#snowball is the best. i can be brave for snowball.

[aria0fgold]

This game let me bring the bunny??? YES!!! The horrors got nothing on me, I have a bunny in my pocket.

[spacebarbarianweird]

Beloved Monsters

So, it happened! I've finally brought Alethaine, Astarion's dhampir daughter, to life!

Synopsis: Domestic fluff about a small family of monsters.

Tags: fluff, comfort, dadstarion, dhampirs

Alethaine's age: 7

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

“Mum! Mum!”

As you open your eyes, the coziness of your bed with a fur blanket and the softest pillow surrounds you. It feels so comfy, like a warm hug. 

“Mum!”

A pale-skinned Elven girl with hair the color of snow stares at you like a cat. She stands upside down on the ceiling as if her legs were glued to it.

“Hi, Alethaine. Is anything wrong?”, you yawn and look at the window. It’s late afternoon and it's snowing. Winters in that part of Faerun are cold and merciless but nights are long. Which is good.

Alethaine, your dhampir-daughter, jumps onto the bed and you notice she’s already put on her warm clothes. Unlike Astarion, she is not immune to cold.

“Can I go? Pleeease!”

You sit up and hear a loud laughter from the inner yard. The town kids. Mostly humans, but Alethaine’s best friend is a dwarf boy, an Innkeeper’s son. All younger than ten, careless and brave like all the kids of this age no matter the race and social status.

“Cover your ears”, you say, making yourself get out of bed. You hate being stuck at home for so long – your body craves fights – but having a little child puts certain limitations.

“Thanks!”, Alethaine bares her fangs.

For the last month, you’ve been alone with Alethaine. Astarion left in the late month of Uktar, complaining that he didn’t want to travel in that awful northern weather and that there is nothing more disgusting than autumn. 

“It’s cold and I will have to sleep in the dirt. Besides, hags are “known” for their hospitality!”

Simple as that. A daughter of one of the noble families fell in love with someone from the common folk. He rejected her, and she made a deal with a hag to get him. The hag turned the girl into something and locked away. So, her family searched for help and eventually got to Astarion – the only person who knew how to deal with both supernatural contracts and the monsters themselves.

“Well, I will either find a loophole to save this idiot of a girl. Or I will have to fight the hag. Not the first time. Gods, good thing Alethaine is going to be much smarter than that!”

You smile. Since Alethaine was born, Astarion has been very sensitive about cases when a young woman, someone’s daughter, is trapped by supernatural forces. Astarion can deny it but he imagines Alethaine trapped the same way.

“Alethaine! Where are you?”, the dwarf boy throws a snowball into the door with a loud thump.

“Coming!”

Astarion was supposed to come back a week ago. Before Alethaine was born you had dealt with such things together. Be it a monster hunting or helping with contracts. But life changed seven years ago. 

You two became parents.

A little girl, a silver-curled elf with long pointy ears, is so delicate as if made of crystals. She has long vampiric fangs and can walk on the ceilings. A tiny copy of her father — Astarion was in tears when he realized that. 

“Bye!”, Alethaine wears her warm winter coat and hat but her long ears stick out.

“Cover them!”

“It hurts when I do that!”

You sigh. Elven ears are so sensitive it hurts to tuck them under heavy winter hats. As a half-elf yourself you can relate though yours are much smaller.

You take a scarf and wrap your daughter’s head in it. By doing that you can’t resist touching her ears which twitch a bit. The girl giggles, baring her fangs. It’s a funny image – the dhampir fangs grew up many years ago and didn’t show any signs of being “baby fangs”. They were probably a single set for all her life which will last for many centuries, growing along with the rest of her body.

But her “baby” incisors have already fallen out.

“Alethaine! Come on!” the dwarf boy waves to her. Alethaine frees herself from your hands and rushes toward her friends.

The moment she is outside, she takes the scarf freeing her ears to the cold air. 

You let it go. 

Sticking at home on your own is boring so you take out a two-handed ax and go outside to take care of it. You never know when the weapon is needed. Here, far in the wilderness dangers lurk in the dark. Wild trolls, gnolls, werewolves, bandits, name it yourself. Townsfolk aren’t people of war and they rely on you, a retired adventurer, to protect them. 

So, you always have to be ready.

The process completely takes you over as the early night falls upon the world and prickly stars start shining in the skies.

And then suddenly…

You are lifted in the air by strong hands.

“Astarion!” you exclaim and wrap your hands around his neck.

He kisses you and then looks into your eyes with love and adoration. But you can’t help but notice he is exhausted, with bruises and dark circles under his crimson eyes.

“Did something go wrong?”

“Darling, there was an obnoxious princess who could not take “no” for an answer, her brother who doesn’t process the idea that he is not as smart as he thinks. And three hags. Three, not one! And each of them had a personal contract with the girl, each contradicting the other one. What could possibly go wrong?”

“So, did you save the girl?”

“Depends. She won’t have to spend another five centuries being locked in a mirror. But she will be the hags’ servant for eighteen years, six for each of them. They also wanted to transform her into something I would call a half-rotten gnoll, but I managed to talk them out of it.”

“Two decades is long for a human.”

“Well, she wanted to make that boy her mindless lover for the rest of his human life so I think it’s fair. Her family didn’t agree, though, so I had to return on my own.”

“Did they pay you?”

“No, I stole some valuable possession of theirs”, he puts you on the ground and slips a ring on your finger. “It’s not enchanted, I checked.”

The ring is beautiful. It looks as if the fire was trapped inside it.

You two kiss again and get inside. The moment Astarion steps into the bedroom he starts undressing – he probably has been dreaming of getting rid of the dirty clothes for weeks. 

You smile. You’ve seen him undressing and naked thousands of times but you never get tired of it.

“I’ve seen Alethaine. She made those human children carry her on the sled,” he says.

 “If they don’t treat her well, who would sneak to other people’s houses to steal sweets?”

It is a common complaint. Apparently, Alethaine learned that if her feet are bare she makes no sound walking on the ceilings.

“I am tearing apart against the necessity to punish her for that and admiring her skills”, Astarion adds.

“You were a magistrate; I think you can find words to persuade a seven-year-old.”

“It’s much easier to persuade a devil than Alethaine!”

“Who could she take it from?”

He laughs and you approach Astarion for another kiss. You missed him. Gods knows, you missed him. You caress his strong shoulders ready to start something more sensual.

“Love”

“Hm?”

“I don’t want to.”

You pull away and touch his cheek. There aren’t enough words in your vocabulary to express how proud you are of him. It’s been twenty-seven years but he still has issues with saying “no” to you. And you often find yourself in an intimate situation when you suddenly realize he doesn’t want to take part in it. Maybe, not to upset you. Maybe, out of stubbornness.

“Sure. What do you want, then? Bath? Blood? Sleep?”

“Everything you mentioned in that exact order.”

“Wait, I will prepare the bath.”

… Soon enough, Astarion sinks himself into the bathtub and you start washing his curls out of dirt while he scrubs his skin. You notice some bruises and scratches. They still haven’t healed properly and you try not to think how they looked a week ago.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I was butchered”, he answers, noticing your concerns.

“I wish I could come with you.”

“Darling. Alethaine is growing faster than a kitten – soon she will be old enough to be on her own. We will be doing this together again.”

You smile. Yes, that’s true. As a half-elf, you have much more time than humans. You are sixty-three, your human siblings are either long dead or very old. But you still look like you did when you were twenty. You have more than a century of life ahead. Plenty of time. For adventures, for miracles, for everything. Maybe, even for another child. 

You spend what looks like a pleasant eternity like this. Talking, laughing, smiling. At least twice Astarion takes your hand graciously and drinks blood from your wrists. His bruises and scratches immediately heal. Whatever blood he managed to take in the winter woods wasn’t enough.

When the water gets cold, Astarion gets out and dresses in clean clothes, a white shirt with an embroidered dragon and black trousers. 

… Together you sit in front of the fireplace. Astarion hugs you and you silently look at the fire. 

A loud thump wakes you from bliss. 

“Dad!” Alethaine cries out and in a moment the girl is on her father's lap.

“Hello, princess,” he stands up, lifting the girl in the air. You notice her ears have a purple color. “I see your teeth keep falling out”

Altethaine grins. And Astarion plants a gentle fatherly kiss on her forehead.

“Wait a moment, I brought you something” He puts Alethaine back on her feet, and she yawns like a cat. 

Astarion pulls out two books out of his travel sack. Alethaineimmediately opens the first one. You can see pictures and intricate Elven letters – despite being a half-elf you never learned how to read it, meanwhile Alethaine had learned to read and write both Common and Elven before she turned five.

“Is it Elven?” she asks. “I can’t understand what is written!”

“It’s Old Elven. A little bit different from the one we speak.”

Alethaine opens the other book and sees an image of an Elven woman with long silver hair, and dark eyes.

“She looks like me,” Alethaine says,

“Yes, that’s what I thought.”

You look at them unable to stop smiling. Monsters. A vampire and a dhampir. 

Your beloved monsters. The daughter and the husband. Sometimes you treat them like something given – besides, what is more “traditional” for a mortal woman than a child and a spouse? But Astarion never forgets, even for a moment, that these normal things are supposed to be impossible. He isn’t supposed to have a home, a wife, and a child. 

You remember him crying with the newborn in his arms. Mere seven years ago. You remember coming back from a “dragon slaying travel” in the middle of the night to see Astarion and Alethaine sliding down a hill together. You remember his stare – which he gives you every single morning. The look of adoration, love, and gratitude. 

The girl yawns once again, and you notice how sleepy she is. 

“Are you hungry?”

“No,” the girl pouts. “I wanna sleep.”

“Oh, all right then. But come downstairs if you feel hungry”, Astarion strokes her silver hair.

Alethaine approaches you and wraps her hands around your neck. You feel a soft prickle of her fangs on your shoulder. 

“Have a good sleep, kitten”, you say.

Alethaine snatches both of the books from the table and goes away. Unlike Elven children, Alethaine does sleep. Like a predator, deep in her dreams but waking up a moment something off happens. 

“So, I think we should follow her example”, Astarion lifts you up in the air bridal style. “It’s tediously boring to sleep alone, do you agree?”

You giggle. When Astarion leaves, Alethaine doesn’t let you sleep alone. She crawls into her parents' bed and hugs you from behind pressing her little nose into your back. Anyone would think the girl is afraid of darkness or monsters.

But it’s not that.

Alethaine, a half-monster herself, sincerely believes her mother needs to be protected. And if Astarion isn’t at home, it’s her duty to make sure nothing comes after you. Maybe you slay monsters with your two-handed ax but who knows what night can hide? 

You caress Astarion’s cheek.

“Yes, how could I even fall asleep without my beloved monsters?”

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @astarion-beloved @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati

[bruciemilf]

I NEED more Poolverstorm content!

MY TIME HAS COME!

minute ororo shows up Wade is instantly obsessed. It’s not even romantic at first, — man’s saw how badass, caring, compassionate , patient, powerful, capable and brave she was and immediately went ‘new bestie acquired’

Will never stop bullying Logan for not choosing her since day one. Sir. If you think Wade’s gonna let him fumble the same bag twice you are MISTAKEN—-

Every interaction they have shortens Logan’s immortality (his bisexual senses are tingling and he needs 2-7 business days to recover)

One of Logan’s favorite memories from childhood is snowball fighting, sledding, — everything involving winter.

Wade likes autumn because it gets him one step closer to Halloween and he can finally order the pumpkin mega blast from Starbucks without feeling guilty. Ororo makes both happen specifically

WADE MAKES HER LAUGH!!! SO MUCH!!!!

Whenever someone asks Logan why he puts up with it, he just shrugs, “He makes her laugh.” (He’s so in love with Wade it makes him look stupid)

Wade had to plan an entire thing to ask Roro out. It was supposed to be extremely extravagant and complicated and grandiose, but, Logan went to Ororo instead, cheeks slightly flushed, and groaned something like, “Idiot’s just trying to impress you. Just…Don’t laugh too much? “

She already planned on accepting it, but she’ll indulge them.

Roro starts wearing Logan’s dog tags once they start going out. Wade basically steals everything from shirts to belt buckles, boots, tank tops, some of her necklaces, scarves, heels

Wade being slightly insecure about taking off his mask around them. At least at first. He tries to accept and adapt, — but it’s hard, when dating the prettiest people in the entire world! After Hugh Jackman, at least.

Ororo gently kissing his bare cheek one day, — maybe he lost his mask while trying to clean, or maybe Laura took it for her and Ellie’s play pretend games. She gets right and Logan gets left. “I like this face.”

“Yeah. Well.” He laughs because he’ll cry if he doesn’t, “you’ve always had a thing for weirdos.”

“Shut up, bub.”

“Okay, fine! Hot weirdos.”

Wade explaining how they call marry Roro legally if they kidnap the pope:

Logan is their GUARD DOG!!! Missions? One breath away from their neck. Claws out and ready. Shopping? Arms crossed, scowl on, daring someone to bother them while Wade tries to justify a 400 dollar Lego pruchase.

“My darling. No.”

“But it’s the WOLVERINE collection, Ro!”

Ororo sighs and gives Logan a Look. “Talk some sense into your husband, please?”

“When he’s annoying he’s YOUR husband.”

Blind Al and Ororo? Best of friends. Mother in law/awesome wife who loves her weird ass sons. Would test Ororo at first, like, “You can have everyone in this world and you pick those two? Why?”

“Wisdom has been chasing them but those two can run.”

“…Come sit next to me. You like cocaine?”

“Um—“

“OOOkay, — mushy introductions over, Laura, grab Mary, we’re LEAVING—“

LAURA ELLIE KITTY JUBILEE MOMMY DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP WHEN!!!

Wade seeing how gentle Ororo is with the kids while still being firm, getting them in line when they don’t listen, but wrangling them expertly?

Ellie actually,,, ate her vegetables? Laura didn’t stab anyone over doing the dishes? Jubilee actually goes to sleep before 6 am?

“We have GOT to get her pregnant.”

Logan is so fucking tired. “I don’t think there’s a cure for whatever you’re on.”

“Alright, FINE. Get ME pregnant then.”

