#I just have mad beef with how they ruined my boy

[wilchur]

Piggybacking of my previous post since I didn't want to get off topic, but Inquisition has this issue in general where I don't think the writers quite realised what they were implying with certain things so you're never given the opportunity to get into it. I know it's most likely crunch-related oversight, but wowee.

One glaring instance I can recall of the top of my head (because I'm never not thinking about it) being the way Fiona mentions scuffles between Mages and Templars within the Inquisition after you move to Skyhold, but when you run to Cullen you can exhaust his dialogue and not hear a damn thing about it. Which I love! It can be read as him really letting his cop shine by "dealing with it internally" and not reporting to the Inquisitor, but it's most likely just a case of the writing team being like "we forgor".

In general I don't think anyone realised that they were making him into a jackass. Because I don't mind he is one, I mind that the game doesn't seem to know about it? He didn't change that much from the previous games, only the narrative's treatment of him did. He's not villain-adjacent anymore, he's a part of the hero's inner circle! He can't be an ass! Except they only remembered to tell people he's not an ass without any actual growth. It would be infinitely more interesting if the lack of growth was acknowledged and he was put in somewhat of an anti-hero territory? At least when paired with a pro-mage Inquisitor.

[shhh-secret-time]

You know what would be so cute? Reader being Clyde’s unnamed sister! Because we know NOTHING about her! Can we get some headcanons about them maybe? Thaaaaanks baby!! I am loving your stuff!! 💋💖

Fuck dude that's such a great request! I am was so excited to do this one! Doing a request that's platonic love is so rare! Hope you like it babes!

Warning: Talk of suicide, Strong Language, Clyde being an absolute dork!

⚠️ Note: Listen there's a little talk of transphobia in the last half of this request. It's not Clyde but his dad. I want you to feel comfortable and safe reading this, if you're not do not read the last half! ⚠️

Pairings: None! Reader is Clyde's sister

> Oh boy being Clyde's sister in a world where most of the guys in South Park are fucking stupid

> So when you come along all small and wrapped up in those soft hospital blankets

> Little Clyde knows he's gotta keep you safe.

> Kids are fucking mean, they know your insecurities before you do!

> Growing up Clyde's always been just a smidge overprotective

》He's not controlling just... careful? He needs to know you'll be alright

> Because let's be real for a second, he's not a fighter. Clyde Donovan cannot fight

> He's more of a "lover", maybe it's me but I've always seen the little dude to be a charmer, a little guy.

》You gonna have beef with him he's just a little dude?

> So if he can prevent you from being targeted in anyway he'll do it.

> So of course that means his friends become yours.

> "Meet your older brothers, no you don't get a say in it sit down!"

> Tweek, Craig, Jimmy, and Tolkien are your little family now. They all have their rolls.

》Gee, how come your dad let's you have five brothers?

> And the best part of this is that Craig came with a free sister too!

> You and Tricia get along so well! First bonding over how annoying your brothers can be, then it was little things like TV shows and games.

> Now when Clyde's little, "surround you by the only people he can trust and keep you safe" plan goes well, he can focus on annoying the shit out of you

》His absolute favorite thing to do is come into your room and just dance. He'll have his hands in his pocket, wearing whatever comfy clothes he has on and just start stepping side to side. If you ask what he's doing, he'll give you nothing. You get a bored expression and just him in your doorway dancing.

"Clyde? What are you doing? I'm busy playing games with Trish!" You hiss at him looking up from your Switch.

Clyde says nothing, of course he doesn't. That would ruin the bit. He just keeps bobbing side to side, taking a step closer to you only to step back. You know your glares do nothing but encourage him, but God damn it you wish he'd at least tell you why he's being annoying.

"Stop it! Get out of my room! You're so annoying!"

Ah typical sibling spats. It was a normal thing to do, but if asked you'd have no answer why he made you so mad. Why that little dance in your doorway pissed you off. Maybe it was because it was distracting? Maybe because he didn't ask to come in he just fucking smooth criminals his way in like it's something to do! Maybe it's because he's Clyde and he had a punchable face!

Clyde left your room with bruises on his arm that night. Immediately running down to tell your dad! You had to run after him and try to stop him, promises of doing his chores tomorrow if he didn't tell.

> Yeah it's hard to tell who the older sibling is sometimes

> The best thing to come out of Clyde's friends was Craig and Tweek teaching you to fight

> They remember the last time Clyde even tried to throw a punch and nearly broke his thumb

》Someone has to protect that idiot when they're not around

> You all agree Clyde may be an idiot, but he's you guy's idiot!

> That's not to say Jimmy and Tolkien aren't great!

> Jimmy is your gaming buddy when Tricia is busy!

》Dude had a dedicated Minecraft server for just you two. You're on hard-core survival mode.

> It's weird too because Jimmy just knows when you're upset or sad.

》He's not the best at giving advice but he's there for a laugh and he won't stop until you smile

> Which can land him in hot water sometimes but it's worth it if he knows he's helped you

> Tolkien knows when you're upset too, they both have this sixth sense.

》It's so strange because they don't have siblings, they live alone with their parents.

