#How skating's favorite ice husbands ACTUALLY met

[triptychgrip]

What if a drunken/accidental livestream led the public to find out about the Sochi banquet, four years after the fact?

MOTHERing_Heights commented: 12-09-2019 at 07:15am Love your posts, as always.

Regarding theories as to how the ISU kept banquet details from leaking…we all know the organization is all but broke, so they probably didn’t bribe any of the skaters to not mention it through $$$. More than likely, Viktor “I Have Gorgeous Eyes But Cross Me And I’ll Shoot Laser Beams Out Of Them” Nikiforov probably made every banquet attendee swear not to leak anything, realizing Yuuri might not want that level of media attention.

We now know Viktor didn’t realize Yuuri was that drunk, so his desire for discretion back then was probably more along the lines of “well I’m so famous and this level of scrutiny is something Yuuri probably isn’t used to, best to keep this quiet” and less of the “Woe is me! My future husband was trashed the night he captured my soul, gotta keep this hush hush” variety.

1 response to MOTHERing_Heights Lets_Get_You_To_Bed_Grandma commented: 12-09-2019 at 07:25am ajldkfjlskdaldkflskdf “Woe is me! My future husband was trashed the night he captured my soul…” This honestly sent me to the moon....why is this totally something Viktor would have thought?!

I’m now imagining him pacing and hand-wringing in his/Yuuri’s hotel room at the Barcelona GPF the night he found out that Yuuri didn’t know (the same night of their engagement, apparently?!). Oh, to be a fly on that wall…

And speaking of hand-wringing, can we all spare a moment of silence for the freaking PINING Viktor must have undergone during that 4 month gap between Sochi and hauling ass to Japan?? I’m wondering if he consoled himself in the meantime by commissioning a fanfic writer to bring to life all of his lovelorn fantasies on the page? Or, perhaps he went the route of us mere mortals and stalked Yuuri’s (formerly nonexistent) social media outlets? LMAO

---

Ahh, in-universe social media freak-outs: I love writing them, and the above excerpt/text message image is from my latest one-shot: part 1 of an eventual 3-part series about the aftermath in the event that the public finds out about the Sochi GPF Banquet shenanigans, four years after the fact.

As in: well after the Yuuri of my fic-verse wins gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as well as after he and Viktor get married.

The ensuing chaos has the potential for humor, of course, but also major feels, which is what attracted me to wanting to write about it in the first place

In my fic-verse, our YOI faves are having a hell of a time in Turin, Italy, enjoying themselves at the 2019 GPF Banquet, which ends up being a celebration of Yuuri winning his second GPF title (just a few points ahead of Yurio).

Due to Mila and Sara's peer pressure, Yuuri and Yurio drink far too much of the locally reknown grappa, which leads them to 1) set off together in search of more substantial food than the slim hors d'oeuvres pickings, and 2) accidentally go live on Instagram while discussing what went down in Sochi (well, it's more like Yurio slurring in his explanation and Yuuri interjecting now and again with incoherent "wait a secccc, tha' wuzz me? I did that?!" exclamations)

Needless to say, when a few Yuri's Angels record the live and upload it online, the internet EXPLODES; up until this point, everyone had believed Yuuri and Viktor's relationship origins to be pretty straightforward: they've been together since October 2016 and since then, they've never hinted at anything even slightly chaotic happening in Sochi.

Part 1 focuses on everyone's initial reactions the morning after Yuuri and Yurio's livestream; part 2 will be hurt/comfort-focused, as both Viktor and Yuuri grow insecure (though, for very different reasons); and the final part will feature Yuuri and Viktor hosting their own (sober) livestream to "take command of the narrative", as Yuuri's extremely stressed publicist suggests

I hope this overview piques your interest in my story, or encourages you to check out my other Yuri!!! on Ice works

[triptychgrip]

These games are fun :) Thank you for the tag @thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai!!

The following will eventually comprise part 2 of my post-canon Yuri!!! on Ice series around how the public finds out about the Sochi banquet (several years after the fact). I'm hoping to get it done after I get back from my upcoming trip to the UK

V: Viktor and Phichit boisterously laughed at these words, while Yura immediately took issue with them.

I: "I love this song!" Yuuri cried, his heart tripping at the clear adoration reflected in his favorite pair of eyes.

R: Russian society and its stifling conventions now being far away (in a literal as well as figurative sense), Yuuri knew his husband felt increasingly comfortable expressing himself the way he truly wanted to.

T: Towards the beginning of the banquet, Yura had pulled him aside to note that he wanted to talk privately, but hadn't been willing to say more on the matter.

U: "Unless you want to save that for a 5-year anniversary celebration?" he mused in a whisper, freeing one of his hands so that he could run his fingers through Viktor’s long, lightly waved hair.

E: "Ew. I'm not toasting to your girlfriend's smile, баба, that’s weirddd,” Yura slurred in retort, flinching the very next moment when Mila slapped his fingers away from a glass.

No pressure whatsoever if this isn't your thing (and others are welcome to play, too!); I tag @blonndiec and @cinderella-ish

The new word is TOAST

WIP Word Game

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of that word.

Thanks to @thetimemoves for tagging me!

My word is NAPE.

Fairy Tale Kiss doesn’t exactly work as a WIP anymore, does it? But the sequel to it does (since it’s in editing mode and will shortly go to beta). All of these are dialogue, and two of them are said by Tony Stark, which is pure coincidence. One’s clearly Bucky, and the fourth I’ll leave a mystery. 😊

N

“Nah, this is just some cheese we picked up over Paris. A couple baguettes. You know the drill.”

A

“Aw, Tony, I love you too.”

P

“Pepper would understand. I think she expects this shit, honestly.”

E

“Ended up going by my parents’ old brownstone, the one they bought in ’34. Guess that’s where Becca lived until she died, it’s how Stevie remembered where it was. I didn’t.”

Per usual, tagging the last four authors who interacted with my blog in some way.

@paula-in-dreamland, @cecebeanie, @nheirei, @2nd2ndalto

The new word is CARPET.

[fruitcoops]

I love reading all your works and they put a smile on my face everytime I see them. Is there any chance you could do a whole Lupin family truth or drink (with or without Sirius is cool too) thanks

Hello anon! Thank you for your kind words--they mean more than you know <3 Jules isn’t included here because he’s 10 and the questions are not suited for 10-year-olds, but this was so much fun to write all the same! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for alcohol and mentions of sex

“We’re back!” Marlene announced with a smile as she set up an unlabeled bottle on the table, along with three shot glasses. “And today, we’re doing something a little different with truth or drink. Loops, do you want to do the intros?”

Remus waved at the camera. “Hey, Lions, I’m Remus Lupin and these are my parents, Hope and Lyall.” He frowned and looked over at Marlene. “You toned down the questions, right? These are PG?”

“Nope!” she said cheerfully as she took her place behind the camera. “Take it away, Hope, it’s good to have you back!”

“It’s good to be back!” she said, smiling. “I had so much fun last time. Alright, Loops, describe your first kiss.”

He shook his head with a laugh. “It’s so weird hearing you call me that. Uh, I was seventeen and I kissed Ellie Sanders from down the street during her birthday party for a game of truth or dare.”

“Seventeen? I was expecting earlier, to be honest,” Lyall said as he took a card. “Hope, darling, have you ever been arrested?”

She reached for her shot glass and Remus’ jaw fell open. “What?”

“Well, I guess I have to answer it now,” she sighed. “Sweetheart, I grew up in the seventies and eighties, and your father and I met during a protest. This should not surprise you.”

“We can drink at any time, right?” Remus asked Marlene before taking a shot and drawing a card. “I could answer this one. Was I an accident?”

“Yes,” the three of them said at the same time.

“I was 21, he was 23, we had been married for three months and were not planning on having kids for at least six years,” Hope explained. She reached over and took Remus’ hand. “But you were the best accident. Okay, my turn. Have you ever had sex in my house?”

“I knew that kind of question was coming up,” Remus muttered. “No, I have not, and I don’t plan on ever doing it. My childhood bedroom is literally the least sexy place I can think of.”

“I don’t know, those plaid sheets and wall-to-wall bookshelves are really something, “ Lyall teased as he took a card. Remus rolled his eyes. “In a similar vein: when did you lose your virginity, and did you use protection?”

“Again, I was seventeen, and I did use protection because I knew I was gay at that point and didn’t want to risk anything.” Remus ran a hand down his face. “Ugh, this was not how I thought my day was going to go.”

“Was it the same night as your first kiss?” Hope gasped when he nodded. “Look at you go!”

“Oh my god, mom.” Remus picked a new card. “Ha! This should be interesting. Who’s your favorite child? Both of you have to answer.”

Hope drummed her fingers on her knees and Lyall bit his lip. “I love you for different reasons,” he finally said. “Jules is more cuddly and outgoing than you, but you actually have an off-switch and you’re a very kind person. Yeah, it’s an even split.”

“I can’t choose,” Hope said, tapping the edge of her card on the table. “You’re my boys and I love you. That’s all that matters. Have you ever been in love?”

“Yes, I have.” A soft smile tilted the edge of Remus’ lips up and he glanced behind the camera.

“Who are you looking at?” Marlene asked. “The viewers can’t see back here.”

“Oh! Sorry. My fiancé is on a bench by the wall with the car keys.” All three of them waved to Sirius. “Alright, dad, you’re up.”

“Which parent do you like more?” He mock-frowned at Remus. “I hope you know our future relationship directly depends on your answer to this single question from a drinking game on a Wednesday afternoon.”

“Just for that, I’m choosing mom,” Remus said, laughing when Lyall cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. “In all honesty, I don’t have a favorite. Like you said earlier, I love you both for different reasons.”

“What reasons?” Hope asked.

“Dad, you taught me to cook and got me into hockey, but mom encouraged me to stick with PT and always goes the extra mile.” He rolled his shot glass between his fingers for a moment. “I just know that I’m really lucky to have you both in my life, because you’ve been nothing but supportive.”

Hope dabbed at her eye with the sleeve of her sweater and Lyall took a deep breath. “Whew. Okay. Please ask something super awkward,” he said.

“I’ll do my best,” Remus laughed. His smile turned into a grimace when he read the card and he rested his forehead on the table.

Hope nudged him with her elbow. “What, are you going to chicken out this late in the game? We don’t raise wusses in the Lupin family.”

“You have to ask it,” Marlene called.

Remus sat up and shook his shoulders out. “Dad, have you—I am begging you to drink—have you ever performed oral sex on mom?”

“Performed?” Lyall snorted. “What is this, the circus?”

Remus handed him the bottle. “Please drink.”

Lyall poured himself a shot and drank it; just as Remus was starting to look mildly relieved again, he grinned. “Yes, I have.”

“Damn it.” Remus covered his face with his hands. “I should have known you would answer anyway. Jesus. I need to sear that from my brain.”

Hope took her next card and slid the bottle to Remus. “What’s your favorite sexual position? I really don’t need to know this, sweetheart.”

“No, you certainly do not!” Remus said brightly, drinking his shot. “In fact, I’m glad you don’t want to.”

Lyall cleared his throat and took a card. “What’s something I do that embarrasses you?”

“This game is rigged to give all the loaded questions to you,” Remus laughed. “You need to figure out what you want for gifts. You always say you want nothing, and then the day after Christmas you’re pining after something you never told people you wanted.”

“I do not,” Lyall scoffed. Remus and Hope shared a look and his eyes widened. “Hey!”

“Okay, my turn.” Remus’ eyebrows rose when he read the card. “When I moved out, were you relieved or sad?”

“Oh, shit,” Hope murmured with a sniffle. “I’m already crying. Both. There was a little bit of both.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The first move only happened for a little while when you went to college, but you moved back after the accident and that was…tough.”

“It was easy letting you go the first time,” Lyall said, softer than he had been yet. “You were ready then. The second time, we were so worried and also so proud of you for everything you had worked for.”

Remus scrunched his nose up and let out a shaky breath, leaning their temples together. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Hope whispered. Lyall ruffled his hair. She coughed lightly and took a new card. “Please be something uncomfortably sexual. Ah, bummer. If someone offered you $10,000 dollars to never talk to me again, would you do it?”

Remus snorted. “No.”

“What about $100,000?”

“Nope.”

“A million?”

“Is this an auction?”

“If someone gave you ten million dollars to never speak to me again, would you take it?”

“Holy shit, mom!” he laughed. “Do you want me to stop talking to you? Is this a hint?”

“We did good,” she said, giving her husband a high-five.

Remus narrowed his eyes. “Would you guys stop talking to me for ten million dollars?”

“No, never,” Lyall assured him before turning and winking at the camera. Remus groaned. “Our minds have traded bodies—“

“They have? That explains a lot.”

“Shush. If our minds traded bodies, what is the first thing you would do in my body?”

“No offense, but I would run as far away from mom as humanly possible. We are not having any Oedipus moments in this household. The second thing I would do is reach things on the high shelves of my house, because even though I’m five foot eleven, my six foot three fiancé insists on putting things just slightly out of reach.” Remus craned his neck to see behind the camera. “Yes, I’m talking about you. Stop laughing!”

“You don’t think the aforementioned fiancé would be curious as to why your dad was suddenly on the front doorstep?”

“I would hope you would explain what was going on when you woke up in my body.” When Lyall didn’t answer, Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dad. If we switch bodies, I need you to promise me you won’t sleep with my fiancé.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“You’re not even into men!”

“How do you know?” He burst out laughing at Remus’ shocked expression. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. The first thing I would do is go skating, because I bet your knees don’t hurt after ten minutes. Then I would go to the dentist, because I know you’re bad about scheduling your appointments.”

“He’s right!” A distant voice called.

Remus gave Marlene a disbelieving look as he drew a card. “Is this turning into Remus Lupin Callout Hour? Alright, if you could change one thing about me, what would it be?”

“Scheduling skills,” Lyall answered immediately.

“Answering phone calls,” Hope added.

Remus seemed surprised by her answer. “You told Sirius you didn’t like it when he got into fights on the ice. I was expecting the same here.”

She shrugged. “It’s kind of neat, seeing my kid get in a rumble out there. I’m very proud of you. Less proud when you start bleeding, but that’s only because you have a very nice nose and straight teeth.”

“You heard it here first, folks,” Remus said to the camera. “My mother worries more about my nose and my teeth that the fact that I’m getting beaten up.”

“I think that’s the last question,” Marlene said with a laugh. “How are you all feeling?”

“I feel fantastic,” Lyall answered.

“I know far too much about my parents’ sex life.”

“It was one question,” Hope scoffed. “I feel wonderful, for your information. These are always such fun.”

“Should we ask Jules to come next time?” Marlene asked.

“Seeing as he’s ten and knows way too many embarrassing stories about me, absolutely not,” Remus said.

“We could give him apple juice, he’d have a good time,” Hope shrugged. “I would not oppose it.”

“You’re famous now, Loops.” Lyall grinned. “The tabloids would love having your baby brother as a gold mine of information.”

“Can I sign us off?” he asked Marlene. “Please tell me I can sign us off. I need to leave, like, five minutes ago.”

“You’re depriving me of content, Re!”

“Hey, hockey fans, thanks for tuning in to Lion Pride’s Truth or Drink! I’m Remus Lupin, these are my parents, and we hope you have a great day.”

[giulsherondale]

"Welcome Eda!"

Ehm Balca, dear, this is not your home so please don't behave like it is... Ahh my nerves.

And more the earrings tactic... Soo childish. I really can't stand her.

Loved that Eda literally throw the popcorn into Serkan's belly😂

And Sirius at the end, I love my son.

Honestly... I really love Ferit and Ceren together. They are so cute, and I love how Ferit is trying to correct his mistake. He confesses that he is love with her, that he constantly thinks about her. So sweet.

Serkan telling Eda that the first time they met she used the same tactic of Balca because she forget her bag in his car. I love flirty Serkan and the fact that he remembers everything about Eda and their relationship.

The bet, honestly this is only the pretext so that Serkan can take Eda to Paris and have a romantic moment so the two of them.

"What does Efe wants?"

"You heard. I said I'll talk to him in the office."

"How strange. Not answering anyone's calls, and doesn't answer questions. But he calls you."

"I still work for him Serkan. Did you forgot? Okay, let's move on to our bet. Perhaps you agree that I won."

"I've told you. Nothing is clear yet."

"What has to happen for you to understand? How much clearer should it be? She ordered the same dish."

"Maybe."

"She said she was interested in the stars."

"Everyone loves stars."

"This was not enough, she also said 'Love' looking into your eyes Serkan."

"I think when she talked about love she was thinking about another person Eda."

"She answered by looking at you."

"Who else Eda? There were two people in front of her. Either you or me. Should she look at the salt shaker?"

"Either you are really stupid, or you pretend not to understand. Okay. It won't last long. It is seen, in a couple of days she will already confess her love to you."

"And you will win the bet right?"

"Of course. It's not my business."

"I agree."

"At the end of the day, what matters is how you respond to Balca's attention."

"You're right. This is a special topic that only concerns me and Balca. This is between us."

"Between you? There is something? Then I will call her."

"Eda sit down please. You..."

"I'm not jealous of you Serkan Bolat."