[pranaextirpated]

in the fullness of time

genre: romance, angst pairing: jing yuan/reader word count: 1.4k

tags: gn/m, emotional hurt/comfort, crying, bathing, happy ending (?), mild spoilers with jing yuan's lore

a/n: yeah. sorry

jing yuan was a precocious individual in his earlier years. he hated to read but loved to pick up a wooden sword instead. he cherished living a life that wasn’t constrained to his family’s expectations. at times, jingliu viewed him as a little butthead and allowed his ego to get the best of him, but he donned the same toothy grin every day. things have changed since.

now, every stride he takes is powerful and resolute, whether he’s surrounded by the lush flora of a garden or the piling corpses on a devastating battlefield. he bloodied his hands and they've become calloused as a result. old, harrowing memories serve to haunt him then and there, either through uninvited flashbacks or dreadful nightmares. but he doesn't cast them aside and treats them in the same manner as his pleasant ones. jing yuan doesn't forget easily; if he does, that's what diaries are for.

as for you, you terribly love jing yuan. perhaps too much than you'd like to admit, but there's never a consequence to what is considered "too much," if love can even be quantifiable. with his generosity, he reciprocates that love to a greater degree (in other words, he spoils you) and reverts to his former, youthful self again. jing yuan can be quite the sappy lovebird behind closed doors— maybe too cheesy due to his "old" age, as you'd tease him, but he wouldn't trade you for the world whatsoever. your love is a breath of fresh air; it rejuvenates his body and mind, allowing him to escape the confines of the horrors he's faced, for just a while.

or maybe there is a consequence after all, because good things don't seem to last forever.

as droplets of water patter onto the warm bathtub, jing yuan notices you lost in thought. the reflection of your face in the rippling water reveals a tinge of unease.

"my dear, is something on your mind?" his voice disrupts your ruminations from snowballing in.

"sorry," you shake your head. "it's nothing important." jing yuan could clearly see through your white lie. a part of him contemplates accepting your falsehood for your comfort, but his curiosity nudges him forward.

"please don't hide from me," he gently implores. "speak freely so that i can help you."

not even jing yuan, the wise and brave of luofu, can prevent such a misfortune.

with no meaningful reason to continue cowering, you summon the courage to speak, though a lump forms in your throat.

"jing yuan," you start, words beginning to stale on your dry tongue. "what would you do if i were to leave you?"

he gazes at you, a mix of concern and confusion etching his features. he pulls you closer, wrapping his arm around your waist while attempting to fathom the significance behind such an unexpected question.

"why do you ask this?" he softly inquires, rubbing small circles against your hipbone. "is there something troubling you that i am unaware of?"

you swallow empty. "i've been pondering... our time together. it seems as if we have only a fleeting amount of it," you trail off, your voice filled with the weight of fading into the annals of time.

his heart freezes cold, then sinks. the insinuation settles within jing yuan like a festering plague. still, he takes a deep breath, leaning momentarily against the tub to consider your words. to you, the time you've shared feels insignificant in the grand scheme of his longevity. the thought of you leaving weighs heavily on his soul.

"i understand your thoughts," he treads carefully, his hand now stroking your waist. "however..." he pauses, sighing to recollect himself. "please know that you are here, in this moment, with me. i couldn't have wished for the heavens to bring someone like you into my life."

jing yuan is well acquainted with loss, in all of its forms. comrades and subordinates, once present in his life, have met their fate— many perished, others captured, and a few simply vanished without a trace. you would become just another tally mark to his list.

a flux of emotions threatens to overwhelm you. you berate yourself for it. "i know," your voice quivers. "i know that, but how can i bear the thought of dying— of leaving you so soon?" your breath hitches, the gravity of your words fueled by fear. "you'll still look the same even after a hundred years, but i—" the sight of your reflection intensifies the unbearable ache in your heart. you wrench your eyes shut, desperate to hold back the tears.

"i'm scared, jing yuan."

he gently turns you around, witnessing the tears glistening on your eyelashes like dewdrops on petals. it embarrasses you to cry before him, and your emotions churn like an ocean's riptide that swells every ticking second. jing yuan leans in as his warm breath brushes against your lips.

"let us focus on today," he murmurs, running a hand through your wet hair. "for tomorrow will take care of itself."

perhaps it's true that what exists between you and him is merely temporary joy, as everything transient tends to be. yet his words assuage the fear raging within you. the tears continue to trickle down your stained cheeks.

jing yuan presses a tender smooch upon your forehead, intertwining his fingers with yours beneath the water's surface.

"i don't want to leave you, jing yuan," you sob through fits of despairing cries. "i don't want to, i don't want to." it deeply pains him to see you like this— to confront another tragedy fate has imposed upon him.

"you will never leave me," jing yuan assures you, tightening his clasp on your hand for emphasis. "in times like these, we should always enjoy what we've been given. you may not have my lifespan, but you share my heart. every moment with you is worth being loved."

unable to find your voice, you can only sniffle quietly as he consoles you. you feel like a restless child being cradled by a man who is going to outlive you. this man, who has willingly shouldered the weight of martial duties in service of his people, carries the burden of an ongoing war against immortality. each contour and scar on his body stands as a testament to his valor and the trials he has endured, some of which you may never fully comprehend.

jing yuan leans forward again, placing featherlight kisses along the gentle curves of your eyelids. his lips collect each streaming tear before descending to caress yours in a loving lock, and your arms instinctively snake around his back in solace.

"even if i'm no longer here, i hope to see you again in my next life. whenever and wherever that may be," you whisper with yearning desire.

his gaze intensifies as he locks eyes with you, his heart stirred by the sincerity in your words. he gently cups your face to brush his thumb against your cheek, and any lone teardrop is wiped gone.

"i will wait an eternity if necessary. i have faith that our paths will lead us back to each other," profound devotion evident in his hushed whisper.

as tears ebb away from your eyes, you plead to jing yuan with a trembling voice, seeking a heartfelt promise. "please, jing yuan, promise me."

his smile is so warm, so fulfilling. "i give you my vow," he declares with unwavering commitment. "know that my love for you will always remain eternal, and i will always stand alongside you, forever.”

"i'll miss you then."

suddenly, you lunge towards him, bridging the remaining distance, and wrap your arms tightly around him. you cling to jing yuan as though your fragile life hangs in the balance. his presence reassures you of his enduring existence, his bare skin a tangible reminder of his permanence to your heart.

and in every instance, jing yuan will eagerly await your return and greet you with open arms. he will regale new anecdotes, recount moments that transpired during your absence, and relive the shared moments of the past, breathing new life into them. in this lifetime and hereafter.

and so, the final pages of this chapter will end in a bittersweet note, leaving an indelible mark on both of your lives. however, it is not an end that signals the cessation of all, but rather the turning of a page, welcoming a new chapter to unfold.

[synonymroll648]

Do you have anything that is consuming your brain more than normal that you want to info dump or talk about?

Also hi

hi :)

YOOOOOO INFODUMP INVITE LETS GOOOOOOO

okay so i don’t really talk about this au a lot but i think about it a lot- gisela mandating keefe get a bodyguard pre-foxfire-age because she leaves the lost cities to make sure keefe has little to no anti-neverseen influence and wants to take up the role of lodestar. and the bodyguard, of course, being ro.

like hello can you imagine-

keefe being like 9 and genuinely calling ro “aunt ro” because she was like no i’m not your second mom but I’m like emotionally your wine aunt or something. after he’s forced to stop calling her “wine aunt ro”

piggyback rides in ravagog. like he’s been walking for too long and he’s like “aunt ro i want uppies :(” which later turns into “rooooooo will you carry meeeeeee”

keefe accidentally becoming a microbiology nerd because ro showed him a weird amoeba once when he was bored and he wanted to know about more weird colorful blobs and she’s eventually told him everything he knows by the time he’s a teen

him trying to draw his family but it’s just him holding his mom’s hand and ro’s hand and maybe alvar’s there in a neverseen cloak

snowball fights outside his mom’s nightfall facility. after ro’s bandaged his thumb and made a silent note to self to go “hey man are we sure cutting a child is the best way to open a door, gisela”

ro holding him on a kid’s harness or something while he’s fawning over the gorgodons and trying to insist they’re his best friends and they’d never hurt him. ro trying her best to not crush his dreams and blatantly tell him they’d kill him if they could but also trying to keep him safe

literally the stupidest games of truth or dare ever that would destroy ro’s dignity and reputation if her kingdom found out. “no dad i didn’t get stuck in a tree upside down hanging by one leg to make a kid from sparkle town smile that’s a RUMOR”

even stupider bets. of course

ro drawing ogreish runes on him in marker to make him feel like he fits in more. or to make him feel better about himself. like drawing things that mean “brave” or “important”. on days when the childhood depression sure is depressioning (mostly after things his mom does that are Fucked Up but he thinks it’s normal but he feels down about it anyway)

keefe manually learning ogreish through ro. cannot growl for the life of him without losing the sound of the word he was going for and she thinks it’s the funniest thing on the planet. unfortunately for her keefe gets the hang of it after a few years

he wants to be a mercadir so bad dude. starts training earlier than his mom planned because of it. super tough for an elf (esp one as young as him) but when he’s like fifteen or sixteen he has a major whiplash moment where ro’s like yeah i had you doing the regiment for our ogre children that are up to 2yrs old. do you wanna try the elementary track now instead of the pre-elementary track? and then puts him through the most brutal workout known to elvin kind

she gives him all kinds of ogre treats after workouts. slowly teaches him how to make them over time. he reaches a point where he hears her dad is visiting his mom for a status update on a neverseen project he’s collaborating with them on and he makes the weird green tea thing cadence had in book 6 without anyone asking. ro tries and fails not to grin

they go back and forth about making up the stupidest stories possible for different constellations. after his mom teaches him how the neverseen hideout star map works and they’re on similar knowledge levels of astronomy

they do each other’s nails. she got him sharp acrylics before a mission once so he could pretend he had claws too

nobody told her that elves can hold their breath for an absurdly long time if they want to so keefe went swimming once and was like “i’m gonna see how many fish i can find” and she was like sure buddy why not (thinking he’d resurface after a minute or two) and then it’s like ten to fifteen minutes later when he finally comes back up after she’s panicked and used multiple devices to figure out where he either got attacked or hit his head on a rock or got caught in the undertow he shouldn’t be able to reach. and he’s completely oblivious to how badly he’s freaked her out and he’s like “[gasp] i found [bigger gasp] 42 FISH :D [gasp] [coughing fit]” and tries to infodump about how he somehow found a nesting ground in the mouth of a cave system 12ft deep but he’s like waaaayyyy too exhausted and she’s dragging him out and throwing him over his shoulders anyway. he still has the dumbest looking pair of goggles ro could find on btw

anyway swimming is a coping mechanism for him. he can’t outrun anyone when he’s upset and he can’t outfight them either but he wins for What the Fuck Are You Secretly A Fish among all the species he’s met so far. ro doesn’t let him go below the surface though because she’s like um you are too mentally ill to be allowed to go underwater during a depressive episode. feel free to do five laps across a lake though <3

keefe learns how to mimic right before he hits his angsty-strictly-because-puberty phase and arguments with him become the most infuriating experience ever because he’ll quote her in her voice to prove a point. or just make shit up in her voice which is even worse

they rough house a lot. but ro never lets him win easily and is always pulling some anatomy/combat info into her taunting. so when keefe rough houses with other elves they’re like what the fuck why do you know which nerve to press on to make someone’s arm go numb you’re literally 12

somewhere there is definitely a height chart that’s keefe’s height at different ages scrawled into the wall. of course it’s always ro-given nicknames instead of his name after the first mark

everyone calls keefe something along the lines of tiny in ravagog. no it doesn’t matter that he’s tall for his age he’s gonna be a foot shorter than every full grown ogre at best. tiny scrawny boy

i could go on about how they consume me but yeah. fucked up found family <3

[venturethroughtheveil]

Beyond The Pines [Pt. I]

[Series description: Two years ago, dad died from cancer, leaving you to raise your younger sister, Vivian, alone. Your best friend, Ellie, was one of the few support systems you had until your feelings for her seemingly put a strain on your relationship. When Vivian goes missing, can you trust Ellie to help bring her back?]

[Author comments: I've put together an audio to go play along as you read. Voices are *ALL* AI-generated using ElevenLabs. I did not include Y/N's voice in order to preserve your own inner dialogue. This series will be slow-burn, and will have smut and graphic depictions of violence. 18+ only.]

[Credit to Youtube Channels Ambient City (horse stables); Hursty Outdoors (walking/snow); Music: Gustavo Santaolalla (Opening Suite; Longing; Unbound)]

Be sure to expand the audio to play from the beginning!

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You slipped a glove off, braving the winter chill to scavenge your jacket pockets.

Sugar cube.

A rare commodity for your generation; you were lucky to find a small box of them while scavenging a ravaged coffee shop. You twiddled the rock-hard substance between your thumb and index, anything to dissociate from the girls’ conversation. Something about Dina falling into a pile of shit; you tried not to smile at that.

Fresh, powdered snow crunched beneath the heel of your boots. The warm glow of faerie lights danced across the ground at the stable’s entrance. 

Jackson was quiet. Peaceful. Safe. A stark contrast from the nightmarish infected and worse – bandits – roaming the mountains outside town limits.

They pass you.

“C’mere, Phantom,” The sleek, black mare whinnied and happily trotted into her refuge, “my pretty girl.”

She was a young horse, strong, with a spitfire nature. You had that in common.

When you weren’t on duty, you and Ellie used to race her and Shimmer on Cirque Trail, stopping to stuff your pockets full of wild huckleberries, which Joel made into killer pies. You frowned at the thought.

Gently, you threaded your hands through Phantom’s mane, silently thanking her for keeping you safe another day.

"Because you've been so good today," you murmur, presenting the sugar cube in a cupped hand. Immediately, Phantom gnashes it between her teeth, nose flaring.

Her face is just too comical. You laugh, wiping the slobber from your palms on your worn blue jeans.

The shrill creak of another stable door shutting disrupts the moment. Dina laughs at something Ellie says.

“Night, Ellie.”

From your peripheral, you see the woman leave.

The last six hours of patrol were miserable, from the clutch of infected you cleared to the dry dialogue between you and your friends.

Well, you were friends until three months ago at the town dance when you watched Ellie and Dina kiss. At this, you passed your glass of whiskey off to an equally dumbfounded Jesse and walked straight out of the hall, tears pricking your eyes and bile rising in your throat.

Beyond patrols with them– which, despite your pleas, Maria continued to schedule, likely to force a reconciliation – you hadn’t talked to either since.

Apart from working well together, you and Dina weren’t inseparable, so avoiding her has been relatively easy. On the other hand, avoiding Ellie, your ex-best friend, has been excruciating. No matter how hard she tried – showing up at your door in the dead of night to beg you to come outside, leaving joints on your windowsill, landing snowballs square in the back of your head – Ellie couldn’t get more than cut-and-dry responses out of you.

