we still don't know about each other," Nancy said with a smile. "I can't wait to find out more."

"Me neither. Also, we're probably going to have to get an apartment over the garage for Robin to grow old in," Steve said, and Nancy laughed. "We have a death pact, so you're going to have to appeal to Robin if you want to get in on that."

"Well, I think I can manage," Nancy said with a smile. "I like Robin. You know, I was jealous of her because I really thought that you and her were, well, together."

"No, platonic with a capital p, platonic soulmates," Steve said and smiled. "It's cute to think that you were jealous."

"Shut up," Nancy smiled. "Anyway, it's not a problem. None of this is. . .I mean, I think we definitely still need to talk about these things, but I think my biggest fear when we were together was turning into this nuclear family, picture perfect on the outside but unhappy on the inside. I realize now that that's where my relationship with Jonathan was going. I know now that our family is going to be anything but nuclear."

"Yeah, I think I was trying so hard with trying not to be like my parents with, you know, pretending like everything was okay that I was turning down that road anyway," Steve said.

"I think we just had really poor timing," Nancy said softly.

Steve leaned down and kissed her. Nancy wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss. She could feel wetness on her cheeks. Was she crying, or was Steve? Oh, they were both crying and smiling into the kiss. Nancy broke it and buried her head into Steve’s neck, hugging him tightly as Steve did the same.

"I love you, Steve Harrington, I always have," Nancy said.

"I love you too," Steve whispered.

"Hey, the house is up - Oh, shit, I'm interrupting!" Robin squealed. "Oh, is this happening? This is definitely happening. Yes!"

Nancy pulled away from Steve with a laugh.

"I think I'll be okay with having her live above the garage if she's going to be this supportive," Nancy said.

"He's talking about the garage thing again?" Robin sighed. "What's going to happen when I get a girlfriend?"

"Oh," Nancy said with a smile. "Oh, just tell her you live with your platonic soulmate, his wife, their kids, and their dog."

"Oh, is that all?" Robin asked.

"It's a sitcom that I'd watch," Steve quipped.

Nancy laughed with Steve and took his hand as they walked to the Creel House. She watched Robin take his other one, and she couldn't help but wonder how she ever could have thought that they were anything but platonic. They were going to get through this, and with great difficulty, they did. In the end, they saved the world, they saved Max, they saved Eddie, and they saved each other.

[deadthingposting]

I don't know of anyone else had made this post but I stated thinking about the Names in what we do in the shadows so i googled the meanings and Holy fuck I don't regret

So

Starting with Guillermo

His name is a Hispanic version of the name Willehem or William that means fierce protector and de La Cruz means of the Cross, but this isn't just a reference to his status as a vampire killer as the cross is usually a metaphor for sacrifice and pain his name is literally "overprotective of his sacrifice " which is perfect for him as Guillermo do spend most of his time actively taking care of things that cause him suffering

Now Nadja we don't have her maiden name but her first name means Hope her name is Hope of Antipaxos and again fucking perfect as Nadja ad a character is full of a cruel sense if eternal Hope she is the only surviving child of 17 siblings survived extreme poverty and all other horrible things and of course she is tied to her land her homeland despite being far from it she is from antipaxos and proud despite the place being called many times by the show "small" and quite shitty

Now Laszlo is interesting as his name fells opossite to him his name means glorious Ruler, his last name is Cravensworth doesn't have a translation but it can be separated in two parts Cravens meaning coward and worth meaning value or valuable so his name Would be Glorious Ruler coward worthy, Laszlo hates to rule he is disgusted with the idea to take leadership of the vampiric council, he is far from a coward he does runaway sometimes but he takes many chances to be brave (defending Guillermo, choosing Nadja, killing gregor) but the worthy part it depends on what is considered worthy as if we take a nobleman concept of worthiness he isn't he is a whoreman married to a peasant who drinks blood and prefer arts not policts so he isn't worthy of the noble class

(He is also called Leslie the name translates to holly garden which is apparently a reference to the Holly plant a plant associated with fertility and eternal life also red like blood)

Now nandor the relentless , Nandor means bold voyager or journey prepared, and oh my God the layers on this, like starting with the second part of his name relentless it's pretty obvious thus mf will die before admiting doing anything less than perfect or great but the traveler part it's just sweet Nandor is in need of change that's the point of his character he needs to move forward to travel not on a literal sense but on a emotional sense to mature and grow to learn, he is a brave character who needs to move to stop being stagnant.

