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sup-hoes-its-me · 3 years ago

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it's my birthday so I'm making a req that's been on my mind for a MINUTE... naruto boys reactions to meeting a girl and finding out she has a kid 👀

A/N: Happy Birthday!!! I wasn’t sure what characters you wanted so I picked the most simp–able characters imo. If I missed a character you really wanted, just ask and I will do them as well!

I strayed from the prompt just a little bit, but it still has what you wanted!

Feat: Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Gaara, Gai

Naruto-

I would say that with Naruto, you don’t have any initial fears about approaching him with the topic. He’s an open minded guy.

He's also never done anything to make you assume he doesn't like children.

You're super casual about it, just stopping by Ichiraku with your toddler holding your hand. Naruto doesn't even notice you until you tap his shoulder.

The way his eyes light up when you first introduce him to your son. You swear, he was shining brighter than the sun.

He immediately wants to take your kid out and have lots of fun, eating ramen, training, pranking people.

I feel like he’s one of the only guys that would have no qualms about you having a kid, not even an ounce of hesitation.

He is ready to dive head first into fatherhood.

After a while of dating, your son buys him a mug that says something along the lines of “World’s Best Dad” and when I tell you that this man sobbed like a little baby…

Isn't overprotective at all tbh. Sometimes he forgets your son left the house to play with friends. He's so surprised when he goes to check the kids room and they're not there…?

Very forgetful too. Does not remember birthdays, has to rush the day of when buying presents.

Is embarrassing without realizing it. "Is she your little girlfriend, s/n?" "Did you remember your ointment?" 100% says things without thinking first.

Gets jealous when you make special bento for your child to take to school with them, and cries for you to make him one too. He literally needs you to cut his fruits into heart shapes or he might die of neglect.

Essentially, he is a big baby himself.

5/10 on the dad scale

Sasuke-

Yeah, let's just say he is not happy. At all.

He honestly considers breaking up with you because he 1) doesn’t like children and 2) does not want any more responsibilities put on him than need be.

Also, I completely believe he would be the type of guy that's upset you were in a serious relationship before him. Sorry ladies, but he’s a little bitch like that.

You hoped that he wasn’t going to react this way, but in your heart, you knew he would be negative. You worried over telling him for months before you finally came out and told him.

It took all the courage you had just to stumble out the words.

“Sasuke, I have something to tell you. It’s kinda important,” you mumble to him, and he just waits for you to continue. You’re shaking, and you hold your hands under the table between your thighs to keep them from quivering so much.

“Well, what is it?”

“I want to introduce you to my daughter.”

You deliberately break eye contact with him when you see his eyes darken.

His brows furrow, and you watch his shoulder tense under his cloak. He’s not exactly mean about it, but he’s honest with you. He tells you he’s not thrilled, that he needs a bit of time to process this new aspect of you and your relationship before he decides what he wants.

When he meets your daughter, he is Awkward. He tries to talk to her, but in the end your daughter ends up crying and hiding behind your legs. You tell him that she’s just shy, but he knows he messed up. He’s just not good with kids.

He tries to bond with your daughter over time, with a lot of encouragement from you and Naruto. He’s not a good dad, but at least he tries.

3/10 dad

Shikamaru-

“You have a kid?”

He’s somewhere in between shocked and completely exhausted. This mans is tired as hell just living his life, and now you throw a little gremlin in the mix? God damn.

You nod, and he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit. “Troublesome, but what can I do? If I love you, I gotta love the kid, right?”

He’s not gonna play catch or take them to amusement parks anytime soon. The first time he meets them, he sits them down in front of the Shogi board and patiently plays match after match with them until they get the hang of all the moves and some loose strategy. He only lets them win one time, though. Just for a bit of confidence.

It’s the only way he knows how to bond with others. It’s what he played with the two father figures he had in life.

And your kid really likes him. They think he’s the smartest guy in the entire world, and they ask for sleepovers all the time so they can play board games all night.

He doesn’t mean to be such a rad dad, but he honestly is. He’s chill and never yells or loses his temper.

Secretly, he loves making your child smile and giggle, and he adores when the little one jumps into his arms for a hug. He’d never say that aloud though. Some things are too embarrassing.

He definitely does not have the energy to go and be all overprotective, helicopter parent. He basically lets them do whatever they want as long as they finish most of their homework.

One of the most functional men of them all, and a great influence, albeit a bit lazy. You make a lovely family.

7/10 dad

Kakashi-

This man loves babies. He doesn’t get to see too many of them, but he really loves to swaddle them up and carry them around the house as he does his daily tasks.

He'll quietly talk to them as he does stuff, explaining what he's doing as he goes about his business.

They can't talk back either, just goo goo gaa gaa. That's a plus.

You tell him on the third date after getting to know him a little better that you have a newborn daughter. In your mind, if he can’t accept your baby positively pretty early on, then he’s not the right man for you.

He asks a lot of questions at first. He’s curious. You’re just happy he doesn’t seem turned off by the surprise. He almost seems excited.

And quite honestly, you are shocked. He's one of the toughest shinobi in the village.

That night you walk home together to the house you share with your parents. It’s hard being a single mom, Kakashi completely understands. He’s so nice about everything. He has such a cool and calm demeanor that makes you feel so comfortable.

You let him into your house, entering the living room where your mother was sitting in her rocking chair, gently tipping back and forth with the baby in her arms.

“Ah, Hatake. I’ve been wondering when my daughter would bring you home.” Yeah, you might have talked about him a lot. Totally not in love already, haha...

Let's just say, Kakashi is a baby whisperer or something. Whenever your baby cries, you hand her over to him and suddenly she's all giggles and smiles.

You're a little jealous.. like come on, you birthed her and she betrays you for some gray haired weirdo. Smh.

Also, he's not opposed to having more. Just say the word, and you shall recieve, Y/N.

He's not around too often because of work, but when he is, he is more than happy to play house. For once in his life, there is a sense of normalcy for him.

He never anticipated having a child, or even a domestic partner, but now that he did, he was completely in love with the feeling.

Is embarrassing on purpose. Most definitely threatens to kill boyfriends once she starts to date. Tells her friends embarrassing things she did as a baby too. Asks why she's wearing makeup to school and tells her to wipe it off, "Who are you trying to impress? You're 14."

So yeah, he can be annoying.

But he always makes up for it.

He is thriving as a father figure. Perfect man.

10/10 dad, but maybe im biased.

Gaara-

When you finally tell him after talking for a few months, he's upset. Not in the way you would expect, though.

He is overwhelmed with emotions. He's nervous and scared. He's never been good with people, and he hadn't interacted with many babies in his life.

He only really knew his sister's child.

Still, he felt a bit of giddiness in his stomach. You were sharing an important part of your life with him. You trusted him so much.

God, he loved you more and more everyday. He would do anything to keep you happy.

You are pleasantly surprised, but really, you should have expected this out of such a kind soul like Gaara.

You have to coax him out of his anxious state, convincing him that everything will be fine and your baby will absolutely love him.

And they do.

He is so gentle with your child.

He takes them through his desert gardens and shows them each and every plant, educating them on the care they need and the uses.

He lets them sit in his office when he's doing his Kazekage work. Even if it's a little disruptive, he doesn't care.

Tells them all about his friends from the Leaf Village, especially Naruto. Your child's bedtime stories are definitely tall tales of 12 year olds' on their adventures.

He loves his little family above all else. He would straight up die for you two.

9/10 dad.

Gai:

He's ecstatic, of course he would be.

"Gai, I'd like you to meet a few people who are very important to me. Can you stop by my house around dinner time tonight?" you ask him, knowing he will say yes.

You just need time to prepare everything. You'll make a fantastic dinner (not that Gai is picky) and clean your house enough to be presentable.

"Sure thing, my beautiful flower of the Leaf. I will be there at 6, not a second later!" No conversation with Gai would be complete without some dramatics. He gives you a thumbs up as he runs away, continuing his training.

He arrives at exactly six just as he promised.

"Y/N, who are these children in your house?! And why do they look just like you?!"

He is so shocked that you have twins, but the brightest smile grows on his face.

He scoops them both into his arms and swings them around. The man is too strong for his own good. He doesn't even know he's acting like a lunatic.

You eventually have to stop him, telling him it's time for dinner and afterwards you could all sit around and get to know each other.

He's kind of an overbearing father. When you all move in together, he wakes your kids up at the crack of dawn for "training". You have to remind them they aren't shinobi and in no way will run 20 miles every morning.

He is super protective as well. He is the type of dad who will not fall asleep until both kids are at home safe and fed a proper dinner.

Rock Lee is definitely your go-to babysitter too.

He can be wildly embarrassing too. Cheering a little too loud at school events and bragging about them to Kakashi.

He's a good dad, just really extra at times.

7/10 dad.

#naruto headcanons #naruto x reader #naruto scenarios #kakashi x reader #kakashi scenario #kakashi headcanons #sasuke x reader #sasuke headcanons #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru headcanons #gaara x reader #gaara headcanons #Gai x reader #gai headcanons #might gai #requests are open #but they will be extremely slow #is it obvious id let kakashi give me as many babies as he wanted lmaooo #head over heels for this man

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direct0rhutao · 2 years ago

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genshin thoughts?? i am curious about whatever hcs or fav canon facts or Unpopular Takes you have etc etc. i trust your opinion 👍

hi hi kit okay first of all tysm im flattered that u r interested in my thoughts that means a lot to me :)

there’s a lot of little details and bits of genshin lore that i love but if i had to choose one it would be that hu tao’s birthday is the same as mine :3 KIDDING one of my favorite random genshin facts is how zhongli once invited xinyan, a rock musician well known for her intense and (literally) fiery concerts, to play some music for the wangsheng funeral parlor

(this is from xinyan’s voicelines btw. do you think zhongli likes rock music because he’s the lord of rocks)

and as for the headcanons!! i can come up with sooo many behold an assortment of genshin thoughts (most of which involve hu tao and xinyan because they are very special to me) (im putting them under a readmore because i got carried away sorry)

• one of my favorite sort-of fanon dynamics is zhongli and his adopted kids ganyu (eldest daughter least likely to get in trouble with the millelith) xiao (middle child whos been an angsty teenager for the last 2000 years) and hu tao (baby of the family with the strongest Gremlin Energy)

• xiao hates zhongli’s new boyfriend childe for Many Reasons such as: he’s spent months in liyue and still can’t use chopsticks, every time he sees xiao he ruffles his hair and calls him “little man”, one time he unleashed an evil god and almost destroyed liyue harbor

• zhongli’s other two children are a little less hostile towards childe. ganyu doesn’t fully trust him because of That One Time He Almost Destroyed Liyue Harbor but he makes zhongli really happy so he’s okay for now …and hu tao thinks he’s kind of a dumbass but his job requires him to kill a lot of people so he’s good for business

• hu tao made childe a customer loyalty card (“10% Off Your 10th Cremation Service!”) however despite childe thinking it was funny, zhongli wouldn’t let her make more copies to give out to the general public

• okay so usually in fanart/fanfics the liyue kids friend group is either xingqiu chongyun xiangling and xinyan or xingqiu chongyun xiangling and hu tao. but why not both. xingqiu chongyun xiangling xinyan AND hu tao AND throw in yun jin as well. all of them are buddies peace and love on planet teyvat

• hu tao has a sort of celebrity crush on beidou (i mean who wouldn’t-) and then she meets kazuha and shes like CAPTAIN BEIDOU HAS A KID?

• hu tao: woaaahh its so nice to meet beidou’s new son… i bet beidou wouldn’t just adopt anyone so you must be super cool and badass because um captain beidou is soooo cool and badass and strong and sexy and did you know she beat a sea monster without a vision and her biceps are big enough to l- kazuha: okay how about we talk about something else

• anyway kazuha is an honorary member of the Liyue Kids Friendship Squad

• xinyan and beidou are also like family but xinyan’s parents are still alive (i think) so xinyan thinks of beidou as more of a cool aunt figure. xinyan and kazuha are kind of like siblings to each other tho

• xinyan is like genuinely very kind and good-natured so i think that aside from people who are assholes to her for being loud/a rock musician she can get along with pretty much anyone. also she just. seems like a really good friend so i think all her friends should love n support her and go to as many of her concerts as they can

• one time when xinyan was having a concert in liyue harbor and chongyun got on stage and started drumming and doing backup vocals bc of his yang energy shenhe passed by and saw them and after the concert while xingqiu was tending to chongyun she approached xinyan

• shenhe: i see you’re a friend of my nephew. your music is very unique. it both soothed and aggravated my homicidal urges at the same time xinyan: uhhh well…th. thank you miss shenhe? i’ll take that as a compliment … if you’re ever in the area again you’re always welcome to rock out at my concerts

• i love yun jin and i love yun jin x xinyan i think they would make a very cute couple HOWEVER. i think hu tao x xinyan would be cute as well. theres a lot of potential there but they barely interact in canon and ive only ever seen one person who maybe ships them uwaaaaaa

• in a modern au hu tao and xinyan would both play gacha rhythm games and they would add each other as friends in-game. hu tao and xinyan are on each other’s bandori friendlist

#mailbox tag #aurelia chat #genshin impact #hu tao and xinyan what would their shipname be #xintao? huxin?#anyway they r my emotional support rarepair #also i know you said unpopular takes but im not sure how unpopular this one is so ill just put it in the tags:#i can’t stand genshin mika. hate him #his name is spelled mika like kagehira mika and he looks like kagamine len and yet he’s so bland and cringefail #you know how in math you multiply two negative numbers and the negative signs cancel out to give you a positive number?#genshin mika is like. they combined two anime boys full of nuance and swag and gender into one and all of it canceled out #and the result was a sickly duckling in paddington bear’s coat #like i know genshin mika has a vision and is a knight of favonius but i think if he fought enstars mika.#based on vibes alone enstars mika would win #anyway thank you so so much again for the ask!! i really appreciate it #from kohku

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amjustagirl · 4 years ago

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Summary: Sakusa Kiyoomi's heart has always pointed north. He wonders if it's broken when it starts to point inexorably towards her.

Set in the aftermath of The Astrophile, in the same universe as Storm Chaser.

Pairing: Sakusa Kiyoomi / f! reader

Genre: Fluff, angst, romance

Wordcount: 7.8k

Masterlist link here

A/N: Dedicated first and foremost to Ami @softsakusa, one of the first people to convince that my writing isn’t shit and that I should keep creating fics.

This fic is also for all the readers who wanted a happy ending for the reader in The Astrophile (which sets out the backstory of the reader, Iwaizumi and Oikawa), and also follows the events of Storm Chaser (which follows the turbulent relationship of Miya Atsumu and now wife - I named her Kaiyo in this fic to avoid confusion!).

Hope you like it - reblogs and comments are always dearly appreciated <3

It must be the worst meet cute of all time.

That is – if he’s using that phrase correctly. It keeps appearing in the god-awful English movies Bokuto and Miya keep playing during team movie nights that makes him want to tear his hair out.

But yes, he meets her at Miya Shino’s seventh birthday party, the birthday girl the apple of Miya Atsumu’s eye, the princess of his castle, the most perfect angel in the entire heavens - the list of pet names growing longer and longer the more the obnoxious setter prattles on about his daughter.

And apparently Miya Shino is a chip off the old block, and is as obsessed with volleyball as her father. Which means that he, one Sakusa Kiyoomi, is forced to turn up on a Saturday afternoon for a birthday party to teach a group of children roughly about the same height as his kneecaps how to play volleyball.

There are plenty of other MSBY players that Miya Atsumu could have rounded up to fritter away a Saturday afternoon. Hinata, for instance - the sunny, fiery headed opposite hitter a perennial favourite with young fans. Or Inunaki - the liberio has an amiable personality that he certainly wouldn’t mind snot nosed children hanging off his arms like a walking, talking monkey bar. But no, Hinata is apparently busy on a weekend meditation retreat, and Inunaki is at his sister’s wedding party, so both of them managed to escape this travesty of a birthday party.

That leaves him with Bokuto who’s practically a child himself, beaming, bumping balls at screaming children with one hand, the other hand lifting another child above his head. Meian’s here too but his own kid is somewhere in this gaggle of monsters anyway, so he’s here to carry out his parental duties – hopefully his presence might balance the sheer chaos he’s sure he’s about to face.

‘Omi-omi you made it!’ Atsumu greets him with a slap to the back.

Sakusa resists the urge to bare his teeth. Is this what hell is? Screeching gremlins underfoot, the nauseating smell of fried food permeating the air.

