#so yeah these next 2 months are shaping up to be great

[iamasimperyk]

Lonely -Rafe Cameron

Summery: Rafe finds you, a Pogue, crying at the beach.

Warnings: Fluff, Cursing, Crying, Not proof-read, English is not my first language

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Pogue!Reader

Part 2

Why was everyone around you in a relationship? It wasn't like you were desperate to get a boyfriend, but somehow it made you feel insecure that you didn't have one. You started to wonder why no one wanted you. Was it because you were ugly? Was it because you weren't someone who liked to go out and party? Or was it because you were too inexperienced?

You didn't want to bother any of your friends with your thoughts, and it wasn't like you had a chance to do so. Since all of them were in a relationship now, no one has time for you anymore. And that's how you found yourself crying on the beach on a Saturday night, alone.

You loved the beach and sometimes you also liked to be alone. From time to time you needed to think things through and just needed some alone time, but right now, you just wished for someone to hug you. You felt lonley and the fact that your friends and every other person on the island would be at a party right now, didn’t make things better.

Pogues and Kooks together at the Bonefire never ended good, so it was the perfect excuse not to go. At least that‘s what you told your friends. They didn‘t even question it, to busy being all lovey dovey in their relationships.

A tear rolled down your cheek as you thought about your friends. You were happy for them, but somehow you longed to feel the rush of a relationship too. You wanted to be kissed, held, and loved.

The fact that you were a little jealous of them made you even more upset. A good friend shouldn’t be jealous, but happy.

You were deep in your thoughts when a voice suddenly pulled you out of them, “Ey!”

You turned around, quickly wiping away your tears.

You couldn’t believe your eyes. The one and only Rafe Cameron were walking towards you. The last time you had seen him was on the ship, where he nearly shot you.

“Oh, look who it is.” He gave you one of his famous smirks, now standing in front of you.

“What are you doing here, Rafe?” You mumbled, not even looking at him.

Rafe caused nothing but trouble the last few months. He was the reason why the Pogues and you lost the gold. He was the reason why the Pogues and you lost the Cross. He was the reason why John B and Sarah had been missing.

“Could ask you the same question. Never saw you without your little friends.” He chuckled, sitting down next to you.

“Well, I didn’t want to attend the Bonefire, but they did.” You shrugged, looking at the sunset in front of you.

“Didn’t want to go either, too old for the shit I guess,” He sighed to which you let out a humourless laugh, “Rafe Cameron is too old to get wasted? Yeah, great joke.”

“Believe what you want, I don’t care, but at least I am not the one sitting here because my friends don’t have time for me anymore.” He hissed.

It wasn’t wrong what he said, but how did he know?

After he saw the look of confusion in your face he spoke up again, “It’s obvious that they don’t have time for you anymore. They are all dating now and you are the only single one.”

Once again, tears welled up in your eyes, but you quickly blinked them away. "Are you observing my friend group, Cameron?"

He answered without any emotion, "Do I look like someone who cares about your friend group? It's obvious you're trying too hard to get their attention."

Why didn't your friends see your efforts when even Rafe Cameron did?

“But lucky for you, out of your little group of Pogues, I tolerate you the most," He said after a few seconds.

“Hard to believe since you wanted to kill me a few months ago.” You muttered, drawing little shapes into the sand.

“Oh, come on. I didn’t want to kill you, I just had to get back what belonged to me. The cross,” He started to explain himself, “But it doesn’t matter since I am a new person now.”

“I see, and why’s that?” You raised your eyebrows.

“My dad isn’t here anymore so I am the boss now.” He told you proudly.

“And you cut your hair.” You mumbled quietly, but he heard you regardless, “Looks more mature.”

You nod, “I like it.”

“Did Y/n Y/l/n just complimented my hair?” He asked in a sarcastic tone.

You couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Why are you really here, Rafe? You saw that it was me sitting here. Why would you come anyway?”

"I left the Bonfire because it was shit, and as I was walking towards my car, I heard someone sobbing. At the Bonefire I saw your friends with my sister, but I couldn't see you. When I saw you sitting here, I knew that something was wrong," he confessed while scratching his buzzed head.

“I appreciate that you came down to talk to me, Rafe, I really do.” You smile a little at him.

It's hard to believe that someone actually came to look after you. Not just anyone, but someone who was supposed to hate you. This person had made your life a living hell for the past few months. Despite this, the last half hour has been the best you have had in a long time.

“Look I am not good with all this emotional shit, but you wanna tell me why you were crying?” He asked carefully.

“Promise me not use it against me?” You asked in the most innocent voice Rafe has ever heard.

He answered with a short ‘promise’ before you started to explain how left out you have felt the past few weeks.

As you finished explaining, tears streamed down your face while Rafe held you tightly.

“Thanks for listing, Rafe. I am sorry I ruined your night,” You wiped away your tears, your eyes puffy from all the crying.

“You haven’t ruined my night, Y/n, actually you made it a lot better. I would probably have stayed at home all alone, trying to drown my thoughts in whiskey.” He told you honestly.

"Better than listening to me whine about my friend's relationships," you said as you hiccuped.

He shook his head, "At least you feel better after telling someone your problems, and I got to hold you."

You smile up at him, “You are happy to hold me? A Pogue?”

He chucked lightly, “Who would have thought.”

“Well, I also didn’t imagine myself at the beach, lying in the arms of a Kook.” After those words left your mouth there was silence.

The two of you were staring at each other until Rafe leaned down. You closed your eyes, your lips were nearly touching when someone called out your name.

“Y/n, is that you?”

[kirisslut]

—I Can Treat You So Much Better w/ Eijirou Kirishima

—Cw: bestfriend!kirishima, cheating, phone sex, facetime sex, masturbation, toxic!partner, UNEDITED

—Summary: your partnet is toxic and your best friend, Eiji, thinks you deserve a lot better

—Author's Note: I got out of a toxic relationship roughly 2 monthes ago and I’ve unintentionally made it a new personality trait and I think about it everyday and it came to my mind while thinking of smut ideas and someone please help me I don’t want to think about that- anyway enjoy me self projecting to the fucking extreme :)) Also I tried to make this gender netural but reader is afab and i wrote it with my ex in mind so if I accidentally called the ex a boyfriend at some point I apologize- ALSO I HAVENT WRITTEN IN FOREVER SO SORRY IF THE WRITING IS BAD

—Please keep in mind that you must be 15+ to read this piece, thank you <3

Eijirou hated this, he hated everything about it. Eijirou has had feelings for you for a couple years now, ever since middle school. He hasn’t had to see you with very many partners before, there were a couple of few month relationships with people that he didn’t particularly like but they treated you well so he wasn’t too bent out of shape over it. But this was by far his least favorite relationship of yours. You had been dating this person for about six months now and he hated everything about them. First off, he thought you were way too pretty to be with this person. In his eyes, they were a one and you were an eleven. Secondly, they treated you horribly. They said mean stuff to you, upset you, made everything about them, didn’t respect your consent, and so much more. And on top of that, they were horrible in bed. They made the most bold and most wrong movements and refused to educate theirself on your body and what you enjoyed. On top of that, there was never any aftercare whatsoever.

And it pissed Eijirou off. You were perfect to him, how come you gave this person a chance and not him and let them treat you horribly? Well one night, he had enough, Eijirou finally snapped. This was the fourth time that week that you’d texted him, saying some along the lines of “i was hanging out w/ p/n and they really upset me because…”. And that was the last straw for him, he was gonna remind you of your worth. 

Y/n: Eiji, they did it again. We were making out and it was kinda going further and they did something wrong and it hurt so I asked them to stop and they asked if I was just turned on too much-

Eiji: I’m sorry sweetheart, your partner sucks :( why don’t you facetime me?

Not even five seconds later a call was coming through and he answered it, smiling at the sight of your face.

“Hi, pretty, how’re you?” He asked, running a hand through his hair. You gave a small smile in return.

“Hi Eiji, not great.” You were laying in bed, one hand holding up your phone while you laid your head down on your arm, “I just wish they’d take the time to figure out what I like…y’know?”

“I know, love, I’m sorry they’re like that. You deserve a lot better than that, you’re gorgeous. Anyone who doesn’t wanna treat you right in bed is a total idiot.”

Your cheeks heated up a bit and you smiled at Eijirou, “Thanks, Eiji.” Eijirou was sitting up, his phone propped up on his desk, with a controller in his hands, you assumed he was playing a video game. He was wearing a tight gray shirt, it perfectly outlined his pecs and showed off how big his shoulders were. You started unintentionally staring, and who could blame you? Eijirou was hot. Even you, as his totally platonic, never gonna be anything more, best friend could see that. 

“Sweetheart? Are you even listening to me?” Eijirou asked, looking straight at you. Your cheeks heated up more and you looked away.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I just spaced out,” you replied.

“What were you thinking about, sweetheart?”

Your next reply took a moment, you were scared to say it. This was wrong, everything about this was wrong. You were facetiming your best friend who calls you every pet name under the sun, to complain about your boyfriend, and on top of that you were thinking about how hot he was. But you were desperate.

“..you.”

Eijirou paused, making eye contact with you, “What about me, pretty?”

“...I was looking at your chest…and thinking about how you’d treat me so much better than p/n.”

The smirk that spread across his face killed you. You might as well go get a new name and move to a completely new country at this point, because you were so embarrassed. 

“Oh, you know I would, sweetheart. I bet you don’t even think about them when you two are getting into it, bet you just thinking about me, huh?” And he wasn’t exactly wrong. Sometimes you found your mind drifting to Eijirou when you were getting intimate with p/n. You didn’t mean to, it just sort of happened.

You nodded, “You’re just so pretty, Eiji, and p/n can’t make me cum…bet you could. You have pretty hands..and I’ve seen the way your fingers move on your controller.” You started subtly rubbing your thighs together, trying to relieve the feeling forming between your legs.

“I definitely could, pretty. I’d eat you out so good if I could, bet you taste amazing,” Eijirou says, setting down his controller and turning his full attention to you, “Why don’t you take off your shirt, sweetheart? I wanna see what I would have to work with.”

This, you hesitated on, more so than the other stuff. Talking was just one thing, but to show Eijirou your body would be straight up cheating, absolutely no excuses.

“Well, I don’t know..I don’t wanna cheat on p/n.., I’m just upset at him right now.”

“Come on, sweetheart, when does he ever care about your feelings? You deserve so much better than that. Just this one time, honey, I wanna show you what you could have. And I wanna see what that loser is failing to make feel good. They’re so stupid, I bet you’re super sensitive, I could make you feel so good.”

Eijirou’s sweet sweet words got to your head and soon enough you were propping your phone up, sitting on your knees, legs spread a little with nothing but an oversized shirt and short shorts on. The shorts hugged your thighs and pussy. Eijirou could see the outline and you swear he whispered “fuck” at a couple points. Slowly, you took your shirt off and Eijirou’s eyes widened. No bra.

It made sense, you were home and nobody wants to wear a bra when relaxing in their own home, but he was just a little startled. He didn’t mind though, of course. A hand drifted down to his sweatpants, palming his half-hard cock through the fabric.

“Look at you, sweetheart, you’re absolutely gorgeous. Those are the best tits I’ve ever seen, you wanna show me some more? I bet your pussy is just as pretty.”

“Mm, can I see you first, Ei? Please? Just wanna see your abs please,” you beg and Eijirou smirks a little, taking off his shirt. He was so perfect, perfectly tanned skin that was so smooth, and his muscles were gorgeous. You bit your lip, looking at his perfect body.

“Now take off your shorts, sweetheart, I wanna see,” Eijirou said, and you happily obliged. You slipped your shorts and panties off, spreading your legs a little more, “Fuck, pretty, you’re soaked. Do you have any toys there with you? I bet you’re one of those little whores who needs to play with their pussy every night before they go to sleep.”

Your cheeks heat up, “Y-yeah, I have toys…do you want me to use some..?”

“Yes, pretty, it’s no replacement for my cock or my tongue, but it’ll have to do. After all, we’re just testing this out, right? No cheating.”

You nod, “Mhm, not cheating. Just testing it out.”

“Good girl.” You reach into your bedside drawer and pull out a little box, showing Eijirou the contents on the call.

“What should I use, Ei?”

“How about you use that wand vibrator and that pink dildo? I think that’d look cute stuffed in your pussy,” Eijirou says, returning to palming himself. He was so hard for you, you were just too hot. You removed the toys from the box, putting it back and resuming your original position.

Suddenly, you were shy, you’d never done this over the phone before. You took a moment, and Eijirou didn’t rush you and eventually you mumbled, “Can I see your cock first?”

Eijirou smiled, “Of course you can, sweetheart.” He pulled his sweatpants and underwear down a little and then you saw it, your eyes widening a bit. Eijirou was huge, atleast seven inches. It was so pretty, p/n was nowhere near that size, nor was it as pretty or well kept as Eijirou’s. Eijirou ran a hand up his length, watching you, “This is all for you, sweetheart, you’re so pretty. It gets me all hard.”

“..you’re hot too, gets me all wet..”

“How about you get something in that pussy then, sweetheart? Show me how you get off after your shitty partner fails to make you cum.”

You don’t hesitate anymore before sinking down onto your dildo, not bothering with the vibrator quite yet. Eijirou kept pumping his length, watching the way your pussy swallows your toy up. After adjusting, you started bouncing on your dildo, making yourself feel good. Strings of moans left your lips, getting off on the fact that your best friend was watching you pleasure yourself. 

“Look at you go, sweetheart, you’re just so horny, huh? Not even thinking about p/n anymore, just thinking about cumming and my fat cock.”

“Fuck- yes Ei, ‘m thinking about your cock in my pussy, it’d stretch me out so so so good, d-don’t think I could take it,” you said as you reached for your vibrator, turning it on and pressing it to your clit. Eijirou stroked himself faster.

“Oh, you definitely could, pretty, I know you’d take it so good. Can already picture you creaming all over it. Shit- I’m getting close, cum with me.”

And that you did, you came around the dildo with no thoughts in your mind other than Eijirou and your orgasm. You slowly stopped, panting, and your phone buzzed. You glanced at it, at the top of the screen there was a singular notification.

My Love <3 : hey u busy?

“Mmm, that was so hot, sweetheart. Did you enjoy that?”

Y/n: yeah abt to go to bed, gn ily

“Yeah, Ei, of course I did…why don’t you come over?”

[butterflydm]

More s3 hints from interviews (day 2 & Josha!)

@markantonys linked me to a masterthread of More Interviews (twitter.com/GradeKangusBeef/status/1736788980006330448), which I have scoured for more s3 hints, lol. The twitter thread is being updated as they appear, so I definitely recommend the thread as a whole.

From a screenrant interview with Zoë:

Are there any future events or character moments from the books that you know about that you’re excited to get into?

Zoë Robins: Yes, definitely. I’m going to have to tread very carefully, but there’s a moment in season three that I think Wheel of Time book readers will be very, very happy about. It was incredibly exciting to shoot. I think that’s all I can say.

Guessing this will be the Nynaeve-Moghedien confrontation! The word 'exciting' makes me lean that way -- though we may get other key scenes from the books like Lan giving her his ring, not sure that would count as 'incredibly exciting to shoot' and would more likely be described as tender or sweet.

From one with Daniel:

One thing that is less present in the show so far compared to the books is Lan being kind of a mentor figure for Rand. Is there a chance we’ll get a little more of that as the show progresses?

Daniel Henney: I would say that I personally would not bet against it. I'm being shipped off in two months to a place very far away to shoot some really incredible stuff where I have to be in very good shape. I'm eating tree leaves and protein shakes, and I'm in a double training schedule right now, which could include some of the stuff you're talking about.

Another hint that we'll be getting Lan training Rand next season.

From a Dónal one from screenrant; this isn't about s3 but it's sweet:

Dónal Finn: It's great. I love the character very much for that reason. It’s a very human experience that when you're watching, you can go, “I can identify with that, because that person is trying to use levity and humor and lightness to make ease of someone else's difficult situation.” Even though it often can feel like he's kind of punching up or trying to jeer at Rand or something, he knows that it comes from a place of, like, “God, there's so much hard stuff going on for Rand in every day of his life that he needs somebody to do that.” Otherwise, when we meet him in Cairhien, if he doesn't have that—if he doesn't have Mat at that place—he may not laugh, and that's just really crap for your best friend.

I love this point here. I don't think I even realized how miserable as a baseline Rand was this season until we got that contrast of his reunion with Mat. We may be getting that dynamic continuing into s3.

Kate Fleetwood with dragonmount:

KF: Lots of things happen in Season Three... yeah… they sat me down and were like, “This is what we are planning for you in Season Three.” I was, whoaa! Ok…

Very vague, but interesting! I wonder if Liandrin will be a tug-of-rope between Moghedien and Lanfear next season, because Lanfear snagged her from Ishamael but Moggy might snag her from Lanfear.