Now collin is so interesting like Collin means Victory of the people and Robinson means son of Robert and Robert in it self means bright fame and I dont know what to associate him with except his short campaign for comptroller bit like his real name Arthur Simon santino is more interesting Arthur means Strong as a bear Simon to be heard santino means little Saint, Strong as a bear we all saw how he can be OP in the episode he overfed the irony of a energy vampire being named "to be heard" just gets me and little saint I can only think of his time as baby Colin

So yeah I just went on this rabbit hole I know the shit and farts comedy show wouldn't think so deep about this but I do and I really liked okay

[carrlyn-stan]

Campfire song

Pairing|| Luke x Hades!Daughter!OC

Summary|| Luke comforts Holly after she gets a verse during the campfire song in TLT musical

Word Count|| 915

Holly watched the campers eat in the dinning pavilion. She poked at her food as Luke looked toward Holly. He sat by a unclaimed kid who just came to camp.

Luke slid Percy a glass of Ambrosia. Holly couldn't hear there conversation over the Apollo cabin starting to play guitars. She raised her glass along with the rest of camp as Luke toasted to the gods.

"My dad is Hermes, he messangers things, you'll know his sign by his shoes with those wings. I'd wait by the phone, but the phone never rings, OH NOO!" Holly listened to Luke sing. She frowned at their very similar stories.

"I know how that feels," she muttered.

"When your dad's a god, life can be tough! I met the guy once, and once was enough!"

"Oh, I hear that," Annabeth murmurs

"Annabeth!' Luke cheers.

"My mom is Athena," Annabeth joined in on the song, "she's smart and she's wise. She had sworn of gluten and she has sworn of guys. But if she came to camp, it be a surprise, oh noo!"

The rest of the camp joined in on the oh no.

"Oh and my step mom, she hates me, and my dad works all day. So I left Virginia and I ran away."

"Wait is that true?" Percy asks.

"Everybody!" Luke shouts. Even cranky old Holly joined in.

"Oh things couldn't be worse, when your parents run the universe. Ohh things couldn't be worse when your folks run the universe," "alright who's next."

A girl from Demeter cabin stood, "Oh my mom is Demeter, goddess of grain, she gets excited when it starts to rain. But planting and planting and planting's a pain, oh no! Right, for their sixteenth birthday my friends got a car, I got a fern in some dumb mason jar."

Grover let out a laugh, "Ooh, ooh, my turn! v I'm the child of pan, god of the wild. For those who love nature they're often beguiled. He's not really my dad, but i'm sort of his child, oh no. He went for a hike to explore new frontiers, no one has seen him for thousands of year."

The camp once more repeated the chorus before coming to Chiron.

"Oh, well, my father is Kronos," the camp fell dead, "remember my lecture, he ate his children."

"Yeah, Chiron wins," Luke said through gritted teeth. "What about you Holly?"

"Umm… my parents aren't quite like all of yours. My father was Hades, my mother Persephone, I was born eighteen years ago, on a technicality, oh no. A prophecy stated my early arrival, what a load of absolute shit. Dropped at the gates of this mighty camp, I was raised by Mr.D to one day be a god, yet that training has made me want to stay, oh no, so when the summer solstice comes, I won't know what to do, my life has gone to absolute poo," Holly looked down at her meal, she felt tears wanting to stream down her face.

"Aaa Alright Percy, it's your turn," Luke told the boy next to him. He did, however look towards Holly, her sad face breaking his heart. Without much warning Holly suddenly disappeared. Once out of the sight of the pavilion she wandered over to a tree. On the tree there was a ladder.

She started to climb till she was met with the familiar sight of her tree house, one she had built for her as a child. As she entered a set of small glowing lights flickered on. She crawls over to a small padded bench and sat down. Holly was under the roofed part of the tree house.

She took a deep breath in as rain starts to fall. Holly snaps her head to the crawl space. She saw a mop of curly brown hair emerge from the trunk.

"Can I come in?" Luke asks. He could barely see Holly nod. Luke pushes himself up into the small house. He walks over and sits down next to the girl. They both watched to the rain hit the wooden deck of the tree house. For Holly, it had soothing properties.

