#Faye definitely liked what she saw

[jgracie]

I KNOW YOU

masterlist | rules

❝ Hello can you do an Athena! Reader Percy Jackson but completely different than Annabeth she is smart yes but seems dumber than she is. She is a bit of the psychologist if the group she like trying to read other emotion something like that. But this time it was Percy who try to understand her and is like a pillar to her. She is a bit insecure about her being less than others of her half brother and sister but he want to reassure her please. ❞ — @hope92100

pairing percy jackson x athena!reader

in which percy’s here regardless of the pain

warnings feelings of insecurity (? idk if this needs a warning but just in case!!)

on the radio . . . i know you (faye webster)

an set during mark of athena!!

As a daughter of Athena, you’ve always been expected to know everything. Whilst others had powers of chlorokinesis or an innate ability to heal, your strength was meant to be your wit. And for the most part, that was true - Athena’s kids have always been the smartest. However, you didn’t feel like you fit in with your half-siblings. No matter what you did, you always felt lesser than them

When you’d first gotten claimed by Athena, you were surprised, but accepted it. You thought maybe the cleverness would kick in now that she recognised you as her daughter, but you stayed the same. Later on, you’d realise that you’ve always had wit, but you were simply absorbing other people’s opinions of you and turning them into your identity. It took you a while to unlearn that habit, but eventually, you did

Your area of expertise has always lied in the feelings of others. Your emotional intelligence is what got you through a lot of life as a demigod, and you had a knack for knowing exactly what a person is going through just by looking at them, always providing comfort and support when needed

Now was one of those times. Your boyfriend, Percy, had been missing for about 6 months, and you were finally about to head off to Camp Jupiter to find him. When you first found out he was gone, you were, of course, devastated. However, you quickly pushed those feelings to the back of your mind once you noticed everyone else. They needed you. So you smiled and you comforted and you told the younger kids of how brave Percy is and how he’ll definitely come back

But to you, it wasn’t enough to just be a shoulder to cry on. When Jason had gotten assigned his first quest, he’d asked Annabeth if she could come along - not you. Despite knowing you’re Percy’s girlfriend, despite knowing that there was a chance of finding him on the quest, he asked Annabeth. You couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Intelligence has always come naturally to your sister and, unlike you, she never doubted herself. She’d rejected his offer, rambling about having her own searches to do, but you saw the pitiful look she cast you

Then, while everyone was preparing to head for San Francisco, you could do nothing but guide them through their emotions and make sure they were all mentally prepared for the voyage. Again, it wasn’t enough. Annabeth was doing research on the Romans with the help of Jason. Leo was building a whole ship. What were you doing? 

Being in Percy’s arms again for the first time in half a year, you never felt more complete. Your boy was back home to you. Deep down, however, you couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He’d remembered you, out of anyone in his life, you’re the only one who stuck. You didn’t deserve that title, not after you barely did anything to help find him. So, you distanced yourself. Surely, he’d be fine without you

Wrong. Percy noticed. Even though you’d been apart for so long, he’d never not notice any shift in your mood or behaviour. Your very being was etched into his brain. He could point you out in a room full of people without any of his senses. To him, you were akin to the very ocean that ran through his veins. In the end, he’d always gravitate towards you. No matter what. While you pulled away, he tried to tug you towards him

When he’d asked Annabeth if something had happened while he was gone, she’d told him no, and that you were probably just overwhelmed by it all. He tried to accept that, but he just couldn’t. He knew there was more to your situation

That very night, Tyche seemed to be smiling down at him, as he was fortunate enough to finally be able to speak with you alone. You were on the night shift, keeping watch in case any monsters decided to attack. Percy had woken with a start and itched to breathe in the salty air of the sea. When he came above deck, he was surprised to see you, having completely forgotten the schedule everyone agreed on

“Hey Y/N,” he said, startling you as he came over to stand next to you. You’d simply been staring up at the night sky, deep in thought, when your boyfriend showed up

Unable to hold his gaze, you replied, “hi Percy… how are you?” 

He entertained your question, knowing the best way to get you to talk about your feelings is if he created an easy-going environment first. So, Percy told you all about what he’d been up to. His quest with Frank and Hazel, Octavian the teddy bear assassin augur, and the city of New Rome - where he wanted to grow old with you. Next thing you knew, you were laughing as if he were never gone

Once your giggles had died down, Percy asked the question that’d been weighing on his mind, “how are you, sweets? And don’t even try to tell me you’re fine because I know something’s up. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” 

You knew you wouldn’t be able to hide from Percy any longer. As he held you in his arms, you spilled your deepest insecurities to him. How you felt absolutely useless in the months leading up to your departure from New York, which in turn led you to feel undeserving of his love. With every word, Percy felt the crack in his heart grow deeper and deeper. He never wanted you to feel this way. He wished nothing more than to have been there with you, to have talked your feelings out with you

Pressing a kiss into your hair, he said, “you’re not useless, Y/N. I don’t care what you think, I’m telling you now - you’re not useless. I’d say it for an eternity if that’s how long it’ll take for you to believe it. Do you really think we would’ve gotten this far without you? Honey, if you weren’t part of this quest, I’d still be wandering around Camp Jupiter thinking about when I’d get to see you again.”

You felt tears brim in your eyes and as Percy tenderly wiped them away, you realised he was right. Sure, you hadn’t helped Annabeth learn about the Romans very much, but when she broke down after being hunched over conjugations of different Latin verbs, you’d been there with a blanket and a cup of tea, reminding her that she didn’t need to be perfect and that the people of New Rome probably spoke English anyway. And when Leo was accused of betraying everyone by firing on New Rome, you’d defended him without hesitation, stopping the quest from failing before it even started. You also taught Piper how to properly use her knife instead of just stabbing everywhere and hoping for the best, and had given Leo the idea to take some plates from camp so that food wouldn’t be a worry

Percy stared down at you, and smiled when he noticed your shoulders relax and your eyes begin to droop, a clear sign of the multitude of nights you’d spent restless

There was nothing Hera could possibly do to separate the two of you again

[adrienneleclerc]

Prison For Life pt. 2

Paring: Walter Marshall x Hispanic/Latina Reader

Summary: more of Walter and Y/N’s relationship

A/N: there are probably many spelling mistakes

I'm no damsel in distress, no But I like assertiveness, so

Y/N and Walter have been dating for almost a year now and she was sleeping over at Walter's house. It was the middle of the night and Y/N woke to get a drink of water when she heard a noise that definitely did not come from her. She walked to Walter's side of the bed and started shaking him awake.

"Guapo, guapo, wake up." Y/N whispered as she shook him.

"Mm, baby girl, its late, we'll play later." Walter said, snuggling up to the bed and Y/N slapped his shoulder.

"No seas payaso, I heard something coming from downstairs, I’m gonna check.” Y/N said. She grabbed the hockey stick that Walter keeps in the closet but Walter got up from bed and took the hockey stick out of her hand. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.

“Darling, I’ll go check downstairs. Relax, stay calm, I’ll be back.” Walter kissed her forehead and he walked downstairs to check where the noise was coming from to see his daughter raiding his fridge. “Faye? What are you doing her? I thought you were supposed to be with your mom.”

“I was. But then I went to this party and your house is closer. What is this?” Faye asks Walter, holding up a Tupperware full of food Y/N cooked.

“It’s lomo saltado.” Walter said, Faye shrugs her shoulders and starts beating up the food in the microwave “Does your mom know you’re here?” Walter asked.

“I called her before getting an Uber here, I am not that irresponsible, father. Is she upstairs?” Faye asked.

“Yes, she woke me up because of the noise she heard downstairs.” Walter said.

“Sorry, it’s hard to raid a refrigerator quietly when there is so much Tupperware, when does she find the time to cook?” Faye asked. She took out the food from the microwave and started eating it. “It’s really good, I’m glad you stopped eating those frozen dinners.”

“Just wash it when you’re done, do you need me to set up the guest bedroom?” Walter asked.

“I can set it up myself, dad. Go with your girlfriend, get some sleep, love you.” Faye said, hugging Walter.

“Love you too, don’t stay up too late.” Walter said, kissing her forehead and went upstairs. He entered his bedroom and saw Y/N in bed. “Everything is fine, it was just Faye.” Walter gets under the covers.

“Thank you for checking.” Y/N said.

“I’ll always check downstairs for strange noises, either with a hockey stick, baseball bat, or my gun.” Walter said, he wrapped his arm around Y/N.

“Do you even play hockey or baseball?” Y/N asked.

“It’s Minnesota, the police department has hockey games with the fire department.” Walter said and Y/N laughed.

“Oh, que funny, that’s hilarious. Okay, Goodnight, oso gruñón, i love you.” Y/N gave Walter a kiss.

“You did not just call me ‘grumpy bear’, baby girl.” Walter said.

“I’m sleeping, can’t hear you.” Y/N said and Walter laughed to himself and just spooned her, falling asleep peacefully.

Wrap your arm around me babe And say that you’ll keep me safe

Walter was making popcorn while Y/N was on the couch with a blanket over her, they were watching a scary movie, 16 months of dating.

"Walter, te lo juro juradito if you don't get your ass back here." Y/N started

"Mi vida, the popcorn is almost done." Walter said,

"Why the hell are we watching a horror movie?" Y/N asked.

"I distinctly remember you saying that you could handle a scary movie, I told you that we could watch one of those romcoms that you like, but you insisted. So we are watching a horror movie because of you. Besides, aren't you a big fan of Supernatural? Horror movies should be no problem." Walter said, pouring the popcorn into a big bowl.

"Supernatural is different, it stops being scary after season 5, honeslty. Most of the episodes are about monsters and demons, the scariest epsiodes are when it was humans behind the killings. Also, there was a fucking crossover with Scooby Doo, not scary, now sit, I don't like where this is going." Y/N said

Walter leaves the kitchen and sits beside Y/N, immediately wrapping his arm around her, pulling her to snugglie into him, which she does gladly. There was a jumpscare and Y/N hid inthe crook of his neck. Walter chuckled, rubbing her back attempting to soothe her. Walter the leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"It is just a movie, I'll always be here to keep you safe, no matter what." Walter kissed the top of her head and changed the movie. "You clearly need to watch 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' after that." Walter said and Y/N perked up.

"I love Hugh Dancy! He was so cute in that movie, but he will always be prince Charmont to me." Y/N said.

"Is he the reason why you like British guys?" Walter asked,

"Yes, yes he is." Y/N said.

"I need to send him thank you letter, maybe a gift, lets watch the movie." Walter said, getting comfortable again with his arm wrapped around Y/N.

I know it's bad to fantasize About robbers and bad guys But if he were there to save the day, ha Think I'd let that man marry me

Walter was cooking in Y/N’s apartment and shewas sipping wine, watching him, a year and a half into the relationship.

"Oso, are you sure you don't want help?" Y/N asked.

"I'm fine, hermosa, I really want to get this recipe right, I don't want you to have to do all the cooking." Walter said.

"Thats sweet, Oso." Y/N said, she walked over to where he was standing and kissed his cheek. She went back to where she was and like most women do, she asked a hypothetical question. "Hey Oso, what would you do of someone broke into the house?"

"What?" Walter turned away from the stove, looking at Y/N

"If we were home and someone broke into the house to try and rob us or kidnap me, or whatever, what would you do?" Y/N asked.

"Why are you asking?" Walter said.

"I dont know, curiousity, boredom, just answer the question."

"If they try to rob us, I'll put you behind me and tell you to call 911 or text Harper so he could send squad cars immediately. I'll keep you out of harm's way. If they try to kidnap you, I am putting my fight training and gun to use, because anyone who lays a finger on your head, theirs would be on the ground next." Walter said.

"That was such an amazing answer." Y/N said.

"What can I say? I am very protective." Walter said and he turned away so he could focus on the sauce.

I know I can protect myself (Ah) But when you do it for me, it's hot as hell (Ah) You got my heart, you know me too well (Ah) Think I'd even send you love letters in jail (Ah)

Y/N was at the bar drinking with her friends to celebrate Monica's promotion.

“Hey, I think I'm gonna call it a night. ” Y/N commented.

“Of course you are! If i had a man like yours, I would be dying to go home and let him do whatever he wanted to me.” Y/N's bestie. Isabela slurred, the other girls laughed.

"Yes! Girl, you gotta tell me something, how is he in bed? How BIG is he?" Monica asked.

"Okay I'm not answering that." Y/N said, walking away so she could call Walter.

"He has to be amazing and pretty big, I've seen the way she walks after she spends a night with Walter." Another friend, Tori, said. Y/N shook her head giggling before calling Walter. It took two rings for him to pick up.

"Hey baby girl, how's your night out with your friends?" Walter asked as he was making a coffee.

“Hey Oso, my night is good, my friends are a little tipsy, I'm spent though, can you pick me up?” Y/N answered, folding the laundry.

“Sure thing, baby girl, let me just coat, which bar are you at again?” Walter asked as he put on his coat and got his keys.

“You know the bar that's by the ice cream shop where we had our first date?” Y/N asked, sitting at the bar to wait for Walter, Walter smiled at the memory.

“Yeah, I know the one, I'm on my way, baby girl, love you.” Walter said before hanging up the phone, leaving the house and getting into his truck.

Y/N stayed at the bar so Walter doesn't have to look for her but it looks like it was a bad idea because an older man sat next to her.

"How you doin', doll, can I buy you a drink?" he asked her. She could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"I'm fine, but I don't accept that drink, thank you though." Y/N said, trying to be polite and avoid confrontation.

"Oh come on, whats the matter? A sexy woman like you alone in a bar amd you're not accepting my drink?" the man asked.

"I am not alone and i have a boyfriend." Y/N said, again rejecting the man.

"Every woman says that." The man said and Y/N had enough so she got up from the chair and tried to walk away when the man grabbed her wrist, thats when Y/N's friends spotted her and went over to the bar. The one time Y/N doesn't bring her knife, what a nightmare.

"Let go of our friend right now." Monica said.

"Tori, go get security." Isabela said. Tori did as she asked. Walter then entered the bar and spotted that his baby girl was in a situation.

"Your friend here was being a bitch." the man said.

"She has a boyfriend, now let her go." Monica demanded.

"I don't see him." The man said and thats when Walter appeared next to the women.

"Now you do, what seems to be the problem?" Walter asked. Walter easily towered over the man.

"This cabrón is pissed that i said no to a drink and now he won't let go." Y/N addressed Walter, looking up at him..

"Let go of her sir before we have a real problem." Walter threated. The man let go of Y/N and she went with Monica and Isabela.

"Next time don't let your girl leave the house dressed like a whore, bitch was asking for some attention." That was when Walter said 'fuck being civil' and punched the guy in the face."

"Don't ever speak that way about my girl again or it will be the last thing you do." Walter said over the man on the ground.