Eventually, she stopped trying.

Part of you was embarrassed at your childish behavior, but you couldn’t face her, not after that night.

You closed the latch to Phantom’s stable, hyper-aware of the forest green eyes that bore into your side profile.

Without a word, you make your way over toward Mike, who was on duty tonight.

“Hey - thanks again for picking up a shift so short notice, Y/N,” he gave you a sympathetic smile, “with the horde that’s passing through, we can’t be too careful.”

‘Bullshit. This is all Maria.’

“Sure, don’t mention it” Your tone was casual, but irritation and exhaustion were etched into your features. Desperate to go home and avoid Ellie – who was clearly waiting for you, you quickly scribbled in the logbook.

‘Four runners + three clickers in Tetonia. Cleared.’

You said goodnight to Mike and walked straight past the freckled girl. She was propped up against the stable entrance, brows furrowed and lips in a tight line. She looked tired.

“Uh - hey...”

You keep walking.

“…okay…”

‘Fuck off,’ you wanted to say. Instead, you shook your head and gripped your backpack tighter, eyes unable to meet hers.

No more stargazing with her. No more all-nighters snuggled up watching cheesy 1980s horror films. No more spitballing ideas for her next set of tattoos – a rabbit skull; an arrow; the numbers 000129 – she never explained that one; an ouroboros. No more. You had bigger things to worry about.

She made her choice, and it wasn’t you.

‘UGH,’ Your face scrunched up in a cringe.

She could have at least told you. While her head was in your lap – your fingers gently combing her auburn locks to the soft tune of Johnny Cash’s Hurt filling your bedroom – she was dreaming of Dina the whole time.

And you could have it all, my empire of dirt.

I will let you down.

I will make you hurt.

Heat bloomed across your face in embarrassment. You never told Ellie that you loved her – that you were in love with her – hell, you didn’t even understand it until you saw them lock lips at the dance. Now, you were cursed to watch them fall in love while you self-isolated and grew more bitter by the day.

The walk home was about thirty minutes from the stables. A good chunk of land on the outskirts of Jackson that's been in the family for generations.

Hopefully, your sister wasn’t asleep. You needed to vent.

‘If I walk fast, I’ll probably get home at 10ish.’

Fragrant pine and earth filled your frost-nipped nostrils. Even with your heavy parka, and thick, fur-lined boots, the cold settled deep in your bones. Without a flashlight, seeing your hands in front of your face would be impossible. It was that dark out.

The metal of your keys stung your battered hands. You became keenly aware of something behind you as you turned the lock. No need to reach for your pistol; it was obvious who was in your driveway.

‘How the fuck did I not notice her?’

“So, you’re stalking me now?” Without turning around, you tapped the heel of your boots against the worn, wooden deck to knock off the snow. You then kneeled to untie them. “Go home, El.” There was an authority in your voice.

Footsteps approached, crunching through the snow. 

“Maybe I’m not here to see you,” Ellie shrugged, “maybe I’m here to see Vivian.”

“I really doubt that.”

You turned and looked up at her, batting snowflakes from your lashes. It was the first time you’d really studied her face in weeks.

Dark circles hung beneath her eyes, cheeks hollow as if she’d not slept or eaten, yet, with that constellation of freckles smattered across her face, the deep forest green of her eyes, those lips, she was still the most beautiful girl you’d ever seen, more beautiful than any model from those Vogue magazines your sister collects.

“You look like shit.” You lied.

“Gee, thanks.” A smile tugged at the corner of Ellie’s lips. “Can I come in? It’s cold as shit out here.”

You hesitated; time seemingly slowed as you studied her. Ellie’s eyes met yours, unwavering. That stupid cocky smirk was still etched into her face.

“Take your shoes off,” you conceded. “Don’t track horse shit into my house.”

Family pictures, odds and ends from your grandparents’ vacations to Maine, and cheesy words of affirmation your mother hung years ago adorned the entrance of your home. It wasn’t your style, but it felt wrong to take them down.

Ellie’s eyes traveled around the room, searching for changes.

The cabin was simply too spacious for just Vivian and yourself. Two stories tall, there were four rooms and three baths. Maria has scheduled to move incoming residents downstairs sometime next month. This angered you more than Viv. This was your family’s home, and you certainly didn’t want strangers sleeping in what once was your parents’ bedroom. You didn’t have any say in the matter.

Your younger sister, on the other hand, was enthusiastic. For her, it was ‘too quiet,’ being just the two of you. You couldn’t really blame her, though. Most interactions between you since your dad’s passing have stuck to mostly your venting about patrols and Maria and all the house repairs needed. Vivian would talk about her newest boyfriend – if you can even call them that – the boys never lasted more than a month.

Dad passed two years ago from cancer.

It was a devastating loss to both of you, but you especially had little time to grieve. Vivian was just 14 at the time. She’d started supervised patrols with Jesse only one week prior. Dad was proud.

When everything went to shit, you took extra patrols to cover Viv’s duties. You did this for a few reasons, to let her have the chance to be a kid and grieve, to provide for your baby sister, and to avoid facing the reality of your situation. You two were alone in the world, and you weren’t ready to raise a 14-year-old.

Ellie made the extra effort to be there for you both. She’d walk Vivian to school and training, cook dinner, and often help with chores. She’d spend ration coupons on old, crumbling makeup or cheap-smelling candles that your sister adored.

It wouldn’t be totally out of character for Ellie to walk all this way to check on Viv, not at this hour, though, and you both knew it.

‘So why did you let her in?’

You set your shoes down at the entrance, inviting Ellie to do the same. The grandfather clock in the adjacent dining room read 10:13 pm.

“I’ll tell Vivian you’re here. I’m gonna head to bed –“

“Come on, Y/N,” Ellie grabs your arm, “I can’t live like this anymore. You don’t answer the door, you won’t talk to me,” she grips you tighter, “you won’t even fucking look at me.”

Her touch burned your skin. You try to yank back your hand to no avail. She was much stronger than you.

“I fucking miss you, I miss my best fucking friend, and I don’t even know what I did wrong.” Her eyes are pleading, desperate.

“Let go of me, asshole,” you demand in a whisper-yell. “you’re gonna fucking wake Viv.”

But it was useless; Ellie’s eyes were determined, glossy, as if she were on the verge of tears.

She pulls you closer to her, chest pressed against yours, and you’re sure she can feel your heartbeat pounding out of your ribcage. This is too close. Intimately close.

“Talk to me. Say what you need to say.” She demands. “yell at me, hit me – anything – so we can move on and pretend you haven’t been acting fucking insane the last few months.”

Her lips are too close to yours.

“Don’t make me.” Your voice was small, eyes welling with tears. Emotions that had been bottled for the past three months. It was your turn to beg. Beg her not to do this. Not here, not ever. All you wanted was to grieve the loss of your friendship and move on so you could get your shit together for your sister. There was no room for weakness in your life anymore. Cutting her off is easier than a painful rejection.

Ellie’s eyes searched yours for an answer, and her lips were pulled in a frown.

“I need to know, Y/N.”

‘Don’t do it.’

You weren’t the best at impulse control. It was a trait you got from mom, something you thought you’d begun to improve at. But the body heat between you, the desperation in Ellie’s eyes, and her nails digging into your now-bare shoulders were too much.

Ellie’s lips were chapped compared to yours. Salty from the tears that had flown moments prior. The kiss was innocent, sad. Your lips moved gently against her still ones. This wasn’t how you dreamt it happening.

The kiss was over as soon as it began.

Ellie pulled back, freeing you from her iron grip. You both stood there, facing each other for an eternity. The grandfather clock ticked loudly.

She looked dumbstruck, cheeks blooming red, and it wasn’t from the cold.

“Shit”

White-hot shame finally engulfed you as you realized what you’d just done.

‘So much for self-control.’

Without another word, you grabbed the jacket at your feet and rushed upstairs, two steps at a time.

Part of you wanted to seek refuge in your sister’s room, cuddle up, and cry into her shoulder like when you were kids and mom and dad would have screaming matches downstairs. Instead, you barged into your room and locked the door behind you.

Ellie doesn't follow.

[jasonswh0rre]

Girl Dad! Jason Todd pt. 2

( I'm on a serotonin boost )

🧸 Send me the dental bill for the tooth-rotting fluff

⭐️ Tea Parties 🫖:

Despite his "bad boy" exterior there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that he would ever say no to his daughter. I can see Jason sitting with his knees tightly together around a pink table sipping from his tea cup having a very serious discussion with Sir Cuddleton III and cookie preferences with his daughter. Teddy bear delegations are very hard on an empty stomach.

⭐️ Fashion Show 👗:

Jason would allow his daughter to dress him up anyway she sees fit even if that means wearing a feather boa, tiara, and messy glittery eyeshadow—anything to make her happy.

⭐️ Bedtime Stories:

Every night Jason would read a book, but they wouldn't just be your typical fairytale story. Stories that involve adventure with brave heroes

⭐️ By night a vigilante, by day a videographer 🩰:

Ohmygosh! Jason would be the ultimate ballet dad, he would learn how to do hair to pull his daughters hair in the perfect bun exactly how she'd want it. During recitals, he would sit in the front row recording the whole thing from his phone and would always bring a bouquet of flowers to tell her how amazing she did.

⭐️ At the Aquarium 🐳:

Jason would enjoy the tranquility of the aquarium but he'd definitely enjoy teaching his daughter about the many fishes that live under the sea. Definitely took a photo op picture and now keeps it on his person.

⭐️ Surprise for Mommy 💐:

They'd start the day with a breakfast in bed, Jason holding the pan still so his daughter could flip the pancakes. For the gift well the best kind of gift is memories so Jason would help his daughter create a memory box. Momentos that hold personal memories: photos, jewelry, letters or anything else special. Then the night ends with a special dinner all three as a family.

⭐️ Dedicated Caregiver 🩺:

In caring for his sick daughter Jason wouldn't take any chances and would immediately see a doctor about his child's health. He would use a mix of medication prescribed by a doctor and home remedies he's learned. Jason would make a really tasty soup (a recipe he probably learned from Alfred)

⭐️ Tantrums 😠:

Before reacting, he'd listen first and encourage her to tell him what's making her upset, if she's able to articulate it. Understanding from his own experiences of anger and frustration he would definitely validate her emotions. Listening and hearing her before he speaks, he wouldn't stand when talking he'd crouch down and make sure they're at eye level with each other after all this is his daughter, not his subordinate.

⭐️ Daddy! Buy me North Korea 💎:

Jason has his moments of spoiling his daughter rotten but I think it would be because he's spent so long without that he wouldn't want that for his child. Whether that be with clothes, the latest toys, special events like a play or musical, theme parks, or accessories he is always going to make sure that his daughter has enough.

[piastrinorris]

busy streets and busy lives • ralph penbury x reader

A strange day at work gets even stranger when you meet a man who claims he's from 1926. With no certainty as to when he can get back, you decide to take him in until that time arrives.

masterlist | prev. | next

Tags: Timewasters (series), modern!au, slow burn, mutual pining, idiots in love™, fluff, some angst, swearing and mentions of adult themes throughout, eventual adult content, alcohol content, drug content, penbury is a fanon surname

Word count: 8.8k

A/N: Here it is, folks. The one you've all been waiting for. Enjoy. <3

I might have been a tiny wee bit self indulgent at one point in particular. Bet you can't tell where.

You frown as you swipe to answer the call from Scott. "Who died?"

"Woooow," a very familiar sarcastic response rings through your ear. "Can't a friend just call up another in this day and age?" You let the silence linger just long enough for him to then add, "Yeah, I'm chatting shit. No, I was going to ask, are you running late?"

You frown, "No, I'm not long about to close up now. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, Ralph texted me." He puts on a voice, the way you all do when talking about your flatmate. "Good afternoon, Scott. I hope you have been keeping well, and that the snow hasn't interrupted your daily life. I would like to request your assistance, I am aware that we have been tasked with making dessert for the Pal Valentine's Day meal later, but unfortunately I have noticed that we are severely lacking in eggs. I was simply wondering if, by chance you could bring some up to the flat? I would be most grateful, and willing to more than compensate you financially! Regards, Ralph."

You groan, "I asked him to get eggs this morning, he didn't want to because there were kids throwing snowballs and he was scared he'd get caught up in it. I told him to suck it up, because they can smell fear, but he's clearly too chicken-shit to go out there."

"Aww, he's never even had a snowball fight before? What even was his childhood?!" You rasp, hoping to quickly evade that topic. "Oh my god, you thinking what I’m thinking?”

You grin, “I think I am. You wanna rally the troops?”

“On it.”

You look up from your phone, still giggling, to see two of your sales assistants watching you, looking at each other and waggling their eyebrows at each other. You shake your head, “At this point, you’re well beyond barking up the wrong tree! My friend Scott and I are planning something,” you flash your eyes mischievously, and they tut back at you.

“Well, at this point, it’s not like we were expecting you to have some hot date on the other end of the line, is it?” One of them jokes, nudging the other as they run off and busy themselves at the other end of the store, still cackling.

“You two are lucky you’re my favourites!” You shout after them with a laugh. “Can I trust you to close up tonight?”

“Nah, we’re gonna loot the place,” one answers with a false sincerity.

“You poor sods won’t find much here,” you point out. “But thank you, you’re the best!” You singsong as you head past them to the back room.

“Then pay us more!” Another jokes.

“If I had control over who earns what, d’you not think I’d have done that by now? You wound me,” you dramatically push your hand to your chest as you walk backwards through the door out of the main shop floor. Once you’ve collected all your belongings, and put on all your layers, it’s pretty much time to close anyway. You salute your colleagues with a, “Godspeed getting home tonight,” and brave the cold.

Since the roads hadn’t been salted by the time you needed to get to work, you’d walked there, and while you would much rather be sitting in a heated car than feeling your cheekbones freeze over, it’s quite nice to walk through the streets of Croydon, watching the thick snow fall with the slightest bit of sun still peeking through. A gentle little reminder that longer, warmer days are just around the corner, and that winter’s soon at an end.

You’re greeted in front of your tower block by all your friends, all with varying expressions. Scott and Connor are eagerly plotting, Anna still looks a little unsure, and Grace just looks like she’s fed up of the cold. “So, what’s the plan, who’s getting him to come downstairs?” you ask once you’re with them.

“That’s what we were just deciding,” Scott replies.

“My suggestion was that Anna would be the least suspicious, but she wants no part of this,” Connor pulls a face and Anna slaps his arm.