The tiniest of s3 hints from Ayoola:

AS: A combination of things, I think like, it’s the writers and it is Naomi, my dialect coach, and I kind of spoke about that, it is that humor that the Aiel have that's kind of, can catch you off guard and isn't necessarily funny to everyone but they find it amusing… just where that hits I think and just kind of the situations and we're able to play with that and bring that in.  Also, Aviendha is kind of a little bit more cheeky than some of the other Aiel that we will encounter and kind of her humor is very much part of who she is. Just kind of playing around with that, and it just, it just came out and felt right.

We're gonna meet some serious Aiel in s3. Not a surprise, but good to hear!

Madeleine talked to decider.com:

So far what we know about next season is it’s going to be hugely inspired by The Shadow Rising. We’re going to see Rhuidean and Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene is now coming out of being a damane. You know, is there anything about her experience with the Seanchan that might influence how she handles, say, another hard, foreign culture like the Aiel? Absolutely. Look, I think even from Season 1, we see that Egwene’s truly been a novice of the world and is fascinated with what is out there and what other people can teach her and what other cultures can teach her. I think she’s sort of taken little bits of the Two Rivers, the White Tower, the Seanchan… And, you know, she goes on this journey to the Aiel Waste and ultimately will, no doubt, learn a lot there as well. So I think she’s just like a big sponge for the world and wants to learn. 

Confirmation that Egwene is going to the Aiel Waste, which makes sense, given that's her TSR plotline. Also, Egwene as a big sponge for the world and constantly learning is just... absolute 100% Egwene.

Josha talked to looper.com:

For Rand, Season 2 was about finding himself and realizing that he can't run away from it. He needs to do it with the people he loves. Season 3 is finally time for facing what he has to face. He's owning that prophecy more, and we see glimpses of why Rand is the Dragon Reborn and why he'll end up where he needs to end up. As that evolution's taking place, what do you do to get into character as this character is evolving? I'm very lucky that I have 14 books, which I have read, and that has given me a lot. I really understand Rand, and it's a lot of things. It's the conversations I have with Rafe [Judkins], the directors, and the writers. It's playing with all these amazing actors. It's the sets. Everything feels so real, and at the end of Season 3, we go to South Africa for two months, and being in that environment, all those things added up together, that helps you to get into the character.

Very exciting! We know that South Africa is Rhuidean, I believe, so very exciting to hear.

Also, Season 3, that keeps on going, and that is a very interesting area to explore because Lanfear is the Devil, and you can't love the Devil. It feels at times that Lanfear is the only one that really understands Rand, and because Rand is often very lonely in what he feels and sees, it seems like, at times, he can't express it to anyone else, and she's exactly what he needs — but she's the devil. That was very interesting for us to explore, and I secretly hope that Rand and Lanfear marry, but I don't think that will happen.

lol @ Josha. Anyway, yes, they're going to be exploring Lanfear trying to tempt/manipulate Rand more in s3, sounds like, so she isn't going to pay attention to Moghedien's warning for too long.

Again, without spoilers, what's next for Rand and the Emond's Field Five heading into Season 3? What can we expect? That's a good question. What can you expect for Season 3 without getting into spoilers? Well, they're together again. There is way more togetherness than in Season 2. That's exciting. It is fun to follow all of you guys, but there's a lot more momentum when you're all together. That's also quite hard for them, because these main characters all need to become something eventually. Because they are so close, it also creates some inner conflict. Rand, for example — if someone has been to your first birthday parties, it is very hard to become the most powerful channeler in the world and also the most dangerous man in the world, because they know your parents and they know who you were. That is one of the struggles they're facing now that they're together at the start of Season 3.

I would like to paste that last sentence from his first answer directly into the brains of everyone at reddit who believes that s3 is going to start with everyone all split up into separate plotlines and we're not going to get any group interactions.

Great answers from Josha in this one!

Screenrant also talked to him:

How do you interpret Rand’s relationship with Egwene in season 2? It’s romantic in the first season; do you feel like there’s a thread of that still there?

Josha Stradowski: I think a thread of that romantic relationship is definitely still there, because it gives this feeling of home for the both of them. They have been to each other's birthday parties. I think that is, on a human level, very [much] what they both need. But I think it also might transition to something else; more like a brother/sister kind of love. But that’s season three, maybe.

I'm really glad they asked him about Egwene!

Rand only reunites with his friends from the Two Rivers at the end of the season, and we haven’t seen how they are around him [after] knowing that he’s the Dragon yet. Can you say anything about what that dynamic is for season 3? Are they afraid of him?

Josha Stradowski: I think for all the main characters, they get what they need, and that is each other, but for all of them comes the internal conflict that they also feel like they need to become something else. It's like this growing pain, and I think Rand has that quite a lot. I feel like he wants to be there for his friends, he knows that he needs to be there for them to protect them, and the other way around as well, but he also needs to become the most dangerous men alive. How can you do that with someone that knows your dad, or the girl who kissed you for the first time? I don't know if that's Egwene, but in my head it is. So, I feel like they all struggle with this growing pain, but you see why they are friends, and you see why they are together; why they are the main characters of this story.

More that implies that we're going to be seeing EF5 interactions before they split up.

Collider also talked to him:

I've been reading the books, as well, and I think that's one of the sadder parts of Rand's journey, as you see how he's viewed through other characters, and the sadness of them reconciling their memories of him with the person that he now is kind of forced to become. Speaking of love relationships, though, I talked to Ceara and Rafe about Rand and Elayne's first meeting. What was important to capture in hinting at what this relationship is going to be, as well as the surprise of that connection? It feels like these are two people looking at each other for the first time and thinking, “You're going to be someone special.” STRADOWSKI: Yes. And that's what I take away, quite often, from the books as well. I have that with Selene, for example. There are a lot of moments where Rand can't get a word out of his mouth because he's so in shock at the beauty of this woman in front of him — and we didn't really have that with Selene, not like that in the TV show, but we did have it for Elayne. It's, like you said, a hint of what it could be, but I feel like it's subtle. It's a gradual thing which needs to be organic, and we might have some of that in Season 3, but I can't spoil that.

He talks a lot more openly about Selene/Lanfear in general -- which makes sense, because that's the relationship that was on the screen in front of us, while the Elayne relationship is gonna have a lot more spoilers involved -- but we get this hint here and I like hearing that the plan for Rand & Elayne is to be gradual and organic (which will be a big contrast to how the Rand/'Selene' relationship was introduced).

I will point out that Josha seems pretty careful overall about spoilers, mostly talking about things pretty vaguely and with ambiguity, so it feels like part of why he's talking about Lanfear so much is because she's one of the few things he's allowed to openly talk about at this point.

Lan training Rand is something that I think fans are excited to see, so I'll ask you the same question that I asked Daniel: can we look forward to that in Season 3? STRADOWSKI: What did Daniel say? He said he's back on the Warder diet, but then he also referenced your recent Instagram post and said that he needs to trim up to stand next to you. STRADOWSKI: Well, you can tell him I'm on the Dragon diet. Like you said, I'm also very excited to finally see some Lan/Rand swordfighting. I think it's time.

It cracks me up that Josha feels out how much Daniel might have spoiled before he says anything.

[avalynlestrange]

Speak Now

Draco Malfoy x Reader

Reader: she/her pronouns

Warnings: I didn’t proof read this. Let me know if there are any mistakes or if there are other warnings I should add.

Category: Post-Hogwarts, ex to lovers, wedding interruption, songfic, one-shot, angst?, fluff?

Summary: In which you rudely barge in on a white veil occasion.

No Sneak Peak 😋

Author’s Note: I’ve been feeling uninspired and unwell recently but I’m back 💞 This is my entry to week 2 of @hpcottagecorefest

Word Count: <2k

To The Library (fics masterlist)

To The Kitchen (WIPs)

To More Draco Malfoy fics

To Speak Now Anthology

You are not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion. Yet here you are dressed in formal attire, sitting at the seventh to the front bench of the great hall of the Malfoy manor. You had to come to see groom and Draco was not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl. You would be lying if you said you weren’t taken aback at the news of his engagement to one Astoria Greengrass a few months ago but it had pained you to hear it; especially through the mouth of an acquaintance.

He didn’t even have the nerve to say it to you. Then again why would he? You had been broken up for nearly year. But everybody knew you would get back together.

Well, everybody thought you would.

You always did. It was the norm for your relationship. Sure, this was the longest you’ve been apart but he somehow dated and proposed to Astoria within that 10 months.

You scoff at that thought. Must be their families doing. That’s probably why you didn’t get an invitation.

So you did what you had to in order to get into the event. You snuck in and see your friends and her snotty little family all dressed in pastel. There were different entrances to Malfoy Manor. You knew them like the back of your hand. Days and nights were spent here, running around playing hide and seek that lead to romantic encounters in nooks and crannies. No one truly checks who enters the servant quarters and those working this event, luckily, did not know who you were or were too busy to care.

You are sitting next to Blaise, who said he would say that he brought you as his plus one. If any one asked. Pansy said she truly would have brought you, if not for her being a bridesmaid. She had known the Greengrass sisters since she was born but was only told she was part of the entourage a week prior.

It’s not like you didn’t know the sisters yourself. You were close with Daphne during your school years and met Astoria when you visited Daphne’s home during the summer after first year and she was not as carefree as her older sister, even as a nine year old.

“She’s probably yelling at a bridesmaid somewhere.” You whisper to Blaise.

“Yeah, Pansy texted me earlier that Astoria’s gown is shaped like a pastry.” He snickers as he shows you the picture Pansy had sent him. You feign a laugh. Astoria looked gorgeous in the photo.

But this is surely not what Draco thought it would be. After the second wizarding war he vowed not to be caught up in his parent’s views and expectations ever again. It had nearly gotten him killed. You recall the nights you comforted him in your arms as he sobbed and scrubbed the mark on his forearm. How you missed wrapping your arms around him and being wrapped by his.

A cough snaps you out of your daydream. You look up and see Daphne with her furrowed eyebrows.

“You can’t be here.” She gestures for you to stand up. “My mom has seen you and told Astoria. So you have to-”

“She’s my date.” Blaise interrupts.

“And you know bloody well that this would happen.” Daphne ushers you and you follow her to the back of the hall.

“Look as much as I was rooting for you and Draco, I have to side with my sister. You need to go.” She hears her name being called and rushes to them.

Once Daphne is no longer in sight, you sneak back into the far back left side of the hall where long curtains drape. This was your last chance to stop this all. You couldn’t try to stop the engagement, but you can definitely try and prevent the union. It wasn’t a choice you made so lightly. Many sleepless nights nearer the date and you had made your mind up.

You couldn’t lose Draco. You had gone through so much together. There was so much love still there. No matter how many times you broke up and made up. You were meant to be. You know he knows it. So you hide behind the curtains.

The organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march. In between the two curtains, you peak at the start of the ceremony. Out comes Gardenia Greengrass in mint green. She never did like you when you met. She and Narcissa had been close childhood friends who dreamt of their children being wed and uniting the families. However, when Draco mentioned that you were his girlfriend during fifth year, their hopes were shattered and they were not warm towards you.

You sneak out of the curtains and sit at the back bench. The hall is filled with familiar faces but luckily the person next to you was too watching the ceremony to notice you.

As the wedding processional order proceeds to the grandparents, fond gestures are exchanged.

Then he walks through the door.

They say time stops when you’re in love. They are right. The intense feeling you have as you see him in his white suit and mint pocket square, his platinum blond locks in low fade cut, and his ice grey eyes wandering the hall sent butterflies to your stomach.

But they are heavy. It’s all wrong. This isn’t how you imagined seeing him down an aisle. Your stomach drops at the weight of it all.

You and Draco often talked about how your wedding would be. Which colour palette to use, which flowers, which venue and you see nothing of his preferences in what is all around you.

Draco stands at the altar awaiting his bride.

The music changes.

Astoria floats down the aisle like a pageant queen. You look to Draco and back to his bride. The butterflies are dancing around in your stomach and you are feeling a little nauseous.

But you know he wishes it you.

Doesn’t he?

Draco fixes his tie and looks around the room. He squints as he pats down his blazer. You know all his tells. By the way he fidgets with his family ring. He’s nervous. He takes a sharp inhale when he realises that Astoria is in front of him. She takes his hands in hers. A part of you breaks when you see him smile as he looks into her eyes.

You pay no mind to the words until you hear the preacher say, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

There’s a silence. There’s your last chance. You stand up with shaking hands.

All eyes on you.

Horrified looks from everyone in the room but you’re only looking at Draco.

He drops Astoria’s hands and faces you fully. You walk to aisle. Astoria’s mother stands up, but you start to speak.

“I’m sorry… Actually, I’m not sorry at all. Draco don't say a single vow. Don’t say yes.”

Your eyes are on his. Gasps from the people around you echoes in the hall.

“Let’s just run away now.” You continue. “I'll meet you when you're out of the Manor, at the back door.”

Your legs feel like they are going to give up on you when silence ensues. Draco is still standing at the altar. Hushed whispers follows. He opens his mouth as if to say something but he shuts it as quickly. He looks back and forth from you to Astoria. He looks back to you and says nothing.

That’s when you lose all the hopes you had. He really must be in this for love and not for his parents sake. You bite your lower lip and pick at the skin.

You don’t say another word and you walk out the manor. The metallic taste of blood seeps onto your tongue as you hold back the sobs that threaten to creep out. And as soon as you are out the grand entrance you drop to sit on the cold steps. All the what ifs crawl all over you as you wait on whether he will follow you out. You shiver.

Time is dragging. It feels like an eternity.

So you run. As fast as your shoes can take you. To the meadows nearby. It’s not the summer memories that flood your mind. No. Not the picnics amidst the flowers where you now sit. But the missed opportunities.

You should have told him you wanted him back sooner. You should have said something before they even got engaged. You should have never gone to this event. How stupid of you.

The scent of the pastel blue and baby pink flowers linger in the air. He used to pick them for you and placed them in your hair. The compliments he would shower you as you adorn them. Now they are tainted with the memories of them being in the decorations of their wedding. They must have been here together.

You grab a fist full of flowers in your hands and pluck them forcefully, chucking it with all the strength you can muster.

You hear your name being gently called. It didn’t register as a voice from someone near you. You’ve heard it so many times before. Draco did often visit you in dreams.

He places himself next to you.

“What? Come to tell me the good news in person? I must be so special.” You pick at the flowers once more. He doesn’t speak for the longest time. The breeze cooling down your heated cheeks. Shouldn’t he be at the reception?

“Remember when I first brought you here? You were so nervous about telling my parents about us.”

“Of course! Narcissa already hated me since you lot blamed me for breaking her favourite vase.” You remark.

The decision of sharing a bottle of fire whiskey stolen from the cabinets and pretending to be studying at the manor library seemed like a good idea then.

“It wasn’t my idea! Goyle just said it to protect me. Crabbe just went along-“

“Plus she was already furious when she heard that you dated girls that wasn’t a Greengrass. Bet she’s happy now.” You scoff.

“She actually loved you.” He confesses. “Every time I visited home without you she made me bring you your favourite dish.”

“That’s why we always had a bunch of them in the fridge when you got back.”

“Where did you think they came from?”

“I don’t know! I thought you bought it somewhere. You never mentioned they came from your mom!”

“I did! The first time when I went after New Years cause you had work.”

“I don’t remember that was ages ago!”

He laughs and offers you flower crown he had made.

“I’ve missed this.”

“What? Us bickering?”

“Yeah and just you in general.”

You frown at him and ask, “Why are you here? Should you be back at the party?”

He props down the offering in between you then looks to the horizon.

“I didn’t say my vows.” He pauses to see your reaction. However, when you didn’t respond he carries on.

“My father was the one who arranged all of this. After all these years and he still has an influence on me. Which is why I’m so glad you were around when they said, ‘Speak Now’. Ever since we broke up, I’ve been a mess.

“I keep going to my fireplace to floo to you and when I finally did you had moved out of our place. Figured you’d moved on. Broke more vases. It drove me crazy when you never came to any social events. I’ve missed you so much. You’re the one I love.”

He motions his open palm to you and says, “Shall we run away now?”

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Never Say Never

Chapter 4

Pairing: SingleDad!StevexReader

Summary: You are a 32 year old single mother, raising your seven year old son on your own. After being widowed at 30 and going out on awful dates with disgusting men for the past month, you have decided that you're giving up. You already had your great love. One person can't possibly get lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. But then your son starts playing baseball and the coach might just change your mind about that.

No posting schedule.

18+ only for eventual smut

Word Count: 7.8K

1 2 3

The sun blazed bright in the afternoon sky, like a gentle kiss on the back of the neck from the summer that would soon be on the horizon. A soft breeze rustled your hair as you stood next to Steve at the little ice cream cone shaped stand in the park, the words Scoops Ahoy in blue across the top, a little anchor next to it. Kids raced across the grass, over to the playground, smiles splitting their faces with joy, faces and fingers sticky with the remnants of the sweet treats they’d just enjoyed.