"I'm sorry I'm such a wreck, it's just my past is hard," Holly leaned into Luke's side. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.

"My history is hard to, at least one day you get to go and be with your dad," Luke harshly laughs.

"I don't even really know him, it was them who didn't even want me. I was supposed to be a great, amazing, universally loved gift."

"We all were supposed to be," Luke frowned.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to go to the underworld when I've, one, never been there, and two, I don't even want to, I have to!"

"Are you sure you can't chose?" Luke looked towards Holly.

"No I can't, something about the gods needing this, requiring this," Holly groaned.

"The gods need to be put into their place," Luke muttered.

"What?" Holly looked up at Luke. Oh gods! Luke thought, she can't know. Why was I so stupid? Not yet at least.

"Um.. nothing, I just said I wished you had a choice," Luke lied.

"Oh, I wish I had a choice, too," Holly whispers closing her eyes. She graciously made her head comfortable on Luke's shoulder. Luke knew he loved Holly, he knew he wanted her in on his plans, but she couldn't know about, not yet at least.

[bluegekk0]

how would the characters react to losing fpk?

ohh yeah that's a good question. it's not something i want to think about (fpk dying that is), but i still think that discussing such possibility is a good way to explore each character

grimm - oh man, he would be completely devastated. fpk disappearing without a trace was already very hard on him, but at least he could hold onto a small glimpse of hope that wherever fpk was, he was alive and well. but if he actually died? fpk is what gave meaning to his life, as unhealthy as it is, the relationship was the only light in his life for a long while, even if at the time they were just friends. so i actually wouldn't be surprised if one of his first instincts would be to completely give up. the only way to kill him is to destroy the nightmare heart, and, well. i wouldn't put it past him to attempt that. i think the only thing stopping him from going with it would be lewk. of course, hornet and holly are also like his children, but lewk is the fruit of his love for fpk, so if he decided to keep going, it would be for him. and if there is a god of death somewhere in their world, he would be willing to personally face them and drag fpk out of the afterlife. would it be possible? probably not, but that wouldn't stop him

hornet - on the surface, she wouldn't react as emotionally as grimm. she's used to losing everyone around her, right? that's what she would tell herself. but deep down, it would affect her more than any other death. she loved fpk, despite their hardships, he was her dad, he was always there for her when she was a child. she may have said a lot or cruel things to him in her anger, but she never truly meant any of it. so if he died, she would be devastated. not as openly as grimm, but she wouldn't move on as easily as she'd hope

holly - they would be heartbroken, though i do think they would take it a bit better than the others. with wl being their mother, they definitely inherited some of that distance towards their own emotions, so they don't get influenced by them as much as the others. and in a time like that, they would try to support everyone else. they can't cry, they don't have the rage within them to react in anger, so this is the best they could do to cope with it. there's also definitely the fact that, aside from lewk, they had the shortest time to experience fpk as their father. that's not to say they never got attached to him, quite the opposite. but it can't be denied that it would have an effect on how they process this, and at the very least it would allow them to support others

zote - he's not very close to fpk at any point in the au, so he wouldn't be as affected by his potential death. of course, he would feel the loss, whether he likes it or not he did get used to seeing fpk around, so his absence wouldn't go unnoticed. he'd definitely act like an ass to cover up the fact that he does actually feel saddened by it, as expected from him

lewk - his reaction would depend on how old he is at that point. if he's very young, he would have trouble understanding what happened and why his dad is gone, and even if the others explained it to him, he wouldn't fully process it until he was older. he'd definitely feel grimm's grief, not just as an emotion but its effects - grimm's sense of joy would be gone, and lewk would quickly notice the change in his behavior. i could see him becoming more close to holly as a result, since both grimm and hornet would be too consumed by their grief to properly look after him, even if grimm tried his best to hold it together for his sake

---

fuck man, i got really sad just thinking about this. now i feel the need to draw them all hugging and being happy. the blorbo version of hugging your cat or dog when you see a tragic story about someone else's pet

[womaninwinter]

This one little moment has produced So Much fic and meta, there's hardly anything left to say about it (but don't worry that won't stop me from trying!!).