> Tolkien on the other hand seems to know exactly what to say and the greatest advice to give.

> If you're mad at Clyde for something, Tolkien just listens to you rant and rave about him.

"I swear he's such a pig sometimes! Who leaves their clothes lying around like that?! Does he think I'm his maid?!" You're stomping back and forth in the living room, whatever show playing on the TV is a distant thought.

Tolkien just watches you with a small smile on his face, he's messing with a little Rubik's cube half-ass solving it. He nods along with your complaints, he knows. He plays football with Clyde and has seen the way the man keeps his locker.

"You've got maids right Tolkien? How much does your family pay them?"

"Uhh..." The question catches him off guard at first, he's about to answer when you cut him off again.

"I'm gonna start charging Clyde that! Everytime I have to clean up after him, I'm gonna be like that's five percent from your paycheck dick!"

Tolkien shook his head in response. When you looked over and uncrossed your arms he almost chuckled at the betrayed look you cast him.

"Ten percent, don't settle for less."

Your grin widened and you nodded at him. Such sage wisdom. Tolkien was your favorite!

> Yeah no one is on Clyde’s side if you argue.

》 R.I.P sweet boy

> That being said Clyde is always there for you

>I mean always. He does everything in his power to make sure you're alright.

> That means physically, mentally, any of it.

> If you're sick, Clyde is right there beside you to help you feel better.

》He's complaining about it and picking on you because "Haha your nose is red and you look like throw up had a baby."

> He learned how to cook after you guy's mom passed. Someone had to since your dad is always working or at the bar.

> That's another thing. Mom

> He still hasn't forgiven himself for driving her to suicide. He believes it'd his fault, even if you have reassured him a thousand times over.

"It wasn't your fault, you can't keep blaming yourself. She wouldn't want you to." Your arms wrap around him and pull him into a tight hug.

Clyde let's out a little sigh and rests his chin on your head. He's heard this too many times now, he's starting to lose track the amount of times you've had to say it. He slowly wraps his arms around you and his shoulders slump forward.

You smile a little, it was progress. When he first got like this he would freeze and shut down. Just staring out into the void with those dead colored eyes. Just muttering how it was his fault she died.

You were too young to know what really happened. Clyde and Dad won't really go into it, but you know Clyde would never do something to purposely hurt someone. Much less your own mother.

"We still have da-"

"Each other. We still have each other and mom would want us to stay together, I know." He cuts you off and ruffles your hair, the smile across his lips don't reach his eyes. They never do.

You know in your heart you'll never be able to fix the pain your brother feels over losing mom. The rift it put between him and dad, but you'd never allow him to go to the deep end. You loved your brother and you want him with you always.

> And don't think for a moment it's just you comforting Clyde, he's right there for you if you ever need to talk.

> If talking isn't your style, then he takes you out. You go all over town trying to find something to do.

> Maybe it's the park, maybe it's sneaking into the movie theater, maybe it's throwing rocks across the pond, maybe it's him dropping you off at your friends house.

》Clyde nearly lost his shit when he found out you were friends with one of the goth kids.

> Firkle that little shit

> You shut him down about that immediately, reminding him of his need to flirt with every woman

> All in all Clyde is your typical dorky brother, the kind that definitely plays pranks on you and does things to get under your skin.

> But he loves you, so much. You're his precious little sister and when he's not getting into trouble with his friends he's happy to be with you.

> Now hold on before we wrap this up let's talk about something important.

"Hey um Clyde...can I...talk to you about something?" You're in his door way, meekly shifting from one foot to the other.

Clyde raises a brow at you from his bed, his arm tucked under his head to prop his head up.

"Uh...sure? What's wrong, did you get in trouble with dad again?" He asks tossing his phone to the side.

"Kinda? He scolded me again." Your voice is a soft whimper as you try not to cry, padding across the room towards him and his bed.

Clyde's lips press into a thin line, he doesn't even realize his eyes are narrowed into the ground as he listens to you. "He caught you wearing mom's skirt again."

"Yeah. Says it's not right for a boy to be wearing his mom's clothes."

He watches you crawl into bed to sit next to him, you immediately go for his coat the red one he's always sporting around. He lets you, its one of your favorite things to steal.

"Ignore dad. He's just being an ass, you can wear whatever you want!"

There's a silence that falls over you two as you trace the blocky words on his coat. Until you finally speak up, choking back another sob. "Am I wrong because I want to be a girl? Do you think there's something wrong with me Clyde?"

"What?!" He exclaims maybe a little louder than he should.

He sits up and gives you his full attention now, his brown eyes staring you down. For a minute you think he's angry too, you think he's going to scold you like dad. But when you see how soft his the brown in his eyes are, it melts away. He pulls you into a tight hug, wrapping you up in his jacket.

"No way! There's nothing wrong with you! If you wanna be a girl, be a girl! If you feel comfortable in skirts and dresses then wear 'em! If you wanna be a girl who only wears dude clothes then do that too! But don't you ever say you're wrong for wanting to do that!" His voice is steady, there's no playful tone behind it like there usually is. He's being serious, Clyde Donovan is more serious than he's ever been in his life. You don't know what to say, don't know how to respond so you just sit there with your head laying against his shoulder.