You looked over at Steve and then quickly back to the playground again when he caught your eye, embarrassed to be caught looking at him once again but you couldn’t seem to stop. You hadn’t been able to keep your eyes off of Steve the entire practice. The way he was so patient with all of the kids. The way they absolutely beamed when they received a high five from him every time they did something correctly. The way he encouraged them when they didn’t have it quite right. And yeah, the way he looked in his jeans and his olive green shirt that fit him in all the right places might also have caught your eye. 

You did not want to be one of those moms, practically having to wipe the drool off your chin, but you feared that might be exactly what you were because there was no denying the man was perfect. Annoyingly so and you were determined to find at least one flaw because no one could be that perfect.

But the highlight of the practice, though it was extremely petty of you, was the glares you received from some of the other moms when Steve jogged over to you and asked if you were ready to go get ice cream. You couldn’t deny that it gave you a delightful little thrill for all of those moms, some who had judged you mercilessly, to see you being the chosen one. Even if it wasn't true, even if it was just two parents taking their sons for ice cream and not two people who were dating, they believed it was and you couldn’t deny that you’d enjoyed it. 

If you could have burst into flames on the spot, disintegrating into ash, you would have from the heat of the glares that were coming your way. You could feel them as the two of you trailed behind your sons, making your way over to the park that was just a few blocks away. 

You could practically hear them now. He picked her? How in the hell did she snag Coach Harrington? I can’t believe he’s going out with her. Have you seen how much she’s let herself go since her husband died? It’s like she doesn’t even try. What would he want with her? 

Those snobby bitches always had something to say, whether it was about all the ways you failed as a single mother or the way you didn’t get your nails done or the fact that you had the nerve to walk through the world without painting your face first.

“Thank you,” you smiled, accepting your ice cream cone from Steve as he held it out to you, the boys having already raced over to a picnic table to start scarfing theirs down. “Did Eli even thank you for his sundae before he ran off?”

Steve laughed, waving his hand, the other holding his own cone, “He’s fine. Mine didn’t either. They were just eager for their ice cream. Probably hungry after how hard I made them work.”

“Yeah, you might want me to take my kid home for a shower before he comes your way to spend the night. After running the bases, he’s looking a little sweaty. Your house could get pretty ripe if he doesn’t get a hosedown at least.”

“You know, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Jere is looking quite glisteny from over here.”

“I’ll just take him home after ice cream and then drop him off a bit later, if that’s okay?” you asked as you approached the picnic table, sitting down next to each other, opposite the boys. 

“What do you mean take me home?” Eli demanded, looking up at you with narrowed eyes, his little mouth covered in fudge. “I’m going to Jeremiah’s house, right?”

You grabbed one of the napkins Steve had grabbed from the ice cream shop, impressing you yet again. Every parent should know to grab a large stack whenever their kids are eating but you noticed that dads seemed to be blissfully unaware of this fact, among many others. Lots of guys just coasted through parenthood but not Steve. Being a single dad probably helped since he couldn’t just assume that mom would have it like most did. You dabbed at the corner of Eli’s mouth as his face screwed up in annoyance, swatting at your hand. 

“Mommy, stop…” he groaned, clearly embarrassed that his mom was cleaning him up in front of his friend. His little face was turning red, hands clenched into fists, letting you know he was about to fall apart in the middle of the park. “I’m not going home, am I? You guys said I could stay the night at Jeremiah’s house.”

Before you could respond to your son, Steve answered, “Well, both of you boys are a little stinky after practice.” He leaned in, taking a big whiff, and then pretended to gasp and gag, making them both laugh. “I don’t know if me or Miles can survive all night with that stench. You know, Miles’ sniffer is way more powerful than ours. Poor guy. You don’t want to make him suffer, right? So, you’re both going to go home and take showers and then your mom will bring you over.”

The boys seemed mollified by his answer and you were left, once again, in awe of this man. Your son had been on the verge of a complete meltdown and Steve had swooped in, stalling it before it began, by simply making him laugh. The laugh calmed him down so he could hear the rest of the explanation. Was he made of magic? He barely even knew Eli and had handled him so easily, as if he had a sixth sense for what was about to happen.

Eli was, hands down, the best thing that had ever happened to you. You loved your son more than anything in the world. He was an amazing kid and you often found yourself wondering how you’d gotten so lucky. He was sweet. He was kind. He was so empathetic, to the point that he often got his feelings hurt because of it. But he could be a handful sometimes and he didn’t handle changes of plans very well. He didn’t handle the unknown very well. He needed to know what was coming, what was expected of him. And if he thought he knew and then you switched it up on him, you could be heading for a full on meltdown.

Sometimes you wondered if he was seven or had just skipped ahead to thirteen. He could stomp his feet, slam doors, and yell like a hormonal pre-teen when he was angry. And unfortunately, with you being the only parent, it happened more often than you liked. There were times you would tell him you could do something and then something else would come up. Those were the times when being a single parent sucked the most because there was nothing you could do. You were only one person and unless you could wrangle Janice or Matt to step in, you couldn’t fix it for him because you could not be in two places at once.

“Thank you,” you said softly, leaning your mouth close to Steve’s ear, and then regretting it when that deep, woodsy scent of him consumed you again. 

He winked, “No problem. I’ve dealt with my fair share of childhood tantrums. I know one coming on when I see it. Figured it was better to nip it before he had time to pick up steam.”

“We’re done! Can we go play?” asked Jeremiah.

“Sure, for a little bit,” Steve told them. “But throw your garbage away first, alright sluggers?”

The two boys grabbed their empty plastic containers, remnants of sticky ice cream and fudge in them. Giggling, they raced to the trash can and then took off for the playground, heading straight to the swings, both declaring they could swing higher. 

“I appreciate it. Eli can be a freight train of emotion sometimes and it can be exhausting.” Realizing what you just said, you winced. “I mean, he’s an amazing kid. Really, he is. He’s my everything. He just gets really upset when things get changed on him ever since…” 

You stalled. Was that a topic you really wanted to bring up sitting here with a guy you barely knew? A guy you might be interested in? Your dead husband didn’t seem like the place to start when you were just getting to know each other. Nothing could kill a good mood faster than someone bawling their eyes out in grief and you still struggled to talk about Justin without crying. You wondered if you’d ever be able to.

Steve watched you, those hazel eyes as warm as the sun shining down on them, his face full of compassion. His expression made you wonder if he already knew about Justin. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities considering their sons were best friends. Had Jeremiah asked Eli where his dad was? If he had, of course Eli would have told him. It wasn’t a secret. You wanted Eli to feel comfortable talking about his dad. And if he had, had Jeremiah told Steve? 

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Steve finally said with a shake of his head. “I get it. Kids, man. They are the greatest thing in your world and you wouldn’t give them up for anything. But they’re hard. They’re so damn hard sometimes. Take Jere. He’s a fantastic kid. I mean, I really couldn’t ask for a better kid but bedtimes are a marathon. It’s always when his talking button gets turned on and he has eighty things to tell me about. And you know, come nine o’ clock, I am ready to be done being dad for the day. I just want an hour to crack open a beer and watch tv or sit on the deck and enjoy the silence. Also, he hates haircuts. I mean, full on, four alarm tantrums whenever it’s time for a haircut. You should have seen his hair last summer. It was down to here.” Steve gestured halfway down his bicep with a laugh. “It was summer so I let it go for as long as I could but right before school started, I told him he had to because he also hates the hairbrush. I mean, if he won’t let his mom or I fix it, then it’s got to be cut, right? He was running around looking like a caveman. And brushing all the tangles out of hair that long…nightmare, especially with a kid who’s acting like you’re stabbing them before you’ve even touched them. Not even my Herbal Essences could fix that mess.”

You pressed your lips together to conceal the smile that appeared at his mention of his shampoo. Well, that explained it. Not only had the man been blessed with a head of gorgeous hair, but he also took care of those locks. Justin had been a Suave guy but then his hair had been buzzed close to his head for most of his adult life. Quality of the hair product didn’t really matter so much when you barely had any.

Catching your smirk, Steve sighed, “Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. I’ve dealt with the abuse for years. Tell me how Herbal Essences is supposed to be for women.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“Look, you have no idea how hard it was to find something that worked for me after Faberge Organics went out of business.”

“The Farrah Fawcett shampoo?” you questioned, struggling to keep the bubble of laughter that was quickly rising down. 

“Yes. And her spray! That shit worked wonders on this hair. Do you know how many ladies I got in high school because of this hair?” He gestured at his caramel locks. 

“I have no doubt. It’s great hair. Really.”

“You laugh. Go ahead. It’s not anything I haven’t heard before. Everyone loves to mock my hair.”

“I’m not mocking your hair. Seriously,” you assured him, captivated. With the sun shining down, his hair looked like a golden crown on his head, highlighting the myriad of highlights within. “Steve, seriously, I am not mocking. You have really beautiful hair.”

Those eyes, like the glow of a sunset, holding all the colors of the Earth itself within them, looked at you as if you were the only person in this park, possibly on the planet. The moment froze, time stopped, your heart pounding a rhythmic beat against your ribcage. Steve’s hand lifted, hovering in the air, as if he were thinking about touching you but uncertain about doing it and your breath became shallow as you realized how much you wanted him to. 

“Daddy!” Jeremiah yelled, racing up to you. Steve’s hand dropped to his side, his eyes tearing from yours to look at his son, the moment broken. “You gotta come see this! We made a castle out of sticks!”

“Oh wow,” Steve replied, smiling indulgently over at you. “A castle out of sticks. Sounds pretty amazing. We better go check this out.”

“Yeah,” you replied, slightly dazed, inhaling slowly as your heart resumed its normal pace. “Can’t miss that.”

____________________________________________________________

“So, let me get this straight,” Robin, his best friend of twelve years, commented from her perch on his kitchen counter. Her legs swung back and forth as she munched on chips straight out of the bag, never hesitating to raid his cupboards as soon as she walked in the door. “You met this woman who is both single and gorgeous.”

“Yeah. I’ve met single, gorgeous women before, Robin,” he reminded her. “Have you forgotten about the string of failed relationships I’ve had?”

“No. Definitely not. I’m well aware of how much you suck. I’m the one who collected all the data on it, remember?”

“Gee, thanks,” huffed Steve, folding his arms over his chest, leaning back against the counter next to her. “Why am I best friends with you again when all you do is abuse me?”

“Because I give you the dose of reality and humility that you need so you never get too cocky. King Steve needs to be knocked down from his throne every now and then.”

“I haven’t been King Steve in over a decade.”

“Not according to the moms around here,” Robin snorted. “Seriously, straight women are feral and the married ones are even worse. They’re desperate for attention, for someone to validate them, to assure them they are still desirable because we all know their husbands aren’t.” She paused, chip halfway to her mouth. “Damn. Maybe that’s what I need to do.”

“What?”

“Find a married woman.”

Steve’s eyebrows met as he looked at his friend, “You do realize that would mean that you are helping someone cheat on their spouse, right?”

Robin shrugged, “Look. Some of these men have it coming. They don’t appreciate what they have. And come on, you can’t tell me there aren’t loads of women in marriages who would rather not be. Women who married just because it’s what society expects them to do when really, that cute little barista looks much more appetizing than the man they have at home belching while scratching his beer belly.”

“Barista, huh? Could we be thinking about June?”

Robin sighed, those gray blue eyes hazing over, “I mean, you’ve seen her, right?”

“I have. She’s a very pretty woman.”

“Pretty? Please. That’s an insult. That woman might be the most gorgeous creature who’s ever walked this planet. And she makes a caramel macchiato like a damn magician. I swear she fills that cup with magic. I have to have one every single morning or my day just doesn’t feel right.”

“Yeah, I am sure the coffee is what you’re going in there for every morning,” he snorted with a shake of his head. 

Robin jabbed her elbow into him and he laughed. He loved her. He’d even wanted to date her, for a very short time, when they worked together, until she’d told him that he had equipment that she just didn’t require. His best friend was one of the most amazing people on the planet but she had such a hard time when it came to dating. She was terrified to actually ask anyone out, preferring to pine for them from afar.  

“Robin, just ask her out,” Steve insisted. 

“I can’t just ask her out! I don’t even know if she likes women, Steve.”

“Oh, she absolutely likes women. Are you kidding me? I’ve watched you two when you’re getting coffee. The way she tucks her hair behind her ear and looks up at you from under her eyelashes. Plus, her ex was definitely a woman. Come on, Robin. She’s totally flirting with you.”

“She could do that with everybody.”

“She’s never done it with me.”

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling, “Oh, and of course if she doesn’t bat her eyelashes at King Steve then she must not be interested in men, right?”

“No. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“And anyway, we were not talking about my love life. We were talking about yours. How long are you going to wait before asking gorgeous, single mom out?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if she wants me to.”

“Is Steve Harrington actually scared to ask a woman out?” asked Robin with delight. “Oh, this is interesting.” “What’s interesting?”

“I have not seen you flustered over a girl since Nance. Women don’t make you nervous. If this one is making you nervous, then you must really like her. Does Steve have a little crush?” She gasped, pointing at him. “You do! You’re blushing! Oh my god!”

“Shut up. Jesus, you are so annoying. Do you know how annoying you can be?”

“Steve and single mom sitting in a tree…” she sang loudly.

“Oh my god Robin,” he groaned, slapping his hand over her mouth. “Can we not be children about this? Look, it isn’t as simple as just asking her out. Her husband died.”

“Oh, damn,” Robin breathed, all traces of humor gone. “When?”

“I don’t know. Jere told me that Eli’s daddy went to heaven. But that’s all I know. I mean, it’s information from a seven year old, getting information from another seven year old. It’s not exactly the most reliable. But he’s not around and when she brought him up…you could see it, you know? The sadness. It was like a shadow came over her face. But whether it was four months ago or four years ago, I have no idea. That’s why I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know if she’s even ready to date anyone.”

“Okay, so ask her.”

“How do you ask someone that? So, how long ago did your husband die because I am hoping you’re past it enough to go out to dinner with me? Come on.”

“Well, obviously not like that, dingus. I swear, you are so helpless. What would you ever do without me?” Robin hopped down off the counter, turning toward him. “Just talk to her. If you’re getting to know each other, then obviously your pasts are going to come up. Share about your divorce and then maybe she’ll share about that.”

“I did tell her about my divorce.”

Robin chewed on her bottom lip in thought, “Okay, so maybe you mention that Jere said Eli’s dad wasn’t around anymore and then see what she says.”

“I don’t know…”

“Steve, you seem to really like her.”

“I’ve liked people before.”

“Not like this.”

“I barely know her.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Robin insisted. “I haven’t seen your eyes do that thing in years.”

“What thing? My eyes aren’t doing a thing.”

“Oh yes they are,” she smiled. “They’re all soft and warm like the inside of a chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven when you talk about her. I’m telling you, don’t let this one get away.”

“Maybe you should listen to your own advice,” he challenged, lifting his eyebrows. “Because your lips do that thing when you talk about June.”

“My lips do not do a thing.”

“Oh yeah they do. They get all pursed in the corner and you smile without even realizing it when you talk about her.”

“Fine. Then, I’ll make you a deal. You ask out single mom and I will ask out June.”

“You first,” he insisted, knowing she’d find a reason to back out.

Robin’s mouth dropped open as annoyed huffs escaped. She glared, folding her arms, stepping from one foot to the other. He knew her far too well. There was no way he was asking first because she’d drag her feet and put off asking June for as long as she could. 

“Fine,” she snapped, poking him in the chest with her finger. “But if I get my heart shattered to pieces, you’re buying me all the junk food I need to make me feel better.”

“All the Haagen Dazs and Oreos your heart desires,” he promised. 

Knowing Robin, this would still give him a bit more time to figure out a game plan, possibly get more information on your situation. Steve breathed a sigh of relief but then just as quickly that relief vanished when he remembered you would be at his door again at any minute.

___________________________________________________________

The front door swung open and what you thought for a moment was a massive black bear came charging at you both. Eli squeaked and then broke into a fit of giggles as the bear that turned out to be an incredibly large dog gave him a sloppy kiss. 

“Jesus, Miles,” Steve huffed, grabbing his collar and gently pulling him back. “As you can see, he has absolutely no manners and somehow is completely unaware of his own size. I know he’s huge but he’s just a big baby and he loves meeting new people.”

“Oh, he’s fine,” you cooed, dropping down onto your knees in front of the furry boy, burying your fingers in his thick fur as Eli raced off to find Jeremiah. “Aren’t you, you handsome boy?”

“That’s him, always stealing the pretty ladies’ attention.”

You froze, hands on Miles, your eyes moving up to Steve who smiled softly at you and there went your stomach. It was doing a full on gymnastics routine at the compliment Steve had just given you, even though it had been slyly. You were pretty sure he’d just let you know, once again, that he found you attractive. You sat back on your heels, swallowing down your nerves. 