"You're not jealous... Really?"

"Think for yourself what could have been. Is this funny?"

"Okay... But I'm jealous of you like crazy. What to do about it?"

"You crossed the boundaries again. We'd better have coffee in the office."

"Let's have coffe here."

"I have something important to discuss with Efe. We will have coffee in the office."

"Efe can wait."

"Then I'll send him a message."

"No emoji."

This was hilarious. Eda kicking Serkan under the table and Balca was obviously flirting all the time. I loved Eda expression, she was so jealous. Serkan is soo smart, I think that he is well aware that Balca is flirting with him and he pretend not to see in order to push Eda to near to him. My smart babe.

Engin and Piril... I really like them. They are opposite of each other but they are so in love. And I think their love is actually more stronger that the difference they have. And they take out the best part of each other.

"As if there is an invisible connection between them."

Balca, dear, believe me there is... There is. So better not to put your nose between Eda and Serkan because nothing will change.

"Your coffee Eda Yildiz. Much better now. When you aren't stressed, you're becoming even more beautiful."

"Don't stress me out then."

"I don't."

This moment was so sweet and romantic. Obviously ruined by Balca. And then when Eda takes his coffee mug I was laughing out loud. Love that my girl is marching HER territory.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING BALCA?! I think she is really stupid because of course by removing the paper in the dossier Serkan will lose faith in Eda but you're damaging everyone and the holding too. She's so silly. And Balca even said that she felt hurt by seeing Eda and Serkan close the night before... Darling you know him for two days what the hell???? I hate her really.

Soo the interview and the photoshoot aren't enough... Balca you aren't spending too much time alone with Serkan and you even ask him to get a photo together and post it... Balca age 33... Balca real age 10.

"Well, until I'm 100% sure, this bet will continue Eda."

"What else should happen to make you 100% sure? What else? I'm just wondering."

"For example... When she look at me I have to feel that everything inside of her melts... When she's trying not to show her excitement... I have to see it by the way she look away... And when she try to stand firm... I have to see that her heart starts to beat faster... In her breath, in her voice, in her scent, even in her veins... I must feel this love."

"Serkan..."

"When she says my name... I must feel everything inside of her tremble."

TOO MUCH HOTNESS IN THIS SCENE🔥

Serkan reads her like a book... Honestly I don't know what to say about this scene... It speaks for itself. And plus new Serkan is enjoying his life, especially when he has the woman who he's in love with in front of him... Ahh Serkan❤️

"I really need Serkan"

Sorry Balca maybe I did not understand well... You NEED Serkan? For what? I really don't get her and I think I never will.

"His partner will arrive tomorrow and he wanted me to bring some flowers to his house and get everything in order."

"You went to his house? While I was doing the interview, you were at this man's house?"

"Yes I was. But there was nobody here. So I left some flowers and left. Anything else?"

"What kind of psycho would want flowers in his house? Is he romantic?"

"What's the problem? At least he doesn't have any allergies."

"And I also have another kind of allergy."

"What kind?"

"I'm allergic to Efe. I don't trust him."

"You should trust me. I know what's right and what's wrong."

Ohhh Eda, honey, you don't have an idea how wrong you are... And I love that Serkan says that he's allergic to Efe. My jealous boy.

I really like boys time, I like when Serkan, Engin and Ferit are together. And every each of them have some suspects on Efe,his behavior and the secret partner.

"You won."

"What?"

"You won."

"What did I win?"

"You won the bet."

"What bet?"

"Serkan, you won the bet."

"Ah... Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Balca is a little in doubt, so it happened. But she may still like you."

"Of course."

"I'm sure about it. You cannot change my opinion. She's just not running after you. As a result you won I lost."

"As a result, then, we are going to have dinner in Paris."

"It seems to me not to worth so many adventures. We can just go to that restaurant with flowers..."

"No no. A bet is a bet. Is it not? Therefore, after the results of the tender are announced tomorrow, we will take my plane and fly to Paris."

"It seems that I have no other choice."

GIVE US EDSER IN PARIS PLEASE✨❤️

During the ice skating scene was like the director told them to do whatever they want, have fun with each other, just be themselves. And I think we saw that, everyone was having fun, was laughing. In fact I really loved the scene it was one of my favorite of the whole episode.

"What?"

"I haven't laughed like that for a long time. It did me good."

"Me too."

"You keep well on ice."

"Ah yes? I am good in the air, on the ground, on the ice, in the elevators when you're around."

"Stop showing off. And when I'm not there?"

"You are always there. And you always will."

"Maybe tomorrow... Instead of going to Paris, can we eat fish and bread on the water front?"

"I will never agree. We will fly to Paris anyway. Have you ever benn to Paris before?"

"No. If you've noticed, I don't even ask you."

"I went. But to be honest, this is the first time I'm so worried."

"You probably planned everything hourly now. What are we going to do?"

"Yes. We will have a wonderful tourist route. First we will climb the Eiffel Tower, and then visit the best cafes and pastry shops. We will dine in restaurants. And then we will meet the order over the Seine. And then the Bridge of Arts and the Bridge of Lovers. But of course, none of this worries me so much..."

"Yes? What worries you?"

"Get lost with you in Montmartre."

"You won't get lost. You will not be lost anywhere. It seems to me that you even have a map of places where you are going in your head."

"You're right. But I've never been there before."

"Why?"

"Because I gave myself my word. I promised myself that I would go there with the girl that I really love. And it's you."

"Suddenly it got hot..."

Plus we got Serkan saying "Mon amour, je t'aime" and when she said that she understood what he said Serkan throw the ultimate romantic bomb "Because love has no linguage".

THIS IS POETIC CINEMA✨

Who the hell is Piril father?!😳

He has to be someone really important. He even has the guards.

And the final... Boommm... Grandma has come. I can't wait to see her and her plans.. In the fragment we saw that she will help Balca with Serkan because se has a "future husband" for Eda... Clearly grandma has no idea who Serkan Bolat is, he will never give up on Eda. Moreover I think that grandma arrivals is the thing that will unite Aydan, Ayfer, Eda and Serkan. They will work as a team against grandma. I can't wait to see it.

[ectolights]

Haunting Questions

Happy Holiday Truce @rebel-skull! Sorry I’m skating right up against the deadline. This holiday season got busier than I expected.

Thank you for letting me change the prompt a little! This is a DP/Buzzfeed Unsolved crossover fic with a side of Demon Shane. (Read it on AO3 | FFN)