The first thing I'm interested in here is George's motivations – he's made it very clear that he thinks Lucy left because of Holly, so bringing her up is basically him merrily pulling the pin out of a conversational grenade. And the whole "old Luce doesn't mind dirt" thing is just mean tbh, Lucy straight out told him in THB that Holly's "perfect" appearance bothers her (with the implication that it makes her feel insecure), so he's essentially shoving the knife in right into what he knows is a sore spot. Of course, he's still very hurt by Lucy leaving (which I think is particularly understandable given that as far as he knows, Lucy's reasons for going were petty in the extreme), and he's just put that aside quite generously to bandage her up and listen to her story, and accepted her coming back to stay indefinitely on very vague terms. But I think that now that the fear for Lucy's safety has worn off, some of the bitterness has crept back in, and he's not-so-subtly reminding her that he hasn't forgotten everything just because she's in trouble.

The second thing is the famous orange juice moment. Until recently, I read it as Lockwood being slightly petty about remembering Lucy's tastes seeing as she pretended to forget how he took his tea, but I never fully liked that, because it doesn't really gel with how he behaves in the rest of the scene. From the second Lucy appears at his front door – in fact, right from the start of TCS – Lockwood is all about "how can I get her back." He's solicitous of her feelings, he's constantly checking up on her, he offers her a place to stay without hesitation – it just doesn't make sense to me that he would be trying to score points.

And then I read this fic by the ultra-talented @egrets with LW's POV on the whole scene, and in this one, he's just desperately babbling about the orange juice in an effort to distract Lucy from asking about Holly. In fact, I'm just going to quote it bcs it's so good and everyone should see it:

“You fret too much about Holly, George. She’s never complained about staying over,* has she?” He said that last bit quickly, hoping Lucy wouldn’t catch it. “You want some orange juice, Lucy? It’s your favourite: the kind with pulp.” Mind, he knew that she didn’t like pulp, but maybe it’d get them out of this conversation about Holly. Instead, George tsk ed. “Lucy doesn’t like orange juice with pulp. Remember?” Now George was just making him look bad. “Oh, yes, that’s right. It gets caught between your teeth, doesn’t it?” Her stare was heavy, penetrating Lockwood in a way that made him want to sit in the corner for timeout like a child. “I’ll take the juice,” she said finally, then tried to lighten her tone. She wasn’t particularly successful. “So, did Holly stay over last night?” “Personally, I always thought straining it through your teeth is part of the fun. You can pretend you're a blue whale.” His silliness was not an adequate enough distraction, because when he caught Lucy’s eye, she was scowling. “What?”

I love this interpretation because it tracks with how Lockwood behaves about Holly in the run-up to this moment, especially in the scene at Lucy's flat, where he straight up pretends not to hear her when she mentions Holly's name (so so funny to me incidentally). So, clearly, Lockwood thinks that Holly is some part of the reason Lucy left and is desperate to avoid the subject, so yeah, using the orange juice as a very weak attempt at distraction is far more on brand than petty jibes IMO. (Petty jabs are very much a George vibe though tbh).

[ozimagines]

Ok so it’s official; Holly is the collective Oz child. I will be writing her interacting with EVERYONE at some point at this rate😂 Got inspired by a few posts by Fiona St. James himself! (He goes by He/Him out of the drag personas I believe and she/her while in them. I will be using only she/her for Fiona just because I’ve read some good pieces where she’s a trans woman and not a drag persona so I want to be respectful of that.🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️) Written because I could have really used this absolute ICON when I was in school, trying to figure things out for myself.

Fiona Zonioni and Holly Beecher in:

Read for Filth

Holly rushed into the car and slammed the door, put her head in her knees, and started to cry. Beecher and Keller both exchanged a look, Beecher’s being one of sympathy and understanding, and Keller’s being one of unbridled rage.

Holly was dealing with some bullies as of late. She wouldn’t tell them what it was about. Always said something like “girl stuff” and moved on. Holly was a strong kid. She had been through a lot at a very young age. She grew a thick skin, for the most part. But she was blossoming into a preteen, in her first year of middle school and apparently the other girls were just not having any of it. Keller and Beecher had heated discussions at night about what to do about it. Beecher wanted to tell the principal, but Keller thought that would only make things worse. Keller thought he should go deal with it, but Beecher insisted that would only make it worse.

“Holly Jolly, are you ready to talk yet?” Beecher called softly as he drove. She wouldn’t look up.