Looks like this man wasn't going down easily and he got up, trying to punch Walter but Walter had police training and it became a full blown fight between these two men. When Tori finally got security, he called the police and Walter and the man were put in different holding cells because Walter knew if that dumbass kept running his mouth, Walter was going to spend the night in jail. Y/N came in and posted bail for Walter, an officer walked out to Y/N with Walter and his belongings.

“Since Detective Marshall explained the man had his hands on you and of course him being an officer, this is a warning.” The officer said. "Next time its a cell." He warned Walter.

“Thank you, officer. Vámonos Oso.” Y/N said, holding the door open for Walter so they could leave. Once they’re in the car, no one spoke a word.

“I’m fine, baby girl.” Walter said, breaking the silence. “I’m not hurt at all.” Y/N was still silent. “Listen, I’m sorry i scared you, I lost my temper and I wish you didn’t see that. But he doesn’t get to badmouth you in front of me and walk away with his teeth still intact.”

“Im not scared that you hit him.” Y/N said.

“Then what scared you?” Walter asked.

“It scared me how much I liked you going all protective like that.” Y/N said and Walter paused for a second.

“You’re telling me that me going all caveman on that bastard is attractive to you?” Walter questioned.

“You know I can protect myself, but you are always there to protect me, and I find that very hot. It was very primal in a way.” Y/N said. “And for some reason I like it.”

“But how far is too far?” Walter asked, genuinely curious.

“I’ll tell you this, Walter, if you end up in jail for murdering a guy because you’re defending me or protecting me, I will write you love letters.” Y/N said seriously. Walter out his hand on Y/N’s thigh, rubbing his thumb over it before grabbing her hand and kissed the back of her hand.

I'm a feminist obviously (Oh) But I wouldn't really mind him savin' me (Savin' me) And I know that I'm fine without a man (Without a man) But I think I'd like his protection And God knows that I don't need no one But pretending that I do is kind of fun (Kind of fun) Yeah, I know that I'm fine without a man But I think I'd like his protection (I'd like his protection) I'm just bein' honest, can't change what I like I'll never forget it, he told me one night (Night) "If anybody hurts you, oh I'm goin' to prison for life"

Y/N’s friends were over for hot chocolate and pan dulce and Walter was busy installing a new light in Y/N’s bedroom.

“Hey love, can you get my toolbox? I left it in the living room!” Walter called out.

“Sure thing, Oso.” Y/N said. “I’ll be right back, ladies.” Y/N got the toolbox off the living room table and went to her room where saw saw Walter on a ladder, wearing a gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and his tool belt.

“Thank you baby girl.” He got down from the ladder to kiss her. “Save me a concha please, the chocolate one.”

“Of course, Oso.” Y/N said, she got into the kitchen and her 3 friends stared at her. “What? Like you don’t have husbands doing this stuff?”

“Yeah, we have husbands, but didn’t you tell us that your dad taught you how to fix this stuff so you wouldn’t depend on a man?” Tori said.

“Well I know how to do things but I don’t want to have to, you know? Like can i take my car to the shop? Of coarse I can! Do I want to? No, Walter takes it for me and I don’t get hustled.”

“Love that for you.” Isabela said.

“Yeah, he’s the best, would do anything for me. He’s protective.” Y/N said. “But seriously, don’t eat all the conchas, Walter wants a chocolate one.”

An hour later, the friends left and Walter finished the maintenance in Y/N’s room.

“Ooh yes, a chocolate concha.” Walter said as he sat at the table to eat it.

“Thanks for installing my light.” Y/N said.

“Yeah of course, as long as your with me, apartment maintenance is my job.” Walter said, kissing her.

“Thank you. Quick question; you remember what you said to me a year ago? When you saw my scar?” Y/N asked.

“You mean where I said I would go to prison for life to protect? Of course, and I still mean it, and I’ll always mean it.” Walter did, kissing her again.

The End

Taglist: @warriormirkwood @nerdyreaderpapi

[ilytcoys]

!!! This is a WIP and not at all finished and isn't edited yet, just a rough idea !!!

TW: mention of suicide.

Prologue:

I look down on the street below from the roof of the building. Today my best friend killed herself and to celebrate her, i decided to crash a rich persons party. We use to do it when we were teenagers. Young and free.

A group of teenagers smoking on the corner. Two girls, walking, arms linked close together. Cars lined the street. I like watching people. We use create stories for them.

The group of teenagers, four of them, just ran away from their foster home. I looked back at them and saw two of them bickering. The oldest boy suggested that they went to the poorer side of town, whilst the other boy said they should leave the city. New York city, where dreams are made. Fuck that.

The girls at the end of the street now, giggling after one of them accidentally tripped slightly. Best friends, from two completely different worlds meet.

I smile and think of my best friend. Lottie. She was beautiful and perfect but looks weren’t everything. I’d known her all my life, I knew she was struggling mentally. I knew. I knew. I knew and I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help. I failed her.

Tears pricked my eyes and I felt a presence next to me. I quickly wipe my eyes and turn my head. My eyes widen slightly. A tall, dark haired, polished man stood next to me. Probably the most gorgeous man I’d seen in a long time.

“It’s a beautiful Night,” he said softly, his voice was milky and smooth like butter. “Don’t you think?”

It took me a second to speak. “Uh- yes. Yeah. I’m just watching the people.”

He looks me up and down. I swallow nervously, scared I’ve been caught.

“People watching?” He questions.

“Yes, I like to make up silly stories about them.” I smile shyly. “It’s just a Little Game i like to play.”

“Sounds fun.” He licks his lips. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Faye.”

“Asher Dixon.” He turns to me and hold out his hand for me to shake. I take it hesitantly.

As soon as I make contact he pulls me in close. I press up against his chest and I gasp in surprise.

He moved close to my ear, his lips brushing me, and whispered. “Faye. Lovely to meet you, darling, but your time at this party come to an end, I’m assuming you know where the exit is.”

I nod slowly and he releases me. He smiles as if nothing happened and walked away.

I wanted to stay so badly, just to spite him, but I didn’t. After Asher walked away to another group of people, I quickly walked out known his eyes were most definitely burning into my back.

Once down on the street, I look up to see if he was still watching me. Our eyes met and he walked out of eyes sight. The entire way back to my apartment my heart was beating out of my chest.

I needed that.

I needed that adrenaline.

-----

Thank you for reading, please tell me if you like it (or dont) in the comments.

-ilytcoys

[chipthekeeper]

Hey. Hi. Because I’m very normal and not sick in the head, here are all the thoughts I had while watching the bonus featurette about the Aldhani arc (I know some of you are patiently waiting to see for yourselves so it’s under the cut)

- ugh Scotland you are sooooo……

- OH MY GOD WEVE GOT CLOSEUP SHOTS OF THINGS AROUNS THE CAMP IM GONNA BE TAKING ENDLESS NOTES

- Going to need so many gifs of my babies. So so so many gifs. I will pay

- Did not expect Susanna white to have that accent for some reason but I’m very into it

- Already lost my mind about this bit we got a clip of so many times but I will continue to do so

- “You have Vel who’s an incredibly rich young woman who’s grown a conscience” FASCINATING TONY TELL ME MORE

- “Skeen who’s a revolutionary by opportunity” some might say a mercurial man but yeah

- Oh a shot of Gorn but he doesn’t get a description, fine

- Oh i just made SUCH an embarrassing noise because VARADA IS TALKING SHES ON MY SCREEN SAYING WORDS AS HERSELF M

- oh. Oh sweet. Baby. Jesus. Oh. Oh my

- I can’t even describe what just happened above; you will have to see it

- Okay now I’m for real sobbing

- 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭😭

- They

- I keep making such loud and embarrassing sounds AND THE WINDOW IS OPEN

- Okay now to take a breath and actually tell you what that was all about. You didn’t really think I wouldn’t say it?

- Varada AND Faye talking about rehearsing their jump from the dam!!!!!

- And some footage of that where they’re just. Chilling and smiling and yeah I need oxygen

- Varada saying she’s “sufficiently terrified” to do the jump but has to do it with a straight face because cinta can’t look scared and holy shit this is truly everything to me

- There’s an AMAZING shot of them in costume on like a green screen stage and they like hug and then dance very ridiculously I’m definitely not crying no you’re crying

- ugh Jesus I just. That was a lot and I’m. Fine.

- Okay moving on

- Oooh Spotify artist of the year nick britell on my screen talking about sounds of the eye

- I SWEAR TO FUCK LUCASFILM IF YOU DONT GIVE ME THIS ART BOOK OR AT LEAST DOWNLOADABLE HI RES IMAGES

- Why the fuck are we suddenly talking about saw gerrera (not that I don’t love him but ?????? This is not the time)

- *strangled whining sounds about scenery shots with Skeen’s chopping line over top*

- Omg wife hi

- “We ended up being as close as these characters are by the end, you know, because they depend on each other and they have to believe in what each other can do” IM FINE 😭

- Jesus Christ I need ten more hours of that at MINIMUM

- In summary, I need this injected into my veins and nothing short of that will be enough

[worth-this-and-more]

Do think Faye and natasia knew about Erebus being the shadow king. I would like see more about warlocks and more dragons do think still exist and maybe like have humans forms I do think Mariah has more family

hehe happy to see ya again anon!!

i am not really sure because i feel like the shadow king killed erebus recently?? like after he found out his descendant has infiltrated the order so I think it came after that. and I really think bree is the only one who figured out that "the hunter", "the great devourer" and "the shadow king" are the same because before that the ancestors didn't really have time to share experiences, they just warned the next kin about the dangers of using too much root. and it wasn't until valec revealed the bloodmark on bree that anyone ever saw exactly why there's a root furnace, so yeah I don't think they knew exactly but given natasia's connection to the shadow king she might've thought about it but there's really no big reason how or why she would think so at all. even if the description does match the shadow king she could've pondered upon the possibility maybe. but like now, in oathbound, after sel was left with natasia I think she will now connect the two and two together??

omggg yesss dragons dragons dragonssss and ofc warlocks, the one we met at the crossroads bar had a very dramatic scene and I feel like he's definitely gonna keep a grudge with bree. maybe the word has spread about a certain black girl with a guy who looks like he's dressed for Halloween, whose hobby is to strip warlocks or their powers. maybe bree's gonna face some resistance, because in the oathbound excerpt the shadow king took her to a cambion and he was not pretty welcoming at all, warlocks might have the same response. the dragonsss i have a feeling that our dragon king is going to kill the shadow king, in the fourth book obviously there's no way this ends in oathbound, but even before that we might get a dragon scene because comon that scene was just gloriousss

i do think the shadow king must also have a form he shapeshift to as animals for easy mobility or something. it could potentially be a dragon but i don't see much possibility of it because like arthur was called pendragon and bree's a dragon so there's that, shadow king is called the hunter and shit so dragons might be a possibility but not the only one. if the shadow king does have a form i feel like crow or raven is the most obvious one but it could also lean more towards . . . owls. more specifically, eagle owl?? (see why i said that hehe) but yeah given the ongoing theory that shadow king could be sel and valec's dad, i feel like his form could be an own. an eagle owl. and I'm excited to see it ngl. like he can already shapeshift into people he kills (I'm curious to the mechanism of this too, like why does he have to kill them?? is it to like take their souls and tie them in a unfair deal or like there are no two persons accidentally at the same time or is there an unwritten rule and that you gotta kill the person to shapeshift into them?? can merlins do that too, since they're already shapeshifting into animals, but like they're said to only have one animal to shapeshift so it seems kinda hard. nvm) so his animal form could have more choices or it could just be one, easy to shift into and good to transport or spy.

mariah's family could play a role in oathbound if bree yk like meets up with her sometime, like maybe halfway through the book. her rootcrafter family would definitely be one way to introduce us more to bree's rootcrafting abilities and their uses because hey it has healing abilities, and bree has unlimited root furnace, do you see what I see?? she's basically indestructible with healing if she learns to properly wield her rootcrafting powers. it's a possibility and I hope its introduced more because like on one hand it'd be difficult to manage maintaining aether constructs and healing your wounds but on the other hand can you imagine the shock William would get when he sees bree just casually holding up her shield and her mage flame healing the slash on her side. haha just amazinggg and we've already seen mage flame cleaning up the shadowborn gunk off her hands (graveyard scene, legendborn) so yeah the possibilities could be explored. and also, free immunity from that healing forever, like yk alice mesmer resisting abilities?? she gained them after being healed by bree's root I feel like this could be done more, as like a line of defense for everyone on team bree so they can't be interrogated or soemthing.

i kinda went off the rails here lmaoo but okay imma stop now bbyee

[areseebee]

i love hearing about the derry girls ‘someday’ fic universe. please can i ask more about your original character faye? how did you come up with the character and also what is her relationship like with the other derry girls besides claire and james? 🤗

yes, you definitely can! so for a quick primer on faye (which i pulled from this maybe-kinda-outdated maybe someday masterlist that i put together in 2023):

- faye appears/is mentioned in this short piece of writing and also this one. i also explain some bits about her in this post and this post. - and here's some lovely faye art by @imstressedx

the character originated in collaboration with @derrygirlstrash when we were talking about the maybe someday fic universe back in july 2022 just as i was finishing smoke break. i had just started to think through what the premise of someday would be and was explaining to derrygirlstrash that i saw james as having less-than-serious relationships after smoke break, while i saw erin having one long, very serious relationship. about 20 minutes later derrygirlstrash offered up the idea of faye as one of james's short-term relationships. i loved the idea of faye immediately as i had already been thinking through how erin would feel about the first person that james dates post-smoke break. from there we developed her into a foil to erin - and therefore someone that erin is insecure about because she can't help but compare herself and see all the ways in which they are very not alike.

i think i talk about this in some of the posts i linked to above, but as faye is the person that james moved onto right after the events of smoke break while also being someone who comes across as effortlessly cool, really affable, and is well-liked by their friends/fits in, erin was initially pretty cold to her and they didn't get off on the right foot. by the time someday starts, all that is really in the past and erin really wants to get on with faye like everyone else does, but their dynamic is a little too entrenched and it's hard to move beyond it. which segues into michelle and orla, who love faye! michelle mostly can't understand how james pulled someone like faye (because she's just so obviously out of his league, just look at her) and both her and orla were sad when james and faye broke up in uni, but happy when faye and clare got together ~5ish years later. i know this is still a little vague about michelle and orla, but with faye finally, properly appearing in the next couple of chapters of someday, it'll be clearer how she functions within the group.

thanks so much for asking! i definitely didn't get into absolutely everything about faye here, but i love getting the chance to talk about my fic and will always answer questions about it. all of this has lived up inside my head for so long and i've talked it through with derrygirlstrash so much that i do sometimes have trouble keeping track of what is or isn't known about this whole world, but i love to share when asked. i really would love to write both a michelle/rafael fic and clare/faye fic, both of which would illuminate more about the characters and about the eight years in between smoke break and someday. it's definitely a goal to get it all "canonized" into proper stories for anyone interested in reading more.