“Shut up! I still think it’s mean,” she frowns, and you hold her arm comfortingly.

“Listen, who’d you rather be the first people to engage Ralph in any kind of snow fight, us or those little pricks up there?” You jerk your head over to where a group of middle school-age boys are playing around together. 

She sighs, “Fine, but I’m aiming for his feet, okay?”

“Aw, but it’s fifty points if you hit his face,” Scott teases.

“Okay, okay, before Grace gets hypothermia, let’s just get this over and done with, shall we?” You ask, and Grace nods from somewhere beneath her fluffy hood. “Scott, he asked you to pick up those eggs, didn’t he? Just make up some guff about how they’ve locked the front doors so he needs to come push the button to let you in.”

Scott nods, texts something, and within a few minutes pumps his fist with excitement. “Okay, he says he’ll do it! I told him to wrap up and let me know when he’s on his way down.”

“Tell him you’ve had to step away from the doors so it doesn’t look like you’re loitering,” Connor adds, “so he can’t just run back.”

“Okay, this does feel a little mean, now,” you admit, and Anna looks at you incredulously.

“No, no, you don’t get to back out now! Not after all that talking me round!”

“Yeah, c’mon, you two have been smooth sailing for ages now, surely there’s something that you can only get off your chest by a one-time snowball pelting?” Scott asks, and you think for a moment.

“He did watch the rest of that new show we were watching without me and then spoiled the ending,” you ponder.

“Jail.” Grace pulls her hood back momentarily to stare at you with wide, serious eyes.

You nod, “Yeah. Or a snowball to the shoulder. Both are the same punishment, I think.”

“Totally,” Connor sneers, and you and Grace both flip him off - or you assume that’s why she’s holding the back of her hand up to him, it’s hard to tell with her wearing mittens, but it does put everyone into a heap of laughter.

Connor’s phone beeps, and he gasps as he looks at his screen. “Alright, gang, he’s on his way down! Lock and load.”

You all get into position, snowballs in gloved hands, as you watch Ralph push the door open with ease, walk through it and look back with a frown. He tentatively moves forward one cautious step at a time, his big baby-cow eyes darting around all the while. You all hide a little further back each time until he’s inevitably in line with you all. He looks at Scott first, then his hand, then around at all of you. “Oh, fiddlesticks,” he whispers.

“This is for your own good, mate,” Connor grimaces as you all throw your missiles at him. With a half-scream, half-squawk sound, Ralph tensely curls himself up in self-defence, holding that position long after he’s been hit. “See, mate, that wasn’t so bad, was it? And that was all of us!”

“I thought you were all my friends,” he glares indignantly at you all, and you nod.

“Yeah, which is why we did it knowing you wouldn’t get hurt,” you point out. “You’re alright now, aren’t you?” He nods tentatively. “See? And the best bit, is now it’s your turn, and you get pick of the lot as to who you hit first.”

“Just hit me first, if you like, I won’t mind, and I won’t hit you again, either,” Anna shrugs, but Ralph studies all of you.

“Who’s idea was this?” He eventually asks Anna, who quickly points to you and Scott.

“Wooooow,” Scott shakes his head, but Anna simply flips him off.

Ralph bends down, eyes still flitting between all of you, as he grabs two handfuls of snow and immediately flings them both at the two of you. While you get a tiny little lump that just grazes your chest, at least he landed it with Scott, as that one flew out of his grip and straight into Scott’s mouth. A laugh bubbles out of Ralph’s lips and you all grin back at him.

“Okay, that was good, but a good snowball is two handfuls, smushed together into, yeah, that’s it, just like- ack!” Connor is silenced and humbled by Ralph throwing his third and far bigger snowball, straight into his stomach. “Prick,” he laughs as he scoops another one up to toss at Ralph again, who manages to evade it this time. “Mine was way bigger than theirs!” He makes another, adding, “Although, while I’m here, if you’re not retaliating…” Before extending himself to standing and throwing one at Anna with an almost evil cackle.

Anna gasps, “Only not to Ralph, asshole!” And throws one back at him with a giggle.

Before long, you’re all running around, including Ralph, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing like you were kids again. You’d never had thought, at your big age, that this is how you’d be spending a snowy day, but it brings back good memories of you and your four oldest friends, knocking at each other’s doors after the local news had announced that your school was closed, taking old bin lids up the steepest hills you could climb to slide down again. You look over at Ralph, with the apples of his cheeks glowing as red as his ears and the tip of his nose from all the cold, his whole face lit up as he catapults snowballs in the strangest fashion, and wonder what snow days must have been like for him. Obviously, he wasn’t sledding down hills on bin lids, but you’d have thought he and Victoria and their friends would have had friendly snowball fights. Though, you remember, from what you’ve learned of Victoria and her friends, perhaps those weren’t so friendly when aimed at Ralph.

Your thoughts are interrupted when another snowball hits Ralph, though not from any direction that any of you are standing. You all look over to the gang of young boys, snickering at each other for having landed one on “one of the oldies”, especially commending the offender for “getting the posh one”.

Though rage boils through all of you, it’s Grace, already warmed up from running around, who pushes her hood back to give them all a death stare and tell them, “You’ll regret that.”

As though called to arms, the five of you form a protective wall in front of Ralph and start hurling snowballs at the group of pre-teens at top speed until one of them yells, “Alright, alright, truce! Mercy! Whatever word gets you to stop!”

Just as you all stop, one more snowball flies up above all of you. Over your heads, down, down, and lands perfectly on top of the head of the kid that the others were praising for hitting Ralph. All your friends spin around on the spot so that all of you, as well as the boys, could stare in disbelief at Ralph, who has a small but very proud smile on his face. “Oi, that was sick!” One of the boys yells out. You mouth to Ralph that that’s a good thing as the other boys start laughing and cheering for him, too.

“Okay, alright, we’ve all had our fun,” you start holding your hands up in the air, “but this isn’t getting Palentine’s dinner ready, is it?”

“Isn’t it Valentine’s? That’s tomorrow, innit?” One of the boys answers.

“Nah, isn’t Pal-a-tine the wrinkly geezer from Star Wars?” Another asks.

“I thought it was that place that’s always fighting with Israel,” another comments.

“Maybe pay more attention to your teachers, yeah?” You ask them with a slight nod. You turn to the others. “Still meeting at Anna’s?” You ask, and they all non-verbally confirm. “Cool, see you guys in a bit. Ralphie!” You shout for him and he springs to attention, practically jumping to stand next to you. You smirk, “Ready to go get those eggs I asked for this morning?” He nods sadly and you nudge him towards the row of shops.

As you walk away, Ralph mutters, “I know I’m not supposed to interfere with knowledge about those world wars, but have there really already been ones in space, too?”

Had the snowball incident not already happened, you’d have absolutely messed with Ralph by convincing him that Star Wars were actual battles that took place in outer space. However, enough guilt consumes you that you correct him by trying to explain the entire movie franchise to him as you buy the eggs you need. Though he listens intently and nods attentively, you can tell from the vacant look in his eyes that nothing’s really going in, but at least he’s trying.

Baking with Ralph sounds like a nightmare, but he’s a diligent little helper when he’s trying. He measures your ingredients for you and he’s quick to wash up your equipment once you’re done with it. You’d only planned to go for the safe option of a simple sponge cake, predicting disaster, but the speed at which you’re all done leaves you pleasantly surprised. You’re even able to snap a little photo for Ralph’s instagram without him noticing. Once you’re all dolled up, he suggests you both take one to “show” his instagram and twitter accounts, but you opt to keep that one for just the camera roll. You’ve not seen or heard any speculation about your potential love life revolving around Ralph, and you’d like to keep it that way.

Once you finally get to Anna’s, after explaining that the boys outside of your flats had since decided to gather all the snow in the street to make one giant snowball, and had recruited you and Ralph to roll it when it got too big for them to, until you two couldn’t either. “Perfectly understandable reason,” Connor nods in understanding, and the others agree.

Once all the food is laid out, you’re glad that you all a) worked up an appetite and b) ended up pushing dinner back on top of that, because everybody preparing separate dishes has definitely overestimated what six portions of each part should be. Regardless, it’s another night of eating food, chatting away and ending with dancing around Anna’s living room, much like Ralph’s second night with you.

Another morning of February 14th, another empty bed to wake up in. You sit up, stretching out your arms, and grab your phone to look through the folder in your phone labelled “shitty mspaint valentines” to send to your friends and some of your coworkers, to make them laugh. You’re met with some laughing reactions, some rebuttals and a couple of reactions that you can tell were written with a sarcastic eye roll, which only spurs you on more.

You also post a photo you took yesterday to Ralph’s instagram, to keep his brand alive:

You’re about to drag yourself out of bed when the door opens to reveal Ralph, holding out a tray with two plates piled with waffles, two glasses of fruit juice and two mugs of tea. You watch him carefully set it at the foot of the bed and then sit next to you with your lower lip out in an affectionate pout. “Aww, Ralphie, what’s all this about?”

“Well, usually tradition would have it that Father and I would take Mother and Victoria breakfast in bed on St Valentine’s Day morning, as a tradition, and so Victoria insisted that tradition still be upheld even after our parents… Well, let’s not already put a dampener on the day before it starts! You’ll have to forgive the absence of flowers, I used to have the luxury of picking them out of the garden, but none of the plants in the flat are flowering, and it would be criminal of me to steal from others’ gardens, and all the florists were specifically selling bundles that were far too big for such a gesture, an-”

“Deep breath,” you coach him as you put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s sweet that you still wanted to uphold your little tradition. You know, my dad used to leave me and Mum Valentine’s cards on the doormat, each from “a secret admirer”, though it used to terrify me at first because I didn’t realise it was him!” You pull a face as you take a bite out of a waffle, and Ralph laughs softly. “’Course, after a while, it’d get a bit embarrassing having your dad be your Valentine, but hey, it was one more than I’ve been getting these past few years!” You finish your mouthful and wave the rest of the waffle at him. “These are pushing the boat out for you! Get you!”

“Yes, my dear American friend recommended them to me! And I managed to successfully cook them in the toaster oven!” Ralph chimes gleefully.

“Look at you go!” You beam proudly. “Soon enough, you won’t even need me!”

“Oh, don’t be preposterous,” he mutters under his breath just before taking a big sip of his tea. “Any plans for the day?”

“You mean, other than beating the hoards of men waiting for me outside that door with a stick?” You joke, and Ralph chuckles lightly. You shake your head. “Might just do another self-care day. Be my own Valentine, as if things weren’t sad enough!”

“Well, perhaps I could join you, and we would be our own ones together,” Ralph offers. He awaits your reaction with bated breath. If that goes well, perhaps he could segue into asking you to be his actual Valentine, and that would be at least one more step above simply being housemates, over being bedmates, even.

You take a deep breath in. Maybe you could ask Ralph if he’s willing to take it the slightest step further and be each other’s Valentines. It’s just an arbitrary title, really, but at least you’d have one this year. And, whenever Ralph finally leaves, at least you can remember him as more than just your flatmate who you platonically shared a bed with. Wistfully reminiscing over a Valentine does sound more romantic.

But, you have to respect his boundaries. If he felt comfortable enough to make you breakfast in bed, he would have accompanied it with a request for you to be his, but he didn’t. He’s offering to be his own Valentine, parallel to you. Message received. “That’d be nice!” You put all your effort into trying not to sound disappointed.

It works, as Ralph reads your reaction as being very happy with that idea, and he daren’t tread over that line. “Very well. So, what does being your own Valentine mean?”

“For me? Junk food, junk TV, and in this weather, wearing at least two blankets at all times,” you count off on your fingers, making Ralph laugh. “Though I better head out and get you some of your favourites, too.”

He frowns, “There’s no need, you’ll catch your death of cold out there!”

“I mean, obviously I’d get dressed first,” you pull a face. “But yeah, you deserve to get spoiled a little, too. I mean, you did all this for me,” you gesture to the tray, but Ralph rasps flippantly. “Plus,” you add with a smirk, “don’t want you hoarding all my favourite snacks.”

“There it is!” Ralph grins, pointing a finger to you and leaning in so it hovers close to your nose, making you laugh.

“You caught me!” You hold your hands up in mock guilt. “I’ll head out in a bit, okay?”

Once breakfast is over, and you’ve washed up after you both despite Ralph insisting he would do it and trying to get in - which resulted in some rather creative ways of blocking him out of the kitchen - you get dressed ready to brave yet another cold front.

You know what Ralph’s most favourite sweets are. Jelly Babies. But the ones he loves the most aren't the kind you can get from any shop - of course not, that would be too easy, and this is Ralph. No, his favourites come from an old fashioned sweet shop that lives on the same street as the shop he works in. You remember its location vividly. as you'd made a point to think about memorising it and nothing else the day you'd dropped off a treat to Ralph while at work and seen his latest idea in action - an immersive display where he dresses up to fit in with it too. But you'd firmly blocked that mental image out of your head. Of him surrounded by Wild West imagery while wearing a cowboy hat, a plaid shirt and very well-fitting jeans. You definitely hadn’t focused on that at all.

The trek to the old high street is a long one, especially since the snow that wasn’t quite gritted over had formed a barrier of sludge along the roadside that was creeping into the remnants of yesterday’s clean, soft, crunchy snowfall. You make the most of the childlike wonder that comes from stomping through it while you can, before it inevitably ices over into a deathly lumpy terrain.

You spot someone ahead hobbling through the snow, walking in your direction. You watch them carefully, unsure whether to try and help, casually walk past or actively avoid them, when an unmistakably pungent aroma precedes them. You study them a little closer and shout in recognition, “Homeless Pete!”

The man looks up and grunts at you. “How‘ve you been? Not seen you in ages!” He shrugs. Heart sinking, you note, “You were walking with quite a purpose there. Headed anywhere in particular?” Your fears are confirmed when he points over to the block of flats Ralph showed you that he’d emerged from almost half a year ago. “Oh… Today? It’s working?!” You ask, feeling your heart hurl through the ground. He nods, then gestures to you and flashes you a hopeful look. “What?! No! Not me! No, d’you remember, you brought a guy back with you from the 20s? Well, not these 20s, the nineteen-twenties.” 

He looks blankly at you. You groan, “Please don’t tell me you’re some kind of past Pete who doesn’t know about Ralph, I don’t need a migraine today.” The name seems to resonate with Pete, which is promising. “Yes! Ralph! You remember! He was all dressed up like he was in the army! And he ended up coming back with you! And then he ended up with me! S’pose I better… Could you hold off on using it until I can get him there, too?” Your words hang heavy with sadness, but you knew this day was coming.