"Look, I'm not a smart guy. I don't think I'll ever really understand. But I do know this, you're my sibling. My annoying little shit of a sibling. And whatever you identify as, will not take away how annoying you are. Or how much I love you. So be patient with me, but I'll start calling you sister in front of that old dick." You giggle a little when he calls your dad a dick. You wipe the tears from your eyes and nod at him with a smile. It's only then that he smiles back and pets the top of your head. A horrible habit he's had since you first learned to talk, was ruffling your hair.

"Thanks Clyde...you're the best. Sometimes."

"All the times."

"Don't push it."

"All of 'em. I'm the coolest brother in South Park. I'm telling everyone my sister thinks I'm the coolest."

> So yeah it doesn't matter what you identify as he loves you

》 If some day down the road you wanna be his brother again, cool. If you don't want to be neither, awesome. If you're both, whoa that's amazing!

> Clyde Donovan loves his sibling!

[foiazoli]

First Silmarillion Readthrough: Valaquenta

And we’re back with my series of sort of live-blogging my thoughts on the Silmarillion as I read it for the first time! For an intro to this thing, see here, or check out the tag “baby’s first silm read” where all of my previous posts are archived.

We’re into the Valaquenta today, and we finally get into some descriptions of the Valar individually! Jumping right on in;

Manwe: Bird and Wind boy, understands Eru the best, and so gets to be king. Fairly good reason to be made king tbh, I had previously thought he was king because he was strongest (excluding Melkor, who is evil) which imo is not a particularly good way to go about choosing kings.

Varda: Star Queen, she’s got light in her face? Given she’s the star lady I’m not sure if that’s a metaphor or not tbh. Melkor has beef with her cause she told him to fuck off, good for her. The elves love her best and named her Elbereth which the text treats like a great honor but the appendix tells me translates to “star-queen” which. Is a literal description so idk how that's supposed to show supreme veneration or whatever but sure.

Ulmo: Ocean man. First description: “He is alone.” Ominous start, he used to be besties with Manwe but prefers hanging out in the ocean to going to council meetings, big mood. When he’s incarnate, he inspires dread. These descriptions really capture the feeling of the raw power of the ocean and its confusing otherness, I dig it.

Oh the sea-longing! Ulmo directly inspires it in people via going up rivers and playing his shell-horns? Interesting LoTR tidbit tie-in. He gets more info than Manwe via the streams etc. somehow. Considering Manwe is the lord of air and all of these places have air in them I’m not sure how that works, but maybe he’s just not listening as directly? It does also say that Ulmo never abandoned elves and men, and considering this section is after Manwe’s, you can read that as an implication that Manwe did abandon them.

Aule: we get told of his strength (slightly less than Ulmo) before his domain here, “all the substances of which Arda is made,” the phrasing of which suggests a broader scope than I had previously thought. Earth, stone, metal, gems, jewels, etc. are all classic Aule, but “all substances” would include water and air, no? We’ve already got Ulmo and Manwe, so the answer is almost definitely no, but why then say all substances when you mean a much more limited subset of things? And then his domain specifically includes “the basins of the sea”???? That can refer to the rock/earth that the water is resting on, but would be very odd phrasing.

Yavanna: First thing we learn about her: Aule’s wife. Jirt please. Second thing we learn about her: Giver of Fruits, “lover of all things that grow in the Earth,” from trees to moss and “secret things in the mould.” 

Struggling with how to interpret the bit about “mould” here, are we talking about fungus, or mould as in a form used to create things? My first instinct was fungus since we’re talking about plants, but the preceding words about secrets makes me wonder if we’re actually talking about Yavanna making slight deviations in her various creations that nobody but her ever really notices and enjoying the craftsmanship involved. Now you may be wondering, “Zoli, why the fuck would this ever matter?” because my friends, mold is typically something people don’t like, want to get rid of, see as ruining their food/bathroom/kitchen cabinets etc. If Yavanna made and likes mold, then we have evidence of decomposers being intentional, thought being given to things not lasting forever, of a circle of life, decay existing outside of the marring of arda. This doesn’t really line up with how the Valar have been acting, getting mad at Melkor for ruining their things, the vibes are that they intend for their creations to be eternal and last forever, so Yavanna making mold would be extremely notable. The second interpretation loses this circle of life being an intentional thing, and brings us back to the valar intending for things to be unchanging. Lots to think about, all from a single homonym!

Anyway, sometimes she takes an incarnate form as a tree instead of a person, neat.

Namo: controls the dead, and “knows all things that shall be, save only those that lie still in the freedom of Illuvatar.” So this is why fic writers tend to make him omnipotent. Still, things that happen because of people’s free will are outside of his foresight…. Which makes me wonder what is included? I would say natural disasters, but the Valar can control those so that feels like it should fall in the category of things dictated by free will that he can’t see. Do we have a larger philosophical discussion here about how maybe certain actions and events are written into the music of arda, and men/elves/ainu can only make decisions around that? How do we figure what makes a point written into the song vs. a decision of free will? I’m struggling otherwise to see how Namo has foresight at all, if he can’t see that which is made by free will, but “knows all things that shall be” has a gravity to it that implies that there’s a lot there. Idk, foresight in Tolkein confuses me, maybe it's one of those things that he just hadn’t completely ironed out before he died. And he only pronounces dooms at Manwe’s bidding, that’s interesting. Maybe with his all-seeing-ness he struggles to tell what’s important? Maybe he doesn’t care? Lots to dig into here.

