#teenage cousin shenanigans

[parachutingkitten]

I'm sorry, you can HC Lloyd as 40 if you want, but that's just not how things look to me.

Ninjago, at least the original show, was set up to be evergreen content. No matter how loosely they foreshadow the next season in the previous one, there is no one over arcing storyline building to a climax, it's meant to go on forever, that's why crystalized sucked, cuz it wanted to be an ending. The ninja are to have infinite adventures until the end of time, and most importantly, they are meant to be teenagers that whole time. There is not a palpable age difference that anyone can notice in any of our characters from the beginning of the show to the end, because part of the appeal is that they are stupid teenagers doing stupid teenager shenanigans. The only exception to this is Lloyd, who gets a magical time skip to get him from little kid to cool teenager. This is the only way aging can actually happen in these types of cartoons, by a manually inserted time skip. The only confirmed aging to me is about 2 years, because we get a one year time skip at the start of seasons 8 and 15. I would estimate they go from around 16 to 18. It doesn't matter how little sense it makes, it wouldn’t matter if the show had kept going and quadrupled it's run time, if there were no confirmed time skips at least a year in length in that time span, then they are still the same age. It's just cartoon aging.

Now, Dragons Rising has given us a multi-year time skip. This means that the ninja are 100% for sure adults now. That fits thematically with the tone their setting and the story their telling. But I would put the ninja in their early to mid twenties still. Working with kids as a solo mentor for the first time, trying and failing to grow serious facial hair, being shoved into the deep end of being responsible when you're suddenly separated from your support system, the sudden lack of your designated responsible adult. These are all young adult problems. Lloyd is stumbling through his first time as mentor. Kai now definitely radiates cool uncle energy instead of cool older cousin energy, but he's still the younger, unmarried, one of the kids, uncle.

The ninja are in their twenties. I cannot see them any other way.

[writingonleaves]

i tell you that i think i'm falling back in love with you - luca fantilli

pairing: luca fantilli x original female character

warnings: swearing, slight angst, mostly fluff, like one mention of COVID, proofread maybe once, probably too many taylor swift references

word count: 9.2k

based on: "the alcott" by the national ft. taylor swift + "this love" by taylor swift. title from "the alcott"

author's note: first one ahhh!!! had this done months ago when i saw that day in the life video the umich social team posted of luca and then promptly went on a six hour plane ride and banged this out. apologies if some of the details are inaccurate — i tried my best though some are also made purposefully to fit with the narrative

*****

Melody Lin rarely talks about it. 

In the instance that it gets brought up, she just shrugs, always giving just a brief overview because there’s no point in summing up 18 years of history in a few sentences, especially when she knows if she thinks about it too much and talks about it out loud she’ll get emotional. 

Growing up in the suburbs of Toronto was the typical suburban experience. She grew up only a street and a 2 minute car ride from her best friend Shayla and even though Shayla ended up going to University of Michigan and she went to Northwestern, they remained the closest of friends. Melody’s close with the whole Gallo family to the point where she just walks in and no one bats an eye anymore. Wherever Melody is, Shayla isn’t far behind, and vice versa. 

Being close with the Gallo family means she’s been to almost every family gathering, every big family event. Everyone in their families knows the other because the two girls are so close that they’re pretty much sisters. 

Melody doesn’t even remember the day she met Luca Fantilli. 

Luca is one of Shayla’s many cousins, only two years younger than Shayla. His family lives around a 10 minute drive away, so their parents love to gather on the weekends, therefore bringing the kids close together. Age wise, it goes Shayla, then Luca two years later, then Adam and Katie, Shayla’s younger sister, are the same age. There’s other cousins, older and younger, but these four have always been close, finding themselves naturally in a group when their families get together.

That means that naturally, Melody grew up also being close with the four, coming by many weekends when the cousins gathered and being dragged into their shenanigans, from playing tag when they were kids to piling in a car to get ice cream when they were teenagers. And they loved her too. Katie loved having another older sister figure with Melody being more calm compared to Shayla. Adam loved how funny she was and how no matter how much shit they gave her, she’d brush it all off with an easy smile. 

And then Luca. Like his brother and cousins, he loved how friendly she was. During the few years they overlapped in the same school, she always said hi to him in the hallways, never treating him or his brother any differently just because they were younger. When he needed a ride, whether it was to the rink or gym or that he just wanted to get out of the house, he could always text her and she would drive him, even if she gave him flack for it. And even though she started out as just Shayla’s friend, they quickly grew to have their own friendship, texting from time to time even when he was at Kimball for two years and she went off to college. He loved how giving she was and how smart she was and how no one ever really seemed to have a bad word to say about her. He’d always light up at seeing her and looked forward to the crushing hugs she would give him, especially after a few months of not seeing each other.

Those weekends are imprinted in Melody’s brain, when the Gallo house is loud and lively and all the adults are chatting and laughing and the kids are off doing whatever they want, her and Shayla always being put in charge because they’re the oldest of the five. Sometimes there were guest stars — Shayla’s high school boyfriend, Adam’s high school girlfriend, whoever the hell Luca was dating at the time, Katie and her best friend — but it was mostly just the five of them. 

It was always Shay, Mel, Luca, Adam and Katie.

(If you ask Luca now, he probably fell in love with her back when they were teenagers, somewhere between when she would drive him and his brother home after a rough practice and let them rant and when she’d laugh so loudly by the pool during the summer that she’d snort)

(Melody obviously loved everything about Shayla, thought Adam was one of the sweetest boys she’s ever met and adored Katie like a younger sibling. But even from the start, she had a special place in her heart for Luca, with his infectious smile and his positive energy. Somewhere along the way, he stopped being just Shayla’s cousin)

That friendship strengthened when he and Adam signed a commitment to play with the Chicago Steel starting Melody’s sophomore year at Northwestern. Shayla was thankful that her best friend was there for her two younger cousins, though the two hockey players never needed anyone to look after them. Since Melody had a car and her and Shayla’s breaks often overlapped, Melody would grab Adam and Luca in Chicago and then drive through Ann Arbor to pick Shayla up as they all headed home. The drive wasn’t all that bad, especially with the company.

Somewhere during the start of her sophomore year, she and Luca confessed to each other that they had feelings towards each other and started dating. It started out well. Inbetween her classes and college commitments and his practices and games, they’d find time to see each other. It helped that they both had cars as well. 

There was this cafe / book bar place between them called The Alcott that she had discovered by a recommendation from a friend who lived around the area that wasn’t closed because of COVID. That started to become the place for them to meet. Whether she had to drag along her laptop and notebooks or not, it started to become their place. She tried to go to as many of his games as she could and he tried to come to campus to be with her, even when she was cramming for exams and couldn’t give him much attention. 

She’d feel bad during the days where she wasn’t much fun, but he didn’t care. Being in her presence was enough, he’d always say with an encouraging kiss and a promise for milkshakes after dinner as a treat before he’d have to go back to Chicago. She met his teammates and he met her college friends and they tried and tried to make it work. When the Chicago Steel won the Clark Cup, she made it a priority to go to watch the final, not having been able to go to his last regular season game and all of playoffs due to final projects and labs. At the end, she had leaned over the boards to crush Adam in a tight hug before kissing Luca sweetly.

And then two weeks after that, when summer was about to start — which should’ve been the time they would be at their best and brightest together, things started to fall apart. Though, when Melody looks back at it now, things were slowly falling apart for a bit before then. Pointed questions about what each other’s plans were for the night when they could’ve been together, weak excuses for skipping the nightly FaceTime call, just generally not as much effort from both sides. 

Even throughout it all, she still deeply cared about him. That didn’t change even during their last argument that led to their break up. 

“Mel, I don’t know what you want me to do at this point,” Luca says, pacing around her room and running his hair through his hair. 

“I don’t ask for much,” she says, biting her lip, watching him pace and trying to keep her control. “I know hockey keeps you busy. I get it. I knew what I was signing up for. But I didn’t hear from you for a week, Luca. Not a call. Not even a good morning text. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

“I told you I was going to be busy, angel.” Even the pet name doesn’t soften her. She starts raising her voice.

“Goddammit, Luca. I know! But guess what? I’m also busy too. You think college is easy? I don’t know if I’ve slept for more than 5 hours a night this last month. But I still make the time.” 

“Do you?” His eyes flash with something she’s never seen from him before. He’s not quite yelling, but he’s not talking at a normal volume either. “When’s the last time we went out to dinner? When’s the last time before the final that you came to one of my games? Jackson asked me before the final if we were still together since he hadn’t seen you. Do you know how fucked up that is?”

“Since when the fuck do you care about what anyone has to say?”

“Since all of their girlfriends are in the stands every week!”

She flinches. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to playoffs but you told me it was okay. I didn’t know you felt that way because you don’t talk to me anymore. I can’t read your mind. I’m trying my best here.”

“You know what? I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what?” She whispers. 

“This. Us. It’s clearly not working.”

“Luca.”

He sits down on the chair across from her and puts his head in his hands momentarily. “You’re right. We barely talk. We’re both so busy. The last thing I want is for you to resent me.”

“So that’s it?” She croaks out. 

His eyes are watery. “Please don’t make this harder than it has to be, angel.”

“You’re the one making this hard!” She bites her lip and looks up to keep the tears from falling, which isn’t working because a couple tears still slip out. She fights a brief battle with herself and then deflates. “I’m always going to be your biggest supporter.”

He lets out a shaky breath. “Mel.”

“I mean it. I meant it years ago when we were kids. I mean it now. I’ll mean it forever.”

He laughs hollowly. “This sucks.” He lets out a shaky breath. “Do you think we could still be friends?”

She tries to smile. “Well, I’m still best friends with your cousin and that’s not gonna change. So I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She swallows. “I need time though, if we want to be friends in the future.”

“I get it. Yeah.” He sighs. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugs dejectedly. “I’m sorry too.”

“Can I get one more hug?”

The hug is already sad enough. The kiss in her hair has her crying into his chest. 

It was tough that summer especially, because she still wanted to spend time with Shayla and she also knew that Shayla still wanted to see Luca. But it was still too fresh, so when she knew that Luca was coming by, she avoided going to Shayla’s, which her best friend understood. She took Adam out for ice cream a couple of times, genuinely wanting to see how he was doing and catch up and everything was good and normal as they steered away from topics that were still fresh. Except during one hug as she dropped him off, where he whispered in her ear, “I know it’s too soon. I completely get it. But I know Luca would love to see you before you head back to school.”

(She doesn’t end up seeing him)

Junior year comes and goes. She has a great time despite the hours of studying for exams and the stress of classes. She makes new friends, gets closer with her old ones, collects new memories and laughs until there’s no sound coming out of her mouth. She sometimes wakes up with a hangover, but has to trudge to the library anyway to cram for a Monday morning exam. The first time she goes to The Alcott post break-up, she tries to sit in the spot by the corner and she has to leave within 5 minutes so she doesn’t have a meltdown in public.

Shayla tells her that Luca and Adam are both officially committed to play at Michigan next year, and she’s not sure if she should text them. She ends up texting them both separately right when they post on Instagram though because she’s so happy and excited and proud of them, even if Luca isn’t hers anymore.

i heard about the good news!! congrats on umich (officially)!! 

Thanks Mel!! So good to hear from you. I hope all is good at Northwestern

all’s good here! seriously, luca. i’m so proud of you. 

He simply had liked the text and it was enough for the both of them. It had to be enough. 

She tried her best to steer away from hearing about him, but it was really hard, especially when both him and Adam were doing so well in hockey and were the talk of the town, especially back home. They always had been, but nowadays it was more and more and it was bittersweet to hear. 

She didn’t come back home for the summer of her senior year, her internship leading her to New York City. And while it was sad because she couldn’t see Shayla, who herself was doing an internship in Detroit, it gave her a bit of relief that she wasn’t going to be in her hometown when a large  reason she calls it home is because of the boy who she had given her heart to. She had fun in New York, went on a couple of dates — which was the most she’s done with her romantic life since her breakup — but while her friends were living up their summers and she was cheering them on, she couldn’t shake the feeling of the younger Italian hockey player away from her mind. She hated that she couldn’t shake him off.

(You’ve been friends for almost two decades, Shayla would remind her. Of course you’re not gonna get over it quickly. There’s too much history there)

As Melody entered her senior year, she set out a goal to have fun. Work hard, of course, but also to have fun and really enjoy her last year. With parts of her college experience being interrupted by the pandemic, she felt like it was only right to give herself some time before she’d be in labs and research the rest of her life.

She still followed Luca on social media, so she saw his Snapchat stories and his Instagram posts. He looked like he was having a blast at Michigan and she honestly couldn’t have been any happier for him, even if there was always a stab of something in her heart seeing him pop up on her feed. She still drove through Ann Arbor during school breaks to pick up Shayla, and now Adam and Luca as well when they didn’t have to stay for hockey commitments. Shayla tried telling her friend that she didn’t have to, but Melody always waved her off. Luca texted her happy birthday and she did the same and she ended up crying in the shower both times. 

Shayla had convinced her to come to a Michigan vs Michigan State hockey game and Melody didn’t really have an excuse, since she was gonna drive up that morning from Northwestern to go home for winter break. She had been hesitant, not wanting to overstep but Shayla had just laughed in her face. Come to Michigan, stay the night with me, and then we’ll all head back to Ontario in the morning. Shayla had even gotten Adam and Luca to text her to convince her, with Luca’s text being the final push

Heard from Shay and Adam that you were hesitant on coming to the game. If that hesitancy is because of me, please don’t let it be. It’ll be a fun one.)

The game is fun and thrilling, just like Luca promised it would be. Melody’s met some of Shayla’s college friends before and they’re no less welcoming than they always are. After the game ends, Shayla and her are walking back to her apartment when Shayla stops. Adam just texted me, she says. They’re all at one of the hockey houses and they want to meet you. Let’s stop by. Melody stills for a moment before letting Shayla lead her in the opposite direction. She knows Shayla knows some of the guys, but she’s never met any of them and she doesn’t want to make it awkward. 

But that thought immediately goes away as Adam hugs her and spins her around as soon as they walk in, causing her to laugh and Shayla to pout playfully. Adam just rolls his eyes after setting Melody down. Shay, I see you all the time, he says. Melody gets on her tiptoes and kisses him quickly on the cheek, rolling her eyes as he playfully wipes it off. He leads them into the house and Melody’s thrown into a round of introductions and she’s a bit overwhelmed but she’s smiley and friendly and congratulates them all on the win. She’s immediately enraptured in a brief conversation with Nolan Moyle, Mark Estapa and Luke Hughes and she pretends to not see the other guys eyeing Luca with a knowing look.

Melody Lin rarely talks about it. She wonders how much Luca Fantilli does, especially since they all seem to know who she is. 

She would be the slightest bit uncomfortable, but a majority of them are younger than her and she knows how to deal with the rowdiness of hockey boys. So weirdly enough, she feels right at home, even though it’s her first time here. 

When she finally makes her way to Luca, she smiles, even if it’s a bit dimmed. She’s keenly aware of eyes on her but she tries to ignore them as she hugs him tightly, trying not to breathe in his cologne too much.

“Good game,” she mutters into his ear before pulling away. 

“Thanks, angel.” 

She kinda wants to kill him. He lost his right to call her that when he broke up with her. But she just smiles before turning to introduce herself to Ethan Edwards. 

When she pulls up to Adam and Luca’s place the next morning with a big yawn, Shayla in the seat next to her, Adam hands Shayla a hot chocolate and she’s pleasantly surprised when Luca hands her an iced coffee. She takes a sip as they dump their bags in the trunk. A latte with two pumps of vanilla syrup. He still remembers.

She hates him. She loves him. She’ll always love him

(She watches the game on her laptop and sighs sadly when Michigan’s run at the Frozen Four is cut short. She texts in the group chat consisting of Shayla, Katie, Adam, Luca and her rather than individually. 

💛💙proud of you both always

When Adam wins the Hobey Baker the day after, she immediately calls him, not expecting him to answer and ready to leave a voicemail. But he answers after two rings, and the first thing he asks is if they can switch to FaceTime. Suddenly, her screen is filled with Adam with his shades on in the Florida sun with the disgusting mullet. She just grins and congratulates him while he’s positively beaming. He shows her the trophy briefly and she hears some of his teammates yelling their greetings and she just laughs at all the chaos. She lets him go after another round of congratulations and tries not to let her smile fade when Luca comes on the screen with a wave.

Her heart aches.)

Graduation week is crazy and bittersweet and wonderful as she says goodbye to her younger friends and holds on to make some last minute memories with her best friends before her family and loved ones come to celebrate officially at the ceremony. She has dinner with her parents, her older sister Elena, Shayla and Shayla’s parents the night before her school convocation. She cheers for her friends when they walk across the stage the next morning, tries not to trip when she walks across and honestly kind of blacks out. Shespots her family in the stands purely from Shayla waving like crazy and laughs, waving back. Through all the chaos, she finds her family afterwards and pauses. 