Pete stands there in silence for a moment, thinking. He traces the air from time to time, then claps his hands, making you jump. He mimes scratching at a beard along his own stubble-covered jaw. “You mean, you’ve seen Ralph with a beard now?” He nods, pointing downwards in front of himself. “You’ve spoken to him?” Another nod. Pete looks up at the tower block, then at you, gestures with two hands towards the building, then makes an X shape with his arms, waving them down. 

“Please just fucking speak, mate.” You sigh, but he just repeats his actions. As you look lost again, he holds his two hands out again, but stops, looking at you in waiting. “So, that’s you and Ralph?” You guess, and he nods. He moves his hands up towards the building. “You and Ralph went to the place with the… Time machine.” Saying it out loud still sounds insane, even after all this time. He holds one hand close to him, and waves the other one out at you. “Is that one meant to be him?” Another nods, and then the crossed-arms gesture. You frown. “Ralph… Didn’t go in with you?” He shakes his head. “Why not?” He shrugs.

The sorrow and confusion you’ve been feeling this whole conversation start to curdle into all kinds of other feelings. There’s still some confusion there, but mostly it’s anger, frustration, disbelief. He knew how cautious you were about this day finally arriving. He knew of all the countless sleepless nights you’d spent trying to figure out things like how to hide him from your landlord, what to do if he ever falls ill. He knew that every time you picked up your post, you feared a letter from the government with big red letters asking to confirm the identity of the man who’s been claiming to live there despite not being legally registered to. He knows that you’ve been up until all hours some nights searching desperately for some kind of explanation for this phenomenon, since it can’t just be something that only Homeless Pete knows about.

Things had been going so well, especially since Christmas. You’d made peace with the fact that the clock was very much ticking with how long you’d have left with Ralph, and especially after Brighton, you had been telling yourself over and over to not sweat the small stuff, and to just enjoy having him around. You’d figured that with your feelings for him growing stronger the more that he’s around, it’s better for everyone if, instead of constantly counteracting them with the negatives, you’d just let yourself get over him quietly. 

Maybe you should have been more forceful. Created more boundaries. Made it more obvious that he can’t just cheat his own fate, who knows what kind of damage he’s done to… Literally the entire universe, anything could be possible! You’d thought you’d always made it so clear to Ralph to always be preparing for the day he goes back. That no matter how great the life is he’s made for himself here, at the end of the day, all this is, is a learning experience for him to take this level of confidence back with him to his own time.

Forgoing the sweet shop, and any other shop for that matter, you make a beeline home, your steps far more deliberate and angry than the gentle march you had been taking through the snow. Even the sight of the lift in your building angers you, so you push your way up the stairs up until the ninth floor, storming through your front door.

Ralph looks over at you from where he sits on the sofa, delight on his face, which quickly falls when he sees your expression. “Is everything alright?”

“Is it?!” You screech. “Have a guess who I saw out there.”

He frowns. “I’m not sure, I didn’t quite think there was anyone out there who upset you to that degree. Would you like some tea or something to calm down?”

“Don’t you dare tell me to ‘calm down’ when you are the reason I haven’t felt ‘calm’ for almost six months now!” You hold your forehead, and Ralph looks back at you, confused, sad and a little scared.

“I - I quite apologise, is there something I’ve done that’s brought this -”

“Don’t you go giving me the ‘oh, yes, quite’ spiel,” you mock his tone, “not when you’ve been lying to me under my own roof! I trusted you!” You stop yourself when you hear your voice crack at that last sentiment.

He swallows hard. “In what respect have I been dishon-”

“I saw H.P. while I was out, didn’t I?! Going towards that block of flats. So I tell him, I say, oh hang about, Pete, let me go grab Ralph so he can go back. And what do you think he told me?!” You ask, now stood next to the couch, squatting down to get eye level with Ralph.

His eyes dart as he wrings his hands, his eyes squeezing shut and open over and over again. “Yes, well, you see, that -”

“Right, all this umm-ing and ahh-ing is just… Annoying me even more,” you state, rubbing your temples. “I just want the facts, Ralph.”

“You said not to talk about anything from that weekend,” he mutters, and you look at him in disbelief.

“You’ve been holding out on me about this since November?!” You ask incredulously.

“You said! Not to talk! About anything! From that weekend!” Ralph jumps to his feet, punctuating every gap in his sentence with a chop to his palm.

You stand back up to level with him. “Yeah, as in all the shit about - God, are we really gonna drag all of that into light again, now?!”

“Well, if we could just talk about it, calmly,” Ralph gesticulates, but you scoff.

“You gave up all rights to that the moment you started lying to me,” your voice shakes. “It’s you, Ralph. You’re the one person I don’t expect to lie to me, since I don’t lie to you.”

He rasps in disbelief. “That’s not entirely true, now, is it? Or else you wouldn’t react so harshly. There’s something you’re hiding from me, isn’t there? Has your sense of charity finally worn, is that it?” He speaks with the venom in his tone that you’ve only ever heard whenever he’s talking about himself. “What, have you been counting the days down until you could throw me back out? Is that why you’re up until the ungodly hours, researching how to get rid of me sooner?”

You groan, pressing your fingers into your eyelids. “You can’t keep doing this, you can’t just keep making yourself the victim here when that obviously isn’t what I want!”

“Ah, yes, well, you must forgive me for not realising sooner that everything here is exactly as it always has been for my entire life,” Ralph spits. “People pretending to care about me to then use me for my money, or my social status, is one thing, but I have nothing here. Nothing but… Being a pitiful little man.”

“How many more times are we going to have this argument, Ralph? Everybody loves you here!” You punctuate every syllable of the first word with claps. “It’s not just because they pity you, because they don’t know you! They don’t know how you got here, or anything about your shitty family, people just like you! You have to stop being so narrow-minded and start seeing how this,” you gesture in circles in front of him, “affects the rest of us! Especially me, I’m out here having to - to keep track of what secrets I’m keeping and what lies I’m telling to who.”

“Yes, well. Nobody asked you to,” he mutters, looking at the floor.

Your blood now boiling, and all rationality out of the window, you scoff, “Oh, so now you’re ungrateful?!” His eyes snap to yours, but you carry on before he can interrupt you again. “I put my job on the line every time I have to leave early for you. I put my entire livelihood on the line harbouring a fugitive that doesn’t legally exist anywhere, not to mention that I have no clue what to do if you ever need urgent medical attention, if my landlord suddenly decides to kick me out, I don’t know how I’m going to keep them from finding out about you and potentially charging me a fuckton extra, I just - You can’t just think about everything I risk for you even once, can you?”

He frowns, “How dare you say that I don’t care?! I keep a healthy diet, despite all the times you decide we’ll just take away food instead, I keep to myself as much as possible other than the things that you have me do, and whenever I do leave the flat, I leave no trace that I was ever here!”

“Look, we’re getting away from the main problem, here, and I’m not skirting around it any more,” you shake your head. “Why did you lie to me?”

“Strictly speaking, I’ve never told a lie, merely omitted my meeting with Peter from any conversation between you and I,” he points out, and you scowl at him. He sighs, “But you don’t understand. If I told you that, you’d want to know why. And I can’t - there are far bigger things at play here,” he shakes his head.

You look at him in disbelief, “Like what?! Are you some kind of time-travelling spy? An intergalactic detective?”

“Clearly not,” Ralph scoffs.

“Then what, Ralph?” You raise your voice. “What possible reason do you have for - for causing me all that grief all those months ago, just to then go against the one thing you were supposed to do, putting the fate of whatever’s out there at risk all while only living the life of half a person, hm? Why would you choose to stay here like this?!”

“Because I’m in love with you, obviously!”

You and Ralph stare at each other for what feels like hours of silence. His wide, terrified eyes boring into yours as his whole face turns red. His lip quivers and then, suddenly, he pushes past you as you’re still frozen on the spot. You just about turn around to see the last of him rush out of the door, carrying his shoes in his hand.

His coat still hangs on the door, and you can see the snow is falling again. Not realising you’d been holding a breath in the whole time, you groan it out as you grab his coat, wrapping it around your arm to avoid it dragging on the floor, and head out to follow him. You see the display above the lift counting down and curse yourself for having worn yourself out on the way up here earlier.

You huff your way back down the stairs and try to find any trace of where Ralph could have gone. You study the footprints in the snow, vaguely recognising some in the shape of Ralph’s shoes, and decide that it’s as good a lead as any to try and follow them, though they quickly disappear once you get to the main street area. You notice someone loitering and decide it’s worth a shot.

Running across the road to meet them, you ask, “I know this sounds strange, but have you seen a guy go past? Had on a fuzzy blue jumper and no coat, I mean like -”

“Like he was wearing the Cookie Monster’s skin?” They ask with amusement. You sigh with relief, nodding hurriedly and they point, “Went towards the old high street, looked like he was tweaking.”

You thank them and start running as quickly as the resistance from the snow will allow you. It doesn’t help that the wind happens to be blowing the snowfall directly into your face, causing you to constantly stop to rub your eyes or sputter at whatever lands on your mouth.

Once you get back to the street you’d just been to moments before, you sigh with exhaustion as there doesn’t seem to be any trace of him. You still begin pacing the street, looking in every shop window that you pass. You wonder whether he’s hiding at his work, where you wouldn’t be able to get near him, and whether it would be worth asking in there. You’re on good enough terms with his colleague now, and perhaps the eclectic owner of the store might lift your spirits a little. There’s an awful lot of emotional weights on your chest right now, and you’re not sure which ones you’re supposed to be holding. You’re not entirely sure of anything right now, other than that you need to find Ralph.

Not paying attention to what’s in front of you at all, you end up almost vaulting over some poor baby’s stroller as their mother tries to get past you. “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” You apologise hurriedly, and she looks at you with a weirdly knowing smile.

“You looking for the guy who’s been cutting about in just his jumper?” She asks, gesturing to the coat in your arms.

Your eyes widen, “Yes! Oh my god! Have you seen him?!”

“Nice fella, helped me get the little’un across the road amongst all the snow. Really posh?” You nod again, hoping to egg her along. She eventually tells you, “Yeah, I told him to hurry up and get inside, he’ll catch his death! He went over there, towards them flats.” You don’t even need to look in the direction she’s pointing to know where she means.

You thank her profusely, adding a, “Cute baby!” over your shoulder as you quickly make your way down to your next clue.

Thankfully, it’s more than just that, as you find Ralph leaning against the wall of the building just next to the front door, squatting not far from the ground, his arms crossed over his torso and his head sunk low.

He doesn’t look at you as you walk over to him, but you hold his coat out in front of him. “At least put this on, yeah? That mum’ll have your throat, otherwise.” He silently reaches out for it and stands to put it on.

“He’s not here,” he mutters quietly. “Peter, I mean.”

“So, that was your answer to all of this?” You ask, your voice strangely calm considering how tumultuous your internal monologue is. “To just run back to your old life and leave this one all unanswered and up in arms? No care as to how it’d affect anyone else?”

“Of course I care about - well, I suppose the cat's out of the bag. Of course I care about you. It’s why I thought I shan’t burden you any further. I’ve already insulted your generosity by assuming you hadn’t the agency to tell me that you didn’t want me, without taking into account that perhaps you were being genuine. It’s what caused all that trouble when we were in Brighton. And I didn’t want you to feel any more obligated to do anything more out of - I can’t describe it as anything other than pity, but I never wanted you to feel as though you had to pity me, either.”

You sigh, “Look, I get it. It’s complicated as all fuck. Trust me, I’ve been trying to work out all the ins and outs and ups and downs of it all for months, now. But anything here, it just - we don’t know what it’s gonna do, you know? There’s far bigger forces at play here, you literally travelled through time, surely that’s cocked the universe up cosmically somehow? I don’t even know,” you groan in frustration.

“Well, obviously, I wouldn’t have agreed to stay unless I absolutely knew it wasn’t going to put you at any risk. But Peter stated that… Lauren and the rest, they’ve yet to make any sort of return. And since they could have chosen any time, they surely would have by now. I think… I think they stayed, in the past. And it’s not as though the sky’s turned upside down as a result, or that the world is being run by lizard people, now.”

“Depends on who you ask,” you mutter to yourself with a smirk, before looking over at Ralph. “I’m just hurt that you didn’t think to tell me. I know, I know, it was that weekend, but still. You could have told me that you’d thought it safe to stay, regardless of when you’d figured it out.”

“Would you have still been mad at me?” He asks quietly.

“Honestly? Probably,” you shrug. “I’d probably have argued the toss with you over every single possibility that things could still go wrong. But I’d never, ever force you to come here. Haven’t I been saying it all along? I don’t want you to leave. I’ve been dreading the day that you’re not in my bed anymore, that the flat becomes too quiet again, that I’ll have to spend my evenings watching TV alone without your constant nagging.”

“I thought that rather bothered you,” the hint of a soft smile just about tugs at the corners of Ralph’s lips.

“Oh, it does,” you admit, laughing softly, “but I don’t even want to think about a life where I won’t hear any of that, again. You know, and - and just being reminded of you all the time. All our friends always asking after you, and talking about you, never letting me get over you. I’d stay up at night, staring at the bedroom door from the sofa, wondering what’d be worse; that, or you living your old life meaning that you’d never have existed in mine, meaning I’d have no memory of you at all.”

“I’d always perished the thought of leaving - well, all of you, but especially you,” Ralph’s voice is still quiet. “You’d always - always tell me to tell my sister and Lauren to shove it, but honestly, I don’t think I could ever do that without you there with me. Even if they were to throw me out and I had to find my own way around, nobody else would hold a candle to…” He takes a deep sigh. “I always… I know I’ve always been the hopeless romantic, it’s one of my biggest flaws. And after falling for Lauren as soon as I’d seen her, and everything that happened thereafter, I swore to myself that I’d never let myself do that, again. That’s why I joined the French Foreign Legion, so I could focus on the task at hand, and learning how to build a camaraderie with my fellow soldiers. Except none of them wanted to do that. And so I left, and I ended up right here, and it was only a few streets away that -”

“That some dickhead spilled coffee all over you,” you finish his sentence with a smirk.