Vaire: gets a singular fucking sentence at the end of Namo’s paragraph, Jirt your sexism is so blatant here. “[W]eaves all things…into her storied webs…” describing her works as webs is very interesting. Literally every fan-interpretation I’ve ever seen has her works in Mandos being tapestries, so I suspect that’s mentioned elsewhere, but web implies something more organic to me. I’m picturing Vaire as a spider now, which isn’t particularly relevant(until we get to Ungoliant), but interesting. A web also implies a little bit of messiness that other products of fabric arts don’t typically have. I tend to think of the Valar’s works as complete, perfect, exactly as intended, etc. but a web… a spider made that to serve a purpose, and it can still serve that purpose even with mistakes in it. But what exactly is the purpose of Vaire’s works? To provide the dead in mandos with information about events? To simply record the history of Ea? For whom? To what end? Her works reside in mandos, but Namo is said to have perfect memory, what need does he have for recordings of events? So much to dig into here, partly because Jirt gave us so little to work with.

Irmo: “master of visions and dreams.” He’s got gardens, and then his two sentences are up and it’s on to his wife lmao. It seems like the more abstract the domain of the Vala, the less we get about them. Irmo and Namo are both Feanturi, and they both deal with foresight, and that’s all the information we get about the matter! Why! Tell me how it works dammit! Visions and dreams being linked both makes sense on the surface, and also implies some odd things when you think about it. Dreams are created by your subconscious (we think, dream science is not great atm and was undoubtedly worse in Tolkein’s time), so does Irmo being the patron of both mean that visions have the same source? Visions about things unrelated to you that are also true seem like they would have to have an exterior source right? Is Irmo the source? Is he a conduit for visions and passing them to people from Eru? Again, so many questions, so few answers.

Este: a healer, “and rest is her gift”. An interesting view of healing, although it tracks with what I would expect of Tolkein’s views at the time of writing. When I think healing, I think doctors, surgeries, physical therapy, therapists, essentially people actively doing things, rather than like, sending someone to the seaside for their health (that’s a bit of an older time period than Tolkein, true, but the point stands) which seems to be the direction Este goes in. We also learn in her paragraph that the other Valar come to Lorien to “find repose and easing of the burden of Arda” so we know that the Valar can feel tired, which I find interesting to note.

Nienna: “...her song turned to lamentation long before its [the music of Arda] end, and the sounds of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began.”  Okay so Nienna is metal as fuck actually? Good to know. And she spends her time not among happy people in Valimar, but in Mandos consoling the dead and “turns sorrow to wisdom”. I’ve got a new favorite Vala everyone, she’s cool as hell.

Tulkas: full name Tulkas Astaldo, that doesn’t flow as nicely as the other Valar with surnames tbh. In meaning it’s perfectly fitting, ‘the valiant’ is here to kick ass, wrestle, not go to council meetings, and be friendly. yeah sure that tracks. 

Nessa: First characteristic: wife of Tulkas. Second characteristic: sister of Orome (who hasn’t even gotten an intro yet?? Every other time someone is introduced as a spouse or sibling the other person has already been introduced, but nooooooo Nessa is more importantly defined as the sister of someone we don’t even know than as her own actual person. Fuck you Jirt.) As far as her actual personality, she’s fast, likes deer, and likes dancing. So what is she the Vala of then? Coordinated feet? What does she do? Come on Jirt.

Orome: In love with middle-earth, pissed as hell at Melkor for ruining it. Loves trees as well as hounds and horses, and the Sindar call him Tauron!?!?! Hello Tolkein linguists, politely banging down your doors to get the etymology for Tauron and Sauron??? The index/appendix thingy says Sauron means “the abhorred” Whereas Tauron is “forester” or “lord of the forests”. Pardon, what? We got a single letter difference here. Wtf. Anyway, his horse and horn are important enough to be named and given a full sentence or three of description for some reason.

Vana: “the ever-young,” flowers sprout for her and birds sing for her. Married to Orome, younger sister of Yavanna, and that’s all the characterisation she gets!! Another female Vala so un-fleshed out I’m not even clear what her domain is, flowers are Yavanna’s territory and birds are Manwe’s, so… youth? Whatever in the hell that means. How does one govern youth? And not in a “how do you get the kids to do what you want" way but in the way that the Valar are the Powers of the World and have Government in their DomainsTM way. 

And then we get the excuse that this is what the Eldar know about the Valar, and there’s untold other things to know about them etc etc. So we could conclude that Vana and Nessa and recluses who the Eldar never see and therefore know nothing about, EXCEPT, Nienna is explicitly said to not spend time with living Eldar and we know a good bit about her, so find another excuse for your sexism and not fleshing out your female characters Jirt. 