Because there’s Luca. Dressed in a white short sleeved button down and blue jeans, hair out of a baseball cap for once and standing there with a sheepish smile, a beautiful bouquet of purple and white flowers in his hand. 

Why is he here? 

She tears her eyes away from him as she hugs her parents and sister with a big smile. She squeals as she hugs Shayla, swaying side by side, reflecting back to late April when Shayla was the one graduating and the positions were reversed.

But all she can see is Luca. You, you, you, her mind whispers. 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“I didn’t know you were coming.”

He shrugs. “Wanted to surprise you.” He hugs her and she can’t help but smile being tucked into his chest. “Congrats, Mel. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” She mutters, blinking as he gives her the flowers. “These are beautiful. Jesus.”

“Here, let me hold something for you.” He takes her bag off her shoulder as well as her diploma out of her hands as she adjusts the three bouquets of flowers she’s gotten, trying not to crush any of them. 

“Picture time!” Melody’s mom exclaims and then there’s a flurry of smiling and picture taking and lighting and angles and every combination possible, ending with Melody and Luca.

(When her mom sends the pictures later that night, she blinks at how couply they look. There’s a particular picture where she’s laughing at something Shayla said off camera and he’s looking at her like he might still be in love with her)

They stop by her apartment briefly so they can change before they all go to dinner. Apparently, everyone else knew Luca was coming because no one bats an eye as he comes along to their dinner. She’ll have to talk to Shayla about that later. 

And it’s good, really. The conversation is easy and the food is good and she tries to ignore everytime her elbows brush against Luca’s and notes when his arm is around her chair so she doesn't lean back. They discuss the plan for the next day where Melody is just planning on packing before the all university commencement the day after. Her family is planning to explore the Chicago area while Shayla is attending another friend’s commencement at University of Chicago. When Luca’s asked of his plans, he hesitates. She doesn’t know what makes her say her next sentence, but she says it. 

“If you wouldn’t mind, I could use another set of hands to help me pack.”

His head whips to her, mouth open a little. She tries to smile assuringly. He nods. “I don’t mind.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fun.”

She snorts. “Packing is not fun ever, but I like the enthusiasm.”

The next morning, she picks him up from the hotel all of them are staying at (“I’m in a room with Shayla and it’s a nightmare. How does someone’s shit get everywhere in such a short period of time?”) and drives in the opposite direction from her apartment. It takes him a surprisingly short amount of time to realize that they’re going in the wrong direction. When he asks where they’re going, she bites her lip.

“I’m craving one last iced vanilla latte from The Alcott.”

Silence and then a small chuckle. “Are their blueberry muffins still as good?”

“Yup.”

“We gotta get some of those too then.”

And conversation is surprisingly easy. They talk about Michigan’s run to the Frozen Four and how that was cut short but what an amazing season they had, Adam’s World Championship win with Canada and his upcoming draft (she was invited months ago by Adam and the entire Fantilli family to Nashville, to which everyone but her was not surprised about), her last year at Northwestern, his first year at Michigan, and anything and everything in between. It’s so easy that it almost aches, the familiarity of The Alcott and what it means to her and what it means to them as she watches him order for the both of them and pays even though she tries to fight. She wanders over to the corner — their old spot — because she wants to savor this one more time before she has to let go. Before she has to let go of this place and this boy. Because she can’t keep him. He was never hers to begin with. 

“Do you remember when we were snowed in here?”

She turns her head to look back at him before letting out a small chuckle at the memory. “Yeah. You were panicking because you thought your game was still on and I was surprised when it was cancelled, considering it’s Chicago and they never cancel anything due to snow.”

“And then they gave out free coffee refills and you were probably the happiest person in this place, just studying and humming along or scribbling in your journal.”

“We must’ve been here for, what, 6 hours?” 

“Probably more, to be honest. Donna wouldn’t let a single person even think about driving until the storm had passed.”

She smiles, even if a bit sad. “Good times.”

He hums in agreement, and if she was looking at him and not out the window, she would notice that he’s looking at her fondly. “You’re a college graduate.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“You’re right. It’s not, because we all knew you were always the smart one. But it is a big deal because it’s just crazy how time moves so fast.”

“How do you think I feel watching you and Adam get old and go to college? Not that you were innocent before, but Adam sent me some snapchats of your shenanigans at frat parties and sometimes I genuinely wonder how you’re alive and kicking for practice the next morning.”

“Fucking Adam. Always painting me in a bad light,” Luca scoffs, before clearing his throat. “How have you been? How do you feel?” 

She lets out something between a laugh and a sigh. “Okay, I think. Overwhelmed. Excited. Scared. Thankful. Thinking about all the stuff I have to pack.” 

“Do you have most of it done?” 

She snorts. “Absolutely not. That’s what you’re here for.” 

“Glad I could be of service.” 

She stands up with her drink. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” 

Once they get to her place, Melody puts Luca to work immediately, instructing him on which boxes to put things in as she cleans up her room. They work well together. When he’s stepping behind her to get somewhere or something, he always touches her back or elbow or shoulder gently and he doesn’t get annoyed at her indecisiveness on how to pack things, just dutifully following all her instructions. They’re about 70% done when her roommates Alison and Carey come in briefly and they meet Luca and they know exactly who he is but Melody’s thankful that they don’t let it show and gives them a meaningful look as they leave. 

By the time most of her things are packed, it’s dinner time and she suggests that they drive to another one of her favorite spots on campus to grab a bite. A little sweaty, a little exhausted, she has to stop in her tracks when he shoots her the sweetest smile, adjusting the hat on his head and washing his hands before they head out. 

And because it’s only seniors left on campus, it’s not surprising when she runs into a couple people she knows, weaving through to order and find a place to sit at the bar. More often than not she’s stopped and she introduces Luca to everyone and he’s smiling and she knows that everyone is immediately charmed because it’s Luca and that’s always been his effect on people, ever since they were kids. He’s wearing a Michigan hat and gets some chirps that he takes in stride and that make her giggle. 

(If you were to ask Luca, it makes complete sense that everyone they’ve run into has nothing but a smile on their faces. Melody’s always been able to make anyone she’s come into contact with fall in love with her) 

She heads to the bathroom at one point and when she walks back out, she sees a drop dead gorgeous blonde girl sitting where she sat and Melody’s not surprised but her heart falls a bit, watching the girl clearly flirt with him, if her body language indicates anything. She observes for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath and walking back. She platers on the largest smile she can muster, her lips softening to a more genuine one when she sees him perk up. 

“And there she is! The reason I’m here and the star herself.”

She can’t help but chuckle. “You’re sweet.” She turns to the girl. “Hey, I’m Melody. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Connie. Nice to meet you too. You graduated this weekend too?”

“Yup. You?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, congratulations.”

“Congratulations to you as well.”

Connie turns to Luca and Melody tries her best to not roll her eyes. “It was nice to meet you, Luca. I hope Melody gives you a proper tour of Evanston.”

“Best tour guide there is,” Luca responds easily, and Connie slips out of her chair with one last smile before Melody sits back in her seat. “Cool it with the death glare.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh.” 

She takes a sip of her coke, determinedly staring at his water. “You can flirt with anyone you want.” 

“She was flirting. I wasn’t flirting back.” 

“That doesn’t sound like you,” she tries to tease lightly. “I’m sure girls fall at your feet at Michigan.” I know what that’s like, she thinks to herself. “Speaking of, anyone I should know about? Just so I can prepare myself for when I get jumpscared when I take you out for ice cream.” 

“First of all, that’s an Adam move. And nope. No one’s caught my eye.” 

“No?” 

“No.” 

“Surprising.” 

He shrugs. 

She hums, letting it go and steering towards safer conversation topics. 

In the car on the way back to the hotel, she gets the courage.

“Luca.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you break up with me?”

A sharp inhale. The words linger in the air. She grips her steering wheel. 

“I don’t know.”

Silence. A disbelieving scoff. 

“Thanks, Luca.”

“No, no. Give me a second. I truly mean it, especially now looking back. At the time I thought it was what was best so that we would stay friends and not grow to hate each other, but when I think about it more and more, that reasoning is shit so I don’t know anymore. You deserved better.”

(Honestly, it’s probably good that they’re hashing this out now. She was far too nice to him two years ago.)

“If I deserved better why didn’t you do better?” She whispers. “Luca, you didn't even give me a chance to fix it.”

“I know. I know. I panicked and I ran and I lost you.”

“You’ve never lost me. I’m best friends with your cousin. I’ve driven you and Adam to and from school. I’m still here. The last thing I wanted to do that night was break up. You practically jumped at the chance..”

“But I lost you in the way it mattered.” He reaches over to grab her hand and she doesn’t pull away. He takes that as a good sign. “I fucked it all up, didn’t I? All this time we could’ve been together but we weren’t because I just ran away.”

“Why did you break up with me?” She repeats stoically.

“I guess, I guess I got it into my head that you deserve so much better than me. I mean, I was playing junior hockey and you were at fucking Northwestern and you’ve always been so much smarter than I am which I love, don’t get me wrong. You are so, so beautiful and kind to everyone and generous and you’ve literally been there for me since forever and… I just felt like I was holding you back and you deserve better and-“ 

“It’s not your choice to determine what I think I deserve,” she says firmly. “If you had just talked to me about it…Luca. All I wanted was for you to talk to me that night. And the few weeks before. I loved you for who you were, junior hockey and all or whatever the fuck else you said. Do you forget that we grew up together? I’ve seen it all, and I’ve stuck by you because I loved you.” 

He takes a deep breath. “Do you know why no one’s caught my eye at Michigan?” 

She freezes, having a feeling what the answer is but hoping it isn’t true (or hoping it is true). “Why?” 

“Because the only girl who I see myself with is in Chicago.” 

She swallows roughly. “You can’t just say that shit, Luca. It’s not fair.” 

“I know, I know. I just-I…I’m sorry. I know I’m not being fair. I just…I miss you. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was coming to your graduation but I couldn’t miss it. I really am so proud of you. I’ve always been your biggest fan.”

She stops at a red light and looks at him. “I hated you for a bit.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“But looking back, I don’t think I ever hated you. I was just sad and heartbroken.”

He squeezes his eyes shut. He had always vowed to himself that he would never hurt her. The light turns green and she drives again. 

She speaks up again. “Everyone always told me time is the best thing after a breakup. I didn’t know what they meant until I did. And seeing you got easier everytime, and I still wanted the best for you, even if I wasn’t the one by your side anymore. I still do. But at the same time, I wanted to forget you.”

“Would you consider trying again?”

“Luca-”

“I, just hear me out. I fucked up. I know that. God, I knew that the second I walked out of your place that night. I love you. I still love you. And I know I’m being unfair about all of this. But I just…my life is so much better with you by my side. I’ve realized that more than ever these last two years. And if you don’t feel the same way anymore, I get it. We can keep being friends or I can give you space if you want…whatever you need. I just had to say it. I love you. I can’t really see myself ever stopping, to be honest.”

In the middle of his little speech, she had pulled into the hotel and parked, killing the engine. It’s silent for a few moments as she mulls over his words. 

“You really hurt me, Luca. I don’t know if I love you anymore.” His face starts falling, but she quickly continues. “But I think I could. Love you again, I mean. Maybe. But it has to be different this time.” He perks up but she holds up a hand and he listens. “We need to communicate better. We have to talk through our problems when they come up, not run away from them. We can’t just sweep things under the rug.”

“Deal.”

“I’m gonna be working in Chicago and you’re gonna be in Ann Arbor. The distance is still gonna be like before. We’re probably gonna be away from each other more than we’re together.”

“Worth it,” a soft smile appears on his lips. “Congratulations, by the way. On the job. I don’t know if I mentioned it yet.”

“Thank you,” she looks down at her hands. She sighs. “I wanted us to work the first time. I really did. God, Luca. You’re one of the most important people in my life.”

“I’m gonna try so hard to be someone that you deserved the first time and that you deserve now.”

She smiles a bit sadly at that. “All you need to be is yourself. That’s all I ask.”

“Deal.”

“I know things are kinda busy coming up, with your cousin’s wedding and Adam’s draft and me going on my trip. But, uh, maybe we can go on a date when I’m back? If it isn’t too late.”

“It’s never too late when it comes to you,” Luca says. “I’d love that.” He leans in to kiss her cheek. 

“Come on. I’ll walk you up to your room.”

Things still don’t quite fall into place after that weekend. The next time she sees Luca is when she comes to Nashville for the draft. Luca’s been beaming all day, extremely proud of his brother, but it doesn’t compare to the feeling he felt earlier when Melody and Shayla walked out of their hotel room, Melody wearing a blue satin jumpsuit and looking as stunning as ever. When she greeted him with a hug, he planted a brief kiss in her hair and watched fondly as she embraced Adam, straightening out his collar and placing a sweet kiss on his cheek, muttering some words to him that only those two could hear, Adam closing his eyes and nodding as she smiled. Luca knows how much her being here means to Adam.

(Only close family knew that on Adam’s vest on the back are the names of the important people in his life. When he takes off the suit jacket to show Shayla and Melody, the former beams while the latter starts sniffling. Both so proud of him. Both honored to be on his back in cursive. And Luca just hands her a tissue when she sees a particular picture on the inside of his jacket of the four of them when they were younger at the beach. It’s one of her favorites. It means so much.)

She cries when Adam gets picked third overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets and squeezes Shayla’s hand in excitement as Adam walks onto the stage. Afterwards when she sees him, she practically leaps onto him and squeezes him so tight as he spins her around. 

(“Oh, Adam,” she says with a sniffle. “I’m so, so proud of you. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Mel.” He says into her shoulder. “Thank you for everything. Everything.”

She pulls away but can’t help herself and hugs him again. “I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he says as she backs away, biting her lip while placing her hands on his cheek.)

She’s then traveling with a couple friends around Europe and he’s in Pittsburgh for a few days for development camp before hanging out with friends and training. They text semi-frequently but she’s abroad and having fun and he respects that. He’s trying to figure out how to show her that he’s serious about the second chance she’s given him while trying not to overstep. 

When he picks her up from Toronto Pearson Airport in mid July, it’s 7 am and she looks and feels like shit. But she comes out of Arrivals and immediately sees Luca waving, big smile on his face, a Michigan shirt on, a hat flipped backwards on his hair and a bouquet of carnations in his hands, looking at her like she’s the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. She hugs him, taking the flowers with a smile as he grabs her duffle from her shoulder. Whether from exhaustion or simply because she’s missed him in more ways than she’d like to admit, she leans into his side as they walk out of the airport and into the parking lot and he immediately responds by putting an arm around her shoulder and pressing a kiss on her forehead. 

It’s so easy to fall back into rhythm with him, as she just admires him while he’s driving, too tired at the moment to recount her travels. Once they get off the highway, he puts the windows down and opens the skylight and there’s a pang of deja vu as he turns up the music a bit, humming along to some country tune. He slows down in front of Betty’s Diner and she furrows her eyebrows. 

He smiles, stopping the engine. “I’m gonna go in real quick and grab some food, okay? Told Betty you were coming back today and she insisted on cooking you your favorite. I convinced her to put it in a to-go box but I promised her we’d come back to eat in at some point.”

Melody’s heart practically melts at the thoughtfulness. “Thanks, Lu.”

(He almost trips over himself getting out of the car. She hasn’t called him Lu in so long)

Luca’s house is empty, as Adam is training and his parents are both at work. Melody takes a quick shower to wash off the grime of the plane and when she comes out — in a UMich shirt and sweats she has to roll up that he laid out— the breakfast is all heated up on plates, the bouquet of flowers he gave her still wrapped but in a cup of water so they don’t die. Luca turns around at the sound of footsteps and something flashes through his eyes at the sight of her wearing his clothes again but he shakes himself out of it, instead just sliding a plate towards her. She slumps down on the kitchen island and thanks him with a hum before diving in. 

Once she’s full and Luca’s taking all the plates and washing them before she can even blink, she speaks up. “Is this the date?”

“No,” he admits. “I figured I’d give you a couple of days to get over the jetlag before taking you out for real. I just, I wanted to do something nice.”

She wipes her lips with a napkin. “Not that I don’t appreciate all of this, because I do, but what…why?”

“You gave me a second chance. I’m not gonna waste that chance.” His eyes widen in fear. “I-I’m sorry if I’m overwhelming you or being too forward. I-if you wanna go home or to Shayla’s, I can drop you off or-”

She smiles slightly. “Relax, Luca.” He blinks. It’s times like this he remembers that she’s two years older and much more level headed than he is. “I was just curious. You don’t have to do this all for me, you know?”

“I want to,” Luca replies simply. “Making up for lost time, I guess.”

“Then come over and finish up these waffles for me,” she says with a small smile, laughing when he barrels over and inhales them. 