“No.” She said, muffled by her own jacket sleeves. She kept sniffling and whispering softly to herself, and Beecher tried to stop himself from crying with her. He lived and died by what his daughter felt, and right now she was in pain he couldn’t take away. He felt helpless. Keller placed a large hand on his thigh and squeezed. Time for Dad #2.

“C’mon, kitten, you’re gonna have to tell us eventually.” He turned around in his seat to face her. She still had her head down, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Leave me alone. You don’t understand.”

“Try me, pumpkin.”

She cried even harder into her coat sleeves. Every attempt at making her feel better seemed to make her feel worse. Both men relented, Keller reaching back and putting a hand on her shoulder as she cried.

“I wanna go home.”

“Soon, Holls.” Beecher said, checking in her in the rear view mirror. “First we gotta drop something off at a friend’s.”

“She’s your friend. She doesn’t like me.” Chris corrected in an attempt to make Holly laugh. Both men checked. It didn’t work.

They pulled up to a house in a different neighborhood, with a woman sitting out front. Holly peeked over the edge of her hoodie sleeve. The woman was wearing a sparkly black dress in the middle of the day, full make up, and long black hair. She sauntered up to the car with a confidence and glow, smiling at the familiar faces. She waved at them, and the men acknowledged her. She came up to the car and Beecher handed her a package.

“It’s from Alvarez; he said this time don’t…” Beecher looked back at Holly, who ducked her head down and pretended not to be looking. “Don’t eff up the tiara before the third act this time.”

“Darling, have you ever known me to be responsible when it comes to diamonds. They are a girl’s best friend.” She added, slyly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Holly couldn’t help but watch. Her beauty was mesmerizing. Her confidence, even more so. Holly hiccuped, which always happens when she cries, and the woman’s eyes darted to her.

“Would this be the little miss Holly I’ve heard so much about?” She asked, kindly, sending a little wave back at Holly, who just ducked her head. “Bad day, sugar?”

“Yeah. Fiona, this is Holly.” Beecher answered for her, leaning out. “Something about some mean girls at school today is all.”

“Oh, honey, I know all about how mean girls can be.”

“Do you?” Keller chided, but one smoldering glance from her shut him up.

“What’s this particular shit storm about?” Fiona asked in her buttery smooth voice.

“This… poop storm…” Beecher really had to make some friends that were age appropriate for Holly to be around. “…is… well… we don’t know. She hasn’t told us.”

“Keeps saying it’s ‘girl stuff’.” Keller added softly. Holly could hear them, of course, but she pretended to be too far lost in her own grief. Fiona’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, well, sweetie, then you came to the right place. Why don’t you two come by later after we’ve had some girl talk, hmm?” She clapped her hands excitedly, and squeed softly. Beecher and Keller exchanged glances but before they could say anything… “oh, come now, I’m surprised at you two. If anyone in this world understands not to judge a book by its cover, it’s you gentlemen.”

“Holly’s never met-“

“No. I want to go with her.” Holly said softly from between her arms. Holly never got shy around strangers, and there was something about this woman that just comforted her. Keller and Beecher exchanged a wordless, dad-eyes conversation about it. Chris obviously lost because he sighed and got out of the car to help Holly get her things. He took her book bag over to Fiona.

“No sweets an hour before dinner and, and I mean this, Fiona, keep things age appropriate.” Keller scolded before there was anything to scold about. Fiona merely batted her eyelashes and smiled.

“I’m understanding why Holly needs a woman’s touch.” She remarked, blowing a kiss at both men, and putting a manicured hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Miss Holly, is it? My, you have pretty hair. At your age, I would have killed for that hair.”

Holly wiped her tears and mustered a thank you, but it was choked and she sobbed immediately after. Fiona tutted softly and placed a hand under her chin. Holly felt like Cinderella looking at the Fairly Godmother for the first time, really taking in Fiona’s makeup and face.

“You’re really pretty.” She said quietly, and Fiona beamed and struck a pose.

“You’re not the first to say it, doll, you won’t be the last.” She flipped her hair again and sauntered into the house. Holly as mystified as soon as she entered. Beecher was pretty vanilla when it came to decorating. A bowl of fruit and some knickknacks. Keller? As long as he had a place to eat, sleep, and shit, he didn’t care how it looked. Fiona’s place was immaculate.