8/14 are considered Aratar, the “high ones” and are more powerful than the other 6. Interesting that Tulkas is not included in this but Orome is when in Orome’s overview it specifically said Orome was “less strong than Tulkas”. I guess the elves think Tulkas is stronger, and they’re wrong? I wonder if that perception came due to Tulkas’s actions in fighting Melkor or something else.

The first paragraph on maiar is chock-full of interesting tidbits

The elves don’t know how many there are

Most don’t have names in “the tongues of the children of Illuvatar”

Maiar are in middle earth, but choose to not make themselves visible to elves and men

We get introduced to some familiar names; Ilmare, Eonwe, Osse, Uinen. Uinen was apparently as important to the Numenoreans as the Valar, that’s cool. Osse and Uinen contributed to Melkor’s hate of the sea, as Melkor tried and temporarily succeeded getting Osse on his side to deal with the ocean for him, but Uinen dragged him back into serving Ulmo. Little bits about Melian and Olorin here too.

The section on Melkor starts intelligibly enough, but this line on his motives is confusing to me: “He began with the desire of Light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended through fire and wrath into a great burning, down into Darkness.” I’m following up through the part about burning, but how do you get from burning to darkness? The light/dark stuff is largely metaphorical, but the only way I can parse this is to make it about Melkor burning out his (insert whatever here) and being left in the dark, but I’m a little lost on what he’s supposed to be burning here. His remaining goodness and virtue maybe? We’ve already covered that he was evil because he wanted dominion over arda and was wreaking the other Valar’s shit to do it. What more do you need to justify calling him evil?

Then we go on to talk about how he always had maiar servants, and also accumulated more in various times. Some of these maiar servants were balrogs, Sauron was there and particularly strong/evil, and then the Valaquenta just ends!

I have so many questions!! I want to know so much more about how the Valar function, not just what their domains are (and in some cases, clarification on what their domains actually are as well). If any of you are really into any specific Valar and have any info to share, please do! Nienna is gonna start off my favorite character list for the Silmarillion, she just seems super cool.

[i-write-boop-spoops]

Boopy's dumb thoughts on Pokemon Violet

It’s MY blog – and MY birthday – and I get to talk about the latest Pokemon release over a month after it came out because I want to!!!

Feel free to ignore, agree, disagree, leave your own thoughts, tell your friends you love them, eat a nice meal, etc, etc.

Spoilers for the game! Also not bothered to proofread lol

Ok so I’m gonna start off with the stuff I didn’t like very much. Gonna try keep it brief because I otherwise really enjoy the game and a lot of my takes are common in the fandom

I have seen CGI from 2002 power rangers specials that look better than this game

Frame rate is crunchier than gravel sometimes

Honestly,it’s embarrassing that a game from 2022 looks and runs this badly

Especially since PLA released earlier that year, and while not perfect, it ran much better

SV definitely needed an extra year or two in the oven

I hate how most houses can’t be entered and that most shops are menus

Wish you could pet your mons again, not just wash them

WHY IS PUTTING BREAD ON A SANDWICH SO DIFFICULT

In the options at the start of the game where you’re asked by someone (might be Nemona, can’t remember) what dream you have, why can’t you answer with ‘be a trophy spouse for a hot champion’?!

Steven should cameo in this game (I will NOT debate this)

Really miss the catching mechanic from PLA, woulda worked amazing here

I love that Pokemon is going in a more genderfluid direction when it comes to character customization (and NPCs too)

But I wish there was a skirt option for the unifotms (and not just for the f! mc, for everyone!)

Also the uniforms are so ugly… please let us change out of em soon gamegreak!

I actually… don’t like Penny that much

Out of the trio, she’s the least like a friend

She’s also the least interesting member of Team Star

And she’s kinda mean :/

AI Turo (AI Sada in Scarlet) saying the real one actually loved Arven in the end felt like a complete lie to me – I couldn’t believe it not one bit – ruined the story a bit honestly

Ok, now it’s on to the positive stuff

Wish Miraidon would make a funny honk noise like a clown car

also i have mad beef with ed sheeran so his somg being included was NOT appreciated

ARVEN

Man I just love this guy

Hence why you can now request him!

The enemies-to-best-friends arc is amazing!

He’s fun and passionate and caring and a bit of a tsundere and I love him!

And his Mabostiff? Precious boi!

That whole story with him and his doggy had me tearing up by the end

And the stuff with his dad was heartbreaking

I love Nemona too!

Such a fun rival!

She’s a quirky tomboy with a great design

Lowkey love that she’s from a rich family

I love how she’s basically obsessed with you

The animation of her ponytail is so pleasing

Her and Arven debating who was the better friend was lowkey hilarious

Any game with a cooking mechanic is automatically top-tier

I have made some RANK sandwichs and it’s so funny every time

The absurdity of the Clive/Clavelle thing had me dying istg

IRON VALIANT

I R O N  B U N D L E

Paradox Pokemon in general honestly, brilliant idea all around

Loved Area Zero, especially the deeper you got

It was so sparkly!