After breakfast, he can tell she needs sleep even if she won’t admit it. So he puts on Abbot Elementary and puts an arm around her shoulder as she leans into him on the couch. Halfway through the episode, she’s fallen asleep on his chest and he just smiles, staring down at her. He very carefully turns the volume down and shifts so that they’re both more in a comfortable position. 

(When Adam comes back from training, he walks into the sight of his older brother and someone who might as well be his older sister cuddling, both asleep with Abbot Elementary still playing. He turns the TV off and tosses a blanket over them, staring at them both thoughtfully before heading to his room)

They do end up going on a date a couple days later. Luca picks her up at the door of her childhood home, waves to her mom and dad and gives her another bouquet of flowers (daisies this time). He then drives them to a nearby park that she hasn’t been to in at least 5 years and then pulls out a picnic basket of sandwiches, fruit, pasta salad, chips and cans of seltzer. She blinks as he lays it all out, because he’s really pulling out the stops and she has to stop herself from just leaning in and kissing him. 

And the conversation between them is, yet again, so easy, reminding her of one of the many reasons she always liked him, even before they started dating. Their ability to bounce off of each other and talk about practically everything isn’t something that she’s been able to replicate with anyone else quite yet. There are some instances where they slip into some dangerous territory, but they successfully steer away from it. Those are conversations that need to be had, but not today.

For awhile, especially after their breakup, Melody had only fixated on their differences, with his hockey and party life at Michigan and her research and much tamer college life at Northwestern. But during that picnic, laying down with her head on his lap, she had a realization that they were similar in many ways she hadn’t thought about before — their love for Toronto, their distaste for judgemental people, their passion for leaving an impact, the way they love their friends and family, their love for music.

(It probably only took that date for Melody to fall in love with Luca again, but she would never admit that to herself)

They book a last minute trip to Seattle in late July— it’s purely because Melody found tickets to Taylor Swift last minute that were a reasonable price. She would’ve taken Shayla, but she already saw Taylor in Detroit two days before Melody’s graduation. So the couple hike some trails, eat some good food and have a blast at Taylor Swift. 

(During ‘Fearless,’ which is one of Melody’s favorites, she’s hyper emotional, feeling Luca’s hands around her waist and him singing softly into her ear. He must also remember all the times she played this in the car growing up. During ‘Love Story,’ which is Luca’s favorite, she swears the stadium is shaking and it’s such a wonderful feeling to be a part of something like this. In the middle of the second chorus, she looks back at him with a smile, and he kisses her probably too deeply for what’s considered proper in public. But she can’t care less. And when he sings the last four lines to her in her ear, it feels something like a promise.)

He drives down with her to Chicago mid-August to help her move into her new apartment with a mutual friend from college who’s coming in September. Just like when he helped her move out, he doesn’t complain once. But this time, inbetween moving boxes, he puckers his lips and gets a kiss. The moment she realizes that she’s in her new home for the foreseeable future is when she’s placing some framed pictures around in her room, this particular one being of Shayla, Adam, Luca, Katie and her at the draft just under two months before. She doesn’t have that many framed pictures around, but this one was important to her to have up. She sets it down on the desk and just looks at it, even as Luca comes up to hug her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Shayla’s off to Houston for her job, Adam is off to Columbus to play in the NHL, Luca’s going back to Ann Arbor to do what he loves, Katie is going back to UCLA for her second year and she’s starting her job in Chicago. 

All five of them doing what they love, excited for the future, grateful for the past. And doing it together, even if they’re all in different states. 

He stays with her for a couple of days before heading back to Michigan. That goodbye sucks in particular, as she clings onto him. She’s trying so hard not to let tears fall, but when he softly mutters that he loves her (the first time he’s said those words since they decided to try again), the waterfall starts and she just sobs into his chest as he quietly whispers sweet nothings and rubs her back, kissing her hair and face and fingers and whispering that they’ll see each other in no time — which isn’t true. She has no idea when she’ll be able to get some time off as a new employee and he’s not gonna have that much time to spare once hockey season officially starts. 

(She doesn’t say it back yet, something inexplicable holding her back. But as he kisses her soundly at the airport before heading through security, she knows she does)

As she’s driving to Ann Arbor in December it takes her an embarrassingly long time to realize why it feels like deja vu.

Last year around this time, she made this exact same drive to see a game against the exact same team. Except this time, it’s different. Adam isn’t there. Shayla isn’t there. The team is different. Her and Luca are different. 

And as she’s driving to Ann Arbor, she knows she has to let him know. She has to let him know she loves him. 

This is only the third time she’s seen him since he helped her move in August. She would be lying if she said it hasn’t been tough and there haven’t been moments where she wonders if it’s worth it. But then her phone lights up, signaling a text from him or food she didn’t order ends up at her doorstep or she watches streams of UMich games and watches him score and then she’s reminded that she made the right choice in giving Luca a second chance. 

She loves watching hockey. She loves watching Luca play hockey. 

She got the number of Maggie, Kienan’s girlfriend, from Luca because she would only be able to make it to Michigan right before the game started, and Maggie was more than happy to lead her inside with her media pass and introduce her to some of the other significant others before she’d actually have to get back to work. It was a bit weird, being one of those significant others and being a bit older, but she was a college student up until June, so it’s not like she feels completely out of place.

She parks outside of Yost and texts Maggie, who directs her on which door to walk to. After an enthusiastic hug, she leads Melody through the back way into the arena, saying that the boys are already on the ice for warmups and that everyone is excited to meet her (“We’ve heard so much about you, from Luca and even from Adam last year, so we’re all really excited to meet you.”) 

She gets introduced to Ellie and Kayleigh, Jacob and Rutger’s girlfriends respectively, and they’re so peppy and excited and nice that she doesn’t feel as nervous as she sits down as they immediately want to get to know more about her. They have decent seats, so she can see some of the players’ expressions if she looks hard enough. She immediately spots 63 and just smiles before turning back to the girls, not wanting to distract him from warmups, even though she finds herself eyeing him while talking. It isn’t until one of the guys, Ethan, if she remembers his number correctly, nudges Luca and nods in their direction does she smile and give a small wave. Even from this far, she sees him light up and wave back before focusing on warming up again. 

The game, like any Michigan vs Michigan State one, is chippy, loud and exciting. She’s watched so many of Luca and Adam’s games growing up, yet she still finds herself nervously playing with her sleeves. Michigan ends up winning 2-1 and everyone’s in happy spirits as they leave the arena. She bids farewell to the girls and thanks them for letting her sit with them before Maggie’s back to lead her towards the locker room to meet up with Luca.

She waits patiently outside of the locker room with Maggie, just chatting casually, smiling when Kienan comes out and they embrace. Melody gives him a hug as well. The next guys to come out are Mark, Ethan and Seamus, who she remembers from last year and they all give her hugs before she wishes them a good holiday break. She tells them that they don’t have to stay and they all wave her off. (“Are you kidding? I’m not missing this reunion. Luca’s been talking about seeing you non-stop for forever.” Ethan jokes.)

They don’t have to wait long, as Luca’s the next one to come out. His cheeks are a bit flushed and he’s dressed in her favorite suit of his. His eyes dart all over until they meet hers. He immediately shrugs off his backpack and lifts Melody up in a hug. She lets out a little squeal and laughs as he spins her around.

“Hi.” She mutters into his shoulder. 

“Hi angel.” He pulls away and kisses her twice. “I missed you.”

She pulls back and runs a hand through his hair with a light smile. “Missed you. Good game.” She looks beyond his shoulder to see the rest of his teammates smiling or smirking, some she recognizes, others she doesn’t. She detaches herself from him and nudges him. “Introduce me to your teammates.”

He groans playfully. “Do I have to?”

She rolls her eyes and smiles at the boys warmly. “Hi. I’m Melody, if we haven’t met.” She gives everybody a quick hug as the freshmen introduce themselves, laughing when Dylan wiggles her around. 

Everyone’s a bit tired, so within 10 minutes, everyone’s saying goodbye and leaving the arena. She insists on driving Seamus, Rutger and Gavin since they all live together. When they get back, she’s helping him fold clothes to bring back to Toronto for break as he sits back on his bed, one hand behind his head and just looking at her. She’s grown out her hair and got a perm as a treat to herself after her first paycheck. And she had FaceTimed him immediately after she walked out of the salon, but seeing it in person is something entirely different. Still donned in his MIchigan crewneck that mysteriously disappeared from his closet over the summer and a yellow bow in her hair, she’s wearing flannel pajama pants now instead of jeans and folding a pair of his jeans before tossing it into his duffle and zipping it up. Luca’s suddenly overwhelmed by how blessed he is. 

The next morning, after brunch at one of Luca’s favorite spots around campus, when they’re at the start of their drive back to Toronto and at a long stoplight, she remembers. 

“Hey, Lu?” 

“Hm?” He immediately looks at her and places a kiss on the back of her hand that he’s been holding. 

“I love you.”

Luca’s eyes light up and she bites her lip so she doesn’t grin like a crazy woman. “Yeah?” He breathes out.

“Yeah. I love you.”

He leans to press a sweet kiss on her lips and then her cheek, and mutters against her skin. “I love you, angel. So much. Always have. Always will.”

And she chuckles under her breath when she tunes into what song is playing through the speakers of her car. 

This love came back to her, indeed.

[essenceofarda]

Teenage Fingon and Maedhros!

I came up with a whole story (practically an entire fic idea lol 😅) for this illustration. It takes place during an extended family vacation in some snowy mountaintops in Aman, (can you imagine not Only the shenanigans the extended finwean family would get up to but also the drama involved with having everyone basically camping under one log cabin roof LMAO), and Fingon, who absolutely idolizes his older cousin Mae, finally musters up the courage to, while on a skiing adventure just the two of them, to come out as trans and Maedhros is just like: *vibrates with excitement* "this is the best news ever i'm gonna teach you everything I know about being a dude" and henceforth the two were inseparable buddies 🥹

I imagine Mae as the first person that Fingon feels comfortable coming out to in this fic idea... and Mae's immediate and enthusiastic encouragement and acceptance is at least partly why Fingon remains his loyal friend for the remainder of their days :')

[mamawasatesttube]

hi do you have any kon comics recs?

oh boy do i!!!!! ♥

for his origins, you'll want to read "reign of the supermen" (probably easiest to read it as a tpb, because the individual issues are all over the place). this details his creation and escape from cadmus, his relationships with clark and john henry irons, and his early attitudes!

after that, of course. well. superboy (1994). i love this comic. it is deeply flawed. it's 100 issues long, so it's a bit of an undertaking, but in my opinion it's essential reading to actually understand kon as a character. he gets groomed and exploited in many ways in this book, and it is not handled well because it's treated as acceptable as the fantasy of any teenage boy (the grooming and sexual abuse), or played for comedic effect (the financial exploitation). but understanding those facets of kon's backstory are vital to get a read on him as a character. sb94 also does a really great job of establishing him as someone kind, creative, and incredibly lonely and depressed. he's passively suicidal for pretty much the entire run. he's a really good boy. and some of his relationships with his supporting cast (roxy, serling, dubbilex, guardian) are just sooo <333

next up: young justice (1998)! this is the fun one with a lot of shenanigans. the depth here is mostly understated for characters like kon, tim, and bart (who have their own solos outside of it) and i'd say the kon experience here is enhanced by having read sb94 first, because there are certain arcs that follow up on things going on at cadmus and stuff. after yj98 is teen titans/young justice: graduation day, which basically shows how yj disbands after donna troy's death.

after that is the unfortunate mess that is teen titans (2003). this comic is not good, but it is important. this is where the lex retcon happens, the mind control arc happens, and the tie-ins to infinite crisis all happen. kon dies in infinite crisis, returns in final crisis, and rejoins the team towards the end of tt03.

next up is adventure comics (2009), the first six issues of which get into what kon does in the wake of his resurrection. superboy (2011) (i) (not to be confused with the n52 superboy solo) follows up on some of these themes and shows his adventures in smallville! both are pretty solid.

if you Really wanna dig into everything going on towards the end of postcrisis continuity, i'd rec getting into a tpb of the new krypton arcs! kon isn't around for everything there (he's dead for the first parts), but by last stand of new krypton, he's back and running around with the legion (this includes the last few issues of adventure comics '09, too).

in n52 kon is just. not there. the "kon-el" in n52 is just straight up an entirely different guy. (incidentally, this guy is where the edgy "kon means abomination" thing comes from. this is a retcon. kon's name originally is the name of a dead cousin of clark's that clark says he would be honored if superboy would accept.)

if you want to read anything post flashpoint, he gets reintroduced to continuity in young justice (2019). then the house of kent arc in action comics sort of explains his situation in prime earth continuity. stuff like yjdc (which i have not and will not be reading, so i certainly can't recommend it) takes place after this, and kon appears some in various other action comics arcs going on lately, but none of those are major appearances really. he did have his recent mini solo superboy: man of tomorrow, which was... fine. nothing spectacular imo, but the covers are cute and i have all six issues sitting on my desk because kon <3!

i know this is kind of long. my bad i love to ramble about kon kjsdhf but!! if you have any questions or anything i'm happy to elaborate or clarify further!! but in the meantime. go forth, and happy kon reading ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷💖

[grogusmum]

Seven Tears part 6

SELKIE!EZRA X F!READER

WORD COUNT: 2500ish

SERIES SUMMARY: Months after being abandoned, she does something rash and summons a selkie, who wishes to bring her comfort and maybe more.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Summer moves quickly on Roan Inish, Pearl and Cee grow close and the baby is born, but the fall brings the annulment at last, and with it there is retaliation and a choice is made.

WARNING: Olde Timey gender norms and sexism, though set in mid-20th century Ireland, and Ireland's predominantly white, Reader is physically undescribed, as are her blood relatives, her missing spouse, and his family are white, reader gives birth (not described), Cee in peril, ANGST, Colin and Jamie continue to be horrible people, Ezra is a selkie, yes, it deserves its own warning, excessive use of pet names, painful cliffhanger - its going to be okay, I promise! (as always see something say something. please let me know in my DMs if there is a warning I missed)

A/N: Welp, at 364 days since the last update- it hasn't been a literal year since the last chapter... After I finally got it down and started editing I realized why I had such a block. At least part of it anyway... This is a tough one. I understand why I kept diverting to writing side fics with sexytimes, new-fangled doodads, flashbacks of shenanigans, and so forth. While I was figuring out this chapter, and well into writing it, I spent most of the time saying to Ezra, can we just make breakfast and snuggle??? Of course, he's no help because he says yes let's. Like so many of my penultimate chapters, it's a cliffhanger and a painful one, and I am so very sorry. But I am not stopping and taking a break to do other fics. I will be writing part 7 this weekend.

Gaelic Translation (with a dash of history)

Móra dhuit ar maidin: good morning, is a twist on the traditional Dia dhuit ar maidin which means God (be) with you. Some believe this is where the infamous “Top of the Morning” Mor meaning big, Mora believed to be a “lost word”. However, it was discovered that in fact, this is one of the quite rare surviving pagan blessings. Mór was a significant goddess (note: attributes quite different to the Morrigan or Mór Ríon, even if sometimes mixed together) with many avatars. Of course, this all can be debated to the end of time, when one’s religion and language are made illegal so much is lost.

Gaeilge translation

A ghrá: love

Mo stór: Literally translating to “My treasure,” this phrase is often used to mean “my darling.”

Part 5

Series Masterlist

‘You would have to become a selkie yourself.’

Ezra stopped further conversation that night about it. “Today has been long and arduous, and not the hour for decisions of this magnitude, Moonbeam.” He had said, then unfairly distracted you as only he can.

Your time on the island was magical. You cleaned out the other cottages and your parents brought some basic furniture. The cottages were sparse but appointed with the necessaries to visit comfortably. The visits from your family and Tilda and Fergus were lovely. Because your relocation was for your safety and protection, no one knew beyond that circle. You knew you would miss your friends and cousins. But for now, you were distracted from missing them too badly because Cee came to visit, often. It was new to her, and she found it great fun. She would look at her human feet or hands and laugh with wonder, she would tell you later ‘wonder at their ridiculousness’. You noted fondly that she had a little bit of her father’s laugh.

The first time she came up out of the water you got to see the transformation firsthand. Her flippers felt for the seam under her snout, invisible to the eye. She then pulled it apart and a blonde teenager emerged. 

Blonde. You looked at Ezra, flabbergasted. To which he said-

 “There is a saying, my Pearl, all toads are frogs but not all frogs are indeed toads. Uncommon it may be, but one needs only look for the sea storm in her eyes to know.”

Cee came and went from the shoals, and Ezra reminded you not to worry, that as your belly rounded with every week that passed, he would be the worrier in the family.

Spending the morning fishing with your Da and Thomas, Ezra is gone when you wake. This is his way of thanking them as they usually have other supplies for you. Cee emerges from her bed which is curtained off in one corner of the great room, as you set out two bowls of porridge. 