[rmtndew]

Come Home to Me 

Summary: A weekend with Walter, Fiona and Faye as their little family grows closer. 

Pairing: Marshall and OFC Fiona

Word count: 6,802

Rating: PG

Warnings: Mentions of a panic attack

I wasn’t sure what had happened. The day had started out fine. Walter and I had gotten to see each other for a little bit before we both left for work, which wasn’t always the case. We had coffee and breakfast together. I snuck extra snacks in his lunchbox while he was out warming up my car. It was a good morning. So where it went wrong, I couldn’t quite say. All I knew was that at some point in the afternoon, my anxiety started getting the best of me. 

I ended up locking myself in the bathroom at work and having a panic attack, then feeling bad that I wasn’t actually working and the guilt just made the attack worse and last longer, which just continued to fuel the guilt. It was a cycle that kept feeding itself. I finally managed to get myself under control enough to go back to work but Darcy knew something was going on and she sent me home. 

When I got in my car, I was feeling like garbage and needed to hear Walt’s voice, so I called him. I knew he might be busy and not be able to answer, but he did after just a couple of rings. 

“Hey, love,” he said, his voice instantly making me feel better. “Is everything alright?” 

I leaned my head back against the headrest of my seat. “I’m having a rough day.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

My teeth sunk into my lip as I chewed on it for a moment. “I don’t know,” I finally admitted. “A panic attack hit me out of nowhere. Darcy’s sending me home but I feel terrible that she has to do without me just because my stupid brain decided to have a random meltdown on Friday afternoon with literally no trigger.” 

“Hey, do not talk about yourself like that, young lady. I won’t have it,” he said, his voice taking on a very fatherly tone that he’d never used with me before. “Your brain is not stupid. Do you hear me?” 

I smiled. “Yes, bear, I hear you.” 

“Good. Now I want you to come home.”

I raised my head up from the headrest. “Come home? Not go home?” I questioned. “As in, you’re already there?” 

I could faintly hear him laugh. “I’m meant to be the detective in this family, Miss Sparks. Not you,” he teased. “But yes; I’m already here.”

“What are you doing home so early?” 

“We were able to connect our murder to similar ones in different states so we had to hand it over to the FBI. We’ll work it alongside them but for today, there’s nothing else I can do. Not until they review it. So for now I’m at home. I was going to surprise you with dinner when you got off work but I’ll have to find something else to surprise you with, unless you want dinner at two in the afternoon?” 

I laughed. “No. I just had lunch not long ago. I’m good. But you don’t have to surprise me with anything. Getting to spend the day with you is a good enough surprise.” 

“Then come home to me, darling. Let me hold you.”

I felt myself grin. “I’m on my way now. Love you.” 

“Love you, too, Fi. Be careful.” 

When I got home, Walter greeted me outside on the doorstep. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants with socks. His perpetually tired look seemed packed away for the moment and strangely enough, he looked actually, well…rested. It wasn’t something I saw very often. 

“Hiya, handsome,” I said, smiling at him as I walked up the steps. 

He returned my smile. “Hey,” he said as I reached him. He pulled me in for a short kiss. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m alright.” He gave his little grunting-humming sound as if he didn’t believe me and I laughed. “I am alright,” I said. “I’m tired from my panic attack but just because it feels like I’m dying at the time, it doesn’t mean they can actually hurt me. So I’m okay.” 

“Would a cuddle make you feel better?” he asked, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a slight smile. 

My own smile couldn’t be bothered to play it cool. It spread across my whole mouth as I nodded. “Yeah, a cuddle would definitely make me feel better.” 

“Good.” 

He kissed my forehead, then took my hand and led me into the house. Inside, I stopped short in the entrance as I was greeted with the sight of the biggest blanket fort I’d ever seen. It was in the living room and made from the couch and kitchen chairs. Sheets were held to one another with heavy duty plastic clamps and draped across the whole thing, and inside I could see that it was stuffed with blankets and pillows. 

“What’s this all about?” I asked. 

He shrugged a shoulder as he looked a bit bashful. “I couldn’t surprise you with dinner but I thought this might turn your rough day around,” he said. “If it’s too childish -” 

“Shh,” I said, cutting him off. “Sometimes childish is good. I could definitely use a break from being a grown up for a little bit.” I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” 

As much as I wanted to crawl right into the fort, I wanted to get comfortable first. I changed into a pair of leggings and one of Walter’s shirts, happy to do away with my bra. Then I pulled on some thick, cozy socks and padded back out to the living room. Walter was already inside. I could see his feet sticking out and noticed that there was a hole in the bottom of his sock. I made a mental note to toss it and buy him a new pair. He must have heard me because he started moving around, then pulled back one of the sheets that was draped down over the front. 

“There’s not quite so much room as I thought there’d be so it will be a bit of a squash and a squeeze in here,” he warned. 

I smiled. “I was planning on squashing and squeezing you anyway, so that’s fine.” 

I bent to my knees at the ‘doorway’ and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back as he laid down. The sheet dropped, covering the entrance to the fort and dimming the light inside. I gave Walt a final kiss, then lay my head down on his chest and wrapped my arm around his thick waist. He rubbed my back and ran his fingers through my hair, playing with strands of it.

“This is exactly what I needed and I didn’t even know it,” I said, rubbing my cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. I could feel the texture of his chest hair beneath it. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, my love,” he said, then kissed my forehead. 

My hand strayed from his waist, making its way under the hem of his shirt. “Can I touch you?”

He hummed. “Of course. But if it goes past that, we’ll have to take it out of the tent.”

“Afraid you’ll pull a muscle in here without more leg room?” I joked. 

He laughed. “No. I ran out of blankets to put down under us so I borrowed Faye’s. I can’t do that to her stuff,” he said. “But also…pulling a muscle is a possibility.” 

“I’ll behave myself then. On both accounts.” I slid my hand under his shirt and ran it across his stomach. He hissed and sucked in for a moment. I looked up at his face. “Sorry.” 

“It’s alright. It just always surprises me how cold you are.” 

I smiled. “That’s because you’re always so warm. Everything and everyone feels like an ice block in comparison.” 

He laughed, his fingers dancing up my spine. “That’s true.” 

I buried my fingers in the patch of hair on his stomach and let my hand warm up before moving it up to his chest. There was something so comforting about touching Walter. About feeling his skin against mine. He was warm and his hair was soft and I felt safe with my hand laying against his heart, feeling it beat underneath my palm. I kissed his chest through his shirt. “Thank you for loving me, bear.”

“Hey,” he said softly and I looked up at his face. “You never have to thank me for that. I’m honored that I get to love you.” His hand stilled at the back of my head, cradling it. “I never thought I’d be in love again. I thought I screwed it up with my marriage and that was it. But you gave me a second chance. And I know that I’m by no means perfect, and I know that I’ll manage to screw things up down the line somewhere, but now I know how important it is to try everything I can to make it work.” He brought his hand around to my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “I’m not an easy person to love. I know that. But you never let me see how difficult it is, Fi. You don’t know how much I appreciate that.” 

I smiled. “I find you exceptionally easy to love, Walt. I’ve been in relationships before and I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” I said. “It breaks my heart to know that you have felt this way and you had to watch it fall apart even while you were trying to fix it. It hurts me to know you thought you��d never feel this way again.” I lightly scratched his skin through his chest hair. “But I am so happy that I get to be your second chance.” 

That weekend was Walt’s weekend to have Faye. Typically he’d pick her up in the afternoon and bring her home. But on Saturday, I picked her up instead. My cousin Mel had invited the two of us to go to the mall with her and her daughter Juniper. One of Faye and Juniper’s friends was moving soon and she wanted to buy her a going away present and asked Faye to help. I was tagging along just to spend time with them. And to also get a cookie from the cookie shop. 

“Didn’t this place used to be like, a big deal when you were our age?” Juniper asked Mel and me as we walked through the very empty shopping center.

“Oh, it was hopping back then. Saturdays were crazy and it would have already been packed by now,” Mel said. “But Fridays?” She looked at me. “Fiona and I were mall rats on Friday nights.” 

“Ew. What’s a mall rat?” Juniper asked. 

Mel and I both laughed. “It was someone who spent a lot of time at the mall,” Mel answered.

“What did you do here?” Faye asked, looking around at the closed stores.

“We’d just hang out,” I said. “We’d eat at the food court and walk around. Back then, there was a store in every part of the building and sometimes there were booths and kiosks set up in the center or walkways, too. It’s hard to picture but there was a lot more to look at than there is now.”

Mel nodded. “Which was good because Fiona and I had very different tastes at the time so there were stores for both of us.”

“Different how?” Juniper asked. 

“Well, I was more concerned with buying push up bras from Victoria’s Secret and tube tops from Wet Seal, and she was wanting to buy American Eagle jeans and tank tops from Aeropostale,” Mel said. “We always agreed on the music store, though. We’d hit up F.Y.E. and look at CDs for hours.” 

“What kind of music did you listen to?” Faye asked. 

“At your age? Boy bands,” I said. “There were a lot of arguments over who was better: Backstreet Boys or NSYNC.” 

“You listened to boy bands?” Juniper laughed. 

“Yes, squirt. We listened to boy bands on our Walkmans while skating around the neighborhood together. And it was the best,” I said. 

“It really was,” Mel agreed. “If we’d only known then.”

We walked through the mall, letting the girls take their time as they tried to decide what to buy their friend who was moving away. Nothing seemed to spark their interest until we came to the Build-A-Bear store. There was a cute stuffed penguin in the window that they seemed to spot at the same time. I guess their friend Lexi was a fan of penguins and collected them and making one for her seemed like the perfect gift to them. I thought it was sweet. And it reminded me that they were still young. Still innocent enough to want stuffed animals and to want to give them to each other. That time didn’t last long. With high school, boys, stress, anxiety, and everything that came with growing up, it would eventually wear that thread down and separate them from the things people deemed childish. But right then? Right then a stuffed penguin was the most genuine thing they could buy their friend to remember them by.

They wanted to do it on their own so Mel and I bought coffees and sat at a table just outside the shop where we could see them inside but they had the freedom to do it on their own like they wanted. As they moved to a different part of the store, Faye saw me and waved. I smiled and waved back, then she and Juniper disappeared behind the big machine with all of the stuffing inside it. 

“She’s a good kid,” Mel said. “And you both seem to get along really well.” 

“We do. I never thought this is where I’d end up. You know that. When did I ever picture myself with a guy who had a kid? Especially a teenager?” 

She shook her head. “Never. And honestly, it was a surprise when I found out you were dating him.”

“It could have gone so bad. She could have hated me. I mean, I remember being fourteen. I remember how angry I was at that age. And I had basically a perfect life. If Mom and Dad had gotten divorced and I had to watch some odd, gangly lady hit on Dad? I would have hated her.” 

Mel laughed. “You’re not an odd gangly lady,” she said. “And I know for a fact you weren’t ‘hitting on’ her dad in front of her. You don’t even know how to flirt so you definitely weren’t forcing that with his daughter around.” 

“You know what I’m saying, though. She really could have hated me and no one would have blamed her for it.”

“I’m sure she was worried you might hate her, too. Juniper has friends who’s step-moms want nothing to do with them. Faye probably knows the exact same girls.”

“That’s something I never understood and I understand it even less now that I’m with Walt,” I said. “Why would you ever get into a relationship with a guy who has kids if you don’t want anything to do with them? And why would you want to be with someone who could abandon their own kid that easily? I just…” I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Honestly, I don’t.”

“I don’t get it, either, Fi. Some people are just selfish, I guess.” 

It took the girls close to an hour to do their thing. Mel and I talked and people watched while they did, occasionally catching glimpses of them in the store. Finally we could see them get in line to pay. Once I saw they were nearly done, I drank the rest of my coffee and took my and Mel’s cups to the trash. I was walking back to the table when Walt called. 

“Um…listen,” he said with a sigh after we’d greeted each other. “I know we both loathe socializing but…my cousin called. He lives out of state and we rarely get to see one another, but he’s been away for holiday and he’s having a layover here and wants to visit. I told him he could.” 

“A cousin? I finally get to meet another branch of the Marshall tree? I’m very intrigued.”

He did his grunting-humming thing. “Before you get your hopes up, he’s not like me. He…talks. A lot.”

I laughed as I joined Mel back at our table. “Are you saying your brooding nature may not be genetic?” 

He chuckled. “No. That’s the English coming out in me. But you’ll see soon enough. I’m heading to the airport to go get him now,” he said. “I thought instead of cooking tonight we could go out for dinner. Do you and Faye want to meet us when you’re done?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good. Just let me know where you’re going after you pick him up and we’ll meet you.”

“Thank you, love. See you soon.”

I hung up as Faye and Juniper were coming out of the store. Juniper was holding the traditional Build-A-Bear gift box that looked like a house and Faye was holding a plastic gift bag. They came and sat at the table with us and Juniper showed us the stuffed penguin they made. It was pale blue and wearing a scarf and ice skates. It was adorable. I didn’t know their friend Lexi but I couldn’t see how she wouldn’t love it. When she was done, Faye showed us what was in her bag. I had assumed it was something that would go with the penguin, but I was wrong. She pulled out a teddy bear with dark brown fur that was dressed in jeans and a blue sweater. 

“Aw, how cute!” I said. “Did you make it for yourself?”

“Actually I…made it for you,” she said, her mouth twisting off to the side in a worried look that reminded me so much of Walter. She held the bear out towards me.

“For me?” I asked, taking it from her. She nodded. “Faye, that was so sweet! Thank you!” I didn’t know why she’d made it for me but I couldn’t stop smiling as I looked him over. After a moment, I saw that there was a police badge clipped to the side of his pants and suddenly it all clicked for me. “Wait…” I looked back to her, grinning. “Is this your dad?”

She nodded again but smiled properly that time. “The sweater looked like one of his and when I saw the police badge I thought it would be fun to make him for you. You know, since you call him ‘bear’.” 

“It’s perfect. I love it! My own little Walter Bear for when he’s not home.”

“I thought maybe he can be friends with the monkey and hedgehog that Dad won you at Naples.” 

My face hurt from smiling so wide. “Yes! He’ll make an excellent friend for them. Thank you.”

She leaned over and hugged me and I hugged her back tight. I couldn’t imagine trying to push Faye out of the picture. She was an extension of Walter and if I loved him, then I had to love her. She wasn’t a burden in our relationship; she was a bonus.  

Once they had their penguin, the girls were done with the mall. Faye and I said bye to Mel and Juniper and then we went to my car. Walter texted as I was getting it warmed up and said that he and his cousin were going to a diner that was about midway between the airport and the mall and sent me the address. When we got there, I saw Walter’s truck. He and his cousin were standing at the tailgate, waiting for us. There wasn’t a parking spot beside it but there was one directly across from it. As I parked, Faye turned her head to look at Walter. 