“I told you then as well, didn’t I, you’re far from one of those,” Ralph looks at you softly. “But I felt it all come back again. Everything I felt when I first saw Lauren. And before Lauren, when it was Maggie. And before Maggie, when it was - oh, heavens, you don’t need to hear about all my failings. But every time, I acted too quickly, and I only caused myself shame and heartbreak. And when I ended up here, I needed - well, something or someone, anything to anchor me, I had no clue what was happening to me. But you were so kind to me, from the very beginning. And I didn’t want to jeopardise your generosity by ruining it the same way I ruin most other things. So I kept my feelings to myself, for once, hoping that the time to leave would catch up before I let my feelings grow. But here we are,” he sighs. “I suppose I shall have to come clean to the others, and seek refuge with one of them. Though not one of your friends as well, I would never put you in that position. I’d have to perhaps tell Loz, out of all of those…”

You frown, “But why would you have to?” He opens his mouth to answer, but you interrupt him, “You’ve not once asked me how I feel about you.”

“Yes, well, you made some things rather obvious in the flat,” he replies coolly.

“Fair enough,” you nod, “but don’t you think I’d only overreact like that if I was really upset? And that I’d only be that upset if I cared about you so much that it’d break my heart to think you could have lied to me? You’ve yet to ask me how I feel about all of this.”

Ralph wrings his hands together, wincing as though bracing for a physical impact as he asks, “Of course, my apologies. So… How do you feel?”

“It’s hard to say,” you admit, trying not to laugh at his offended face. “Okay, I know, I’m being a dick again. I’m just… I dunno, even though, like, I know now that I can say it, it’s still not easy to just, say out loud for the first time.” You let out a long and shaky breath. “I think that… I’ve never been in love before. But if feeling safer being around you, and always wanting to share my life with you, and dreading the day I never see you again, and my heart soaring every time your face lights up with happiness… I think all of those things are the kind of guff people talk about in those romance films. And I didn’t think those kinds of feelings happened in real life, but… I think I know it, now.” You hold his face in your hands and finally say the words that have been dying to leave you all this time. “I love you, Ralph.”

He looks awestruck back at you. You study his face for any other reaction at all, and after a few beats, any sign of life since he remains unmoving, but he soon gleefully grins, leaning in to kiss you. You meet him halfway, moving your arms to wrap around his neck as you press peck after peck against his lips. His arms wrap around your waist as you just kiss him, and nothing else, because nothing else matters. You only break away from each other for air, and to turn your heads to then resume kissing each other as the snow falls around you both.

It’s only when someone clears their throat to get your attention, commenting, “I know it’s Valentine’s Day, but Christ on a bike,” as they push past you, that you actually step away from each other for more than a split second.

You catch Ralph’s eye and hold your hand out to him, “Wanna go get some jelly babies, put on those face masks that make you look like you’re glowing and curl up watching crappy movies and stuffing our faces?”

“I could enjoy watching paint dry in your company, my love,” Ralph smiles warmly at you as he takes your hand, and you take a step back, aghast, but still intertwined with him.

“And where was Ralph the smooth-talker hiding this whole time?!” You ask incredulously, laughing as you fall into step with him.

“Oh, that’s nothing, darling,” he comments, and your heart flies into your throat. You’d heard him call you that in your dreams a hundred times over, but actually hearing it drives you wild. “As I said, I’ve always been quite the hopeless romantic. I’m afraid you’re going to be seeing that at full throttle, now.”

You cackle so hard you bend double. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m gonna see Full Throttle Ralph,” you just about manage to choke out the name through your laughter, and he frowns at you.

“I’m simply warning you that, in agreeing to our courtship, you understand that Ralph Penbury does nothing by halves.”

“Oh god, I’m gonna have to do a lot of catching up, then!” You joke, but he squeezes your hand.

“Oh, good gracious, no, you certainly don’t have to do that! You already do more than enough for me, and I don’t show love just to receive it back, anyway,” he shakes his head.

The journey back to your flat takes the best part of an hour, mostly because you keep interrupting your walk to pull Ralph in for more kisses on the way. You can’t help it, the way his face blushes with the cold just makes him look so adorable, who wouldn’t want to kiss him?!

Plus, when you’d gone to pick his sweets up, he’d told you he had somewhere else to be, run out of the shop, and returned minutes later just as you were leaving, with a bunch of flowers. “I’m cutting it a little short, I know, but would you like to be my Valentine?” He asks as he offers you them.

You take them as you exchange the bag of his sweets into his hands, gasping, “How did you find these so last minute?!”

“Well, they were in our window display,” he admits bashfully, and you laugh.

“Wait, these are from your shop?!”

Ralph nods. “Yes, but I don’t think they mind, too much. Babs was punching the air and telling me to ‘Get in, my son’, but I couldn’t leave you outside and I was technically born in time to be her father, let alone son,” he shakes his head, causing you to laugh even more.

“Shit, I forgot to answer you, didn’t I?!” You look over at Ralph adoringly. “I’d love to be your Valentine, Ralphie. D’you wanna be mine? I’m afraid the sweets won’t last nearly as long as these, as an offering, but -”

“They’re perfect. As is my Valentine this year,” he beams, kissing the part of your forehead not obscured by your hat.

Once you get home, you change out of your snow-soaked clothes and decide to wear the pyjamas you’d both gotten for Christmas from your parents. You wonder whether to tell your friends right off the bat what’s happened today. You know Ralph can keep a secret, but ever since you’d said those four words to him, he’s been practically shouting his devotion to you from the rooftops. As much as you can’t wait to share in this big milestone of yours with your best friends, you just want nothing more than some uninterrupted time to spend catching up with all the affection you’ve been so desperately wanting to give to Ralph this whole time, and vice versa. Besides, they’ve all got dates tonight, too. You don’t want to interrupt their evenings. That’s what you’ll tell them when they inevitably find out.

Instead, you spend the afternoon and well into the evening pampering yourself and your - Boyfriend? What would you even call Ralph? Although that remains short lived as he realises that face masks are just a barrier preventing more kissing from happening, and he pouts until he’s got full access once again. Every peck comes with its own sweet nothing - a declaration of love, a compliment, a comment of gratitude. Although he’d told you it wasn’t necessary, you do try to match his energy - but it just becomes exhaustive after a while.

You had your heart set on ordering from your favourite Chinese takeaway from this morning, before the day's events had transpired, but Ralph is more than happy to eat from there, as well. You even go so far as to try and teach him how to hold chopsticks, though his adorable attempts to keep interlocking your fingers to pull your hand to his lips to to kiss it instead are far more adorable.

After watching some cheesy rom-coms - or rather, spending the night cuddling and constantly kissing Ralph some more while Sandra Bullock tries to find love over and over on the TV - you eventually retire to bed. As you do, your phone chimes its specific tone to tell you the group chat has updated. Laying in bed, you unlock your phone to see a photo of Scott and his partner, on their sofa with a glass of wine each, which is then followed by Grace sharing a snap of her and her boyfriend wearing face masks together in her bathroom. Anna sends a mysterious snap of two fancy-looking meals and two glasses being clicked together, one certainly in her own hand but the other is held by a mystery man, and Connor shares a very sweet photo of him and Ralph's friend Lauren in a restaurant booth together.

Ralph's head rests on top of yours as you show him the photos, and you can feel his smile getting wider at the photo of his two friends from different parts of his life here sitting so closely together. You lean your head up to grin at him, "Should we?”

He smiles back at you as you switch to your camera app. You aim it at you and Ralph and look back over at him, for him to press a kiss to your forehead. You close your eyes, smiling into it, and tap at the screen, your muscle memory still knowing exactly where the shutter is without having to see the screen. You type “happy vday from me and my valentine, too 😘”, hit send, laugh loudly with Ralph as you see all four speech bubbles show up at once, and then put your phone on silent and lay it face-down on your nightstand.

You roll back over to snuggle up against his chest, and he wraps his arms around you, tucking your head under his chin as he embraces you. “Goodnight, my love,” you hear him whisper in your ear. “Pleasant dreams.”

“Night, Ralphie. Love you,” you mutter back, holding him tight and breathing in deeply, finally free to indulge all you want in the prospect of having a relationship with the man you’ve been in love with for the last five months.

next chapter

[raxistaicho]

How is Edelgard the best unit gameplay-wise ? She's my favorite character but I don't know much about unit tier-listing and all that

I made a post on this ages back, here you go:

Reddit also went into it here.

Here's some fun quotes from that:

S Tier - incredibly she somehow has an even better early game than the S-tier Byleths thanks to higher strength, easy access to Weight-3, brainless Armor Knight certification, and good base Authority for early Blaze. Transitions to flight at lv 10 and never needs to look back. Galeforces her way through any problematic Part 2 maps thanks to the frankly ludicrous Raging Storm. Pound for pound might be the best unit in the game thanks to how much better and more centralizing she is than Dimitri in the early game.

Girlboss indeed.

Edelgard is also very good before she gets her hands on Aymr as well, her bases are among the best in the game, 13 base Str + 55% growth means she puts a massive dent to anything she attacks from the get go and can reliably ORKO with Brave Weapons later on. She has decent bulk, the best in her house along with Ferdinand though Petra is better at baiting speedier enemies since she won't get doubled, that being said Black Eagles don't have a dedicated tank and you'd be better off recruiting Balthus who can do the job better. Her Charm is among the best in the game which means her Gambits have high Accuracy and hits hard and she can dodge enemies Gambits more reliably than most units in your team.

Edelgard is hands down the best unit in this game. I’d be inclined to put her in a tier by herself in S+, but going by the rubric laid out by OP she is S tier.

Edelgard thoroughly dominates the early portion of the game with the best base strength among students and outstanding bases in other stats. Her middling base speed is easily fixed by her easy access to Wt-3 and later Darting Blow. She can also certify in Armor Knight for a cheeky defense boost. She is tanky as heck, never gets doubled, deals out huge damage, and her personal allows her to snowball quite dramatically. She can be argued as the best early game unit, although Dedue, Leonie, Dimitri, and the Byleths are competitive.

Mid game she still dominates although she has some competition. She will basically be the best of the female flying units. Death and Darting Blow, along with Weight -3 and Hit +20 make her a fearsome combat unit. She will double quite frequently and has good survivability on enemy phase.

But once Chapter 13 rolls around, it’s all over for every other unit. Raging Storm is either the #1 or #2 most busted thing in the entire game depending on how you feel about Warp. Edelgard can legitimately beat maps by herself once she gets this ability. It’s so good that I have to force myself not to use it sometimes because I don’t want to just solo the game with her. The fact that all part 2 maps are boss kill just makes her complete overkill in this game.

She is better than her stepbrother. Not his fault, just the way the game is designed favors a broken PP unit more than a broken EP unit. I will say that Edelgard needs more investment to be amazing than Dimitri does, but at the end of the day she is just flat better than him, to a degree where the higher investment doesn’t sway me.

Best unit in the game imo. At worst she's FByleth but with better boons/tutoring, meaning easier access to armor skills/classes and wyverns. She's one your best early game units, to the point that I still rate her highly in Silver Snow. And of course there's Raging Storm. Awakening Galeforce was way too broken; restricting it so only 1 unit can use it 5 times in a row clearly solves the problem right? The one weakness she may have is that she wants to rely on crit in order to kill with Raging Storm, especially against bosses, but Crest of Flames prevents her from using defiant crit more consistently.

Yes, she is better than Dimitri. Dimitri heavily relies on bwrath/vantage and is much weaker without it, and it's painfully apparent in HBD and even some of the later chapters. Even without Amyr, Edelgard is still FByleth with better boons. While her strength/speed growths may be lower, she's actually going to outdamage/outspeed Dimitri for a very long time thanks to her bases and easier access to strong skills/classes. May be a different story if more route objectives were present, but in reality many maps just require defeating the commander(s), which Edelgard excels very well at.

[bylertruther]

bella!mike is cool and i agree but have you considered bella!will and edward!mike? that scene where bella stands in front of a fan and she thinks edward hates her cos he's acting all weird vs mike hugging and interacting with everyone on planet earth except for will which makes will think tht he doesn't like him anymore. bella!will moves to hawkins and he has soooo many ppl coming up to him (jennifer, footsies girl, snowball girl, lucas, etc) but he only has eyes for cringefail weirdboy edward!mike tht no one actually really knows and who doesn't actually eat his lunch and sits with his clique and is part of a club tht ppl think are satanists etc etc. basically there's a lot of mystery around him and he can count the number of people that Actually know and see him with one hand, if that. every time will looks his way he's already staring at him and has to avert his gaze (think the triple take in the desert). also fits bc smh everything on planet earth wants to kill will and is sooooo obsessed with him and same for bella which gives mike the opportunity to stand up for him and save him just like he always does in canon. if you wanted to add angst in then maybe mike is ashamed of his vampirism (as a metaphor for internalized homophobia, u kno) but will just thinks he's the best person ever and a hero and so kind and protective and brave and he wants to spend forever with him (just like in canon) which scares mike bc of how much he wants tht too but doesn't think he can have it. and tht if will knew what he was then he wouldn't want it or him either. also will accidentally touches mike and is always gravitating towards him and mike is screaming on the inside every time both bc he is Gay and likes will very much more than he intended to and also bc GRRRRRRR WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE AND EDIBLE AND BITABLE GRRRRRR 😖 etc etc. they have an "i know what you are" scene where mike is thinking oh god oh fuck he knows i have a crush on him and will, who is equally as oblivious just like in canon, tells him ur a vampire :o or smth. literally they Are (an upgraded version of) bella and edward !!!!! gimme vampire!mike and newgirl!will fics NOW!!!!!

[canon-fcdder]

{¤} "Hey, uh...Tang?"

Pigsy's voice is laced with nervousness, something he never expected to feel around Tang. It feels like he's about to put so much on the line by doing this, but Pigsy also knows he'll beat himself up if he doesn't do this before it's too late.

Besides, it's not like Tang is going to throw away decades worth of friendship because of this one little secret. Hopefully.

"Would you be uncomfortable around me if I told you I was...y'know...into guys?" {¤}

-  ✩   「 @tuesdayscanons 」   ✩  

「 ☆ 」   Tang immediately knows something was wrong when he hears the uncharacteristic strain in Pigsy’s voice. Quickly setting aside his bowl, he turns to face the other man. Hands clasped on his lap, expression already furrows with concern, no matter how much he tries to hide it. Pigsy is a rather prideful man— not that Tang can judge on that account, having his fair share of ego amongst the self-doubt —and the last thing the other needs is to feel pitied before he’s even begun to share what’s concerning him. Still, there’s no denying the tension in Tang’s shoulders, bright hazel hues flitting up and down the other’s form in an impatient effort to read Pigsy despite having no information to go off of aside from tone.