“Well, of course he does. Who could resist a face like that? Anyway, we don’t mind, really. We love dogs. We were actually going to get a dog but then, you know, life had other ideas and now it’s just me. There’s just not enough time and I would feel bad leaving a dog home alone all the time between work and Eli’s practices and stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m lucky with that,” Steve replied, closing the door as you rose to your feet. “My job is a bit more flexible. I often get to come home for lunch so I’ll take him for a walk. And being that I only have Jere half the time, I’m only responsible for half of his schedule. Plus I have Robin and Dustin. They’re always happy to come hang out with the beast for a bit if I have a busy day.”

“That’s nice. Good friends are hard to find. I am so thankful for Janice. If I didn’t have her, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“You don’t have any family around here?”

“No.” You shook your head, folding her arms over her stomach. “My parents moved when I was in college. I’m originally from the Cleveland area but I came here to go to Purdue. My dad got an offer to head up an office in Boston. It was a lot more money so they took it. I was living in an apartment with a friend at the time and in the middle of school so I didn’t want to go. And then I met my husband so that was the end of that. I wasn’t going anywhere.”

“Siblings?”

“Nope. Only child. My parents said they got it right the first time so why mess with perfection?”you laughed, shrugging. “I mean, obviously I am not perfect but that was their joke.”

“I don’t know,” he mused, one of his hands resting on the door as he leaned into you, causing your heart to pick up speed again. “I think they may have been onto something actually.”

“Here comes Robin!” came Eli’s voice as the boys raced through the foyer, capes billowing behind them. Miles chased them, his own red and green cape flowing over his black fur, the boys giggling through the kitchen and then the living room. 

“Well, I think I have been forgotten,” you joked, thankful for the interruption. “I suppose that’s my cue to exit.”

“Exit? Oh, I…well, you know, I was thinking that maybe…you might, you know, want to stay for dinner?” His cheeks flushed and god, he was adorable when he was flustered. “It’s nothing fancy. I’m just throwing some burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I have chips and picked up some potato salad from the deli. But you’re more than welcome to stay if you haven’t eaten yet.”

Stay? He wanted you to stay? You had just assumed you would drop Eli off, see the dog, and then get out of his hair. But he wanted you to stay for dinner? You hadn’t been prepared for that possibility. 

Did you want to stay for dinner? You did but that gnawing feeling that you were doing something wrong began to twist up your insides again. Were you betraying Justin if you pursued something new? Were you throwing everything you’d had in the trash as if it didn’t matter? Were you possibly setting up your son for more heartache? A chance to lose not only someone who was quickly becoming an important male figure in his life but also his best friend? Would Eli understand? Would he be happy if you started dating someone or would he think you were forgetting all about his dad?

Steve stood awkwardly, fingers drumming along the wood of the door, lips pressed together as he waited for you to answer him. You were being ridiculous. You weren’t dating anyone. You were reading far too much into a simple invite to stay and eat a burger at the house of your son’s best friend. He was simply being polite and to decline would be horribly rude. 

“Sure. I can stay for a burger,” you finally answered, trying to ignore the way your stomach somersaulted as you followed Steve into his house. 

___________________________________________________________

“Wine?” asked Steve once you had cleaned up from dinner, the boys having darted up to Jeremiah’s room to check out his gameboy. 

“Sure. That would be great.”

Steve’s house was so cozy, far better than you’d expected for a single man living on his own. You’d enjoyed dinner out on the deck in the backyard and then sat for a bit, watching as the boys enjoyed the swingset, Eli declaring it was so cool that Jeremiah had his own playground.

As Steve handed you a glass of deep red wine, the two of you made your way back out there, sitting down on an outdoor sofa on a brick patio that was just off to the side of the deck. A massive fire pit sat in the middle of the seating area and you could imagine it would be very cozy to sit out here in the evenings, enjoying the night sky. 

“Your backyard is amazing,” you commented. “Mine barely even has grass. Yours is like a little oasis. I don’t think I’d ever leave if my backyard looked like this.”

Steve chuckled, “Yeah, well, it took a lot of work to get it like this.”

“You did this?”

“Yeah. I mean, I had some help from my friends but we put in the patio, the deck, the swingset, all of it. I love being outside. Being inside too much makes me claustrophobic. Even as a kid, outdoors with the sky stretching on forever, it just felt like I could breathe, you know?” He shrugged, sipping his wine. “I just knew that I needed a space where I could sit and see the stars at night. So, it took a couple summers but I finally have it.”

“I’m surprised. Most people would just hire someone to do it. Being in construction, you have to know loads of guys who do that kind of work.”

“You’re looking at one of them. I started off as one of those guys, remember?”

“I know. But still, a lot of people don’t want to have to put in the time for a big home project like that. Especially when it’s what they already do for a living. They do it all week so why would they want to do it on the weekends? It’s kind of refreshing to know you did all this yourself and impressive. Maybe I should hire you.”

Steve laughed, “Yeah, well, when you grow up watching people throw money at other people to do work they could easily do themselves but think they’re too good for and then proceed to treat those people like shit, it gives you a bit of a different outlook on things.”

Your ears perked at his statement, “So, would I be overstepping if I asked you to elaborate on that?”

Something dark passed over his face and you wondered for a moment if you had overstepped. The two of you barely knew each other. It was probably intrusive for you to ask. But you had the distinct impression between his current statement and his talk about his father the other day that Steve had grown up around money, lots of it, and you couldn’t help but be intrigued. Because how did a boy who’d grown up rich wind up working for a construction company, living in a nice, but modest house, and be so damn grounded and kind as he was?

“You’re not overstepping. So, I used to be known around town as King Steve.” When you snorted, he nodded with a grimace. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s just as bad as it sounds.”

“I wasn’t aware we had royalty in the states.”

“Jesus, this is so embarrassing.” He ran a hand down over his face, pulling at his chin. “My parents were rich, like really rich. I was a brat. Ugh. I was such an asshole. I was pissed at them because they were never around. I was raised by a goddamn nanny until I turned thirteen and they decided I could just raise myself from there. They were hardly ever home. My dad traveled a lot for work.” She noticed how he did air quotations around work. “Work was often some weekend tryst with his latest bimbo. Then my mom started going with him because she didn’t trust his ass. Not that I blame her. They’d be gone for weeks and not even a phone call to see if I was still alive. So, I acted like a shit. I threw massive ragers at the house all the time. Hence the title. Everyone wanted to be around me because I could buy shit. That was my parents' consolation gift. I couldn’t have their time but I could throw their money away, however I pleased, because there was always more of it.”

You cupped both hands around your wine glass, pulling your knees in as you tried to picture this guy you were getting to know as an angry teenager. He made it sound like he was one of those guys that you despised in school, the ones who walked around like they owned the school because nothing could touch them. You could not make the two images mirror together. 

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” you asked, tilting your head, confused.

“Like I was some poor neglected child. I had everything I could have ever wanted. I didn’t go without anything. There were kids who had it way worse than me.”

“There are a lot of different kinds of neglect, Steve. You were a child. No amount of money can make up for a lack of attention from the two people who were supposed to love you the most.”

Lifting his glass to his lips, he swallowed down the wine hard, “Yeah. Maybe. Anyway, I was that guy. You know that guy. Every school has that guy. The one that every guy wants to be and every girl wants to get with. The one that everyone wants to be associated with because it raises their level of cool. I was surrounded by people constantly but I quickly learned it was all bullshit. Not a single one of them actually wanted to be around me. They just wanted what I could give them.”

“Sounds lonely.”

“It was. It’s so weird. How can you be so damn alone when you’re surrounded by company? I was never alone in that house. I couldn’t stand to be alone in that house. It was like living in a damn museum. So I always had people crashing at my house just so there was someone there.”

“Is that why you like outside? Because you hated your house?”

“Yeah. There were some woods behind my house. I used to just go walking sometimes or I’d sit out back by the pool, smoke a joint, and stare up at the sky. It was the only time I felt like I could breathe, like I wasn’t suffocating under the weight of being a Harrington.” He snorted. “Not that it wound up mattering what my name was after I disgraced it completely.”

“What do you mean?”

He turned his torso toward you, lifting one leg and crossing it over his knee, “My dad expected me to come work for him. Legacy, right? I was supposed to work for him and then eventually take over. But because I didn’t give two shits about school…I mean, why should I when I had all that money, right? Anyway, I couldn’t even get into community college with my grades. Complete loser. So, my dad decided I needed to make a working man’s wage, see what the real world was like. That’s when I had the job at Scoops Ahoy. He was punishing me. They completely cut me off. I just decided I had enough. I didn’t want to work for him anyway. I hated him. I couldn’t imagine him being my boss. Like, it just hit me one day, how miserable my life was going to be if I kept following the path they laid out for me. It wasn’t one I wanted. I hadn’t chosen that path so why should I keep walking down it? So, I turned around and raced the other way as fast as I could.”

“And you went into construction?”

“Yeah. Well, so Nance, Jere’s mom, is kind of the reason I got my shit together. She gave me a massive thump on the head when she broke up with me in high school. I was a dick and I was going nowhere. She could see that. So, she split up with me before she went to college because she didn’t think we had a future. I really looked at myself after that, you know? I realized she was right. I was going nowhere. I was either going to be making minimum wage, living with my parents forever or turn into the biggest asshole because I was miserable working with my dad. I was already an asshole. I’d let my anger at them turn me into this person I didn’t want to be. So, I decided to do something about it. Take that other path. The problem was I didn’t know what I wanted to do. It was actually Robin who said I should get into something that allowed me to work outside because that was where I was happiest and well, here I am. I mean, being project manager I am not always outside but it’s enough of a change from office to job sites that it works for me.”

“Wow. You know, it’s rather commendable that you walked away from all that money. Most people would have taken the misery to be able to never have to worry about anything financially.”

“Shit, not me. I don’t know how commendable it is. I just knew if I had a chance in hell of being happy, I had to get out of there.”

“It’s pretty damn commendable. You recognized what was making you unhappy and fixed it. You saw what you didn’t want to be and changed it, Steve. A lot of people can’t do that.” The more you learned about him, the more you liked him and that was dangerous. Tread carefully, you reminded yourself. Don’t seem too eager. Don’t appear too interested. “So, if Nancy and you split, how did you wind up back together?”

“Oh, well, she came back home after college,” he answered. “She got a degree in journalism and got a job at the local paper. Her plan was to eventually get a job at one of the big papers like the Indianapolis Star. Anyway, we met up for lunch, you know. Catch up for old times sake or whatever and she said how proud she was of me. She’d missed me. I don’t know. All of a sudden we were a thing again. I think it was a comfort thing? Like, being with her felt like putting on an old sweatshirt. It might not fit and it might have holes but it’s familiar and simple. The next year we were married and then the next year Jere came along.”

“Wow. High school sweethearts reunited. First love and all that. It’s really sweet,” you commented. And it was. You felt genuine sadness that the two of them couldn’t make it work after having found each other, getting a second chance. 

“Yeah, well, it obviously didn’t work out,” Steve laughed, his arm waving widely. “Behold my solitary lifestyle. I was tired of all the people hanging around me, always crashing at my place, and now I live completely alone.”

“You don’t live alone. You have Jeremiah and Miles.”

“Well, I only have Jere half the time. And Miles is my shadow. I mean, when Jere is here, he is almost always by his side but when he’s not, that dog is attached to my hip. At least I always have someone to cuddle with at night even if I wake up with fur all over my face.”

You smiled, “That’s nice. The only warm body I ever cuddle is my own or well, occasionally Eli when he sneaks into my bed. But that’s been happening less the older he gets. Big old queen bed and just me in it.”

“How…uh…” Steve cleared his throat, leaning back to set down his wineglass. “I mean, I heard about…what I’m trying to say is…”

“Daddy! Are we going to do s’mores?” asked Jeremiah, him and Eli racing out the back door, capes long gone. Miles trudged behind them, his big tongue hanging out as he panted. The boys had clearly worn him out.

“Yeah. Of course. But we just finished dinner about thirty minutes ago. Are you boys really ready for dessert?”

“Yeah!” Eli declared. “We worked up a hero sized appetite and only chocolate can fix it.”

“Oh, only chocolate can fix it?” you questioned, rolling your eyes. Your son had a serious sweet tooth, something he’d inherited from you. “What about broccoli? Superheroes need their broccoli. It helps them be strong.”

Both boys made a face, sticking out their tongues and gagging. 

“Eww. Batman would not eat broccoli. He doesn’t like trees. Trees are not for eating.”

“Trees are not for eating?” gasped Steve. “What about apples? You like apples?” They nodded. “How about bananas?” They nodded, smiling. “Cherries?” Both boys giggled, their little heads bobbing. “Well, those all grow on trees so you do, in fact, eat parts of trees.”

“Yeah daddy but not like the leaves and stuff.”

“Well, broccoli doesn’t even grow on trees. It grows out of the ground like potatoes and I know how much you love french fries.”

Eli looked at him as if he’d lost his mind, “I love french fries too but french fries and broccoli are not the same thing. One is delicious and one is icky.”

“That was a nice try,” you told Steve, “but you are not going to win a battle between french fries and broccoli with my kid. He would live off french fries, mac and cheese, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets if I let him. It’s a battle to get vegetables in this child.”

Steve blew out a puff of air, “Tell me about it. He acts like I am torturing him if I tell him to eat one carrot.”

“Daddy! You know I don’t like carrots.”

“You eat them for mommy.”

Jeremiah huffed, “Because mommy won’t let me watch my tv shows if I don’t eat them.”

“As you can tell, I am not the tougher parent,” Steve shrugged. “And he knows it.”

You laughed. You weren't the tougher parent either even though you should be as you were the only parent. But Eli had already lost so much and really, was not eating vegetables at every meal going to impact his life in the long run? Probably not. You had to pick your battles and as long as he was fed, trying to get something green in him was not a battle you were willing to fight.

“Daddy, the s’mores?” Jeremiah sighed, reminding his father of why they’d come out there in the first place. “Right, s’mores.” Steve placed his hands on his knees as he rose to his feet. “Guess that means I need to get the fire going.”

“Well, you make your fire and enjoy your night. I think I am going to get going,” you told him, standing as well. This had been nice but you didn’t want to overstay her welcome. And you’d been dangerously close to discussing Justin and you just weren't sure if you were ready for that yet.

“You sure? You don’t want a s’more? Not to brag but my marshmallow roasting skills are pretty damn amazing. Best marshmallow you’ll ever enjoy. Perfectly crispy on the outside and ooey gooey on the inside.”

That smile was certainly making you ooey gooey on the inside, but you weren't sure you could handle anymore time with him right now. Every minute with him was threatening to knock you over. Winds picking up speed and you were about to be swept off your feet completely if you didn’t get out of the elements and take shelter for a bit. 

“While that is a very tempting offer, I am going to pass. I am going to go home and take advantage of the quiet if you don’t mind.” 

“I do not mind. I understand. You go home, kick your feet up, and sleep in tomorrow. I’ll drop him off on my way to take Jere back to his mom’s. Probably around two if that works?”

“Sounds perfect.”

When had you last had a quiet morning? A morning where you could sleep in, enjoy your coffee in the quiet? Two months ago. It had been two months ago when Janice and Matt had taken Eli to a movie and kept him overnight. 

“Good luck with all of this,” you told him, pointing to the boys who were already back on the swings. Miles lay in the grass, watching them. That dog was going to sleep soundly once the boys settled down. “And thank you for dinner.”

“Anytime,” he smiled. “Here. I’ll walk you out.”

His hand came to the small of your back, sending shivers of delight zipping along your spine. It was such an innocent touch but when was the last time you’d been touched like that? You couldn’t remember. It had to have been Justin. All those little things, little moments, that you took for granted, didn’t even remember, because you’d always thought you’d have them, not knowing it would be your last. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said as he opened the door. 

“Hey,” he said, stepping into you, so close you could make out the myriad of colors in his eyes, tiny flecks of gold and brown and green. His hands tucked into his front pockets. “So, maybe this is too much. I know we’ve been spending a lot of time together and maybe you’re sick of us. But I told Jeremiah I would take him ice skating at the indoor rink over in Greenwood on Thursday after school. It’s a bit of a ride but I was wondering if maybe you guys would want to come.”

“Ice skating?” There was that gymnastics routine again. You’d be ready for the Olympics soon if he didn’t stop. “Eli’s never been and it’s been years since I…”

“I could help Eli. Jere and I have been going since he was three so he’s great on skates. And I mean, I could help you too, if you needed it.”

“I…” A picture flashed across your mind of your hands in Steve’s as he guided you across the ice and your body warmed at the thought. “Yeah. That would be fun.”

That smile, like your own personal sunshine, shone down on you, blinding you as he said, “Great. Jere will be really happy.”

“Yeah. Eli too.”