“Móra dhuit ar maidin (MOR-uhg(w)itch air MA-jin), Cee”

“Móra dhuit ar ma–” Cee yawns openly, “jin. Where is me Da?” 

She, then, sniffs the oats hopefully.

“Fishing,” You tell her. “Why don' you cut some apples, dear.” 

“With hooks and a line?” Cee chuffs as she sets to the task. You can not help joining her mirth. 

You are with Cee on your own for the first time-

“You must have missed Ezr- your Da. I did not know I was keeping him from anyone- I would have encouraged him to visit. I am truly sorry, Cee.”

“‘tis the nature of things,” Cee says, mouth full of apples and oats, “besides if he were to slip back into his pelt and visit, he could not return to you for seven years. He has loved you a long time- everyone knows that!”

You are taken aback, you hardly register the sweet knowledge that she and others in his pod knew his love for you, thinking about the fact that if he goes in he can not return for seven years. Seeing her come and go, you assumed, with no small amount of relief, that bit was a myth, and you tell her so.

“Oh, I can come and go, because I am a natural-born selkie. Da was turned.”

“How was he turned?”

“Well,” Cee starts, “ehm, that is probably a story he ought tell you. Though he don' really like to tell that tale.”

By the time of Ezra return, Cee’s words were pushed out of your mind. For the pair of you had gathered seaweed and dug clams for luncheon, and you had felt your first real kick from the baby.

“Pearl! Come sit,” Ezra pulls you into the house. “You need to rest.”

Sitting you down by the fireplace, he settles on his knees, splaying a large warm hand on your lower belly, soft brown eyes on you, hoping to feel another kick. 

“How does everyone?”

“Very well, Moonbeam,” Ezra absently runs his hand over the expanse of your middle, then drops his head on your lap. “Patrick had some supplies for us as well.”

“Any news?”

“Well…”

“What, a ghrá (uh GHRAH)?”

“Colin and his brother are still ragin’. Dierdre is making progress with the annulment, tis not sitting too well, it seems.”

“Pity sake”

“He deserves none," Ezra's eyes darken and you see his selkie nature for just a moment.

On the longest day, your water breaks at 4 a.m. The gift of midsummer's day is that daylight is already breaking, and Ezra can take the currach out right away and fetch your mam. The whole of the family comes back with Ezra and waits outside the cottage as Deirdre and Felicia help you bring young Rory into the world, with Ezra attached to your side. 

When Rory's shoulder breaches its final barrier with your last mighty push, he slips like a seal into your mother’s waiting arms. 

Ezra kisses your glistening brow and with a whoop, he runs to the window to shout to kin both seal and man-

“Tis a boy! With a shock of red hair from who knows where!” To which everyone whooped and laughed hardily.

“It’s midsummer! That’d be the faeries doing!” Hugh calls.

“Someone tell that boy to hush,” Deirdre says to no one in particular, shaking her head and crossing herself. She hands off the swaddled babe to Felicia, who brings him to you. Your Mam goes to the fireplace takes up an iron poker and draws talismans into the ash, muttering about faeries, calling St. Bridget to protect the home and all dwelling within.

You, Ezra, Rory, and Cee grow more in love with every passing day. There is nothing Cee enjoys more than when Rory is in his boat cradle, being lulled in the shallows tethered to a rope you hold fast to. During his fussy times, it is the only thing that calms him. She swims round and round it, bobbing up to check on him. Ezra barks his laugh at Cee’s antics and in the evenings he holds his son close, nosing his cheek and murmuring in the old way. And of course, any chance he gets, he brings you closer to him than many would find humanly possible. Nights are spent worshipful, in one another's arms. When the babe is wakeful, Ezra brings him to you, and when Rory is fed and dozing he silently takes him back to his cradle.

Summer rushes past as it has a habit of doing and autumn comes. Plans are set for this morning to go to the mainland to sign papers for your annulment. 

“Tis finally here,” you sigh, kissing Ezra, the baby dressed and ready for a boat ride. “I’ll go to the church and get this settled at long last and meet you at the pub?”

“Agreed, mo stór (mu store)” Ezra says as he carries out a basket to the currach, he sets it in the boat and then helps you aboard, as you hold Rory. 

The tide is with you as is the wind, so your trip is uneventful and swift. Ezra kisses your cheek and takes the baby for Tilda and Fergus to see and you head up to St Bridget’s to finally wash your hands of Colin. You smile as you walk the familiar cobbled road, excited butterflies in your belly. You remember to be watchful, knowing Colin and Jamie, this day is sure to stir up a hornet's nest. All is quiet, but you start to feel as though it is too quiet.

Ezra brings Rory into the pub, head up, bursting with fatherly pride, and Tilda comes round the board, hand on her heart. She takes up the baby as she gives Ezra a peck on the cheek. 

“You may never get the wee one back,” Fergus laughs. 

“Look how big you’ve gotten!” She coos.

“He is but a weed of a thing, growing faster-” No sooner does Ezra sit to catch up with his friends, does Hugh run into the bar, holding a stitch in his side. Ezra stands, his nostrils flaring as his eyes go dark, as if the barometer just fell and he could feel a dangerous storm brewing.

“I was- I was down at the docks-” he gasps trying to catch his breath. “Cee was there, knew it was the- the big day. But Colin-” 

Ezra was on him, hands like vices on his shoulders. 

“Ezra!” Tilda commands. He let go but the huff of his breathing bristles his mustache.

“What about Colin,” Ezra’s voice is like nothing they have ever heard. Rory fusses.

“He’s got Cee in a net, started dragging her out. Da -.”

Ezra bellows. 

“Watch over Rory, Tilda. Hugh, does she know?”

“No, I came here first. Thomas has a boat- one with a motor-” 

“Good lad,” Ezra breathes and storms from the pub, Hugh following behind.

At the dock, Ezra prowles up and down, until Thomas comes into view.

“Over there!”

Ezra looks at the small vessel with an outboard motor, mildly distrustful. 

“Hugh stay at the dock and keep watch. We will get to the boa-”

“No. Go back to the island.”

“Wh-”

“I need my pelt.”

Cee twists and bites at the net, angry at herself for getting caught. Knowing this was to get to you and Ezra. Other seals surround her, trying to help.

She barks, nostrils flaring, pointing with her nose behind her. Two seals peel off and go in the direction she indicates, while one stays with Cee.

Soon enough two gray seals like torpedoes reach Ezra, flanking the port and starboard bows. Their heads come above the surface and one barks.

"Go on ahead to the island, in the hamper at the end of the big bed. Fast. Meet me back at this boat. Mind the propeller," Ezra shouts over the wind and motor.

The seals put out a burst of speed, porpoising in and out of the water. 

"What are you going to do?"

"You have to tell her," Ezra's voice breaks, eyes rimmed red. "Tell her,  I will return even if she can't bring herself to come to me. I will-"

"Ezra?"

"I promised," he wails, "I have never promised anyone anything- only she! But I can't let Cee-"

"She'll understand."

"I'm deserting her!"

"I will tell her."

"Is there anything to write with?"

Thomas rummages a bit and pulls from his pack, a small notebook with a pen tucked in its spine.

Ezra takes it and begins scribbling frantically.

Jamie’s boat speeds along, gulls scold them, and seals chase. Colin and Jamie jeer at them, determined to take their offense out on the young selkie. Heedless of the long-held taboo and the consequences that can befall entire villages, for harming a seal. Whether or not they know Cee was a selkie or a seal, they laughed in bad humor and wondered if one of them would make wife of her. They are both quite lucky Cee could not hear their base chatter. 

After chewing at the net for some time, Cee finally breaks through the net, barking a laugh of triumph. When she slips free, she rolls and tumbles with her companion in celebration. When she has had her fill, she bobs in the water watching as the craft continues east. Cee barks at the other seal and sets after the boat at top speed. Only after she chews the netting that held her captive to shreds, does she make way to the mainland. But it is not long before she is faced with her mistake. 

You arrive at the pub in good spirits, but your relaxed smile is wiped clean off at the sight of the faces within. Your face falls further seeing Tilda with Rory, and Ezra nowhere to be found.

"Where-"

For the second time today, Hugh bursts in like the devil is at his heels-

"C-cee-"

"Is she alright?" Tilda says standing.

"She is! She- she got away, but she's ragin' on the stand!"

The lot of you pour out of the pub. Fergus tosses out a lone customer and locks up behind. Hugh hastily explains what he knows, as your eyes become saucers. At the beach Cee is half out of her coat,  as she is covered with the blanket that Tilda had the forethought to bring, she seethes-

"Da went after 'em. He didn’ know I broke free on me own until after he’d done it! He's angrier than I have ever seen!"

"Are you alright? Are you hurt at all?" Your eyes search her.

"He's not mad at that- well he is bu' he's fit to be tied because-" Cee's words pull up short, she looks like she might cry. "He thought- he- put on his pelt. I- I'm sorry."

You look as though you've been struck in the face, but you rub her shoulder absently hoping she knows you do not blame her. 

"He's gone after the boat, he wi- he'll sink it," Cee finishes.

"Where's Thomas?" Asks Hugh.

"I'm here!" Thomas runs down the rocky steps, and hands you the note.

My shining Pearl,

I am loath to break my promise and beg your forgiveness.

Do I dare remind you that we spoke of you coming with me? 

Though I admit that conversation was far from over.

Do I presume to ask for this gift? 

Would you don a silken seal coat, mo ghrá? 

Would you do this for me though I hardly deserve it? 

Yours forever,

Ezra

When you finish reading, you find yourself turning a lost circle, pebbles shifting underfoot. 

"I- he-" You look down at the note again, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"He didn't want to!" Thomas says, beside himself.

"Of course, he didn't," Dierdre soothes. 

Trembling, you rush to Tilda grasping her hands. Blinded by the tears that refuse to fall, you don't see what everyone else can see plain, she knows your question and hates the answer.

"The Maiden and the Seal-lord! She- she was able to take her grandmother's pelt! You have one from yours, yes? Please yes!"

The waves crash, as though very ocean can not abide your tears.

"Darlin, my seal gran has too many greats in front of it to tell us, even if I could dig it up and give it to you," Tilda holds your panicked face in her worn hands. " Which I would, I most surely would. But it would not transform you- for no matter how close I hold you as kin, you must be a blood relation. Your way… if you wish it, it will be harder." 

Your wail breaks her heart, gulls echo your cry. 

You take Rory in your arms, the note crushed in your hand, and climb Widow’s Rock.

"Ez-ra!" 

Deirdre sends everyone back to the house and carefully climbs the rock. She wraps her arms around you and Rory. 

"For right or wrong, God forgive him. He will sink that boat and come back to you, even if he can't take off his coat."

You nod in response, eyes on the open water-

"I need to talk to Cee.”

Part 7

💚THANK YOU FOR READING💚REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED💚

If you care to read more of my stories you can find my masterlist here and if you would like to be tagged for any of my fics you can find my handy dandy taglist form here.

[usermischief]

♜Pairing: Briles ♜Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Brett Talbot, Lydia Martin, Jackson Whittemore, Liam Dunbar ♜Tags/Warnings: getting together, cocky Brett, oblivious Stiles (kind of) ♜Words: 3,132

ao3

---

There are multiple reasons Stiles despises returning to Beacon Hills, the supernatural shenanigans are just a small fraction of it. Mostly, it’s the memories too many places here harbor – and then there is his love life, or rather, the walking and talking reminder of the lack thereof.  

“You’re staring.” Lydia taps a finger against her red cup and studies him with a quirked brow and a slight smile. They might be best friends for years now, but he will forever be unsettled by her stares.

Stiles purses his lips. “I’m not.”

“Sweetheart,” Lydia sighs and leans back in her chair, “you’ve been staring at Brett since he walked in, and instead of going over to him, you’ve been sulking next to me.”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Oh, please.” Jackson collapses in his previously vacated chair. “It’s like you’re taking personal offence to Talbot being in the vicinity, which, if you’re asking me-“

“I’m literally not-“

“- is ridiculous,” Jackson continues as if Stiles never even opened his mouth. “You could have anyone here, but you chose Talbot?” Typical, the guy just loves to hear himself talk.

Stiles lets out a breath before emptying his drink. This conversation feels like he should consider going home. He’s got to pick up his grandparents from the airport tomorrow anyway. “I’ll head home now.”

“But it makes sense.” Lydia crosses her legs, eyes roaming over the other partygoers in the living room. “Brett is just one more person Stiles believes to be unavailable. It’s easier to go for someone like that otherwise he might have to let someone in again.” Her smirk is uncomfortable enough that Stiles nearly jumps out of his chair.

Smiling as politely as possible, he shoves his chair under the table. “There are at least fifteen other people you can psychoanalyze, sweetheart.” Stiles glances around the room, briefly studying the more or less wasted teenagers and college students. They’re mostly Liam’s friends and cousins. Nobody is particularly interesting, but Stiles also doesn’t know a lot of them. If he’s entirely honest, he doesn’t know the name of at least half of them.

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Lydia takes a sip of her drink, still smirking at him with that annoyingly cooked brow. “Nobody here is nearly as interesting as you are.” Which also means, fucked. If she didn’t have a point, Stiles would be offended. But, to be honest, nobody here is as interesting as Brett Talbot, who has, as of right now, never left his field of vision. Even though they haven’t spoken since they greeted each other three hours ago, Brett has never been as long around him as he’s been now.

Still, that Brett is even here, feels like a giant joke of the universe but by the looks of it, they managed to put their differences aside.

Much to Stiles’ chagrin.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Stiles waves his friends goodbye before pulling his phone out to order an Uber. In any other city, he’d walk home. But he’s not going to risk anything in Beacon Hills.

“Love you,” Lydia calls after him.

Rolling his eyes, Stiles leaves the kitchen to Jackson’s snickering. He dodges Nolan and Gabe, having one of their usual spats in the middle of the hallway, and pulls up his app. There aren’t a lot of Uber drivers in Beacon Hills, much less ones who are willing to drive around this hellhole at 3am in the morning. People may not know about the supernatural world, but they do know that something weird is going on in this town.

He's willing to wait for a while, especially outside and way from—

“Hey, Stilinski.” Brett passes him in the entry and walks through the front door facing him. It really shouldn’t be all that impressive, but all Stiles can think about is that he would’ve broken at least four bones in his body — one on each stair.

Stiles lowers his phone and takes the other boy in like he’s done all night, tight black shirt, tight blue jeans and a crooked grin that makes Stiles feel all kind of things – none of them PG. Fuck, he really needs to get laid again. Fuck. He blinks. “Hey.” Swallowing, he taps his thumb against his phone. The longer he hesitates to call an Uber, the longer he’ll have to stay here and run the risk of either being psychoanalyzed even further or make an utter fool out of himself. The latter seems a lot more likely as long as Brett is grinning at him like a kid in a candy store.

“Going home already?” Brett raises his brows, twirling keys around his index fingers.

Humming in agreement, Stiles raises his phone. “About to call someone to pick me up.” He’s aware he makes it sound like somebody is waiting for him. Lydia would probably call it a defense mechanism.

She might be right.

But Brett doesn’t seem too concerned about that. “I could take you home.” Ever so confident. It shouldn’t be that fucking hot.

Taking a deep breath, Stiles is raising his brows. “You’re drunk.” Or at the very least, Brett has been drinking alcohol in the past couple of hours, and he’s sure Liam spiked most of the drinks so even the werewolves around are able to get wasted.

“I’m not drunk.” Brett actually looks offended for a second. “Satomi would rip me a new one, if I ever got behind the wheel wasted.” Sounds like someone would get along beautifully with his dad.

Stiles bites the inside of his cheek. Call an Uber. Just call the damn Uber, Stilinski. He lets out a breath. “Prove it.”

Idiot.

“And how,” Brett asks as he’s stepping closer with a smirk now firmly set in place, “would you like me to prove that, Officer Stilinski?”

“Special Agent, actually.”

“Damn,” Brett breathes, his soft looking lips parting.

Stiles really wants to kiss him right now.

Fuck.

Fuck.

“Impressive.” Brett twirls his key around his finger again. “But you still gotta tell how to prove to you I’m sober enough to take you home.”

The words are ringing in his ears, so loud that Stiles has to clear his throat to hear his thoughts again. Take you home. Those three fucking words shouldn’t have such an impact on him. It’s a simple statement, no need to freak out. “Close your eyes, touch your nose.” His voice is nowhere near as steady as he would like it to be.

Chuckling, Brett steps away and does as he told.

Of course, he nails it.

Stiles gets the feeling he will end up in Brett’s car tonight. His stomach flutters. He tugs on his shirt, suddenly feeling very restricted in his button-up, and bites his bottom lip. That’s what he wants. It’s what he’s been wanting for a while. Besides, if he ends up going home with Brett, he can prove Lydia wrong.