Thanks also to the ever wonderful @oboenotclarinet for your help when I got stuck. I’d be a mess with out you <3

~~~

Maddie attacked the living room with the rare intention of making it look somewhat presentable, for the equally rare occasion of guests coming over. The scorch marks on the wall from the ectopus incident last month she could, unfortunately, do nothing about, but maybe the lime green stains on the couch could still be scrubbed out.

“Danny! Come help me clean up! Our guests will be here soon!”

“Why can’t Jazz do it?” Danny’s automatic response to housework rang out from upstairs, in the direction of his room. Maddie eyed the stain on the couch critically. It’d probably take more than Incredible and elbow grease to get this one out.

“Also, what guests? We literally never have anyone over. Are you actually cleaning?” Danny plodded down the stairs, stopping on the bottom step with his arms draped over the railing. He quirked his eyebrow at his mother in inquiry.

Maddie walked over to the closet with the cleaning supplies, responding over her shoulder, “Jazz is out with her friends, she’ll be back just before the guests arrive—yes, she does have friends, don’t give me that, young man—and I need you to help me tidy up because we were contacted by a team of professional ghost hunters, to be interviewed for their show. Isn’t that exciting! We’ll have the opportunity to share our knowledge about ghosts and ghost hunting with viewers all across the country!” She rifled through the haphazard piles in the closet, searching for the Fenton Foaming Cleaner that would surely (hopefully) remove the sickly splotch on the couch.

Danny moved from the base of the stairs to flop down on the armchair, helpful as ever. The raised eyebrow never faltered as Maddie made her way back to the offending couch, spray bottle prize in hand. “They don’t sound all that professional if they have a tv show. Most of those shows are just a bunch of fancy tricks, you know. Are you sure these guys are for real?”

Maddie spared a glance in her son’s direction, to where he lay sprawled across the chair, one leg carelessly thrown over an arm. She turned back to the stain and spritzed it with the cleaner. “They’re from a company in Los Angeles, called Buzzfeed. They were nothing but professional when I spoke to the representative on the phone.” The stain began to bubble green, an acrid aroma piercing the air. She hummed in concern. It wasn’t supposed to do that. Hopefully that meant it was working.

“Oh wow, that’s a real vote of confidence. Mom, Buzzfeed is like, ‘what pizza you are based on your favorite color,’ or ‘we tried being hipsters for a day,’ they’re an entertainment company. The last thing they are is professional ghost hunters.” Of course, this would probably work in Danny’s favor more than if they were actual ghost hunters, but, well. No one needed to know that.

Maddie paused from her observation of the science experiment that was the couch and met Danny’s raised eyebrow with one of her own. “Even so, sweetie, they’ve offered to pay for this interview and they’re already on their way here. Besides, even if they are a little… new, to the ghost hunting world, then it’s just an even better opportunity to get the word out there! We can outfit them with proper ghost hunting equipment and make sure they’re equipped to handle all the standard ghostly threats. Your father will certainly be excited to show them all his latest inventions!” Her trademark optimism could rival even Pamela Manson’s, and at times Danny questioned how anyone could have that positive of an outlook, even about things like phony ghost hunters coming for a flipping tv show. Still, there was clearly nothing to be done about it now, so Danny figured he might as well brace himself for the inevitable catastrophe.

As Maddie returned her attention to the couch, concerned frown deepening at what she finally decided was a lost cause, she opted to wipe away what was left of the “cleaner” and cover the whole couch with a long, wide throw blanket. That would at least hide the hole that the Fenton Foaming Cleaner had eaten into the cushion. Better than nothing, she supposed. “Now then, Danny, if you’re done griping about people sharing our passion, then you can get your dirty shoes off the arm of the chair and help me dust the living room. They’ll be here soon, and I want the house to be somewhat presentable. Once Jazz comes home we’ll get your father out of the lab and we can all be here for the interview. It’ll be so exciting!”

Danny huffed and reluctantly got to work. “Still think this is a dumb idea,” he mumbled under his breath. His mother rolled her eyes and didn’t comment.

When Jazz came home a little while later she revealed to Danny she had known about this interview for a few days, but after having looked up the show she’d deemed it a non-threat. She explained she was under the assumption Danny knew about the upcoming interview as well, so she didn’t think to tell him. They both supposed their parents had simply had it slip their minds—not an unusual occurrence. Besides, it was a moot point now; the tv people would be here any minute.

“Alright, kids, I’ll make sure your father has kept the lab in one piece and get him to join us before they arrive. Danny, you’re on door duty. Don’t let your father get close enough to threaten them with the Fenton Bazooka. We don’t need a repeat of last time,” this last part was said under Maddie’s breath as she headed to the lab door in the kitchen. Jazz and Danny exchanged a knowing look.

When the doorbell finally did ring, Jazz perched neatly on the chair, Jack and Maddie came running into the room (“Ghost!” “No, Jack, ghosts don’t use the front door, we’ve talked about this Sweetie.”) and Danny opened the front door, pained smile already in place. He was met by two young-ish guys—or, more accurately, a guy and a tree with legs—who both looked very out of place in a town where ghost attacks came on the news as often as the weather. The shorter, more average looking of the two had a bright smile on his face, and the guy with trees for legs (Seriously, how was he so tall?) had his hands in his pockets and a laidback grin.

As soon as Danny laid eyes on the taller one, his smile fell from his face.

There was no way this guy was human.

“Hi! I’m Ryan Bergara, and this is my co-host, Shane Madej. Our cameraman Mark is grabbing the equipment out of the car. We’re the guys from Buzzfeed Unsolved; we’re supposed to interview the local ghost hunters. This is the Fenton residence, correct?” The shorter guy—Ryan, apparently—bounced a little on his toes.

“Well I should hope so Ryan, they have a giant neon sign,” Shane grinned, earning him a lighthearted jab to the ribs from Ryan. Danny narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, of course, welcome!” Maddie came up behind Danny, and he stepped to the side grudgingly as his mother continued, “Please come in and sit down, we’re very excited to have you here. I’m Maddie, and this is my husband Jack and our kids Jazz and Danny. We’ve been looking forward to this ever since you contacted us! It’s a thrilling opportunity.” She led them into the living room, not noticing Danny’s sudden change in attitude. As soon as Shane stepped over the threshold, the electric ice that usually accompanied Danny’s ghost sense washed down his spine—but his ghost sense hadn’t actually gone off. He’d know if it had. This guy was giving him major danger vibes, but he clearly wasn’t a ghost. Danny swallowed the growl that was building in his chest.

Maddie continued welcoming them, unperturbed.

“I always love meeting fellow ghost hunters!” Jack announced in his usual booming fashion. “Always good to see more folks interested in this perilous profession! You can never have too many people fighting back against the threat of those putrid ectoplasmic post-human manifestations.”

Ryan faltered, his smile wavering. “What? I don’t… Fighting? What do you mean, fighting?”

Maddie’s brows creased. “Well, you’re ghost hunters, right? Surely you know that all ghosts are the evil incarnations of human imprints, driven by obsessions to violence and chaos. They have to be dealt with to protect people.”

Based on the gobsmacked expressions on the two purported ghost hunter’s faces, they hadn’t exactly expected this answer.

“So I take it you definitely believe in ghosts, then.”

A brief moment of stunned silence followed Shane’s statement, even Jack temporarily lost for words. “Well of course ghosts are real, that’s ridiculous!” Jack exclaimed once he recovered. “They attack the city practically every week! We Fentons have developed the most advanced ecto-technology capable of harming and containing ghosts. We’ve been studying ghosts for years!”

In what to Danny was a clear effort to ward off one of their father’s ghost rants, Jazz asked, “You’ve been doing this show for a while, correct? You must have fought a ghost before, or at least encountered one?”

“Well, no, we’ve never seen a ghost, or any paranormal creature. We always look for evidence, but we almost never find anything that counts as compelling.”

Ryan, still stunned, held up his hands. “O-okay. Hold on. This is… this is a lot. Why don’t we uh, why don’t we set up for the interview, and then we can continue this conversation while we’re recording, so we don’t have to repeat anything? It’ll be more genuine that way.”

While the Buzzfeed guys, now including their cameraman, set up for the interview, the Fenton parents whispered to each other in heated sounding tones, presumably still baffled by the lack of proper hunting knowledge. Jazz came over to stand by Danny, who (despite the strange turn the afternoon had already taken) hadn’t taken his eyes off Shane. The longer he was in his house the more Danny felt the urge to fight. Jazz didn’t seem to notice her brother’s weird mood, instead commenting, “Well I guess they’re just yet more phonies, huh?”

“No.”

“What?” She sounded taken aback.

“The taller one. Shane. He’s not human. I don’t think he’s a ghost either, he didn’t set my ghost sense of properly, but he’s definitely something. And he’s powerful, too. He gives me a really bad feeling.”

Okay, Jazz was definitely worried now. “Well what are we going to do about it? Is he a threat? Should I call Sam and Tucker?”

“No, I don’t think they’ll be able to help. I don’t think I could take him. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can just sense that he’s too much for me, even with help. I don’t like it.” His hands curled into fists at his sides. “Besides, he hasn’t actively made any threats yet. For now, we just keep an eye out. If it goes bad, I’ll deal with it while you get Mom and Dad out. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

Jazz glanced between Shane and Danny, pensive. “Okay, but… please be careful.”

Danny spared his sister a brief look. “I’ll try.”

There wasn’t much they could do but act normal and hope for the best, so once everything was set up and the cameras were ready to roll, Shane and Ryan sat on the recently-blanket-covered couch across from Jack and Maddie, who were each in an armchair. Jazz and Danny perched on the loveseat, out of frame and on edge.

Ryan worked quickly through his usual introduction and explanation, eager to get to the meat of the situation.

“So Drs. Fenton, what can you tell us about Amity Park as a haunted location?”

“Well,” Maddie began, “The ghosts started appearing frequently about a year and a half ago, coming from the Ghost Zone into our world and attacking people. They generally cause havoc a couple times a week, destroying property and attempting to injure people. They fight amongst themselves as often as they terrorize average citizens, being the violence-driven creatures they are.”

“Wow, there’s… a lot to unpack there. What is the Ghost Zone?”

“That’s where the ghosts come from!” Jack chimed in. “They need ectoplasm to survive, since that’s what they’re made up of, so they go back to the Ghost Zone when they get weak.”

“So I take it ghosts can be seen to the average eye, then?” Ryan asked.

“Well of course they can! All ghosts can make themselves invisible, but their default state is in the human field of vision. All ghosts are typically tangible, unless actively using their powers of intangibility, and they seem to stay hovering or flying unless deliberately doing otherwise. Most ghosts have offensive powers as well, such as ectoplasmic blasts and elemental attacks, but the weakest ones don’t maintain a consistent form and don’t display anything beyond the basic capabilities,” Maddie explained.

“Wow,” Ryan said, “I had no idea ghosts were so… present. I thought they were, like, barely able to move pencils or turn on flashlights.”

“Nonsense,” Jack declared, “Ghosts are a very serious threat and can cause a lot more harm than turning on the lights!”

Shane leaned forward, hands clasped over his knees. “So ghosts can hurt people? And they do it actively? So much for Casper the Friendly Ghost.”

Maddie waved a hand, nonchalant. “Oh yes, all ghosts are driven by malice; their base instinct is to turn to violence. They’ll just as soon attack each other as they will a human. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure you always have the proper weaponry to defend yourself.”

“What kind of weapons? Like salt and holy water?” Ryan asked, hopeful to at least have gotten one thing right about ghosts.

“Of course not! A little saltwater isn’t going to do anything against a grisly ghoul! That’s why we have these bad boys,” Jack sprung up from his seat, pulling out an ectogun from seemingly nowhere and brandishing it in front of the two guests. They leaned back quickly in response, startled. Mark, from behind the camera, watched nervously, and Jazz put her head in her palm. Danny grimaced.

“This here is a state-of-the-art Fenton brand ectogun, designed and built by yours truly. It uses ecto energy to fight ghost fire with ghost fire. Nothing on Earth is more effective at takin’ down those scary spooks!”

“Alright, Dear, let’s maybe put the gun down; I think it’s making our guests just a little uncomfortable. I’m sure they can admire it just fine from the coffee table.” Maddie stood and placed her hand gently on Jack’s arm, lowering it and deftly taking the gun from his hands. She set it on the table and smiled apologetically at the men on the couch. “I’m sorry, Jack can get a little… enthusiastic. But it’s not to worry, ectoguns can’t hurt humans. They’re designed specifically to target the unique energy that constitutes ghosts; the most even our larger guns would do to humans is knock the wind out briefly.” She encouraged Jack to sit back down, and returned to her own seat.

It may have been Danny’s imagination, but he could have sworn Shane slid further away from where the gun rested innocently between them.

“…Okay, so you use actual weapons to fight ghosts. Cool. Uh… where do you find ghosts? You said something about them going to and from the—Ghost Zone, correct?—so I assume they aren’t bound to one place like in most tales about them,” Ryan said, attempting to brush off any lingering awkwardness from Jack’s well-meaning outburst.

At this, Jack brightened up considerably and said, “We use the Fenton Finder! Ghosts all have an ectosignature, so we use those to detect when they’re nearby, like radar! Even if they’re invisible, this puppy can find a ghost on the other side of the city.” He beamed proudly, and Maddie gave her husband an endearing smile.

Shane perked up once again, absently picking at the threads on the edge of the hole Maddie had attempted to conceal. “So you’re saying this finder-thing makes it impossible for ghosts to hide?”

Danny had a bad feeling about this.

“That’s right! We’d know a ghost was near long before it had the chance to get the drop on us.”

Ryan asked, “Does it work on other creatures, too? Like demons, for instance?”

Maddie laughed, “Don’t be silly! Demons don’t exist. Everything that people think they see is usually some form of ghost. There’s a vast spectrum of forms a ghost can take.”

Shane nudged Ryan. “See Ry, I told you demons weren’t real! You’ve been getting so worked up about nothing. Annabelle’s got nothing on these ghosts we’re learning about.”

Danny tuned out Ryan’s spluttered denials and defenses as he came to a worrying suspicion. Shane wasn’t a ghost—even if he had been a half-ghost, Danny would have been able to tell. But he wasn’t human either; the moment he first saw him he just knew. But if he wasn’t a ghost and he wasn’t human… then he had to be something else entirely. Danny had never encountered anything else, but if his own existence proved anything, it was that he couldn’t jump to conclusions about what did and did not exist.

Shane didn’t seem to believe in any of this stuff, even if he was currently going along with the ghost thing (Danny felt pretty sure that was just out of politeness to his parents, based on the faces Shane had been making and the near-constant laughter he appeared to be fighting). But Danny knew from experience how helpful putting on a persona could be. He couldn’t assume anything about this guy.

(Ryan seemed pretty safe. He didn’t seem to share any hidden glances or take any second meaning from his friend’s actions. He was probably in the dark.)

So if Shane was something else…

Danny was suddenly very worried he perhaps knew what that ‘else’ might truly be.

“…so ghosts have different power levels,” His mother was saying as Danny brought himself back to the events at hand, “and that determines how difficult it is to defeat.”

“So you can’t purposefully antagonize anything while we’re here, Shane,” Ryan said, giving his friend a stern eye. “I am not going to be the one to tell Sara you got yourself murked by the undead.”

“I don’t know,” Shane replied, “Could be fun to fistfight a ghost. A good old-fashioned brawl.” He turned with a Cheshire grin and stared straight at Danny, too-dark eyes glittering.

Yeah, this definitely wasn’t good.

[mando-ag]

Remember Me ~* The Lake

Summary: Din meets reader in the city part during winter, seeing reader for the first time as she plays with children. He quickly realizes this is his destiny.

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, filler, Sensual language. I think that's it loves.

w/c: 2.6k

A/N y'all this is ch.2 of the remember me series. slowly picking up the pace here ;) this one is a filler as well but I hope you enjoy it. <3

The heat warmed your cheek as the sunlight peeked through your curtains in the early morning. Sighing softly you started to get ready for your morning, begrudgingly so. It wasn’t hard to tell that you weren’t a morning person. It just deemed unnecessary for you to get up and do something you didn’t even enjoy. But living in the real world, it’s what you have to do. Need work to pay for bills and food, the bills fund the essentials in your home. Just a boring, irritating cycle of life.

Heating up your electric kettle for some coffee, you washed the leftover dish from the night before, making a mental note to buy more dish soap at the market today. It was Wednesday, the usual day you went shopping for groceries. Why? Who knows, you just get excited because it's the middle of the week for you.

You thought it would probably be best to write down everything in a list because you knew you would forget even if you decided to memorize it for an hour.

Shampoo, dish soap, cooking oil, dryer sheets.. Um what else am i missing.

You looked around your apartment, adding things to your list you knew you would need. Once you were finished you folded it up and went to grab your purse, heading to the store before going to pick up the three rascals.

Definitely your favorite thing about living alone is that you don't need to buy an excessive amount of anything if you don't want to. Beginning to fill your cart with the things from your list, you consciously look around to see if maybe, maybe, you’ll see Mando again.

You need to chill, literally just met the guy and all you mentioned was a book. He literally doesn’t know you. You mentally scolded yourself as you walked through the lanes, grabbing what was on your list. Humming softly as you grabbed shampoo and conditioner, you heard soft giggling on the other side, hearing a man talk to what you presumed to be his child. Your heart sped up as you let your mind believe that it was Mando, listening carefully for the man’s voice again.

“Shit!” You whispered, checking your appearance through your phone camera. “I literally look so bad.” You mumbled, trying to fix your hair a bit more. Slipping your phone into your pocket, you pushed your cart nonchalantly as you heard the voice come close, you could see from the corner of your eye he was there.

Taking a deep breath, looking away from the many options of shampoo and conditioners, you finally turn and face Mando... except it wasn’t him. It was just some random dad with his kid. Hiding your disappointment, you awkwardly waved to the pair, grabbing what you needed before leaving that aisle quickly.

“Oh my god, that was so fucking embarrassing.” You mumbled to yourself, blushing from your stupidity. To think he would actually be there made you stoop a new low. “I need to get laid.” You sighed to yourself as you went to the dairy products. You finished off getting what was on your list, paying and placing it all carefully in your car.

On the drive back to your apartment, you hummed along to the radio, wondering if it was the universe trying to tell you something about Mando. I mean he’s cute… wait what? I don’t even know what he looks like. Yeah I got it bad. You internally fought with your rational side, deciding to stop thinking of Mando for the time being.

Putting everything away, you grabbed a few snacks to take to the kids, getting back out to your car and driving to their much bigger home. All three kids rushed out, greeting you excitedly as you stepped out of your car.

“Hello my little munchkins!” You said, kneeling and hugging all three little rascals. Standing as their parents stepped out of the house with suitcases. Keeping a smile on your face but you were sure the parents recognized the confusion in your eyes. Are they leaving? Yeah no shit, obviously. They have suitcases. You huffed as your subconscious voice was being sarcastic with you.