He swallowed, eyes locked on yours, and your stomach rolled so hard you were surprised you didn’t roll with it. His tongue slid along his lower lip and your hand clenched at your side, wondering exactly what those lips would taste like. Then he blinked, turning his head away from you, running a hand through his hair. 

“Yeah. Okay. So, Thursday then.”

“It’s a date,” you grinned. 

Shit. Why had you said that? Steve smiled softly and you wanted to die. Could you be more obvious? You closed your eyes, willing your brain to function correctly again.

“It’s a date that I will mark on my calendar, for our kids to skate,” you corrected. “Okay, I am going to go now. Good night.”

“Good night.”

His eyes twinkled with amusement as you darted from the house, fumbling your keys when you attempted to get them in the lock. What was happening? You’d not been this flustered since your first date with Justin. Steve Harrington was completely undoing you and you were going to be unraveled on the floor soon. 

Chapter 5

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[drewsbuzzcut]

The Other Blankenburg

nick moldenhauer x dallas blankenburg

a so it goes blurb

warnings: none that I can think of

“What’re your intentions with my sister?” Kent speaks up.

“KJ you’re not her brother. Nick, what are your intentions with my sister?” Blanks asks the same question.

“Hey! First of all, KJ is like another brother to me, and second of all, stop harassing my boyfriend,” Dallas chastised the two boys sitting across from her and Nick.

She brings her hand up to soothingly scratch at the back of his neck. She feels accomplished when she feels his body melt into hers. He seems calm and collected, but by the way he chews on his bottom lip and how his hand slightly shakes from where it’s resting on her thigh, she can tell he’s nervous. Her brother and honorary brother are definitely putting on the pressure. Their requests to meet her boyfriend were being ignored until her brother cornered her when she had nothing to use as an excuse. It’s not that she doesn’t want her boyfriend to meet two of the most important men in her life, but she was worried that they’d be overbearing and scare Nick away.

“Yeah, Blanks, I’m like her brother. Dallas, just be glad Owen isn’t here,” Kent teases, earning an eye roll from the girl.

“I plan to treat Dallas with the utmost respect and care. She’s my biggest supporter and I’m hers as well. She’s definitely helped shape me into who I am today,” Nick claims, although to the average person it’d sound crazy being that they’ve only been together for almost 2 months.

“Why’d you choose a hockey player?” Blanks asks. It’s his only way to pick at Nick because he hasn’t said one bad thing the whole night. Blanks actually thinks Nick compliments Dallas very well and vice versa.

“Nick!” Dallas shouts, cringing at the way she forgot they’re in a public place.

The three boys laugh at her expression.

“So, how do your grades look? It’s very important to maintain your academics and social life,” Blanks asks another question that makes Dallas want to reach across the table and pull his hair.

“Better than average. I do struggle in some classes with time management, but June has been very helpful and I’m grateful for that,” Nick says, Dallas’ eyes widened at her first name slipping from his lips. Nick didn’t know, but Blanks nor Kent knew that she allowed him to call her that.

When she glances at them, they’re wearing shit eating grins. They definitely figured out that she’s down bad for a hockey player, knowing that Dallas always claimed she’d never get with a hockey player.

“June?” Kent attempts to confirm that he heard correctly. She can tell he’s trying hard not to laugh.

Dallas flips him off, hiding her face in Nick’s shoulder.

“Moldy, did you know that Dallas, here, always said she’d never get in a relationship with a hockey player?” Blanks laughs at his sister's glare.

Moldy, huh? That’s new. Dallas finds herself hiding her growing smile. She likes the way they’re being welcoming to him.

“You guys are assholes, you know that?”

“We’re just teasing you two, but being that you’re her boyfriend and a hockey player, must mean you’re a really great guy,” KJ admits.

“I agree and I approve,” Blanks adds.

“Wow! It’s almost like I was asking for your guy’s approval,” Dallas retorts sarcastically. On the inside, she’s glad they like Nick.

———————————————————————

“I think Vegas would be fun,” KJ says, referring to their impromptu guys trip during the offseason.

“I can’t. I’m not 21 yet,” Nick says, sounding disappointed. He’s standing next to Kent and Dallas’ brother and Dallas is on his opposite side, his arm thrown over her shoulders.

“Shit, I forgot about that. Maybe we can go to Cancun or somewhere in Europe,” KJ suggests.

“No! He’s not going to Europe without me. Get your own boyfriend to take on a trip,” Dallas warns, although her words don’t hold much threat to them.

They all laugh at her words, making her pout.

“What’s wrong Dallas? Upset that we made our newest best friend?” At her brother’s words, Nick lights up seemingly surprised at how much they like him. He was expecting more tough brotherly love on her behalf. He’s glad he’s considered a best friend.

“Whatever, at least I know I’m Nick’s favorite,” Dallas sticks her tongue out at her brother.

“I don’t know about that, babe,” Nick teases.

“Fine. No kisses for you,” she states, walking ahead of the three of them.

Nick pauses, runs up behind his girlfriend and picks her up. His face goes between where her neck and shoulder meet, ignoring her squeals as he pecks her skin.

“I’m sorry, you’re my favorite,” Nick says, putting Dallas down and walking in front of her as she walks backwards. His hands are cupping her cheeks in a way that makes her lips pucker up.

She rolls her eyes, arms wrapping around his neck as she leans up to kiss his lips.

“Ugh get a room,” she hears from one of her annoying brothers.

“Aww what’s wrong? Jealous that I’m his favorite?” Dallas muses, continuing to kiss her boyfriend despite the other grown men’s griping.

Kent and Blanks tease them to no end, but they’re really happy for Dallas because she finally has someone to treat her the way she deserves. They’re also happy to make a friend in Nick.

a/n: This part is cutesy! Enjoy!

[foxxxtransformer123]

More head canon's!

Alexsandr Kallus edition.

Here's my take on Kallus back story and some random headcanons thrown in

1: I do headcanon him as having autism. I have written this headcanon into After the War and Stay with Me as best as I could.

2. He grew up in the lower levels of Coruscant. His family was poor, and his parents weren't the greatest. Kal was the oldest of 4 kids and did his best to protect his younger siblings. Their parents fought a lot and were often physically abusive to one another. Kal's youngest brother had physical and mental disabilities and their father would often physically abuse him as he was an easy target. Kal did his best to protect him and keep his siblings out of the fights.

3. He befriended an older man who lived next door to the family and would often spend time over at his house to escape his responsibilities and general chaos in the house. Turns out, the guy was absolutely grooming him. Once Kal hit puberty, the fucker took it a step further and began sexually abusing the boy.

4. His parents died when he was 14. His father died in an accident at the factory he worked at, and a couple of months later, his mother was killed in a robbery gone wrong, along with 2 of his 3 siblings.

5. He ended up on the street, completely homeless. He had experience already, as he often had to steal to survive because of how poor his family was.

6. He was forced into work at the age of 10 to work at a factory.

7. Once the Empire took over, they started snatching up street kids and putting them into the Academy. It was a ploy to get loyal soldiers who saw the Empire as benevolent and provided orphaned street kids' homes and jobs and an education. It worked on Kal.

8. During his time on the street, he was a part of a group of other street kids. He made a few friends there. They would help each other steal or beg for food.

9. He's got some really messed up ideas of sex and intimacy, thanks to that creep from his childhood, and a relationship he had at the Academy didn't help much (you probably know the one).

10. He started a sexual relationship with a superior of his relatively early in his career, which is super against the rules. He was drawn into it with promises of more prestige and advances on his career, which sounded very appealing to a young and ambitious ISB agent. The superior had done this to many young individuals before and the fucker even had a wife and kids at home. Kal knew about the wife and kids but not the other agents the guy was seducing. Kal fell in love and then got his heart broken, and it was only years later that he realized how fucked up and abusive that relationship was.

12. He developed a bit of an alcohol dependence after Lasan. He got an intervention because the Empire needs its soldiers in good shape.

Yeah, so, Kal got fucked over by everyone amd everything, and got traumatized horribly. Poor guy is messed up, but Zeb is doing his best to teach him how to have healthy relationships because God's only know he's never experienced that before. Kal is doing his best for his partner. He takes a bit of time to fall in love and to trust and has to unlearn a lot of bullshit, but he is trying his hardest.

He's got a happy ending on Lira San with someone who loves him dearly now, and he's doing great mentally.

Good job, Alex, keep up the good work, man. You deserve that happy ending.

[sadsnek]

sonic and cooking head canons

sonic. no way he knows a lot of modern home cooking if any home cooking when he knows he can just buy it or have dinner with tails / amy, BUT he should know basic foraging and gathering by now and has plenty experience cooking on a camp fire.

tails. is better at meal prep then cooking or at least he thinks he is why spend so much time making 2 to 3 meals a day every day when he can just make 3 meals and increase the ingredients by 700% and save the rest for the other days of the week but he will cook somthing fresh when he has guest over, if you can consider boiled hot dogs fresh that is.

amy. she is a great home cook and will cook with cream vanilla and big from time to time, the problem is when she wants to get fancy and trys to make a new recipe and has full confidence when she is in reality way over her head, and it dosent matter what she is making she will say "and now the secret ingredient" its love the secret ingredient is love and its not much of a secret if its the secret ingredient in every thing she cooks.

knuckles. similar to sonic but has the benefit of being on the same island all the time, he doesnt have a oven or any electric equipment but he does have some primitive stuff like a mortar and pestle, plus knuckles should have a garden some where on the island yeah its over grown and poorly kept but its still a place where he can get some snacks.

cream and vanilla. these two are the best cooks in town even better than amy any thats ok because they are happy to invite people over for dinner and if you cook with them you will probably learn some thing new, also the serving sizes are pretty big as vanilla is most defiantly the tallest person in town.

eggman. in thought he is a master chief but in action he has not cooked in years think about it the food he eats is more than good enough to keep up his large shape despite all the mechanics work he does and he had to program or train his robots to cook at some point, so he know how to work a kitchen but he is so busy and he has robots that can do it for him so he probably never cooks more than once a month or even less.

shadow. he is a picky eater with a nostalgic taste in food so he knows how to cook food but nothing passed the 60s, and despite not making any thing trendy or popular he at least knows he will make some thing he will eat.

rouge. its fair to say she likes to eats high class how she gets the money for these lavish meals is well not all ways moral, but she is willing to eat some thing simple when at social gatherings most defiantly if she does not have to pay for it.

omega. I dont know if it is said or not if they have a animal powering them but if they do that bird is getting ripped(its probably a flicky) we are talking protein powder steroids fresh salad, it does not matter if its weird and maybe traumatic to feed them chicken and rice but thats what professional marshal artist eat so thats what omegas power source eats too!

charmy. he makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the mourning for school days/work days and is proud of them.

espio. he is well known at the asian market and knows how to cook but does not get to learn any thing expensive or fancy ether for price and schedule issues.

vector. boy he has been trough the rough of it he knows how to feed 3 people on 400$ a month, and thats by hanging out at vanillas house.

team hooligan. bark and fang probably know some recipes but bean is a chemical fanatic one minute there making muffins and the next minute there pulling out a whole tray of crystal meth.

silver. i dont think he has a steady supply of food is most apocalyptic futures so he just likes to eat a pound of dry cement for breakfast.

surge and kit. they use to get fresh meals when starline was around, but now they got use to the effort of MREs if it takes more effort than poring water in a thermal bag then its worth the effort to just mug some one for some diner cash.

[avalil18]

Then There Were Three

Summery: moments throughout your pregnancy

Warnings: fluff, kissing

———————

2 months along

I was in the kitchen making lunch when I heard joes footsteps walk along the hallway.

“How was your workout?”-you

He looks up at you and smiles.

“It was good!”- Joe

He was wearing some black shorts and a bengals compression shirt. His hair was growing out and was wet from sweating.

Joe came behind you and rubbed your belly.

“How are you feeling?”- Joe

“I’m feeling alright, still very tired.”- you

“Well I’m going to shower and when I’m done we can take a nap! How does that sound?”- joe

“Sounds amazing!”- you

He unwraps his arms from your stomach and kisses your hair before heading upstairs to shower.

After a 20 minutes you have already eaten and cleaned the kitchen and now sitting on the couch watching your phone.

Joe comes around the couch and sits down then puts his left arm on your thigh.

“Shower was good?”- you

You look up at him and he looks back at you.

“Yep!”-joe

You two talk for a while about joes workout and his upcoming games.

“I’m getting tired want to take a nap?”-you

“Yes!”- joe

You laugh and move into joes embrace. He lays down and you put your head on his chest and your left arm on his stomach tracing shapes on his lower abdomen. Joe puts his hand on your growing stomach and rubs it.

“I love what you have going on over here!”-joe

“Haha! You mean my stomach with your baby in it?”- you

“Yeah! It looks hot on you!”- joe

You both laugh

“Oh shut up burrow and go to sleep.”-you

“Fine! I love you!”- joe

“Love you more!”- you

“Not possible.”- joe

——————

5 months along

“Joe, we got to get going!”- you

“Ok”-joe

You and Joe are going to your nieces 5th birthday party at your brother’s house. You are so excited to see family and friends. You’re wearing your regular y/n outfit which consists of a black short sleeve bodysuit and Jean shorts with some cute sneakers. Joe was wearing black shorts and Nike polo shirt with his famous Cartier glasses.

Joe walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where you were packing your purse.

You look cute!-you

Thanks! You look hot!-joe

Joe came next to you and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“I see you pulled out the Cartier’s.”- you

“You know it!”- joe

“Haha! Alright let’s get going babe.”- you

You guys walk to out the house and into Joe’s big Porsche.

“What should we listen to?”-you

“Kid cudi!”-joe

“K!”- you

It only takes about 20 minutes to get to your brother’s place so not that long of a drive. Once pulled up into the driveway you stay in the car knowing Joe would get mad if you got out yourself.

“Thank you!”-you

“Of course babe!”-joe

You both lock hands and walk into the house. As you walk through the hallway there were pink and purple balloons everywhere and kids running around.

“Jeez! Look at all these kids.”-joe

“Haha! You know that’s going to be us soon right?”-you

“And I can’t wait baby.”-joe

You both laugh and make your way to your family. your parents and some cousins were all around one table laughing. Your mom quickly notices you and Joe and opens her arms for a hug.

“Hi mom!”-you

“Hey baby! So happy you are here! How are you feeling?”-your mom

“I feel ok. A little tired but I’m happy we came.”-you

“Good!” -Your mom

Your mom then goes and hugs Joe and ask how he is as you go to your dad and cousins to say hello.

“So Joe and y/n this is going to be you soon!”-your dad

You rub your belly and Joe puts his arm around your waist and squeezes you gently.

“I know! It’s crazy!”-you

“Yeah! We were talking about it on our way in.”-joe

You look up at Joe with so much love in your eyes and he looks down at you on his glasses and smiles.

“You guys are going to be great parents!”- your aunt

“Thank you!”-you and Joe

After a few hours the party ends and you say your goodbyes to the birthday girl and your family and head out.

—————————

7 months along

Pregnancy is hitting you like a brick. You are so tired and nauseous all the time. But for these last couple of days you haven’t felt so bad. So you decided to not ruin these next few days you have of feeling good and relaxed until the sickness kicks in again and you have to prepare your house for everything baby.

It’s Sunday night football in chilly Cincinnati and you are going to watch the game. You put on a black,long sleeve bodysuit and then your tights and jeans over it. You then go into the bathroom to put your makeup on and do your hair. Joe already left an hour ago to go to the stadium so you had the house all to yourself. This was probably one of the very last moments you have the house all to your self until the baby arrives. Joe decided to take a leave for the next couple of weeks until the playoff games so he can spend every single second with you and in the house getting everything set up for your baby boy. Once done on the bathroom you grab your long coat and head out the door.

You drive to the stadium with Robin and Jimmy. They ask you how you are feeling and you guys also talked about joe and the game. Once arrived at Paycor you guys head towards the tunnel to the field to see Joe warm up. As you get on the field you pull you wrap your coat around your bump because people still don’t know that you are pregnant but that’s all going to change because you and Joe decided to announce it tonight after the game. You rarely go onto the field to watch but Joe wanted to see you and that’s also how you are going to announce to the world that you are pregnant which is by taking pictures out on the field. You and Joe both decided that’s how you are going to announce the baby because football is a big part of your lives and this baby is now also going to be a big part so you decided to combine the two by taking a pic on the field with Joe and showing your bump. People were already speculating that you were pregnant so you just decided to post some pictures.

As you walk on to the field with joes parents Joe spots you and runs over. People go crazy! They are all screaming joes name and you still can’t believe that people do that.

“Hey baby!”- joe says hugging you

“Hi babe!”-you

Joe then moves one to hugs his parents and then right back to you.