And it’s probably because he’s still in a horrified daze at the situation he’s put himself in (which Atsumu is either too dense to pick up on or already immune due to the series of similar expressions he pulls at him on a daily basis), Atsumu manages to snap a party hat on his head, before he prances off in victory.

Sakusa snarls, ripping off the red paper hat off his head.

Why on earth did he agree to this again?

‘Sakusa-san! Thank you so much for coming!’

His glare softens by a fraction.

Miya Kaiyo, Atsumu’s long suffering wife approaches him, careful not to touch him, waving at him instead. He appreciates her thoughtfulness, so he thaws a little, giving her a slight nod in greeting.

Right, she’s the reason why he’s here.

He’s always been fond of her - competent, patient, intelligent, far too good for her idiot of a husband. Approximately a year ago, he sought her professional help with his accounts. He graduated with a business degree from Chuo University, so he can tell there is obviously something fishy that his manager is pulling with his finances, but the accounting courses he took weren’t in depth to pinpoint the problem. Miya Kaiyo, on the other hand, a trained forensic accountant with a nose like a bloodhound for fraudulent accounts, nailed down the problem within a week. So when she asked him after a game whether he’d be free to attend her daughter's birthday party, he hadn’t been able to turn her down.

‘It was no problem’, he says stiffly, already itching to spray the whole place down with disinfectant. ‘I’m glad to be here.’

Kaiyo laughs at his obvious lie, tugging at his sleeve to seat him in a corner. ‘You don’t have to go play with the kids if you didn’t want to! I invited you so we could catch up, and besides, I did want to introduce you to someone.’

‘Hm.’

He doesn’t try to mask his reluctance this time. Kaiyo means well, he knows, but between her and his mother, he’s tired of having to fend off match making attempts. It’s not like he can’t get a date – he can and he has, it’s just difficult to find someone willing to put up with his prickly personality and busy schedule.

‘Well she’s not here yet, so you’ll have to wait. And while we’re waiting, tell me how’ve things been, Sakusa-san?’

Grateful that he’s not going to be forced into shepherding children into playing anything remotely resembling an actual volleyball match (he suspects he might have more luck teaching cats how to do the conga), he settles into his seat, mouth stretching into something resembling a smile. He lets her chatter about work, and they’re deep in a discussion about his plans post-volleyball (because he can feel the countdown on his career in his creaking bones, his aching sinews) when Atsumu swoops in on him again, like a vulture seeking easy prey.

‘What’cha doin’ with my wife, Omi-omi’, he slips a hand around Kaiyo’s waist mock possessively.

She swats at him. He ducks, raising his hands in surrender.

‘I enjoy talking to an actual adult sometimes, ‘Tsumu!’

‘Oh come on, I already have to share you with ‘Samu most of the time, now you’re leaving me for Omi-kun?!’

‘Dramatic ass.’

‘Please, you chose to marry me.’ He crows, flipping his hair. He looks ridiculous, he always does. Kaiyo seems to agree -

‘And I wonder why sometimes.’ She retorts, Atsumu squawking indignantly at her response, hair ruffling like an offended chick. But Kaiyo ruins the effect of her words by laughing, leaning over to affectionately peck her husband on the cheek.

Sakusa should be annoyed by this display of childishness, but for some inexplicable reason, a frisson of longing bubbles in his chest instead. It’s strange. Marriage or even serious relationships have never been something he’s actively sought. After all, it always seemed horrendously illogical to put all your eggs in one basket and hope nothing trips up – but his heart pays his mind no mind, and the strange sensation continues to trickle down his throat into his chest.

He makes up an excuse to slip to the bathroom for a tactical retreat from this madness.

Then he takes a breath.

Rinse. Lather hands with soap. Rinse. Repeat again .

Familiar motions, bred out of a desire to do things right, transformed into an unbreakable habit. Cold water, washing away soap bubbles.

Right. Now he’s ready for another plunge off the deep end .

He’s a foot past the threshold of the community hall where the party is being held when Miya Shino darts towards him. She’s very clearly her father’s daughter with his penchant for mischief because she dives between his legs, making him stumble in confusion. Then Meian Shugo’s eldest son Makoto barrels towards him, intent on reaching the ball held aloft in Shino’s hands.

Athletic reflexes be damned in the face of a pair of hell-spawn.

‘Shino!’. Kaiyo shouts.

‘Makoto!’ Meian thunders.

Sakusa flails, decidedly without grace, and in his attempt at not squashing the two little devils, he manages to do something even worse .

Much, much worse.

He manages to trip over his feet and bump right into the woman Miya Kaiyo wanted to introduce him to (this, he finds out later). It’s a lost cause – he’s six foot two of pure muscle, dwarfing her by a mile, and she’s carrying a huge box in her hand.

He ends up face planting directly into her chest.

His brain short circuits at the feeling of plush softness and vanilla and – ,

‘Woah - Omi-omi, never thought I’d have to defend the honour of my cousin in law’, Atsumu laughs.

The sudden flare of irritation at Atsumu’s words kickstarts his brain back into gear. Rearing back in alarm, he promptly topples over onto his butt.

‘Uncle ‘kusa, I’m sorry’ Shino screeches, distraught. Makoto merely snivels. Kaiyo is evidently the only one with working brain cells, because she rushes over to help them up.

The-woman-with-the-mysterious-box makes Kaiyo take the box first. It holds precious cargo - Shino’s birthday cake, he later finds out, but because she manages to cling on to it with admirable tenacity, it emerges more or less intact. Then she turns to him, still sprawled on the floor. He scoots away, still dazed.

She offers him a steady hand. ‘Hello’, she says. ‘It seems we’ve gotten off to rather a bad start.’

There is a hint of mirth in her voice, but her eyes are kind.

He takes her hand with a rare smile.

Miya Kaiyo grins behind the cake box. It turns out her daughter is a better matchmaker than either her or (heaven forbid) her husband.

It turns out that Miya Kaiyo wanted to introduce him to her cousin, newly moved to Osaka from Tokyo. She’s a sports journalist, used to cover volleyball even, but for some reason their paths never crossed. She too, is tired of her cousin’s well intentioned meddling, but asks him if he’d like to meet her for dinner one day ‘if only to get Kaiyo off her back, because she’s persistent’, and funnily enough, he agrees.

He doesn’t mind making a new friend, he reasons. She seems decent enough.

They go out for dinner on a Tuesday night. She doesn’t complain when he tells her that due to his diet planned by MSBY’s nutritionist, most restaurants are off limits. Instead, she asks intelligent questions about whether the sources of protein and fibre he’s relying on are varied enough, even suggesting alternatives like tempeh, a Southeast Asian soy product.

He appreciates that.

She doesn’t also fawn over the fact that he’s a professional athlete. That makes sense, considering she’s probably interviewed dozens, if not hundreds of individuals who are just like him. It’s nice - he’s tired of groupies who start dates off by staring at him starry eyed, but ending it with disappointment in their eyes when they discover that he’s just a guy who practices hitting balls enough to do it for a living. And best of all, she doesn’t mind that their conversation sometimes wanes into silence. She doesn’t seem to feel the need to fill empty spaces with inane drivel, nor expect him to entertain her like a circus animal.

He likes that.

So when the night ends, he asks her whether she’d like to have dinner with him again. ‘Just as friends’, he’s quick to clarify.

‘Sure’, she nods, and they bid each other goodnight.

They start having dinner every Tuesday night, subject to their erratic schedules.

He enjoys her company. She’s thoughtful, bringing him home made baked goods like zucchini cake (low sugar, of course), sneaking him chocolate scones for his cheat days after she discovers his hidden sweet tooth. She’s considerate too, never blinking an eye at his compulsive need to make sure everything is just in order, even if the waitress stands behind them aghast when he insists on using disinfectant to wipe down their table. She doesn’t even call him paranoid when he passes her a bottle of sanitizer.

Slowly, he finds himself confiding in her about things he’d maybe only tell his cousin, Motoya. Or at least, the things he would tell Motoya if the guy would only pick up his calls.

‘Sorry’, Motoya texts back after a couple of missed calls. ‘ Practice has been brutal recently.

In a remarkable display of restraint, Sakusa does not point out that EJP Raijin is below MSBY in this season’s rankings.

So he tells her instead about how he’s contemplating retirement, how he’s trying to chart out his next steps career wise. She surprises him by listening to him gravely, pointing out that he can lean on his business degree to possibly land an office job in event management or with sports associations, putting him in touch with one overly excited Kuroo Tetsuro. He tucks her suggestions away carefully at the back of his mind.

It’s nice to have a friend, he tells himself, his lips quirking ever so slightly when her hand grazes his as they walk down the street together.

He invites her to the monthly gatherings that the MSBY players take turns to host for their family and friends, making the excuse that he needs a human shield in any event hosted by Miya Atsumu. She agrees easily, perking up at the chance to spend a Sunday afternoon with her cousin and niece - ‘ and Kaiyo’ll need help, especially since she’s pregnant’, bringing far too many cupcakes topped with the lightest, fluffiest cream cheese frosting he’s ever had the pleasure of tasting. Even Miya Osamu gives her a nod of respect after stuffing his face full of her cupcakes. He, unlike his twin, has good taste.

Her brow furls into a concerned frown when he quietly sneaks himself a second cupcake. ‘You don’t have to force yourself to eat it just to be polite! I made it, so I know it has so much sugar and butter it would make your nutritionist weep. If you want, I snuck some zucchini cake in my handbag for you instead.’

He stubbornly shovels a large bite into his mouth. ‘I won’t tell if you don’t.’

She bursts into laughter, leaning forward to wipe away the smudge of frosting on the tip of his nose with her thumb.

Miya Kaiyo shoots him a knowing look across the room, waggling her eyebrows in an eerie imitation of her husband. He fights to keep his face blank, refusing to feed her satisfaction, but fails, a hot flush rising in his cheeks.

‘Traitor’ he mouths at her. Her smirk only deepens.

Fortunately, the gathering ends with no further mishaps, either to his physical well-being or his dignity. Makoto is packed off with Meian, the little boy whining for more time to play with Shino. Hinata and Bokuto prance off for some ridiculous buffet on the other side of town.

As for himself, he hangs back with her to help the Miyas put their house back in order, expelling an amused puff of a laugh from his nose when she forces the very pregnant Kaiyo to ‘stay still, for goodness sake!’ on the couch, dancing around the house with a mop, Shino trailing after her waving a feather duster with gusto. He refrains from telling the little girl that she’s more likely to spread the dust than to actually clear it – at least she’s not causing more havoc this way.

‘I can’t believe I could’ve ever taken this for granted, y’know’, Atsumu comments from behind him, mouth wide in a tender smile. ‘It’s the best feeling in the world to have a wife and kid who loves ya to the moon and back, welcoming ya home after a long day at work. They make everything worth it.’

He’s thrown for a loop at this rare display of emotional vulnerability from the usually obnoxious setter and for once, does not resort to hostility, choosing instead to acknowledge the blonde setter’s words with a tacticum nod.

The Miyas’ apartment is far too chaotic for his tastes, with colourful toys scattered on the floor, mismatched picture frames of the little family on the walls, but laughter hangs in the air, and light spills from the windows, illuminating the warmth and love and fondness in every look and word the Miyas gift each other.

His father gave him a compass when he was a child, as a present to celebrate his first match. His mother clucked her tongue because it’s a strange gift for a child - delicate, fiddly, its gold exterior tarnished with age. But his father chuckled and told him that he’s old enough to appreciate that the compass is his father’s, and his father’s father before that, an heirloom to remind their sons to work hard at everything they do, and to keep their hearts on course, pointing north.

And Sakusa thinks he’s done that. He’s worked and worked and worked at perfecting his skills in his chosen sport. He’s accepted his solo course, so laser focused on carving out a career in professional sports leaves little time or space for intimate relationships. Not to mention the fact that watching the disaster of Atsumu’s early years of marriage from the sidelines, made him swear off similar heartbreak for himself.

But there are times when he can’t help but feel a little lonely - when he has to struggle to find a date for MSBY events, when he has no one to celebrate the holidays with, when he goes home every day to his neat, cold apartment with space for only one occupant.

The compass in his heart creaks. It starts to turn a few degrees just off-course.

‘Do you ever wonder what it’d be like to get married?’ he asks her as he’s walking her home that night.

‘I did, once upon a time’, she shrugs carelessly. He misses the sudden strain in her smile. ‘Why do you ask?’

He stays silent for a while, the length of the quiet street giving him time to properly ferment his response. He considers the effects of adding splashes of colour to his dull life, weighs it against his long cultivated instinct to avoid the potential chaos of any emotional entanglements. He finds himself suddenly craving the sweetness of cream cheese frosting, and wonders how it’d be like to come home to light, fluffy cakes baked by her hands.

When they reach her apartment block, she tilts her head at him curiously, obviously awaiting his answer. He tugs his words together, strings his swirling thoughts into a decipherable sentence.

‘Because Atsumu and Kaiyo seem happy together. And I wondered if we’d be happy together too.’

He watches her puzzle over his words, her brow furling into a confused frown. ‘And I wasn’t proposing, by the way’, he feels the need to clarify.

She snorts. ‘I didn’t think so.’ With a directness that he very much appreciates, she looks at him squarely and asks - ‘Are you asking me out, Sakusa Kiyoomi?’

He meets her gaze. ‘Yes, I am. We’ve known each other for a decently long time for me to conclude our personalities are well matched, and we’re both mature adults who respect each other’s work schedules and commitments. And if you don’t mind that I can be overly blunt and quiet sometimes - ‘

‘ - which I don’t’, she interjects, with a chuckle.

‘I think we might be happy together’, he concludes, with a small smile that’s becoming more common in her presence.

He allows her the space to turn his proposition over in her mind.

‘Alright’, she finally says. ‘I guess we can give it a go’.

So much for Atsumu accusing him of having a heart made out of tin. Flesh and muscle works overtime to pump blood into his cheeks as she slots her fingers between his and gives his hand a squeeze.

Being in a relationship isn’t too different from what they had before.

They still keep to their standing date to meet every Tuesday (schedules permitting, of course). But now he doesn’t have to make up excuses to ask her out on outings that aren’t food related. At first he tries his best to adhere to dating norms, arranging for romantic dates at candlelit restaurants, buying her massive bouquets that make her sneeze.

‘It’s fine, Omi’, she tells him gently after they spend another uncomfortable evening in a dimly lit restaurant eating off plates too large for the laughably tiny food portions. ‘I’m happy just hanging out with you. You don’t have to go out of your way to impress me, I’m not holding on to any ridiculous expectations of you’. He stops after that, glad he doesn’t have to suffer another night trying to decipher which utensil to be used at which course, or having to put on starched formal wear to yet another stuffy restaurant.

She’s noticeably happier when they accompany each other on trips to the supermarket, each holding a stack of coupons to take advantage of the latest deals. She shields him from any overly zealous obaa-sans with gusto, throwing elbows and using her grocery basket as a makeshift battering ram before they crowd close enough to him to trigger his anxiety. He helps her reach for things on the top shelf ‘to prevent her from scaling the grocery shelves like an overgrown teenager’ , he snarks. He’s worried his attempt at teasing lands wrong, but she snorts and thanks him good naturedly anyways.

On the weekends, they develop a habit of meal prepping for the rest of the week at her apartment. His kitchen lacks the fancy mixers and blenders that she has, and in all honesty, his dark, spartan apartment lacks the sunlight and warmth that spills into her apartment from the windows, so it’s only logical that they should spend the bulk of their time there. It’s an oasis of calm for him, chopping vegetables and chicken into small cubes, sautéing them for the week ahead, while she bustles around whipping eggs and flour and milk together to form another delectable cake that they always end up sharing at the end of the day.

He starts to dread matches away from home a little more than he used to. While hotel rooms are as spartan as his own apartment, he doesn’t have the option of heading over to her apartment to bask in her quiet warmth. His meals come in styrofoam boxes instead of the glass tupperware she stacks on her kitchen counter, and he turns up his nose at store bought cakes that his teammates offer him, only craving for those baked in her oven. He even starts looking up to the stands for a glimpse of her, only to remember that she can’t be there to cheer the team on.

‘Cheer up, Omi-omi! We’ll have a home match next week’, Atsumu tells him jovially.

‘It doesn’t matter either way to me’, he mutters resentfully, but the setter only grins.

‘Trust me, it matters a great deal to have the girl ya love cheering ya on, y’know?’

He stalks off to the changing room, ignoring the peals of laughter from the blonde annoyance he leaves in his wake.