“Good morning, thank you for coming so early. Jerry and I have an emergency business trip we need to take. We would have told you sooner had we known but like I said this is an emergency trip.” Mrs. Stenson told you, giving you an apologetic smile.

“It’s quite alright Mrs. Stenson, I’m assuming you want me to stay with them?” You nodded to the three children who cling to your side.

“Yes please, we would appreciate it greatly. The trip is one week. We will triple your pay and send you extra money for the three of them. I know this is asking a lot of you… if you’re not comfortable i can find someone else but..” She trailed off looking at you with a hopeful look on her face.

Realizing how much she would be increasing your pay, you quickly nodded. “Don’t worry, I don’t mind watching over them. It’s fine.” You told her, giving her an understanding smile.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She gave you a quick hug before putting the suitcases in the car. “You know where everything is, if you need extra money, please call us. She turned to her kids, kneeling down the best she could because of her tight pencil skirt.

“My darling angels. Remember mommy and daddy have to leave but we will be back. Now you three better be on your best behavior or you can’t go to disneyland. Remember? Daddy said if you behave, we can all go to disneyland. “ All three kids perked up nodding. “We’ll be good mommy!” The eldest, Jaime said, excited that his reward would very possibly be a trip to disneyland. The girls murmured in agreement with their brother.

“Okay, come give daddy and me a quick kiss before we go.” She said, the kids kissing her cheek and the father’s. “I love you, my little babies. Behave well.” She gave them a tight hug before getting in the car with her husband leaving for the airport. Mr. Stenson wasn’t as affectionate as his kids but they knew their daddy loved them even if he didn’t say it as often as their mother did.

Ushering the kids inside the large home, making sure the doors were all locked. Okay, keeping three kids all under the age of ten entertained would probably be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But you were determined.

“Okay, it’s breakfast time! What would you like to eat?” You asked, staring at the three wide-eyed children. “Waffles!” Penny shouted, jumping in excitement. Her brother and sister agreed, chanting waffles as you got the ingredients.

“Waffles it is then! Go watch tv and I will bring you your waffles when they are ready. How does that sound mm?” You asked but the kids scurried away as soon as you said tv, leaving you alone in the kitchen.

***

After feeding the children you took them out to the lake, making sure you had their skates in a bag. Usually you would take them to swim but since it’s frozen, the kids wanted to ice skate instead. Laying down a thick towel and a blanket on top of it, you sat at the edge of the grass, a few feet away from where the actual lake began.

“Don’t go too far. I checked and the ice is thick enough but you have to be careful. Loretta, you can skate here.” You pointed to the area where you wanted her to be in. She was the youngest and you were afraid that she could get severely hurt if she went too far.

Helping the kids onto the ice, you sat on the blanket, watching them carefully. You didn’t want an accident to occur. The worst thing that had ever happened when you were watching them was Jaime stepping on a leggo and his foot was in a lot of pain for a few minutes.

Hearing a rustling behind you, you quickly stood and turned around alarmed. Relief and surprise filled your body as you realized it was Mando… with a small child… or baby? Of course, even though you can’t see his face you can just tell he was older than you by a couple years. So he has a kid… meaning he either has a wife, baby mama, or just a single dad. You cleared your throat after a moment, realizing you’ve been staring.

“Sorry, I didn't know it was you… I thought it was an animal or something.” Blush creeped up onto your cheeks, feeling slightly embarrassed. Rubbing your arms, you quickly turned to watch the kids, making sure nothing had happened yet. Glancing at Mando as he walked and stood beside you.

“I should’ve made my presence known. Lake day for your kids too?” He asked, looking at the kids before focusing on your face. You nodded, looking at him.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a long week… is he your son?” You wanted to smack yourself for asking such a stupid question. Obviously, he said “your kids too” meaning this one is definitely his.

Chuckling, he nodded. “My son Grogu… I adopted him when he was… younger.” Din nodded to his son, he looked quite interesting. A very tiny little child with a bald little head and green skin. How is he so… adorable and tiny? You thought to yourself. Not being able to stop yourself from blurting out the question that had been itching at you since you saw him with his little green son.

“Are you married? Or have a girlfriend?” You asked, looking at him through his black visor. Feeling your stomach clench and your chest tighten as you nervously await his answer. Feeling more anxious to know as he looked away from you towards his son instead.

“No, I’m not married… and I don’t have a girlfriend either.” Din finally answered after a minute of silence, easing your emotions. Moving slightly closer to Mando, you looked at his hands. “Would you like to sit with me?” You motioned to your little spot you had set up on the ground.

Nodding, Din sat down next to you once you had made yourself comfortable. Looking towards the children. Determined to get to know him, you built up confidence to try to converse with him.

“How long have you lived here?” You asked, looking at him. He hummed softly, barely able to hear it. “About three months.” He replied, not looking at you. Three months?! That’s it? It surprised you how little time he’s spent there. You thought a man like himself would’ve lived there longer, probably just kept to himself but you were completely off the mark.

“Oh cool, do you like it here?” He nodded, looking at you. “I do, safer place for my son to live. Be with kids his age.” Motions to the children playing and skating together.

You looked at them, biting your lip as the cold started to seep into your jacket. “Dammit.” You mumbled as you shivered.

Din looked at you, noticing your shivering. Deciding to be bold, he wrapped an arm around you, your body tucked into his side. Blushing from his action, you pressed your face into his arm, trying to warm up. “Thank you.” You told him, the both of you enjoying the silence between you.

After a few hours, you stood to stretch your legs a bit. Looking at the kids, you noticed they were tired. “All done?” You asked as you walked to the ice. Penny nodded, yawning.

“I’m hungry!” Jaime said, pouting as he lazily skated towards you, holding his baby sister’s hand. Smiling you helped switch their skates to their normal shoes, putting the skates carefully in the bag. “Yeah? We’ll let’s go and fill those tummies up shall we?” You hummed softly before turning to Mando.

“Would you like to come with us?” You asked him, watching as he stood up. He nodded, taking his son’s hand and guiding him to the car. “I’ll follow you there.” He mumbled as he picked up his son.

You drove the kids to the restaurant, smiling as Mando walked in after you, standing close to you as the hostess showed you to the table. Sliding into the booth after all the kids were seated together, including Grogu. Mando slid in next to you, looking at you, “Hope you don’t mind.” His voice sounded deeper causing blush to creep onto your face.

“No worries.” You picked up a menu, asking the children what they would like to eat. After they all chose, you looked towards mando. “See anything you want yet?” You asked him, looking at the menu before looking at his face, blushing when you saw him already looking at you.

“I’m not too hungry, maybe I’ll order something to go.” He replied, his voice gruff causing you to clench your thighs together as you imagine his voice from underneath your pu- Stop it. You’re about to eat with KIDS you fucking horny bitch. Clearing your throat you nodded and proceeded to order what you wanted. Watching the kids interact, you felt Mando’s hand touch yours, causing you to stiffen your back at the unexpected touch.

“So.. what do you do for a living?” You asked Mando, taking a sip from your drink. He sighed softly, barely audible if you weren’t paying attention. He leaned back, his helm facing you,”I’m a bounty hunter. I get paid to hunt people down, bringing them back to people they owe debts to.” He watched your face, waiting for your reaction.

You were surprised, from your understanding that profession is quite dangerous, especially for him since he is a father. It made you curious as to why he would have that profession since he is a dad. Voicing your curiosity, you asked him.

“Why a bounty hunter? Not that it is a bad profession, it’s just that you have a child. You have a lot to lose if something happens to you.” Tilting your head to the side, you waited for his response. You looked over at the kids when they got a bit rowdy, telling them to calm down.

“It pays well enough for me to put food on the table for us. For our home. As long as I know that he is alive and safe, I am fine. I’d do anything for him.” He told you, looking towards his son for a moment. You could easily tell he truly loves his son, caring deeply for him. At some point during your conversation, your hand slipped comfortably into his, neither of you seemed to mind or be upset from the tender action. You began eating the meal, watching the children eat, making sure to have minimal mess from the four children eating in front of you two.

***

You both were outside the restaurant, the children saying good-bye to Mando’s cute little baby. The kids piled into the car, chatting loudly.

“Mando… I-I really enjoyed talking to you today… and maybe, um, we could do it again.” You said nervously, you planned on speaking confidently, but once you actually spoke, his stare made your soul tingle and all confidence slipped away.

“I think that would…” He watched your hopeful eyes, your nervous demeanor. “... it would be a great idea. I think it’ll be… good.” Good? The fuck does that mean?? Din mentally slapped himself, that was the weirdest thing he has ever said.

Blushing deeply you nodded, reaching into your purse and writing your number down on a piece of paper, handing it to him. You felt your confidence build up again as he didn’t reject you. Thank God.

“Call me.” You smiled, leaning in and kissing his helm where his cheek would be. You walked to your car, getting in and waving to him as you drove home. What a fucking day.

A/N Y'ALL this took a long ass time to write. mainly because I kept changing things around and school takes my time away! But I got it done!!! I hope y'all liked it, I know its very ~dull~ for the most part.

[ffakc]

City Sidewalks - a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fanfiction

I opened my eyes, looking around the room. The sunlight pouring through the sunflower yellow curtains created an orange glow that danced off the walls. I rolled over to kiss my husband, but he wasn’t there. I would assume he got a late start on feeding the animals, but it’s Saturday, so he could have possibly gone to the grocery store for me. I stretch my arms and sit up, checking my phone as I always do.

“Good morning, pretty lady,” Jeff appears in the doorway, wearing his flannel robe and his hair is perfectly disheveled. He’s holding a plate of what appears to be muffins and two cups of coffee with a grin on his face.

“Baby!” I laugh, putting on my glasses. “What did you do?” Jeff makes his way to the bed, crawling back in carefully as to not spill anything.

“I made you muffins,” he kisses me, handing me the cup of coffee and setting the plate between us.

“You’re so sweet,” I take a bite of my muffin and a sip of dark roast. “And so are these! Cranberry orange, yum! Good job, honey! So what’s on the agenda, today?” I glance over at my gorgeous husband.

“If I had my way,” Jeff pushes my

hair back and begins kissing my neck deeply. I set the coffee mug on the nightstand, basking in the pleasure of his lips and stubble rubbing against my skin. “I would spend the whole day in bed making sweet, passionate love to you.” My body quivers at his touch.

“Jesus Christ, you make me weak,” I whimper, my legs shaking slightly.

“You can just call me Jeff.” I roll my eyes with a smile and kiss him, pressing my hand against his chest. Breakfast in bed was soon forgotten about as Jeff climbs on top of me. “I love you so damn much,” he moans against my lips.

“And I love you,” I run my fingers through Jeff’s graying hair, tugging it slightly. He bites his lip and moans, slipping his robe off. I take off my pajama shorts off and look up at my husband, wondering what his next move is going to be. I keep my hand in his hair as he kisses me passionately.

“God damn, you’re soaked for me, aren’t you?” Jeff licks his lips, planting sloppy kisses down my chest and stomach. I nod and look down at him.

“Lick me clean, Daddy,” I whine. He smirks, pulling my black underwear aside and licking aggressively. I grip his hair and gasp, my whole body exploding with ecstasy. “Jeff,” his name barely ekes out of my mouth. I can hardly think straight as sinful sounds of Jeff’s tongue and lips against me fill the air. He slides two fingers inside me, moaning against my clit. The vibrations of his hot, wet mouth are indescribable. “Jeffrey, oh god. I’m going to cum, baby. Yeah, Daddy, right there. God, I fucking love you so fucking much,” I curse under my breath. Warm fuzziness overtakes my whole body as my orgasm hits, fucking Jeff’s mouth by rocking my hips. My husband crashes onto my chest, I begin stroking his soft and shaggy hair.

“I love making you cum. It’s one of my favorite things,” Jeff rasps, tracing the curves of my body with his fingers. “I love teasing you. I love the way my name sounds coming from your lips. I love your body, your soul, your caring heart. I love you with everything I have,” he buries his face in the crook of my neck, giving deep kisses and whispering, “I love you.”

“I love you. You’re mine, forever,” I hold his hand as we both drift back off to sleep, tangled in each other’s arms.

____________________________________

Jeff yawns and puts on his glasses, his head still resting on my stomach.

“So much for breakfast in bed, eh?” he laughs, gesturing to the plate of muffins on the nightstand. “I found something yummier to eat anyway,” he plants little kisses on my stomach. “What time is it?” I sit up in bed and look at my phone.

“It’s only nine,” I reply, massaging his scalp. ”Maybe we should get some Christmas shopping done today.”

“I’m going to spoil you rotten for Christmas. It’s our first Christmas in New York after all,” Jeff says with a sweet smile.

“Oh, hush. You don’t have to do that!”

“Maybe I want to!” Jeff playfully sticks his tongue out.

“If you must,” I roll my eyes with a grin. “Ooh, Daddy! Can we go ice skating in Rockefeller Center? I mean, if we are going shopping in the city, might as well make a day out of it! I’ve always wanted to go there!” Jeff sits up in bed and grabs his laptop. I kiss his cheek and rest my head on his shoulder.

“I don’t see why not. Maybe we can go to dinner after too, I want to explore the city with you. Let me see here, it looks like you can buy tickets online. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Jeffrey.”

____________________________________

Jeff tightens his scarf around his neck and pulls on his gloves.

“You ready?” he holds out his hand and steps onto the ice, steadying himself. I clutch his hand and he pulls me against him. “Merry Christmas, darlin’,” he kisses me deeply, I grab onto his waist for support.

“Merry Christmas, Daddy. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Jeff says with a smile. He holds my hand as we skate around the rink, weaving in and out of tourists.

“This is a dream come true,” I say as Jeff twirls me around. “I’m with the man I love, it’s my favorite time of year. Could life be any better?”

“I don’t think so, doll,” Jeff replies. “Life is so fucking good with you in it.”

____________________________________

“Is it just me or does a big ol’ plate of pasta sound amazing right now?” Jeff asks, readjusting his shopping bags.

“Or pizza. Or garlic bread. Or anything carbohydrate loaded,” I laugh. I get out my phone and set my bags down. Jeff glances down. “Hey! Don’t peek! Sneaky, sneaky!” I playfully slap his chest. We had gone our separate ways for an hour or so to buy each other things.

“I wasn’t!” Jeff laughs. He gets out his phone and adjusts his glasses, “Let’s see what’s near here. Ooh, Olive Garden. That’s some fine dining!” he jokes.

“Where I’m from, you’d be surprised how many people feel that way!”

“Oh my god, this looks so good,” he shows me a picture. “It’s in the direction of the train station too, so it works out well.”

“That DOES look good, how far is it?”

“It looks like only a few blocks,” Jeff grabs my hand. “I’m surprised my old bones aren’t sore from skating!”

“Oh hush, you act like you’re ancient or something,” I laugh.

“Fifty four is getting up there, hon!”

“You’re a sexy silver fox, shut up,” I pull my husband in by his collar and kiss him. Our age gap actually turned me on more than anything. I finally had found a sensual, loving, considerate sweetheart of an older man to care for me and I couldn’t be more content. I didn’t know what I was missing in my life until I met my Jeffrey. He completes me.

____________________________________

“I’ve yet to find to find a time where Italian food doesn’t hit the spot,” Jeffrey remarked, kicking off his boots.

“Very true,” I nod, “What a delicious dinner.” I glance over at him as he takes off his belt. I bite my lower lip as he strips his jacket and unbuttons his shirt. I slip out of my jeans and v-neck, revealing my matching bra and panties. My eyes are still locked on my handsome husband. He catches me staring in the floor mirror.

“What do you want, pretty girl?” Jeffrey cups my cheek in his hand and kisses me deeply. I look him up and down, his opened shirt and messy hair have me absolutely in a state of rapture. I pull him in, begging for more. He teases me, leaning in for a kiss, then pulling away. The only thing I feel is the warmth of his breath ghosting against my lips. His fingers trace ever so lightly over my exposed skin, goosebumps forming instantaneously. I can hardly stand it. “Tell Daddy what you want.”

“I want, oh Jeffrey, fuck,” I whine as he begins sucking my neck and collarbone.

“Come on, use your words,” Jeff teases, knowing that he’s driving me absolutely wild. He pulls my bra off, sucking on my chest, glancing up at me with a mischievous grin.

“God damn it, take your clothes off! I’m so fucking wet for you, babe. Make me yours. Show me who I belong to. Please Daddy, please!” I grip his hair and raise my voice, not quite yelling, but finally giving in to his teases. He lets out a throaty chuckle.

“Well, now. Was that so hard? I don’t know why you have such a hard time using your words like a big girl,” Jeff smirks, giving me a light spank. I gasp, my whole body is quivering with anticipation wondering what he’s going to do next. He places his glasses on the nightstand. I lay back on the bed as he undresses completely. I look him up and down, licking my lips at the sight before me. Jeff climbs on top of me and I give his ass a squeeze as his throbbing cock slides inside me. “Holy shit, darlin’,” he grunts, “You’re so ready for me,” He kisses me with burning desire, his lips flavored with the finest red wine the restaurant had to offer with the faintest hint of tobacco from his post-meal cigarette. I begin stimulating myself as he sinks deeper into me, pulsing around him.

“Oh my god, Jeff. Jeffreyyy,” I whine, “Harder, Daddy. You make me feel so fucking good” Jeffrey stimulates my g-spot with his cock, his pace quickening. I push his sweaty hair out of his face and give it a light tug. His eyes roll back in his head.

“I need to cum so bad,” Jeff groans. His hands grip hard on my hips.

“Cum inside me,” I moan, pulling him deeper inside me and kissing him. “Fill me up like the little slut that I am. I’m Daddy’s little princess. I love when I’m dripping with your juices. Mmm, Daddy. It’s a reminder of who I belong to. I love you.”

My husband’s chest flushes and his heart rate pick up speed.

“Yeah, you fuckin’ are. I love you too, my little princess. You’re such a good, good girl. Oh fuck, baby!”

Jeff lets out a growl as he spills out inside me, my muscles clenching around him as my orgasm intensifies. He pulls out, collapsing on my chest, gasping in ecstasy. I stroke his hair and kiss his drenched forehead. He tilts his head up and kisses me, then rolls off to my side. He wraps his arms around me.

“I’ve... never... Jesus Christ,” Jeff pants.

“Use your words, Daddy,” I tease breathlessly and smile. I rest my head on his hairy chest and run my fingers down his stomach as he catches his breath.

“You got me there,” Jeff laughs. “I’ve never came that hard,” he gasps. “I love when you dirty talk to me, my gal.” He intertwines his long fingers with mine. “How did I get so lucky with you?” Jeff plants a soft kiss on my lips.

“I wonder the same thing, Jeffrey,” I curl up in the crook of his neck, “I love you,” I kiss his neck.

“I love you too, sweet girl.”

[noona-clock]

The Doctor - Part 3

Genre: Doctor!AU

Pairing: Donghyuk (iKON) x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,994

During the next week, you tried to forget about the fact that Donghyuk had your phone number. Or that you had his. You had told him to let you know when he was free to be shown around town, but he hadn’t messaged or called you yet, which was fine because he was a busy guy, but I guess that also meant he didn’t feel like just talking casually to you? Or maybe he was too busy for that, and if that was the case, Claire was going to be one disappointed little girl.

Because, to nobody’s surprise, she asked about him every day.

“When are we showing Dr. Kim around? Where are we taking him? If I don’t go with you, will it be a date?”

...To be quite frank, you would also be disappointed if he didn’t even end up being your friend.