“How are you feeling? Are you cold?”-joe

“Haha! Im fine joe. Im just happy to see you play and be here before you take off for a bit.”-you

“Ok good! Oh should we take those pictures?”-joe

“Oh yeah, we should!”-you

You had Robin your phone and she takes the cutest pictures ever! Joe is in his all white uniform with a big smile on his face with one arm around your waist and the other hand on your belly and you put one arm on his back and the other hand also on your belly with the biggest smile. She took a few more with you and Joe looking at each other laughing and smiling. You know Joe isn’t a big fan of PDA so for him to do this is really special and he also gave you a kiss in front of everyone! You and joes parents were both surprised but of course you kiss him back and wished him good luck and you and his parents then head up to the suit to watch the game.

The bengals won of course and you were so happy. You head down with joes family to the family area just outside and right out front of Paycor. As you see Joe he gives you a big hug and a kiss and your heart was so full knowing you have an amazing husband and baby boy on the way who parents love him so much already.

As you and Joe walk to the car Joe says something that made your heart even more full then it can be.

“I love you y/n and I’m so excited to be a dad and I know you will be the most amazing mom.”-joe

————

The end!

Authors note: so cute!! Just little moments that make your heart full!🤭

[smittywing]

Ficbit 8: Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Previous parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Possibly Bernard is not just cannon fodder.

~

Jason laid low for the next few weeks. There was a world-ending event that he noped out on and he entirely skipped one of the Riddler’s rampages by volunteering to substitute for Dick on an off-planet Titans mission. Dick and Tim got a lot more fun out of the Riddler than Jason ever did.

But eventually, Tim called for help and Jason was the closest. 

Insectoid, three of them,and Robin was backed onto a roof by two while the other one poked holes in the asphalt below.

“Were these people?” Jason asked, landing on the rooftop and firing some rubber bullets in a gap between the carapace. One of the insectoids shrieked.

“Nope,” Robin replied. “Feel free to use the real things, but I need you ground level, this was some kind of restaurant experiment gone wrong and there are people down there.”

“Sure you’re okay up here?” Jason checked.

“Bernard’s down there,” Tim said, and oh. Of course.

“On it,” Jason said crisply and fired off a rappelling grapple. He swung easily to the ground and shot the knee out of the rampaging ant-thing on the ground. Well. One of the joints in one of the legs. Close enough. He didn’t actually have regular bullets on him because Gotham crime tended to be human-on-human or sometimes sentient-meta-on-human. But he certainly didn’t feel bad about using the rubber bullets at close range.

“On your six!” Great, citizen participation.

“Get down!” Jason roared and then spun on his heel to - 

See Bernard Dowd, formerly known as Cannon Fodder, connect a solid roundhouse punch into the side of the insectoid’s leg joints.

What the actual shit.

“You just,” he gasped out with no idea how he was going to finish the sentence.

“I’ve been practicing!” Bernard called, his sneaker connecting with another appendage.  “Keeps me in shape!”

“Great.  Don’t die,” Jasons called back because Timmers would fucking *kill* him.

~

No wonder Replacement was so over the moon for this guy. Bernard was actually useful. Yeah, he wasn't going up against Shiva or taking the World’s Most Awesome Axe to any parademons, but Bernard was sufficiently competent to keep himself and some bystanders alive while Jason cleared the deck. 

“Nice job,” he said reluctantly when the identified threats were down or in retreat. “You should get to safety though.”

“Nah,” Bernard said *right to Jason’s fucking face. “My boyfriend, Tim Drake, will be back in a minute. Nothing's going to happen to me when he's around.”

“Uh.” Jason was speechless. Quipless. Wordless, even. “Okay?” 

Was Bernard legit telling Jason that he knew Tim was Robin? 

No. 

Yes?

Jason tilted his head. 

Bernard blinked. He looked calm and confident. 

No. 

“Bernard!”

And sure enough, there was Tim Drake, jogging up to them. 

“Okay,” Jason said to Bernard. “I’m out of here. Scream like a girl if you need me.” Tim gave him the hairy eyeball and Jason, who hated Bruce's disappearing bullshit, went with his grapple gun for the quickest possible exit. 

~

“Hey, your internalized homophobia is showing,” Tim greeted Jason about three hours later. 

“Huh?” Jason asked eloquently. Replacement was in his territory this time and his only reason for being there seemed to be policing Jason. 

“Scream like a girl?” Tim prompted. 

“No.” Jason stared at him. “You know I said that long before you came out. You do not get a buy for being gay.”

“Bi,” Tim corrected, smirking. Jason let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. “I get a buy for being bi.”

“Also,” he said, and smacked Tim upside the back of his head. 

“Hey! What was that for!”

“You let me call your boyfriend Cannon Fodder for *months* and you knew he could fight!”

Tim grinned, and again Jason wondered at how talking about Bernard lit up his face. 

“Yeah,” he said, sounding like a complete and total sap. “I mean, he doesn't have our training but he….” Tim fucking *blushed.* 

“Oh my god, stop,” Jason said, because vicarious embarrassment was apparently a thing that affected him for the first time ever. “I’m just saying, he’s not complete Cannon Fodder.”  

“He's been kidnapped four times,” Tim said matter-of-factly. “I’ve started calling him that in my head. Don't tell anyone.”

“Anyone?” Jason asked after a beat, because Blondie would *love* this. 

“Don't even think about it,” Tim warned. “You know Steph would sell me out in a heartbeat.”

“How did you know I was talking about Blondie?” Jason demanded.

“Who else were you going to tell?” Tim asked. “Bruce, Tim let me call his boyfriend Cannon Fodder even though he can probably beat up the Riddler.”

“Did he beat up the Riddler?” Jason asked, because the Riddler *had* been rampaging last week and at this point, he’d believe it.

“No,” Tim said and then blushed. “A couple of his goons, yeah. He solved some of the riddles, too, which was fun.”

“Huh. Didn’t realize he knew the Secret. Does he know who I am?”

“What? No, he doesn’t know I’m Robin,” Tim said. “Riddler did the thing like in Keystone City a few years back and just airdropped a bunch of riddles on Midtown. So I picked some up and we figured them out, but he just thought we were doing it for fun.”

“Are you sure?” Jason asked, thinking of their most recent interaction. “Because I think he knows.”

“Wow,” Tim said with a sigh. “My life would be so much easier if he did.”

~

Turns out Bernard knew exactly who Tim played dress-up as at night. He spilled the beans by rounding up Batman and Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl, Spoiler and Orphan, and half the marina to save Tim and Kate from the weird cult they’d infiltrated.

Jason wasn’t invited.

It was fine.

~

It wasn’t actually fine. Tim’s pupils had officially gone heart-shaped and being around him made Jason want to throw up a little bit in his mouth. He and Bernard did a lot of canoodling on the boat and Tim didn’t seek out Jason to discuss investigations or be extra muscle on his cases.

Jason missed Tim.

It wasn’t exactly something he was going to advertise so he kept to himself and patrolled his area of Gotham without venturing into anyone else’s territory.

Some people didn’t have the same compunction.

“You’re not coming to Tim’s birthday party?” Batman demanded. Because of course Bruce got dressed up in his scariest costume to come harass Jason about his social calendar. “I thought you were working to integrate more closely with the family.” 

*I thought you were trying.*

“Maybe that was a mistake,” Jason said roughly. “Maybe I fucked up, old man.” He stared out over at the city, a collage of lights and shadows, beautiful and deadly, and superceding everything else, *home*.

“Hrm. Oracle. Is this roof blacked out?”

Jason didn’t hear the answer but a second later, Bruce pushed the cowl back. Jason turned his head automatically, like he was compelled to make sure it really was Bruce under there.

“Tim’s disappointed we haven’t heard from you. He assumes you’re not coming.”

“Good detective work on his part.” Jason approved. “Because I’m not.”

“When I was your age,” Bruce said, and then winced. “This is making me feel old.”

Jason tossed him a look that was meant to mean, *get on with your point or get off my roof* but may have included some, *there’s some self-awareness for you.*

“Anyway. I had a crush on someone I shouldn’t have,” Bruce confessed. “Someone married, actually. He wanted to stay in the closet. And he did. I never told him how I felt. And I lost him.”

Bruce put his hand on Jason’s shoulder and Jason felt like his insides were caving in.

“I have a lot of regrets,” he said. “Don’t be me.”

“So you’re saying I should just barge in and break up Tim and Bernard,” Jason asked, letting go of all his secrets. After all, who was he, trying to hide something from Batman?

“No,” Bruce said. “But I’m on your side, Jaylad.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” Bruce said, pulling his cowl back up. “I don’t want that kid to be cannon fodder but he’s really intent on putting himself in the middle of everything.”

“You’re never on my side,” Jason accused.

“How are you always so sure which side I’m on?” Batman asked, and stepped onto the brick wall lining the roof. He shot a grapple and paused before jumping. “Don’t let this be the thing that defeats you.”

And he was gone.

~

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Ran Valentine’s Day 5* Card Story

Chapter 1 -starless kitchen, table area-

kongou: Sorry for the wait. These are prototypes of the chocolate cupcakes we’ll be selling during our event. 

ran: Oh, here they are!

mizuki: Oi Ran, don’t eat them all yourself.

ran: I won’t, I’m not you.

hinata: Let’s see~ I’ll take this one!

mizuki: Hey that’s the biggest one of the lot! Gimmie it!

lico: They’re all the same anyways. But still, make sure you leave some for Heath and I.

mizuki: If you miss out it’s your fault for being too slow.

heath: …I’m ok with just this one.

ran (eating): Hm? Don’t thwese ones twaste different from ya fwirst batch? They’re even tastier!

kongou: I’m glad to hear it. It’s tedious making desserts. Even the smallest change in the amount of an ingredient used, or the temperature you bake them at can change the flavour. Appears this prototype is a success.

lico: Don’t they smell really good?

kongou: That’s because I tried adding some liqueur. It’s very fragrant. 

lico: Oh I see.

hinata: What’s liqueur?

mizuki: Food right?

ran: No no, liqueur is a type of alcohol.

hinata: Huh, it’s alcohol then?

kongou: The alcohol burns off, so it’s fine for people who don’t drink to eat it.

ran: Ooh, informative~

mizuki: Quit talking about complicated stuff, lemme eat more.

heath: Mizuki, how many have you already eaten?

kongou: I whipped up some prototype cookies for decorating the cakes with too. Here, you can have some of these.

mizuki: Woah! They look super tasty!

ran: As I thought, with Kongou here B’s Valentine’s Day will be the best!

-

Chapter 2 -starless kitchen, table area-

ran: I’m baaack~!

lico: Aren’t you a bit late? Where the heck did you wander off to—

saki: Oh, Lico-san, sorry for intruding.

lico: If it isn’t Kotori-chan. You’re not intruding at all, you’re welcome anytime. Here, come take a seat.

heath: You’re here, Saki.

saki: Yes, I happened to run into Ran-san on the way here…

mizuki: Whatever, let’s get started already.

kongou: Ok, here are the cupcakes we talked about previously. So that they’re easy to decorate I made them in a simple shape. I planned to make it so that you can eat it at the store or take it home with you.

lico: Nice.

kongou: Today’s just a trial so I prepared a few different topping candidates.

hinata: Woah, there’s so many to choose from! So we can decorate the cake with these?

kongou: Yeah. Let me know which you prefer or if there’s any that can be improved.

ran: Then let’s get into it already. Nee-chan, let’s decorate them together!

saki: Yes.

-time pass-

lico: And then I’ll put this here and— It’s done, doesn’t it look great?

kongou: I see, you carefully stacked the chocolate to make it look like a rose. You’re skilled, Lico.

lico: This much is nothing.

hinata: There’s so many decorations here that I’ve never eaten before. What else should I choose~

mizuki: What even is this? Cream? (he eats it) Bleh, it’s so sweet…

lico: Hey are you planning to just put every single topping on there? Put some more thought into it.

hinata: What-! I thought it was a really good idea though~

ran: If I put the dog shaped cookie here then… Ooh~! It’s super duper cute!

kongou: Hahah, it’s fun trying all sorts of combinations isn’t it?

saki: (Fufu, it looks like everyone is having fun.)

heath: Saki, is this good?

saki: Uwah, your decorations are beautiful, Heath-san.

heath: Last year I made chocolate by myself, so I’m glad to be able to make it together with you this year.

saki: Yes, me too.

ran: Ah, Nee-chan! What do ya think of my puppy choco cakes?

saki: The puppies are playing with each other on top of the cakes right? It’s very cute.

ran: Hell yeah! It’s got Nee-chan’s seal of approval! White Day is next month but doesn’t it suck havin’ to wait that long? That’s why I wanted to make it so we can repay the sentiment right away.

saki: I see. I’m sure the other guests will like that too.

ran: I know, how about we trade cupcakes right now!

saki: Sure.

ran: Yay! I hope ya enjoy Valentine’s together with us this year!

-

Chapter 3 -break room-

lico: Our event this time has been getting lots of good reviews. The ladies and everyone else all seem happy with it. Well, it means they enjoyed decorating cupcakes with me specifically right?

ran: Well it’s true that you’re good at it, Lico.

kongou: I’m glad it’s popular. Depending on the toppings you choose the flavour and appearance changes, so it appears we’ve been getting a lot of repeat customers.

lico: See I told you women are into this sort of thing. They love traditional Valentine’s Day stuff.

mizuki: All we’re doing is putting things on a cake and they eat it.

lico: Do you, the person providing the service not even understand what you’re doing? When you’re on the stage, you hear the fans cheering in the audience don’t you? I’m happy they’ve come to watch of course, but hearing them do chants or wave their penlights is nice, y’know?

ran: Ah, I get ya! Ya can really feel that they’re here to support us.

lico: Yeah exactly. What I’m trying to tell you is that the goal of this event is to repay them in a similar way that reflects those feelings.

mizuki: Oh shut up, quit yapping at me about everything little thing.

heath: …It’s not that hard to understand. The fact we’re putting our souls into the show hasn’t changed. We’re just giving it a physical form.

mizuki: Oh… The heck, just tell me that from the start.

lico: I did…

-

Chapter 4 -backstage-

ran: …… (seems nervous)

saki: Ran-san…?

ran: Oh~ Nee-chan! You’re here to watch us!

saki: …Um.

ran: Hm?

saki: Are you… ok?

ran: What makes ya ask? I’m full of energy today like always!

saki: Is that so? Sorry for asking something strange then.

ran: ……

ran: Ya don’t need to worry about me. But well, it is true that we’ve had plenty of ups and downs since our first ever performance, ‘Eclipse’. It’s not like I don’t understand why you’d be concerned. However, we’ve overcome all sorts of hardships.

saki: Yes.

ran: First and foremost, B’s shows are packed full of fun. Even when Heath was missin’ from ‘Idaten’ and when Mizuki didn’t show up for ‘Island of Rabble’. And of course when Heath came back and we performed ‘Total Eclipse’! Lots of things have happened, but there’s still plenty of things that haven’t changed either.

saki: Things that haven’t changed?

ran: The fact that once we’re up on that stage, we have a blast! That includes for this show too of course. Thinkin’ about it though, even recently Mizuki and Lico have been buttin’ heads and Hinata’s been actin’ recklessly. It’s been a mess~ Wherever B goes, discord follows! I kid, I kid. But well, when you take everythin’ into account, it does kinda suit us.

saki: Fufu, that may be so.

saki: (That’s good, Ran-san seems to be his usual self…)

ran: Ah, you finally smiled. That’s our Nee-chan.

saki: Yes. And the Ran-san that sparkles on the stage is the usual you.

ran: …….

ran: Yeah. Because while I’m here— I want to entertain you as both a member of B and as ‘Ran-chan’.

saki: Thank you. I’ll always be supporting you.

ran: Yeah, it’s a promise, alright? Enjoy watchin’ my sparklin’ self!

—end

[r0tt3n-corpse]

Your writing is absolutely stellar! Can you maybe try a Dib x Reader / Y/N (female or gender neutral, whichever you want to choose) where the Reader has been living in the house across from Dibs house for a few months, but he never noticed them/her because Reader is homeschooled. and one day, Dib meets them/her while the Reader is outside drawing (maybe drawing Mothman or something), and It turns out that the Reader is obsessed with the unexplained, just like Dib.

(Sorry if it's not that good of an idea it's just something I thought of at like 2 am. a couple of days ago) 💙🛸👽

Sorry I disappeared for like a day. Writing is easy for me, it’s just convincing myself to actually sit down and start writing that’s the hard part lol (Also thank you for the request, it’s nice to see people enjoying my writing!)

Fandom: Invader Zim

Warnings: None!

Gender neutral reader x Dib Membrane

You had never liked actual school. The buildings were confusing, the teachers were strict, and the kids were… well, weird. When your parents informed you two months ago that you were not only moving but that you’d be homeschooled as well, you were overjoyed to put it lightly. It was great! Well, maybe not the move, but the homeschooling was.

It was hard to think that you hadn’t seen your friends in more than two months. Sure, you got to talk to them online, but it just wasn’t the same. Homeschooling was great, but being a loner wasn’t.