“Whoa.” She said, eyeing all the pink and glitter and pizazz. “It’s like Barbie’s Dreamhouse.”

“With a better closet.” Fiona chirped, hanging her shawl on the hooks. She helped Holly take off her coat and hung it up, looking it over. “Next year, I’m telling your fathers that I’m taking you back to school shopping.” And then under her breath as she glided away. “I should call CPS.”

Holly giggled, and Fiona glanced over her shoulder with a warm smile on her painted lips.

“Oh? So we can giggle. Good to know.” She smirked and gestured Holly into the kitchen, which was again, wall to wall Fiona. She put on a pot of hot water. “How do you take your coffee, love?”

“I don’t drink coffee.” She said, then remembered something about school and looked away again, misty eyed. Fiona noticed but didn’t want to embarrass her, so she said nothing.

“I’ve yet to know a girl yet who can turn down a pumpkin spice Frappuccino. Let me make you one.” Fiona got out her tools and got to work. Holly felt like she was watching a witch brew a potion, there was so much care in each step. Holly stopped crying and merely watched, in awe. Fiona sang a little as she worked. Holly didn’t recognize the song. Something about nails, hair, lips, and heels. When Fiona was finished, she presented the treat in a beautiful clear coffee cup, with generous whipped cream.

“I’m going to teach you something not very lady like.” Fiona entrusted, and Holly leaned in to watch her. Fiona sprayed the whipped cream directly into her mouth. Holly giggle and put her hands over her mouth. With a too-full mouth of whipped cream, Fiona asked; “wan’ any?”

Holly nodded excitedly and Fiona sprayed too much whipped cream into her mouth. They both laughed as they tried to swallow their treats. Holly then tasted the PSL delight.

“It tastes like a pumpkin pie milkshake!”

“And now you’re a woman!” Fiona gestured to the air, grandly. Holly couldn’t help her smile around Fiona. Her energy was contagious. She was almost mad at her Dads for not introducing them sooner. Fiona sat down with her coffee. She explained it was a double shot espresso macchiato with hazelnut milk, pink velvet and mocha flavoring, a splash of vanilla extract, and some crushed cloves overtop.

“I’m going to tell you what my mom never told me; if your coffee takes less than thirty seconds to order, then you’re not doing it right.”

“Dad takes his with milk and Pop takes his black.” Holly informed, and Fiona grimaced.

“I’m surprised you’re as sane as you are.” She remarked, taking a little whipped cream on her index finger and then licking it cleanly off the long, red nail.

“Are you a movie star?” Holly asked after a second, and Fiona chuckled good naturedly.

“Oh, honey, no. If I was, my closet would be twice the size it is now.”

“You look like a movie star. Like one of the old ones my dad likes. Like Marlene something and the Breakfast at Tiffany’s girl.”

Fiona placed a hand over her mouth and blushed sweetly.

“Now stop, child, you’re going to give me an ego.” She said, and then added; “unless you want to keep going. Then I won’t stop you.”

Holly smiled big, and then it suddenly disappeared. Fiona put a hand on her shoulder.

“Spill it, Miss thing. What’s the tea?”

Holly sniffled for a second, wondering if she could really trust this woman. Those dark eyes said it all. Those kind, dark eyes. Holly started crying all over again, except instead of retreating into her hoodie, she flopped into Fiona’s arms. Fiona cooed and shushed and cradled her like she might her own child. Holly let it all out on Fiona’s sparkly black dress. Fiona normally would NEVER sacrifice an outfit for someone, but desperate times as they say. She placed a hand underneath Holly’s chin, and lifted it, smiling softly as she did.

“Sometimes the heaviest burdens are the thoughts in our head. Lighten your own load, sweetie.”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings. Or my Dads’.”

“What about your feelings, little dove, or do those not matter?” She used her thumb to wipe a tear off Holly’s cheek. Holly shrugged, but Fiona’s hands wouldn’t let her look away. She is intensely kind.

“They made fun of me for having two dads.” She choked out, and continued crying. Fiona’s heart broke. She remembered how mean kids could be. And those mean kids grew up into mean adults and spat out more mean children just to torment the next generation.

“Are they jealous?” She asked, and Holly looked up confused. “I didn’t have one good dad, and you’ve got two great ones. They mean well, they’re just terminally men. If you know, you know, honey.” She shuddered at the thought. “I know I’d be jealous.”