But then, on Friday afternoon just after Claire got home from school, your phone rang.

And one glance at your screen showed you the following name:

Dr. Kim

You picked it up without saying a word, knowing that Claire would be trying to listen in if she knew who it was.

“Hello?” you answered.

“Hey,” he replied, and you could hear that sweet smile of his in his voice. “I’m so sorry I haven’t called earlier, and I know it’s kind of short notice, but... are you free tonight?”

“Tonight?” you repeated, and you heard Claire’s soft gasp.

Your daughter ran over to you, grabbing your arm and tugging your sleeve to get your attention. “Is that Dr. Kim?!” she hissed.

“Yes, tonight would be fine,” you answered with a grin. “Claire and I were going to eat at our favorite burger place, so we can turn that into one of our stops on the tour.”

You pressed your index finger to Claire’s lips because she was still whispering ‘Is that Dr. Kim?!’ over and over.

“Perfect,” Donghyuk said.

“We can come pick you up,” you offered. “Just text me your address, and we’ll be over in... half an hour?”

“Sounds good, will do,” he replied. “See you then.”

“Bye,” you smiled. 

Before you had the chance to hang up, Claire yelled out “BYE DR. KIM!”

Not even a minute later, a text message came through with Donghyuk’s address, and you told Claire to go up and get changed for a night out on the town. You were still in your work clothes, so you were certainly going to do the same.

After changing into jeans and one of your cutest blouses, you even went so far as to touch up your makeup and add a little eyeliner and lipstick.

You anticipated Claire’s teasing as you both met out in the hallway outside of your bedrooms, but instead, your daughter froze. She lifted her eyebrows and said, “Wow. You look really pretty.”

A half-smile quirked at your lips, and you bent down to cradle her little cheeks in your palms. “So do you, my sweet girl,” you told her before kissing her nose.

She squirmed away from your affections, of course, but as soon as the two of you left the house and headed out to your car, she grabbed your hand and pressed her cheek to your arm.

Once you got inside your car, you clicked on Donghyuk’s address from his message to bring it up in your GPS app. As soon as you saw it on the map, you knew where it was -- a pretty nice neighborhood, if you were not mistaken.

And, less than ten minutes later, you were proven right. You pulled into the driveway of a very nice house, and you couldn’t stop your eyes from widening.

“Whoa,” Claire breathed from the backseat.

“Yeah, you’re tellin’ me,” you replied. And then you turned around to look at her. “Do me favor, baby girl. Become a doctor when you grow up so you can buy me a nice house like this.”

Claire let out a single, amused laugh and replied with, “Yeah, sure. Okay, Mom.”

You laughed in return, though it still made your heart flip and flutter when she called you ‘Mom.’

Just as you turned around to get on your phone and call Donghyuk, you saw his front door open, and he appeared in the door and lifted one arm to wave at you.

Your heart flipped and fluttered again, though you told yourself it was still doing that from the ‘Mom’ thing.

“Hi, Dr. Kim!” Claire greeted the second he opened the passenger-side door and slid into the seat. “As you can see, I am feeling much, much better. Thank you for being such a good doctor.”

You almost choked on your breath as you shifted your car into reverse and began to back out of Donghyuk’s driveway to begin your tour.

“I think you should probably thank your mom for that,” he chuckled in reply, buckling his seat belt. “But I appreciate the compliment, and I am very glad you’re feeling better.”

When you glanced at your daughter in the rear view mirror as you got to the end of the driveway, you saw she was beaming adorably.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Donghyuk turn toward you, and then you heard him ask, “How are you? No fever, I hope.”

“No,” you answered with a soft laugh. “No fever. I’m doing just fine, how are you?”

“I’m pretty pumped for this tour, I’ll be honest,” he said. “What’s our first stop?”

You looked back at Claire in the mirror again as you began to drive down the street toward the neighborhood entrance. “What do you think, Claire Bear? Where to first?”

“School!” she chirped.

“Weren’t you just at school?” Donghyuk asked with an amused grin. “It’s Friday afternoon, and you already want to go back?”

“We’re not going inside,” Claire corrected. “But you can see my classroom window from the front!”

“All right, to school we go,” you nodded, putting on your blinker and turning toward the elementary school.

As you drove the few miles it took to reach Claire’s school, you pointed out a few of the older houses in town, giving Donghyuk a very brief history of the families who’d lived there back in the day. Surprisingly, he seemed genuinely interested, listening intently to you and asking a few questions here and there.

It was very obvious that he was an intellectual, and... that was very attractive to you.

When you arrived in front of Claire’s school, you pulled into the parking lot and drove as slowly as you could. Claire thrust her arm in-between the driver’s and passenger’s seat, pointing to a window near the end of the building.

“That’s my classroom!” she proclaimed with pride. And then she pointed to the sign with the school’s name by the front entrance. “And that is where they took my picture when I got student of the month. They chose me out of my whole grade.”

Since Donghyuk was a pediatrician and interacted with children all the time, you figured he knew by now to always take what they say with a generous grain of salt. But Claire was actually telling the truth, so you nodded in agreement.

“They did,” you said. “I was very proud, and we went to the zoo downtown to celebrate.”

“But I know I shouldn’t be good in school just to get a prize,” Claire said. “I should be good because it’s the right thing to do.”

You glanced over at Donghyuk when he turned around to look at Claire. There was a very impressed expression on his face, and you couldn’t stop a very wide grin from forming on your lips.

“Wow,” he said to her with a little chuckle. “You are very smart, did you know that?”

“Mommy tells me that all the time,” Claire replied. “She also says sometimes that I’m too smart for my own good, whatever that means.”

A laugh burst from your throat, and you shook your head in amusement.

“Yeah, my mom used to say that to me, too,” Donghyuk admitted with a smirk.

“So, I can become a doctor one day like you?”

“Of course! You can be anything you want to be,” he answered.

“Well, Mommy just said she wants me to be a doctor so I can --”

“Where to next?!” you interrupted. “How about we go down toward City Hall, huh? What do you think, Claire Bear?”

“Yeah!” she agreed. “We can show Dr. Kim the library!”

Phew. You had successfully dodged that bullet.

Thankfully, Claire didn’t bring up -- or start to bring up -- the fact that you wanted her to become a doctor so she could buy you a nice house again. In fact, for the next hour or so, the three of you had a really nice time driving all around town and chatting and getting to know each other.

You drove Donghyuk down to the small but bustling Main Street area and showed him City Hall, Claire’s library, the police and fire stations, and several locally-owned restaurants.

You took him past the middle and high schools, the sports fields, the local park, and pointed out where an ice skating rink and Christmas tree lot was set up during Winter.

Finally, you ended up at a burger place, one owned by Claire’s teacher’s husband -- Mr. Campbell -- who greeted you personally and warmly as soon as you walked in. You introduced him to Donghyuk, explaining that he had just moved here and had also helped Claire when she was sick last week.

“Oh, right,” Mr. Campbell replied as he smiled and shook Donghyuk’s hand. “I heard about the new doctor over at the children’s office. Welcome, glad to finally meet you.”

Mr. Campbell escorted the three of you to what he claimed was the best seat in the house, leaving you with menus and a promise of returning soon for your drink orders.

“Jimmy gave us the best seat in the house when we ate there last week,” Claire pointed out. “I might get used to this.”

“Maybe I should come eat with you every time you go out,” Donghyuk mused.

“Why?” Claire asked.

“I want the best seat in the house, too!”

Claire set down her menu and pursed her lips slightly across the table at him. “Maybe if you got Student of the Month, you would get the best seat in the house on your own.”

Donghyuk laughed at her comment -- well, you did, too, to be honest. But you also poked her side and said, “Hey, now. Don’t be sassy at the dinner table.”

Claire turned back to look at Donghyuk with her most apologetic expression and said, “I’m sorry, Dr. Kim. I bet you will definitely get Doctor of the Month sometime. Maybe even twice.”

Donghyuk leaned forward closer to her, his smile so sweet you could practically feel a cavity forming in your teeth. “I’ll certainly try my best,” he grinned.

Even though Mr. Campbell’s restaurant did serve milkshakes, you opted to take Donghyuk to an ice cream stand just down the block, wanting to make sure he saw as much of the town as you could show him.

Mr. Campbell understood, of course, and even gave Claire a coupon for a free milkshake the next time she came back in.

The three of you walked down the sidewalk to the ice cream stand, the sunset casting the most beautiful orange glow around you.

Claire saw some friends from school eating ice cream when you arrived, and after raising her eyebrows at you, you let her go ahead and talk to them.

Donghyuk insisted on treating you, and you thanked him eagerly when the teenage boy behind the counter handed you a waffle cone filled with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Claire tore herself away from her friends long enough to retrieve her own cone (though hers was filled with strawberry), and then you and Donghyuk made your way to an empty bench just a few yards away.

There was a few minutes of very slightly awkward silence after you first sat down, but the two of you were busy licking away at your ice cream, so you didn’t feel the need to fill it with uncomfortable small talk.

In fact, when Donghyuk first spoke, his question was basically the opposite of small talk.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” he began, his forehead wrinkled with curiosity. “What’s the story behind Claire?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, and Donghyuk obviously took that as a sign you didn’t want to answer.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. You don’t have to --”

“No, it’s okay!” you assured him earnestly. “I don’t mind, really. I was just... trying to figure out where to start.”

Donghyuk nodded, obviously wanting to allow you time to think before you answered.

You shifted in your seat and let out a soft sigh before you did, keeping your focus on your ice cream so you wouldn’t get emotional. “Well... I always knew I wanted children. I’ve always wanted to be a mom, and... I’ve always wanted to adopt because... I was adopted, too. My parents started fostering me when I was six and adopted me when I was nine, so I wanted to do that for another child. I just... never found the right guy to do it with, so I finally decided to just apply to be a foster parent myself. My parents were great references since they were already in the foster system, and I make a good enough income to support a family on my own. I’m lucky enough that they accepted me, and I’m even more lucky that Claire was my very first foster child.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a smile curve Donghyuk’s lips, and it took everything in you not to turn and look at him. But you were already feeling a small tightness in your throat, and looking at his precious grin would probably just make it worse.

“I knew I wanted to adopt her a couple of weeks after she moved in, but I waited until the year mark before asking her. I wanted to give her time to adjust and be really sure that she wanted to be a family with me. I filed the papers the day after I asked her, and... remember that night at Jimmy’s? When you almost ran into me?”

“Of course,” he answered immediately.

“We were celebrating the adoption being finalized.”

Donghyuk shifted toward you, his knees now almost touching yours. “That’s amazing,” he said softly. “How long did it take?”

“About ten months,” you told him.

“Geez, I bet you were so relieved.”

You nodded, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. “Yes. And very, very happy.”

“That’s amazing,” he repeated. “I know people have kids every day, but... what you did. I think it’s incredibly admirable.”

“I just know what it feels like,” you said with a shrug. I wanted to give another child the same chance I got. The chance to have a family... to be loved.”

The lump in your throat only got bigger, and then Donghyuk said, “I know I don’t know you guys that well, but... I think Claire knows how lucky she is.”

And that, of course, only made it worse. Hot tears pricked the back of your eyes, and you choked out, “I hope so.”

You saw Donghyuk move the arm closest to you, and you felt his hand come to rest on your back. He rubbed it comfortingly, even sliding his hand up to squeeze your shoulder.

“Do you want another scoop of ice cream?” he offered with a grin.

“No, that’s okay,” you chuckled as you shook your head. “Thank you, though.”

“By the way,” he said. “I’m sorry it took me so long to call you. I wanted to send you a message or something before today... I was just busy. And maybe a little nervous.”

“Nervous?” you asked, slightly astonished. “Why would you be nervous?”

“I thought maybe you were just being nice and didn’t actually want to show me around.”

“No, of course, not. I really did want to.”

“Yeah, I figured you seemed too good to be like that. Plus, I really don’t know anyone outside of the office, and I wanted to actually make some friends here.”

“I’m glad you called,” you assured him, now feeling much more at ease after your emotional, vulnerable story.

The two of you spoke of less serious things for the next fifteen minutes or so, and when both of your cones were gone, you called Claire over so you could all walk back to your car.

When you dropped Donghyuk off back at his house, he thanked both you and Claire profusely for taking the time to show him around. He assured you he had a great time, and Claire reminded him that he most definitely would get Doctor of the Month -- maybe even twice!

You drove home with a smile on your face, but when your phone chimed after you stepped in through your front door... you had even more of a reason to smile.

Donghyuk had sent you a text.

Thank you again for tonight. I had a really good time, and I really appreciate everything.

As Claire headed upstairs to change into her pajamas before your weekly Friday night movie, you typed out a response.

You’re welcome 😊 I hope you feel like you have a friend here now -- or two friends 😆

You were about to close out of your conversation and change into your own pajamas, but you saw he had already read your message. 

And was already typing back.

When his message came through, it was enough to make your heart do a somersault.

I definitely do. 😍

Part 4

[pucking-insane]

Nothin’ Like You - Cale Makar

Player: Cale Makar Word Count: 1544 Warnings: Vegetables

Mmm I remember when I first met you Sipping coffee in a corner booth You were twirling your hair And I just had to stare For a minute or two I was laughing at your stack of books Then you shot me that smile Hey beautiful girl, in your own little world And me in it

In a way, you could call Barnes and Noble your home. You loved to read. You read practically anything, from mystery to sci-fi, from fantasy to romance, non-fiction to adventure. 

Today, you were on the hunt for a book for your psych class. You were talking about mindsets in class and you were interested in the topic so you came to find the book your professor recommended.

“Dang.” 

When you located the book on the shelf, it was in the worst possible location. The top shelf. It was just out of your reach and of course there were no step stools around to help you get your book.

“Need a little help?” 

You turned around to see a young guy, no older than 25. He had blonde hair and rosy cheeks. He stood tall, maybe 6 feet.

“Yes please.” A blush creeped onto your face.

“Which one?” He asked you as he looked at the shelf.

“The one with the purple spine, paperback.”

He pulled the book off the shelf with ease, inspected the cover and handed it to you.

“I really enjoyed this one. I’m Cale, by the way.”

“Well, Cale, you into psychology?”

“With my job I kind of needed to know about the different kinds of mindsets. And you’re into psychology?”

“I’m studying at DU to become a child psychologist. I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“You wanna maybe grab a cup of coffee sometime?”

You were taken aback by Cale’s question. Sure he was attractive. And he had this sort of mystery about him. Something that made you want to know more about him.

“I’ll go pay for this and we can grab something from the café?”

“Sounds wonderful.” He gave a smile, stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walked towards the café.

You got all of my attention And you ain't even trying Yeah, you're my kind of different And I never seen nothin'

“So, Cale,” you said as you both sat down at a table in the cafe. “What do you do for a living?”

He sighed heavily. 

“Don’t laugh.” A blush spread across his already rosy cheeks.

“Why would I laugh?”

“I play professional hockey.” He bit his lower lip, awaiting your response.

“Oh my god.” You covered your face with your hands.

“What?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you!” You whisper-shouted. “You’re Cale Makar!”

“Hockey fan, eh?” Cale smiled.

“Huge.” It was now your turn to blush. “I grew up in Minnesota so I spent my life on the ice. And I actually played for my high school, leading them to a state championship as a captain senior year.”

“Oh wow.” Cale took a sip of his coffee. “So you don’t play anymore?”

“No. I wasn’t good enough to commit, but I still love the sport. The Avs are my favorite team actually.” A blush spread across your face.

“You should come to a game sometime.” Cale smiled.

“I would love to.” You returned the smile.

Nothin' like you Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing in the rain no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt We're at a party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you

Over the next few weeks, you and Cale began to hang out more and more. He took you all over Denver, trying new restaurants, catching movies, or checking out the local museums. You also took Cale to a Broncos game, where you both donned the blue and orange of the football team. 

You had come to have sort of a crush on Cale. His rosy cheeks and killer smile were your downfall. He wasn’t like the hockey players you had known in high school. He was an intellectual. The two of you could have discussions about psychology and how the brain works. Cale would also help you study for your exams, quizzing you on terms and asking you study questions. How hot is a smart guy?

Your friends at school chirped you for the amount of time you spent with Cale.

“Y/N, your ‘I can’t, I have to study’ excuse has turned into ‘I can’t, Cale and I made plans.’” They would tell you. You would just blush and deny it.

One October afternoon, you were relaxing on Cale’s couch. He had just gotten home from morning skate when he invited you over. His hair was still wet and he was wearing a fresh set of sweats and a t-shirt. You were both reading books as you sat in silence. Your head was resting in Cale’s lap, glasses perched on your nose. You held your latest psych book find above your head, brows furrowed in concentration. Cale was reading a book you had recommended to him, and he found his fingers tangling in your hair as he played with it.

To be honest, Cale also had a huge crush on you. His teammates would chirp him for it, but he didn’t care. He wanted to take his time with you, make sure you knew that he cared (of course you did know that he cared about you). 

“Hey, Y/N?” Cale asked, breaking the silence.

“Hm?”

“Tonight’s the home opener, and it would mean the world to me if you came.” Cale said softly, a blush spreading to his cheeks.

“I would love to.” You looked up at Cale with a smile.

When you're wearing them worn out jeans Purple untied shoe strings You're a light in the dark And you're stealing my heart like a gypsy

That night, you found yourself at the will-call ticket office to pick up the ticket Cale had left for you.

“I’m here to pick up a ticket for Y/N.” You said when you got to the window.

“Alright.” You were given your ticket. “I was told to also give you this.”

“Thank you!”

It was an Avalanche jersey. You ran your fingers over the material. Unfolding the jersey, you realized it was Cale’s jersey. He had pinned a note to the material.

Thought you might want a jersey for tonight. I can’t wait to see you after the game. Cale PS come to the glass for warmups

You entered the lower bowl to go to the glass for warmups. Players were hitting the ice with introductions. Soon, they were whizzing around the ice. As soon as Cale caught your eye, he started to wave. He skated over to you.

“I like your jersey.” He mouthed to you with a blush.

“Thanks.” You smiled. “Someone very special gave it to me.”

He blushed again and sent a puck your way.

After warmups, you found your seat, which to your surprise was in one of the boxes. 

“You must be Y/N!” A blonde woman said as you entered the box. “Cale’s girl! I’m Mel by the way.”

You shook Mel’s hand and she introduced you to the other women and families. 

“Landeskog, 92, is my husband. He’s said that Cale never shuts up about you.” Mel explained.

“Oh, um,” You blushed. “Cale and I aren’t together.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Mel apologized. “He does like you though.”

“You think?”

“Oh I know. Gabe says he just blushes every time you’re mentioned by a teammate.”