You didn’t explore much in town, something about your parents not wanting you to get lost. You never particularly listened to their reasons.

Currently, you are outside drawing, like you were almost every day after your homework. You loved drawing, and your parents encouraged the creative outlet.

The sky was a wonderful color, still bright and high in the sky. The wind whistled through the grass as you sat on the steps of your front door, hunched over as you drew. It was truly a beautiful day. Everyday was. Just being alive and in the light of day was amazing to you.

You weren’t focused on the picture as you drew it, more on the colors and the shapes. Everything was beautiful already. It was made by you, after all. “Things made with love will never be dull”, or whatever that poem you read once said.

You lifted your head as a school bus momentarily stopped at the house across from you, dropping kids off. You must’ve lost track of time if the school kids were already getting out. You listened as the bus door closed and watched as the bus continued down your street. A tall-ish black-haired boy was standing on the sidewalk next to a shorter purple-haired girl. His sister, most likely.

The children of that scientist who lived across from you, you assumed. What was his name again? You couldn’t recall, but remembered your parents talking about him a few times. You never knew he had kids.

You put your drawing to the side, making sure it wouldn’t get blown away by the wind, and stood up. You hesitated, not quite sure what you were doing. Making friends would be nice, but how? You watched the boy turn his head and say something to his sister, both backs still to you. You walked down your driveway and to the sidewalk. No cars were coming, but you didn’t cross. The boy seemed to see you and turned, while his sister walked inside their house. You waved, not wanting to look like a weirdo. He waved back slowly from across the street.

“Do I know you..?” He asked, hand back at his side. He adjusted his glasses with his other hand. You shook your head no. He nodded, seeming to have thought so. You caught sight of a keychain on his backpack. It looked familiar. Was that Mothman? He seemed to catch you looking.

“Do you like paranormal stuff?” He asked before pausing for a car to pass between the both of you. You nodded. The paranormal was cool, you’d admit. You liked listening to those weird conspiracy theory videos sometimes as background noise.

“Yeah, I think that stuff is pretty cool.” You said, realizing you hadn’t talked yet. He smiled wide at your response and promptly jogged across the street to your side. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulders, both of you now in your yard.

“I’m Dib Membrane. What’s your name? I didn’t realize any kids lived here.” He looked over your house briefly before turning back to you. The last name Membrane sounded familiar, so you guessed he was telling the truth.

“I’m Y/n. I’m homeschooled, that’s probably why you haven’t seen me. Plus, I usually hang out in my backyard, and not the front.” You explained with a shrug, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. You hadn’t talked to someone in person that was your age in a while and hoped you didn’t seem too awkward. If you were being awkward, Dib seemed too focused on meeting someone with the same interests to care. The boy was practically beaming.

“Oh, that’s cool. I wish I was homeschooled. My dad is real smart, so I’d probably be learning more than I do now anyways.” Dib said, his words quick because of his excitement. You nodded along to his words, a small gesture of the fact you were actually listening. Dib adjusted his glasses and peered down at his watch.

“Well, actually, speaking of my dad, I have to go.” He lifted his head back to you, looking slightly less happy. “Here, you can have this. I saw you looking at it.” He added before slipping the Mothman keychain into your hand. You pocketed it.

“I can met you here again tomorrow, when you get off the bus.” You called out to Dib as he once again crossed the street to his house. He smiled back at you.

“I’d like that.”

(I’m pretty sure this is shorter than my normal writing but it’s okay lol)

[daughterofthereaper02]

Honorable Discharge

Pairing(s): Hangman x Rooster x Bob x F! Veteran! Teacher! Reader

Summary: After being honorably discharged, you began to teach at the high school near TOP GUN. Your soulmates were gone for a bit but your students were happy to listen, they were even happier to meet them with everyone else.

Warnings: Inappropriate jokes, PTSD and depression mentioned, cursing

You walked into your class room, your students sitting in their desks giggling. You looked at the bored, "Oh Jesus! I'm going to throw up! Get this math off my board! Eraser, quick!" You called.

A few students laughed, one tossing you the eraser. You wiped it down, "This is a history classroom! Keep that shit outta here!" You joked to your Juniors. "Mr. Keller had to teach here last period, Ms. L/n," one of your students said. "Well, they never informed me. Tell Mr. Keller he almost gave me a heart attack, Jason," you grinned. You and Andrew Keller were friends and it was well known, they all knew he wouldn't mind.

"So, today is the pep rally, we leave this room early. I don't want to do work, you don't want to do work, so let's talk. Get to know each other a little better, yeah?" You smiled. Your U.S. History 2 class cheered, they were your last period and only U.S. 2 so you didn't mind.

“Okay, go around the room and say what you want to do when your graduate high school. Just remember, even if you chose it and it falls through, all that matters is you tried to make a plan,” You smiled, a lot of them looking more relaxed. So many people judged others when they no longer went through with it or they couldn’t, your students felt comfortable with you because you didn’t pressure them.

You listened to each student, making a little input and tips for them. The last student came up and he was cocky, looking down on you practically, “I plan to become a Naval Aviator ma’am, just like my father,” he said smugly. You grinned, “That’s a great career. I saw so much when I was one. As many know, I was honorably discharged,” you said, smiling sadly. “WHAT!?” your class shouted, making you jerk back in shock. “Shh!” You said, “Yes, I was a Naval Aviator, my call sign was Sparky. You don’t get a name you like, mine was from constantly electrocuting myself,” you chuckled, “I had bad luck then,” you told them. You moved to sit on top of your desk, “Obviously I have been teaching for two years but I went down on a mission and hit my head. Due to my injury I was honorable discharged as I could no longer fly a jet. For my safety and others,” You told them. “I will never regret it though, I met my soulmates in the military!” You grinned.

“Can we circle back to the fact you’re a badass, Ms. L/n!?” one of your female students said, making you blush. “Thank you Cassidy,” You told her, “Yes, I had an amazing career. On my downtime I did schooling to get my degree, I had it as a backup,” you shrugged. “But, my soulmates are naval aviators as well. They have been gone six months for a mission currently,” You sighed, glancing at the photo you had of them. Your students begged you to tell them stories as they looked at the photo of you four.

“Obviously you know I can’t tell you all classified information, right?” You asked and they nodded, some looking sad, “Good, just wanted to managed expectations,” you joked. You thought back to appropriate ones, telling them about the time you had a WSO and made them throw up from too many tricks, flying with each of your soulmates and Jake being the only one to scream along happily, the bet of 200 pushups from the Uranium mission.

“ATTENTION! All third floor students report to the auditorium for the pep rally,” The Principle said over the loud speaker, “That’s us kids! Go on down!” you smiled, “Can’t we stay here to hear more stories?” The future aviator said, “Nope, maybe if you all behave next week,” you smiled.

You went downstairs, your heart constricting painfully as you thought about your old career, you missed it every single day. You kept well in shape though, easily keeping up with your soulmates still. You felt so out of touch when you hung out at The Hard Deck with your friends without your soulmates, they all barely talked to you except for Maverick. You thought back to the jokes you used to crack with Phoenix, your best friend, and now she could barely look at you.

“In other news, the sex position 69 will now be 96 due to the increase costs in the economy,” She joked, you smirked, leaning over, “My vagina tried to clean its self at a inappropriate time, that's what I call a dishonorable discharge!” you joked back. You both fell over laughing and winced as Maverick smacked you both on the back of the head before laughing all over again.

You snapped yourself out of it and went by Keller, sighing, “Can this be over? I hate these things,” you grumbled. He snorted, “Yeah, but today should be better, we get to leave right after the kids, some before,” he grinned, neither of you had to stay late. “Want to come to The Hard Deck with me?” you asked, he shook his head, “Can’t, Miranda wants to go shopping for baby clothes,” he chuckled. “Enjoy it,” you told your friend, a big smile on your face that still didn’t reach your eyes. He knew you have been struggling lately with PTSD, your friends not talking to you, your soulmates being gone, and your depression, “Chin up, it will get better,” he told you softly.

You sighed as the pep rally began, your head pounding from the band as they played off key. You watched as the students began to do the games and activities, confetti cannons going off, t-shirt being thrown and teachers being pulled into them.

“We’re going to have our two veteran teachers compete against each other!” The gym teacher, Mrs. Grims said, a smirk on her face as she thought she could get you to lose against the other, “Ms. Ln and Mr. Wilks! Ms. Ln is former Naval Aviator and Mr. Wilks is former Military police!” she smiled. “Each with try to do as many pushups as possible,” and you turned to Alexander, “What the fuck? I didn’t agree!” you hissed, he looked equally as mad.

You went over and shook his hand, glad you were in flexible clothes as it was dress down day. You wouldn’t be seen sweating either like Mr. Wilks who also looked upset, who wore light grey.

You started and everyone cheered loud for you both, by 50 he started to shake, you were just breathing harder. He wasn’t keeping form at 100, “Army strong?” you joked tightly to him, and he groaned, just continuing until he collapsed. You got in more after you were told to keep going, little did you know they were getting your soulmates in and wanted people distracted. Finally, you hit 200, it was easier without being under the sun on the tarmac.

Everyone cheered and Wilks helped you up, “Good job sailor,” he joked, “Aviator to be more accurate,” you joked back.

“NOW! We have a surprise for our champion!” The superintendent said, making you look surprised. You turned and saw Jake, Bradley, and Robert standing there in their dress uniforms. You teared up and ran straight to them, throwing yourself into their arms. “For those who don’t know, Lts. Bradshaw, Floyd, and Seresin are Ms. L/n’s soulmates. They have been overseas for six months now, serving this country. Welcome home, aviators!” The superintendent cheered.

You were trying to not cry but smelling their colognes made you feel like all that emotions from before were silly, you had them now. “Welcome home!” You smiled, looking up at them with love. “You can go home early, Y/n,” the Superintendent told you and you nodded, you grabbed your stuff from next to Alexander, “Have fun, Y/n!” he grinned. You smiled brightly and once you got them to your car, you kissed each of them deeply, “I missed you all so much!”: you told them. “Phone calls weren’t enough...” you smiled, knowing you couldn’t ask them to not go anymore, you would never hold them back.

Let’s just say, once you got home after giving them a good welcome home, you cuddled them and were held for a long time. You were feeling better already.

Taglist:

@peaches-and-sunshine

@natasharomanoffisbaebby​

@sweetheartlizzie07​

@lollypop90907

@jamiedontbeacracko

@fandomstanner24

@casperlikej 

@lyn07 

@luckyladycreator2 

@spidermankenobi 

@fangirlofallthings22

@18crazybutcutealsopsycho

@teti-menchon0604

@lisedanie

[skazoo]

you're white noise.

↳ lee felix x f!reader

it's beginning to look a lot like you need to get out of your head and develop an emotional intelligence so that you don't make it so difficult for the people who love you to help you. or a "if you tell me about myself pt.2"

length. 2.2k

genre. demon slayer!au is back bitches! , friends(?) to lovers, fluff, crack and very light angst.

warnings/tags. language, mentions of death, injuries, blood, kny canon violence i think that's it.

networks. @kflixnet

notes. after the longest wait, the second part of my demon slayer!au is OUT!!! i've had a rough six months (🥲) but i've won back my inspiration from the clutches of procrastination. this is a little something but stay tuned for new projects!!

part one of the demon slayer!au can be read here!

i’m desperate for feedback and i love comments with your opinion!

(cross-posted on ao3 only)

the only thing you can hear is the forest's dull breathing.

the white expanse of the snow-covered ground acts as a blanket, and your stealthy feet thump softly on the ground.

a stray ray of a winter sun peeks through the branches of high pines drawing ever-changing shapes on your winter kimonos. felix’s has golden details, of course.

“we’ve been walking for hours can we please stop for just a second, i beg yo-”

“shut up hyunjin!” yours and felix’s combined whisper disturbs a small flock of birds that flies away in search of peace and quiet.

it’s the twelfth time in thirty minutes that you have to aggressively shush the redheaded slayer, and you can’t confidently say that you blame him.

when changbin assigned the three of you on ‘the most challenging mission of your young lives’ he didn’t bother to mention that the hard part would be finding the damn demon and not fighting it.

on top of that, the long walk in utter silence has given you plenty of time to think about everything. about him.

after that fateful night in the armory where felix told you the feelings he had for you, he kissed you, you kissed him back and you fled from your brother’s punishment in a summer breeze, things didn’t go exactly how one would think.

the night turned into the next day and things were awkward between you. it was obvious there were unspoken expectations and questions that neither of you wanted to voice out loud but that were painfully obvious to everyone around you, especially hyunjin.

the day quickly turned into a week and when things stayed awkward, it was a mutual decision -–or so you convinced yourself— to forget everything and start fresh. a new improved life in which you didn’t have an oblivious mortal enemy but a second good friend and sparring buddy, ready to help you become a great slayer whose lips you dream about at night. right.

now, as you’re standing ankles deep into candid snow, in a forest so big you can’t remember which way you came from, and with the aforementioned good friend walking just two steps ahead of you, you come to the understanding that it’s been exactly four months and twenty days since you realized how emotionally immature you are, and how felix is the exact damn opposite.

and yes. you’re keeping count.

felix abruptly stops and you have to suppress a groan of pain as hyunjin’s katana slams on the shoulder wound hidden under your kimono.

bless his heart, he doesn’t know. no one knows that since the last mission together you didn’t get out unscratched and a total winner, and nobody needs to know.

especially not felix. you don’t need him to think that you’re weak. you don’t need him to realize what a fraud you are. you don’t need him to take back everything he said that night because that’s what has been keeping you going these past months and you would not be able to bear it.

“did you hear that?” felix’s whisper materializes out of his mouth in a little steam cloud.

hyunjin’s head peeks from behind your smaller frame. “yeah, it was the sound of me giving up-”

“i’m serious hyun, it was like someone was slithering around us. we’re not alone.”

there's complete silence for a second, then again. a long hiss echoes through the forest.

hyunjin’s face turns pale all of a sudden. “wait, did you say ‘someone’? why did you say someone felix?”

a quiet mocking smile grows on the blond’s mouth. “if you listened to anything changbin’s tells us before we go on a mission you would know.”

a small snort of disbelief and he’s now whining to you, bottom lip childishly pouted. “Y/N do something he’s being a little bitch.” you have to keep the laugh that bubbles in your chest to yourself or you will definitely attract unwanted attention.

“hyune, baby, we’re looking for a snake demon. you have to pay attention.” you turn to the other slayer with a resolute expression. “it must have sensed our presence. we should split up. surround it.”

you see the hesitant flicker of his brows before he even opens his mouth, and there it is again, that crippling, irrational anxiety that he doesn’t trust you. doesn’t value you. doesn’t like you.

you feel like if you don’t show him that you are worthy now, he will never see it again.

“we can do it felix.” he looks hyunjin in the eyes, then shifts to yours. a silent nod makes you hopeful again. “i can do it.” you whisper only for yourself to hear.

and so the three of you have the clearing surrounded and now the only thing left to do is to focus. possibly not on the fact that you’re literally about to fight to the death to gain the respect of the person who literally told you he almost L-worded you even when you were treating him like a terrorist. in retrospect, you should realize that you were a complete idiot, but anyway.

but everything –of course– happens almost comically fast.

from your peripheral vision you catch the glimpse of a tail and before you know it you're being dragged on the freezing snow by your ankle. the wound on your shoulder opening again and leaving behind a trail of deep, incriminating red.

it’s so fast, so confusing, so painful that all you can do is let out a guttural scream that completely drowns out felix screaming your name from the other side of the clearing.

trying to take back the reins of the situation, while the demon forcefully hurls you forward, you reach for the katana in the sheath on your hip and violently and desperately plant it in the ground, putting an end to your target’s manhandling.

the second you’re up again and manage to steal a look at your partners you dreadfully realize that they are both looking at you with worry and a stronger undertone of disappointed anger, and suddenly the worst that could happen is not being killed or transformed into a demon but being abandoned by those you love because of a stupid lie. because of irrational insecurities.

as they run to your aid, taking a defensive stance beside you, you know what’s coming.

“we’re on the same team, why the hell are you hiding things from me!?” felix’s grunted shout reaches you even if the demon is roaring with hunger.

hyunjin joins. “why are you hiding things from us, Y/N! i’m- we’re your friends for fuck’s sake! is it that hard to ask for help!?”

you’ve never seen hyunjin being so aggressive in a fight. he moves on the snow with so much lightness that it might seem like he’s flying, and every time the demon snaps at him, he’s ready to use his enemy’s momentum to inflict small, deep cuts in the thick gray scales of the monster.

“when was this!?” felix takes hyunjin’s place as the redhead is thrown on the ground. his head forcefully bangs against a fallen trunk.