“Wait, who’s that with Dad?” she asked and I realized that I’d forgotten to tell her about her cousin. She unbuckled so she could peer through the back window better. Then she gasped. “Is that…? It is!” She flung open her door and started clambering to get out. 

“Watch for cars!” I told her. 

I watched her go across the short distance to Walter and once she was safely there, I turned off the car and grabbed my purse, then joined them. Faye was being swallowed up in a hug by their cousin who I was surprised to see was bigger than Walt. They seemed to match each other height wise but he was broader. After he released Faye, he looked at me and I could see the family resemblance. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought they were brothers. Walter’s cousin had shorter hair than him but they shared the same brown curls, they sported the same thick beard, and their eyes were practically identical. And when he smiled at me, he even had the same lines that crinkled around them just like Walter’s. 

“You must be Fiona,” he said, his voice surprising me with the thick southern accent. 

“I am.” I held out my hand and he shook it. “You must be one of the Texas cousins, right?” 

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Sy. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said. “Walter ain’t much of a talker but I knew you had to be something special because he won’t shut up about you anytime we do talk.” 

I smiled. “I hope he doesn’t bore you too much.”

He shook his head as he let go of my hand. “Not at all. I’m happy for him,” he said. “And I appreciate y’all letting me visit. I know it was last minute but I hadn’t been planning on coming this way until my flights got mixed up heading back from vacation and I ended up here. Then my layover got extended until later tonight and I figured if I didn’t come by now, it’d be a while before I got the chance to again.”  

“Of course. I’m excited to meet you. Walt has already met a lot of my family but Faye is the only one from his that I’ve gotten to meet in person so far. I’ve spoken to his parents and Charlie on the phone a few times but that’s it. So it’s nice to put a face to a name now.”

“Same,” he said. “Although, for me it’s putting your voice to your face because Walt sent me your picture not long after y’all started dating. Told me he was going to marry you.” 

“Stop,” Walter ordered as I laughed.

“What? You don’t want her to know how love sick you are?” Sy teased. Walter gave him a stern look but Sy just grinned at him before clapping his hand on his shoulder. “I bet you wished you’d ignored my call earlier, huh?” 

“I can still send you back to the airport,” Walter said. 

Sy laughed. “Yeah but you won’t.”

“You have far too much faith in that.”

“If you do, I’ll call your momma and tell her what you did.” 

Walter crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll call Mum and tattle on me?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like we’re twelve again?” 

Sy gave another laugh and nodded. “Yep. Just like that. I ain’t got no shame about it.” 

“You don’t have shame about anything.” 

I saw Sy’s face do the same frowning-smile that I’d seen Walter do before. “You’re not wrong.”

“I rarely am,” Walt said

“Can we go inside? I’m freezing and I want a milkshake,” Faye said. 

Sy laughed. “That makes sense. You’re cold, so let’s drink something frozen.” 

“It makes as much sense as drinking coffee when it’s hot outside. It’s like a hundred degrees in Iraq in the summertime and you were there for ten years, did you not drink coffee at all in the summer?” 

“Coffee is what keeps people alive. It’s different.”

“And milkshakes are what makes being alive worth it.”

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I can’t really disagree with you on that one, kiddo,” he said. “So let’s go get us a milkshake.” 

“Banana and peanut butter?” she asked, looking up at him.

“You and your daddy can keep that one for yourselves. I’ll take chocolate.” 

Walter grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze before he began walking towards the diner, leading me with him. I turned and pressed a quick kiss to his shoulder and before I could move my head, he kissed the top of it. 

Once we were inside, we didn’t have to wait long for a table. Walter and I sat together and Sy sat next to Faye. She borrowed a pen from me and flipped her paper placemat over and started doodling on it. “You said you were coming back from vacation,” she said to Sy. “Where did you go?” 

“I went to Florida with some of my old army buddies.”

“Was it fun?” 

“It was alright. They seemed to enjoy it,” he said. “Me personally? I’ve seen enough sand in my lifetime, I don’t have any desire to ever set foot on it again.”

“Are you still in the army?” I asked. 

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. I retired a few years ago. I felt like I needed to be closer to home,” he said. “I’m a firefighter now.” 

I smiled. “Did you and Walter ever consider jobs that weren’t superheroes?” 

He laughed. “There was a minute where I thought I might want to be a chef, but that was it. I was stuck on being in the army since I was a little kid. As a matter of a fact, when Walt and his family would come visit us, me and him would usually be out in the woods playing army men or SWAT team. It didn’t surprise anyone when we both ended up going that way with our careers.”

“Walt went on his first SWAT raid since we’d been together last week and I was a nervous wreck until he called me and told me he was safe after it was over. I don’t know how your families handled you both being in dangerous fields like that.” 

“We put them through a lot, that’s for sure,” Sy said. 

“You longer than me,” Walter pointed out. “I’ve stayed relatively safe in homicide. You jumped out of the frying pan into the fire with your job change. Quite literally.” 

“I did but you know I couldn’t have done anything else. I mean, can you imagine me in a suit every day going into an office and selling…insurance or something?” Sy shook his head. “There’s not a lot of civilian jobs that would’ve worked for me,” he said. “Same for you. If you left homicide right now, tell me that you could take a job where you didn’t have a gun on you twenty-four-seven.”

“You know I couldn’t.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Coming home didn’t have nothing to do with being safer or not putting my life on the line for other people. It just meant doing it closer to my family. I get to see them more. I don’t miss out on stuff like I used to. And if I die doing this, they don’t have to wait for a casket to be sent home so they can bury me.”

“That’s depressing,” Faye said, looking at him. 

“But it’s the truth.” He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “We won’t talk about it anymore, though,” he said. “Tell me what’s been going on with you? How’s school?”

“It’s…meh.”

“I heard it was a little more than ‘meh’. I heard you broke a boy’s finger a few weeks ago.” 

Faye looked at Walter. “Dad, you told him?” 

“Did I tell him that my daughter stood up for herself when a boy put his hands on her? Yes.” 

“Why?” she asked. 

“Because he was proud,” Sy answered for him. “In our day, girls were taught that if boys were mean to her it meant he liked her. The moment your daddy found out you were going to be a girl, he was determined to make sure you knew that wasn’t true and you knew how to take up for yourself. Not just as a kid but when you get older, too.”

“Especially when you get older. It doesn’t get better, it’s just different,” Walter said. “Because no matter the age, men are -” 

“Pigs, yes,” Faye said, shaking her head. “I know.” 

“He’s right. And he should know all about it,” Sy said to her. “Because cops are pigs, too.” 

I didn’t mean to laugh but I couldn’t help the snort that came out. Walter looked at me. “Really?” he asked, with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. 

“If they call cops pigs, what do they call firefighters?” Faye asked Sy. 

“Heroes.” 

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing that time. Walter watched my face and shook his head at me before looking back to Sy. “You’re paying for this meal,” he said. “And I’m getting pie afterwards.” 

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

I liked having dinner with Sy. He and Walter playfully bickered throughout the whole meal and it was nice to see Walt joking around with someone. And Sy wasn’t intimidated. Even when I thought Walter may have said something that crossed the line, Sy would just laugh and dish it right back. They clearly loved each other, even though it didn’t necessarily always sound like it. 

After we ate, Walter and Faye went to the front of the diner to look at the dessert case and I stayed with Sy. “You’re good for him,” he said. “I haven’t seen him this happy since…well, I don’t know when. But it’s been a long time, that’s for sure.” 

I smiled. “He makes me happy, too.” 

“I wouldn’t say this in front of Faye but Walt never had with Angie what y’all seem to have,” he said. “I know he loved her at the time but that’s not always enough.”

“Despite what the Beatles say?” I joked. 

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. You need love but love isn’t all you need,” he said. He was quiet for a moment but I could see it was because he was thinking so I waited. “He told me how you said you were proud of him. Proud of what he does, who he is.” 

I felt a little taken aback that he would mention that but I nodded. “I am. I’m incredibly proud of him.” 

“See…you’ve got to understand that Walt doesn’t hear that much. He never has. His father is the typical Englishman and keeps all his emotions buttoned up. He didn’t brag on him or Charlie ever. Not out of meanness but just ‘cause that’s how he was raised. And his mother, my aunt, she’s sweet and she made sure Walt and Charlie knew she loved them but it was still done with her husband’s English mentality of only a few words,” he said. 

“Then when he met Angie, she never liked him being a part of SWAT. She wanted him to change to something less dangerous. He held his ground until she had Faye and then he changed over to being a detective, but it still wasn’t what she wanted.” He let out a breath. “The point is…he’s always tried hard and it’s never really been acknowledged. At this point, he does it because that’s just who he is. He runs himself into the ground to do his job. And you are the first person who’s just flat out told him you’re proud of him like that.” 

I remembered the night I’d told Walter how proud I was of him and he’d cried. I’d just thought he was exhausted but hearing Sy talk about it brought a new light to it. Especially knowing it had meant enough for him to tell Sy about it. “I’ll make it a point to tell him more often then.”

“Whether you know it or not, that man takes everything you say to heart. The amount of times we talk and he says, ‘Fiona said this’, ‘Fi said that’, is more than I can count, honestly. And I don’t have a problem with it. Because everything he tells me is something good. I just…I know he’s not great at opening up so I know he probably hasn’t told you what it meant to him but…it meant a lot.”

“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’m glad he has you to talk to.” 

“I’m glad I’ve got him, too,” he said as Walt and Faye began walking back towards us. Sy shook his head at me. “Just don’t tell him I told you that. Far as he knows, I only like to call and agitate him.”

I smiled then mimed zipping my lips. “I won’t say a word about it.”

We stayed at the diner probably longer than the staff would normally be happy about but despite Walter’s quiet, introverted nature, Sy was loud and outgoing and made friends with our waitress fast. He explained the situation about catching up with family while killing time - two birds with one stone, he said - and the woman, who looked old enough to be his grandmother, told him to take all the time he needed. For every ‘sweetheart’ and ‘honey’ she called him, he flashed her a grin and made sure to use all of his manners. I could hear Walter quietly groaning at his antics, but I found it fascinating. They looked so much alike and were clearly close but they were so different from one another. 

When we finally left the diner, it was dark out. The already cold air had grown almost frigid and even with my coat on, I was shivering. So we didn’t linger with goodbyes. Faye gave Sy a hug, then huddled next to Walter for warmth. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. Sy turned to me then. 

“You alright with a hug or is it too soon?” he asked. 

I smiled. “No, I’m alright with it. I feel like I’ve known you longer than four hours.”

“It feels like six at least, right?” he joked.

I laughed and nodded. “At least, yeah.” He opened his arms and pulled me into a big bear hug and I noticed that he ran warm just like Walter. I hadn’t realized that ‘human space heater’ was an inheritable trait until then. “It was really nice meeting you, Sy. If you were going to get stuck somewhere with a delayed flight, I’m glad you got stuck with us.”  

“It was good meeting you, too,” he said. He released me from our hug and took a step back. “And I definitely could’ve gotten stuck somewhere worse. Like the airport Quiznos.” 

“That would have been much worse,” I agreed with a laugh. “Next time you’ll have to come back on purpose and we can cook for you at the house instead of you paying for us to eat out.”

“That sounds like a deal.” He looked at Walter then tilted his head towards the truck. “We better mosey on down to the airport.”

Walter gave Faye a hug, then gave me a kiss goodbye, then he watched the two of us get into the car and leave the parking lot. Once we got home, Faye and I both changed into pajamas then made hot chocolate to drink while we watched a show about baking fails in the living room while we waited for Walter to come home. But she fell asleep about half an hour into it. I did my best to make her comfortable there, carefully placing a pillow under her head and covering her up with a blanket and tucking her in. Then I made sure the doors were locked and sent Walter a text telling him that I was getting ready for bed and to try to be quiet as he came in because Faye was asleep on the couch. 

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I went to our bedroom. I saw Walter Bear in his bag and I took him out, spraying him with some of the real Walter’s cologne, then put him on his side of the bed before turning out the lights and laying down. I had a hard time sleeping on my own anymore so I was awake when Walt came home. He was trying to be quiet but he was so heavy that his boots made a clomping sound as he came down the hall towards our room. He carefully pushed the cracked door open, allowing himself inside before closing it completely. 

“Hey,” I whispered to him. 

He froze by the bed. “Hey,” he whispered back. “Did I wake you?” 

“No. I was too lazy to get my weighted blanket and without it or you, I can’t sleep,” I said. “Did Sy get on his flight okay?” 

“Yeah. Thank you for letting him join us, by the way. I know it wasn’t what we had planned for this evening.” 

“We were planning on having dinner with Faye to celebrate your weekend off, that’s what we did. We just had an extra guest,” I said. “One, who, is quite entertaining, by the way.” 

My eyes had adjusted to the dark and I watched him shake his head as he walked to his dresser. “Don’t ever tell him that. He will take it and run.”

I smiled. “I like him. He’s nice. And really funny. I loved the stories he told about you two as teenagers.” 

He groaned as he began emptying his pockets. “He embellishes things, by the way. Not all of those were true,” he said. “But he liked you, too. Though you are far more likable, so that makes sense.” 

“So I have his seal of approval?” 

He turned towards me as he pulled his sweater over his head, followed by his t-shirt, then tossed them in the clothes hamper. “You do.”

“Did you really tell him that you were going to marry me after we met?” 

He let out a sigh as he kicked off his boots. Then he unbuckled his jeans and tugged them off. “Not that soon but…yes, I told him that I wanted to marry you fairly early on,” he said. “Does that bother you?” 

“Bother me? No. I think it’s sweet.” 

He came to the bed and pulled the covers back but stopped short of climbing in beside me. I didn’t know why until he held up my teddy bear. “And who is this?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

I smiled as I took it from him. “This is Walter Bear,” I said. “Faye made him for me today.” 

He looked confused as he finally lay down beside me. “She made you a stuffed animal version of me?” 

“Yeah, because I call you ‘bear’,” I said. “It was really sweet of her. They’re not cheap. So I’m tasking you with somehow funneling money from me back to her without her knowing that I’m paying for it.”

He laughed and shook his head. “No you’re not.”

“She paid for it with her own money.”

“And I will give her an extra allowance or something but you’re not paying for a gift that she gave you.”

“I can bring her extra cookies home.” 

He did his frowny thought face as he squinted. “You could bring me extra cookies home and I’ll funnel the money.” 

I laughed. “You’re easily bought, mister.”

“Only by you, Miss Sparks.” 

I reached out and put my hand on his cheek. “When we get married, are you still going to call me Miss Sparks or will you call me Mrs. Marshall?”

“You still want to marry me?” he asked, his voice quiet. 