You watched the game intently, eyes always on the lookout for number eight. You cheered so loudly when Mikko scored off of Cale’s assist. Soon enough the game was over and you were going with all the other WAGs down to the dressing room.

“Y/N!” Cale smiled as he saw you when he came out of the dressing room.

“Great game!” You smiled as you hugged him.

“Thank you! You look great in my jersey by the way.” He whispered in your ear.

“Oh really?”

“Of course.” He pulled away from the hug and looked into your eyes. “And I wanted you to be wearing it when I asked you this question.” He took a deep breath. “Will you, Y/F/N Y/L/N, be my girlfriend?”

“I would love to.”

I love the way that you kiss me In front of everybody So baby come and kiss me They ain't ever seen nothin' Nothin like you...

Cale leaned down to kiss you. It was cautious and gentle. Your lips fit together with Cale’s perfectly and they moved in sync. 

The guys all whistled when they saw what was happening between you and your new boyfriend.

“GET SOME CALE!”

“ATTA BOY!”

The ladies, of course, telling their significant others to shut up and let you have your moment, were also happy for the two of you.

“I’ll tell you what.” Cale said as he pulled away from the kiss.

“What?”

“I have never met anyone like you.” He placed one last kiss on your lips before taking your hand and leading you to his car.

[pixie-circle-au]

Chapter One: New Home, New Friends, and Lots of Boxes To Unpack.

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four (Coming Soon)

Content Warnings: Food [DM or send an ask for something to be tagged]

Words: 2037

Editors: Aqua (@duckswithbucks)

Taglist: @fandom-nerd-girl555 @justmeandmygayships

Notes: Here’s the first chapter! My goal is to upload once a week, but I’m not sure how that’ll go.

The young pixie stared up at the house, a bright smile on his face. His parents stood beside him, similar smiles on their faces. The family was glowing with excitement for their new life in Brookside— a new life free of the disapproval and fear that had chased them in Worshire.

“Patton, can you help your father with the boxes?” The feral pixie nodded, heading to the truck that carried the last of their possessions. The big furniture had been moved last week, so now it was just… everything else. The family was definitely going to be spending the day moving boxes. It wasn’t ideal, but they could explore the town once there were actually sheets on the beds.

By midday, all the essentials were done. Dinner was in the fridge, ready to be eaten. Patton and his father, Geoni, were sitting at the table, reviewing their packing lists, and crossing off boxes. Patton’s mother, Julia, was pacing around anxiously, checking her phone every few minutes.

“Mom, what’s bugging you now?”

“Oh! Dear,” she laid a hand on her son’s shoulder, “Patton, and Geo, dear, I’ve been talking with the family next door— they’re quite a lovely family—and I wanted to ask: would you be alright with them coming for dinner?”

Patton shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

“I see no problem with it,” said Geoni matter-of-factly, “It’s the fae one, yes?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Ah, then I’d love to meet them! Tell them we’ll make sure to have a lovely dinner prepared, I’ll make stew. They aren’t feral, are they?” Julia shook her head and began to type on her phone.

“Well, it’ll be nice to meet the neighbors. If you don’t mind, I have to deal with some personal items, call me if you need me.” Geoni nodded, rising from his chair to his full height. 

“Come down in half an hour, will you? I’ll need some help with the stew.” Patton nodded before grabbing a box with his name and rushing upstairs.

Patton had already spent a lot of time in this room, deciding where everything would go. Still it seemed foreign. Already the dresser, bed, and a side table had been put in, but other than that, it was bland and empty. The walls had at least been painted a sky blue, the pixie’s favorite color. 

He set to work putting up pictures of memories, posters of shows he watched, and decorating with nostalgic pieces of art and trophies he’d won as a child in various competitions. He managed to get through a good part of the box before his father called him down to help with the stew. 

It was a pretty simple recipe, but it always got a ton of compliments. Geoni was an excellent chef, and was almost always in charge of cooking when there were guests. Patton didn’t share his father’s talents, but he could at least do things like chop onions and pass spices without messing up.

Pretty soon the table was ready with a steaming pot of stew in the middle, and just in time, as the doorbell rang. 

“Patton, can you get that?” Said Geoni, who was putting ice in the glasses. The feral pixie nodded, rushing to the door. He opened it with a smile. 

“Hello!” The family at the door was dressed in fine, dark clothing. Each with a yellow emblem of two snakes circling each other on their chest. There was a tall, serious man, a young-looking woman, who wore a warm smile, and a teenager with messy, shoulder length red hair. They all wore dark hats. 

“Hello,” the man stepped forward, and Patton could see well trimmed red hair peek out from his hat, he extended a hand covered in a black glove to Patton, and the feral pixie took it.

“I’m Patton, Patton Talisman. It’s a pleasure to meet you, why don’t you come in?” The pixie stopped back, making way for the family to stroll in. Once they were all inside, Patton shut the door.

“I’m Ilani Sepentes, or Charity. This is my husband Hanson, or Disguise. And my son, Janus, or Deceit.” said the woman.

“Oh, ha, I’m Morality. I’m not quite used to using my fae name.”

“Ah yes, not every circle uses it quite that often.”

“Why don’t you come sit down, dinner’s already made.”

“Ah! Janus, be a dear and grab the pie from the car, I nearly forgot.” 

The young fae nodded and rushed out to the car, coming back a few moments later as the parents were setting down to the table. 

“Oh,” Julia took the pie, “How lovely, I’ll put it on the counter.”

“It was the least we could do to welcome you to our town. My son made it though, so thank him.”

“Ah, yes.” Julia stepped forward, “Janus, was it?”

“Yes.” He smiled, extending a gloved hand. Patton noticed that the son’s gloves were yellow, rather than the black of the mother and father. 

“Thank you so much, why don’t you all take a seat.”

The meal started in awkward silence. The Talisman family was shy of the Sepentes [AN: it’s pronounced sep-ENT-ess], and didn’t really know how to start the conversation. Thankfully, Ilani spoke first. 

“Me and my husband, if you haven’t heard already, are the leaders of the circle. If you didn’t live next door we’d probably be here anyway.”

Julia dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before speaking. “It’s lovely to meet you, then. I was considering asking about the leader anyway.” She paused, for a moment, apparently concentrating hard. “I probably should have figured that out, as you know, this is the Sepentes… pixie… circle.”

Ilani laughed. “Yes, our family has been running this circle for centuries now.”

“Say, do you host monthly meetings?” Asked Geoni, wiping the blood of his food from his hands. 

“We host them the first and second Monday of the month at nine at night.”

“Well then, me and my son will have to show up!” Said Patton’s father with a smile.

“What, you’re wife’s not up to it?” Said Hanson snidely.

“Dear! Be respectful.” She sighed. “My husband was not raised in a welcoming circle so… he can be rude about things.”

Julia nodded. “Well, at least you aren’t going to ban my husband and son from attending pixie circle and basically threatening to kill me if Geoni doesn’t get a divorce and kill his son.”

“Oh god, did that happen?” Ilani’s mouth hung open.

“More or less. It’s why we moved, that and the manics.” She gestured to Patton, who gave an awkward wave.

Ilani nodded understandingly. Hanson huffed, and grudgingly said “My apologies, ma’am.” 

The rest of the dinner went well, most with Ilani, Geoni, and Julia chatting happily, talking about Brookside and the Talisman’s experiences in Worshire. Patton made the occasional remark, but stayed mostly quiet, casting glances at Janus and his imposing father.

“What grade are you in?” Asked the son softly, turning towards Patton. The cat pixie looked up, and turned towards the other as well.

“I’m a freshman, I’m transferring into the high school mid year,” he paused, “I’m a little nervous to be honest.”

Janus smiled, “Nothing to be worried about. I’m a freshman too, and I have friends in freshman year. There’s Virgil--he’s a shadow elf-- and Remus, he’s human.”

“You're really friends with humans?”

“I’d figure you’d get it, you know, since your mom is one.”

“Ha, yeah, I guess. I’ve just always been told not to be friends with humans, in case they find you, you know.”

“That’s fair I guess. Human or not, do you want to meet them? It’d be nice to start off your life in a new town with some friends.”

“Yeah, I guess that's good.”

“Cool, you can hang out with us sometime before school starts maybe?”

“Sure.” Patton smiled. He was nervous, as he didn’t really have friends in his old town. The life of a fae with a human parent, I guess. After everyone had eaten, Patton was charged with cleaning up and bringing out the pie. The jovial chatter between the three adults continued, with Hanson even jumping in a bit. 

“Is everyone done with dessert?” asked Julia.

Positive murmurs rose around the table.

“Alright. Patton, why don’t you talk with Janus and clean up? The adults want to talk in the living room.” The feral pixie nodded as the four adults headed into the sparse living room, which had yet to be decorated.

“So what do you do here in Brookside?” Said Patton, gathering the dishes. Janus stood, picking up the rest of the pie.

“Oh, you know. The woods are pretty fun to walk around in. There’s a couple of ice cream shops. Me and the boys go roller skating once a month.”

“‘You and the boys’?” Patton chuckled.

“Yeah, ha. I’m friends with Remus and Virgil, but those two also bring along Roman and sometimes Logan, although I think they just feel bad for Logan.”

Patton smiled. “What are Remus and Virgil like?”

“Well you’ll meet them,” Janus pulled some ceran wrap out of the cupboard and began wrapping up the pie, “But I guess I should warn you. Virgil is nice, but he’s really anxious and shy, it’ll take you a bit to get close to him. When you first meet him though, and he doesn’t say a single word and just mopes in the corner, well, he looks like he’s ready to shoot you dead. Heh, he prolly could. Remus is… the exact opposite. He’s got this gorgeous face, I mean like gorgeous. He looks all sweet and kind and… he is nothing like that, lord. He’s got a very… wild imagination.”

“How long have you all known each other?”

“Well me and Virgil have been friends for a few years, seeing as we’re both fae, but Remus we met freshman year.”

Patton began wiping down the table, “So, your parents run the circle. What’s that like?”

Janus paused, seemingly thinking. “It’s alright I guess. It does mean I have to go to every single god damn meeting.”

“Language!”

Janus smiled, “Wow, what vulgar language I just used, oh golly,” he snickered, “Sorry, I’ll try not to curse.” 

Patton smiled satisfactorily. 

“But yeah, it’s not much except for the professional stuff. And I mean, if my older sister doesn’t take over, I’ll have to run it. I’m gonna have some place in leadership either way, but at least if she takes over I won’t be full time. She’s a lot more suited anyway. And I mean it’s not like my parents are close to retirement any-- sorry for rambling, ha.”

“It’s alright,” Patton smiled. “Wanna go upstairs? I think we’re bugging the adults.” 

“Sure.”

The two headed up the stairs into Patton’s room, still only partially decorated. Janus looked around, smiling at the decorations already up. “I’m almost done with this room, just have a bit more to do.” The feral pixie placed the box on his bed, and Janus took a seat.

“This…” Patton pulled out a poster, “Is my favorite band. They aren’t together anymore but, I still like them. You can find their music on the web though.” The poster had a painting of a wolf on it and said ‘Timber at Dawn’.

“Wow, that’s nice.”

“Yeah, I have CDs of three of their albums, and records of all of them. My record player broke though.” The feral pixie took the records and stashed them before preparing to hand the poster.

“I have a record player, you can come to my house sometime and we can listen to them.” 

“Really?” Patton smiled excitedly. It’d been nearly a year since he’d been able to listen to those albums.

“Yeah.”

The two spent the next hour chatting while Patton decorated his room. They talked about music, and clothing, and a dozen other meaningless things. They barely noticed any time had passed before Hanson was calling Janus to come down to leave. 

“I’ll walk you out, but uh, do you want my number.”

“I would have forgotten. Trade numbers?”

The two entered their numbers into the other’s phones before rushing down the stairs. The group exchanged goodbyes, and soon the house was quiet again. Patton slept well last night, excited for a new life in Brookside.

[triptychgrip]

WIP progress: part 2 of my series on how the public learns about the Sochi banquet

Wanted to share a WIP snippet, which continues my series — How Skating’s Favorite Ice Husbands ACTUALLY Met — on how a drunken livestream at the 2019 GPF banquet leads to the public discovering the REAL way in which Yuuri and Viktor met, four years prior.

While part 1 takes place the morning after the 2019 banquet (and details the public’s initial reactions to Yuuri/Yurio’s accidental and drunken livestream the prior night), part 2 will begin during the post-skate celebrations themselves.

As you can see, Mila — who won gold in Women’s Singles alongside Yuuri, who captured his second GPF title — is leading everyone in an inebriated toast to her girlfriend’s smile. Well, everyone except Yurio, who thinks its weird to toast to any body part of Sara’s no matter how tame 🤣 I really love writing post-canon antics when it comes to our favorite skaters celebrating their hard work in the company of friends 🥂

I’m hoping to get this finished/uploaded sometime next week, so be on the lookout!

[starrybethany]

William Nylander: Part 4

Word count: 2006

Should I be doing this? I really shouldn’t be doing this. If Mills knew I was doing this, he would kill me. Like literally kill me.

And shouldn’t I have told William I was coming before just randomly showing up at his apartment? Will he think it’s creepy? He probably will, especially since I haven’t talked to him in a week and I didn’t show up at his party like I said I was going to. Plus, it’s eleven o’clock on a Tuesday night. Why would anyone visit that late on a workday?

I sigh, forcing myself to reach forward and knock on the door before I turn and run away.

I bite my lip, hard, as I wait for the Swedish man to come to the door. Shit, I didn’t even think about what I would do if he didn’t come to the door. What if it was some girl that he met and started dating after the party and then he has to explain to her, hey, this is a girl I started to spend time with before you, and I break them up?

Or worse, what if Kappy answers the door?

I don’t have to worry too long because the door swings open and an exhausted Willy stands on the other side. I start to feel bad just by looking at his baggy eyes and pouty lips.

“Hey,” I say awkwardly.

Really, that’s it? I wake the man up when he has a game tomorrow and all I have to say is ‘hey?’

“Hey,” he replies, leaning against the doorframe. “What’s up?”

Okay, cool, it’s casual.

“Not much,” I twist my fingers uncomfortably, “You?”

“Not much,” he repeats with a shrug.

His tired eyes meet mine and we stare at each other in silence, him examining me curiously, probably wondering why I woke him up just to say hi but not wanting to be rude by asking.

“Um, I just wanted to apologize for telling you that I’d come to your party and then never showing up,” I state. “That was a bitch move.”

He lets out a loud laugh. “It wasn’t a bitch move, I just assumed you had something come up and we don’t have each other’s phone numbers so you couldn’t text me that you weren’t able to make it. Speaking of…”

He turns around, walking into his dimly lit apartment. “Oh, you can come in, by the way!”

I head into the apartment unsurely, closing the door behind me and looking around the spacious apartment. I’m surprised at how modest it is with how much money he’s making. It’s definitely an updated apartment but it’s smaller than I imagined, plus it’s probably just a two bedroom.

Will appears back in front of me, holding out his phone with the new contact page pulled up. “Enter your number so we can actually make plans instead of accidentally running into each other.”

“Sure, accidentally,” I wink, taking the phone and entering my number.

He laughs as I pass him back his phone and give him my phone so he can enter his number.

“Nice place you got here,” I compliment, stepping around him to look further into the living room.

“Don’t you have the exact same apartment?” He questions.

“What?”

“All of the layouts in this building are identical.”

“Oh, yeah,” I curse myself in my head for momentarily forgetting my lie, “I meant like your decorations and shit.”

“Oh, thanks, my mom and sisters actually helped pick them out,” he confesses sheepishly.

I giggle before looking into the kitchen, peering at his fridge curiously. I bet he has a shitload of food in there, he is a millionaire after all.

“You don’t want to look inside my fridge, it’s practically empty. I don’t keep a lot of food here since I’m gone a lot for hockey or I’m visiting my family.”

Or not.

“I could order a pizza, though, if you’re hungry,” he offers. “That means you would have to stay a while, though.”

“Is that an invitation to stay a while?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at him suggestively.

He smirks at me, dialing a number into his phone. “What’s your favorite pizza place?”

~

“This is really good pizza,” I compliment, taking a bite of the slice in my hand.

“See what happens when you don’t limit yourself to places that close at nine?” He teases.

I roll my eyes, throwing my feet onto the ottoman in front of the couch.

“Getting comfy, are we?”

“Is there a problem with that, Nylander?”

“There’s no problem at all,” he dismisses, grabbing his remote and flicking on the TV. “What do you want to watch?”

“Pocahontas,” I respond instantly. He begins to laugh at that. “What? Is there something wrong with Pocahontas?”

“We’re Canadian,” he manages to get out.

“So, it’s a good, important story!” I defend. “It may be all about the Americans but there’s a talking racoon and a bombass song.”

“Fine, I will turn on Pocahontas,” Willy snickers, entering the title into the search bar.

“Have you ever seen it before?”

“No.”

“How can you laugh at me when you’ve never even seen it?” I whine.

“You’re right, I’m being prematurely judgemental,” he agrees. “I’ll give it a chance.”

“You better,” I turn to give him a teasing glare just to find he’s already looking at me.

The joking atmosphere diminishes as we hold eye contact. Pocahontas plays in the background but it fades away by the throbbing silence between us. His blue eyes twinkle and my eyes flicker between them and his thin lips surrounded by scruff.

I don’t mind the scruff. In fact, I like it. It suits him, the facial hair with the long hair is a good look that makes him look really attractive. Well, he would be attractive without it but with it he looks even better.

I see him inch closer to me slowly, testing the waters to see what my reaction will be.

I let him.

I actually want him to kiss me, I’m excited for it.

But I can’t let him kiss me.

When he’s two inches away from my face I turn my head, showing him my cheek.

I close my eyes, cursing myself out in my head. All I want to do is kiss him but I know if Mills were to ever find out he would literally kill William and I’m not selfish enough to risk it.

Willy sighs, resting his face in the crook of my neck and letting out a loud groan.

“I’m sorry.” I’m not even sure my words reach his ears.

We stay in this position for a little while longer before he pulls back, slouching down, wrapping an arm around my waist, and leaning his head against my hip. I settle for running a hand through his hair as we watch Pocahontas in full silence.

The movie ends and the credits begin to play.

“You know what you should do tomorrow night?” He asks quietly, threading his fingers through mine and playing with my fingers.

“What?”

“Come to my game.”

I don’t respond.

“It’s Leafs versus Rangers.”

“So I’d really get to see Henrik Lundqvist in person?” I tease.

He gives me a look and I laugh.

“I’m never taking you to Sweden with me,” he mumbles, making me laugh harder.

“Of course I’ll go to your game, Willy.”

~

I nervously walk down the hallway, fiddling with the pass in my hand. Willy gave it to me after I agreed to go to his game and told me that I need it to go to the WAGs box to be with all of the other partners.

Then I asked him if he considered me his partner and he didn’t respond.

That’s an argument for another day.

I show the security guard my pass and he opens the door for me, letting me step unsurely into the room. A bunch of other women are already in the room and they all look at me as I enter, mixed expressions of judgement on their faces.

“Are you Y/N?” A pretty blonde asks.

I nod, not trusting my voice to answer for me.

“William left you something,” she smiles politely, pointing at a box on a nearby table.

I open it curiously, aware of all of the eyes watching me. I can’t help but laugh when the top of the box is removed and a blue, 88, Nylander, jersey is revealed. He told me he was going to get me a jersey after I told him I don’t own any Maple Leafs merchandise, so I told him to get me a Kapanen one. He got annoyed at that.

I tug the jersey over my torso and the girls go back to their conversations that they were having before I arrived.

“I’m Alannah,” the blonde introduces herself.

“Y/N,” I smile, shaking her hand.