Because she’s wrong.

He’s not afraid of letting people in. Not at all. He doesn’t go on dates because his job won’t let him. That’s the only reason.

And it’s not like he does have to let Brett in.

Emotionally, at least.

Stiles pushes his phone in the pocket of his jeans and folds his arms across his chest.

Brett blinks his eyes open, smirking. “And?”

“Stand on one leg,” Stiles orders, unable to break eye-contact – even as Brett follows the instruction without any hesitation.

He doesn’t even look annoyed about it. Instead, he keeps smiling as he perfectly balances on his left leg and continues to twirl his key around his index finger. “You’re really strict about this.”

“I spent a lot of time in hospitals and police departments.” It’s the truth, but Stiles wastes time to find a way out, or prepare himself for the inevitable. He’s not sure. If he let his body have its way, he’d jump Brett the moment they’d step into his car. But his mind is a jackass. Life without anxiety could be so fucking peaceful.

Brett nods slowly, and although his grin gives way to contemplation, he still doesn’t look inconvenienced by the request. “Some things stay with you,” he sounds like he knows exactly what Stiles is talking about. Perhaps he does. After all, Stiles isn’t the only one who went through something traumatic as a kid. “That why you’re afraid of emotional connections?” Raising his brows, Brett puts his foot down again and cocks his head.

“I don’t know,” Stiles replies, rolling his eyes. Of course, werewolves are too involved of other people’s business. At this point, he shouldn’t be surprised. “Is it why you refuse to date?” Two can play this game. Plus, Brett’s dating history – or the lack thereof – isn’t exactly a secret around town. As far as Stiles is aware, the guy has never slept with the same person twice. Another reason why Stiles should stay away from him. He’s not good with one-night stands. His heart gets attached too quickly.

“Touché.”

Stiles pushes his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “You always listen in to other people’s conversations?”

“Only the ones who’re playing hard to get.”

Stiles opens his mouth then snaps it shut again. Playing hard to get. He should feel offended by this. He really should. He’s not playing hard to get. He is hard to get. The two relationships he’s had in his life have taken forever until they started. “Walk. A straight. Line.”

Licking his lips, Brett raises both hands. “Okay, Special Agent.” He shuffles a few steps back until he’s halfway down the driveway. His tone is still soft, and he’s grinning again – as if this whole thing is nothing more than a joke to him. Perhaps it is. At this point, they both know he’s sober.

Stiles walks down the last few steps, brows raised expectantly. Brett’s going to ace this as well, there is no doubt about it, and if he does – then what? Stiles will have no more excuse. He’s going to walk with Brett to his car, get into the passenger’s seat, and let the night run its course. Then he can deal with the fallout while driving to the airport tomorrow. All is going to be great.

Rolling his shoulders, Brett starts walking towards him. One foot in front of each other. He isn’t even looking where he’s going. His gaze is fixed on Stiles, never breaking eye contact, not for a single fucking second. His smirk broadens.

The bass of the music drums to the rhythm of his heart. Time seems to bend and stretch around him as Brett makes his way towards him, blue eyes bright and beautiful. He captures his attention, stealing his breath away. Stiles swallows around the sudden lump in his throat. The air shifts as Brett keeps approaching him. His steps, first perfectly lined up, changed into something Stiles can only describe as predatory.

He hasn’t felt like prey in a while.

Stiles opens his mouth, and his breath catches in his throat.

Without warning, Brett wraps an arm around his waist and cups his cheek. He doesn’t allow him to speak or even think. Which is probably a good thing because Stiles would’ve managed to fuck that up royally. It’s his specialty, really.

His eyes flutter close before Brett’s lips even brush against his for the first time. But when they do- fuck. He’s gone. His lips are so soft. So unbelievably and undeniably soft that the gentle touch makes him gasp quietly. In an instant, Brett’s fingers curl into the back of his shirt even though he pulls away again. A second passes. Then another.

Stiles can hear him take a deep breath before he’s finally crashing their mouths together. The sensation makes his head spin. Every part of his body has ached for this. He grabs the back of Brett’s neck, pulling him closer as he parts his lips for a curious tongue. It tastes like coke. There’s not even a hint of any alcohol.

His stomach flutters again, and Stiles breaks the kiss unable to stop the chuckle from falling from his lips. “You planned all along, didn’t you?”

Brett responds by shoving him against the fenced front porch. A low growl fills the air between them, but a grin is tugging at the corners of his mouth. “For months,” he mutters, brushing their noses together in a surprisingly gentle display of affection. “Convincing Liam to invite me to his little birthday party was a hassle. But I played nice-” he pushes both hands almost shamelessly in the pockets of Stiles’ jeans and squeezes his ass “- and it was worth it.”

It was worth it.

Stiles’ breath catches in his throat and resists the urge to press a hand to his chest like a swooning Disney princess. He forces air into his lungs, eyes darting back and forth.

Chuckling, Brett leans closer again. “Cat got your tongue?” he whispers, capturing Stiles’ lips again. He pulls him so close nothing could fit between them.

Stiles curls one hand around Brett’s waist, and he tangles his fingers in the blonde strands, keeping him as close as physically possible without crawling into him. His whole body is burning. This isn’t enough. Not at all.

“Yo, Mason!”

Stiles jolts away from Brett, but the guy’s grip on him merely tightens with a huff. His eyes narrow slightly as Stiles cranes his neck. Heat creeps into his cheeks when he catches Liam’s eye.

Leaning against the door frame, the young werewolf stares back at him with a blank face and his arms crossed. “Tell Lydia, I want my hundred dollars by the end of next week.”

Stiles’ mouth drops open. What the hell?

Brett scoffs.

“Don’t think I did this for you, Talbot.” Liam pushes away from the door frame and shakes his head. “The engagement ring for Hayden is fucking expensive, man.” With a wave of his right hand, he turns away and slams the door shut behind him.

Not before Lydia’s what is audible despite the music, however.

Stiles whips around and pushes Brett off him. “Let’s go,” he urges, heart slamming in his chest as if he’s just finished running a marathon. “Let’s go. Let’s go.” There’s no way in hell he is going to face Lydia now, not when she’s lost a bet while still be able to rub his nose in the fact that she’s been right all along.

Brett barks out a laugh, but he relents and grabs Stiles’ hand as he steps away. “Your place or mine?” Smirking, he intertwines their fingers, nearly turning Stiles’ legs to jelly.

“My dad’s working the night,” Stiles whispers, and he struggles to breathe properly. This is happening. This is really happening. Because he’s not afraid of hooking up with people or letting someone in. Not at all. Lydia has been wrong about that.

Totally.

“I’ll have to pick up my grandparents from LAX tomorrow, though.” Stiles bites the inside of his cheek. Maybe this isn’t the best idea after all. “So, I don’t know. Maybe-“

“Road trip,” Brett grins down at him and pulls them flush together again. “Sounds fun.”

Stiles squints at him. “I’m picking up my grandparents.”

“I’m a family man.”

“Listen, I-“

“No,” Brett cuts him off, even having the audacity to cover his mouth with his hand. “You’re not doing this.” Doing what, exactly? His expression must’ve been pretty clear because Brett continues, sounding as if he’s resigned himself to a fate Stiles has no fucking clue about, “I didn’t spend a whole evening with Liam’s family and friends, so you can tug tail and run just because some idiot broke your heart, or you’re insecure and think you’re fucked up because of the shit that happened to you.”

Stiles opens his mouth, closes it and frowns before he pulls Brett’s hand away. “I don’t know if I should feel flattered or insulted.”

Red creeps into Brett’s cheeks, and Stiles nearly combusts with the need to kiss him again. “I’m… not well versed in the whole romantic confession thing.” Drawing his brows together, Brett rubs the back of his head.

“Really? Thanks for telling me, man,” Stiles drawls, pressing a hand to his chest in mock-surprise. “I never would have noticed.”

Brett grabs his chin and kisses him, “asshole,” he mutters against his mouth.

It really shouldn’t be one of the hottest things that’s ever happened to him – it shouldn’t even be in the top three – but his love life has been a disaster. Stiles would be lying if he said this didn’t make him want to drag Brett in the backseat of his car. He’s easy, sue him. But Liam might kill him, so he behaves. “Don’t let Babcia Agnes hear you call me an asshole. She will throw you out of a moving car, werewolf or not.”

“Noted.” Brett nods, scrunching his brows together adorably. “Babcia?”

“Oh, grandma.”

“Right.” Brett considers him for a moment then, “grandpa?”

Stiles smiles. “Dziadek.”

Another pause. A bit of helplessness creeps in. “Do they speak English?”

“They’re fluent, actually.” Stiles barks out a laugh when Brett lets out a sigh of relief. “I thought you’re a family man?”

Brett grimaces. “I lied.” He opens his mouth again, closes it and pulls his shoulders up.

Stiles doesn’t push it. Instead, he presses a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Dziadek Mieczysław loves everyone. Adress Babcia Agnieszka as Pani Gajos. She’ll instantly tell you to call her Agnes. Then eat a healthy portion. That’ll remind her that I need to eat more, and you’re off the hook.” Although Stiles can tell by the look of mild horror on Brett’s face that he is questioning his life choices, he hasn’t run away yet. “You don’t-“

“Don’t even try.” Brett wraps his arms around his waist, pulling him even closer – something Stiles didn’t know was even possible. “You’re leaving for Quantico in a week. We’ll have to speedrun if we’re compatible.”

“Compatible,” Stiles echoes and raises his brows. Call it a hunch, but something tells him Brett is very new to the dating scene. Smiling, he runs his fingers through the blonde strands. “How about we figure out how compatible we are at my place? And then we’ll go from there?”

Brett hums and tries, but fails, to hide the grin that’s already tugging on the corners of his mouth. Then he grabs Stiles around the waist and all but throws him over his shoulder. “Let’s do that.”

“I hate werewolves,” Stiles mumbles under his breath. “I hate werewolves.” And their constant displays of strength. The guy is lucky Stiles doesn’t mind a bit of manhandling.

Brett squeezes his ass in warning.

Stiles slaps his in return. For some reason, he has the feeling that they’re more than compatible.

[grrlsoft]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ take my breath away : eddie munson

summary : the infamous Eddie Munson, hardcore metalhead and your eccentric best friend, takes you to prom - shenanigans (as well as feelings) ensue.

pairing : Eddie Munson x f!reader

author's note : yes this song has been trending since its in topgun BUT pls pls pls listen to take my breath away by berlin while reading this it rlly adds to the experience. gotta love that 80s schmaltz <3

warnings : none, really! sfw, some kissing, reader and Eddie are oblivious and VERY in love. also typos probably. thats all!

this fic is spoiler free !!

you don't know how you had managed to get here. 

never in your high school life would you have imagined that you would be at prom, dancing the night away in the arms of someone who you actually liked. you never thought that you would be asked to prom by anyone in the first place. this wasn't like family reunions in which you danced awkwardly with your second cousin in the living room, no; this was different. sort of like the movies, although the lighting isn't as pretty. 

but the thing that is the most unbelievable of it all was that you are in the arms of your very handsome metalhead friend, the Eddie Munson. 

you rest your head on his broad shoulder and sigh wistfully, hoping you wouldn't get any makeup on his black suit. you smile as he jitters at your sudden action. his strong arms are hooked around your waist and you hum quietly as he fiddles with the fabric of your velvety dress. you can feel his heartbeat, fast and loud, like a little bird caged between his ribs. you wonder if he was nervous, as nervous as you were. 

the whole night you had been shaking. when he showed up at your house in his beat up van you practically fainted when you saw him. you had never seen him look so…formal. you laughed at how stiffly he stood and he told you to knock it off while suppressing a grin.

you swore that the smile on your face when your mother took a picture of the two of you could've split your face in half. 

the ride to the school was awkward, filled with nervous silences that resulted in the two of you trying to speak at the time. conversations with the brown haired boy had never really been awkward like this before, but something in the air made it different. 

after a while, Eddie finally caved and began to blast Metallica, making sure his windows were rolled down so everyone could hear it, which you were glad about - that way he couldn't hear how loud your heart was beating. his van smelled like weed (per usual) and he drove just a few miles over the speed limit, but you didn't mind. you were too busy fixing your hair in the rear-view mirror to care. 

once the two of you finally got there, Eddie immediately started to complain about the music selection. 

"this is all just schmaltzy pop garbage," he had stated as he folded his arms, his exasperation and disappointment abundantly clear.

"well, what did you expect?" you quirked a brow at him, "Black Sabbath?" 

"yes!" Eddie had exclaimed and you laughed. 

but once girls on film came on over the crackly speaker, you couldn't help but drag Eddie out onto the dance floor. you had never danced in front of so many people before, but being with him made the anxiety of doing such a thing melt away. 

his dancing was atrocious and you were sure that yours was too, but that made it all the more fun. the two of you screamed the lyrics to your favorite tunes and booed when songs that were less than pleasing started to play. he spun you under his arm so many times that you began to think that you may get sick. he later challenged you to a competition of who could eat the most brownies at the snack table. 

he won. 

and now you were here, resting gently in his embrace as take my breath away by Berlin plays. the sweet melody echoes throughout the gymnasium of Hawkins High and many teenage couples sway to its beat. you close your eyes and grab one of Eddie's hands, a bold move on your part, intertwining your delicate fingers with his own. 

"I don't like this song," Eddie murmurs into your ear. your heart speeds up involuntarily as you feel his hot breath on your neck. 

"I think it's cute," you hum softly, and Eddie groans. "you're just cynical."

"you know me," Eddie drawls. "it's not any fun if it isn't rock." 

you shake your head and nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck. you drown in the smell of his cologne (which is definitely new and surely something he wore just for this occasion) and you never want this moment to end. 

he pulls back suddenly, forcing you to look up at him. you stare into his deep brown eyes, his pupils so wide that you can almost see your reflection in them. you watch as his gaze moves from your own eyes down to your cherry colored lips. you flush darkly and look away. 

Eddie leans down slightly but you don't notice until you turn your head back to face him and your nose brushes against his. his grip on you tightens slightly and he pulls you further into him. you can feel his warm breath fan across your face and he opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out. he blinks rapidly and averts his gaze from yours. 

"sorry," he mumbles, clearly nervous, "it's just like- you're so- you're really fucking pretty. like it's kind of unreal." 

your eyes widen and your face burns even more than it did before. you're sure that your cheeks were probably glowing red in the hazey blue light of the gymnasium. 

he turns his head to look at you again and you can't manage to get any words to form in your brain or in your throat. you're too stunned to even say thank you. 

Eddie's brows furrow and he presses the back of his hand against your cheek. the cool metal of his rings is cold against your skin, but you welcome it. 

"jesus, you're burning," he says, worry lacing his words, "you wanna go outside?" 

all you do is nod as he takes your hand and guides you out of the gymnasium, through the school hallways and finally out into the parking lot. the two of you perch yourselves on the curb and stare up into the black sky, stars dotting its inky depths. 

the two of you don't say anything to each other for a long while, feeling almost too scared to do so. you fidget with the beaded friendship bracelet that Eddie had given you so long ago (he's wearing his matching one as well) and you bite the skin off of your lips. you shiver in the cold night air and Eddie takes notice of this, slowly scooting over to you and pressing his arm to yours. you look up at him, dazed, and he smiles sheepishly. 

"I'm, uh, sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything," the words tumble from his mouth suddenly, "when we were dancing, I mean. I didn't mean to- to make things weird." 

you stare at him in shock. you couldn't believe what he was saying to you. 

"you didn't make things weird," you assure firmly, now realizing you were making it sound like you liked it too much (which you did, but you would never let him know that), "it was…it was nice."

you want to say something more than just nice, but you're too frightened, feeling you'll make the conversation even more awkward than it already was. 

weird was the last word you would use to explain how you and Eddie were previous to this moment. you loved it; the feeling of his arms around you, your hands on his chest and both of your eyes locked on each other. everyone else in the room had disappeared; leaving just you and him. he felt like the only thing that mattered. he was warm and safe and he felt like home, a home you never wanted to part from. 

"okay good because I thought I had like- done something to make it weird," Eddie says, laughing forcefully. you muster a smile, but it's to no avail. the moment is over. 

Eddie notices your change in demeanor and frowns, now worried that he's messed something else up. he presses himself against you a little more. 

"thank you," you murmur suddenly. he looks at you with confusion in his eyes. 

"for what?" he asks. you turn your gaze to him, your eyes sparkling in the silver moonlight. his heart flutters. 

"for saying that I'm pretty," you admit bashfully, tucking a stray piece of hair behind your ear. 

Eddie blinks. he's surprised that you're thanking him for such a simple compliment. he didn't realize how much it had meant to you until now.

"well shit, it's true," he shrugs, acting as if it's nothing at all, "I'll say it to you every day if that's what you'd like." 