The tight coil of loneliness only loosens when he sees her waiting for him at the station when he returns. She ignores his protests to snag his suitcase away from him, the case looking comically large against her small frame, but she uses it effectively as a tank to force a path through the crowd, and drag him back to her apartment in no time.

‘You need a home cooked dinner to make up for all those industrially prepared food you must’ve been eating this entire week’, she tells him, bustling around the kitchen, only stilling when he takes her shoulders in his hands.

‘Are you happy?’ he asks, when he cups her face to carefully brush the dusting of flour on her cheek away.

‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ She laughs, the sound fond.

‘Just checking in’, he tells her, closing his eyes as she pulls him down towards her for a kiss.

All in all, it’s a happy, uncomplicated relationship. He likes it that way.

If his heart were a compass, he’d suspect it’s broken because instead of pointing north, it starts to inch inexorably towards her.

But there are strange quirks he notices about her that niggles at his brain.

She refuses point blank to check out the planetarium when she attends an event held at the adjacent Art Museum as his date, professing to have an irrational dislike for stars.

‘They’re just balls of burning gas and light ’ , he points out. ‘What could you possibly have against them?’

There’s a flicker of irritation in her eyes that he does not miss. ‘I know it’s stupid but just humour me, ok?’ Her tone verges on a snarl, before she storms away, ostensibly to the bathroom to freshen herself up.

She returns later with an apology for her behaviour. Though he’s confused, he respects her privacy and does not push for an answer.

He’s at her apartment preparing meals for the week ahead when the doorbell rings and an enormous bouquet of white lilies are deposited into her arms. She stares dumbly at the flowers, their sickly sweet scent permeating the air.

His brow furls. ‘Today isn’t your birthday, is it?’

His words jolt her out of her trance. ‘No’, she answers, before inexplicably storming to the living room and dumping the bouquet with a vengeance on the coffee table. Pollen flutters to the floor, delicate white petals crushed in her hands.

‘It’s nothing’, she tells him as he shoots her a questioning look.

When she disappears to the washroom, he peeks at the card. There’s no name on it, just a simple message - ‘consider it, please?’

He doesn’t question her about it when she returns to the kitchen. She doesn’t offer him any answers either.

He finds himself wondering about them.

It was refreshing at first to have a relationship free of any expectations. She never asks for more than he’s willing to give, seems happy enough to slot herself into the pockets of time he offers, only attends his games when he gives her tickets, doesn’t get upset with him when he inevitably forgets to text.

But therein lies the issue, doesn’t it?

If she truly likes him, wants to pursue a relationship seriously with him, shouldn’t she be demanding more than the crumbs of affection and attention he shows her? They’re both past the age of thirty, shouldn’t she be looking to get married and settle down, maybe spawn a demon child or two?

He’s tried raising it with her once, but she responded with confusion.

‘I don’t have any expectations of you, Omi’, she’d replied. ‘We both have busy lives, so whatever you’re willing to give, I’m happy to take’.

There’s technically nothing wrong about her answer. It’s wholly considerate and kind - very much her.

Still, it makes him wonder - if her heart were a compass, would it point towards him?

He manages to hold his tongue until she gets another delivery of flowers.

This time he opens the door when the doorbell rings, assaulted by the heady scent of lillies, pollen smeared on his sleeves. This time, there’s a name on the card.

Oikawa Tooru .

It takes a couple of seconds for him to realise why the name is so familiar. It’s the same name Hinata and Kageyama used to buzz about every Olympics - the famous Argentinian setter who started his career as a schoolboy from Miyagi, a prodigious setter who never made it to Nationals in high school, refused to give up and forged his way to success in a whole new land, continents away.

‘How do you know Oikawa’? He asks her. ‘And why does he keep sending your flowers?’

‘He’s just an old acquaintance,’ she admits. ‘He’s just sending the flowers to persuade me to attend his wedding.’

His forehead crinkles in confusion, and he tries his best not to leap to conclusions, but since she doesn’t seem to be forthcoming with further clarification, he presses her further.

‘And why won’t you attend his wedding?’

Her shoulders slouch in obvious reluctance as she turns away, focusing her attention on the mixing bowl. But Kiyoomi isn’t easily deterred, so he firmly takes the mixing bowl from her and sets it on the countertop. He raises an eyebrow at her, clearly seeking an answer.

She huffs a sigh through her nose. ‘Because he’s getting married to my ex-boyfriend, ok?’

He blinks. That was unexpected.

‘It happened half a decade ago. Ancient history. I’m over it.’ She mutters to the floor.

‘Why didn’t you tell me about it?’

‘Because it’s none of your business’, she snaps, grabbing the mixing bowl again, beating the batter with a vengeance.

‘You’re going to ruin the texture if you whisk it too hard’, he tugs the bowl away from her again. She refuses to relinquish her grip.

‘Leave me alone!’ she snarls, yanking the bowl back. Confused by her sudden fury, he lets go of the bowl, only for her to stumble back, eyes wide as she loses her balance, knocking her head against the countertop.

He drops down onto his knees, not even noticing the batter soaking into his pants, combing through her hair, scouring the back of her neck for any sign of injury. It’s only when he’s satisfied that her fall has resulted in nothing more than a bruise that should go away by tomorrow that he notices her tears soaking the front of his shirt.

‘Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?’ he asks, wiping her tears away with a batter splattered thumb.

She hangs her head, body still shaking from her sobs. ‘I’ve already made such a mess of things – don’t want you to have to listen to my nonsense – am just bein’ stupid, that’s all - ’.

He patiently waits until her sobs dissolves into mere sniffles before speaking. ‘I want you to tell me what’s wrong. If you’re up to it.’

So through more broken sobs and hiccups, he listens to the tale of Iwaizumi Hajime, a boy who was her world, who only realised he was always in love with Oikawa Tooru, a fortnight before she and he were to wed. Her voice wavers as she tells him the full story of the white lilies, explains that her irrational dislike for stars stems from the reminder that she chose to give her world up to a boy-king burning brighter than the stars in the night sky combined.

He waits until her words run out, and she’s leaning against him, broken and pliant in a way that makes his heart ache.

‘I wish you told me about it earlier’, he tells her, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear. ‘That you would trust me enough to tell me about the things that hurt you in the past. And I wonder about the state of our relationship if you don’t even trust me enough for that’.

‘That’s unfair. You never asked - ‘

‘How could I ask about something I didn’t even know about?’ He takes hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. Hurt and anger and shock simmer in her eyes, each swirl of emotion fighting for dominance.

‘I didn’t want to expect anything more from this relationship than you were willing to give’, she admits after a pause.

She’s scared of being hurt again. He doesn’t miss the subtext.

‘Shall I tell you what I want from you then? I have a list, if you’re willing to hear me out’ he asks, with a smile that’s growing more common the more time he spends around her.

She nods, but keeps her gaze stubbornly on the ground.

He takes his time to choose his words. He’s never been verbose - not like Atsumu or Bokuto or even easygoing Motoya, choosing to only say what is strictly necessary, using the precise amount of words, nothing more, nothing less. But this is a situation that requires more emotion rather than precision, so he inhales a shaky breath, letting it fuel the sentiment in his heart as he exhales.

‘First. I want you to trust that I’ll never hurt you like he did’, he says, and with a self-deprecating smile he adds - ‘I don’t have any childhood friends to be secretly in love with besides Motoya, and I’m hardly going to be pining after my flake of a cousin’.

That triggers the corners of her lips to tilt upwards, and encouraged, he carries on.

‘Second. I want you to be open with me about what you want - your dreams, your expectations of me. I want to hear them all because you’re important to me.’

That makes her flush pink, and she sneaks a glance up towards him.

‘Third. I want to wake up each morning with you by my side and come home to you every night. I want to watch you fight cranky old ladies in the supermarket in my honour, be the first person to taste test all your baking experiments - even the failed ones that are only fit to feed Atsumu. I want us to be happy together. Forever, if possible.’

He lifts her bodily into his lap, brushes his nose against her cheek. ‘Now that I’ve told you what I’m willing to give, is that too much for you to take?’ he murmurs against her lips.

Her blush blossoms into a deep scarlet, but her eyes are iridescent pools of startled delight. She doesn’t speak, sealing her answer instead with her lips.

His heart’s compass is irretrievably broken, the needle melted into place. It doesn’t point north any longer, no – it’s always going to point towards her.

They move in together after that.

He gives up his apartment, professing to prefer the warmth and light of hers. The Miyas help him move in even when he tries to refuse their help, Atsumu helping him to lug cardboard boxes up the stairs, Kaiyo helping him sort out his belongings, sorting them into his allocated cupboards.

When they’re done, they order pizza and she bakes a cake to celebrate. ‘An impromptu housewarming’ she says, toasting Miya Kaiyo with a slice of pepperoni pizza with a laugh.

Kiyoomi shares a slice of chocolate cake with Atsumu in complete defiance of their nutritionist’s advice, jostling forks over the very last bite. She and Kaiyo scold them teasingly, telling them to behave like they’re actually thirty and not teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. Atsumu pulls at Kaiyo’s ponytail in retaliation. He refuses to engage in similar tomfoolery, reddening instead when she reaches over to ruffle his curls.

‘This is nice’, he remarks to Atsumu later, when their significant others are out of earshot, gossiping and giggling about something or other.

‘It is, isn’t it’, Atsumu replies, a dopey smile on his face as he stares at his wife.

It truly is , Kiyoomi thinks, staring at her.

He takes over most of the cleaning, it clears his mind, he tells her. So to split the chores evenly, she insists on doing their laundry and cooking, and he doesn’t even nag her too much when she forgets to split the white and coloured clothes and stains some of his shirts once in a while.

Wedding invites printed on expensive cream paper and bouquets of white lilies start to litter their doorstep every day. He tries his best to dispose of them before they reach her sight, but every so often, he comes home too late, catches her wilt as she brushes white petals from their doorstep.

‘I don’t blame either of them’, she tells him, after he asks if she’d like him to call Iwaizumi and tell him to drown himself in a vat of batter, thank you very much.

‘You’re too kind to both of them’ he says plainly, as they share a pot of tea, his head pillowed in her lap. ‘I would’ve just set them both on fire and left them to rot.’

‘Hajime loved Tooru for almost all his life - I just wanted to see him happy in the end. Argh - I sound so stupid and sentimental like an old grandma, just laugh at me already’ she complains, hiding her burning cheeks in her hands.

‘You aren’t stupid for being kind.’ He hums, quiet and low. ‘It’s why I love you so.’

He relishes the soft light dawning in her eyes, captures her whispered affection with careful fingers, spins them into gold.

He has to turn off the stove to answer the door when some rude lout bangs on their front door far too early on a Sunday morning.

With his coldest sneer and thinking resentfully about his breakfast, Kiyoomi swings the door open, fully intent on looming over the disturbance with his full height, but takes a step back instead when he finds one Iwaizumi Hajime hanging off the door knob.

‘Hello’, Iwaizumi looks up at him confusedly.

‘Hi’, he nods a greeting back at his old Olympic team trainer. They stare at each other.

‘Eh - I think I’ve got the wrong house’, Iwaizumi scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘Sorry about that, Sakusa-san.’

He’s about to close the door in Iwaizumi’s face when her voice chimes in, clear as a bell.

‘Who’s at the door, Omi?’

The shorter man shoots him a look of barely contained rage as he uses his bulk to push his way through the doorway towards her. Kiyoomi tries to stop him, protesting that he can’t barge into someone’s private property without an invitation like that, but it’s as futile an endeavour as trying to block the path of a raging storm.

Iwaizumi reaches her first, raising a hand as if to cup her face by instinct, before letting it fall back limply by his side. ‘You weren’t answering any of my messages or calls’, he says. ‘I was worried about you.’

She stares at him blankly for a moment. Then fire sparks in her eyes.

‘Well, as you can see, I’m completely fine’, she replies, jaw and fists clenched. ‘You don’t need to do a welfare check on me, we’re not involved anymore.’

The scorching pain in Iwaizumi’s eyes is evident, even from a distance away. ‘Yeah. Well. I thought we were friends. You didn’t even tell me you were dating again’. He shoves his hands in his pockets, tossing another heated glance in Kiyoomi’s way.

‘I didn’t think I needed to update my ex-fiance about my love life, especially not when he’s trying to drag me to attend his wedding that I already said I’m not going to attend’, she bites back.

Iwaizumi opens his mouth, then closes it with a resounding snap. ‘I’m sorry’, he says, with heartbreaking honesty. ‘I told Tooru that you probably didn’t want to hear from us, but he insisted and I got worried when I didn’t hear from you for months’.

Kiyoomi can see her glare soften into molten sympathy. The tension in the air crackles with electricity. He’s neither blind nor stupid – he can sense the years of longing and love not quite lost between them.

He thinks she loves him, Sakusa Kiyoomi – weird habits, cold disposition and all, but the doubt clogging up his arteries and veins is enough to make his heart seize – and if she’s going to break his heart, he’d much rather she not do it in front of Iwaizumi.

‘Hajime - ‘ she begins to say, and at this point he jumps in -

‘I’ll excuse myself so you both have the chance to catch up’, he says, waving aside her protests as he slips on his shoes. Even in his haste to leave the house, he clicks his tongue at the mess Iwaizumi left behind at their genkan , kneeling down to arrange their shoes, only standing up when he’s satisfied they’re neatly arranged back in place.

‘Omi, you don’t have to leave’, she says, holding the door open.

He shrugs his shoulders at her, nose and mouth already obscured by his usual face mask. ‘Let me know when you’d like me to come back’.

If she’d like him to come back. She doesn’t chase after him, after all.

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, but the golden sunshine feels more like a taunt rather than a balm to his mood. His stomach growls, making him long for the scrambled eggs he was in the middle of frying before he was so rudely interrupted, but his growing sense of nausea keeps him from seeking out an alternative meal.

Instead, he makes his way to the park, sits on a relatively clean bench. There are couples a-plenty, strolling around hand in hand, families picnicking merrily around him, compounding the growing chasm of loneliness in his chest. He tries to count the seconds by his breaths, tries not to let the minutes expand the insecurities crawling, inch by inch up his throat.

He sits alone. Poised, yet short of breath.

He wonders if Iwaizumi Hajime has finally figured out that stars, for all their brilliance, cannot compensate for their lack of human kindness. And if so, he wonders which direction her heart would point towards if it were a compass - whether it’s as broken as his, and whether it points towards Iwaizumi or him.

He waits.

Then his phone buzzes.

Ah.

She’s asking him to come home. He does not dare to overthink the meaning of that single word. But he does not hide that his steps back home are lighter than when he left, though the key in his hand shakes so hard it takes him three tries to fit it into the keyhole. He does not try to suffocate the seed of hope budding in the soft earth of his heart when he realises Iwaizumi’s shoes have vanished without a trace.

“Omi?”

She’s waiting for him, slipping warm arms around his waist, tangling her fingers in his curls, ignoring his complaints about letting himself wash his hands first.

‘Am I silly for missing you, even though it’s only been an hour?’

He refuses to be distracted by the affection in her voice.

‘But what about Iwaizumi?’ he frowns, hesitation still poisoning the well of thoughts in his mind.

Perhaps it’s a testament to how well they’ve grown to know each other that she doesn’t need to read the silent subtext of his statement. She smiles, bringing his palm flat against her chest, does not answer until his pulse matches the steady beat of her heart.

‘I love you , Omi’, she tells him. Her heartbeat does not quicken, her smile does not waver. ‘You told me not to long ago to always be upfront with you about what I want so I’m going to be honest with you now - Iwaizumi is only ever going to be my past, and I want you from now on’.

If her heart were a compass, the steady beat of her heart tells him, it would point only towards him.

‘That is – if you’ll have me’, she adds, a shadow of doubt suddenly appearing on her face.

‘Don’t be ridiculous’, he scoffs, burying his nose to breathe in the familiar scent of vanilla in her hair. ‘Who else would I rather have than you?’

Who else would he be lucky enough to call his home – a woman with a heart large enough to fit a whole ocean within its depths, with kindness in her eyes and mirth in her smiles.

She laughs in spite of the salt in her throat and water in her eyes, leaning on her toes in a vain attempt to reach his face. He lifts her into her arms, laughs when she squeals indignantly as her feet only find air, toppling them both onto the couch where he can seat her between his legs, press kisses to her cheeks.

She’ll tell him later that Iwaizumi came looking for her because he’s never outgrown his overprotective streak, and he’s truly happy for her - for them, because they’ve both moved on with their separate lives. And she ended up agreeing to attend his and Oikawa’s wedding on one condition – that an invitation is extended to him, Sakusa Kiyoomi, to attend with her as his date.