I definitely feel out of place in this room. Everyone is stunning, like they’re runway models or something. And then here I am, in the jeans I bought from Goodwill and a T-shirt I stole from one of my old friends.

Alannah introduces me to a couple of the other girls and ushers me into the seat beside hers when warmups start. “Will’s going to look for you, I just know it.”

I give her a doubtful look but soon find number eighty eight on the ice, watching him as he skates around for a little bit before pausing, looking up at the WAGs box.

“Wave,” Alannah urges.

I give her a look, unsure that he can even see me from how high up we are. Despite this, I lean forward, waving at the Swedish man.

I can barely see the grin that spreads across his face but he waves back up at the box.

“Hi Zachy, have a great game,” Alannah shouts from next to me to her husband. It’s cute that she says that even though she knows he has no chance of hearing her.

I ignore the buzzing in my pocket throughout the game, too focused on the puck and the players and their movements. I know who it is, and I know I should answer it and what’ll happen if I don’t but I’m having too much fun to worry about that right now.

It’s a dumb excuse, I know, but it’s true.

“What takes so long?” I ask curiously after waiting in the hallway for a half an hour.

“They have to shower and get dressed. And sometimes they have media,” the tall blonde informs me, smiling widely when her husband leaves the locker room. “Great game, baby!”

She pulls him into a hug and he laughs. It seems like he recognizes me as soon as he lays eyes on me.

“This is Y/N,” Alannah introduces me anyways and I make small chat with Zach as I wait for William.

Soon, the blonde exits the locker room with a wide smile and I can’t help but reciprocate that action.

“Great job, Will,” I murmur, pulling him into a hug in the heat of the moment.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get a goal for you,” he mumbles into my hair, rubbing my back caringly.

“You got an assist, though. That’s something, right?”

“That is something,” he laughs at my lack of hockey knowledge, moving me to the side to hold me by the waist.

I meet a couple more of the guys and see the guys that I met the other day at breakfast. They all raise their eyes at the hand on my waist, but I don’t care to move it.

“Do you want a ride home?” William asks me.

“No, I drove here,” I lie easily.

“Oh, okay.”

For a split second I want him to drive me home, just because of the hurt in his voice, then I remember the lie I’m upholding and realize that I can’t have him seeing my apartment.

“I’ll see you soon, William.”

“See you soon, Y/N.”

[nadiafm]

( camila morrone, cisfemale ) hey ! have you seen NADIA PEREZ around ? they work as a ICE SKATING INSTRUCTOR at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 21 years old & they’ve been working here for 11 MONTHS. they tend to be +AMOROUS & +CONVIVIAL, but can also be -LICENTIOUS & -WARY. the other employees have labeled them THE ROMANTIC. thanks a lot ! gold hoops , floral mini dresses , pink lipgloss , overly dramatic eyeshadow , freckles specked across your nose , mascara running down your cheeks , tequila shots chased with salt and lime , lana del rey blasting in your headphones , mirror selfies , golden hour , glitter and rhinestones , blue raspberry dum dums , piled up books you keep forgetting to read.

hey y’all !! i’m so excited for this wow. i’m sam, i’m 22, and i live in pst !! i’m a sucker for cooking shows and dogs and candles. but more importantly...this is my freaking baby nadia, an absolute idiot with a heart of gold ! i already know this intro is going to be too long but bare with me i will include a tldr at the bottom i promise. also hmu on discord to plot ! capricornmom#1278

here is nadia’s pinterest & here is her playlist

aesthetics : gold hoops , floral mini dresses , pink lipgloss , overly dramatic eyeshadow , freckles specked across your nose , mascara running down your cheeks , tequila shots chased with salt and lime , lana del rey blasting in your headphones , mirror selfies , golden hour , glitter and rhinestones , blue raspberry dum dums , piled up books you keep forgetting to read

character parallels : jackie burkhart ( that 70′s show ) rachel green ( friends ) , cassie howard ( euphoria ) , brooke davis ( one tree hill ) , bianca stratford ( 10 things i hate about you ) , april ( palo alto ) , erica vandross ( flower ) , gigi & triple a ( booksmart ) , snooki ( jersey shore ) , jessica day ( new girl )

full name : nadia paloma perez

birthday : july 23, 1998

zodiac : cancer sun , pisces moon , pisces rising . god help this emotional ass girl

nationality : american 

religion : roman catholic

sexual & romantic orientation : bisexual , biromantic

hometown : aventura , florida ( 20 minutes outside of miami )

languages spoken : english ( fluent ) , spanish ( fluent ) , french ( still learning , takes it in school , somewhat conversational )

likes : candy ( sour punch straws , lollipops ) , watching soccer games ( messi stan till she dies ) , rex orange county , writing , magazines , making empanadas with her abuela , romantic comedies ( her fav is how to lose a guy in 10 days ) , tequila sodas , sex , lana del rey , chipotle burritos , iced chai lattes with almond milk from starbucks , gossip girl , craft beer , margaret atwood

dislikes : quinoa , nuts in things like salad or cookies , star wars , watching golf , oatmeal , church , screamo music , california ( a grudge ) , spoiled rich kids , condescending business majors , quentin tarantino ( and his avid fans )

BACKGROUND

Born and raised in South Florida, a little aways from Miami ! Her mother, Paloma, was an Adventura native while her father, Santiago, was an immigrant from Argentina. Her parents met in college when Paloma was studying abroad in Argentina. They fell in love, rather quickly, and the rest was history. They had planned on moving back to America together, but Santiago’s visa was denied. So, after only four months of knowing each other and 2.5 months of dating, they got married. 

Turns out sometimes you should know your partner better before getting married !! shocker right. It wasn’t so bad at first, though. They were young and in love and their honeymoon phase seemed to last forever, until it didn’t. 

By the time Nadia was born, they’d already begun to realize each other’s faults and flaws. Santiago was a good looking guy, and with his thick Argentine accent, he tended to come off as overly friendly and at times overtly flirty. Paloma was jealous and needy. It never seemed to mesh well when she thought her husband was flirting with every other mom in the neighborhood. 

So, for the majority of Nadia’s childhood, all she remembered from her parent’s marriage was them fighting. She had a close relationship with the both of them, though, and she was particularly close with her father. He was her biggest supporter !! Always hyping her up. He was the one signing her up for sports like soccer (they’re a huge soccer family, the only time her parents weren’t fighting was during Argentina games), gymnastics, dance, and ice skating. Her favorite was soccer, and her for most of her adolescent years, her dad coached her team. They formed a really close bond because of it. 

The marriage was sort of non exinsistant at this point, but in some sort of last attempt to salvage any love they might have had for each other, Santiago and Paloma had a baby. It was more Paloma’s idea than anything. Santiago, at that point, was only sticking around for Paloma. She was seven when her little sister was born, Caterina, and Nadia absolutely adored her. They may have been seven years a part, but they were the best of friends. 

When Nadia was twelve, she woke up with a note on her bed side table. It was from her father, and it read: “Nads, I’m so sorry I couldn’t say goodbye to your face. I wish I was stronger. I am so proud of you and I promise I will be in touch. Te amo. Papa” He hadn’t left anybody else a note, and not even a word to her mother. As close as she was to her mother and sister, she couldn’t help but blame them for her father leaving. Still, she was pretty certain she’d hear from him soon. That he’d come back once he cleared his head. Only, he didn’t. 

Word spread pretty fast around school about what had happened. Suddenly, Nadia was a charity case. PTA moms were coming up to her and offering to bring her lunch or dinner, if she needed it. She was the girl who’s dad left them high and dry. It didn’t help that on top of that, her body was going through changes much more rapidly than any of her friends. She already had gotten her period, and by the time she was in seventh grade she was wearing a D cup bra. So in addition to the sudden spotlight as the girl without a dad, boys started treating her differently. Boys that had never talked to her previously suddenly wanted to be her friend. In eighth grade, Hayden Walker rolled up a small piece of paper and shot it like a basketball into her cleavage. He high-fived his friends after and thanked her for the backboard.  

So middle school was rough. And while Nadia had had one or two boyfriends during that time, she’d never gone past kissing them. That’s not how the rumors went, though. That was the part that hurt the most. The things people said, especially the things girls said about her. Girls she thought were her friends. 

At the end of eighth grade, during the summer before high school, she got a text from her dad. The first one in 2 years! She’d idolized him her whole life, so obviously she was ready to forgive him as soon as she heard from him. He told her he was living in California and Nadia was like, I’m sold! Let’s go! Only her mother was like...are you fucking insane you are not going to California to visit that man. Long story short, she found a cheap cross country bus ticket and essentially ran away from home to see her dad! He was shocked she had come at all, despite his text message leading her to believe he wanted to see her. Apparently it was more of a courtesy text, a text so he could let go of the guilt of leaving an entire family behind. Because in the two years he’d been gone, he managed to start a new one. He had a new wife, and two newborn twins. 

Nadia was pretty furious, but she stayed the summer anyways. She had full intentions of starting high school in California and not going home to Florida. Things were tense at her father’s, though. Her “step mother” obviously didn’t like having her around, and though her bond with her father was slowly rekindling, there was still a sort of distance between them. But they were trying to make it work, at the very least. 

Then came the end of the summer. Nadia had made a few friends around the neighborhood, and was invited to an end of summer kickback with a bunch of high schoolers. Naturally, she lied about her age at the party. She was 14, but told everyone she was 16, and everyone seemed to overlook her baby face thanks to her ass and tits. At the end of the night, a boy drove her home, and the two ended up hooking up in the car. Apparently she had misjudged how much her father actually cared, because he’d waited up for her to come home, and after seeing car headlights out front, he’d stormed outside to find her in the car with a high school boy, half naked. After allowing her to gather her bearings, he essentially humiliated her right there on the front lawn, screaming about how irresponsible she was amongst other things. The majority of the conversation has since been blacked out from her mind, but she’ll never forget the look on her dad’s face when he said, “you’re nothing, you’re just like your mother, and i don’t want you anywhere near my family.”  whew !! ya girl was hurt.  

So, obviously, she was back on the way to mom’s ! Honestly at that point her mom wasn’t even mad at her for leaving she was just thankful she was back. 

GODDD okay this is getting long so I need to wrap this up. I haven’t even gotten to personality KJSHG Okay let’s wrap up high school in one bullet point. Basically she sub consciously searched for every man’s approval because she lacked the approval she needed from her father! This meant lots of boyfriends and never saying no. In her four years of high school, she was maybe single for a total of like ... seven months. not seven consecutive months lmao, 7 months in between relationships. 

one of those boys was connor perch, her first official boyfriend freshman year ! they were really sweet n young and nadia really thought she was in love. but then she gave him a blowjob and this mf recorded it ! and nadia found out after the fact, asked him to delete it, he said it was just for himself to look at, only to find out he’d sent it to his friends a few days later. so that basically set the precedent for how she’d be treated the next four years of high school ! she tried to act like it didn’t bother her but dang. high schoolers can be very mean !

oh my god i seriously have to wrap up okay this will be quick. basically when she was a senior in high school she went on a ski trip to big bear and met a boy named ethan, who she like fell in love with so fast like literally a week give it a rest girl. he was from Colorado but when she left they kept in touch and basically talked every day for the rest of the school year and throughout the summer. She’d decided to apply to Boulder University to be closer to him because this time it really felt like the real thing ! SURPRISE AGAIN ! She got to school and found out he had a girlfriend. She was really mf heartbroken over that. But did she learn her lesson? No. Does she still fall in love with anyone who looks in her direction? Yes. 

Okay and lastly she has been working all sorts of jobs throughout college because her mom is helping her pay for tuition and rent so she’s gotta cover spending money ! She ended up getting a job at Big Bear Resort during her last winter break as an ice skating instructor because she used to do ice skating back in the day. Now she works at Big Bear during her school breaks and on some weekends ! 

TLDR/Tidbits

Hopeless romantic with major daddy issues

Will overanalyze every interaction she has with anyone because she thinks they might like her

EXTREMELY GULLIBLE 

Probably will have a crush if you are even remotely nice to her 

Really dumb but means well. Literally no common sense. Complete bimbo

Cries A LOT. Complete crybaby. Happy or sad she’s probably crying

Heart of gold!! She really always means well even when she fucks up so bad I SWEAR her heart was in the right place 

Can outdrink anyone. She would drink a 6ft5in, 200 pound man under the table any day

Tequila is her choice of drink, but vodka is for her #sadgirlhours

Obsessed with Rosalía, Lana Del Rey, & Rex Orange County. And also 2010 bangers. Anything she can shake her ass to !

She pretty much used to exclusively wear mini dresses because when she realized everyone was just gonna sexualize her anyway, she was like FUCK IT, i’ll show my ass n titties n legs. Except it’s fucking like negative degrees in Colorado so she can’t do that ! Bummer. (she’ll still probably find ways to wear mini dresses)

Obsessed with makeup!! She loves doing adventurous things with eyeshadows and lipsticks  like ok euphoria 

Kinda crazy. Major crackhead vibes especially when she’s drunk! She loves going out, she’ll go out on a Tuesday, she just likes to have fun ok and dance on tables and make out with cute people

She’ll have a one night stand but just know for HER she’ll probably get attached. I’m so sorry it won’t last that long but she’ll pine for at least a week

ok that is all i’m so sorry for this shit show of an intro but here is a messy list of wc !

[sandriinehebert]

the lombardi family

FATHER: CHRISTIAN LOMBARDI

Christian was born in a wealthy family of business men. They made their name in managing hotels and restaurants, making money just by breathing. He was promised to a similar future, but his parents divorced when he was still a kid and the situation was no longer the same. He spent the rest of his childhood living with his mother who wasted all the money his father saved for their future on lottery and pointless things. Through various jobs, Christian managed to pay for university tuition, but he failed to meet the required grades to pursue his studies. His biggest dream was to open a restaurant, and he was hoping a degree from the Institut d’Hôtellerie du Québec would help him out. Instead, he worked several jobs and saved as much money as possible to suffice himself, and eventually his girlfriend. He knew from their first date that he would marry that pretty waitress. There was something so magical about Monica, something that made him promise he would never let her go. And he never did. They raised two children together as best as they could and now that they’re all grown up he runs a little restaurant in La Petite Italie. He hopes he can retire soon, pass it on to his sous-chef and enjoy the last couple of good years with his wife.

MOTHER: MONICA “NIKKI” LOMBARDI née MARIANO

Monica was very different from her older brothers, Luciano and Frederico, she had no interest in big studies nor in leaving the country to find better jobs. She dropped out of high school and started working at a restaurant as a waitress alongsides Christian, who was then working in the kitchens. While still working there, she also helped her parents at the hair salon. A couple of years before Christian and Nikki welcomed their children, Nikki helped a childhood friend open her own kindergarten. She kept the three jobs for as long as she could, supporting both her own family and her mother. When Adamo was born, the parents decided that Christian would start working a little less. The decision for Christian to become a stay-at-home dad became official with the birth of Alessandra. He had to postpone his dreams so that Monica could fulfill hers. Eventually, she slowed down a bit, but it was hard for her. Nikki absolutely loved working and she did not regret it one bit, even though she sacrificed a lot of family times for the sake of providing for her children wom she loves deeply.

GRANDMOTHER (deceased): CORINNA MARIANO née SIMEONE

Born in Italy, she immigrated with her family before World War Two. The Simeone’s established in Massachussetts, precisely in Boston, where they ran an Italian delicatessen. She was born in a large family of 7 children, three sons and four daughters. Corinna, aged 18, moved to Montréal, Canada, when she met her husband, a veteran from the Canadian army named Dominic Mariano whose family were second generation italo-québécois. She started a hair salon in La Petite Italie and ran her business with the help of her husband until she hit the respectable age of 70 years-old. Corinna and Dominic had three children, Luciano, Frederico and Monica. The first two moved back to Massachussetts and opened a law firm together. Dominic died long before Corinna, whose favorite hobbies were to listen to clients at the salon and take care of her grand children.

She was especially close with Sandrine. Despite not agreeing to most of her life choices, and not knowing about Sandrine’s bisexuality, she was the closest she had ever been with her Nonna. She did not have to befriend anyone, since she had the only best friend she needed. That could explain why she is so terrible at initiating friendships nowadays. Her death was one of the saddest moments in Sandrine’s life, because she lost her confident and her mentor. She came to Boston to try and glue some puzzle pieces of her grandma’s past back together.

BROTHER: ADAMO “ADAM” LOMBARDI (faceclaim: skylar astin)

Adam Lombardi is a 35 years-old hockey player for the Boston Bruins. He graduated from the Université de Montréal in communications. He’s working on retiring from the hockey team very soon so he can go back to his roots. He was approached by a local Bostonian TV channel to join as a commentator for the games. Growing up, Adamo was a decent big brother. He would defend his little sister at school and help her learn how to skate, since he was so naturally talented at it. He was big into sports, but also in anything that demanded communication. He did improvisation in high school and that was when he knew he wanted to pursue into communications. however, life had other plans and his dedication to hockey took over his other ambitions. He was recruited by junior teams until he graduated university, and eventually by the Boston Bruins. He was not mad about it, considering how Montréal Canadiens was one of the worst teams in the whole league. He was approached by the Golden Knights of Las Vegas at some point, but the Bruins offered to increase his pay check to keep him around. And it worked.

Adamo and Alessandra have a very complex relationship. Growing up, they were extremely close. They were like soulmates. But when fame got to Adamo’s head, and when he moved to Boston for early trainings, he was never the same. He became entitled and noisy. He was not nurturing or caring, he was indiscreet and limitating. He still supports Sandrine with her projects, but they have their moments where they can’t stand each other. She loves him and could not see her life without him, but there is a lot they need to figure out in order to fix their relationship.

ABOUT THE KIDS LIVING AWAY

The Lombardi’s travelled at least twice a year to Massachussetts, so it was inevitable that Adamo and Alessandra developped a connection with this land. They appreciate the fact that Boston is not that far after all, so it’s easy for the parents to stop for a visit. They have this tradition of celebrating Christmas two times (their father is jewish, but after years of living among Italian catholics, they kind of grew to love Christmas). Mom, dad and big brother will all stop by Sandrine’s place for Christmas eve and day, leave on the 26th and the siblings will travel back to montréal from December 31st to January 2nd. This tradition might change though, but that’s usually their thing.

Alessandra visits them around once every two months and takes a whole week off to catch up with her parents. Adamo stops for a weekend less often. He grew to be more independent than his sister.