I smiled and nodded. “You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted to marry.” I brushed my thumb against his skin softly. “Most girls dream about their weddings - my cousin Mel even had this big binder full of things that she ripped out of magazines that she wanted for hers - but I never did that. I never pictured myself in that position,” I said. “Even now, I don’t think in terms of a big wedding. I don’t see colors or a cake or a reception. I see you and me. Exchanging rings, or having a first dance, but that’s it. Everything else is hazy and in the background. The only thing I see clearly is…you.” 

He was quiet for a moment then softly nodded his head against his pillow. “I see you clearly, too, Fi.”

[puckmaidens]

If I Say It, Will You Respond? - Juraj Slafkovsky x OC

This is for @2manytabsopen as a part of @wyattjohnston ‘s summer fic exchange!

- I’m so sorry for making you wait Kesh, but this story went up and off the rails with Arber’s meddling (as big brothers do 🤣)

The story of Dinah and Jura is one that I definitely struggled with from an intimacy perspective. How do I make Dinah fall for Slaf without feeling like insta love?

Dinah Faye Clark doesn’t regret anything, actually almost anything. She’s gazing at her diploma on the wall, Bachelor’s in Media and Journalism from the University of Montreal.

“Another successful day of work finished. The article on the Habs blueline will go up tomorrow before the draft and hopefully that goes over well.” A soft *ping* goes off and Dinah sees a tweet from the Habs Twitter.

The Montreal Canadiens have the first overall pick for the 2022 draft. Find out more about what that means here. Link Here

Another ping.

The Hamilton Bulldogs are your 2022 Ontario Hockey League champions! They will advance to the Memorial Cup Tournament!

Dinah’s heart thumped as she saw the players raising the Ross Robertson Cup. She sees the Xhekaj jersey and smiles.

Proud of you, big bro. So proud of you, Arber.

Dinah and Arber hadn’t spoken in years, but the sibling bond they share was unshakable across country lines and team switches. When Dinah left for university, Arber stayed and went to the OHL. The first few terms were easy when he was with the Rangers before getting traded.

Everything almost fell apart once he went to the Bulldogs though. Texts were getting lost, calls never making it to voicemail and nights full of tears. They never held it against each other, especially once Dinah graduated and Arber was front row and dead center waiting for her.

Dinah didn’t have both parents, just an Aunt. Having a hands off guardian made her independent and headstrong, from getting on the yearbook and newspaper teams to starting her own blog about the Canadiens before her junior year.

Six years later, she’s a trusted source and media channel for the Habs. What she’s lost in affection and time she’s got back in a supportive network virtually and adventures embedded into her brain. She’s a storyteller, analyst and writer who’s damn good at her job.

When Arber was traded from Kitchener to Hamilton, Dinah struggled with giving space to Arber. Her feelings of being too much to be around drove her into distancing him. The championship brought them back together.

Dinah asked him where his mind was in an interview and suddenly the conversation got deep fast.

Draft Day

”The Montreal Canadiens are proud to select Juraj Slafkovsky from TPS in the Liiga!” Dinah watches the first overall selection stride down to meet the GM, President, and Head Coach of his new team. Her hand flies across her notepad faster than she can comprehend, really.

He’s soft. Teddy-bear like, but not weak.

Dinah dragged her eyes back down to her notes as she waited for the next team to select their draftee.

Someone might say Dinah fell in love that day, but Dinah felt something stronger.

She wanted to tell his story, again and again.

#

1. Juraj’s first game

Mullet Arena is tiny and too cozy, Dinah muses. Everyone seems uncomfortable, too close, intimate in a way that bothered them instead of coming naturally. The warm-ups were starting and as the lights came up Dinah noticed that just right along the opening where the players came out she saw something. It was him getting ready to take his rookie lap. Dinah’s heartbeat got heavy and fast. She got warm although she barely had anything on save for a coat. She couldn't stop staring as he made his loops round and round and the wide oval shape that the ice was. Loop, loop, loop. The sight of him taking his lap on the ice and then heading back off burned into her brain. It was somehow too much but also not enough. She wanted to see more.

2. His first goal

C’mon Juraj, stay on him. You’re almost there, do not let up.

Nearly 12 minutes left on the clock and he’s passing Arizona’s Maccelli and aiming. It misses. The sound of bodies hit the wall ring in Dinah’s ears. The shot is clear this time, now 11:43 left in the second period. He aims, and it passes Ingram. He’s scored his first goal. Jake grabs him first, then Arber and everyone else crashes into Juraj. His first goal has been made and Dinah is watching the ice.. A volcano of feelings screaming to rush out of them as Juraj fist-bumps the lines not on shift.

“His First of the National League, Slafkovsky!” Arber is right behind him, whooping and hollering with everyone else.

After the game ends, Dinah goes to their media availability and records most of the post-game conversation, asking some questions of her own and getting Coach St. Louis to laugh.

Then there’s Juraj, laughing and blushing. Dinah feels her heart stop beating for a moment, but she manages to ask one good question.

“You think this a good start to your career?” 

Juraj laughs, and Dinah knows this feeling is more now, tied and infinite.

3. End of Season

It was a loss. Boston 5 - Montreal 4. Dinah had to hold back her tears when she saw the final score on her screen. Pasternak really shut the door on them. Her phone is a Roman Candle in a room of near darkness. She unlocks her phone and sends a text to Arber and Juraj.

To: Big Bro, Juraj

Hugs. god, I'm so sorry. I know how hard you both fought this season. Do you need me to come over?

From: Big Bro

You know where the key is, Dee. We wouldn’t mind company.

A new message pops up, just between Dinah and Juraj.

From: Juraj

I’ll keep the couch warm. You want to pick a movie?

Dinah comes over and slips her shoes off before shuffling over to Arber, resting her head in his lap. Juraj toddles over and shoves his head in Dinah’s lap.

“You’re a puppy dog, I swear Slaf. Needy baby.”

That made Arber laugh, Juraj turning pink as the movie started.

4. Arber, Juraj and Dinah hanging out before Juraj asks Dinah on a date

Dinah sat themselves down, fiddling with the ring on her index finger as she waited for the boys. Now that the season was truly over, exit interviews done, there was a tiny, faint buffer of time before everyone scattered for the summer.

“Baby Dee!”

“Arber!” They crashed into each other, squeezing tight as Arber lifted Dinah off the ground.

Juraj follows Arber, quiet as he blinks at Dinah.

“Can I?”

“I’m a hugger Juraj, it’s fine. C’mere.” He’s gentle and wraps himself around her.

“So, I hear you’re heading home soon?” Arber nudges Juraj into a corner, raising his eyebrows.

“To finish my schooling, yes. In a few days, but I want to ask you something. Dinah, would you join me for a walk? Nothing too —“

“It’s a date Dee, Slaf is just shy. Meet him at the park Saturday, hm? We both know you think he’s cute.” Both Dinah and Juraj turn crimson.

“HEY. I told you that in confidence you dork!”

“You think…I’m cute? Not just something Arber is saying to be funny?” Arber gets up, heading to the bathroom and the air gets still.

“No. He’s telling the truth. I didn’t want to distress you—“

Juraj grabs Dinah’s hand and squeezes it.

“I like you more. I remember…. I remember my draft day and you couldn’t stop looking at me and I couldn’t stop thinking about you writing wondering what was making you scribble so fast.”

5. Dinah and Juraj’s First Date

“Time with you is never a waste, Slaf. You make any day less gray.”

“Sunshine, the sun is telling me I make their days better. Follow me. I have a surprise for you.” Dinah links pinkies with Juraj and follows him down the path to a picnic blanket laid out with food.

“How in the… Jura how —“

“Arber. Said feeding you would be the best way to woo you. Love you.” Dinah squeezes Juraj’s pinky again, the sentiment sending butterflies through their spine. The blanket has a bowl of strawberries at the center.

“Sandwiches, lemonade and oh, oh I love fruit! Jura, I thought you don’t like strawberries?”

“They’re not my favorite, but you are. Sit, let me feed you.” Dinah shuffles herself between Juraj’s legs and lets her body relax fully into his chest.

The basket shifts closer to the pair, and before long the taste of strawberries breaches Dinah’s lips. Sweet, tart, and juicy. They stay like this, Dinah being fed til every last strawberry was gone.

“How did you know that you wanted to be a journalist?”

The question makes Dinah freeze. Their head tilts back to meet Juraj’s eyes, and Dinah smiles.

“I’m fond of telling stories, and the only way I really could convey it is by following other’s stories. I tried writing fictional stories but it didn’t stick. The only common thread my family seems to share is hockey, from the love of the game to the thrill of watching it. It’s the only way I know how to do what I do best. To show my love to the people in my life.”

To show love? Juraj takes a breath, eyes meeting Dinah’s. He tries to kiss them, getting their nose. Again, their forehead before Dinah tugs his face to hers.

“I still like you most.”

“You’re not right. I wanted to kiss you proper —“

Dinah kisses Juraj again, but deeper, eyes shutting closed.

“I see.”

“I hope so because you seem ready to explode.”

5. The Summer Haze

Juraj is going to surprise her. The box in his hands feels heavy, but after talking (and getting laughed by Arber) he’s sure this is the right choice.

Two steady raps on the door, and the door swings open to show a sleepy Dinah.

“You’re back early. What has you coming over?” Juraj gives Dinah the box and blushes.

“For you. I noticed the recorder was falling apart, so I got you a nicer one.”

“I like this. I like you.” It gets quiet for a moment before Juraj tugs Dinah close to him.

“I like you most.” A kiss to her head, her cheek and her lips.

“I like you most, Jura. Stop trying to one up me.”

“No. I’m always going to like you more.”

As Dinah pulls Juraj inside to cuddle, the thrum of her heart finally goes steady.

[thedailybullshit]

So I started Ragnarok last night; here are my thoughts:

I love love LOVE how much closer Kratos & Atreus are instantly shown to be. There’s a huge contrast between their distance in the last game & their easy familiarity in this one.

I’m calling it now but the sled dogs (wolves) are gonna be Skol & Hati.

RIGHT into it w/ Freya to let us know this has been happening for years. I thought it would be the most obvious that bc Kratos killed her son, Freya’s gonna try to kill Atreus. I wasn’t sure she would do that tho, but immediately in her 1st attack she punches Atreus in the face, throws him off the sled, & I think she tried to stab him? It was going really fast so I couldn’t tell but it looked like she tried? So now I’m even less sure. Combat btw is fast paced & engaging.

We didn’t need to start w/ the dog (wolf) dying but okay. Love Kratos trying to help Atreus through his grief in his own way, even if it doesn’t come out quite right.

Also fairly certain that Fenrir was buried instead of burned so they can bring him back intact later on, if that is supposed to be the real Fenrir. Either w/ time travel junk like Jorm or Hel’s death magic.

FAYE?!??! O my god?!??! I’m in love?!?!? Her constantly teasing Kratos IMMEDIATELY after we meet her is just shehfjddjdjdzk?!!?! “Grumbles” duuuude “Am I meant to decipher your grunting?” no I’m definitely in love. It’s so clear that Atreus’s nature as Loki is all her (emphasized by her wearing yellow) & I love it. Also love the callback to the first hunt in the last game when Kratos tells Faye “This is your hunt.” Also can I point out that Kratos saw Faye - same height as him at 7 foot something - perform the same godlike feats of strength as him w/ the same ease & instead of thinking, “Hey I don’t think this woman’s mortal,” thought instead, “Damn, Scandinavian women are built differently.” BRO SHE LIFTED A TREE & then spooky shit happens.

OH SO WE’RE IMMEDIATELY ADDRESSING KRATOS DEAD ON THE WALL, OKAY

“Why won’t this bear fucking die?”

“HOLY SHIT IT’S ATREUS NO”

“Oh he can heal, it’s okay. Also HE CAN SHAPESHIFT THE LOKI POWERS ARE COMING IN YES”

“Kratos was seconds away from killing his other child.”

Speaking of which, Atreus has gotta find out at some point in the game that Kratos had a whole other family. Idk if it’ll come from Kratos but there’s a huge possibility that it won’t. Clearly the Aesir know the gist but if they know he killed his family then Atreus could find out this terrible info from a terrible source at a terrible time.

Speaking of the Aesir, I somehow missed Thor’s height. I thought Tyr was tall but holy shit, Thor’s gotta be like 9 feet. Love everything about this version btw; design, voice, characterization are all on point.

Odin was a bit underwhelming, he kinda looked like a Pope, but I think that’s the point. Odin in Norse myths has a habit of going out in disguise to get people off their guard so it makes sense that this Odin wouldn’t be an imposing figure. Few outside the Aesir would get to see that.

Atreus is looking for Tyr & pretty close to finding him too, nice. Not so nice that Odin & Thor know about it.

HOLY SHIT THE SCRIPTED DEATH THAT TOOK YOU TO A MENU & THE RESURRECTION?!?! What a mindfuck. I’m not ready for the rest of this game.

I don’t think Atreus declined Odin’s invitation to Asgard. Not a good thing given Thor saying that Odin’s got plans for him, those plans likely being execution bc Ragnarok doesn’t happen w/out Loki. What else are you hiding Boy?

Atreus taught Kratos how to read runes & I just think that’s sweet.

Kratos & Mimir really are just coparenting huh.

I thought that what turned out to be called a stalker was gonna be a full on character, not just a regular baddie. Little disappointed. She looked cool tho.

God I missed the dwarves. Sindri tryna act like he hasn’t been helping Atreus, then cowering from Kratos when the truth comes out & Atreus having to get between them (fairly certain that Kratos was partially fucking w/ him tho). & Brok saying to Atreus “What’s that doing in my workshop?” & KRATOS NOT GETTING THE JOKE “That is my son.” THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE 5 ARE GOLD & I’M SO GLAD KRATOS ATREUS & MIMIR ARE BEING PUT UP W/ THEM.

We’re less than 2 hours into the game & most of the stuff in the trailers has been shown or referenced already. So as stated above, I’m not ready for the rest of this game.

[screechthemighty]

God of War fic posting has RESUMED. This one is for memories of mother, so it won't be entirely Ragnarok compliant, but we all saw that coming I think.

Anyways, this is part one of two of a little fic called the hawk and the bear. I'll post part two in a reblog, and the whole thing will be up on AO3 as well (with the link to that in the same reblog)! I hope you enjoy it. :3

the hawk and the bear: part one

{cws: alluded to suicidal ideation and depression.}

The deer was dead when she reached its side, and Faye was grateful for that. She wasn’t sure she could handle finishing a sloppy kill today. “Thank you,” Faye whispered quietly as she stroked its head. It was a good sized doe. She shouldn’t have to worry about hunting for a while.

It was another thing to be grateful for. She was starting to get better about leaving the house, but it could still be a struggle. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about starving if she went through another spell of staying inside.

A few leaves drifted past as she started tying the deer’s feet together to drag it back. The forest would be all red and gold soon. She was almost looking forward to it. But after fall came the winter, and...