I loved the designs of most of the towns

I loved Artazon, Porto Marinada and Cascarafa the most

Your home is so cute!

Terastalization is fun and dumb and I love the goofy, sparkly hats

The ghost tera-hat being the gen 1 ghost sprite is great!

Tera-raids are great craic!

Loved playing online with friends

It was so fun to travel together!

Love the face/hair customizations

Especially since you can customize right away and don’t have to wait until you reach the first salon like two hours in!

I don’t think there was a bad mon this gen

Here’s some Pokemon I really liked

Clodsire

Fuecoco (the whole line actually)

Fidough & Dachsbun! (probs my faves)

Greavard!

Goldango (silly lil cheesestring man)

Miraidon

Lechonk

Smoliv

Toadscool

Klawf

Tatsugiri

Tandemaus and maushold

Bellibolt

Brute Bonnet

Cetoddle (baby!)

The dogs in this game are peak, gonna do a dog-only playthrough someday

The Academy is amazing!

I enjoyed the lessons and the teachers!

The fact that the Home Ec teacher is an extremely buff guy is amazing

Love the Psyduck librarian

And the Gengar who did the night duty!

Loved the gym leaders so much too!

Larry, Grusha and Ryme are probably my favourites

Iono’s gym test was so funny I loved it

The designs of the human characters this gen were PEAK

I want Dendra’s outfit, Eri’s outfit, Grusha’s outfit, Katy’s outfit, Miriam's outfit, Sada’s AND Turo’s outfits

I am a big baby, so I loved skipping basically all the battles with random trainers lol

Man that ending with the AI Turo reveal and fight was so fucking sick omg

I enjoyed every single path in this game

Great music

The final cutscene of The Way Home was… so good

Riding on Miraidon was so fun!

Clavelle asking what Cheugey meant was unreal

I like the idea of champion being an official rank, and multiple champs existing

Yeah, the graphics aren’t great, but damn some of the areas in the game are still so beautiful

I loved how the sky looked and changed too

In case you forgot

I R O N  B U N D L E

Ok so in summary, this game has serious issues that really should not be present in such a recent game HOWEVER the characters and story were amazing, there were some awesome Pokemon, and it was super fun and enjoyable to play.

[1eos]

omg I love them alllll theyre actually some of my favourite looks! much goth bf!🖤

btw I actually remember you from waaaayyy back through your other urls before you got banned or whatever and I was like who is this person tagging it with “put your dick on the phone leo” and just ignored mostly like you didn’t do anything I felt was block worthy and really some of your tags I love(d) and are a mood and your tags are the ones I most hope to see (no one hardly tags anymore never mind reblogs) because mood but also funny. he deserves all the love expressed in all ways.. well more than just saying/being told he’s c*t*… 🫥 And thank you for saying you’d blow up twitter if they came for me… 🥺

Byeee for now

this gif.....hello.....2015 leo could steal my credit card nd i would really have to take an hour to decide to cancel it or not....but omg u remember my old acct 🥺💖 ive always felt like im a relatively harmless presence on the website but when other vixx boys started to get in trouble everyone got retroactively mad at ppl who aren't willing to die for every member 😭😭😭😭😭 personally i thot everyone understood the #leosweep years ago but hey we all have petty blocks i of all ppl understand LOL. and lordddd its crazy to me how some ppl can just say cute i will never forget leo was cleavage out for something and in the tags someone was calling him a hamster like PLEASE you don't have to be explicit but we need to ease up on this cute shit 😭 there are other adjectives. i'll settle for handsome

nd i absolutely would blow up the few parts of twitter m*sk hasn't ruined if someone starts beef like they try to 'call out' anyone that's not in the hivemind when minding your business is free!!!!!

[expired-applejuice]

Venom headcanons (warning He/They pronouns for Venom)

-Anne and Dan invite Eddie and Venom to all their vacations

- when Venom and Eddie have a fight, Venom bonds with Anne and Dan spends time with Eddie.

- If Eddie gets a bad sickness, like a cold, Venom panics and calls Dan and Anne.... He wants his boyfriend to be healthy

- Dan and Eddie are actually best buds... It makes venom jealous because who said that Dan can be so close to his boyfriend best friend.

- Venom rants to Anne about how much he loves Eddie, and Anne keeps a Journal called "Is that Alien Okay?" The answer is no.... How could he when Eddie's lips look like ✨that✨

- Eddie had a crush on Dan at once, and it makes Venom mad.... It was mentioned to Anne and she just laughed, remembering the time Dan picked up Eddie. (Ya know the part that was ripped away from us)

- The kiss is always brought up and Eddie is always the first to make an excuse about how it was totally Anne. And Anne says that she wasn't in control and it was all Venom.... Eddie get flustered making venom tease him on the way home.

- Dan absolutely loves Sonny and Cher.

- Anne has beef with Cher and the boys can't stop laughing. She refuses to go near her.

- Eddie secretly loved when Venom sang because of the happiness in his voice.

- Cletus knew about the Symbrock relationship and low key shipped it. That's why he kept mentioning that Eddie had secrets

- Eddie still can't go near Waterbar because of the tank incident.