Eddie's words make your heart leap in your chest.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that," you whisper, trying your best to stay cool and collected. 

you jitter as his hand meets your cheek, bringing your face to his own. he looks sincerely into your eyes. 

"yeah?" he whispers back. you unsuccessfully stifle a smile.

his fingers are slightly rough, his avid guitar playing making them calloused and hard, but you lean into his touch regardless. 

"yeah," you nod. 

he swipes his thumb across the skin of your cheek and looks down at nothing. he clears his throat and looks back up at you, eyes flitting from your own to your lips. 

"can I, uh, can I tell you something?" he mumbles unsurely. you nod profusely and he laughs breathily. 

"uh, well, the thing is- uhm," his head spins as he tries to get the words out, but he has to. he doesn't know what he'll do if he doesn't. he can't go on any further without telling you how he feels.

"I sort of have a massive crush on you." 

there's a long silence and the noise of the music leaking out from the gym becomes even more distant than it was before. 

his words hit you like a whirlwind, or more like a truck driving straight into you. you freeze, your heart dropping into your stomach as you clutch your dress with trembling hands. you stare at him owlishly, disbelief covering your face. 

you haven't answered his statement and it's been ten whole seconds. Eddie regrets saying anything at all. 

"shit. uh. yeah okay I know it's dumb but like jesus christ you're just so pretty and you- you like overwhelm me? not in a bad way but your so- god I just had to tell you otherwise I'd like, fuckin' combust or something-" the words leave the brown haired boy tactlessly. he doesn't know what he's saying anymore. 

"look, I know we've been friends for so long-" 

"Eddie," you say. 

"you probably don't feel the same way because like, why would you-" 

"Eddie," you say again. 

"but seeing you all beautiful and shit tonight made it impossible not to say anything and it's-" 

"Eddie!!" you exclaim, grabbing him by the shoulders. he finally shuts up, looking down at you in surprise. he doesn't think he's ever heard you speak that loudly before. 

your mouth opens and then closes, but you stop yourself from being doubtful. you know that you have to take the step and let go. there's no room for shyness now, not with him.

"I have a massive crush on you too," you say, repeating what he had told you moments ago. 

now it's Eddie's turn to be stunned into silence. he splutters, hands going every which way. he doesn't believe what he's hearing. that you, the prettiest girl in Hawkins, the prettiest girl he's ever seen, could possibly feel the same way about him as he does about you. 

"are you being serious right now?" he asks you, eyebrows raised in apprehension. 

"yes," your answer is resolute and sure. Eddie swallows hard. 

"you like me?" he squints and you giggle at his befuddled state. 

"yes, I like you," you assure him gently. 

"...shit. okay. wow," he laughs breathlessly, "I didn't think you'd actually, uh, y'know-" 

"feel the same?" you finish his sentence. he nods dreamily. 

the two of you sit and stare at each other for a few long moments. you then watch as Eddie situates himself to face you better, leaning in to be close to your face once again. 

"can I, uh, can I kiss you?" he asks you gently, softly. you rarely hear this tone of voice from him, but when you do, it's heaven. 

"I don't know, can you?" you tease, touching your nose to his. he rolls his eyes and scoffs. 

"you shut up," he says and connects his lips with yours. 

his lips are rough compared to your softer ones, but you don't mind. the kiss is shy but intimate, the both of you recognizing that this should've happened much sooner. Eddie's hands wander all over your frame, from your face to your neck down to your waist and back. he makes certain to be gentle, not wanting to scare you away. 

he pulls away for a moment to breathe but wastes no time in kissing you once again, and soon he's pulling you onto his lap. you shudder against him and he sighs into your mouth. he feels like a dream. he's passionate yet careful, and you can feel the neediness in how his lips move against yours. you cup his face with your hands and lean your forehead against his own.

you pull back and desperately try to catch your breath. you look down at Eddie and he's got that familiar grin on his face, a classic Eddie expression. your lipstick is smeared all over his mouth and you giggle at how silly and handsome he looks. 

"shit," he says, swearing being the only thing he can manage to do in the moment, "you're so fucking pretty."

[the-lost-girl-you-didnt-know]

Would it be possible for a fluffy Edgar frog fic, including just some awkward and cute interactions between a fellow teen? If not it's completely fine (I also know that the request is vague, I just like Edgar)

Totally possible; I'm sorry for the long wait, but I hope this meets your expectations!

Newbie (An Edgar Frog Oneshot)

Warnings: None! Just some fluffy, awkward Frog shenanigans :)

Word Count: 1,597

The day started like it always did: wake up, get dressed, have breakfast, brush teeth. Prepare weapons for possible supernatural attacks, and make sure that Alan did the same. Last was to put their parents to bed after they returned from getting high with their friends all night, only for them to join the brothers at the store later in the day.

That's how it always was, at least during the summer. They didn't really have friends, not from school and not from around town. They had each other, and that usually was plenty. That's why when they met them, it made the ordinary day, well… different.

It was just after their lunch break when the new teen in town walked into Frogs Comics, looking incredibly curious as they perused the aisles that were lined with comics from DC to Marvel to Archie. Edgar Frog figured it was business as usual, not saying anything to the new customer and not looking up from the finance files that were in his hand. It wasn't until the latest occupant of the shop passed in front of him that it forced his eyes to look up from the documents and ultimately caught his attention. It was another teenager, definitely close in age to him and his brother, and looking very, very new to the boardwalk with bright eyes and an air of curiosity surrounding them.

It wasn't as if they never saw other teenagers in their store, what with kids from their high school milling around during summer vacation and tourist teens coming from out of town with their families. But when Edgar saw them, it was different. He could feel his body tense, feel something anxious and exciting fill his chest as his skin heated up from the inside, tinging his skin a faint shade of pink.

Looking around in an attempt to check that the coast was clear (clear of what, he really didn't know), he shut the folder in his hand and tucked it beneath the counter, coming around it and approaching the teen. His palms felt clammy, and he rubbed them on his cargo pants to try and dry them off the best he could as he swallowed down the new nerves that were plaguing him. As he reached them, their attention turned from the comic in their hands to him, looking at him with those curious eyes as he stopped and leaned against the support beam that held the ceiling of the store up.

And dammit all, he hadn't thought of anything to say, causing him to look like a fish gasping for water as he blinked a bit, searching his brain for something to break the ice.

"Uh, hi."

"Hi… are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm- I'm fine… just fine, um…"

The young Frog was mentally kicking himself; he was a warrior, for Pete's sake, ready to fight werewolves and demons and vampires at a moment's notice, but here he was floundering in front of a cute person his age. He reached for the closest thought he could grab onto, nodding at the comic that was still in their hands.

"That's a good issue. It really ties up a lot of loose ends and answers a lot of questions. Like a good ending should." "I know; I've read it before, but it was my cousin's, so I wanted to get a copy for myself," they replied, smiling a little at the flustered teen that was talking to them. "Oh, cool, cool… I like to have my own issues, too…… Sooo are you new to Santa Carla or just visiting?"

The teen smiled a bit more, closing the comic they were holding and turning to face Edgar more fully as they spoke.

"I'm new. My dad had to move us here for his work, so he waited until the school year was over. We've been here for a week, but since we've been unpacking and all I haven't had a chance to explore the city much."

Edgar raised his brows at hearing that they were new, adjusting his stance and pressing his hands into the large pockets of his pants.

"Really? Maybe once you're finished unpacking I could show you around. A lot of the area's rural land, but the more urban spots can be… fun."

They raised a brow themselves, looking at him with a bit of disbelief as they grinned, laughing a little.

"You don't seem so sure about that," they replied, "but it would be nice to learn about my new home. Sorry; I don't think I caught your name-"

"Edgar," the boy said quickly, "I'm Edgar. Frog. Edgar Frog."

"And I'm Alan Frog," Alan said, walking up and leaning on his brother's shoulder after having come from the back room and overhearing the most recent part of their conversation. Edgar glanced sidelong at his brother, silently annoyed at him butting into their conversation, but being sure not to let it show on his face as he smiled back at the person he'd been talking to.

"A pair of brothers," they noted, smiling as they looked between both of the brothers, who nodded at the same time like it was innate between them. "Well, we can make it a group outting, then, I suppose."

"Sure, sure," Edgar grinned, though a part of him was a little disappointed that it wouldn't just be him and them. "Better in numbers. 'Murder Capital of the World' and all… How's Saturday at 9 A.M. sound?"

"Sounds good to me," they confirmed, nodding in agreement with the plan.

"Great," the older Frog brother said, his voice nearly cracking with excitement as he smiled to them, "We can just meet up here, then." Noticing that they were still holding onto the comic that he'd interrupted them reading, he quickly jumped into employee mode.

"I can check you out- I mean check that out-- ring that up for you, if you're good to go," he offered quickly, stumbling over both his thoughts and his words as he gestured at the comic book they held. Alan couldn't help but glance at his brother with confusion, wondering why he was acting so out of the usual as he looked between him and this other teenager.

"Sure," they laughed, following the two brothers as they led them to the cash register. Edgar took a breath, trying to reground himself as he turned back to them and took the book when they held it out.

"Okay, that'll be seventy-five cents," he said, but before they could dig too deep into their pockets, he spoke up. "But uh, I can cover it for you. Call it the 'newbie deal'… first visit, get a comic free," he said jokingly, chuckling a little as he smiled at them.

They blinked a bit, looking between the brothers for a moment before smiling at what Edgar said and retrieving their hand from their pocket. "Oh," they said, amusement evident in their voice, "Thank you. That's really cool of you."

"Yeah, he does this for all the cute newbies," Alan said sarcastically, raising a brow as he looked between them and his brother, to which Edgar promptly shot him a look that meant to cool it, after which he looked back at the teen with a smile, waving his hand nonchalantly to wave off what Alan had said.

"Don't listen to him. I don't do that for everyone," he said as he slid the comic into a flat paper bag, trying to cover his tracks and hide the fact that he really liked this person, at least based off of first impressions. Punching in the seventy-five cents, he printed a receipt for them before grabbing a pen that was loose on the countertop and crossing out the total. He then slid the receipt into the bag as well before handing it to them with a lop-sided grin. "Here you go. Your own copy."

"Thanks," they said, smiling at him as they took their purchase from him. "I'll see you guys on Saturday."

"Looking forward to it," the older brother returned genuinely. They nodded, their lips upturned as they said 'bye' and waving a little as they turned and left, Edgar watching them leave with heavy interest. It wasn't until they were gone that Alan spoke up, turning to his brother as he leaned with one hand against the counter and the other on his hip.

"Dude, what was up with you?" he asked, an expression of pure confusion on his features. Edgar didn't answer; instead, he grabbed onto Alan's shoulder, pulling him closer and speaking lowly to him. "You're not goin'," he stated, "You've gotta' come up with a reason to not be there, dude." Connecting the dots in his head, between his brother's behavior, appearance, and words, Alan caught on to what was going on as his mouth widened into a knowing grin.

"You like them-"

"Dude, shut up. I'm serious."

"Yeah, about liking them-"

"Don't make me get out the pliers, man, 'cause I will."

Alan stifled a laugh, bringing his hand up to hide his grin as he chuckled against his knuckles.

"Whatever, dude. Tell 'em I came down with a cold or something and enjoy your date."

"That's it, I warned ya!"

And Alan took off, laughing as his brother quickly pulled out a pair of pliers from beneath the counter and chased after him. But he was right, Edgar thought; he did like them. He liked them a lot, and already he was counting down the days until Saturday when he would see them again.

[half-deadmagicperson]

Blame Part 2

Behold a random self indulgent sequel to my DannyMay Day 25!

Art by the amazing @duchi-nesten

This was made partially cause of Pham shenanigans, but also cause of @duchi-nesten giving me GrayGhost brain rot and also for agreeing to draw any smooches we write sooooo

Words: 737

Pairings: Danny Fenton-Phantom/ Valerie Gray

Warnings: none unless you don't like kissing

"Why do they always blame me?"

   The words through Val for a loop. Here was the normally goofy, charismatic, and sometimes annoying ghost boy sobbing. She never knew how much the bad press or the Fentons' words got to him. 

   His ghostly sobs echoed into the night, but to Valerie at that moment they sounded almost human. Phantom's face was tinted green and raw from his tears. He must've been crying for a while then.

   At that moment the Huntress sighed and sat herself down next to him. Hesitantly, she pulled him into a hug. Even through her suit, he felt cold to the touch.

   "Are you okay?" She asked simply. Her words only caused Phantom to choke up more. He struggled to try to bring words to his mouth before finally slowing his breath.

   "I'm a monster, Val," the words came out as barely a whisper. If this were a few months ago, Valerie would have wholeheartedly agreed. But now, here she was sitting on a roof comforting her former enemy.

   "Phantom, you aren't a monster-"

   "But I am. It's my fault Amity's in this mess!" He cried.

   "It's not your fault that most of the ghosts have been evil. That's their fault. They chose to be evil."

   "It's my fault there's property damage! People got hurt, Val. I might not be evil, but I'm responsible. Plus the Fentons would say different."

   "It's not your fault they're here. It's not like you have control over the portal!" Valerie countered. Phantom's expression sobered.

   "But it is my fault. I turned the portal on." 

   Valerie looked at him in mild shock. What did he mean by that? There wasn't a way to turn the portal on from the GZ right? Phantom turned his gaze back to the ground and pulled away.

   "It was before freshman year. My- er the Fentons had just finished the portal. I took my friends to show them the lab, and Sam wanted a picture. We were stupid. Stupid teenagers left unsupervised. I put my HAZMAT on while Sam grabbed her camera."

    Valerie stared at him. No he couldn't be. Similar hair style. Similar face. No, that's impossible.

   "I went inside. I tripped over a stupid wire. I died. Turns out the 'on' button is on the inside."

   A gasp escaped the Huntress. Phantom died in the portal. Danny had a lab accident before the beginning of freshman year. Phantom's cousin Dani was a halfa. Why couldn't Danny be? Millions of thoughts and words flowed through her head, the main one being.

   "I could've hurt you!" Valerie's eyes started to grow wet, "I could've killed you so many times."

   Phantom, no, Danny looked at her in confusion. Val's tears turned into a fit of laughter.

   "What's so funny?"

   "It's..just…so ironic!"

   "What's ironic?" The clueless boy responded.

   "That I've been shooting at you for like a year and been crushing on you at the same time," her laughter consumed her while Danny processed what she just said.

   "You…liked me?"

    "Um, yeah? I mean we did date for a bit!"

    "Ummm I think you're confusing me for that Danny Fenton kid. Also didn't you break up with him?"

    "Yeah I did, to protect him from you!" Valerie's smile grew brighter.

    "So you still like m-Fenton?"

    "Of course I still like you!"

    "Um, that's good to hear. I think FENTON really likes you as well. But, uh, I think you're wrong about me being him. Cause why would the son of ghost hunters be a ghost. Haha…"

   "Ya know I've had a lot of opinions about you Ghost Boy, most of which have been incorrect," she places a hand on his cheek, wiping his tear away, "but I think for once, I've got the right one."

    Valerie leaned in closer to Danny. His toxic green eyes gazed into her hazel ones as he moved to meet her. Their lips joined in a union of a year of longing. A cool feeling spread through Valerie, tears streaming down her cheeks. A bright light flashed and the cold turned into heat. Once their breath ran out, the pair temporarily split. Valerie gazed down into the beautiful blue eyes of one Danny Fenton. Yeah, this was right.

   The two spent the rest of their patrol time snuggling on the roof and taking in the view.

"Ya know it's kinda funny how you broke up with me to protect me from me!"

[pottersfieldcustodian]

Things I would have wanted from a teen wolf movie:

(partially keeping in mind canon and what characters are not currently returning)

I could seriously sit through hours of just Scott McCall going around and doing good deeds during his college years. 

Maybe guiding young supernaturals.

He's having a good time in vet school. Probably has a rad internship where he is the most loved intern by people and animals. 

if Stiles cant be there then nothing drastic happens so it makes sense that Scott wouldn't have to call in him, 

but maybe Stiles sends him a conspiracy board in an email to be helpful. It's probably too convoluted to be legible to anyone but him. 

Scott and Malia finally get to enjoy a long term relationship uncomplicated by supernatural means.

Mason and Corey also get to have this 

If we could have Kira back I would personally love for her and Scott to get back together 

(and honestly, if they’re going to put Scott and Kira together, then Scott and Malia, and put in the scenes of Kira and Malia together they might as well all date. That might be optimistic of me.)

Speaking of Kira, would love to see her come into her power as a kitsune

would love to have her back at all actually 

Malia doesn't have to go to collage because she's skilled as fuck in other aspects and her intelligence isn't based on how well she does in school.

I feel like she would enjoy being a park ranger or something.