Well. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

As Faye started to lift the deer, a sudden feeling of dread swept up her spine. She straightened up and looked around. She thought at first that it was a predator, perhaps a wolf seeking to try and steal her kill. But there was nothing there.

Then why...?

Shit. The stave. Something had passed through somewhere.

Faye dropped the deer and started running, following the tug of magic to the point of entry. It didn’t make any sense; the magic should have kept anything threatening out. Was it something she hadn’t accounted for? Or maybe someone who needed help, some poor soul that had managed to wander this deep into the woods and gotten lost? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t going to let her guard down until she knew for sure.

Please don’t let it be Aesir. Please…

Faye stopped at the top of a ridge, bow ready but lowered. She saw a hulking figure in the valley below her. She thought, at first, that it was a bear–the figure was hunched over, draped in dark furs, no visible human features at first. Then they straightened up and turned around, freezing at the sight of her.

He was…

Faye’s breath caught in her throat.

Why does he seem familiar?

This man was no human, but he wasn’t a giant, either. Not any giant she knew, at least. He was tall, taller than her, with a shaved head and dark, unruly beard. His skin wasn’t fair, not even extremely fair like hers–it was white, unnaturally ashen white, cut through with a few scars (one over his eye, a much larger one cutting up his exposed stomach) and blood red tattoos stretching across his face and up one arm. His molten gold eyes fixed on her, his brow creasing with confusion. He made no move to attack her–in fact, the feeling she got from him was one of complete confusion. Like he hadn’t expected to see anyone here.

But he was bigger than her, muscular, definitely armed. His build reminded her of Magni, or the beserkers from home, and that thought alone was enough to make her wary. “Don’t come any closer,” Faye called. “What are you doing here?”

His head tilted slightly, like he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He took a few steps closer. Faye’s body reacted before her good will could, making her raise her bow and fire a warning shot. That was all it was meant to be, at least; one arrow in a tree nearby, just to show she meant it. “I said don’t!”

The man froze again, looking back at the arrow. Then he turned to face her.

He didn’t look happy.

Uh oh.

.

It had been days since he’d last eaten. Possibly longer.

The days were getting shorter, colder; it made finding suitable prey difficult. It was why he had chosen to continue chasing the deer, long after he usually would have given up. Despite his best efforts, the creature had gotten away.

Kratos growled to himself as he stopped to examine the tracks. He was beginning to think he’d picked up the wrong trail. These seemed more degraded. Damn it. All this way, and what did he have to show for it? Nothing but an empty stomach.

Pointless. Pointless.

Kratos straightened up, swallowing past the hollow feeling that flooded his chest. The urge to just sit down there in the mud and let the cold claim him returned. It wouldn’t work–he’d been here too long for mere cold to claim him–but the urge remained.

Keep going. You abandoned your camp. You need to find someplace new.

Kratos turned to survey his surroundings…and froze.

There was a woman standing on a ridge behind him.

She hadn’t been there before. She was tall for a woman, only a little shorter than he was. Her hair (partially braided but coming free in loose curls) was golden red, her clothes shades of blue and gold. Her fair-skinned face was covered in a spread of freckles, and her blue eyes stared down at him.

Was she real? He didn’t recognize her, but she seemed so…vivid. Too bright and alive to have simply appeared behind him like a ghost. The woman spoke, but his mind was so trapped on her sudden appearance that the words meant nothing to him. His body moved as his mind struggled to determine what he was looking at. Who are…?

The arrow whistled past him, striking a tree over his shoulder. Kratos looked away, long enough to confirm…

Yes, that was real.

He turned back to her, his face set and hard.

Fine, then. This again.

.

She barely had time to draw Leviathan and block his first blow. It damn near knocked her over. He was strong. She’d gone toe to toe with men bigger than him, and even they didn’t feel like they hit as hard.

Right. Okay. I set him off. Bad plan, well done, Faye.

She probably could have tried harder to kill him, but something in her said not to. She had started it; there was a chance he was just trying to defend himself. There may not have been any time to explain herself now, but the least she could do was spare him. I just have to drive him off. I just have to get him out of my forest and then everything will be fine.

Assuming she survived the fight. This man was clearly experienced in combat. This was no mere scavenger, not even one of the reavers. This man was a warrior. Maybe that berserker comparison was more apt than she’d realized. Definitely not a berserker, he would have turned by now if he–

Faye wasn’t sure what he did. She just knew that one moment Leviathan was in her hands, the next it wasn’t.

Shit!

.

She was good, he’d give her that.

The woman had switched from bow to battle axe–and a formidable one at that. He assumed the weapon was magical. Its blade felt cold whenever it swiped too close to him, as if the metal were permanently frozen. I just have to disarm her. I don’t have to hurt her, but if I can disarm her…

He could what? Run? He was the fucking god of war. He didn’t run from combat. But…

No. He couldn’t kill this woman. If he disarmed her, perhaps knocked her unconscious, if he just knocked her down long enough that he could flee…

It had been some time since he’d fought an enemy with an ax like this, but he remembered how to defend himself. Once he had the right open, disarming her was easy. The woman staggered back, and Kratos readied himself to take out the bow next.

Instead she held out her hand.

Something whistled past his head, barely missing it as it landed solidly in her palm. The axe. The axe had returned to her.

Shit.

.

The startled look on his face when Leviathan came back would’ve been funny if he hadn’t recovered so quickly. He went back on the offensive within a second, his shock giving way to resolve again. Fortunately, Faye’s plan of driving him away was working; they were moving back towards the borders.

Drive him back, then try to lose him. It had worked before with far stronger enemies.

Except…

It took her some time to notice; she had been extremely focused on not getting her head cut off. But the longer she fought, the more she realized: he wasn’t trying to cut her head off.

He was fighting more aggressively than her, that was for sure. But at some point, she made a mistake–misstepped, slipped on some leaves, left herself wide open. He didn’t go for a kill hit that she barely blocked; he went for her head with the hilt of the sword. It was still a blow she barely blocked, but…

He could have killed me. He didn’t even try.

And from there, she realized that there were several points he could have killed her. The longer the fight went on, the more she noticed it. He wasn’t using full strength. It was as if he were sparring, not fighting for his life against someone he perceived as an aggressor. So if he could kill her, but hadn’t…

Oh. Oh!

.

The fight grew easier the longer they grappled with each other. Kratos had always been adept at learning the fighting styles of others, even more so once he ascended to godhood. Drawing out the fight was risky, but it did give him more information to use. And as he learned how she fought, he noticed something…abnormal. Something about this fight wasn’t right.

Then, he remembered a lesson from long ago.

You have more energy than a predator. Wear them down if you cannot defeat them, make it clear you are not worth the effort, and eventually they will leave.

That was how she fought. Defensively, driving him back. Not trying to hurt him (not yet, at least), but trying to make him go away.

A woman with a bow like that wouldn’t miss a target as clear as him, and her hands were too steady now, too skilled, for that first shot to have been a mistake.

That meant…

She isn’t trying to hurt me.

.

He isn’t trying to hurt me.

.

He dodged back from her next axe swing, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible. He kept his stance defensive, ready to continue if she did, but did not make the first move.

The woman nearly did, caught herself mid-step, and froze as well. He saw the brief, confused frown that crossed her face, followed by what might have been wary relief. More wary than relived. She hadn’t let her guard down entirely. “I’m starting to think this was a misunderstanding,” she said.

Kratos grunted in response. His eyes scanned the surroundings. He didn’t see any sign of lodgings, but…

“These are your woods?” he guessed. She nodded. “I did not know. I was…” He had to pause to remember the word. A part of his mind still called him to combat, to finish the woman who had dared raise her bow against him. It made remembering the language of his land difficult. “Following a deer.”

Her eyes scanned him slowly. As he watched, something in her eyes softened. He wondered if he looked hungry to her. It had been so long since he had eaten…even if his body did not change with the lack of food, his godhood keeping his form from cannibalizing itself, it may have showed in his eyes, in the tension in his shoulders at the thought of a meal slipped from his grasp.

The woman’s eyes widened, a curse leaving her lips. “Ah….” She glanced over her shoulder, a gesture that surprised him more than anything. They’d been fighting seconds ago, and yet she still took her eyes off of him. “…You can have some of mine if you help me chase off whatever might have come for it?”

Some of hers? The promise of proper food nearly overrode his lingering wariness of her. Nearly. He took a second to examine her. The look in her eyes was one of frustration; she seemed truly annoyed that she had been taken away from her own kill, which could have been claimed by an opportunistic animal. He did not sense any deception in her, and even if there was…

He had held back until then. He did not have to continue doing so.

“Very well.”

She was off like an arrow at those words. Kratos struggled to keep up. She was certainly more familiar with these woods than he was. The kill wasn’t far, and by the time they arrived, there was only a small creature, its fur a mottled mixture of brown and white, gnawing at the dead doe’s rear leg. “Hey!” the woman scolded. The creature jumped back, but did not retreat entirely. “That’s mine, you little bastard.” She made no move to chase the creature off any further, however, sighing with relief instead as she approached the deer. “All right…all right. Do you know how to clean a deer?”

Kratos hesitated. “What?”

“It will go faster if we work together.”

She was correct, but Kratos was surprised. They had only just met, and their first interaction had been one of violence. And yet…

His stomach rumbled. That pushed past any confusion he might have felt. “I know how,” he said. He was still careful not to crouch too close to her as he settled down next to the deer. “What do you want me to do?”

They made short work of the deer, as the woman had predicted. She divided up the meat and skin as she went. Kratos found himself glancing at the two piles more and more. Focus, he scolded himself. The task is not yet done. He shoved all thoughts of food aside, focused on carving away at the deer.

He saw the creature approaching again as they worked, staying just out of reach, eyes fixated on the deer. The woman glanced at it and sighed. “What? Are you hungry, too?” She took a piece from one pile and tossed it in the creature’s direction. “There, go on…”

The creature hesitantly grabbed the chunk of deer, running as soon as it was in its grasp. The woman chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry, that’s my half,” she reassured him. “I’m sorry, by the way.”

It took him a moment to realize what she might be apologizing for. “You were defending your home. You owe me nothing.” Including his own pile of venison, which seemed ridiculously large. An unnecessary kindness, considering…

“Did I hurt you?”

The woman stopped, her eyes darting back and forth. After the pause, she shook her head. “No, I’m all right. Are you hurt?”

He almost wanted to laugh. She was an adept fighter, he could tell, but she was still mortal. There was nothing she could do that would hurt him for long. “I am well.” He glanced at the ax by her side. “Your axe is…”

He might have used the word beautiful, because it was. The craftsmanship was obvious, the faint aura of magic radiating from the blade even when it was at rest…even small flourishes meant to give it some artistic value, not just functional. But he did not know how to convey that in this tongue, so instead he said, “Good. It’s a good axe.”

She looked pleased. “Thank you. I’m friends with a few smiths. It’s worked out well for me.”

That was fortunate. Kratos had taken his current weapon off a corpse–not someone he had killed, simply a body discarded on the road somewhere. He had, at least, stopped to bury the body, so he considered it a fair trade. “I’m Faye, by the way,” the woman interrupted suddenly. “What’s your name?”

Kratos froze.

He hadn’t gone by his name in…years. Decades. Even this far north, even when it was reasonable to assume that no common person knew who the Ghost of Sparta was, he kept the name hidden, buried. He spoke to others so infrequently that he hadn’t come up with a false one. He didn’t think anyone had asked for his name before her. If they had, he could usually deter them with a stern glare. This time…

Kratos looked away from her to what was left of the deer. “I think this is done,” he said clumsily. “I’ll…go. I apologize for trespassing.”

“Oh, it’s…” The woman–Faye–stood up as he did. “Don’t worry. I’m sorry for shooting at you.”

“You were defending your home. Don’t apologize for that.”

“Well, we’re in agreement then,” she said. She picked up Kratos’s half and offered it to him. “It was all a misunderstanding and neither of us did anything wrong.”

Kratos huffed in response and took the offering. He wasn’t sure he should, but if she truly wanted to be so foolish…

Kind, he corrected himself. She is being kind.

“Be careful out there,” she said to him.

“...you as well,” Kratos said.

He felt her gaze at his back as he walked away.

He tried to ignore the urge to turn around and meet it again.

.

“That went well,” Faye said aloud.

Her voice echoed around the clearing as she set what was left of the deer down in the hut. She knew she should get to work preserving it, making dinner, starting on the hide, but she just sat on the floor and thought about what had happened. The strange man in the bear skins. His tattoos, the fierceness in his eyes, the way that fierceness had turned to wariness when they finally stopped fighting each other. He reminded her of a hound that had been kicked by its owner one too many times and expected that treatment from everyone.

Who are you, stranger?

She should start on the meat. She should check on the stave. If he’d been able to get in, someone else may have as well, and she didn’t need more trouble right now. But…

His eyes were so sad.

Faye sighed heavily and shook her head. “Get it together, Laufey,” she told herself. “Keep your head on straight. You can’t get unfocused just because you finally spoke to someone again.”

…Wait. Damn it. How long had it been since she’d last spoken to someone?

I need to get out more.

[donnerpartyofone]

I've never seen a Joan Crawford movie! What are your favorite roles of hers besides the big ones she's most famous for?

You know what, I saw one of my new favorite movies of hers for the first time a year or two ago, that nobody ever talks about, THE STORY OF ESTHER COSTELLO. Definitely don't look it up on Wikipedia, the plot summary is right at the top of the page and it spoils every single thing in the movie in short order. It has kind of a Helen Keller type of setup, but it's more about greed and the showmanship of large-scale fundraising. I loved everything about it, although I really love melodrama, it's probably my favorite thing after horror. I think it might be on Tubi, it's totally awesome. Another lesser-known one that would be fun to watch, especially right now, would be THE UNKNOWN which is a silent horror film by Tod Browning who made DRACULA and FREAKS; it's this cool, twisted love triangle thing with Lon Chaney as a psychopathic armless knife-thrower. You've probably heard that you should watch MILDRED PIERCE and you heard right, I don't want to spoil anything if you don't know all about it already, just watch it. Don't miss HARRIET CRAIG where Joan plays a pathological liar, that's totally amazing and I recommend what I did, which is to double-bill it with ESTHER COSTELLO so you get to see Joan playing a really good person and a really bad person. JOHNNY GUITAR is honestly a movie like no other, a super lesbianic western musical (kind of?) that you just have to see if you care about seeing a really good movie. SUDDEN FEAR is a great thriller where Joan and Jack Palance appear to be the two biggest people in the world, and in the middle of the movie she gets to do this long stretch of acting with only facial expressions, she was nominated for an Oscar for this, whatever that means to ya. The older Joan gets the better she gets, I mean I get the emphasis on the camp factor in her later movies but she's genuinely terrific, she's always entertaining which is more than you can say for a lot of people. Surely you already know you should watch WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, you can probably move that to the head of the queue, and STRAIT-JACKET is at least as good as that, I think, even though people don't talk about it as much. That would be a good Halloween double-bill.