Holly huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah right, like you’d ever be jealous of me.”

“I don’t like the tone you used when you said ‘me’. I feel like we’re not all looking at the same person.” She admitted, and grinned quickly, understanding what she must do. Her heels clicked out of the room and then clicked back in. She was holding a large mirror. She held it up to Holly’s face, and sat next to her. “What do you see?”

“…me.” Holly answered, and Fiona gave her an ‘are you serious’ look.

“Try, honey. What do you see?”

“I see mousy brown hair and freckles I don’t like. Samantha H. says they look like poop.”

“I’m willing to put serious money down that Samantha H. has a personality like poop.” Fiona remarked dryly, and Holly laughed again. “Keep going.”

“I see stupid green eyes that don’t even look that green. A dumb nose that looks just like my dad’s-“

“Hmmm. Isn’t that wonderful?” Fiona sang like a Disney princess. Again, Holly was confused. “That you can look in the mirror and immediately see something that reminds you of someone that loves you.”

Holly blushed. She hadn’t thought of it that way.

“I don’t like my nails.”

“I never liked mine either unless they were painted”. She confessed. “Go on.”

“Manlike shoulders?”

“You don’t like my shoulders?” Fiona asked, and Holly seemed just as confused. “I’ve been told I have mannish shoulders. The better to hug you with, my dear.”

“You?” She reacted in shock. Fiona couldn’t help but feel adored by the way Holly looks at her. She suddenly had an idea. She pointed the mirror at herself.

“Now what do you see?”

“I see a beautiful woman. I see perfect makeup and eyeliner. I see perfect white teeth in perfect red lips. Perfect skin and perfect glitter. Perfect walk and perfect talk-”

“Now, that’s a lot of perfects.” Fiona started to fan herself with her hand as if she were sweating. Holly bet this woman only sweat glitter.

“You are. When I grow up, I want to look like you.”

Fiona touched her heart, and then kissed Holly on the forehead.

“Well, there was a time where I would have given anything to look exactly like you and not like me.”

“Really?” Holly’s yes went wide. Fiona tilted her head and smiled sadly.

“Everyone does at some point. Because at some point we were all told what we have wasn’t enough. That it was better to be the opposite. And everyone thinks that way too. Even Samantha H.” She looked over both shoulders, and leaned into Holly as if explaining some ancient secret. She whispered; “you know what I want to look like now?”

Holly shook her head, deep in thought over what she could change to make herself more beautiful. Fiona paused for dramatic effect, and then gestured into the mirror.

“This.” Fiona found herself staring into her mirror, fondly. Her hands touched over her cheekbones and her forehead and her smile lines. “Holly, I don’t want to be anything other than what I am. Because what I am is amazing. And you know what?”

Again, Holly shook her head feverishly.

“What you are is amazing too.”

Holly got tears in her eyes again and hopelessly asked how. Fiona reacted in mock surprise.

“Why, Miss Holly Beecher, don’t you dare tell me that those wonderfully kind eyes that see me as Marlene Dietrich -yes, that’s her name, hush- can’t find a single thing to love about yourself. Okay, fine, we’ll do it together.” She slid so that she and Holly were both looking in the mirror.

“I see two pretty green eyes that probably remind your father of your mother. I see cute freckles most people draw on to get. Nails that could stand a manicure but are probably really good a digging.” Holly nodded her head, and told Fiona she was the best digger in her class, and Fiona thought of Busmalis with a slight smile. He and Norma were raising the original kid, plus triplets! Apparently, Agamemnon had some strong swimmers, to everyone’s surprise.

“I see a graceful swan neck. I see lovely brunette hair that reminds me of Holly Golightly.” Holly quirked a brow and Fiona sighed. “The girl from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

“You know what else I see?”

“What?”

“I see a strong girl. Strong in the ways that matter. I see a girl who survived a bad guy. A girl who, despite her past, is kind to others instead of mean. I see a girl with eyes that only see beautiful things, but is missing the most beautiful thing right before those same eyes.” She shook Holly’s shoulders for effect, and now Holly was crying again. Fiona had a mini panic.

“They’re good tears. Not bad ones.”

“Oh.” She replied softly.

“I don’t always think I’m strong. I just freeze up around these girls.”