We actually get to see Henry Tate be the good dad who loves his daughter that we were shown he was

If Malia wants a relationship with Peter he should just get his shit together and do that for her

Lydia just gets to do what the fuck ever, completely unincumbered by gross ass men and adults telling her she doesn't know what she's talking about. 

an actual apology from Jackson would be nice if he has to be there 

Buddy duo Liam and Mason show up and they have some fun shenanigans. 

If Corey can’t be there maybe he's busy with an exchange program or an internship

They. are. all. going. to. the. same. college.

Or close by 

They just get to be regular ass teenagers because the McCall pack worked their asses off to give themselves a normal college life and to let those guys have some regular teenage years 

Scott gets to reassure Liam that he's doing a good job in Beacon Hills with help from Mason, Corey, Theo, and Alec (and eventually probably Nolan) 

"We're brothers now" and they meant that

Nolan gets therapy 

Theo gets therapy 

(They all need it)

Theo is fully a member of the pack

he has a house or an apartment

if he’s not there he’s just riding around in his stupid compensation truck 

They bring back Isaac from London and he’s doing great

Melissa and Chris should adopt that boy even if he's an adult. 

Just let him have one parental figure who is good and stays 

We finally get to see Hayden Romero do cool werewolf stunts 

they let her be more than HaydenLiam’sExGirlfriend

maybe they give her a girlfriend

Melissa/Chris and Braeden/Derek  just get to be happy 

We get Cora Hale back because both her and Derek deserve to have a normal family member who is alive and loves them after everything 

Her and Malia would also be a phenomenal cousin duo  

her and isaac get to talk about Boyd becuase they both cared about and lost him. Issac gets to talk about Erica

Maybe someone finally puts Kate Argent in jail

[sassenach082]

I think it’s really cool that you’re (I assuming) giving Bradley friends that he grew up with in Susie and and Patrick and de-facto cousins in Ellie and John. I’m stoked to see how that shakes out when he’s in middle and high school because I imagine they’re a chaotic as hell friend group that gets into Many Shenanigans (I can see them throwing one of those high school parties and it just goes bonkers wrong LOL. Or calling each other literally the worst nicknames. I feel in my heart that Susie and Ellie are the best at it, though.) And throw in the Daggers, Lol? Oh boy

Susie and Patrick hold a special place in my heart because they are going to be SO important to preteen and teenage Bradley! They're going to be his link the normal, non-military (civilian) world, and they mean a hell of a lot to him. They'll be in the story when I eventually (if I ever) get to the TG:M phase because they live in SD.

They are definitely Chaotic and I can't wait to get to that part! Teen angst Bradley is going to be HILARIOUS

[squalodinoappreciationsquad]

Headcanons - Dino's family

Because Amano did not give us anything at all, please see below my headcanons for Dino's family and guardians.

Big Disclaimer: these all all OCs except obviously for Dino and his dad, who canonly appear in both manga and anime.

I am also very conscious that I have used actual Italian names and surnames for my OCs, so yeah. Perks of actually being Italian I guess. Anyway. Here you go:

And here you have all general explanations.

So, Dino's family is mainly normal people - as normal as they can be in the KHR universe, let's say they are mostly Nana Sawada's kind of normal.

I still have to establish how the Cavallone family came into existence, but I figure they were once nobles and once Italy got rid of the Savoy family and voted to establish a republic rather than a monarchy (2 June 1946) they kind of went through the change to kind of save themselves.

So, the thing in Italy is that we don't really have horse races, unless you count the Palio di Siena and the Palio di Asti, BUT we have EVERYTHING about cars.

Car races are A LOT, there is Formula 1, Formula 3, Moto GP, rally, whatever involves car races under the sun. It's kind of our specialty lol, Alfa, Ferrari, Lancia and Lamborghini are VERY famous brands.

And car races means a lot of betting, which is something a mafia boss would want to have part in it money-wise and power-wise.

Which went quite well as an alternative income after losing nobility status until Cosimo Cavallone (the Ninth) inherited the thing from his father Giorgio (the Eighth) and kind of leaned too much into betting and went into huge and heavy debts. Reasons why Dino had to pay off his dad's debts whilst becoming the Tenth boss. :)

Surely this must have given Dino a deep hatred of betting, but I feel this is a headcanon for a different post.

Anyway.

Onto his family.

We of course know Romario and Ivan and all of his subordinates, but SURELY Dino has a big family.

Dino is an only child with an ungodly amount of cousins. He is also one of the oldest among the cousins, which means he has had to babysit A LOT during family gatherings. Here I am including the closest ones, but trust me, there is an entire army of cousins.

And he has to know them all.

Speaking about cousins, the most notable are:

Marco Gallo: son of his aunt Marta and his uncle Donato, Marco has never had a single serious thought in his head in his whole life. He loves playing pranks and whilst the 99% of the times they are harmless, he is also a very easy target if anyone takes his pranks the wrong way. Among his pranks, mainly at Dino's expenses, he snapped a "Christmassy" photo of teen!Dino and teen!Squalo crouched over one of the newborn cousins at a family event and dubbing it as "the Nativity". Oh, sometimes he shows up way too drunk at family events and shenanigans ensue.

Margherita and Irene Testa: they are twins. Those twins who look the same and you cannot distinguish them unless they wear different clothes/different hairstyles. Which was an issue until they hit their teenage years and they developed opposite tastes, as in Margherita is the one who will have everything made of natural fibers, is into the new age kind of thing and Irene is the exact opposite of it. In spite of everything they really get along well. when they were children their favourite sport was to corner Dino and make him play dolls with them, which Dino hated. Once Squalo was in the picture they made him play dolls too.

But Dino not only has cousins and a father, he also has a mother. Veronica Greco, aka the Most Beautiful Woman no one has yet understood how she could marry Cosimo Cavallone, a very average-looking man. Dino took after her in looks.

By the way, in Italy we DO NOT take the husband's name, unless the person specifically wants to, it's the very first "fuck you" to patriarchy that women could have, because up until the mid-seventies women were pretty much treated like property/objects.

Anyway.

Veronica is one of those people who are naturally good at everything. She also has the ability to step into a room and make everyone go quiet, which is very useful when family events go downhill. She just says "Stop" and everyone goes quiet, then she smiles and solves the issues at hand.

Dino can do that for about 1 minute, then he trips or falls down or something and the magic is gone.

Veronica also deals with a lot of the family drama and the gossips and has also gone very near a divorce because of Cosimo's gambling habits.

And speaking of Dino's dad, he is not actually dead, he decided to retire once Dino became boss and he is now enjoying the countryside with his wife Veronica. His hobbies consist in collecting scale models of cars and tending at the garden.

Of course Dino has his own Guardians. We do not usually see them because Dino can deal with most of the things himself, but - figure something like Byakuran happens - they will gladly join the fight. They all were people either saved or friended by Dino whilst Reborn was his tutor and was in the process of becoming the Bucking Bronco.

They are:

Alessandro Ferro: Storm Guardian. Very reliable in a fight, he uses a crossbow and he is a master sniper. Somehow he once got arrested for stealing manholes, but never served as his alibi was proved.

Diego Guerra: Rain guardian, he originally was supposed to join the Varia, but they had enough swordsmen and he needed a job, as he was deep into debt. Dino listened to him and helped him get back on his feet. since then Diego's loyalty has been with Dino. He uses a rapier as weapon.

Lucrezia Battaglia: Sun guardian, Judo black belt 8th dan, undefeated so far. She is short and way too much into cutesy stuff, but she will beat you to a pulp if she feels a hint of threat. She absolutely loves shoujo anime.

Cristian D'amico: Thunder guardian - and no, I have not messed the spelling, in Italy we tend to omit the H bc it is a mute consonant. The chillest guy on earth. Takes things with such a phlegm. It's obviously the calm before the storm when he fights. Would rather nap than fight tho.

Danilo de Angelis: he is the aloof one. He likes wandering about and looks a little bit lost, but don't be fooled. He is very perceptive and will notice when things are not going well.

Iacopo La Morte: everyone is scared of him because they hear his surname (aka The Death) andeveryone is like "OMG this guy is going to kill us all", and they kind of get disappointed when they see he is actually a really nice person. Unless you wronged the family, in which case he is going to make sure you regret it with all your being.

And I admit I have only developed everyone this much just because I was like "oh, it's only for the Big Damn Table, they are going to have sporadic apparitions whilst I fill the 100 prompts", but now that I actually see this written down I kind of want to expand. What do you all think about this?

[yellowcry]

You left me dripping in the wax

Luisa stared at the note again and again, trying to proceed it. Mirabel, her own baby sister, left. Why? Because of that candle that didn't give her a freaking gift? Because Luisa always was too busy? Her own world gets shattered in just one second. This candle cost her Mirabel…

Hello. I really don't know what I'm supposed to write in here... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted yesterday, can't imagine how much I messed up the party. I just ruin everything, you'd be better off without me anyway. Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore. So I can figure it out. It was actually really egoistical to live at your expense for so long. I just want you to know, I love you all so much. I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough.

Sincerely, your Mirabel

-

Luisa's eyes were running along the text again and again, hoping that, maybe, the text would change from how long she had stared at it. But the letter didn't start to jump around, changing into something else. No matter how many times Luisa had pierced her eyes through the short text. 

It wasn't true, right? Mirabel didn't... It must be some sick dream. Luisa's gaze flinched upon her mother, who looked shocked, sitting on the old bed in the nursery. Soon enough, Abuela finally joined in, displeased with the fact that something so simple as calling Mirabel for breakfast took them so long.

"What are you doing?" Her gaze traveled over the room. "And where's Mirabel?" Luisa said nothing, passing the note, written in a shaking cursive to Abuela.

Finally after what seemed to be an eternity Abuela speaks, "She's just trying to draw attention," Her hand squeezes the paper tightly, crumpling it. "We mustn't give into her shenanigans."

"Mama-" Julieta starts, but gets interrupted quickly.

"She's fifteen, teenagers tend to be dramatic. She'll be back once she realizes we won't play along." Her voice was firm, not leaving any place for discussion. She had placed the note back on the table.

Luisa stares at her arms. If Mirabel wants attention so badly that she leaves the house, wouldn't it make more sense to give all the attention she needs? She sighs harshly, grabbing the paper again, wanting some time to think. 

Her room welcomes her with the usual coldness of a cave. Luisa pins the paper sheet, a white spot against the dull grey stone. The letters were still the same. Part of her hoped that it was some strange dream, but Luisa didn't wake up. The words weren't changing, forming only one result. Mirabel wasn't here. 

Luisa should've visited her sister after the incident at the party, asked how she was doing. Maybe even support her ideas about the cracks. Mirabel wasn't here. The idea of just waiting made Luisa sick to the core. It was her sister, she couldn't just stay still. Mirabel could be harmed right now and Abuela decides to "wait until she returns."? There was no way Luisa would agree to this.

Obviously, her first idea was to ask Dolores. She could easily distinguish anyone just by their voice. 

The older cousin flinched as Luisa ran to her a full speed, almost knocking her down. "What's going on?" She asked worriedly, possibly hearing some of the Abuela's conversation before. 

Luisa was breathing heavily, like a dog. "Mirabel... She... She ran away...." She saw how Dolores' eyes widened in shock. "Can you hear her?"

Lores shook her head. "I haven't heard her today at all." She whispers. Luisa sighs harshly, knowing that it's useless now.

"Okay..." She muttered quietly, as much as she could actually be, as Luisa and quiet were pretty much antonyms. "I'll see you later."

Luisa disappeared in the same rush as she came in. She jumped into the kitchen to take another cup of coffee, intending to relieve the stress. With her size, it was easy to bring down the whole cup in just one or two sips. Luisa filled it again, ignoring how her hands were shaking. She needed Mirabel. Where was she? Was she harmed? What if Luisa had done something and now she's mad at her? And she dares to drink coffee at that very moment? 

She blinked a couple of times to stop her eye twitching, before drinking the third cup of coffee in a row. In Luisa's excuse, she was stressed as hell. 

-

Luisa was doing her tasks unusually sloppily, she was interested in wandering around, trying to find her sister. There were many donkeys in Encanto, but Mirabel was only one. And Luisa had never realized how much she needed Mirabel before this. No, of course, she had been favoriting Mirabel as long as her younger sister ever existed. Her soul was burning with a willingness to protect her, small and innocent child. She promised to always be but her side. And, Luisa had failed. That promise was broken, buried under the hard duty of manual labor. She wasn't there to protect Mirabel and now she was gone. 

Luisa shook her head rapidly. No, Mirabel would return in no time. She... she has to. And then, she would be crushed with attention from Luisa. The latter wouldn't stop whispering to her, saying that Mirabel mattered, that she deserved all love in the world. That she's sorry for not being there before. It wasn't important what Abuela had said, Luisa would make sure she gave Mirabel all the attention she needed. 

The voices didn't stop calling her, asking to do another favor. Luisa's head was full, the noises gave her a headache, as her mind was too focused on her baby sister to actually think about her chores. And, part of her felt disgust. Everyone was so calm, having a normal day as if Mirabel didn't run away last night. Deep inside, Luisa even felt mad at Abuela. Of course, she had respected her. But the idea of letting things be... Even if Mirabel was trying to get attention, how desperately she wanted it she she came to this measurement? And, again, Dolores didn't hear her, at least in a way that could definitely separate Mirabel from any other normal villager. As far as Luisa knew, there wasn't really any way to leave Encanto, so Mirabel had to be somewhere nearby. So, Luisa just had to keep up the search, she would find her hermanita eventually.

She had no idea what she was going to do with herself if she didn't. Luisa hadn't noticed how she got out of breathing. Luisa looked at her arms worriedly, there was something strange, the same feeling that she had yesterday. As if her endless limit of energy faltered, this painfully terrifying weakness. Something Luisa wasn't used to since the light left her door, engraving her fate in stone stronger than Tío Bruno ever could.

Tío Bruno... He disappeared one night, didn't he? And he never came back.

 What if Mira wouldn't return as well? Maybe she had joined Tío somewhere and they wouldn't meet both of them ever again.

"No!" Luisa cut herself off, she couldn't allow herself to think about it. It would only hurt her. The family's first rule was not to talk about their problems. So they didn't talk about Bruno. But, Luisa wanted to talk about Mirabel, she wanted to see her. Was it how Mama and Tía felt all these years since their brother's door went out? The weakness in her arms didn't help at all, leaving some scratching pain in her mind. Luisa had no idea what was going on, but her gift felt off, weaker than usual, than ever. And it only worsened her panic about Mirabel. 

The thing is, Luisa had always been protector of the family in some way, even before her gift. When some boys had said that Dolores' gift was boring, she was the one to yell at them, saying that it was a perfect gift for her prima. When her mom was working to the bone, Luisa led her away from the kitchen. (Was it ironic that Luisa was working just as much as Julieta if not more now?). And now, she didn't protect Mirabel, even with all her strength. And it hurt more than anything, tearing her soul apart. 

[sm1ling-dopp3lganger]

Telling YOU🫵🏼 abt my upcoming FanComic!-

(Introduction post!-)

The AU and series as a whole is called Sm1ling.TMNT or S.TMNT for short, like a file name. It is still in production but lemme tell you a little about it!-

It’s a TMNT fancomic set in the year 2023 except it’s a little different. The early 2000s and 2010s instead of the nostalgic era going out of style it basically stayed and is mixed with the modern day setting of this comic. Flip phones are still widely used, MySpace is still a thing, YouTube looks the way it was meant to before all the updates but with modern day functionality. They also have advanced technology that is waaaay farther into the future than what we today know. Just don’t tell them that their fav things went out of style years ago, they’ll have a crisis.

It’s a little confusing but trust me it’s cool!-

The comic is also set from two completely different perspectives. It’s also filled with bunch of angst, funny moments, gore(I’m a horror artist so obviously there’s gotta be some blood and guts), action, romance >:].. THE WHOLE SHABANG!- yk all written and drawn by yours truely! This comic also touches lightly on topics like racist, sexism, xenophobia, bigotry,the topic of beauty standards and much more but it’s not the main focus and most of the time characters that act out these issues they get…taken care of- if yk what I mean >:3

Fn let me introduce you to our main cast of characters! Well…the important ones (with pictures but I apologize they’re wildly unfinished, brace yourself this is gonna be a little long)

Griffin B. Corduroy (Juliet >:])

Griffin! Griff is a jokingly egotistical character who seems to know her worth to others and has a “don’t give a fuck” attitude to compliment her girly girl appearance(peak feminism). In reality she’s extremely temperamental with bad anger issues along with has past of issues with trichotillomania, dealing with stress, and body confidence issues. She’s on her own healing journey but it seems she’s doing it her own way…..(she is an original character)

“APRIIIIIIL (L.) O’NEIL!!—”

April!! Our true detective and best big sister!(and older cousin to Griffin) a chilled out personality complimented by her caring attitude makes her like the mom of the group second to Leo despite being older than him. A little awkward in social situations (she is NOT a cool kid) can bring her to being slightly challenged with the turtles shenanigans as she’s prone to panicking but she’s working on it. Despite being an only child she did not grow up a lonely child, meeting both the turtles and her little cousin Griff at 9 which seemed not connected at the time later to be revealed like a butterfly effect as every event around it continues.