He’ll tell her later that he’s happy to attend the wedding with her, just not to expect him to smile in any wedding pictures. And more importantly, he’ll tell her in his plain way that the list of expectations he has of their relationship has expanded yet again.

He’ll lay out his dreams of a pair of matching golden rings to bind them to lifelong companionship, of hellspawn of their own and a dog, maybe two.

He’ll ask her if it’s too much for him to ask of her.

She’ll tell him that she’s willing to give him everything he asks for and more.

It’s Miya Shino’s ninth birthday party.

He’s retired from volleyball proper, and is thankful he insisted on getting a business degree from Chuo University before going pro, because it comes in handy working alongside Kuroo Tetsuro at the volleyball association.

Miya Atsumu insists on inviting him to the party, though he supposes he’s invited not by virtue of being a former teammate, but because he’s also Shino’s uncle by marriage now. The thought that he’s related to Miya Atsumu, however distant and most definitely not by blood, still fills him with dread.

The birthday girl is a little less imbued with her father’s chaotic energy this time, though she still squeals when her birthday cake is unveiled – though to be fair it’s less a cake, more a tower of cupcakes with cream cheese frosting spelling out her name.

‘Thank you Auntie!’ Shino cries, flinging her arms around her. Kiyoomi flinches at the sight of anyone, even his nine year old niece, coming in close contact with his extremely pregnant wife, but a sharp glare from her subdues any complaint he dares to make.

He fusses over her the minute he has the chance to corral her away from the clutches of Miya Shino. ‘Are your feet hurting? What about your back? I don’t know why you insist on walking so much when you know the doctor said you should be on bed rest soon’.

‘Stop fussing, Omi! The baby and I will be fine’, she replies, exasperated. ‘This is the last social event scheduled before I pop and I’m determined to enjoy it while I can.’ Then she scuttles off faster than he imagines her frame allows, leaving him floundering in her wake.

‘Just let her be’, Miya Atsumu laughs, slapping his back. Kiyoomi is on the verge of pointing out - pot, meet kettle, reminding Atsumu that the last time Kaiyo was pregnant, Atsumu didn’t stop fretting until she went into labour and delivered a healthy baby boy. But then he remembers the grief etched into Atsumu’s face when Kaiyo miscarried in the stands during a game, so he holds his tongue and rolls his eyes instead.

‘I’m just worried she’s pushing herself too hard’, he admits in a rare bout of vulnerability.

Atsumu smiles, genuine for once. ‘Those crazy women, eh? They’re always gonna drive us up the wall, but they’re worth every minute of it.’

He looks at her, belly swollen with their first child, peach blossoms blooming in her cheeks. His past self would never imagine that he’d find this much joy and contentment in being a husband and a father, but then again his past self was satisfied coming home alone day after day to a cold apartment. He knows better now - life is so better when he has her, sharing stories of their day of over steaming mugs of tea at their kitchen countertop, listening to her hum as she bakes treats for the weekend, warmth and laughter and love abound in their cosy apartment for two, soon to be three.

So feeling vaguely drunk though he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in the months since she whispered during their anniversary dinner that they were expecting, Kiyoomi laughs aloud.

Atsumu lifts his eyebrows in surprise.

‘She really, really is’, Kiyoomi says, breaking into an unguarded smile.

If you wanna know more about the backstory of the reader - check out The Astrophile, and if you wanna know more about Miya Atsumu’s relationship with his wife, check out Storm Chaser.

As always, reblogs and/or comments are so very appreciated <3

Taglist:

@snoozless @softsakusa @moondaius (yeon i’ll be shameless and tag you cos I know you’re an Omi stan!)

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gale-gentlepenguin · 3 years ago

Text

Gale Reviews: ML season 4 episode 12 Crocoduel

(Spoilers below)

-So Kitty Section is playing. I gotta say... the outfits do not look as good as they did in the dark. I cant take them seriously with the little cat gesture. Im chuckling

-Oh look Zoe is there.

-That JULROSE HUG IS GOOD S***

-But Marinette isnt there for some reason.

-Luka thinks its his fault.

-Rose sweetie, I love you but no.

-Luka looks so sad... Okay no cap. This is kind of relatable. Look at them developing Luka.

-"I cant tell him Marinette is super embarrassed." Well yea, those outfits do not look good in the daylight. Except Ivans. THAT BOY IS STYLING

-Okay so Zoe being there is nice but it just reminds us that MARINETTE WAS FINE SEEING LUKA EARLIER! (Im sorry this plot hole really f***ing annoys me) (not gonna impact the score. Just need it to be known.

-So They plotting to have marinette and Luka talking again. by throwing Luka and Juleka a party. Cause their birthdays

-Out of context, them being happy adrien isnt there sounds REALLY bad.

-Juleka doesnt seemed sold on the idea...but JULROSE CHEEK KISS.

-Marinette Figured that out in like 20 seconds.

-"Luka loves me but I love Adrien!" just gonna memorize that line

-But Alya is right, they do need to talk

-Marinette does have a point tho. She doesnt want to hurt his feelings. You know, Marinette does care about his feelings and doesnt want to hurt him but she avoids actually talking with the person because she believes she is sparing their feelings.... HOLY S*** THE PARALLELS TO LADYNOIR.

-Marinette stealthed in a garbage can... HOW CAN PEOPLE HATE HER?!

-Marinette is putting a lot of unintentional pressure on Juleka.

-Okay so I really like this scene with Juleka and Luka. it is a good brother sister moment. Luka knows she was hiding something and cared to ask.

-JAGGED JUST SHOWED UP!

-And Jagged not noticing his daughter... dude not cool.

-And Anarke is here! Time for PARENTAL SMACK DOWN

-Jagged is not subtle

-Jagged dove out the window! The man is trying to be a decent dad now. So I will give him points for trying. and 3 points for that landing

-Poor juleka. She has so much pressure on her. And Luka looks so giddy. (or as giddy as his character model will allow)

-Juleka is standing there... the guilt... poor girl. Marinette why did you make her go through that.

-And the plan obviously backfired. SO LUKA IS GONNA GET TARGETED NUMBER 3!

-What akuma would he have he had anyway? I wonder if its like tear drops on my guitar

-Wow... Um that was touching. The group showing they care about Luka. That is sweet and prevents an akuma. NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO SALT ON THEM TODAY.

-Shadowmoth just like "They are teens.. SOMEONE WILL BE DEPRESSED"

-Now Shadowmoth focused on Juleka.

-Wait... doesnt Juleka have a charm at this point?! THE AKUMA WOULDNT HAVE WORKED? Yeesh the plotholes in this.

- Marinette comforted Juleka. It is still cute

- Jagged stone showing up to his kids party.

-Shadowmoth mothblocked twice.

-Everyone is shocked that Jagged stone is their dad. And Hawkmoth is going for attempt number 3

-AND FAILURE. Shadowmoth keeps getting dunked on. Even shadowmoth realizes it

-"Why do you think your dad loves luka more" Sees Dad give son gift and not to tell Juleka. NOT EVEN 10 SECONDS

-And Jagged proves he is an awful dad... And I got my hopes up.

-Shadowmoth you tried that already

-Marinette channeling her angry gremlin energy to yell at him. I love it

-plot twist HE ISNT A BAD DAD! The gift was for Juleka! And he was trying to be subtle. WELL PLAYED JAGGED. you escape my wrath for now. BUT SO HELP ME... I WILL BREAK YOUR FACE IF YOU MAKE HER CRY.

-Shadowmoth's consistent failure makes me laugh

-The album that caused their seperation? Oh damn

-Shadowmoth is like "FINALLY A DIVORCE!"

- Wait... the item broke as it was getting akumatized?! HOW DOES THAT WORK?!

-guitar villain vs CAPTAIN HARDROCK! AKUMA FIGHT! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. PLEASE DONT MAKE THIS BORING!?

-I love this already. Also Alya is acting to get a distraction.

-Ladybug arrives. And they are fighting...

-Adrien is make up first and safety second.... I love him so much

-Oh wow CANON is not nice to Ladybug. (thank you I will be here all week)

-CHIMNEY CHAN!

-Chat noir saving Ladybug... a nice change of pace.

-Ladybug doesnt even know she is already in love with him. (Ladynoir banter at its finest.)

-Chat noir... you have a jetpack power up.

-SKY FIGHT!!!!

- oH MAN THIS FIGHT Looks fun

-Shadowmoth is so done already.

-And ladybug learns the lesson of the day... Talk it out.

-Well that was suspect. (so help me if Luka figures it out...)

-JULEKA HERO DEBUT TIME!

-ROARR!

-I love the purple tiger. He really brings out the wild side

- The transformation is great. I love it

- Chat noir happy to meet another cat hero.

-THEY HAVE A SPACE POWER UP! WHY DID HE NEED TO LAUNCH THEM?!

-Oh.. that is interesting. It has to be put together for the akuma to come out. Interesting.

-Chat noir is clutch today.

-Thats where the tape comes in.

-OH HER POWER IS Collision?

-So its like... a Super punch? Neat.

-And now that it was all together it could be destroyed.

-They almost died in the air.

-So many people almost died.

-Oh neat two charms in one!

-Juleka spoke up! Oh no. I LOVE HER EVEN MORE NOW!

-And father daughter moment is cute.

-Now for Luka and Marinette finally talk.

-And they both agree to be friends

_____________________________________________________________

Overall 8 out of 10. (Not including the Plot holes. with plot holes included. 7 out of 10)

I will say this, Great episode for the Couffaine family. All of them got some Development. (well anarke was a bit lacking but still)

Juleka was MVP. And I am glad Marinette and Luka are friends.

It was cute and the fight wasnt boring. I think they could have done a bit more with it. But it was fine. The comedy was on point.

#ml #ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #tigress pourpre #crocoduel

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ninjago-bingo · 3 years ago

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final month recap

wow, everyone. we’re here. we’ve made it. we’re reached the end of our bingo time, and i’m absolutely floored by the sheer creative output that i’ve seen over these last four months. everyone, take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back!!! no matter if you made 1 piece or 10, there’s now a work of art out there in the world that wasn’t there before. and truly, that’s super heccing rad no matter how you look at it.

so let’s celebrate! for this recap, we have a total of 20 new pieces, bringing the total amount of ninbingo pieces up to 50. in the span of four months, this little event has created 50 individual works (five of them in the last day!) holy cow ya’ll.

i’m putting out this recap now, but don’t worry, it’s not the end yet! any submissions made to the end of the 30th still count and this post will be updated accordingly :D

fic:

all the things i’ve never done by @sa-you-na-ra. tumblr || prompts: competition and teasing

It’s always a funny thing when the ninja realize new things about each other. Even though living with each other meant they had to see each other all day, there were still small habits or actions that amused the others.

(mod comments: all these little interactions made me smile so much :D looking forward to the rest!)

error 404: answer not found by @m-aster-of-spinjitzu. tumblr || prompt: memories

Akita and Zane talk after the battle in ‘Awakenings’. The conversation… doesn’t go as either of them expect.

(mod comments: the nuances in this fic are fantastic! also Akita is always a win :D)

Five times kai was a good brother by @/master-of-fluff. tumblr || ao3 || prompts: nightmare and brother

I'm writing kai centric stuff again.

(mod comments: kai IS the big bro of the team!!! i support him all the way!!)

How Garmadon became a chauffeur by @master-of-fluff. tumblr || ao3 || prompt: driving

"um...Kai? Don't you think we should go Slower?" Garmadon asked nervously trying not to panick as they raced down the road at what had to be over the speed limit.

(mod comments: who let Kai drive? no but honestly this is canon alskdfj)

little things by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: hugs and crying.

"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things." -Kurt Vonnegut

Lloyd’s tired of being left behind. How is he meant to be the green ninja when he always has to work harder, train better, and wait longer to go on missions with his team? He wants nothing more than to be their equal.

At least, that’s what he thought he wanted.

(mod comments: a post-ep-18 resolution scene? SIGN ME UP!)

Neither Snow Nor Rain by @fangirltakesall. tumblr || ffn.net || prompt: post-fight

After their return from the Never Realm and all its troubles, Zane is quiet and Nya is incredibly worried. A call to action to a peculiar sort of battle might be enough to change both of those things.

(mod comments: the concept of these two on their own mission together is just so good! excited to see how their dynamic plays out!!)

Never Put Off Until Tomorrow by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: video games and chores

…what can be done today, yada, yada, yada, we all know the saying. So do the ninja- when Master Wu is drilling it into their heads every minute of every day, it’s kind of hard to forget.

Naturally, it only takes them a week (and the biggest new video game in Ninjago) to do so.

(mod comments: this is so in character that it’s frustrating lol. also Pixal ftw!!)

oh take me back to the start by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: comfort and 3 am

The past should be left in the past. Or, at least, that’s what Jay keeps telling himself. Nadakhan is gone. It’s not logical to still be afraid. But he is, and now everything that he left behind suddenly feels like it’s never going to be the same again.

Cole isn’t so convinced.

(mod comments: Cole is truly the man we all deserve in our lives.)

On Our Own by @redefine-your-identity. tumblr || prompt: home

It’s been a few weeks since Kai and Nya’s parents disappeared without a trace. Needless to say, they’re struggling.

(mod comments: OU C H no poor babies 😭 the relationship dynamic here is great!)

orange and gold by @/m-aster-of-spinjitzu. tumblr || prompt: cooking

...I just need more Cole and Vania content, they seem like they'd be great friends.

Basically it's just 'Cole goes to visit her there, they almost burn down the kitchen, and make way too many puns', lol.

(mod comments: I also always need more Vania content!! the puns in this were breadful!)

permafrost by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: loss of control and promise

It’s not like this is the first time this has happened. It’s not like none of his teammates have ever suffered this kind of guilt and pain. It’s not like Zane himself hasn’t walked through hell before and come out the other side (mostly) in once piece.

Except, this time, it is. It shouldn’t be different, but it is.

(mod comments: super sweet moment between two ninja who deserve more interaction like seriously!!)

Precautionary��Tale by @/fangirltakesall. tumblr || ffn.net || prompt: protective

Fighting is different now, and Zane doesn't know why. Yes, he is titanium now, but why should that change anything? It seems to be changing everything, although is all really as it seems?

(mod comments: a great start to a zane-centric fic! interested to see where it goes next :D)

Star-Ninja! by @rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: siblings and competition

What happens when the loveable gremlin the ninja adopted off of the streets introduces them to Starfarer comics?

Chaos ensues, of course.

stuck with you (through bright and blue) by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompt: protective

Kai only wants two things: to protect Lloyd, and to give him the best birthday ever. Unfortunately, Lloyd seems hell-bent on making that as difficult as possible. Kai’s always prided himself on achieving the impossible, but dealing with human emotions is much more complicated than beating up Garmadon’s generals or shooting enemies with fire, as he quickly learns. Movie!verse

(mod comments: happy birthday lloyd!! look at him getting the love he deserves uwu)

Take a walk in the rain. by @/master-of-fluff. tumblr || ao3 || prompt: rain

Cole had always loved the rain, the way it smelled, the way it felt on his skin, and especially the mud! Whenever it rained his Mother would put on his rain coat and boots And they'd both go out and splash around in the puddles and make mud cakes and do all sorts of things.

(mod comments: this fic made me smile a lot :D loved the way it was arranged!)

the hues of an empty sky by @/m-aster-of-spinjitzu. tumblr || prompt: crying

Missing memories, or having two of them for one moment - not quite the same, but if there’s one thing Jay’s leant over the last few weeks, it’s that literally nothing makes sense anymore.

Or, some Skybound aftermath, Zane actually expressing emotions about his memory switch being turned off for all those years, and what was supposed to be a ‘they tell everyone about the erased timeline’ fic, but it turned into a 'two characters who barely interact on screen talk at like one am in the morning, and don’t actually tell the other what exactly they’re alluding to the whole time’ fic that I wrote at like one am-

(mod comments: Skybound resolution? SIGN ME THE HECK UP YES)

The Make-Cole-Realize-How-Much-We-Love-Him Competition by @21st-century-ninja. tumblr || ao3 || prompts: bets and competition

Jay and Kai share a horrified look. “He really doesn’t get it,” Jay says.

Kai shakes his head. “We need to show him somehow.”

“Show me what?” Cole asks, exasperated again.

“How much we love you!” Kai exclaims. “Somehow, it’s not getting through your thick skull that we want to sit next to you because you’re you, so I’m gonna have to just prove it to you.”