That and how Pigsy had waited until the shop was closed, MK and Mei having raced out the doors a while ago. The more Pigsy speaks, faltering between his words, the more confused Tang grows. Mind flips between the different events of the day, of the week, to try and find somewhere he had gone wrong. Something he had done to give Pigsy the idea that he’d be uncomfortable around him for- whatever reason. Not once does it occur to Tang to consider anything Pigsy might have done, figuring that it was something inconsequential. There’s not much Pigsy could do or be that would ever make Tang’s care for him falter.

❝  You... You- what?  ❞

Not the best reaction he could have given and as soon as the incredulous question— if it deserves to be called that —is out, he wishes he could take it back. But out of everything Pigsy could have said, that was certainly not a confession that had crossed Tang’s mind. Through the years, he’s seen Pigsy fawn over plenty of women. At least, Tang gets that impression. How accurate his assumptions are are up for debate, but he’s still confident that Pigsy must have liked a girl or two since they’ve known each other... Hasn’t he? Beginning to question everything he’s known up to this point, as well as his own skills at identifying one of his own, Tang hastily amends his clunky response,  ❝  Wait, wait— Let me begin again!  ❞

❝  That was a very brave thing you just did and I’m going to respond accordingly.  ❞  Tang firmly states, as if chastising himself for failing to do that. Difficult as it may be with the confusion gnawing at his mind. Not about Pigsy being into men— although, he did NOT see that coming —but about the others fears regarding it. Why would TANG, of all people, be uncomfortable with that? Unless... Oh shit. Does Pigsy not know?

Tang never came out to him. 

Decades of friendship, of being what he had thought was openly Gay, and he never actually TOLD his best friend. Looking back on it, Tang can see how it snowballed. He had meant to tell Pigsy but the timing never felt- right. At the start of their friendship, when Tang was still coming to terms with his sexuality, he hadn’t been willing to take the risk. Knowing that Pigsy wouldn’t be worth the friendship if he DID have a problem with it, but terrified of losing the other regardless. Desperate to cling to his first true friend for as long as possible, Tang figured he had time. He could mull it over. Could decide whether he was really attracted to men. Even if he already knew that he was. So, time had passed... and continued to pass... and it went from not wanting to lose his new friend to not wanting to lose his CLOSE friend.

To not wanting to lose Pigsy.

Tang had never dated much anyway... Or at all. Not having any interest in the men around him, content to spend his time with his books, his friend, and the noodles the other provided. Not one to openly ogle either, Tang supposes his tastes could have easily gone under the radar. The closest thing he can think of to blatantly fawning over another man would have to be his fascination with the Sun Wukong. But studying the Monkey King was just as much an act of pure interest than it was a boyhood crush turned adulthood passion. Eagerness and superficial attraction intertwining into an excitability that was more indulgence than actual FEELINGS.

Although, it had been a... shock to discover that the Monkey King was real. 

After a while, ‘ coming out ’ had simply slipped Tang’s mind. Falling into a comfortable normalcy with Pigsy that, at times, made it feel as if he already had. It never felt like he was keeping a secret anymore. No fear or shame lingering beneath the moments they shared, lacing fondness with a bittersweet reality. Tang was merely existing as he was meant to. Having skipped past the test that would have PROVEN Pigsy to be a proper part of it. 

❝  Pigsy... You’re my oldest and dearest friend. And- I am beyond honored you’d share that with me. I could NEVER be uncomfortable around you for something like that. If someone made you happy, whatever and whoever they happened to be, then I’d be grateful to them and happy for you...  ❞  Ignoring the tightness in his chest at the latter statement— now is NOT the time to dwell on how jealous he’d be amongst the congratulating —he smiles, resting a hand on Pigsy’s shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze,  ❝  Trust me when I tell you this- I’m always going to be by your side. That’s one thing you can count on.  ❞  

Lightly patting Pigsy’s shoulder, Tang lightly chuckles, the sound holding a hint of nerves as he shrugs and looks off to the side,  ❝  Besides, it’d be pretty hypocritical of ME to be uncomfortable around someone with an interest in men...  ❞  Praying that his meaning will be deciphered, Tang feels his face flush as he tugs at his scarf.   「 ☆ 」 

[redskull199987]

A Brave Heart

Edmund Pevensie x female!reader Request

Word cohnt:1.4k

Warnings:none, Canon typical violence

Requested by: JulzLovDraco4Eva on Wattpad

Summary: You're scared that Edmund might never be the same after he returns from the white Witch...

Masterlist

I sat down near the tent, trying to catch my breath. Learning how to handle a sword was not particularly easy, especially not when Peter was your teacher.

I breathed in deeply and took a sip of my water as I let my mind wander.

I looked up and saw Aslan and Edmund on the hill, the two of them had been talking a lot since we saved Edmund, but he somehow still wasn't the same as before.

I remembered the day we met at that train station, the war was full on going and we had to flee.

And even though, it was a day filled with awful events, having to leave my parents behind, it was still the best day of my life. Because I got to meet my best friends...the Pevensies. We were all sent to Professor Kirk's house, so we had to get along, even if we didn't want to.

I immediately became friends with Lucie, as she and I were the one's to discover Narnia.

"Hey, Earth to Y/N?"

I looked up perplexed as I saw none other than Lucie standing in front of me, smiling.

"How are you doing?", she asked and sat down beside me.

"Well...you know", I mumbled and looked back up at the hills. Aslan and Edmund were gone, "Your brother can be a pain in the ass"

Lucie chuckled and patted my shoulder:"Then why did you choose a sword!"

"I didn't choose it!?", I complained, "Santa Clause gave it to me. Try to say no to Santa Clause"

"Good point", Lucie smiled.

We started to calm down again as Lucie asked:"Have you tried talking to Ed yet?"

I looked down again:"You know, I can't Lu"

"But why!?", she asked perplexed.

"She's right", My head shot up, as I heard Peter's voice,"You should talk to him"

I sighed:"Peter... It's just, he's not the same"

"We know. That's why you need to try it", Lucie insisted.

"We...", Peter started, "We want him back too, and we think that you're the only one, who can bring him back"

"I-I'm not sure", I mumbled.

"Y/N", Peter said sternly, "Believe me, The way he looks at you... Or used to look at you. It's obvious"

Lucie nodded:"And remember, as he caught us sneaking out to Narnia. Where we had that snowball fight. The way he laughed, and the looks he kept giving you. Peter is right"

"Alright Alright", I muttered and got up, "Maybe you are right, but... What if you're not?"

"Y/N...", Lucie started, but I was already walking away, trying not to think about what they just told me.

I kept on walking and finally said down under a tree, near the river. I looked around, as my thoughts about Edmund seemed to corrupt my brain.

"You are thinking about him"

I jumped at the sudden voice next to me. It was Aslan. He looked at me with a smile before sitting down next to me.

"I am", I mumbled, as I knew that there was no point in hiding it from him.

"You know, you're friends are not exactly wrong", Aslan said calmly.

"I am afraid", I admitted.

"Only the one's with a brave heart will be rewarded, my dear",Aslan explained.

I sighed:"You're probably right"

"Do you know the old tale of the sleeping beauty?, Alslan asked and looked at me.

I raised my brow:" Y-yeah, but it's only a tale, isn't it? "

I only nodded at that, not knowing what to say.

"There is a grain of truth in every tale", Aslan smiled.

"The tale says that a kiss of true love can break curses"

"A-Are you trying to say that-", I stutterd.

"Y/N", Aslan said sternly, giving me a smile. He slowly stood up.

He turned to leave, but looked at me one last time:"I believe that you have a brave heart"

I smiled at the lion, knowing what he meant. I watched him leave, before getting up and trying to find Edmund. Peter's words kept echoing in my mind:' Believe me, the way he looks at you... "

I stumbled down the hill, as I finally spotted Edmund. He was sitting near the river. At the spot that I just left a few minutes ago.

"Edmund!?", I yelled, but he didn't respond.

I cautiously sat Down next to him.

"Edmund?", I asked again. Still no response.

I sighed and carefully reached out to touch his hand:"Ed?"

He suddenly looked up at me, face as pale as if he had seen a ghost.

"A-Are you alright?", I stutterd and carefully took his hand in mine.

"I-I am", he mumbled and eyed our intertwined hands,"What are you doing?"

He voice suddenly seemed cold, like he had realized something. He quickly got up and turned to leave.

"Edmund, wait!?", I yelled but he didn't listen. I jumped up and sprinted after him. I grabbed his hand again turning him Back towards me.

"Y/N!!", he yelled. I looked up into his eyes. Those beautiful bright blue eyes, now seemed dark and lifeless.

"Ed... Please", I mumbled and stepped closer to him.

Edmund looked at me confused, as I grasped his cheek,"Please Ed, come back to us...to me"

He was about to break away from me, as I quickly connected our lips. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but Edmund almost immediately froze, as my lips touched his.

I stepped back and watched as Edmund fell to his knees.

"Ed!?", I yelled and kneeled down in from of him, "Ed, are you alright!?"

He slowly looked back up at me. His eyes wild and confused, but back at their normal blue glimmer.

"Ed?", I asked again.

"Y/N?", he asked perplexed. I only smiled at him. He was back. Edmund was back.

"It's alright", I mumbled at pulled him into my arms.

"I'm so so sorry, Y/N", he mumbled into my shoulder.

"It's alright", I said again. All I cared about now, was that Edmund was back. And Aslan was right. A brave heart will be rewarded.

Bonus:

"Edmund? Edmund, where the hell are you?", I yelled, as I got up. I looked around, the battle was still going on. And the army of Narnians was fighting bravely against the white witch.

"Edmund!?", I yelled again. We were parted only a few minutes ago. I was attacked by too many dwarfs at once, not only loosing sight of Edmund, but also somehow loosing my sword.

I turned around, as my eyes widened. I saw Edmund in front of the White Witch. He was about to get stabbed.

I looked around, noticing my sword laying a few meters in front of them.

I started to sprint, as the Witch took a swing to stile Edmund down.

I reached my sword after a few seconds, grabbing the handle tightly and racing towards them. Just in time, I managed to slip in between the With And Edmund. I raised my sword to deflect her Wand , as it suddenly busted into a thousand tiny shards of glass.

Edmund and I were thrown backwards, as an Intense lighting erruped in front of us.

I felt Ed grabbing my shoulders and pulled me back against his chest, as Aslan appeared in front of us, Stricking down the witch.

I breathed in deeply. It was over. The White Whitch was dead. Narnia was saved.

"Are you alright?", Edmund asked and I turned around, nodding.

"I am", I mumbled.

"Thanks for saving me", Ed smiled. He slightly pecked my lips before the two of us got up. Arm in Arm, we trotted over to his siblings and Aslan. The whole bunch was smiling at us.

"We did it", I smiled.

"You did indeed", Aslan agreed, a proud smile on his face:"The bravest of them all"

[hanjinstant]

your first kiss with bts (maknae line)

genre: maknae line x reader (gender unspecified), fluff, sfw

warnings: none :)

taehyung you'd been dating for about two weeks now, taking things prettyyy slowly as both of you were fairly inexperienced in the realm of relationships. it was a gorgeous sunny day and you were on a scenic drive along the coastline, your favourite miles davis tunes playing on the car speaker, the windows down and the wind blowing in your hair. you remember feeling so content, almost as if you were in a movie. to be fair, you kind of were; the sun beating down on your face, accompanying the prevalent twinkle in your eyes. your hair was flowing gracefully around your face and, not forgetting the man sitting next to you was the most beautiful creature in the entire world. you were so content in the moment that you hardly noticed taehyung pulling over and completely stopping the car. you glance your eyes over to the view out of front windshield and almost choke on oxygen when you realised your boyfriend had parked right. on a. sheer. drop. but you didn't have time to worry because you felt a soft hand stroke the side of cheek and your eyes meet up with teahyung's. and he kissed you.

jimin you and jimin were on a walk around a park (haha) near your house; you'd pretty much just met through some mutual friends at a party a weekend ago. neither of you were drinking, so you sat together on your friend's sofa making fun of all the other partygoers that were drunk as anything. you connected over a love of animals and shared experiences. fast forward to a bright but cold spring day, both of you wrapped up in many layers (spring usually still means cold weather, unfortunately). jimin thought you looked really cute in your blue bobble hat, but didn't feel brave enough to tell you. within about twenty minutes you came across a tiny pomerian puppy. your eyes light up and you ran up to it to ask its owner if you can stroke it. to your surprise, the little snowball of fur jumped straight into your arms and began to give you sloppy licks on the face. it would be disgusting if you weren't so endeared. you feel jimin coming up behind you "hey hey hey, i want a kiss too"

jungkook as soon as you'd met jungkook you just knew he'd be a perfect movie night guest. you two hit it off after only 30 minutes of meeting in the vegetable aisle of your local supermarket. you'd exchanged numbers and been texting for hours on end almost every single day. so when your best friend cancelled your plans to go to the cinema, you knew exactly the solution. invite jungkook over. he agreed straightaway and let you choose the film too. you decided to put on ocean's 8. you were both on the same sofa, and with your head resting on his chest, you could feel the vibrations of his happy laughter. you fell a little bit more in love with him then. after sharing some popcorn and finishing the film, you were really tired and your eyes were heavy. you could almost fall asleep there and then. with your eyes half shut, you felt the gentle touch of his lips on the top of your head, and he whispered "goodnight my love".

[violetsandfluff]

shooting star.

shawn mendes x female reader

word count: 1k+ of fluff and a tiny bit of angst.

a/n: its not exactly how I wanted it, but it is anyway. i didn’t put the taglist on this. i appreciate you very much and i will never stop loving you.

“I feel so awful,” she sighed in disgust as she pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her head on her knees. “I feel like I’m done with everything right now.”

Shawn wrapped his arms around the shape that was her body at that point. “I’m right here.”

His voice was so warm and soft, it trickled like smooth honey into her ears. The words made a lump form in her throat, and her heart swell.

“Of course you are,” she snapped. “You’re always right where you need to be.”

Shawn almost drew back from her words. They cut him deeply.

“Baby,” he breathed, closing his eyes and resting his head on her back. “I’ll always be right here. Now ‘til forever. I promise.”

She looked up at him with teary eyes, making him gasp slightly.

“You don’t know what you mean to me,” he continued, scooping her up effortlessly and moving to the other end of the couch. He sat down and set her upon his lap where she rested her head against his chest, the strong, steady beating of his heart calming her.

He licked his lips and swallowed tensely as he tried to put his feelings into words for her.