I'm sure I'm missing some obvious classics too, I haven't seen them all, but if you watch any of these movies you will definitely have a good time. You can watch TROG if you want to see her chasing a caveman around. But you should really watch MOMMIE DEAREST, it gets a bad rap for being over the top but there's much more to it than just a camp fest. I think it has a lot of genuinely excellent qualities, not the least of which Faye Dunaway's performance, like you really forget that she ISN'T just Joan Crawford back from the dead. And if you can, watch it with the audio commentary that John Waters recorded, he has a really refreshing perspective on the movie and he knows absolutely everything about Joan of course; it's like a whole other movie unto itself, with his commentary.

[chigirisprincess]

i think what confuses a lot of people about the ending in attack on titan is the fact that throughout the series the characters ambitions, beliefs, and values never change however as they gain new experiences and learn more about the world outside the walls their definitions for things change. (spoilers for the finale below, this is just my take and my interpretation).

just hear me out okay. both jean and armin reaffirm the fact that the group comprises of armin, jean, connie, pieck, reiner, annie, levi, and mikasa are scouts to their core, that is why they continue to fight and speak up even when it feels useless. when jean expresses this to reiner it is a big moment because reiner feels that he has so much he must atone for, he feels like a bad person. his identity as of warrior has been tainted by his experiences being a scout because he learned that they were not "devils" but people with families just like him. as such, reiner experiences this huge lost of identity and goes through a period where he is extremely depressed because he has realized his values and goals no longer align with the warriors and marley like he thought they did. being able to reclaim ownership of the title "scout" to reiner means being a good person who fights for humanity. to its core, that is what being a scout is. the scouts fought for humanity when they believed they were the only humans left, they fought for humanity again when eren began the rumbling, and again are fighting for humanity now that paradis has become a military state. the circumstances have changed, their idea of what humanity is has changed, however their goal remains the same- to fight for their liberation. armin reminds them they are still scouts in spite of all that has changed because their goal hasn't.

now how does that relate to eren and the ending? well, eren's goal from the beginning has been to eradicate the earth of "monsters". this does not change. however, what eren views to be monsters has. as a child "monsters" were the titans, then as a teenager the "monsters" became the warriors (specifically them not humans in general), then when he learned of the outside world and their hatred and cruelty towards eldian's they became the "monsters" (not just marley but the rest of the world too because they were complicit in marley's crimes). obviously, eren's skewed perspective was rather narrow minded however, he and his family were direct victims of marley (his aunt faye for example) and he held such high hopes for the outside world so, like reiner it took eren a minute to realize that humans were not the enemy, they were not the monster, but by that time it was already too late, ymir the founder was going to enact his will.

armin and eren discuss this in paths (right before eren dies). they discuss how their perspectives have changed but their desires have not. this consistency that we see throughout all the characters in the story is in some ways eren's flaw (and armin's since he recognizes that he played a large role in shaping eren's beliefs and desires by showing him the forbidden book when they were children). the anger eren carried while being a driving force that did accomplish a lot of good for paradis, being unable to let go of such anger resulted in his death. ymir the founder saw eren, his anger and disdain for the people who hurt him and used him as a pawn. she too held a lot of anger, anger that she didn't fully understand because even after two thousand years she loved king fritz, the man who abused, mutilated, and tortured her. she could not sever her devotion to him, she could never "get revenge" for all the pain she felt however with eren she could get retribution for her children (the eldian's), she could free them. but the concept of freedom which is a driving force for the show is very convoluted and frankly polluted. this idea of "pure, true freedom" that is sought is unattainable because it is idealistic and historically has come at the cost of others livelihoods (marley becomes free but the remaining eldian's are forced into internment zones).

SO why does all this make the ending make sense?

well, because their goals never change but the circumstances do, mistakes are made. lack of growth and change results in misinformation and misaction. while its not to say unwavering belief's are "bad" however it is clear that isayama is trying to convey to the audience that the cycle of violence and conflict will always remain unless you are willing to learn and to change. in the credits, we see paradis thriving (presumably because the yeagerists lost power and they did learn and grow) but hundreds maybe even thousands of years later the cycle begins again as paradis is plunged into war and a young child seeks shelter inside a large tree.

i think once we as an audience understand the conversation between eren and armin in paths, the ending makes a lot of sense. eren and armin perpetuated the cycle because of their ignorance, naïvety, and own personal desires. they realize at the end that their childhood goals were ultimately unattainable and perverted because they did not change to encapsulate their new knowledge and that was wrong. this is not to say either is a bad person considering how this story was predetermined by destiny, but rather is to say that it is a tragedy. they were ensnared by the error of human ways, but only one person could make it out alive (likely because armin has always been the more intelligent, slower to act between the two). and cycles of violence will always end in some form of tragedy (ex paradis attacking marley which mirrors the fall of wall maria = sasha dying which is tragic).

the strong anti-war message from attack on titan is formed on the basis that we as a society will never be freed from cyclic violence until we learn from our actions and until we learn, there will be loss, loss that is innumerable but completely preventable. (eren was always meant to die, his sacrifice is what eradicated the titans, it was a self fulfilled prophecy seeing as he vowed to dedicate every fibre of his being to remove titans from the earth) (the preventable deaths were the deaths of sasha, colt, ymir, erwin, etc because if there was no violence, no cruelty, no war for them to fight they would have lived).

so, in my opinion once you understand how their unchanging morals and ambitions were interwoven within the cycles of war it becomes far easier to understand the ending of attack on titan. especially when you compare mikasa to ymir the founder. mikasa had the strength to kill the one she loved because she knew such senseless violence was wrong. ymir the founder did not have the strength to use her titan abilities to kill king fritz and liberate the people of marley. mikasa broke the cycle created by king fritz and ymir the founder because her goal changed. from the beginning, mikasa's self imposed duty was to protect eren (while carla asked her to, mikasa already decided to spend her life protecting eren after he saved her) but mikasa realized she could no longer protect eren, she had to kill him. she did what no other character in the series did, she learned from her experiences and changed her goal! and that is the point. all it takes is one person to change the course and rewrite the story (metaphorically since mikasa was destined to do this no matter how badly she wanted to run away from it all).

[ollieinoue]

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TASK 001: MEET THE FAMILY [REDUX]

Family Aesthetics: ‘you know you can tell us anything, right’, a completely filled ash tray, working terrible hours and coming home late at night, 90s grunge aesthetic, a teeny tiny apartment with no AC and a shitty water heating system, a fridge full of cheap knock off brands, been there done that, cheering extremely loud while the rest of the parents give them strange looks, terribly played out of tune guitars, ignored knowing looks, constant memes in the family group chat, lovingly giving each other shit, doing anything for their child and not understanding a word that comes out of his mouth, late night conversations over takeout.

PRE OLLIE

REN INOUE [ 48 yrs old ; mechanic ] [ fc yutaka takenouchi ]

Ren was born in Hiroshima Japan, and would be the only child his parents had. He lived in Japan for three years before his parents moved him and themselves to New York City, so he honestly doesn't remember much of it.

Like a lot of first gen kids from foreign families there was a lot of pressure put on Ren to become successful, and assimilate into a new country. Unfortunately for the Inoue's, Ren was an extremely rebellious person and that is what he spent most of his youth doing.

He created a band in High School with some of his friends called Drink the Kool Aid (he's the lead guitarist), and spent most of his time fucking around with them, fucking around with random people in bars, getting drunk, getting high, and partying. So, no, he did not graduate high school. He never saw the point in formal education.

When he was about 23 he met a girl named Faye and the two hit it off pretty fast. She was fun, she liked the same music as him, she thought his band was cool, the partied together literally all the time. They liked hanging out they were friends.

Until one day when he was around 27 Faye told him she was pregnant and thus Ollie was born.

FAYE INOUE [ 45 yrs old ; hostess & cashier ] [ fc christina ricci ]

Faye Bright was born in Hoboken New Jersey, the youngest child of the Bright family and the only daughter. Her mother left shortly after she was born leaving her and her three older brothers as her father's responsibility.

Her father was a drunk, and much much worse more often than not, and her older brothers weren't much better, so Faye often found herself anywhere but at home from the age of eight until she moved out on her own at the age of sixteen. She hasn't spoken to her brother's or her father since moving out.

She was mostly getting into trouble in those years. Going out and partying way too young. But who was going to fucking stop her?

It wasn't all fun and games, though. Faye often worked multiple jobs while finishing High School, supporting herself, because nobody was going to do it for her. Her life was rocky, and difficult, but she still managed to do it all on her own without needing anybody else.

When she was about 18 years old one night, wandering into some city pub playing some shitty punk band is the night she met Ren. He was fun, and interesting, and the two of them developed a fun little friendship.

She never planned for it to become more than that until she realized she was pregnant with his child, and everything changed for the both of them.

POST OLLIE

The first years of Ollie's life were rough for both him and his parents for many reasons. Ren, who at the time was also dealing with his father's death, wouldn't have known responsibility if you pasted the definition onto his forehead. He was great with Ollie but damn if he'd ever be able to take care of him. Faye on the other hand was almost the opposite, she had a job, she could buy food for the baby but … she was sorting through her own trauma and to say she was a bit cold towards the baby would be an understatement.

If it was not for Ren's mother, Yumiko, Ollie's Obaasan, he likely would have had a much much worse time during his early development. She set down an ultimatum, that unless they wanted her to take Ollie for herself, and move back to Japan they needed to shape up. It was rough for both of his parents. His father got clean (besides casual drinking and smoking pot), got his Equivalency, and started a job as a mechanic. Faye struggled a little more, but went to some free counseling at a shelter, and as time went on had an easier time building bonds with Ollie.

By the time Ollie was five his parents were making enough to move into an apartment of their own that was big enough to house all of them, not Ren's mother's one bedroom apartment they had been living in. And once Ollie was six Yumiko Inoue moved back to Japan feeling like his parents were up to the task of taking care of their child.

Ren and Faye were legally married pretty soon after that at a local courthouse, mainly for the benefits it would bring, rather than being in love with each other - but who needed to be in love to get married? If anything their relationship was much stronger than almost every single one of the married couples around them, they've shown that years and years over now. Ollie's never had a reason to complain about their relationship.

While the bonds between the Inoue family were quite good, it was still rough going. Ren and Faye were working more often than not and Ollie found himself home alone often. They did their best to make sure he wasn't left up to his own devices hen they could, and there were many free children's programs Ollie was stuck into. Everything from children's tumbling, to summer reading programs and everything in between. It was many of the people in charge of those programs that told Ren and Faye that Ollie was showing signs of being an extremely gifted child. He was learning at a much faster rate than any of his peers, had a reading level far beyond someone his age, and was frankly just very smart.

They didn't ever have the means to put Ollie into any advanced private schools, and any time someone offered any sort of opportunity for a scholarship Ollie outright refused. He just wanted to go to school with his friends, and all was well about it, really. He did eventually get tested officially, and it was determined his IQ was 169 (nice) which put him in the .03 percentile of the world's population.

His parents did what they could to insist Ollie take advantage of the skills he'd been given. He had a real opportunity to become something much better than either of them became. He could really do something to help all of them in the long run. They didn't mean to but there was a lot of pressure put on Ollie, and he didn't want to disappoint anybody. So, eventually Ollie agreed to advance his classes, and was put into High School a year ahead of his peers.

Ollie became a lot to handle for his parents through out his teenage years, despite how hard they tried. They fought all the time, Ollie would be gone for days at a time with only a few texts telling them (lying) about where he was, and the signs that Ollie was using drugs (to two people who also got into drug use when they were younger) were probably pretty obvious. But it was hard to really do anything about it. Ollie was still getting top grades in school, he was turning in all of his work, he was so skilled at fleecing the system that neither his parents, nor his school could really … do much unless he was the one who reached out. And he never did.

It was clear that Ollie was a troubled teenager, but his parents worked so hard and so often all they could really do was make it clear that if he ever wanted to talk they would listen. He never did.

So, despite the underlying worry that always lingered around their son, they were always extremely proud and supportive no matter what he was able to accomplish. He graduated the top of his class, and they were so excited for him. He got accepted into such a great school, Ogden, and was the first person in their family to go to college and they were so excited for him.

There were a lot of rough years for the family, but things have come full circle. Ollie's matured a little bit (shocking I know) and realizes his parents aren't actually out to get him, in fact if anything they've been probably a little too soft with him but he appreciates them. And the longer he's been away from home the more he's come to appreciate them (hard not to when he's surrounded with the terrible stories everyone else at Ogden has of their parents). Over all things with the Inoue family are going well. At least as far as Ollie is concerned. He sees no reason why his parents would still be worried about him, or anything. He's doing great.

OLLIE'S OPINON

First of all, write this down: his parents are really fucking cool. They're both still very 90s grunge type of people, and it's obvious to tell just by looking at either of them, or their aesthetic. It was fairly often that Ollie was brought to some shitty dive bar to help his dad and his dad's band set up for some set they were playing. They were never good, but it was always a lot of fun, and Ollie has a ton of fond memories hanging out with his mom and dad, eating some real good bar food. Most of his childhood was honestly a really good one, from everything he can remember. And even though things got tougher as he grew up (mostly thanks to him) it's extremely hard not to look at his relationship with his parents and see it positively. They fought a lot when Ollie was a teenager, Ollie did a lot of shitty and stupid things just to be a brat. But he is aware that despite how busy they were working they were doing it all for him, and they tried so much to be there for him. He's not stupid, he's not blind, he saw it all. He resented them for it at the time, but it makes him love them even more now.

All that said they put a massive amount of pressure on Ollie. They knew he was the only way they were all getting out of the hole they live in, he knew that too. They told him multiple times everything was his choice and they'd never make him do anything he didn't want to do but he saw the disappointment every time he turned down some opportunity that would have really done something for him. Eventually he gave in, and that is likely why he is where he is now, but it was never something he actually ever wanted. it was simply clear that… he had to make it. They made that clear. He couldn’t waste what he had- skill, potential, natural talent. They never were mean about anything. He never felt like if he screwed up that they wouldn’t love him. And that made it so much worse but he constantly feels like he’s fucking up. That he’s living on this precarious edge that any wrong move he makes will show all the ugly, messy, fucked up things he does, and feels, and this image that they have of him will be shattered. He’s terrified of that happening, but he feels like it’s only a matter of time.

SOME FUN FACTS

Due to dad and his grandma mostly handling his very early childhood he learned Japanese before he learned English, but he doesn't know how to write it. And he doesn't necessarily consider himself fluent, because beyond his grandma and dad the only real place he heard Japanese was in anime or movies. Which is a bit different than how people speak if he were to actually go to Japan and speak with people. But it was technically his first language.