“What do they have that you don’t?”

“Friends.”

“Easily replaced. Plus, you have me, and a few other wonderful people from what I understand.”

“There’s Uncle Cyril. He’s really nice to me. Gives me some of his candy and he hates sharing his candy.”

Fiona smiled at the thought of that blonde haired doofus.

“And I know Cyril. He wouldn’t share unless you were really special.”

“Those other girls are just so mean.” She sniffled softly.

“And they’re gonna keep being mean, because that’s what they were taught to do. But you don’t have to worry about that. Know why?”

“No.”

“Because you need to stop chasing after people who don’t deserve you, Miss Holly. You can’t put flowers in an asshole and call it a vase.” Fiona advised confidently, and then realizing she swore, went; “shit!”

Both she and Holly laughed for a good minute.

“I just don’t want my dads to feel bad for coming out. Like it’s their fault I’m getting bullied. I love them both.”

“I know, child. They love you too.”

“You understand.” Holly muttered. “My Dads don’t.”

“They’re trying their best, baby, give them a break. Your fathers have probably been holding each other back to stop them from pummeling these girls. And believe you-me, both of them pack a wallop. Your dad had someone who was mean to him in prison. You know what he did? He stood up for himself, that’s what.”

“What’d he do?”

Fiona thought and her mind flashed to breaking the glass window and rubbing shit in Schillinger’s face and the chaotic mess of the riot…

“Unimportant. But let me tell you what we’re gonna do.”

**********************************************

The next day, Keller drove Holly to school with Beecher in tow. Keller kept glancing at Holly in the rearview mirror. Beecher was nervously tapping his fingers against the armrest. Fiona was right; they really were holding themselves back to let her deal with this.

She exited the car and so did they. They gave her a big hug each, and sent her on her way, she got a few steps away from her Dads when Samantha H. and her cronies all came over. Holly braced herself and thought of running back to her Dads, but she held herself up high like Fiona told her and walked right up to them.

Let them make the first move. You’re better than that, Holly.

“Oh are your Daddies dropping you off again? You know, your mom killed herself because your dad is gay.”

Beecher and Keller whipped around. They sure heard that. Keller started to make his way over to her when Beecher stopped him, literally holding him back from beating up three eleven year old girls. Holly just smiled.

Now, attack.

“Don’t be jealous just because I have two awesome dads and yours is a drunk, loud mouth.”

Beecher’s jaw dropped and so did Samantha H’s.

“What did you-“

“You heard me. He’s always got a bottle in a brown bag at soccer practice, trying to remember what team you’re on. Oh, and last season’s Forever 21 cardigan doesn’t give you the right to act like a douche to everyone.”

Her Dads were stunned. Almost literally stunned. Holly was blunt but she was in attack mode right now. They weren’t sure they could stop her.

“Last season-“ the girl to her left spoke up but Holly shut her down.

“Your name is Phelony with a PH. You’re too easy. Next.” Holly turned to the third girl and smiled. “Eleanor. Samantha H. kissed your boyfriend this summer, that’s why Aaron C. dumped you. She only said it was Nikesha so you wouldn’t turn on her.”

Keller and Beecher just stood in shock of their daughter. They realized Holly can handle everything on her own.

Samantha H. looked from her friends to Holly to her friends again.

“That’s a lie! You’re a bitch, Holly B.”

“Wrong. I’m THAT bitch. Put some respect on my name. Now, I’m gonna go to class before your,” she took a deep breath and tried to remember what Fiona talked to he about reading people for filth. “Your busted ass basic bimbo ballon brained big bitch on campus attitude is boring me.” She reached into her bag excitedly and pulled out Fiona’s tiara. “See this? That’s what queens wear.”

Chris and Toby exchanged looks, and walked back to the car. They got in it and sat in silence for a second. Then they called up Fiona and thanked her profusely. With all their hearts they thanked her.

Holly tossed her hair like Fiona told her to do and wore her crown the whole day in school. She never felt more like a princess in her whole life. When Holly walked by the doors, she saw her reflection, with the crown sparkling on her head. She looked at herself as if for the first time. For the first time in her life, there’s not a thing she would change.

👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑

Just some unlikely friendships forming below. Don’t mind me…👀🔥

And then one of the lovely Miss Fiona St. James herself: (marry me?🥹)