She reached up to grab the gold necklace that hung from around his neck and fingered it gently, silently telling him to take his time.

He breathed in deeply before he began speaking. “I never intended to make you feel neglected,” he began weakly, gaining confidence like a snowball rolling down a hill. “I always want to be there for you. I want to do anything to help you. You’re the strongest girl I know, and the prettiest. You’re so brave, so courageous, and I envy that about you.

“You’re selfless. You love me even when I can be better, and you don’t laugh at my mistakes. You were here for me when I… when I hurt.”

Shawn trailed off, licking his lips again, and trying to swallow the lump in his own throat. He rubbed his fingers up and down her back, watching as the elephant tattoo appeared and disappeared.

“I want to be my best for you. Wherever I am, you’re safe. I will do absolutely anything to protect you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I don’t care how cliché that sounds. I would protect you with my life, you know that.”

She exhaled shakily as she tugged harder on the necklace, pulling his head down closer to her.

He began speaking again, his lips right beside her ear.

“You’re so… you’re so you. And that makes you absolutely perfect in my eyes. You’re so rare. I have to be the only man on the planet to have such a wonderful girl. You’re just like a shooting star that happened to fall within arm’s reach of me. That never happens.”

He gasped for air around the enormous lump in his throat and the tightness in his chest.

“Every word I sing is about you, and I always sing it just for you. You mean the world to me, darling.

“I just love you,” he said breathlessly, tracing a small heart on your cheek.

“I love you too, baby,” she mumbled thickly through her tears, nuzzling her face against his broad chest. “You mean a lot to me. I guess I just didn’t know how much you loved me.”

“You do now?”

“Yeah,” she gave him a weak smile through the tears. “Yeah, baby, I do.”

He took a deep breath and set her alone on the couch. “I’ll be right back, lovie,” he promised, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

He ran upstairs to their bedroom and retrieved a few items before ducking into the kitchen to make her some of her favorite tea. He grabbed one of her favorite chocolate bars and carried it into the living room along with the tea and other items.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed, and she covered her eyes with sweater-paws, giggling slightly behind them.

“Shawnie bear, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see,” was his blatant response.

He set the tea on the side table next to her, and set a teddy bear in her lap before bundling her up in a blanket like a burrito from head to toe. Finally, he tucked the chocolate bar into her cocoon and told her to open her eyes.

When she did, she let out a squeak of happiness and looked at him with immense affection.

“That’s so sweet of you, Shawn.”

Shawn sat down right beside her, curling his knees into her side.

“What’s on my lap?” she asked with a smile and he laughed out into the silence.

“It’s Ricky, the teddy bear from Valentine’s Day!”

“Ricky, that’s right!” Y/N laughed as she fingered the bear in her lap beneath the blanket. “He’s so soft.”

Shawn had gifted her the teddy bear on their first Valentine’s Day together. She cuddled with it every night, especially when Shawn was gone, and when she was little spoon. Now it sat in her burrito with her, enjoying Shawn’s company.

“What do you want to watch?” Shawn inquired, and you responded, “Harry Potter. I wanna watch all of them!”

“I figured,” Shawn said through a smile. “You’re so dreadfully predictable.”

“Big words for you,” Y/N joked, and Shawn shook his head as the Harry Potter music blasted out of the tv.

“What else is in my blanket?” she asked as she squirmed restlessly in her cocoon.

“Oh, that?” Shawn chuckled softly as he unwrapped you from the blanket. “That’s a chocolate bar.”

“Ooh, yummy,” she said as she took a sip of the tea. “That’s my favorite kind!”

“I know,” Shawn said as he sat back, folding his arms contentedly across his chest.

Y/N leaned against him and thrust the blanket over him.

Shawn pulled her closer underneath the covers, pulling her into his lap and kissing his forehead gently.

“My baby,” he cooed. “Sweet girl.”

“Cuddles,” she said softly, her voice barely audible above the movie.

Shawn let out a breathy chuckle above her head as he pulled her closer and impossibly closer.

“Baby love. Princess. Cuddlebug.”

The pet names fell into her ears sweetly, and she almost purred.

“I’m always here with you, shooting star,” Shawn said as he snuggled farther into the blanket. “Because I love you.”

[bunny-rambles]

Christmas with your Genshin Boyfriend headcannons because I hate the full fics I wrote for them

Cw/tw: idk, cursing, rambles that might not make sense, this was just to get something out tbh, enjoy!

Albedo

Isn’t really that big of a fan of the holiday, but he puts on a brave face for Klee and pretends to enjoy it

Spends Christmas with you, Klee and Alice ! Isn’t a big fan of social interaction so he keeps to himself with you three, where he feels most comfortable.

Definitely makes Christmas cookies and manages to turn them into a masterpiece of culinary arts. Bonus - Solar isotoma and Dodoco cookies that taste like heaven and look just as good !!

I touched on this briefly in another post, but he’d make the snow creations you make together come to life, revelling in the joyful grin on your face

Definitely prefers giving gifts than receiving them, and most likely makes them himself instead of buying something, as he finds it gives his gift a much more personal touch.

I’d like to think Klee, you and Alice take the backseat or help out while Albedo is in the kitchen. Much like with his experiments, he doesn’t like it when he’s distracted or others interfere, so he tries his best to let you know that you are not welcome in the kitchen while his cooking. But due to his polite nature, he won’t outright tell you. You can just tell from his body language and facial expressions that he doesn’t exactly want you around at the moment.

It was 100% worth it though, the meal you had was delicious !!

Overall, he’s not very festive, but he uses this as time to spend with his loved ones and family, as he doesn’t usually have the time, so Christmas with him is pleasant and comfortable. Homey, would be the way I would describe it

Childe, Xiao, Diluc, Kaeya, Scara under the cut !!

Childe

Biggest damn kid when it comes to the holidays

Takes you to his homeland to spend it with his family ! His kin is huge, so be prepared for that.

Snowball fights are an absolute must. Don’t think they’re childish either, the harbinger sees this as a challenge just like any other. In other words, prepare for a fight to the death.

Loves both giving and receiving gifts, I think he’d really like receiving smaller things that are more personal, like sea shells from the beach you went to on your first date? Nothing too expensive, but he LOVES giving expensive gifts. Toys, jewellery, clothing, you name it, he’ll buy it no matter what the cost. (He just likes to flex,,,)

Cuddles by the fire, the two of you bundled up under a thick blanket with hot chocolates. Yes. Childe is all over you, by the way. Don’t think he’s not clingy because he definitely is.

I’m sorry, but have you seen his speciality dish? This man can’t cook for shit. You’ll have to do that, or at least, help his parents with the cooking while he entertains his siblings

Would be that one drunk family member singing karaoke at 2 in the morning when everyone wants to go to bed

Still lets his younger siblings believe in Santa, he wants their childhood to be as innocent and fun as possible, and that extends to Christmas as well

Overall, festive, full and fun and family oriented !!

Xiao

Does not get it

“Why... Why do you suddenly have horns?” Please Xiao they’re fake antlers.

If he has to pick, he would probably prefer receiving gifts. Only because he has absolutely no idea on what mortals like. Not to mention, it makes him feel fuzzy inside when you give him something because you actually thought of him and thought he would like it. It just,,, makes him feel appreciated.

Spends time with Zhongli, Ganyu, Hu Tao and Qiqi, as he sees them the closest to family that he can get. (Especially Zhongli, 100% sees him as a father figure)

Adepti don’t need to eat, so he doesn’t care what you cook, he’ll try anything as long as it’s not overly spicy. He’s not picky.

Snow is a bittersweet thing to see for him. On one hand, he’s happy you’re happy when you see it, but on the other it reminds him of events from the past he wants to keep there... Best stay away from it to not bring up any unwanted memories.

One thing he actually would really enjoy is, surprisingly, mistletoe! He won’t admit it, but he finds the sentiment behind it actually rather heartfelt. And he also gets kisses from you so what’s to hate-

Overall, confused but he’s got the right spirit.

Diluc

I really think he’d be into walking with you around Mondstat, hand in hand and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

He actually likes Christmas, it reminds him of happier times with his father and Kaeya when they were younger.

He has no preference on giving of receiving gifts, as long as he gets to see you smile

You’d think he was pretty grumpy, but he’s actually just enjoying everything quietly. But inside the mansion, it feels like stepping onto a children’s storybook

Has a huge tree, intricately decorated with baubles, tinsel and fairylights. There’s already presents wrapped neatly underneath. You know those big reindeers you get in animal crossing? Yeah, imagine those outside of the entrance.

He hates alcohol, so he tries to make an alcohol free mulled wine on year. It tasted awful, and he’s not touched it since.

Not a bad cook! You two cook together in the kitchen instead of the maids and it’s a very pleasant experience. You’re in charge of chopping and peeling while he’s in charge of actually cooking things. It’s a nice, comforting dynamic

You eat together at that huge table, but it doesn’t feel empty with the two of you chatting and laughing over the huge meal you both prepared together.

Christmas with Diluc is just,,, so nice. It’s never overbearing, it’s joyful. Peaceful, overall. Yes.

Kaeya

I’ll be real, I don’t think he’s that big of a fan. It just brings up painful memories of when things were better between him and Diluc.

Probably leaves Mondstat for the holidays so he can enjoy himself with you

Prefers receiving gifts, he just likes it when he’s spoiled, what can he say? But of course seeing your face light up whenever he gives you something is also something he enjoys.

Abuses mistletoe. Sly bastard just wants a kiss. Makes you feel bad if he doesn’t by giving you puppy eyes and a pout. Sly bastard x2

He loves Mondstat wine, but he hates mulled wine. It just,,, doesn’t taste right to him.

He’s... Okay, when it comes to cooking. I love him, but he’s just really average in the kitchen. Actually borders on being a bad cook. You’ll probably have to intervene.

He likes the whole ‘snuggly’ aspect of Christmas, the coziness of it all. He likes being on the couch with you, curling up by the fire while the two of you bask in each other’s company.

Christmas with Kaeya is simple, but just enough. And if you don’t like simple? Kaeya will make things much more extravagant. But personally, with his lifestyle, I just think he wants to chill when it comes to the holidays.

Scaramouche

Hates it

HATES IT.

Will tell people to shut the fuck up if he hears them singing, and glares at people enjoying themselves

Real life Scrooge.

If you like Christmas, tough shit, he’s not doing anything festive

Doesn’t care much for receiving or giving gifts, he wouldn’t admit this but your company is enough for him, he doesn’t care about anything else.

You do manage to get him to splash out when it comes to food, but don’t expect him to cook. He’ll either hire someone to cook or just take you out to a restaurant.

That’s all you’re getting out of him, sorry

Notes: Okay thank you for reading my brain rots and I hope you have a nice Christmas! And if you don’t celebrate it, then I hope you have a happy new year and a nice day nonetheless!! And if you have more brainrot, i don’t mind you sharing. Likes n reblogs are appreciated 💞

[edgelordfucker]

Yo what if Belos used reader as a surrogate for Hunter? Not just like, figuratively, but literally as the embryo's still in stasis and he's gotta implant it.

THIS WOULD BE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE THIS MAN HAS EVER MADE.

There’s no way in h e l l that the Reader (or at least my version of the Reader) would carry this child to term and not consider Hunter her baby. I’m assuming that Belos’ (Belos’s? I’ve been playing it fast and loose with the apostrophes) ultimate plan is to use Hunter (who I think is at least a partial clone of Belos’ yet unnamed brother, who I like to call Mattias) to somehow complete the Day of Unity.

And if the Reader was Hunter’s mother?

There is not a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.

Hunter would have had a very different life if the Reader gave birth to him. He would’ve been loved unconditionally, nurtured, and Belos would not get away with the abuse he does in canon. Furthermore, in my head, Belos’ primary motivation is fear, but I think he would slowly find himself giving into a new fear once he’d made a connection with the Reader: the fear of losing her. And as such, once you’ve decided that if he puts this baby in you, and you carry them for 9 months and you go through labor to deliver them, that baby is yours and you will bring hell down upon anyone who tries to harm them.

Well, Belos realizes that the whole Grimwalker plan is a bust, and he needs to account for another person in his spell for immortality, or whatever he’s done to keep himself alive for the last 300 years.

(there’s a small drabble that’s barely a complete thought but i have to post because otherwise It Will Overtake Me.)

“I was thinking... Hunter,” he says to you across the breakfast table, chin in hand as he watches you with a soft look on his face. Your eyebrows go straight up, and you start nodding with your mug to your lips.

“Hm!” You hum, around a mouthful of coffee.

“You don’t like it,” he says, a little disappointed. You swallow quickly.

“I don’t dislike it!” You say, ceramic hitting wood with dull noise as you place your drink on the table. “I just- it’s just-” You cough, and get a sip of water to clear your throat. “It’s just not in my top ten. What about Alexander? Johannes-” He makes a face. “Okay, maybe not Johannes.” You draw your coffee to you, wrapping your fingers around the belly of the cup to warm your fingers, contemplative. Your expression goes a little wistful. “You remember my friend, Mattias?”

His stomach seizes, and he swallows his bite of eggs a little thickly. “Yes? I don’t know if I like Mattias, either, my love.” You laugh brightly.

“Oh, god, no- He would freak the fuck out, if I came back with, not just a baby and a husband, but a baby named after him.” You can’t keep the giggles out of your voice. “Oh my god, I can see his face- he’d be like-” you rearrange your expression into not-so-thinly veiled disgust. “Oh! A baby with my name! Thanks...” You laugh again, and it fills the room, and he can’t help but grin. “No, no.” You sigh, smile fading into something a little distant, as you look out of the kitchen window.

Thoughtlessly, he mirrors you, taking his own cup between his hands as he listens to you speak.

“Mattias had a baby brother who died when Tie was in his twenties.” Belos feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “He always speaks really fondly of him, and I know he has some regrets about their childhood- from what I know, their dad was a piece of work, and they came to the U.S. specifically to escape him, but y’know, they were raised really religious, and their dad sort of pitted them against each other, so I think it was very much a ‘you’re my best friend and my worst enemy’ scenario.

“I know Tie has some... regrets,” you say, glancing at him with a shrug, as if to say, ‘Let’s leave it at that’, “about the way he treated him up until his death... Anyways, Tie doesn’t talk about him often, but when he does he’s always talking about how smart he was, how brave he was, and how much he loved him, and wishes he were still around.” You sigh, taking a sip of coffee. “His name was Phillip-”

Belos clenches his hand so hard that the bones in his hands creak-

His mug shatters, sending black coffee all over the table.