(mod comments: a silly little movie fic!)

twitter was a mistake by @/21st-century-ninja. tumblr || ao3 || prompts: teasing and birthday

Kai 🔥 @flaminhotninja ☑

so who was gonna tell me that Jay used to be a game show host huh

🌺✨ the Gift of Jay ✨🌺 @zaptrap ☑

Replying to @flaminhotninja

NO WHO SHOWED YOU

(mod comments: twitter was a mistake)

two halves of a broken whole by @/rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: scars and post-fight

The Sons of Garmadon have been defeated. Garmadon is in prison. The city has been saved.

In the aftermath of the battle, Nya is more than ready to take a much-needed break. But the life of a ninja is messy. Recovery is never that simple. Although the wounds may have healed, the scars still remain.

Zane’s scars seem to match up, though. And maybe together, they can begin to heal.

(mod comments: aggressive care is my jam, and this is it!)

wait by @rosiehunterwolf. tumblr || ao3 || ffn.net || prompts: home and memories

Lloyd’s not so great at being patient. It’s not his fault though- maybe he would be better at it if waiting didn’t always end up being so disappointing- if people actually kept their promises. But this time’s going to be different, he knows it. His father will come back for him. And Lloyd’s going to wait.

As long as it takes.

(mod comments: baby. baby boy. baby. protecc him plz.)

#ninbingo #recap #long post #but i don't want to hide anyone's work yk #ninjago #ninjago fic

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flightfoot · 4 years ago

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My Top 10 Favorite Miraculous Ladybug Characters

Note: this is FAVORITE, not necessarily the ones I think are best. These are the characters that bring me the most joy, which while it’s often connected to how well-developed they are or how much I enjoy their character types, those aren’t the only factors.

1. Adrien Agreste

A sunshine cat boy with a penchant for puns? One who’s under a lot more pressure, who’s had a worse time in his life than anyone knows... even, seemingly, himself? And with a looming identity crisis on top of that, what with trying to figure out who HE is underneath the “model son” act he puts on as Adrien and the “clown” act he puts on as Chat Noir? How could I not put him high up on the list?

With his hidden depths and the hidden tragedy of his terrible family, I really enjoy analyzing Adrien, peeling back his layers to try to figure out what he might be thinking and feeling, where his story is gonna go next.

2. Alya Cesaire

Marinette’s best friend since her arrival at Francois-Dupont, Alya made a splash within the first few minutes of her stay, standing up to Chloe in order to help Marinette, a total stranger, because it was the right thing to do. Her example helped inspire Marinette... along with her recklessness, with the way she biked after Stoneheart. But thanks to Alya’s presence at that first akuma fight, Ladybug and Chat Noir got introduced to the world, and Ladybug found the courage to enter her first fight with a supervillain.

3. Marinette Dupain-Cheng

The star of the show and one of the best-developed female characters I’ve ever seen, Marinette is truly a sight to behold. She can be clumsy, petty, lose her temper, and get so caught up in a goal that she loses sight of some other important things. But she’s also kind and considerate, giving chances to people she doesn’t like - and has good reason not to like.

She just FEELS so much like a real person, with all the quirks that come with that.

Also really appreciate that she’s allowed to have a diverse range of interests, from fashion design to video games. She can have an intense crush, but while that heavily affects her (as is common at that age), she has plenty of interests and activities outside of it as well.

In short, Marinette is a “strong character who is female” rather than a “strong female character”. Or, maybe instead of “strong”, I should say “multifaceted with great depth”, as that captures it better.

Marinette’s place on my favorites list shuffles around quite a bit. If I was solely ranking this on strength of character, I’d probably put her at the top - while Adrien also has some good depths, he doesn’t get as much focus as Marinette does, plus it’s not as novel to see a guy allowed to have that kind of depth.

But this list is about personal enjoyment more than anything, which means that it’s affected by outside factors, and well... Saltinette is a thing. And it can be hard for me to fully enjoy Marinette when Saltinette’s lurking in the back of my mind, even though Saltinette has very little in common with Marinette.

Incidentally, that’s also part of why Alya’s so high on the list - I enjoyed her to begin with, but seeing how badly she was treated in saltfics, so constantly, eventually moved her up my favorites list partly out of spite.

4. Plagg

The cheese-loving gremlin may not be the most responsible kwami around, but he’s one of the funniest, and he cares about Adrien a lot - which is good, considering how small his support network is, and how easily most of it can be cut off. Whether it’s telling a joke or playing the piano, Plagg’s always there to cheer Adrien up when he really needs it. He sometimes pushes Adrien to do things he probably shouldn’t, like not telling Ladybug he was going to New York, but ultimately it’s because he wants Adrien to be happy, screw the rules.

5. Nino Lahiffe

Steadfastly loyal, Nino’s the best sort of friend you could have - at least, Adrien seems to think so! He’s an awesome boyfriend as well, unwilling to abandon Alya, even when the situation seems hopeless, whether it involves zombies or a spider sister.

Plus he managed to secretly throw Adrien a raging party in order to make up for Adrien never getting a proper birthday party before (Bubbler didn’t exactly work out), how cool is that?!

I just wish we saw more of him outside of supporting others. It’s an important role, but it IS his main one. We have at least seen him being a movie director, djing, just working on his other interests, which is cool.

6. Kagami Tsurugi

She’s badass, fierce, and knows what she wants. But that’s not all she is. She lives under a stifling mother, one who she has to work around, evade, and lie to on a regular basis in order to get a chance to connect with others - if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to spend nearly as much time with Adrien as she did, and she wouldn’t have befriended Marinette at all.

Not that she’s experienced in making friends - she really wants to, but doesn’t really know how, having to rely on online guides to get an idea of how to make small talk and connect.

Judging by her mannerisms, such as her flat affect and major trouble with social interactions, I’m also guessing she’s autistic, which is pretty cool.

7. Alix Kubdel

Bunnix is badass, and you can see that in her younger counterpart. I love just how DONE she is with some of the girl squad’s shenanigans, she’s more of a fan of cutting the gordian knot than executing convoluted plans.

Also her friendship with Nathaniel is adorable, I love them teasing each other.

8. Marc Anciel

He’s cute, shy, creative, and I loved Reverser and binged a lot of Marcnath fics.

9. Nathaniel Kurtzberg

Reverser and Evillustrator were both awesome episodes, and again, binged a lot of Marcnath fics so... yeah.

10. Sabine Cheng

I love how caring she is towards Marinette, and her just generally being pretty sensible - but also getting very excited about stuff she cares about, like hers and Tom’s giddy joy at getting to test out Max’s video game, and how thrilled she and Tom were about Marinette wanting to visit Shanghai. Also go to learn a little more about her roots in Shanghai, which was cool.

----

Note: While the top 5 are likely to remain in the top 5, a lot of the bottom 5 might go on and off the list. I also ended up leaving out specials-only characters, though I have enjoyed a lot of the new heroes they introduced.

#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #plagg #kagami tsurugi #nino lahiffe #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #sabine cheng #alix kubdel

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patandpran · 4 years ago

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The Trials and Tribulations of Parenthood - An ohmxfong ficlet

Ever wonder what Ohm and Fong might be like as parents? This is for the anon that sent me a lovely prompt with this exact idea a few days ago. So if you are into family shenanigans, read along!

I will still give credit to @yangkoogan @earthfluuke @gaysarawat for making this ghostship sail in my head!

“Ohm! You can’t just let her run around without pants on! The neighbours might see and think we’re bad parents.”

Fong frowned as he watched their daughter, Joy, squeal as she ran around their backyard with a shirt and only a diaper on. Ohm was running around chasing her as Fong watched from the back porch, waving a spatula in protest.

Ohm scooped Joy up into his arms and began to throw her into the air, “Joy, what do you think? Do you need to wear pants to be happy?”

“NOOOOOO!” Joy cried out as she was tossed up and down, waving her arms as if she were on a rollercoaster having the time of her life.

“See, babe, I think you should think more like Joy and I.” Ohm called out to Fong.

Fong rolled his eyes fondly as Ohm continued to play with their daughter. There was no point in trying to make something different if both Ohm and Joy were on the same side so Fong decided to give up the battle.

“It hurts, Papa!”

Ohm was not good with bandaids and he was even worse with blood. He felt himself battling with consciousness as he looked down at the scrape on his son’s knee. Where the hell was Fong when he needed him?

“Don’t worry. Papa’s gonna fix it.” Ohm tried desperately to keep his composure as he held Theo’s knee in place.

“Daddy usually cleans it first.” Theo explained, looking up at Ohm with an unimpressed expression which made Ohm feel even more inept.

Ohm stood to his feet a bit too quickly and felt himself sway. If he wasn’t going to faint before, now he definitely was going to. But before he could falter any more, Ohm felt arms steadying him and looked up to see Fong staring at him with a worried look.

“I’m okay.” Ohm assured Fong.

Fong whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll take it from here. I know how you feel about blood…”

Ohm watched as Fong knelt down toward their son. Joy came running into the kitchen to see what the ruckus was and slipped her hand into Ohm’s to comfort him. Joy looked up at Ohm and shared, “Don’t worry, Papa. Daddy’s got it. He’s practically a doctor.”

“Theo…. oh dear, little man. What adventure caused all this craziness?” Fong inquired as he inspected the scrape.

“Papa tried to help me to fly to the moon on the trampoline.” Theo told the story of the accident. “My rocket went out of orbit and well… there was a crash landing.”

Joy’s eyes widened at the story and Ohm winced slightly, knowing he would get an earful from Fong later that evening but was surprised he didn’t get a dirty look from Fong right then and there. Ohm and Joy observed as Fong skillfully and calmly cleaned up and dressed the wound and helped their son back up to his feet.

“As good as ever.” Fong announced, standing up to his feet. “Looks like the rocket is ready to go explore space again!”

“But beware of the aliens!” Joy screamed at the top of her lungs and chased Theo outside to the backyard.

“Thanks for that.” Ohm muttered, embarrassed by the way he had handled the situation.

Fong laced an arm around Ohm and pulled him close. “Anytime, hon.”

“What if I slip and fall on my face and everybody laughs at me?”

It was Joy’s first choir concert and she was currently clinging onto Ohm’s leg and refusing to let go. Theo was snuggled up in Fong’s arms and fast asleep after a long play at preschool. Fong was usually the expert on helping their children calm down and with how Joy’s lower lip was beginning to wobble, they were about five seconds from a complete meltdown right then and there.

Ohm quickly guided Joy away from the rest of the crowd and found some shade under a tree near the concert venue. Fong followed slowly but had to move at a slower pace because he did not want to wake Theo. Ohm pulled Joy into his lap and hugged her tightly.

“You know, no matter what ends up happening, Daddy, Papa and Theo are always proud of you.” Ohm explained. “If you decide to do the concert, we will be proud of you for doing it but if you decide not to, we will be proud of you for knowing what is best for you. That takes even more than courage than doing things just because you worry what others might think.”

“Courage.” Joy repeated the word as she had never heard it before. “What does that mean, Papa?”

Ohm thought for a moment before responding, a tactic that he had learned from Fong, especially when communicating with their children. “It’s like bravery. When you feel scared or worried to do something, sometimes you need to use courage to do that thing.”

“I like that.” Joy answered and pushed off of Ohm’s lap and turned toward him. “I will use COURAGE to get onstage today.”

“That’s a great word, Joy!” Fong called over in agreement before realizing that his son was still asleep on his shoulder. He winced slightly but Theo remained completely out.

Ohm laughed at the interaction and grinned at his daughter, standing up to his feet as well. “You’re kind of like a superhero, Joy.”

“I AM a superhero, Papa.” Joy placed her hands on her hips proudly. “I am a SINGING SUPERHERO!”

With that, Joy skipped away to meet up with the rest of her class. Fong gave Ohm a thumbs up of approval and they both walked in with the rest of the viewers to watch their daughter light up the stage.

There was cake batter and extra ingredients splattered from the ceiling to the floor. Fong and Ohm did not recall who thought it was a good idea to bake cookies as a present for Uncle Tine’s birthday but with a three year old and a five year old, they should have seen the impending disaster.

“IT’S LIKE A SLIP AND SLIDE!” Theo cried out and was about to launch himself across the linoleum floor that was slick with spilt ingredients.

Before he could, Ohm snatched him up and threw him up over his shoulder so that Theo would not be able to try his brilliant idea again. Fong was trying to clean up some of the fallen ingredients with a rag but his daughter had other ideas about the efficiency of their ‘bakery’.

“I’m going to try it again.” Joy explained as she reached to turn on the electric mixer again which is how this had all gone so wrong in the first place. “Maybe it just needs to be faster so I’ll turn it up to 11!”

“Joy, I asked you to keep it off for now.” Fong grumbled. He felt rather disappointed in himself. He was usually so good at keeping the kid’s activities mostly mess-free but when Joy suggested a homemade present for their friend, he thought it was a great idea.

“Uncle Wat loves cookies.” Joy crossed her arms and put on a big pout. “How are we going to get him to sing us a song if we don’t bring him cookies?”

“It’s Uncle Tine’s birthday, not Uncle Wat’s.” Ohm reminded his daughter and finally set Theo down on the couch which he hoped was far enough to deter his son from attempting a crash landing again.

“WHO DOESN’T LIKE COOKIES?” Joy protested and reached for the controls of the mixer again.

Both Fong and Ohm raced to intercept their daughter but ended up colliding instead, resulting in a cloud of flour rising to the ceiling and their heads to feel like they’d both ran into a brick wall. Theo and Joy gasped at the collision and quickly approached to inspect their fathers who looked stunned at first but quickly dissolved into a fit of laugher.

Realizing that Fong and Ohm were okay, Theo grabbed a clump of fallen batter and made it into a ball, “FOOD FIGHT!”

The battle had begun before Fong could even try to put a stop to it. Ohm and Joy seemed like they were a tag team so Fong jumped to his feet to join the melee, launching into the disarray with complete abandon. The mess could always be cleaned up later but this memory they were making as a family was much more lasting.

Fong and Ohm looked at each directly in the eyes during a reprieve in the battle and wondered how exactly they had gotten themselves into such a mess. But to them, it was worth it.

“The gremlins are both under the covers and seemingly passed out.”

Ohm launched himself into the bed. It had always been the arrangement since they first adopted Joy and Theo as a sibling pair all those years ago to take one evening off and one evening on for the bedtime routine so that their significant other could get some reading in or just generally relax.

“Perfect.” Fong turned to see Ohm was now inches for his face.

Fong dropped a kiss on Ohm’s lips and Ohm wrapped his arms around Fong to pull his significant other even closer. Fong rested his head on Ohm’s chest and sighed happily. Not all days went as smoothly as this one had but as long as they were together, Ohm and Fong were going to navigate this family business to the best of their abilities.

“Do you think we’re good parents?” Fong wondered, ever the worrier.

“I think we’re doing the best for our kids.” Ohm answered, press his lips to the top of Fong’s head in a gesture that he hoped made Fong feel as comforted and loved as he deserved to feel. “And that’s all that really matters.”

“It’s just hard when it gets too much, y’know?” Fong muttered, his mind spinning in circles. “I always look back and wonder if I said or did the wrong thing… like, will they remember how I yelled at them over clogging the toilet with a toy car? Or will they remember when we went for that family picnic where we actually managed to all get along for a whole afternoon?”

Ohm took a moment to collect his thoughts before responding, “They might not always remember the peaceful or quiet moments but they will always remember how being a part of our family feels. The love we all give each other, the support. That’s what family means.”

Fong wondered if he was the only one who ever saw this wise side of Ohm as Ohm tended to be the gregarious and goofy foil to Fong’s serious and practical one. That was what made them work together so well, as life partners and as parents. They balanced each other out and even when things were tough, they found a way back to where they started which is what made Fong realize that there no such thing as perfect parenting but what really mattered was the effort and love you put into every interaction with not only you children but your partner as well.

“Thanks, hon.” Fong shared and looked up at Ohm before snuggling once again into Ohm’s chest where he always found himself the most comfortable. “You always know how to put things into perspective in a way that doesn’t make me feel like a crazy person.”

“You’re not crazy.” Ohm ran his hand through Fong’s hair gently. “You just care so much that it sometimes gets in the way of you being able to see the whole picture. The whole picture being that, we are awesome together which makes us kick-ass parents.”

“We do, don’t we?” Fong pushed himself up from Ohm’s chest to a seated position so that he was facing Ohm.

“We sure do.” Ohm tackled Fong and pressed a full on attack of kisses to Fong’s mouth.

While they were never perfect, Ohm and Fong were just enough of a dynamic duo to make the family work, even if they didn’t get it 100% every time.