“i know! and i’m sorry, but i really don’t think this is the best time!” you’re out of breath as you dance with your partner around the contorting body of the reptile demon. you have to hold your shoulder with your other hand or you know things will get ugly for you.

he dodges a clawed hand directed at his freckled face. “it’s the only time, Y/N! why do you keep ignoring the fact that we care for you!? i don’t want you to die! is it that bad for you that you have to keep secrets from us?!”

you stay silent because what can you possibly say? that you’re scared shitless of being abandoned? that you don’t want him to move on from you even if you know that you’re the only one who wanted to stay friends? you can’t because he doesn’t deserve your paranoia.

your katana cuts deep into the demon’s side and felix goes on.

“i literally L-word you!” you almost freeze on the spot. “you changed me, Y/N and i wished i’d changed you even if just a little that night!” he’s losing concentration on the fight and he doesn’t even notice. all your fault.

“but you did felix, and for the better! i swear i’m sorry!” you plead, your voice straining against your throat.

as you dodge the demon’s scaled tail, the scene that unfolds before you seems to go in slow motion.

felix is too focused on you. his eyebrows furrowed in question, his eyes pleading for answers and on his lips, there's the beginning of your name, about to be uttered in the most lovingly, humanly possible way you’ve ever heard it.

but —and of course, there's a but— hyunjin is still trying to get up from where he was thrown and too far away anyway to shield felix from the clean cut of his head the demon is about to make. you are the only one who’s aware of the threat, you’re the only one who can do something.

the forest is silent again. the rumbling of the fight is completely muted by your mind. nothing moves. nothing exists except for you and the demon with bared teeth who's coming in your direction.

touch him and you’re dead.

you close your eyes and put your sword back before slowly unsheathing it again.

then all you have to do is breathe.

you breathe and burning flames shoot out to devour the demon’s body completely.

it doesn’t last long but it feels like a whole lifetime. for a second inside your head, there’s only anger that later leaves space for pride and an unbridled obsession to protect. then static sound.

when you zone back into the real world you slowly take a look around you.

the line of trees that marked the edge of the clearing has now been completely torn down. little fires still dance around, melting the white snow and creating a beautiful contrast.

behind you, you can hear felix and hyunjin’s ragged breathing.

“this is going to sound controversial but i think that went well.” hyunjin wheezes, folded in half, his hands on his knees and a surprised expression on his flushed face.

the other is looking at you with an indecipherable expression and your fight or flight instincts almost kick in. he’s studying you.

then felix sprints to you and tackles you to the snow in a bone-crushing hug. you can feel his heart beating like a drum in his chest, teaching yours how to love.

you wince. “felix, my shoulder…”

he takes your face in his gelid hands and just looks at you. he looks at the snowflakes trapped in your hair. he looks at your reddened nose, your lucid eyes, and the little puffs of vapor that escape your slightly parted mouth. with pain, he looks at your shoulder that’s still silently bleeding.

“Y/N…”

you squeeze your eyes in shame and understanding. “i know…”

his forehead touches yours and you feel the heat of his body envelope your skin.

you want to tell him everything that you’ve been keeping inside for these past months. you want to cry and assure him that it was not his fault but only yours and you want to tell him you’re sorry for pushing him away, for being too scared to give yourself to him.

you want to tell him this and more but he looks at you as if you’re a star and maybe he already knows everything.

honestly speaking, you're so tired of being scared away from love by your own mind. you know you can break free from the shackles that you put on yourself too many years ago. and with felix by your side, with hyunjin, changbin, with love, everything will be easier to bear.

a bird chirps in the distance and you’re forced out of your trance state.

felix’s golden hair reflects a single ray of sun that breaks through the high branches of the forest. “Y/N.”

“what?”

“i’m gonna kiss you, ok?”

you chuckle. “i haven’t showered in four days, felix.”

“okay?” he’s pouting and you can’t possibly say no to him.

“okay.” and it’s the softest kiss you’ve ever had. it’s hot and freezing, it’s so deep and carefree and it’s perfectly him. it’s an ‘i L-word you kiss’ and you couldn’t want anything more.

it doesn’t last long because from your left hyunjin always understands when is the right time to speak up.

“wait guys, am i- please stop kissing guys. am i doing this right?” he’s awkwardly trying to cut through the demon’s neck with his katana.

this time you possibly can’t stop yourself from snorting loudly and happily at your friend’s antics. felix on the other hand hasty gets up and looks like he can’t understand how a skilled slayer like hyunjin can be this incompetent. “hyunjin, it’s a demon you can’t cut his head like you’re cutting bread for fuck’s sake. it’s a clean cut c’mon.”

when the three of you finally make out the blurred outline of the snow-covered headquarters you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

in the distance you can see your brother smiling fondly at you, his knowing eyes fixed on the bandaged wound on your shoulder.

“where's my favorite idiot, uh?” his hands come as a megaphone around his mouth.

hyunjin looks confused and admittedly, a little bit offended. “i’m right here…?”

he gathers you in his arms as you sprint to him. “surprisingly enough i was not talking about you this time.”

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

'Tis now February...

Disney stills plans, per their latest release schedule update, to release a Walt Disney Animation Studios movie on Thanksgiving week later this year...

I also happen to know that at least one person has started animating on this movie, as of this past month or so...

So, I think... Yeah... We probably still are getting a WDAS movie in November of this year... Even though it's February, and they still haven't told us - officially - what this movie even is. Usually, we know these things in at least a year in advance. The extreme end of this is DreamWorks' hasty rollout of their RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN. Where they said *nothing* about the movie's existence until 3 1/2 months before release. The movie itself, the poster, and the trailer. All in one go. Unfortunately, it wasn't a 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE situation, the movie lost a lot of money for DreamWorks and is one of their lowest-earning movies period.

I don't think WDAS will cut it *that* close, but I suspect we should hear something pretty soon? The company as a whole doesn't have a mainline movie out until THE FIRST OMEN in April, so they have time to at least tell us what's up? They're running a little late on at least announcing that this movie *exists*. I mean, the lot of us know it does because that's how these things work, but the public doesn't. We only know that a cluster of movies that are being directed by Suzi Yoonessi, Josie Trinidad, and Marc Smith have been in the works for years. So in a way, the next one has been announced? But not really? Typically, we get some kind of confirmation on a movie that fills the slot... About a year in advance. For example, WISH was announced in September 2022, and the movie was released this past November.

Regardless of how poorly STRANGE WORLD and WISH performed, the latter critically... I was initially under the impression that WDAS was going to have one of those "what should we be doing?" episodes whenever a string of movies fail at the box office, *or* if morale is low. A new movie wasn't announced, so I figured... Yeah, they might skip this year and re-evaluate their movie slate?

After all, Mark Henn recently called it quits and remarked that he - once one of the remaining 2D animators at the studio - wasn't doing anything "meaningful" in his final years there as a full-time animator. He's sticking around, somewhat, for a short film that producer Clark Spencer is a champion of... But that's about it. So many other people have departed either during current CCO Jennifer Lee's leadership, or during John Lasseter's leadership... Couple that with the last two movies not doing great, and that's not really a good look for this 100-year-old studio. And usually studios stop and evaluate when stuff happens. Sometimes it just means making different movies, other times it's more drastic and it unfairly affects the staff... But usually, something happens.

Luckily, a ZOOTOPIA sequel and a few more FROZEN flicks are there as a safety net, and I wouldn't put it past them to announce more sequels (ENCANTO seems likelier, and MOANA as well, given how well that movie regularly does on streaming Top 10s year by year)... but originals will always be important at these studios. Even the studios that are criticized for making too many sequels (like Illumination) still need a new franchise to launch.

But... Yeah, it seems like everyone's staying the course? There have been swirling talks throughout fan circles, as per usual, with what will happen. "Does Jennifer Lee get fired?" "Do they delay the 2024 movie into 2025 and retool it?" "Is there a change in direction in what kind of movies they make?"

It doesn't seem to be? I get the sense that, whether this untitled fantasy movie is in good shape or not, it's coming. They're just gonna make it and meet the release date, apparently.

I mean, look at STRANGE WORLD. Director Don Hall pitched the film in early 2017 and development started thereafter, but in around mid-2019, he got yanked off of the movie to take over RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON. Which they finished around late 2020/early 2021, and it came out in March of that year... Meaning that once Don was done with RAYA, he had about a year and a half to return to STRANGE WORLD and get it ready for a 2022 theatrical release. Which he did. And for some observers, myself included, the movie was maybe a few drafts away from being better. The finished film feels very undercooked in its character work and worldbuilding, but that's just me speculating.

After all, remember how Pixar turned TOY STORY 2 completely around with less than a year to go? Turned out fantastic, despite the stress and the rushing. FROZEN was literally rewritten top to bottom within its release year! And people loved that movie, it made a billion and became a worldwide phenomenon! Sometimes the end product miraculously works on audiences, sometimes it doesn't. Maybe it doesn't matter, because to some 6-year-old out there, STRANGE WORLD rocked their world. It probably would've been one of my favorite movies at age 8, that's for sure. And it'll be a favorite of theirs once they're in college or something, it'll be a case of "This SLAPPED! Why did it flop 20 years ago???"

So, it looks like the movie is happening. I have heard from the trenches that the 2024 slot went to a fantasy tale set in the Middle East, presumably from director Suzi Yoonessi, who is of Iranian descent. Jennifer Lee stated in late 2019 that Yoonessi was directing a feature film for the studio, so if this is hers... They had five years to get this story together. Good sign, right? Should make that release date just fine, then!

The execution of it is what matters in the end, and looking at WISH's poor scores and blah legs domestically, it appears that this is WDAS' problem. WISH took about five years to come together, so there was plenty of time. What went wrong? This currently-untitled 2024 movie could've had all the time in the world to come together as a strong piece of storytelling and appeal to audiences, *but* if you execute it in a way that turns moviegoers away? You've got a problem. And when I read from some of the filmmakers/staffers that the studio brass regularly test screens early versions of these movies for toddlers, and then they cut lots of potentially good stuff that could've really worked because little Jimmy got scared? Couple that with so many talents leaving the place over the last few years? I kinda think that's the problem.

While FROZEN II, which suffered a lot of cuts and dumbing down because of test screenings, went and made over $1.4b worldwide... WISH lost a lot of money, yet it's still looking to become the studio's highest-earning movie since FROZEN II. Some four years ago... Possibly set to outgross the much-more beloved ENCANTO (which probably also suffered from needless focus group nonsense), a Delta/Omicron-era release which currently sits at $256m worldwide.

The studio is undoubtedly in a weird spot right now from my outsider perspective, and they appear to be meeting this one-a-year quota still. Curiously, some of Pixar's staff is to be laid off this year, staff that were involved with Disney+ projects like DUG DAYS and WIN OR LOSE. Disney Animation recently opened a Vancouver unit meant for Disney+ shows, like the upcoming MOANA series. IWAJU, which is a month away, was outsourced to Canadian house Cinesite. "WDAS Vancouver" still operating for now, despite the company reducing their focus on making stuff for Disney+. It would suck to see them close down just a few years after being set up, much like what happened to Pixar Canada over a decade ago.

So yeah... We'll learn soon, I believe, what's going on here. Speculation is always rampant when it comes to animation, and just the movies in general. You know, I came across a website that hasn't been updated since the mid-2000s. A site run by some dedicated animation fan, who collected pretty much all the major news articles on movies that were new at the time of the blog's operation: Stuff from FINDING NEMO to MADAGASCAR to BROTHER BEAR to ROBOTS... I spent quite some time reading through all of it, as I was becoming internet-aware at the time. And by looking at what was cited and sourced, this is all nothing new. There was so much speculation with all of those now-classic movies, and a lot of it was UTTER BULLSHIT. Like how FINDING NEMO was really gearing up to be Pixar's first flop, and it ended up being - for a period - the highest-grossing animated movie ever and an Oscar winner.

And I'm sure whatever is being cooked up about Untitled WDAS 2024 and many other productions today is also UTTER BULLSHIT. Hearing from the trenches is one thing, but there's lots of made up stuff, and there's probably some of it floating around now.

Anyways, all I know is, WDAS does this focus group thing with their movies, and people are leaving... But other than that, it appears that the new movie is still coming out this year. But things always change, so we shall see...

[ask-cthulhu-mythos-au]

Lore:

(Cthulhu's POV)

September 19, 1234

"Well Cthulhu, it looks like you've done so much sin... you're incapable of doing good," The doctor said uncertain.

He hates me too, he's probably gonna put me on something stronger than Fentanyl. Something to actually damage me.

He hands me a small box, maybe the size of a human pointer finger.

"Take one of those everyday. If you miss a day, stop taking them entirely till our next appointment.....in 6 months."

"Can I just take one now, and get this over with."

The doctor hesitated, "Actually yeah, you can."

I popped open the box of small pills. I swear, this σΗιτ was smaller than a fingernail, at least to me. The pill was the shape of a normal pill, thankfully, and had a off-white tint. I didn't hesitate taking it, I just wanted to make it was any kinda drug. I took the pill and immediately felt it 'working'.

"So, how do u feel?"

"Like I just took a ΦυςκιΝg pill (¬_¬)."

"Alright well, you're done today. You know what to do, have a day-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up already," I opened the door letting myself out..I tipped the front desk lady...for some reason..even she thought it was weird.

~•••~

I sat on my couch depressingly.

Whatever. I guess I should just wait for Tsy to get home.

*Sigh* I grabbed my phone and opened social media. Nothing new, art, videos, more cultists tryna sacrifice their useless σΗιτ to me.

I feel bad. Maybe I should go apologize to Kthanid. I'M the reason he's about to kill himself. I told the Great Old Ones to help me. I destroyed my family. *Sigh*

I got up the off the couch and left out the door, on my way to Elysia. The fly there isn't super far, maybe quarter or half hour away. Φυςκ I don't even know what time it was when I got there. Maybe 2:45?

Anyway, I 'pulled up' to Kthanid's Palace,

KNOCK KNOCK.

That dumb βιτςΗ answered the door.

"What do you want?" Kthanid said angerily shoving me inside, knowing this wouldn't take a few minutes. I sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry."

The room became cold, and quiet. Kthanid's expression changed. He went from annoyed to anger. I swear, he wanted to rip my face off.

"I'm sorry. Come again," he said annoyed.

"I'm sorry," I repeated calmly.

Kthanid stood up angrily, "OH YOU'RE ΦΥςΚΙΝΓ SORRY?! YOU'RE SORRY HUH?! WELL OF YOU WERE SO ΦΥςΚΙΝΓ SORRY YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TORN OUR FAMILY APART!"

I stood up too. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ALL CALL YOU?! THEY CALL YOU A SWEET, INNOCENT, BEAUTIFUL, TREAURE!"

"SO?"

"THEY CALL ME A RUDE, DIRTY, UGLY, FAMILY DISAPPOINTMENT! SOMEONE WHO WILL BRING DISHONOR AND DISAPPOINTMENT TO OUR BLOODLINE!"

The air grew tense.

"Well they were right for the most part. You have an attitude problem, you were the first one in the family to use they're 'gift' the moment they got it-"

"You late bloomers. It was fun."

Kthanid rolled his eyes, "you're attractive enough to have mated with 3 different ladies. But you're always been a disappointment."

"Disappointment my @$$, at least I still have my damn family!"

Kthanids hands started glowing (usually signed as usage of power)

"C'mon Kthan! You wouldn't hurt your own family! Would you?"

"I don't know.. would I?"

Kthanid Lunges at me, I pushed him off quickly, not before getting a claw mark on my face.

The air became denser, I thought I would pass out. The blood from my nose starting gushing, rapidly, until I was loosing lots of blood. My legs became numb and fell back onto the couch. Kthanid sat back down too.

"Be careful. I don't think your delicate, cold-blooded, asthmatic lungs were made for the thick, warm, dense, killing air of Elysia."

I gasped for air, rapidly coughing. Hastur peaked our from the corner.

"H-hey Kth- OMG CTHULHU-SAMA YOU'RE HERE?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Hastur ran back into the bathroom grabbing an inhaler, gently giving it to me. He also got me a piece of gauze and some medical tape. I took my two puffs and gave the inhaler back to him.

"I don't need your help nerd."

"Don't call him that!" Kthanid stepped in.

Hastur whispered something to Kthanid.

"Oh- ya! Uh Cthulhu, you should go. I have something to do. I won't be back, and don't come back."

I sighed, again, again. I flew back down to R'lyeh, missing the VERY breathable air.

~•••~

"Hey, cu-ki (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)"

"TSY!" I run up to Tsathoggua, hugging the life out of him.

"Hey! Are you okay bb? Did something happen? Why are you being so clingy?"

I picked Tsy up and plopped him on the couch, sitting on his lap and told him about EVERYTHING.

"You're lucky to have Hastur there, I'm wlad yo'we okii neow though." *Forehead kiss*

I leaned into Tsa's chest, as he cuddled me, slowly falling asleep.

I had talked to Hnarqu about it the next day, and he told me that the damage I caused was wreck less, and unfixable. No one really could forgive me.