- when Venom and Eddie fight, Venom says he's taking the kids, (referring to the chickens) but Eddie doesn't realize it and gets flustered because, what kids? What fucking kids. When did we- how did we?

- Eddie gets Lethal Protector tattooed somewhere on him and it made venom both Happy and angry. They didn't like the sound and the fact that Eddie was in pain.

- When hanging out with Dan and Anne, the two get in fights, and to stop it..... Dan most definitely plays "Careless Whisper" and Anne thinks it hilarious..... Venom ends of singing with it.

- Dan always tells his heroic tale of how he helped in fighting a crazy red alien. Eddie always listens cause he's just showing support. Anne is like, babe again? Really? Venom still Thinks that they didn't need his help.

- Eddie told Anne about the whole "wind in my hair" thing and she bought venom a wig. Venom instantly took over to try it on, and now Eddie has to beg him to leave it home.

- Venom taught Sonny and Cher to sing "I Got You Babe" in chicken, and had everyone to come over to listen to it. He's so proud of them.

- Eddie hates the Rave, but goes for Venom. But he had to admit, the place brought back memories of college. Times with his mates, when he didn't care about image or whatever. And when he'd explored his sexuality with that one dude. Good memories.... Venom no longer takes Eddie.

- Dan once bonded with Venom and taught him slang, and now Venom no longer can spend too much time with Dan. Eddie was cancelled for ruining the Vibe.

- Venom draws on Eddie's face while he sleeps and Eddie wonders why there's dicks on his face.... And why there's the word puss- Venom really? You're so immature

- Dan, Anne, and Venom, are all in a club called "The Eddie Protectors" and Eddie Believes he doesn't need their protection.... But he does.

- Dan took them to couples counseling.... (This should get its own scene in the movie... Can you imagine)

- Venom cries at the movie old yeller, and Eddie won't let him live it down.

- Eddie is forced into a real date by Anne, (before she figures out Venom is alive) and Venom hated every minute of it.

- Venom intentionally trys to scare, and put Eddie in danger just to save him.

- Dan video taped the apology, and now Everytime It's venom's and Eddie Symbiosis anniversary, he plays it.

- Venom keeps Eddie up all night with stupid shower thoughts.... Some are steamy. Most are stupid things that keep Eddie up thinking about life.

- The beach scene was their honeymoon.

- Eddie makes lots of mistakes, and each time Venom swears they won't help him ever again cause he doesn't listen.... But each time they do help because, who else will take care of the garbage human? Himself? No.

- Venom loves looney tunes, and Eddie just lets him watch it while he sleeps.

- their neighbors know about venom, and are chil with it, as long as Venom promises not to kill Eddie past 12 am, and keep the chickens in check. Their secret is safe.

- Venom punches the faces out of posters cause he can. Eddie tries to stop him, but he's tired.

Please draw these and tag me in them or something

[meili-sheep]

Zhongli, Childe, and Diluc and the Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry dynamic and you can't change my fucking mind

Hello and welcome to my Ted Talk

Let me start by saying this came to my mind at like 11 o'clock last night which sent me into a mad rage and I might have written an ot3 smut thing and didn't go to sleep until at least 2. But I can neither confirm nor deny this. But if I have to suffer through this so now you do too. Is this just a long Shit post? Fucking maybe idk any more.

Zhongli

Daddy Zhongli is 100% dark chocolate. A thing for people who have been called an old soul at least once in their life (Diluc) or has or could have responded to a compliment with "Thanks it's the trauma." (Childe) A mature dignified treat that pairs well with a lot of stuff. Well, not the healthiest component of this gay ass neapolitan is arguably healthier because ya know antioxidants or ya know. Zhongli, he's got most of his shit together. He's just lonely. Definitely good at helping other calm down. Strong, reliable. Good boy, best boy. Would be himbo if mihoyo gave us the beef. Give me the goddamn beef bois. Will take care of you, but can defiantly spice up the bedroom.

Childe

Childe is both the most like vanilla person well also being the least vanilla person. He is like that really good vanilla that is a solid 8/10 but then you start pulling shit on it like caramel sauce (family dynamics) or sprinkles (trauma) then it's just a yum 10/10. Very flexible with what he can do and is willing to do. But also he is kinda that white boy jock you kinda make fun of cause your part of the goth cliche (Diluc) or the nerdy cliche (Zhongli) until you realize "Oh fuck he's actually really sweet and smooth" and that's how you start your early 2000s Disney Channel original movie, where you learn not to judge a book by its cover through the power of love. Again just a lot you can do with him. Very dynamic, very fun.

Diluc

I'll be honest I thought of this originally cause of Diluc hair. But the more I thought about it the more really strawberry he feels to me. Like yeah I get normally strawberry people are very cutesy, but strawberries aren't that sweet by themselves. They are kinda tangy with their acidic taste. But can be very sweet. And that's Diluc. Got a bite to him but it's easy to see how sweet he really is under all that and given a little more time he only gets sweeter. And without a doubt a lot of flavors, he packs a real punch. Probably helps I feel he gets pretty easily embraced once he warms up so he gets a face like a strawberry.