“Everything is always connected”

Casey and CJ (New Yorks Vigilantes)

Cassandra! Cassandra(also known as ‘Cass’ or more commonly ‘Casey’ despite the nickname being her little brothers first name) is a stoic teenager with a soft side. She’s slightly soft spoken with a masculine appearance yet feminine tone and often gets confused by others with her gender when in reality it doesn’t matter what they interpret her as, as she’s gender-fluid! She seems most comfortable and commonly referred to with she/her pronouns but finds it extremely flattering when called ‘handsome’ or referred to in a masculine sense. She’s a hockey player by day and a badass rollerblading vigilante by night. She is a strong woman and role model hopefully for others as well as her baby brother CJ especially after she got them out of an abusive household.

Little Casey!- Casey (also known as CJ) is Cassandra’s partner in justice as well as her baby brother! He’s a big boy meaning he’s four years old and goin strong!- his biggest role model is his big sister and he’s happy about it. She’s his favorite superhero!- if you see Casey you’ll see CJ as they’re always together and Casey never lets him out of her sight. Not after what they had to go through. He’s a good mannered rambunctious kid with a lot of energy. He wants to be just like his big sister that’s why he has his ears pierced as he was tired of wearing sticker earrings and wanted real ones. Casey was a little nervous about this at first but he took it like a champ when she pierced his ears. CJ also likes to help around Casey’s job! He pretends to sweep the floors and wipe down counters when he’s with her at her job at the tattoo shop she works at as a piercer. Casey’s boss loves having him around.

Sensei(Master) Splinter

Yoshi! Once a rat in a pet store being taken care of with the bare minimum only to be thrown to the garbage bin when they thought he was dead for sleeping for too long. Now a humble street rat getting chased by everything around it until a little boy at the name of Yoshi. He got a new name his name was splinter but one day it was changed…the day Yoshi left him was the day he was renamed “Hamato Yoshi” the same as his own that he once had to remember him by as he was dumped down a sewer. But that was years ago….. That year he was blessed with his four sons that made up their odd little family. He seen what Yoshi did for him before he left so he followed in the nurturing steps of the only father he’s ever known. Yoshi is still with him in spirit of course. They are interlinked through the name they share an their soul connection not only as owner and pet but father and son. Yoshi’s spirit began watching splinter raise the turtles when they became tots as that’s when he passed. He warned splinter of a terrible danger and that’s when Splinter began to learn the ways of the Hamato with the help of Yoshi’s spiritual guidance and then taught his sons as well. Past his sad and empowering backstory he’s a silly old man that loves his boys and paints in his free time (reason to why the boys have their names)

Hamato Leonardo

Leonardo! Leo(also referred to as ‘Leon’, ‘Nardo’, ‘Lame-o-nardo’ etc) is the eldest of four siblings total and the eldest of him and his brother Donnie who are twins. Don’t be fooled by his serious older brother front he’s not like that at all!- He only wears his glasses at home and contacts everywhere else and he has braces! He’s not cool at all, He’s more of a nervous wreck that cracks bad jokes to cope. Being leader is very important to him because it means (to him) he is his little brothers main protectors! He takes his job very seriously but he’s very emotional and emotion driven. A bit of a crybaby when it comes down to it and not often angry but when he is…it can get a little out of control. It took him a while to get his Katanas, how do you think he got that scar! Pretty embarrassing story- there was also the incident…..Rip Raphs tail.

Hamato Donatello(Romeo >;3)

Donatello! Donnie (second eldest of four and youngest of a set of twins) is the obvious brains of the operation but that doesn’t help with the fact he’s little pretentious. He can be very cocky about his inventions and knowledge on things since he obviously sees it as cool and interesting…others…yk not so much- He’s more of a listener than a talker and is mostly quiet when he wants to be so sometimes when he wants to get a word in he has to interrupt others for them to actually listen. He keeps to himself a lot and isn’t the most outgoing but if you get him talking about some form of science (specifically chemistry or technology) you’ll see him as a whole new turtle. He can often be sarcastic even when it’s unintentional he doesn’t do it to be rude he’s just grown up around idiots so he does it to make a point (he loves his brothers I promise) though he’s not traditionally boyish usually he definitely has stereotypical male interests (which goes against his personality in some of his other versions in media) one of which is him being a huge sports fan especially basketball. Him and his brothers often go out at night to some empty courts and play. He’s alike his brothers in the ways of personality especially table manners…there’s almost zero. Absolute pigs they are- despite being turtles

Hamato Raphael (sorry he’s super unfinished)

Raphael! The rebellious middle child- Raph is nonchalant and confident in his fighting ability but since he’s very anger prone he’s not listened to as much when it comes to plans but that’s okay…since most of his plans are extremely bad(he’s not really good at organizing) despite his rugged and intimidating look(he’s built like a linebacker I’d be scared too bruh) and nature he’s not all that mean. He knows sometimes he can get a little too angry and needs to tone it back a bit he’s working on it. He’s more of a stereotypical asshole character more of a bully than anything but honestly it’s his way of affection most of the time. Unless it’s Mikey. Mikey pisses him off sometimes. (He still loves him tho-) he’s a tough lover but when it comes to animals or kids he’s a big softy. He’s also very patient with others it’s surprising. Especially Mikey since he’s disabled and needs some extra time on certain things. Raph is genuinely caring when it comes to his family.

Hamato Michelangelo

Michelangelo!1!1! The party dude of the group of course!- (also known as ‘MC Mikey’ and ‘the triple threat’) hes the definition of annoying younger sibling but in a lovable way- he can be a bit rude when joking with but it’s natural seeing who he’s grown up with. He doesn’t mean any harm by it genuinely it’s in an endearing way. He’s super active and flexible since he’s hyper mobile but it depends on the day since he’s invisibly disabled! (Like me! We have the same condition) He has A.M.P.S [insert orange ribbon] and it stands for Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome and it’s exactly how it sounds. It’s amplified and generalized chronic pain throughout the body without an actual source. It happens basically because the spine sends a pain signal to the brain like how it would when there’s tissue damage except there’s no cause for said pain single just causing intermediate or constant chronic pain anywhere in the body. He’s learned to live with his disability and for it not to get the better of him but he does hold back from running a lot like across buildings and just uses his rocket board Donnie has built for him. He also constantly does physical therapy throughout the week and takes some medication that Donnie gives to him throughout certain periods of the day so he stays out of constant pain. Past that he acts on impulse as any younger sibling would and usually gets saved by the scute of his shell by his older brothers. Despite this he can very well handle his own. He’s a strong fighter and an absolute tank! He’s a big dude and has an insanely high pain tolerance, reason to why he has the most tattoos despite being the youngest. despite him not being as strategic as his brothers or even his opponent his outside the box thinking is what makes him so good.

Project Genocide. (Hamato Jennika)

Jennika. With a cog heart that ticks and barely beats on its own, it’s still made of gold…sort of

Project genocide was created as a gift for the Shredder by Baxter Stockman. A show of gratitude for his life being saved despite how he was trying to steal from the shredder. Though she was rushed and taken out of her test tube too early. Upon trying to breathe her lung immediately collapsed and filled with fluid, so she eventually died within a matter of minutes of being alive. She was then taken apart out of panic like some object and her organs got modified and individually preserved in a gelatin like substance that held them in place. Her head was put into a jar and a tube as her esophagus as she inhales the fluid in her jar that in which it’s the only thing she can safely breathe. She became this Frankenstein like creature but she could still feel and live like anyone else she just looked….different. She had her life support built into her and with the small flip of a switch she was alive again. She’d never be able to grow on her own or develop mentally forever stuck at age thirteen but she was alive. She is programmed to be a ruthless killing machine and follow orders..gaining her name Jennika stemming from her project name ‘Genocide’. Despite being a literal jarhead she’s swift and ruthless. She’s unmatched compared to some of the highest ranking foot soldiers she was perfect…so she was immediately marked by the foot..the branding hurt but it’s not like she hasn’t felt worse, right? She has built in Tekkō-kagi as a sort of homage to the shredder. They come from in between her knuckles. They were almost used to behead the youngest of the four she was modeled after and created to kill. But…what if she didn’t want to….?

Well maybe you’ll just have to read the comic when it comes out to answer your questions!!! EHEHEHHE 😈

Well that’s all!- if you have any general questions about this whole production just put it in my ask box and I’ll happily answer this is genuinely so fun for me!- I can’t wait for you all to read it ^_^

Also make sure to look out for all their finished character sheets if you wanna get a better look at them!- along with some pretty neat voice claims coming soon but you didn’t hear that from me >;3

[drywit-dimpledsmile]

BridgertonBabe Drabble/AU (in timeline order)

Literally no one asked for this, not even @bridgertonbabe​ but as someone who love Shinnie’s writing and for those who love to keep up with her non-official fics, I had some time to spare to get everything organized for her fics not on AO3:

Royals AU

Long Story Short (the entire summary of the Benophie love story)

RIP King Edmund May He Rest in Peace

ABCG Serves in the Military: a summary

It’s not a Bridgerton story without scandal!

How Sophie Met Her Teenage Crush

How Benedict Met The Love of His Life

Prince Benedict and Sophie’s First Date

Sophie and Benedict Learn to Compromise

House Bridgerton Finds Out

Benedict and Sophie Find Out that Everyone Else Found Out

Princess Sophie and her GNO

Popping the Question

Teenage Dream

Prince Benedict and Miss Sophie Beckett’s Engagement Announcement

Royals fight off the Media

Sophie’s First Royal Engagement

Sophie Sees My Cottage For the First Time

Queen Violet Gives Sophie a Wedding Present

An Interrupted Honeymoon Surprise

The Princess-ification of Sophie Beckett

House Bridgerton tries to take a Family Photo

Prince Charlie Gets Baptized and of course his cousins are up to no good

Princess Sophie and Queen Lucy and their no good, terrible relatives

Queen Kate and Princess Sophie Get Lady Boners for their husbands at a polo match

Baby Violet is Born

Prince Benedict is a Girl Dad (pt. 1)

Prince Benedict is a Girl Dad (pt. 2)

2 Little Girls and their Merry Rake Uncle

House Bridgerton Shenanigans

King Anthony is Tired of his Family

The Benophie (Royal) Babies are Ranked by their Parents

Long Live The Queen!

Harry Potter AU:

Violet Has a Vision 

Edmund Figures It Out

ABC Rescue Sophie

Ember’s Origin Story (Ember the Owl Adventures - in timeline order)

Ember Adopts Benedict as her surrogate father

Hyacinth’s obsession with Sophie continues in every universe and Ember is stuck in the middle

Ember Gets Attacked by Gnomes

The Gnome at Dinner incident

Professor Danbury Meets Ember

Edmund bonds with his first “grandchild” (*the grandchild is an owl)

The Benophie Babies with Ember

Pre-Yule Ball Bliss

Summary of Benedict F*&KING up (Pt. 1) :-) 

*BONUS: Summary of Benedict NOT F*&KING up (AN AU OF AN AU)

Benedict and Sophie’s Yule Ball First Kiss

Benedict finds out about Fletcher

The Menace Called Fletcher

Screaming the wrong name in bed (Benedict’s Version)

Benedict F*&KING up (Pt. 2) :-)

Screaming the wrong name in bed (Sophie’s Version)

Michael’s 23rd Birthday

The Panic Attack Saved In True HP fashion: with Love

Sophie and Benedict Struggle to Conjure their Patronuses

Anthony Fails at Being a Wingman

Best Man and Bridesmaid duties (ft. Kathony)

FINALLY!

Sophie’s First Time That In Retrospect She’s Glad it didn’t happen in a Greek Beach

Protecting their Love Bubble

Sophie Gets Moved In (and other stuff)

Colin attempts to Crucio Ben

The Lingerie Everyone Needs in Life

Benedict Thinks Sophie Beckett is the most perfect human on the planet (VALID)

Colin and Philip Reconcile after Baby Mama Drama and Sophie and Benedict Get Engaged

Sophie Has a Tumble (tw//miscarriage)

Little Charlie is Born

Colin the Cat crawls his way into the My Cottage Family

The Benophie Babies Get Sorted!

William Turns his Brothers into Weasels

William Gets a Howler 

Irwins AU

Long Story Short

Sophie is the Bridgerton’s Biggest Fan Girl

Edmund Becomes Sophie’s Dad

Benophie Loves Elephants 

The Benophie Babies are Introduced (LION KING STYLE)

The Umbrella Academy AU

Umbrella Academy Assemble?

Benedict Becomes the Man of Sophie’s Dreams...Literally

Bridgertons Assemble?

Sophie Forgets

All Hell Breaks Loose

Benedict and Sophie Finally Reunite....Then Time Travel Splits Them Up :( 

If I missed anything let me know! 

UPDATED (10/26/22): with the Ember the Owl Adventures

UPDATED (4/5/23): with 5 months worth of new drabbles and new fics!

[unfortunate-songbird]

Can I have more information about your silles? (Ocs)

Yes yes yes absolutely I love you forever for asking

space gang!

Quill- he’s the team leader he’s the guy ever he was in college to be a marine biologist before he dropped out due to depression and joined the knockoff Star Wars Rebellion. His greatest fear is losing someone he loves to depression / general mental health but he gets so agitated whenever someone comes to him for help (and much of his worry manifests as anger) that it actually keeps people from reaching out to him. He’s obsessed with the Octonauts.

Em- she’s the muscle the brawler the ‘angry one’ as much as she wishes she wasn’t but it’s all she knows how to be. She has to hold grudges because if she doesn’t no one will and she’s always the last to leave any situation because she ran away once as a small child and lost everything. She’s said some unforgivably cruel things when she’s angry because she can’t think over the overwhelming urge to make someone else Hurt. She bullies people as a love language (both banter and actual physical rolling-on-the-ground tussling)

Owen- he’s the acrobat the gymnast the stealth the one in the rafters looking down. He spent his life alone and only recently discovered the joys of being a clown of being funny enough to finally have the attention he craves. He plays it up relentlessly but deep down he’s so scared he’ll end up too much and drive everyone away. He’s the youngest and the protected and it’s both gratifying and stifling. He’s cheeky he’s gullible one time he dyed Quill’s hair green and got away with it because no one suspected him.

Rowan- he’s a rich kid he’s a spy he’s the actor the infiltrator the rogue element the traitor. He decided to doom himself to a painful death rather than ask his friends for help. His natural posture is the letter C. He might be transfem but that won’t occur to him for many years because who has time for gender right now. He’s got a guilt complex. He’s a gay theater kid. He’s incredibly socially awkward. He doesn’t know who he is behind all the masks and is convinced he’ll never be more than his worst mistakes. He’s the reason the kitchen is equipped with four fire extinguishers.

Wedge- they’re the hacker the tech wizard. They’re not even all that good at computer stuff. They grew up as an Empire military kid and the guilt for still loving their family complicit in an evil system eats at them daily. They have ADHD. They’re terrified they’re going to let everyone down like they have all their life. Their family thinks they work at Space Walmart except Cousin Julia who knows what they are (rebel) and goes through Candace from Phineas and Ferb level shenanigans to expose them and it never works. They play Minecraft curled up in a kitchen cabinet. They got so worried about their abysmal pain tolerance and being the weak link that they briefly tried to blackmail Rowan into giving them lessons in torture resistance. They main Kirby in Smash Bros and suck at it.

the fantasy gang is unfortunately less developed but I’ll do my best

Alex- loser high schooler dies (cringe) and becomes a loser ghost. Died with a massive zit and now it’s part of his eternal appearance. No he’s not cripplingly lonely shut up.

Vida- your typical snarky unimpressed middle schooler. Misses her mom :( (died under mysterious circumstances and with a secret past). Secretly loves explosions and funky chemicals. Lowkey disappointed that Alex is just a dork teenager and not a proper gorey scary ominous ghost.

Jamie- Average tween girl likes 20 kinds of bugs is a statistical error. The average tween girl likes around 5 types of bugs (rolly pollies, butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies, bees) Insects Jeorg who adores every single bug in existence is an outlier adn should not have been counted.

Evan- token cautious nerd. She couldn’t commit to one gender and you think he can make big plot important decisions? Massive fantasy book nerd but in the sense that she wants to stay Far Away from actual magic bc do you even know what happens to people in stories who mess with that kinda stuff?? Lifelong trauma at BEST.

Miko- your typical plucky orphan who lives in a magic boarding school learning to be a wizard. Absolute goober. >:D . They are party rockin in the house tonight. Surprisingly chill abt their home being invaded by Evil Conquering Anti-Magic Kingdom (lie). They’re so silly and that’s all dw about it.

Foaming at the mouth abt them they’re my sillies ❤️