#ohmfong #2gether #still 2gether #ohm x fong #gmmtv #2gether fanfic #thai bl #my writing

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thotsforvillainrights · 5 years ago

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It's 3 a.m, as usual I haven't slept yet, and its officially my 24th birthday. I'm treating myself (and you) to some father Kai. This one's a 2 parter for my readers that can't/don't give birth!

~Baby Birth~

Au: Kaishi

Part: seven

Theme: Fluff

Kai furiously scratched at the hives on his arms as he waited for a specific sound. Finally, your wailing had been replaced by the sound of high pitched crying. He let out a sigh of relief before suddenly pausing and staring wide eyed at your tired smile across the room. This was it...this was the moment you labored for. He immediately joined your side and offered to repair any issues you might have by using his quirk. You gently denied his offer and slowly pointed forward. Kai turned his focus toward the nurse holding a bundle in a blue blanket. He glared daggers at her and at the doctor as well. How he allowed them to touch his angel in such personal areas was beyond him, but he at least tolerated it because it was a necessity towards this very moment. "Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy." She gently placed the bundle into your arms. Then she stepped back and bowed before leaving with the doctor for a bit. "Our little Kaishi...Do you want to hold him, Kai? You helped make him after all." You joked with a raspy and worn out voice.

He was hesitant at first. What if he was getting fresh germs on his child by holding him? What if he scared the baby? What if he accidentally held him wrong? What if- All of his worries were put on hold when you passed Kaishi into his arms. Kai felt his entire world suddenly tether itself to this boy...his boy. He could feel something akin to overwhelming happiness and pride bubble in his chest. Suddenly Kaishi opened up his eyes and stared directly at Kai, piercing gold irises mirroring each other. He also shared lashes as well. Kai took the time to admire the mix between your skin tone, and his as well. They came together to create Kaishi's (s/c). As the baby let out a soft gurgling sound, tears started to well up in Kai's eyes. "My son...our son. I love you, little gremlin." He smiled widely.

Suddenly, the door opened and in piled the 8 precepts, Chrono, Mimic, and Pops. "Chisaki, let me see my grandchild!" Pops shouted in a cheerful voice. "Shhhh! You've each got to be quiet." Kai whisper/yelled when he noticed the way you had fallen asleep and the way Kaishi began pouting from the sudden sounds. "You may hold him each for no longer than a minute, bit you must wash your hands and put on the medical masks here. Also, wear some gloves."

~Baby Adoption~

Kai was nervous as the main woman tapped on her keyboard. Meanwhile, you were taking everything so calmly. You two had talked about this topic for over a year now, and you finally came to the consensus that it was time to have a family together. Kai was young sure, but there was time to do everything once you realized where you stand in the world. You meant the world to him, and if it was time to welcome a child into this world, then that's just what you two would do.

"Well alright then! We do have a single infant right now. Aside from that, the other children range from age 6 to 15." The woman said cheerfully. You seemed to be deep in thought at the moment so Kai spoke up for you. "Can you show them to me?" Surely enough, he felt overwhelmed immediately and he also felt disgusted. Brats running all over the place, and touching him without permission or even a greeting? Hell no! They were making him itchy all over until you softly gasped and pointed as the woman came up to you holding a (s/c) swaddled baby. He was definitely going to say no to the whole ordeal until the baby opened its eyes. A child that had absolutely no relation to him looks exactly like a crosshatch between him and you. The way those little golden eyes sparkled made his heart do strange flips in his chest. Suddenly he felt warm and a bit of pride as well. "Kai...he looks like you." You softly exclaimed as Kai moved to hold the boy in his arms. "Y/N, call pops. Tell him his new grandson will be home soon."

"And what will his name be?" The woman asked curiously. Kai looked at her and then looked down at you, and smiled. "Kaishi...Kaishi Chisaki."

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

TIp Jar: https://cash.app/$YuTakeyama

#kaishi au #au #chisaki kai #kai chisaki #mha overhaul #bnha overhaul #my hero academia overhaul #overhaul #shie hassaikai #yakuza #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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seasonofthegeek · 6 years ago

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Love Keeps You Warm, Part 8

Today’s chapter is dedicated to @rebeccaravenroth to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY month! I hope the best things come your way. <3

Parts 1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8:

“Adrien Agreste calling for Emilie Agreste please.” Adrien walked alongside the hotel pool as the sun set overhead. He tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear and kicked off his shoes and sat down at the edge of the pool. He rolled the ends of his pants up as far as he could manage and dipped his feet in the cool water. He wished Alya were with him; she loved swimming.

The day had been exhausting. He’d attempted to find some time to himself after breakfast but Nathalie caught him going out the door and assigned him the task of approving some of his photos for a final design. He had to get ready for the meeting not long after that and he’d barely escaped afterwards but he wanted to be alone for a few minutes. He needed time to think.

“Transferring you to her mobile, Mr. Agreste,” an assistant said over the line and there was a clicking sound and then he heard his mother’s voice.

“Adrien, darling, I’ve been hoping to hear from you. How are you?”

“Hey, Mom. I’m fine. How are you?”

“Busy but what else is new?” She laughed and there was the sound of rustling paper and a low murmuring voice, most likely another assistant. “The agency poached the top five models from Giovanni this week so I have agents scrambling to take their accounts.”

“Sounds hectic.” Adrien kicked his foot up and sent droplets of pool water flying across the surface.

“It is but it’ll be worth it, I think. Have you given any more consideration to my offer, dear?”

“I’m still thinking about it. I was hoping maybe we could talk about something else?”

There was a pause. “I don’t have much time but I have a few minutes. Is something the matter?”

“Yeah, uh…” Adrien moved his feet through the water. “How did you know you wanted to be a parent?”

There was a longer pause this time and the rustling of papers over the line stopped. “I didn’t, not at first. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“You sound more than curious.”

Adrien took in a deep breath. “My girlfriend’s pregnant.”

“Ah.”

“And I don’t know if I’m ready for a baby.”

“Well, there are ways to take care of that, darling. If your father isn’t willing to help, know that when you sign with my agency, I’ll have someone handle the entire affair. I have three PR reps who literally only do that. We’ll make sure it’s all kept under wraps.”

Any hope that Adrien had in finding answers from his mother evaporated in an instant. “Sure, thanks.”

“I’ve got to go now, but call me when you’re ready to sign the contract. Love you.”

The line went dead before he could respond and Adrien dropped the phone to the ground beside him. The temptation to throw it in the pool was great but he tried to reign himself in. He was angry and frustrated and confused and hurt. On some level, he believed his parents cared about him but it got so lost in the politics that it hardly mattered. He was their son and this baby could possibly be their grandchild. Shouldn’t they care?

And why did he care if they cared? He didn’t even want the baby.

At least he didn’t think he did.

He swallowed hard and glared at the smooth water. Night had fallen and the pool lights lit up around him. He was glad he’d managed an odd time without any other guests around. He didn’t think he could bear talking to anyone in that moment.

He thought about Nino’s grandmother taking him in and treating him like another Lahiffe child without hesitation. He thought about Tom and Sabine offering him seconds and thirds at dinner and hugging him goodbye every time he visited. He knew they weren’t exactly comfortable with the poly situation but they’d never treated him with anything else than kindness and respect. Alya’s family was just as amazing and even Nora had come around after a time.

Maybe his parents and family dynamic was the outlier. Things didn’t have to be like that for his child because Marinette and Alya and Nino would be there. They were full of love and goodness and they would never make the baby feel neglected. They’d never let Adrien feel that way.

Mostly.

He looked down at his phone and had the sudden urge to call Marinette. He wasn’t sure what he would say. He wanted to apologize but he didn’t know exactly what for. He also wanted her to apologize but that desire didn’t feel quite as strong. He really just wanted to hear her voice. It had been sixty-three days. Before he left, he’d never gone an entire day without talking to her since they’d all started dating and now…

Maybe it was too late. He’d probably screwed things up by leaving. He thought if he could come back to his old life that he could figure out what was wrong with him but all he’d done is fallen back into old habits.

A small voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Nino pointed out that he hadn’t fallen back into all his old habits and that was progress.

He supposed that was true. He obviously hadn’t slept with anyone since he’d been gone. And while he had an occasional drink and had toed the line of getting drunk more than once, he’d never gone past his limit. Old Adrien slept around and drank heavily. He wasn’t that guy anymore. Being in love had changed him. He wanted to be different than before.

He thought he loved Nino for years and that’s what hurt so bad but he had no idea what love could really feel like. It was worth any pain he had to go through to get to the three of them. He had to call and make things right. He needed to go home. He couldn’t lose the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had no idea how much falling in love with Nino, Alya, and Marinette was going to change him for the better. Who was to say that this baby wasn’t going to do the same?

Adrien reached for his phone and stopped himself. None of that changed the fact that he would be a bad father. He was broken and selfish and he’d probably screw Marinette’s baby up more than his parents screwed him up. Tears stung his eyes and he ignored them. His hands curled into fists at his side and felt his fingernails dig into the skin of his palms.

He should just let them be happy together. They didn’t need him. They would be fine. The baby would be fine— better even— if he wasn’t around to do damage.

His phone began to buzz and vibrate against the concrete beside him and it made him jump. He looked down to see a picture of a smiling Marinette lighting up his screen and he felt his heart skip a beat. He swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and picked the phone up with shaking hands and accepted the call.

“Marinette?”

There was a surprised breathy sound and Adrien felt himself crumple under the weight of it.

“Hi,” Marinette answered and her voice held a shy quality to it. “How are you?”

“I…” He was at a loss for how to reply. “How are you? Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel like I’m the size of a house but other than that I’m okay.” She laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know what time it is for you now. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Adrien blinked. “What time it is…we’re in the same time zone right now. Did you not know that?” He hugged himself with one arm while he held the phone. “How far away did you think I was?”

Her voice was quiet. “I don’t know. It feels really far.”

“I’m about a three hour drive, I think. Give or take. We’ve been traveling a lot but we’re here for another few days.”

“Three hours. That’s…that’s not a lot at all. If I left now, I could see you before midnight.”

Adrien froze. “You want to see me?” he whispered. There was a gasping sob and his heart broke into a million pieces. “Please don’t cry, Mari. Please. Do you want me to come there? I’ll come home. I’ll come home right now.” He was already pulling his legs up out of the water and standing. He looked around frantically for his shoes even though they were where he’d left them at the edge of the pool.

“I’m sorry. I’m okay,” she sniffled. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“I’m not. I’m going to be on my way. I’ve just gotta…” He trailed off and looked around the pool area. “Okay, well, I need to find a driver that will make the three hour drive but then… I think it’s too late to get a flight but I can check. I don’t know if that will be any quicker though. I guess I could go to—“

“Adrien.”

“Please let me come home,” he pleaded. “Please tell me I can come home, Marinette. Please let me come see you.”

“Wait! Just…um, okay, wait, let me think for a minute,” she stammered.

Adrien slumped down on the end of a patio chair. “You don’t want me to come home.”

“It’s not that! I just…” She made a frustrated sound. “Things have changed a little and I feel like you need to know before you come home because I don’t want it to spook you.”

“Okay…” he replied cautiously.

“Right, so, um, we are turning the second bedroom into the nursery. Nino and Alya are painting it right now actually. We had to put the king bed in storage but we’ve got a full bed wedged into the office now because that’s what would fit.”

“That’s…that makes sense,” he nodded.

“Yeah. I mean, we still needed a second bed. It’s just not so easy to share but we’ll make do. I’ve been having bad insomnia so I use it a lot right now. Um, okay, and then I look really different, so there’s that.”

Adrien tried to picture Marinette like other pregnant women he’d seen but the visual wouldn’t come to him. “That’s what supposed to happen, isn’t it?”

She laughed in surprise and it did his heart good to hear the sound. “Well, yeah, I guess. I’m not super huge yet but I’m only going to keep getting bigger which is terrifying.”

“I’m sure you’re beautiful.”

“You haven’t seen me craving Cheetos from that American grocery store down the block at three in the morning like an angry junk food-fueled gremlin. It’s not a pretty picture. I’ve been sneaking sodas every once in the while too so don’t tell Nino, okay? He’s sure the baby is going to be born with like four arms if I’m not careful about what I eat.”

Adrien stretched out on the chair and smiled as he looked up at the stars beginning to come out. “Has he been a nervous wreck?”

“I think he’s the worst of all, although Alya’s giving him a run for his money. She thought it would be a good idea to look up possible birth defects. Sometimes I hear the two of them whispering back and forth about how doomed our baby is.”

He grimaced. “Is that stressing you out?”

Marinette let out a short laugh followed by a sigh. “Actually, I think them being so stressed helps me relax. What could I possibly find to worry about with the baby that they don’t already have covered?”

“It sounds like you guys are doing really great,” he said softly.

“We miss you,” she responded, her voice just as low. “It feels so weird without you at home. I’m…” Her voice cracked and there was the sound of sniffling over the line again. “I’m so sorry, Adrien. I never meant for things to happen like this.”

He wanted to melt down to the slime he felt like and drip between the slats on the patio chair. “No, Mari, I’m sorry. I was a jerk about the whole thing.”

“I was a jerk too!”

He chuckled. “Fine, we were both jerks.”

“Yeah,” she sniffled again.

“Please don’t cry over me anymore. I’m not worth it.”

“Shut up. That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about, butthead.” She still sounded teary but there was an edge of humor to her voice. “How much longer is your trip?”

“I still have a few weeks left on my contract. I can try to break it though.”

“Will you get in trouble?”

“Probably,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t put it past Gabriel to sue me for it.”

“Then you can’t leave yet.”

“Don’t say that,” he groaned. “Tell me to come home.”

“Would you get in trouble for coming to visit for the night? Or…or maybe we could meet halfway and get a room or something?”

Adrien bolted upright. “Really? Are you up to that?”

“I doubt I’ll get away with being able to come alone unless I just leave right now and then I’ll be the one in trouble, but if you don’t mind seeing us…”

“Go home and pack for the night and I’ll find us a nice place to meet in the middle and call you as soon as I have it booked and I’m on my way,” he promised as he stood and hurried back towards his room.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He stopped to unlock his room and heard her take in a shaky breath. “I love you,” he promised.

“I love you too.”

#alyadrininette #bread makes you fat #love keeps you warm #miraculous ladybug

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dorathemetamorphmagus · 6 years ago

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUX!

@askwhathasthiscometo

Liv: Hey my wonderful Danish strudel. It’s your goddamn birthday and you’re now old as balls. Like super old. Like you’ll probably wake up with gray hair tomorrow and like at least five wrinkles. It will look so cool, mate. I posted all of these wonderful ridiculous pictures of us having the time of our lives because they’re my favorites - you’re my favorite. Like I know the patriotic part of me is still not over the fact that I’ve befriended a dane and thereby betrayed my entire country. BUT IT’S FINE! Cause you work at IKEA and you know what jordgubbe means so you’re like 75% Swedish anyway. All jokes aside, I can honestly say that not a day goes by that I’m not so incredibly thankful for having you in my life. You know when you meet someone and you just feel with you entire being that “Yes this one. I’m gonna keep this one.” The same feeling you had when you were little and every person you met was that special person, haha. You’re that person ma dude. During these last two years we’ve crossed the country border many a times, traveled together, laughed, ignored sleep, and caught at least 50 Pokémons. We’ve eaten a lot of nachos, sons, sandwich chocolate, and played way too much Hogwarts Battle. I want to do all that again and again and then have a thousand other adventures with you. Cause adventures with you are the best adventures. Here’s to many many more years together man. Grattis på födelsedagen din nörd! ...Also you have other friends that kind of think you’re cool too so here’s some cute words from them too. First up you have the tiny Norwegian!

Thea: A message from me, to you, our sweet, sweet, lovable, darling Bux. Kidding, ya little gremlin baby! Happy birthday!! You’re literally so old now. Like... wow, basically decomposing before our eyes. Get ready to knit more and move less, now that you’re almost a quarter away from being years old! Or maybe it’s just me who’s a literal baby.... probably that. ANYWAYS: Hæppŷ Bïrthdâÿ my danish friend! To be serious for a sec, I’m so glad I met you in the vast ocean that is the internet, especially in the most nerdy, niche part of it ever imaginable??? Like?? How did we end up there?? I dunno how but believe me when I say that your love AND hatred for all things ikea, witty commentary, and arguments about the correct word for Scandinavian pastries has made my day on SO MANY occasions Ngl, I hope you know how much I appreciate you, babe! And one more thing: next time you go to England: GO SOMEWHERE I CAN AFFORD TO MEET YOU GODDAMIT. BYE! PEACE! IM OUT!