No one in his family cooks. Ollie can bake, but cooking? Most meals in the Inoue family were sandwiches, mac & cheese, instant ramen, rice, and onigiri. Also anything you can microwave. That was basically it.

Ollie's parents always try very very hard to go to school functions when they can. It's not easy since Ogden is about 6 hours away from New York, but they really try hard to show up when they can to important things. Ollie doesn't hold it against them, and if they do miss something important they always go out to celebrate on their own together when they can.

The whole family is stoners, sorry. Yes, his parents know he smokes pot, and have said they know. But he's an adult now and can do what they want. The apartment has a ton of snacks in it because they're all stoners though.

Do they know he does harder drugs (yes). Do they know he has addiction problems (probably). Have they ever addressed it? No. Honestly one of the biggest problems with his parents is they're not really good at discipline, it's always been a thing. They probably don't know how to even begin addressing this sort of situation. It's strange. He’s kind of existing in this strange place where like… If they confront him about it he’ll die figuratively, if they DON’T … he might die literally. he really doesn't know what he wants to happen.

[bohemian-rhapsody-in-blue]

Bebop Crew July Challenge, Day 1: Midnight

Thanks to the @bebopcrew community for the prompt list! I’ll be writing fics based on their July 30-Day Challenge all this month (if I can!); I’ll also be posting them to AO3 here!

Fittingly, I wrote most of this around/past midnight—my sleep schedule is so messed up these days that I’m most productive between the hours of 11 PM and 4 AM, so that’s probably when I’ll be getting most of these stories posted. So if you see me posting, for instance, my fic for Day 1 on what’s technically July 2, well…that’s what I have to say for myself.

This fic was also (minorly) influenced by @graysongraysoff’s first fic for Beboptober 2020, “3, 2, 1…Let’s Jam!”

Also, enjoy this rejected first line: “There are many benefits to being a marine biologist bounty hunter….”

As the clock ticked past midnight, Spike and Jet sat on neighboring barstools, keeping a sharp lookout for the bounty head who was rumored to pass through this bar tonight—or from a message from Faye indicating that the bounty head had visited the bar where she was stationed, instead. There had been no sign of the guy for a while, and the only messages from Faye just consisted of her complaints of boredom. (The bar was on a relatively remote asteroid, after all.) The anticipation and the silence—other than the occasional attempt at conversation from Jet or the crack of peanut shells (no drinks for them tonight, or at least minimal drinks; they needed to focus)—gave Spike a lot of time to think about the reasons he’d become a bounty hunter in the first place. The reasons he’d chosen this offbeat, freelance profession to fill this part of his life—such as it was.

Sure, the paychecks were irregular, often scanty, and—more often than the crew would like—nonexistent. And he wasn’t one to pretend that the money didn’t matter, that he was purely in the bounty-hunting business for the love of the job or whatever. And sure, one could go on and on about catching bad guys, keeping them off the streets, bringing justice to the world—and Spike supposed those were advantages too, though he preferred to leave the philosophizing to Jet. And they definitely weren’t the reason he’d picked up the work. Anyway, on nights like these—when he and Jet and Faye were in their element, and he was sure a fat stack of Woolongs was on their way—Spike preferred to focus on the more practical benefits of the job.

Spike knew he’d chafe in some corporate 9-to-5 job, or in retail or customer service, or in any position with set hours and fake smiles and a supervisor breathing down his neck. He’d struggle and squirm as if wearing an ill-fitting jacket. And he couldn’t imagine having to say things like “actionable items” or “let’s circle back” with a straight face. He often griped and complained about the woes of bounty hunting, but he was feeling unusually optimistic tonight, and he had to admit, the freedom that this job afforded him suited him perfectly.

Take the work hours, for instance. Twelve A.M. and he was wide awake, raring for a catch; in twelve hours he’d probably be passed out on the Bebop’s couch. And the job was so unpredictable that in another twelve hours, he might still be asleep. This was the kind of schedule that suited him; he wouldn’t have it any other way.

And to be honest, midnight wasn’t a bad time to be up and working. The sky outside the bar was pitch-black, but the streets hummed with life. As Spike looked around, he saw flickering neon signs, sporadic streetlights, headlights of cars and spacecrafts, and the occasional tiny flame of a lighter filling the darkness. And while he and Jet were quiet, the bar was replete with lively conversation, raucous laughter, and the sounds of games of pool, foosball, and darts, often accompanied by wild cheering. These were technically Spike’s work hours. This bar was sort of his office. The gun resting securely at his side served as his office supplies. What boring corporate job would let him say that?

For another thing, he didn’t have to deal with any stupid dress codes; he never had to memorize the meanings of words like “business casual” or wear the same polo shirt with the same embroidered logo of the same megacorporation as everyone else. He did business dressed up in a suit and tie because he wanted to, and, in his opinion, it looked stylish as hell. (As bonuses, it also allowed him a lot of freedom of movement and was very comfortable, as was evident from the few times Ed had stolen and wrapped herself in it, gleefully flapping the ends of the sleeves.)

Perhaps the best aspect of the job, though, was that every day of it was different. It brought the Bebop crew in contact with such a wide variety of criminals and other strange characters—from senile old chessmasters, to vindictive bombers using teddy bears as their weapons, to homicidal genetically-engineered clowns—that no two people they encountered were ever the same. And if Spike decided a bounty head was too boring, or too much of a small fry, he didn’t have a boss forcing him to take it. (More often, he had an empty bank account and a disapproving look from Jet forcing him to take it—but that was neither here nor there.) Also, the work took Spike and his crewmates pretty much everywhere in the Solar System. He was constantly on the move, never staying in any one place for long. It suited his restless spirit perfectly—and made sure that nothing, or no one, from his past would be able to catch up to him.

“Spike.” Jet’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. “That’s the guy.”

Spike glanced over to where Jet was gesturing, and sure enough, the muscular, grizzled man entering the bar, with a suspiciously gun-shaped bulge under his trenchcoat, matched the description in the criminal records and the picture on Big Shot exactly.

With a grin, Spike rested his hand on his own gun. “Let’s get him.”

Sometimes, when he was in a more brooding mood than tonight, he’d reflect on how his life never felt real. How it felt more like a constant dream he could never wake up from. The ephemeral, meandering nature of bounty-hunting, with its strange and amorphous structure, felt dreamlike sometimes, too. And for someone on the outskirts of society, seeking autonomy—well, he guessed that applied to his whole group of crewmates, in one way or another—it was perfect. As much as he liked to complain about the job, it fit him better than he’d like to admit.

And here he was now, in the dead of night in a random bar on an even more random asteroid, easily dodging the bounty head’s blows and landing his own—without making too much of a scene that attracted the rest of the bar. The fight was over quickly enough that the man didn’t even need to pull out his gun. Just the way Spike liked it. As he threw the final punch that rendered the man unconscious and Jet tied him up, he was completely comfortable. Relaxed. In his element.

There were worse ways to spend a dream.

[natasha-in-space]

Aaah Mia I was so excited to see that you watched Barbie! What did you think of it?

Alright, I'm gonna put this under the cut for anyone who wants to avoid spoilers!

Faye, would you believe me if I told you that this was very out of my usual comfort zone? :D Because it was! I never really watch movies like these. Actually, pretty much the only movies I make a point of checking out nowadays are horror movies. Especially indie horror movies! (A24 my beloved) I don't talk much about my love for horror genre on this blog, since I know it's definitely not for everyone, but I am, in fact, a huge horror fan. That aside, I went to see the Barbie movie mostly for the aesthetic of it. I honestly didn't have any expectations for it, and that's how I like it. We're all there to have a good time! It doesn't have to be groundbreaking or anything. (I'm looking at you unnecessary internet discourse, I am shooing you away with a comically large broom!) And... I had a good time with it! Had quite a few genuine laughs, was very impressed with the production of it, and the acting was great! This movie was made with love, and you know? That's what I appreciate the most about it. We don't get that often nowadays, sadly. (Definitely not the fault of the creators, the movie industry right now is absolutely horrendous with the way it treats its creators)

I even cried! Wow! But, uh, that's not that impressive, since... I cry at everything. Show me a video of a cute cockatoo snuggling, and I will sniffle away. Well, I do have two specific scenes that are definitely stuck in my head. In a good way!

I couldn't help but think about that scene where Barbie asks permission to be herself, and then she gets told that she doesn't need permission for that as I got back home. That no one can give her permission to do that, because that's just something you start doing yourself. I definitely thought about that scene for some time.

But, oh, my absolute favorite scene was something else.

The moment I cried was when Barbie was admiring the old lady sitting next to her on the bench. Because that's what it means to be human and that's what life is. And she saw her imperfection, and aging, and realized that it was beautiful. Barbie was so afraid of being imperfect, of getting old and dying, and then she saw that all of this could be beautiful too, and she cried, and I cried too.

Overall, I recommend it! It's a heartfelt movie that you can laugh at, cry at, and just have a good time with it. I can see myself rewatching it when I need a pick-me-up :)

What about you, Faye? What are your thoughts on the Barbie movie? 👀

[onelostgirl]

Chapter Two: Number 13

“Y/N! I’ll get us something to eat just get us the seats.” You look over to Faye as she offers to get the food. You definitely don’t fight her on this, you don’t exactly have the means to buy food from a sports concession stand.

While this was something that bothered you, ridiculous prices at sports events you didn’t have time to dwell on that. Your bladder began constricting reminding you of a pressing matter,,somehow you’d forgotten you needed the restroom. You needed it since the drive to the stadium began but you were too concentrated on driving to let that bother you.

But now you needed to go, like right now. So you quickly thanked Faye and began a brisk walk to the restroom.

Everywhere your eyes fell you saw banners, posters, people holding signs, fans with players faces, and endless merch from both teams playing today.

The Alders you were familiar with, having attended nearly every game since Korai’s career with the team began. It was the other team being showcased that you did not know.

Hmm. I wonder if Ko will have fun today.

You thought to yourself, lately it was like he had an itch he couldn’t scratch. He was particularly eager about something, it didn’t occur to you that he might have just been excited about the upcoming game.

A part of you wondered why this game might be different from any other he played. You were then reminded of something Sachi said, “Well he knows a few players from that team”.

“Oh so it’s like a reunion and seeing how much everyone’s changed then.” You reply to Sachi as he’s cleaning up his waiting room.

“Yeah basically, I mean you didn’t see our match in high school but it was pretty epic.”

Sachiro paused as you both looked at each other, so much time had passed and so much had changed. You had. So had he.

“Well then I guess, I’d better cheer harder then usual.” You replied as Sachiro gave a small smile,

“Yeah just make sure to cheer at the right time, don’t want you embarrassed like the Red Falcon game.”

“Ugh, Sachi, you just ruined it. Jeez, one time I cheered too loudly for the other team because I thought that Ko made that point.” You pout crossing your arms across your chest, recalling how everyone in the stand gave you a weird look. You really should dedicate more time to understand this game.

“HEY WATCH IT!” A voice boomed in front of you as you were pulled back to reality. Before you could register what was going on you stumbled into something hard and felt something extremely cold run down your pants.

“AH!” You screamed when the cold liquid seeped through the fabric into your thighs. You looked down to see that it couldn’t have been water because it left a reddish stain on your clothes.

“Oh crap, m’ bad! I shoulda’ been payin’ attention.” A voice spoke as you looked up from your ruined clothes to what your eye line met which looked to be an extremely large, muscular, fit chest. You continued on the pursuit to locate a voice as your head looked up, the first thing you noticed was his large, brown eyes.

They reminded you of roasted acorns for some reason. Autumn.

His blonde hair shined brightly with the lights from above nearly blinding you.

“Oh, it’s cold.” Was the only response out of your mouth.

From your reply, the blonde man looked down and finally realized what had happened. His face quickly contorted into a nervous, apologetic expression.

“Shit! Yer wet! Crap, uhh! Do ya got extra pants?” The stranger asked as your eyebrows scrunched together in a ‘you’re joking right’ face.

No, you genius! I don’t have extra clothes! What person brings extra clothes when they go out?!

At first you didn’t think much but now that the liquid had settled in, you felt sticky, dirty, and very annoyed. Who cares that this guy might have been a little, just maybe, kinda-very attractive.

“No I didn’t plan to get something spilled on me so, I didn’t think to pack extra clothes.” You tried to bite back the attitude that was making its way up your throat. To be fair, it was also your fault for getting distracted.

“Oh yeh, well maybe ya could use this fer now?” The blonde replied handing you his jacket. His golden and black jacket.

It finally occurred to you that this person was an athlete. Not only that-he was a player from the team that would be facing Korai’s team today.

Something similar must have registered in his head as he actually took in the entirety of your outfit.

If the navy and gold didn’t give it away, it must have been the winged hairband you wore that closely resembled eagle’s wings.

“Err, guessin’ yer a Alder girl.” He commented not offended but not exactly indifferent either.

“Well I mean if ya’d rather not take this then maybe-“ he began but you quickly waved it off.

“I’m not exactly comfortable sporting the opposing teams merch while at a game against them but its not like I have another choice.” You reply reaching your hand out to accept the jacket, he didn’t look at all happy about it but must have felt responsible since he offered it.

He gave a small chuckle, “Well just don’t ya go flauntin’ it yeh, might get a few choice words thrown at ya.” He joked knowing how passionate fans of any team could get.

“Yes just what I needed- another reason why volleyball games will lead to my eventual demise.” You said folding the jacket to hide the name of the team and tying it around your hips, it mostly covered the stains so at least there was that.

You just couldn’t get a break, could you. Whether it was sitting on the wrong side of the court, cheering at the worst moment, and now-repping the opposing team while there for another.

“Well maybe if I’m nervous, I’ll look fer ya in the stands. To remember yer havin’ a worse day.” He joked as you gave him a glare, he smirked in response turning to run in the opposite direction.

As you watched his retreating back, you stared at the name on the back of his jersey.

MIYA. Number 13.

You guessed you’d be seeing him a lot for the next few hours.

————————————————————————-

Ch 1 | Next

Author’s note:

Hey lovelies, sorry for the late update but had to get somethings settled. You know how it goes. Anyways I’m super excited for you all to see how the story will progress. In this chapter Y/N and Atsumu met for the first time and as you can expect it was far from the ideal introduction. All we can do is wait to see how their story will unfold.

Taglist: @koukamisstuff @amecchii @eclairia-monarch @kyomihann @butterfflower @kirameki-kumo @amajikisjuiceycheeks @shelpiee @ofmiceandsharks @mehlodic @dreamland-of-my-own @cherrysbubbletea @lilacshouko @xyzmeh @fruitl00ps @hello-c-horse @furiousmole @taylormossblr @miyaatsumusirlwife @galagcica @mitskisaveme @mrsbrandoxxx @kryzi @ravensfeatheruniverse @holdonimcoming @darthferbert @encrytpta

Thanks for tuning in everyone! See you on the next update ❤️