The parents respect that their children have ambitions, but they hope they will come back home eventually. Alessandra feels this pressure more than her brother, and it affects her. Even after 5 years in the states, she still does not really consider it a home. She does not understand one bit how anything works in the USA, much less the healthcare system. Her heart belongs in Montréal with her parents. She’s like homesick in her own house whilst Adamo is having the time of his life as a Bostonian. That’s another thing that causes them to drift away; he adjusted well while she is still struggling.

FUN FACTS

Adamo is surprisingly tall, compared to his sister and his parents.

When they were younger, Adamo and Alessandra used to play hockey in the street or on an ice ring. She was actually a talented shooter and, him, a terrible goalie. He taught his sister how to ice skate, focusing on speed and power rather than grace and ease. Therefore, it explains why Sandrine was the fastest student in all of her skating classes and competitions.

When she started competing across the province and needed a partner to rehearse her dances, Adamo did it. He was, again, surprisingly good at it.

In their house, there was an antique piano that belonged to Corinna’s family. She used to play it until she was too old to do it. She taught them how to sing along the melodies, hence why both can actually bat a tune.

Being a hair stylist (even without proper education), she taught Alessandra the basics of it. Quickly, Sandrine was cutting her mom’s and her brother’s hair. She got some skills that encouraged her to add a hair salon part to her business.

Adamo is very much a mama’s boy, while Alessandra gets along with both parents equally. Even if Christian and Monica tells them they have no favorite, Adamo clearly is.

The parents forced their kids to attend French speaking schools, which is unusual for italo-québécois. Historically, most Italian immigrants chose to learn English. But the Lombardi parents wanted them to fit in the province. They spoke very little Italian at home, only what their Nonna taught them, and learned French easily. All the way from elementary school to superior education school (called CÉGEP), they had second language English classes. Adamo is talented with communications, but it turns out Alessandra is better in languages. She was at the top of her class, both in French and in English. Her first career choice was not business or beauty related, it was translation.

Growing up, the siblings had the dream to build a large house in the suburbs of Montréal so they could live with their parents and eventually with their respective families.

They also had a dream to become both politicians and rule whatever they would rule together. Let’s be honest, they would fight too much and put the world into anarchy, but a dream is a dream.

Adamo is the only person who is aware of Sandrine’s bisexuality. He supports it and will not reveal this “secret” to their quite traditional parents.

[goodticklebrain]

Q&A August: Christy Burgess of the Robinson Shakespeare Company

It’s the final week of Q&A August! Let me take  you back to 2016, to my first ever Shakespeare Theatre Association conference, hosted by Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. It was the last day, and the morning’s warm-up session was being conducted by Christy Burgess and the Robinson Shakespeare Company, a community Shakespeare program for school-aged kids.  After several rounds of fun theatre games, Christy asked her students if any of them wanted to perform some Shakespeare for this objectively intimidating roomful of seasoned, experienced, and elite Shakespeare practitioners and educators.

Every single hand flew up into the air.

After some negotiation, a tiny girl in a pink dress, probably not more than nine or ten years old, stood up. Awww, this is so cute. Is she going to do Puck’s “If we shadows have offended” epil— NOPE. She narrowed her eyes and spat out Cloten’s “meanest garment” speech from Cymbeline with all the vitriol of a rejected privileged white man. My jaw literally dropped. HOW was this possible?

The answer was Christy Burgess. I’d actually met Christy the year before, when I drove down to  South Bend to see a couple shows at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and she immediately overwhelmed me (in a good way) with her energy, enthusiasm, and passion not just for teaching kids Shakespeare, but for giving them ownership of Shakespeare. Every single one of her students believes that Shakespeare is theirs. I’ll never forget Christy telling me what her students’ reaction was upon meeting a professional Shakespeare company: “Oh, you do Shakespeare too? That’s cute... WE  do Shakespeare.”

On a more personal level, Christy helped shepherd me through the impostor syndrome I suffered from while attending my first conference, giving me the confidence to find my place in the Shakespeare community without constantly apologizing for being “just someone who draws stupid stick figures”. Christy builds people up, and the world is better for it.

1. Who are you? Why Shakespeare?

My name is Christy Burgess and I am the director of the Robinson Shakespeare Company.  I am a teacher, director, and have most recently been christened “Shakespeare Maven” by my friend Julia.

Why Shakespeare? There are so many reasons for “why Shakespeare”.  The Robinson Shakespeare Company starts in 3rd grade and the first day of our 3rd-6th grade class is one of my favorite all year.  Many of our young actors have waited since kindergarten watching their older siblings or young adults they admire go through the program.  The anticipation and excitement on that first day of class is palpable, because they finally get to do Shakespeare.  It’s also become something that is a little subversive.  There are times when our kids are told “you don’t really like Shakespeare” or “shouldn’t you be playing sports?”, which has the effect of “don’t tell me what I’m supposed to like!”

In a meeting, someone asked one of my students “Why Shakespeare?”  She told a story I hadn’t heard before.  It was right after her father passed, before she went back to school.  She was walking around the track at her high school and passed an elderly white couple.  The woman said to her “shouldn’t you be in school?” to which her husband responded “Mary, don’t you know that’s how people get shot?”

This young woman said “when people walk by me, they might think I’m a hood or a thug, but Shakespeare is mine, something no one can take away from me.”  

When we study plays from Eugene O’Neil or Arthur Miller, it’s the world through their eyes, but when we play Shakespeare, it’s the world through OUR eyes.

2. What moment(s) in Shakespeare always make you laugh?

Scene 3.4 in Twelfth Night always cracks me up!  There’s something about the most non-threatening duel letter from Sir Andrew to Cesario/Olivia and the forced fight that is always funny.

Mya interjects: “Is’t so saucy?” is one of my favorite lines in Shakespeare. It’s such a stupid joke. I don’t care. I love it.

3. What's a favorite Shakespearean performance anecdote?

Every now and then there’s Shakespeare magic.

When I was teaching and directing in Alaska with the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre, I had made a comment to my young actors about performing in the rain.  I’m pretty sure they prayed for rain, because our last performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor, it POURED.  The audience ran for cover, but nothing could erase the looks of glee on the actor’s faces.  Falstaff’s line, “let the sky rain potatoes”, pretty much said it all!

In 2017, the Robinson Shakespeare Company (RSC*) was invited, and traveled, to England to perform in Stratford-upon-Avon the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s Shakespeare Garden.  The New Place recently opened and we discovered that we were the first group to perform there….if the weather held out.  There were numerous sunshine dances (involving jazz hands), prayers, and wishes.  The day of the performance, there was a storm coming right for us.  It was the closest thing to magic I’ve seen.  It was as if the storm was around us.  In videos, you can see the wind whipping the costume and the slightest drizzle of rain, but we made it!

*I know, I know, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Reduced Shakespeare Company, etc. I like to think of us as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s distant (many times removed), scrappy cousins that will be revealed if we do a deep dive on our genealogy chart.

This memory might be tinged with jet lag, because during the same trip I sat in-between two 12 year olds, who only fell asleep 30 minutes before landing.  When we arrived in Stratford, we were met by the incredible Cait Fannin-Peel (my Shakespeare wife and hero).  Our bed and breakfasts weren’t ready yet, so she took us on a tour of Shakespeare’s Birthplace.  They have an amazing little stage in-between the house and the giftshop where actors were performing bits of Shakespeare.  Cait asked if we would like to perform something.  Jet lagged, sleep deprived, and thrilled, it took about 30 seconds to plan out the opening to Cymbeline and start performing it.  Tourists surrounded us with their cameras and applauded when the scene was done.  It felt amazing as a director of young people to see them confident on stage in a setting that was incredibly different from what they were used to.  We have video evidence!

4. What's one of the more unusual Shakespearean interpretations you've either seen or would like to see?

Bart Sher’s Cymbeline at Intiman changed me.  The set was simple; a red raked stage, but by being so, it didn’t need massive set changes, we were with the story the entire time.  The production was funny, moving, and stunning.

I’m frustrated by Shakespeare that tries to distract you from thinking it is Shakespeare.  I’ve been in, or seen productions, where it’s like “look at these live animals” or “explosions” or “a fake ice rink that isn’t integral to the plot and is really slick in the rain, but look, people are ice skating for 30 seconds” that are unnecessary.  I believe you should be able to wear black clothes on a blank stage and get the story across; everything else is just icing.  If not, it’s not good Shakespeare.

Mya interjects: I am broadly in agreement with Christy here, except that I desperately want MORE live animals on stage. Dogs. Goats. Rabbits. Gerbils. I don’t care if they’re not textually supported.

5. What's one of your favorite Shakespearean "hidden gems"?

I don’t know if it’s a hidden gem, but I love Henry IV, Part 1 and 2.  I think it’s such a loss when they’re combined, because they are both stellar plays for different reasons.  Yes, Henry IV, Part 1 has all the action, but Henry IV, Part 2 has phenomenal speeches and you get to see just how devious Falstaff is.  Food for powder, anyone?

6. What passages from Shakespeare have stayed with you?

This quote from Romeo and Juliet is how I feel about teaching.  During the school week, I am in 24 classes in the South Bend community, mostly in Title 1 schools.  Last year, Tuesdays were long days.  I would teach six classes at a middle school, plus an after-school program, then direct the RSC.  That was approximately 190 kids and the day lasted from 9 am-9 pm.  It wasn’t, however, so bad, because I work with really great kids.  I feel what I give to them, they give back and the days don’t feel long.

“the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite.”

Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

Also “bless you fair shrew” which I say to my dog all the time when she sneezes.  

Mya interjects: BLESS YOU FAIR SHREW THAT’S THE BEST I LOVE IT

7. What Shakespeare plays have changed for you?

The first time I saw Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, I was twelve and locked myself in the bathroom and cried.  Seriously though, who didn’t?  Do you have a heart of stone???

Mya interjects: Yes. :P

During our 2017 trip, we took our RSC to see the REAL RSC’s Titus Andronicus.  Blanche McIntyre is a badass director.  It’s easy to dismiss, Titus, but she found depth, and urgency.  The show made our company better.  

My actors still refer to the performance when we talk about high stakes and urgency.

8. What Shakespearean character or characters do you identify the most with?

I love Viola.  She goes on such a journey and her “make me a willow cabin at your gate” speech moves me every time.  We don’t get to pick who we love.  I’m really lucky that I have a sweetheart who loves me, Shakespeare nerdiness and all.

If I could be a character?  Henry V.

9. Where can we find out more about you? Are there any projects/events you would like us to check out?

You can find more about us on our Facebook page, Instagram, and our website.

Notre Dame Magazine put together a gorgeous website that chronicled the six months they had a reporter with us as well as our adventures to England!

(Back to Mya) Thanks so much to Christy for answering my questions, but, even more importantly, for raising the next generation of Shakespeareans. I, for one, welcome our new Shakespearean overlords.

COMING THURSDAY: It’s two-for-one day with the bard bros behind one of my favorite Shakespeare podcasts!

[spiffydolan]

Choose You Twice (Ethan Dolan)

Summary: It’s a special day for Ethan and me. I’ve had a few flashbacks to some huge moments in our life together that brought us to where we are now. 

Warning: You may want to grab a tish, because this is really cute. 

Word count: 1.5k+

This is completely inspired by the song Choose You Twice. by Ben Zaidi. It is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard, but it’s kind of sad. Don’t worry tho... I took out the sad parts for this story :’) Only happy tears are allowed.

A/N: I’d like to say a huuuuge thanks to @coconutethan for helping me figure out where to start. I have wanted to write something inspired by this song for the longest time, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it a happy story. Johanna hooked me up 💙 (Also, I only proofread once... so there is likely a few errors. Please excuse them... it’s so late, and I’m tired.)

I hope you enjoy :’) Please let me know what you think! 😊💙

October 8, 2017

I can’t believe this day has finally come. I turned and looked into the mirror. Staring back at me was the person I had always dreamed of becoming. He made me the best person I could be. He made me whole.

— Flashback to August 9, 2015

Ethan and I have only been on 4 dates; but when I looked into his eyes, I could picture the rest of our lives being spent together.

After each date, I thought there was no way he could top that. However, he always found a way — from my favorite flowers to the sweetest notes he’d slip into my bag for me to find the next day.

He was driving me back to my house while we listened to some of our favorite songs. As we pulled into my driveway, he grabbed my hand making me turn towards him a little. I couldn’t help smile at the way he looked at me. He looked so content and happy.

“I’ve been trying to find the perfect words to tell you how I feel. Every time I try to explain, I get so lost in your eyes, so captivated by your beauty, so intrigued by all the things I continue to learn about you.” He paused, looking down. I noticed his cheeks turning a rosy shade.

He continued, “I’d like to ask you to be my girlfriend.”

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I leaned forward, giving him a quick kiss. “I’d love to be your girlfriend.” He pulled me closer with a deeper kiss.

— end of flashback.

I smiled at the memory of when everything started. I always knew the future would be good, but I never imagined life could be this good.

In just a few minutes, I would be agreeing to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.

— Flashback to September 17, 2015

Ethan and I had been “official” for about a month, and things couldn’t be any better. Ethan told me he had the perfect night planned for me, but it all had to be a surprise.

After picking me up, we drove for about an hour to the first location. There was this elegant Italian restaurant I had read so many amazing reviews about. I’d been in Ethan’s ear for two weeks about going there, but I was still shocked when we pulled into its parking lot.

“Oh my God, Ethan!!! You didn’t really do this,” I exclaimed. Reservations had to be made weeks in advance... I couldn’t believe he did this.

“This is only the beginning,” Ethan said with a wink and exited the car. He ran around to the passenger side, opening the door for me. “You are stunning, Y/N.”

“You clean up pretty nice yourself, babe.”

After dinner, we drove to the beach. We stepped out of the car and he grabbed a quilt, bottle of wine, and two glasses. Then he grabbed my hand, and we walked closer to the crashing waves.

The cold sand on my feet, the sound of the ocean, the clinking of glasses, the star gazing, and the best part - the beautiful boy I got to spend this intimate time with – all made for a night I would never forget.

We talked about our lives before we knew each other, what the future holds, and everything in between.

“I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to say this, because I knew it the first day I met you. I love you, Y/N. I’m in love with you. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, and I can’t figure out for the life of me what I did to deserve you,” Ethan said, as my eyes filled with tears. “No, no Y/N. Please don’t cry. I’m not pressuring you to say i…” I cut him off immediately.

“Ethan, I love you too. These are happy tears,” I said smiling, pulling him closer to me. He kissed me, and I felt a jolt of electricity rush through my body. I felt more alive and electrified than ever.

He pulled away, leaving me wanting more, and said, “If we had one more life, I’d be spending it by your side. I wouldn’t have waited 23 years to find you. I’d choose you twice.”

— end of flashback

I imagined I would feel nervous about this moment, but I had no doubt in my mind that we were doing the right thing. I felt peace and contentment. I heard the music begin playing, fixed my veil, and remembered the moment that brought us to where we are now.

— Flashback to September 17, 2016

Ethan and I had the busiest day doing all of the things we loved most. He made me breakfast in bed and bought the most beautiful bouquet of white roses. He told me he had an entire day of fun planned, and boy... he was not kidding. As I was getting ready for the day, I caught him watching me and smiling several times. He’s just too cute; I still don’t understand how I got so lucky.

We went to our favorite café by the pier for lunch and then to our go-to ice cream shop. We went to the skate park as he continued to teach me how to skateboard. Even though I failed miserably every time I hopped on it, I still loved this time with him, watching him do something he loves.

The sun was beginning to set, and Ethan grabbed my hand and began running towards the car. “We have to hurry to our last location!! You’re going to love this one the most.”

As we pulled into the parking lot, I remembered this is where Ethan told me he loved me. We actually hadn’t been back since that night. All of those feelings from that wonderful night came rushing back.

We watched the sunset on the beach, again talking about the future. I wasn’t sure what the future held, but I knew he was going to be in it.

“Y/N, I’d choose you twice. I’d choose you over and over and over again. I will choose you everyday, for the rest of my life. I never knew the kind of love we share even existed, until now,” Ethan spoke over the crashing waves. He grabbed my hands, and we stood up together.

He kissed me briefly, and then pulled away. He reached into his pocket, and proceeded to kneel in front of me. I knew him so well, and yet he continued to surprise me at every single moment.

“You’re the only one I want now and forever. Nobody could ever take your place. Will you marry me, Y/N?” Ethan said with glossy eyes.

— end of flashback

The doors opened up in front of me, everyone stood to their feet, and Ethan looked up, immediately in tears. Grayson rubbed his shoulders from behind, but Ethan was unaffected. Ethan and I had locked eyes, and suddenly everything else disappeared. It was just him and me in the chapel. I can’t believe this is happening; I can’t believe he chose me.

It came time for me to recite my vows:

“Ethan - my love, my world, my life, my everything. You said, ‘Baby, I’d choose you twice. If we had one more life, I’d be spending it by your side.’ I promise to love you, care for you, and be compassionate, patient, and kind with you. I promise to be your lover, companion, and friend. I promise to live in truth, devotion, and honor. I promise to never let you forget why you’d choose me twice. I am truly blessed to be a part of your life, which from this day forward becomes our life together.”

We were both in tears, but Ethan still had to recite his vows:

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Y/N. I don’t deserve you. You have shown me what it means to love unconditionally and without bound. You brought me out of my pain and darkness, and I promise to spend the rest of my life finding a way to repay you. I promise to never let you feel unloved, unwanted, or empty again. I promise to never let you forget your worth and your beauty. I promise to laugh with you and cry with you. I promise to take care of you and support you. I promise to walk with you and build a life with you. I promise to show you the unconditional love you have taught me. I promise to choose you not only twice, but over and over and over again. I promise to choose you every single day for the rest of our lives.”

We placed the rings that would bound us together forever on each other’s hand and waited for the words we have wanted to hear our whole lives.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the pastor spoke towards Ethan.

The entire chapel was filled cheering and clapping, celebrating Ethan and me. After our kiss, which of course was not long enough, we joined hands and headed towards the doors.

Friends and family congratulated us and called us “Mr. and Mrs. Dolan” for the first time.

I still couldn’t believe this was real. I just married my best friend, and now I get to spend every waking moment with him.

Out of all the blessings in my life, Ethan was the greatest one.