....løv u

Alright that was cute and all, not as cute as mine but sure. Now you have a lot of cool friends that love you but I’m only giving permission to one other person to hijack my post. I picked the weirdest one because why not!

TT: Bux, my darling, my love, my little Dane… I’m sorry about your shoes. But on the bright side… you got to spend time with me, so is it really a loss? ;)… Also… you’re almost as old as me now, so you might start to disintegrate soon, keep an eye out for that grandpa. Now for the mushy stuff. I adore you and everything you are. You’re kind, beautiful, sarcastic (the best kind of humor, who are we kidding), clever, and have the most animated eyebrows I have ever beheld. Seriously, how the fuck does your face do that shit? I’m so glad we had the chance to spend time together, not once but TWICE NOW. WTF? It’s so strange to think that strangers I’ve met through the internet have become such a huge part of my life… thank you for not being a serial killer. That was really decent of you. I love being in your presence and feeling the excited, happy energy and life you exude. You’re such a joy to be around, and I’m glad you’re my friend. Love you and here’s to another awesome year of you. <3

Liv: Alright you get one more HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Eat a shit ton of cake and then lets celebrate again next weekend. HAVE FUN BEING OLD <33

Thanks for your gushing love @acciocauldroncakes and @asktheboywholived !

#ooc #bux the bae #HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUUDE #can't wait to see yooou #liv's band of fabulous friends

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maychorian · 7 years ago

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Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #52

Happy Thanksgiving! Here are thirty fics. I’m so close to being caught up that I can almost taste it.

This is also marks the 600th post on @maychorianrecs. Hidey ho!

And I still have like twenty-seven old fic rec lists I haven’t copied there yet.

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Fogged Breath by BluePlanetTrash Words: 2,118 Author’s Summary: Ever since he was little Lance suffered from asthma. He didn’t think that it would be much of a problem in space. Fate had other plans for him, however. My Comments: Great little hurt!Lance fic with an exceptionally protective team. Hits the spot.

oh, the end of infinity by MissSugarPlum Words: 9,896 Author’s Summary: Matt can’t sleep. It’s not like this is a new occurrence. Sleep has been evading him for years now, and he can’t even remember what a proper restful night feels like. He sometimes thinks of when he was still at the Garrison, how he used to think he knew what stress was, how he used to bemoan the pressure from instructors, the rigorous training, the way he could only ever seem to get no more than six hours of sleep a night, and he yearns for the simplicity of back then. Past-Matt didn’t know how good he had it. -x- [Matt adjusts to being in the Castle of Lions.] My Comments: I really enjoyed this exploration of Matt getting used the castle and the team, especially the development of his relationship Lance. It starts out adversarial but gets much less so. Great scenes with Pidge, too. Possibly romantic Klance in the background, but can also be read as gen.

Congratulations by TheWonderTwins Words: 2,433 Author’s Summary: A mission doesn’t quite go to plan and Pidge is taken prisoner. Not everyone takes it as well as Pidge does. My Comments: Ahhh, Pidge. What a badass. This was exciting and fun to read.

Local Color by TheWonderTwins Words: 2,361 Author’s Summary: “Could this be more cliche?” Pidge muttered quietly. Keith smirked briefly. “We could get into a barfight.”“ Please resist the urge to punch people.” Pidge requested. My Comments: I frankly impressed that these two avoided getting into a barfight. Fun little scene with the two of them dealing with some aggression from locals quite well, actually.

What She Sees by HapaxLegomenon Words: 2,263 Author’s Summary: Matt’s safe, now, and Pidge is delighted to have her brother back. But Matt’s different, and she notices. Set during the end of “The Machinations of Perception.” My Comments: Little missing scene from a previously recced fic. Since that fic was entirely in Matt’s POV, it was nice to get a scene from Pidge’s perspective, here. These poor kids. Things are hard, but I’m glad they have each other now.

Easy Target by SunshineAndRainbows Words: 1,832 Author’s Summary: Every move was deliberate, every action filled with intent. He had meant to land his ship, he meant to stand from his cockpit, and so, he meant to walk slowly, deliberately to meet his hopeful allies. He had certainly meant to say something clever and suitably dignified in greeting.He hadn’t meant to collapse the moment his feet hit solid ground. My Comments: How to make me feel sympathetic to Lotor: Whump him good.

Go Go Paladins of Voltron by hufflepirate Words: 2,662 Author’s Summary: Shiro gave up everything, including his spot at the Garrison, to look after his dying mother. Now his mother is gone and he’s alone — until he meets four teenagers with attitude, a set of mysterious keys, and maybe, just maybe a purpose. Written for platonicvldweek 3, for the prompt Alternate Reality/Free, so it’s not QUITE a Power Rangers Fusion AU, but it is the meet cute from Power Rangers (2017), but with Voltron. We’re calling it an alternate reality, not an alternate universe, because they’re gonna end up in space doing their space thing, just… a little differently. (Marked complete because I like the ending ok as it is and don’t have time to write this as a multichapter fic right now.) My Comments: I haven’t seen the new Power Rangers movie, but you don’t need to enjoy this fun, fluffy little getting-together fic.

Bad to Worse by bookwormgir1LH Words: 1,794 Author’s Summary: Lance, Keith, Hunk and Pidge go on a hiking trip. Things start to wrong from the offset, but it soon gets even worse… My Comments: Fun modern AU about an absolutely disastrous attempt at having a good time. Poor kids, but everything turns out okay. Lance’s POV is fun to read, too, even as things go very wrong.

All Hallow’s Eve by this_book_has_been_loved Words: 2,921 Author’s Summary: In which the Paladins discover that Keith’s birthday is only a week before Halloween My Comments: Aw, poor Keith. Everyone’s heart is in the right place, but things are hard, sometimes.

What Could Have Been by Crowoxy Words: 5,222 Author’s Summary: Lotor is only a few decaphoebs (years) younger than Allura and it was just easier for him to leave Daibaazal for Altea. A what-if scenario where if Lotor grew up on Altea, what changed and what stayed the same?Day 7 of the Platonic VLD Week - Free/ Alternate Universe My Comments: I felt bad for Lotor being so obviously neglected by his parents, but it was really nice to see him growing with Allura and Coran and Alfor as his family instead. Cool AU. I would read more of this concept, and I’m not even a huge fan of Lotor. I could see, with the right upbringing, his charisma and intelligence being used for good ends instead of his own ambition.

Snowtron by Eastofthemoon Words: 2,648 Author’s Summary: It had all started with five words. Five words that changed the entire course of the day. Five words Allura never imagined she would hear any paladins say while piloting their lions. “GIANT ROBOT LION SNOWBALL FIGHT!” My Comments: Holy fish balls, this is ADORABLE. I love Allura getting dragged into Earthling shenanigans, and the ending scene with Lotor and crew was icing on the cake. The snowy, snowy cake.

A Gremlin In Glasses Swoops In To Save The Day by Kabber, this_book_has_been_loved Words: 2,752 Author’s Summary: First installment in a Percy Jackson AU for Voltron. In which Lance and Hunk discover that they may not be entirely human My Comments: Really fun action scene for an AU that is just FULL of possibilities. I especially adore Pidge swooping in to save Hunk and Lance. Exciting and intriguing read.

The Opposite of Sorrow by nightwalker for HumanTrampoline Words: 6,165 Author’s Summary: Shiro takes a hit from a druid spell that causes its victims to just quietly give up and die. Fortunately he’s got six good reasons to keep fighting. My Comments: The spell Shiro gets hit with is basically weaponized depression, and it’s pretty terrifying. But the solution is hugs and cuddling and bonding time, and I am all kinds of down for that kind of cure. Extremely sweet and heartwarming fic, and Keith’s POV is wonderful.

let the fog burn let my wick fray by imperiality Words: 4,501 Author’s Summary: Little bonfires are little things Keith and Pidge do. He can’t look away from the flames, Pidge can’t seem to get what he’s after. But then she wants to spice it up on a Halloween night. This purple fog is oppressive. My Comments: Interesting and different way to study Keith and emotionally hurt him at the same time. It’s a good thing his team came after him.

Grateful for the Years to Come by Ms_Marchy Words: 4,001 Author’s Summary: Five years after saying goodbye to her son, Maria McClain gets the greatest gift of being reunited with her son. Everyone knows Lance worries over how much he missed in his family’s lives. No one ever thinks about what Maria was missing about her son’s life. She didn’t even know herself until one day two giant mechanical lions land near her house. The Space War is finally over. Everyone can go home. My Comments: This was heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. It’s sad to see just how much years of war scarred Lance, but it’s also wonderful to see him at home and loved with his family again, and his mother’s perspective is lovely and warm. Ambiguous Klance.

And My Nightmares Will Have Nightmares Every Night by ardett Words: 9,096 Author’s Summary: Restart program? A series of alternate paths in the Dream, Seam series. My Comments: Really cool and unique way of showing a bunch of ways this story could have gone really, really wrong. Or, well, wrong from a certain perspective. I adore this, though it hurts me, like a lot. Warning for major character death, though it doesn’t really stick.

With These Hands by A_Zap Words: 1,486 Author’s Summary: Despite all the trouble they’d been through, Hunk figured everything had turned out all right. After all, he and Lance had managed to return to the castle! Then Hunk sees the bruises and knows that things are not as good as he thought. My Comments: Great missing scene that we were totally robbed of in canon. I love these sweet summer boys and their relationship so much. Surprisingly more hurt!Hunk than hurt!Lance, actually, but I love both flavors.

She’s Looking A Little Green by spitfire00 Words: 3,936 Author’s Summary: Katie Holt was born to pilot the Green Lion, and her father knows it- Even if he doesn’t realize it. My Comments: Great, great Sam POV, and a wonderful Holt reunion in here too. Really cool look at the paladins and their fateful uniqueness.

Bruising Waters by TheStoryVerse Words: 17,743 Author’s Summary: Never tell a Soul. Never Let Yourself Be Seen. His mother’s words had been pounded into Lance’s head from birth; a warning to prepare him and keep his family safe. He’s managed to hide from the Garrison and even in space. But, much to Lance’s chagrin, the universe has other plans. When Lance contracts an alien virus while out on a diplomatic mission that starts attacking his Mer form, Lance figures it’s just a “space cold”. He brushes off the others’ worry and tries to continue as normal. But the pain is getting worse with each passing day, and he hasn’t had a moment’s peace alone to change forms and see what could be causing it. When everything finally hits the fan, the team quickly finds that Lance is in much worse condition than they had assumed. Lance is not only dying, but he’s changing right in front of their eyes.So much Hurt and Whump in the first chapter. So much good Bonding and Comfort in the next two. Let’s do this y'all! (Sorry, Lance) My Comments: This is some PRIMO hurt!Lance, lemme tell ya. A unique form of whump, and holy crow is is brutal. It gets kinda gross too, just to warn you. But the bonding and comfort and in the second two chapters more than makes up for it. Maybe a touch over the top at times, but darned if I didn’t enjoy every moment. Totally satisfying and highly recommended to hurt!Lance afficionados. You know who you are.

Wide Awake by taylor_tut Words: 1,373 Author’s Summary: From an anon request on my tumblr: Lance catches a bug that keeps him awake. When he’s not allowed to train during the day with everyone else, he tries to do it alone at night. It goes about as well as you’d think. My Comments: Aw, poor Lance. Great little sickfic with an unusual premise.

With Hands Tied Backwards by GibbousLunation Words: 6,684 Author’s Summary: Lance had this problem, just sometimes, where his brain got all floaty and his hands started feeling like maybe he’d forgotten to put them on properly in the morning. Like they were backwards and inverted and everything else was upside down too. Lance’s eyes slide out of focus staring at twinkling stars thousands of miles away, he lines his knuckles up in neat little rows, and he thinks too much about too many things. Team Voltron is falling apart in little ways, and building itself up taller ten times over. It started as a joke, “You know what would suck?“ It was easier to pretend they weren’t just kids fighting a war they’d never asked for, probably. "Angry edgy Not-Slav giving you CPR with his beak.” My Comments: Poignant and emotional exploration of Lance dealing with trauma-induced dissociation, and the kind of messed up games kids in war play to distract themselves from the threat of death while still acknowledging that it’s there. Klance that starts out ambiguous and then gets much less ambiguous, but could possibly still be read as gen. The point is survival, not romance.

Immunity by RiRiMania1335 Words: 2,165 Author’s Summary: Keith hardly ever gets sick. But if he does, it hits him like a truck. My Comments: Aw, poor Keith. He gets sick so rarely that he truly and sincerely believes that he’s dying, haha. Fortunately the others are there are to reassure him and take care of him.

Bonds by this_book_has_been_loved Words: 1,470 Author’s Summary: At first, it was subtle enough that none of them realized it. The bond with their Lions—that was obvious. Lance had felt it pretty much as soon as he laid eyes on the Blue Lion, and the rest of them had all had similar experiences. It was the bond with each other that was harder to pick up on. My Comments: I really like how this fic explores the concept of a psychic bond into the current canon, with all of the changes and disruptions and how that affects everyone.

Platonic VLD Week 3 - Oneshot Collection by hufflepirate Words: 10,865 Author’s Summary: WARNING: HEREIN BE S4 SPOILERS Day 1: Sleep/Nightmare - Pidge never wanted to share a room with Matt, but now that they have nightmares sharing’s not so bad. Day 2: Inside/Outside - Set mid-4.1 - Kolivan comforts Keith after the decoy ship blows up. Day 3: Tricks/Treats - Matt plays a trick on Team Voltron (a t-Rick) Day 4: Supernatural/Horror - Keith has an uncanny encounter with some Altean soldiers Day 5: Change/Growth - Hunk helps Allura learn more about piloting her lion [S3] Day 6: Distance/Proximity - Tag to 3.4 - After Allura returns, Coran hovers a little too close (Day 7: Alternate reality/Free is separate and the next fic in my platonicvldweek series.) My Comments: I love everything this author does, and this collection of little fics is like a kaleidoscope of Good Stuff. My favorites are probably day 2 and day 4, but they are all good and worth reading.

Old Soldier and Spy by Crowoxy Words: 1,874 Author’s Summary: Kolivan is the old spy who watches all of these young children grow into this war that’s been happening for ten thousand years. Day 5 of the Platonic VLD Week: Growth My Comments: I love this view of Kolivan as a wise, compassionate mentor for young soldiers, and his perspective on both Keith and Lotor is lovely and kind.

The Fear Of Falling Apart by this_book_has_been_loved Words: 3,211 Author’s Summary: Lance has feelings of inadequacy My Comments: This is so cute, and exactly how I want the relationship between Pidge, Matt, and Lance to develop in canon. I want them all to be wonderful siblings and appreciate each other and have fun playing video games. Pidge has two big brothers and it’s wonderful.

King of Wishful Thinking by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 7,126 Author’s Summary: From Tumblr: Send me an AU and I’ll give you 5 Headcanons 1) The Galra attack Earth after the Pals leave in the Blue Lion 2) Pidge conspires to get Shiro a dog, and he ends up opening up a version of the Old Dogs Senior Sanctuary. Oops. 3) Scooby Doo AU (yes really) 4) Shiro’s relationship with his wings (Wing AU) My Comments: Each of these concepts fully deserves a full-fledged, 50k novel-length opus, but these small glimpses into the different worlds provided are immensely worth reading on their own, intriguing and heartwarming and horrifying by turns. My favorite is probably the Old Dogs Sanctuary AU, but they are all good.

Where Light and Dark Meet by squirenonny for Pechat Words: 34,168 Author’s Summary: The Fallen One arises: A captive star yearning for the heavens from which it was stolen… So begins the Prophecy of the Fallen Star, which speaks of the one who will save the kingdom from Haggar’s curse. Lance, Keith, and their friends are summoned to get in touch with Allura, the deposed princess of Altea, who is widely believed to be the Fallen Star from the prophecy. But things aren’t going to be quite so simple. Lance was cursed to become a cat at night; Keith spends his days as a crow. They both have a role to play in the coming battle, and they’re going to have to learn to trust each other–but how can they when they only ever meet in the fleeting moments at twilight when they both are human? My Comments: Klance and implied future Kallurance. I ADORE squirenonny’s fics, especially her fantasy AUs. Such amazing worldbuilding, great descriptions and and plotting and characterization. This one has some really nice hurt!Lance and protective Hunk and Pidge, too, which I always appreciate. I’m very pleased that this is apparently going to be a series, so I’ll get to read more in this world eventually. Just a great, great read, highly addictive, couldn’t stop once I started. I love it when that happens.

Blast Zone by bubblebucky Words: 4,729 Author’s Summary: In the middle of a mission, a bomb going off leaves Lance unable to hear. Still, while he’s deaf, the rest of his team are the ones that won’t listen. My Comments: This hits all of my buttons SO HARD. It gave me that good ache in my chest, you know the one. The other characters may be sliiiightly OOC in order to really hammer the hurt in on Lance, but it didn’t ping my “back away immediately” sense the way woobification usually does. Instead it felt understandable for a high-stress situation and I accepted it. The almost too-severe pain heightened the emotions for me and made the ending all the more satisfying. I REALLY love this. I’ve already read it several times, especially the ending, and it’s definitely in my Favorite Fics folder.

Home and a Half by sarehptar Words: 84,407 (7/?) Author’s Summary: They make a mistake that follows them home. (Or: Keith becomes an unwitting caretaker to three Galra children, who teach him a great deal about how to take care of himself.) My Comments: I am reading fewer WIPs these days because there are so many completed fics I still haven’t gotten to but want to, but this was recced to me so it moved to the top of my priority list, and I’m so glad I gave it a shot. This is far from a fluffy baby acquistion fic, with a lot of moral questions and deep consideration of mature themes, which makes the fic more bittersweet and heartwrenching than cute, though there are plenty of cute moments, too. It’s incredibly well-written and interesting, and the latest chapters have really brought some fun worldbuilding and adventure elements. I was afraid it was abandoned, but the author assures me it is not, and I’m really looking forward to continuing to follow this story to completion.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Shadows of Stars (84674 words) Why it sucks to be a snake in space(52445 words) As Color Fades Away (211491 words) Shifting Sands (38605 words) - now complete

#voltron legendary defender #weekly voltron fic recs #fic rec #vldgen

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lyralumina · 7 years ago

Note

on those headcanons, im gonna be mildly predictable here and ask for mokuba

Character: Mokuba Kaiba

1: sexuality headcanon

I actually headcanon Mokuba to be a Demisexual.

2: otp

I actually do not have an OTP with Mokuba sadly. The show had and or made sure that Mokuba was away from lovers quarrel. Mokuba was away from any romantic nonsense. There was no young female characters hitting on Mokuba and even so Mokuba was not interested on dating at all, he was like only ten. He had other things to worry about like for example, Kaiba Corp and making sure his family never breaks apart once again or else he would not be able to take it, he would shatter and that’s the last thing Seto, his older brother, would ever want. I am so sorry but I have nothing for Mokuba.

3: brotp

Jounouchi Katsuya because, They would be so close together, like a second older brother for Mokuba. They would have rare prank wars waged with Seto being the poor victim of it. They would also play games, video games for that matter. Call of Duty, Mario and Sonic at the olympic games (London being both their go to) and Pokemon being their favorite games. Once Jounouchi was so desperate to complete the national dex and Mokuba had the one Pokemon he needed and in order for him to get it, He had to buy Mokuba a slurpee and next thing you know, Jounouchi is walking home with his national dex completed and suffering because he was going to use that money to buy dinner so Jounouchi had ramen noodles that night. Jounouchi snapchats Mokuba like all the time on stupid shit because where Jounouchi lives, it’s so fucking wild. Jounouchi practically lives in the “hood”.

Anzu Mazaki because, Mokuba likes to hang out with her. Anzu could be the older sister. They love to go to cafes together and chat about new things with a hot cup of tea. Things like how Kaiba Corp is starting to expand worldwide, Anzu listening on happily as Mokuba is so thrilled about it that he is forgetting that he is not alone, that she is having to watch him be so enthusiastic about it. Anzu would also teach Mokuba basic things like how to cook and clean for himself and nifty tips and tricks. They would also work out together if they have time, Yoga and cardio mostly. Last thing is that Anzu would absolutely help Mokuba with his homework if he is having any problems. He would ask Seto but he knows that he is too busy running as CEO of Kaiba Corp so he calls and texts Anzu that he is struggling with Algebra. She gladly helps him. Mokuba knows that Anzu is smart.

4: notp

There are people who do ship TabloidShipping, Seto Kaiba X Mokuba Kaiba as far as I am aware. Its incest and I am not up for that. I don’t know why people would ship that but- here we are in 2017 I guess.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

As most of you are aware, I do headcanon that Mokuba as transgirl, using She/He/They pronouns. I generally headcanon that Mokuba’s wardrobe is fairly mixed with both masculine clothing and feminine clothing. From suits to dresses. Mokuba has it all. Mokuba’s taste in fashion is much better than Seto’s as Seto has taste for simple things like suits and ties while Mokuba is more caught up with their generation of fashion trends. Hell even that one time he saw their big brother in that White suit, They wanted to burn that thing to the ground because god was it tacky, even for him. Mokuba owns quite a lot of amazing clothes but the top three things in his wardrobe are:

-This leather jacket that basically yells out that Mokuba really loves flower embroidered clothing

-This black dress that makes Mokuba feel so pretty

-These boots that Seto bought for Mokuba for his 14th birthday because Seto knows how much Mokuba loves flower embroidered clothing

Combine all these three things and Mokuba has the best outfit the world has ever seen.

6: one way in which I relate to this character

We both have an older brother. I do not care for my older brother at all so I cannot relate so well with Mokuba because he would do anything to make his brother happy. I never cared about my family so well, I lost the care to love for them ages ago.

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

There is nothing that would make me embarrassed about liking Mokuba. In fact, Mokuba Kaiba is my third favorite character in Duel Monsters, he even beat out Atem and Yugi for me. One thing that does make me feel rather riled up is the fact that the fandom (Facebook more so) is really clueless when it comes to how Mokuba is such an amazing character. They use the whole "but he gets kidnapped all the time” as a gag to make Mokuba seem worthless and that Mokuba should not even exist at all since he brings nothing to the table. That is a lie and I just stare at my screen with the world’s blankest face because it’s an everyday thing as far as it goes. Mokuba is so much more than the "damsel in distress” sure he got kidnapped from time to time but that is no reason to use that against his character, or better yet use that as a defining character trait. Trust me, they use the whole kidnapping thing as a character trait for him and its beyond me.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Both actually. Season 0 wise he was a little munchkin, you know that one episode of MPGIS where the little barbie doll is just like

“It was me! Mikayla Van Buren!““Jesus Christ, Is that a fucking gremlin?” “No. I’m a third grader!” “Whatever, just no one feed that fucking thing after midnight.”

Thats Mokuba in Season 0 in a nutshell. I love him so much though. Duel Monsters wise : I LOVE HIM! THAT’S MY SON WHO I WILL LOVE AND PROTECT WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE. Dark Side Of Dimensions wise :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsH1Rp_5bk

#the-blonde-goblin #yu-gi-oh!#mokuba kaiba

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proseandsongs · 8 years ago

Text

I Can’t Be Without You

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to the lovely, kind, talented @emberglows! I am so privileged to be your friend, and as a sign of thanks/celebration of your birthday, I’ve written a Fiddlestan fic! I really hope you enjoy it. Happy birthday, love!! <3

“This is stupid.” Stan plucked at the bright red bowtie around his neck and grimaced at his reflection.

His niece swooped in and slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch it! You’ll ruin it.”

Stanley sighed and tugged at his suit jacket to banish the wrinkles. The suit was brand new and snug in the shoulders, but Mabel had refused to let him wear his Mystery Shack suit because it smelled like mothballs and formaldehyde. Stan had suspicions that Fiddleford was immune to the scent due to his work with Stanford, but he didn’t argue. He only put his foot down when Mabel suggested glitter hairspray to keep his hair in place. His hair was hard as a helmet with all the gel; it wasn’t going anywhere.

“Pumpkin, I don’t know about this. This seems a bit too…fancy. I’m just going out with Fiddleford.”

“Yeah, for your anniversary!” Mabel brushed back a stray hair from her Grunkle’s forehead and beamed at him in the mirror. After a few summers of growth spurts, Mabel now stood at her Grunkle’s shoulder, which meant she could now pick at him whenever she wanted. However, the careful adjustments – straightening a crooked tie, swiping at a smudge on his glasses with her sleeve, flattening a cowlick – were appreciated.

Mabel giggled in excitement and added, “I can’t believe you’ve been dating for a whole year!”

Stan swallowed hard as he grimaced at his reflection. “Me either.”

The whole thing was a bit strange. He had never predicted – never could have predicted – how the summer after their journey on the Stan o’ War would go.

After spending nearly a year alone in his mansion, with weekly visits from his son, Tate, Fiddleford had grown lonely. Despite his regular correspondence with Stanford as he travelled the world, Fiddleford sought company. Which is why, when Stanley and Stanford returned to Gravity Falls for summer vacation, Fiddleford proposed that they move into his mansion. There was far more space than at the Mystery Shack where Soos and now Melody lived, and Fiddleford practically shoved his Southern hospitality down their throats. They couldn’t say no.

It was Fiddleford’s odd colloquialisms and erratic behaviour that made Stan fret about staying in the mansion. Once they moved in, he was surprised to see Stanford was just as happy working with Fiddleford in his lab as they had been on the ocean. Even more surprising: Stanley was enjoying himself, too. It wasn’t because of the Olympic swimming pool in the backyard (although that didn’t hurt) or the silverware he had pawned shortly after moving in: it was because Fiddleford was so kind. The man who had suffered homelessness, abandonment, and poverty for thirty years couldn’t stop giving. He donated to the children’s program at the library, the senior’s residence, and drew up blueprints for a year-round homeless shelter that was now under construction.

In addition to Fiddleford’s generosity and success as an engineer, Stanley had been startled by his great sense of humour. The first time he heard Fiddleford sass Stanford, he laughed himself into stitches. That had been the first time Fiddleford’s grin had brought heat into his face, although he was quick to blame this on the laughter.

Stanley got to know Fiddleford, to the point where they could have long conversations without the intervention of Stanford. He was sleeping more now, and would often doze while Stanley and Fiddleford spoke; no doubt catching up on thirty years of sleep deprivation. The more Stanley spoke to Fiddleford, the more smitten he became, to the point that even Dipper and Mabel could tell there was something suspicious going on. Stanley dodged the questions, but he couldn’t avoid the unfamiliar pull Fiddleford had on him.

Soon the evening soaks in the pool with just the two of them – Stanford claimed it was unsanitary – turned into long conversations that stretched until the moon was at its highest. Those chats turned into heart-pounding flirting sessions, where Stanley didn’t know up from down and couldn’t determine whether Fiddleford was reciprocating, or merely being polite.

He got the hint one evening near the end of the summer when, in response to a blatant come-on, Fiddleford shot him with an exasperated look and blurted, “Stanley Pines, if you don’t steel your gut and kiss me silly, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you!”

He obliged, of course, and proceeded to kiss Fiddleford silly – that is until Stanford burst onto the scene with a ceptopod latched onto his ear.

Stanley had been mortified, but all Stanford said was, “It’s about time,” before he started gushing about his newest finding.

How far they had come from that uncertain night, both embarrassing and sweet; now he stood in front of a mirror, dressed to the nines by his niece and set to take his partner for a great dinner for their anniversary. Anniversary. He had never expected anyone to stick around that long.

Stan smiled at his reflection and admired Mabel’s styling. “Nice work, kid.”

He ruffled her hair and grinned at her little squawk of surprise. With a laugh, Stan pulled open his dresser drawer and scooped up a small black box. It fit in his suit coat pocket without leaving a suspicious lump. Good; it was better if he didn’t see it coming.

“I’ve gotta get going. You know how Fidds gets about being late.”

“The only people excused from punctuality are the dead, Stanley,” Mabel recited in an on-point imitation of Fiddleford.

“Yeah yeah, you little gremlin,” Stan said as he ruffled her hair again.

Much like his niece, nephew, and brother, Fiddleford was strange.

Stanley had always had a soft spot for strange.

If the waiter didn’t interrupt him soon to take their order, Stan was positive he was going to drown himself with all the water he was drinking. The truth was he was so nervous he could hardly form a sentence, and sweating buckets to boot.

Fiddleford must have noticed, because he paused in the middle of his story about the director’s meeting he had earlier that day to ask, “Are you alright, Stanley?”

His brow was furrowed behind his spectacles, and the genuine concern made Stanley’s mouth go dry. He guzzled the last of his glass of water and set it down with gusto.

“Yeah, of course!”

He hoped that Fiddleford hadn’t heard the crack in his voice. He adjusted his suit coat to hide the steadily growing sweat stains with a bit of embarrassment.

When Stanley looked up at Fiddleford, he was torn between admiration and a deep feeling of inadequacy. Fiddleford was fresh and crisp in a simple grey suit and purple tie. The small white rose that decorated the lapel of his jacket matched his newly trimmed beard, fluffy and bright.

Next to his handsome partner, Stan felt like an absolute mess.

Stan must have stared too long, because Fiddleford frowned at him again and looked like he was about to question him again. Eager for a distraction, Stanley craned his neck and said gruffly, “Where’s that waiter? I’m getting ready to eat my hand.”

At Stan’s complaint, a few disapproving looks turned their way. However, Fiddleford was mild when he replied, “I’m sure he’ll be by soon. In the meantime…”

When Fiddleford unexpectedly reached across the table to hold Stanley’s hand, he jumped a bit. Stan met his partner’s eyes and was relieved to see they were soft, like his smile. It was enough to make him relax under Fiddleford’s touch.

“Stanley, tonight is very important to me, and I’m so glad I get to spend it together,” Fiddleford began. “And I – I just wanted to say thank you.”

Stan was surprised. “Eh? What for?”

Fiddleford gave Stanley’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I want to thank you for being so understanding these last few months. I know I’ve been off negotiating with a bunch of stiff coats almost every day this month about patenting and selling my inventions, but you’ve been so good about our time apart. It’s been difficult navigating all the corporate mazes, but being able to talk to you at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile.”

Stanley sniffled and blinked a couple times to rid his eyes of the sting. He chuckled to hide the fact that his throat was tight with emotion and caressed the inside of Fiddleford’s thumb with his own. “You’re one of the best parts of my day, too. I…I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Fiddleford insisted with a smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The words struck Stanley to the core, and he felt a surge of courage. His hand fell to the box in his pocket.

“I’m glad you said that,” Stanley said, his voice stilted as he pulled his hand away. On shaking legs, Stanley stood and took a step around the table, much to Fiddleford’s bemusement. As he dipped his hand into his pocket, Stanley added, “It’ll make it a whole lot easier to do this.”

While Stan lowered himself slowly to one knee, he pulled the box out of his pocket and was met with a gasp. Fiddleford had clapped a hand over his mouth and was staring at him, wide-eyed with shock. The adrenaline of the moment pushed Stanley to speak in a rush.

“Will you marry me?”

He popped open the box to reveal the simple gold band filigreed with patterns that resembled the circuit boards that Fiddleford often worked on when he needed to get over a mental block.

Fiddleford blinked once, twice, and then whispered, “Stanley–”

“Look, I know it’s a bit sudden, after only a year,” Stan blurted; he was flushing like a fiend. “But a couple of old farts like us don’t have time to waste. I want to make an honest man of you, and it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t do it properly. You never know how much time you have with someone; I wish I had learned that sooner, but it’s not too late for us. If I didn’t ask you this, I don’t know how I could live with myself.”

Stan blinked back a few tears and cleared his throat. “I can’t imagine being without you, and I don’t want to be, ever. I’m here with you until the end, if you’ll have me.”

He held his breath as he waited for Fiddleford’s response. Teary eyed, his partner let out a breathless “Yes, Stanley,” and proceeded to shower kisses all over his forehead and cheeks. With a grin, Stan slid the ring onto Fiddleford’s finger and caught him with a quick kiss on the lips. Applause rose from the other restaurant goers and wait staff as they broke apart, and Stanley whipped around with a half-hearted scowl.

“Nosy jerks. How’s a guy supposed to propose with a bunch of snoops?” he muttered with a glare at the rowdy bunch of college-age students pounding the table and chanting “Kiss! Kiss!”

“Stanley,” Fiddleford brought him back with a soft word and a dopey smile, “this is a lovely moment, please don’t ruin it.”

“All I’m saying is that they could at least pretend not to look–”

“Stanley.”

He sighed. “Alright, alright. It doesn’t matter, anyway. All that matters is you said yes.”

Fiddleford smiled again. “That I did.”

When their lips met again to a chorus of cheers, Stanley didn’t care about the noise. He only had eyes for his fiancé and hope for the life they would build together.

#fiddlestan #stanley x fiddleford #emberglows #prosefic

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