Now for the mixes

Strawberries and Chocolate. (Zhongluc) MMM! Classic! Love it! A staple of romance! Is it healthy? Yes of course it is! It's got fruit in it silly! Could u make it better with angst? 100% but baseline great

Strawberry and Vanilla (Chiluc) I will avoid saying a certain phrase that's ruined my life on that fucking clock app. But we know what it is. And it's good. Not everyone's taste but it's delicious. Sweet, tangy you can mix almost anything into it too spicy it up. And ya know it's kinda a comfort. Something you can relax with well at the same time being something you can spicy up and make really indulgent.

Chocolate Vanilla Swirl (Zhongchi) Well not my personal favorite. It's good and you can't go wrong. It's very basic to me personally. A sign of indecisiveness. And as in this case, it feels like "They have canon interactions so it must be!" But again it's very solid and you defiantly can't go wrong, but u can defiantly add something to it. Like a waffle cone over a sugar or maybe some sprinkles

Neapolitan (Zhongchiluc) The reason we are all here. And ya know it's such a good trio mix. Just an absolute classic. And it's good in a variety of ways. From the form, it's into how where you put the flavors together. I prefer cake where the strawberry filling is sandwiched between the chocolate and vanilla, cause it adds fresh fruitiness in-between. Or ya know I like the idea of Childe being a little ya know frustrated with Zhongli because they tricked him. And then they have a sort of friendly rivalry. But then this handsome mother fucker some in from Mondstadt to help out Liyue. And they both start going after Diluc seeing who can win him over before long they just fall in love and become willing to share to make Diluc happy. And Diluc is just lost that 2 drop-dead gorgeous men are competing for his attention. And he's having trouble computing it all. Doesn't help that One is a fucking Fatui and the other a literal god. And Well the reason I feel Diluc is more of theglue of the relationship is cause He's the balance between the two. He's calm like Zhongli a rational thinker, but much more aware of how to deal in mora. He's also can be hungry for a fight and has a lot of energy like Childe. He can also understand both of them. He knows what it's like to feel alone, and feel lose like Zhongli. But he also knows what it's like to feel want to protect your family, and like your pretending to be something you not like Childe. He's that fresh flavor that the others both need to really stand out.

TLDR I don't give a single shit about canon interactions and I feel their personalities have good mixes.

[moon-spirit-yue]

Camp Choas

(See the description if you’re confused I put it under the Camp Chaos tag)

Part 2/5

‘Maybe if I simply don’t leave my covers, Ba will forget that I even exist and I will be able to stay home,’ Raya thought as her alarm blared in her ears. “Dewdrop ignoring your alarm won’t magically make it disappear!” Benja exclaimed. ‘Well a girl can dream’ Raya thought as she rolled out of bed.

Time moved slowly for Raya as she got into her car with her Ba. She just wanted to crawl back into bed. Why is that such an impossible request? Why can’t a girl just have what she wants? Raya definitely got to camp way too soon.

Sisu bounced over to Raya the second she saw her in excitement. “Morning, Raya! How’s my bestest friend in the world doing?” Sisu asked enthusiastically. Raya gave her a deadpan stare. “How does it look like I’m doing Sisu?” Raya asked blankly. Sisu just laughed and swung an arm around Raya’s shoulder. “Aw c’mon! It’s gonna be a great day! I even got you coffee!”

Raya’s eyes sparkled at the caffeinated beverage presented to her. “Sisu have I told you how much I love you recently?” Raya asked her. “I mean it wouldn’t hurt if you said it more often,” Sisu spoke with a grin. “We should head down now, campers are coming!” Raya sighed before following Sisu down to the great amphitheater.

Just when Raya thought she was going to be mentally okay, Namaari just had to open her mouth. “Great spirits, Raya, you’re looking a little rough this morning. Those kids wear you out already?” the little binturi asked. Honestly, Raya needed to vent a little before her campers came filing in, so she just nodded at the taller girl.

“You have no idea. A small group of little girls that want something are a truly terrifying source,” Raya sighed. Namaaari chuckled. “The boys wore me out too, I can’t even deny it. Who knew a stick could cause a whole rebellion against me?” Raya had to laugh. “Not to brag or anything, but my uprising was caused by a wooden spoon,” she replied. Namaari raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Ah yes, what better creation is there in all of Kumandra than a wooden spoon?” Raya was surprised to find that she was enjoying talking to Namaari. (well, not really that surprised but we don’t have time to unpack ALL of that)

Soon enough all of the campers rolled in and the day was kicked off. During crafts was when Raya’s irritation really kicked off. A random LIT transferred into her group and the girl was literally useless! The only time she even talked was when Raya introduced herself! Other than that, total silence. She would be complaining to Sisu about this later.

Thankfully, Sisu was with Raya in the pool today with no Namaari in sight. Raya refused to acknowledge her disappointment. Cause it wasn’t there. Obviously. ANYWAYS. Raya began to casually talk smack with Sisu. “And THEN the little brat threw the bubble solution at her! I mean what! They’re just a bunch of orbys, it's not that deep girl. Ugh how did a couple of six year olds already get into beef on the second day of a one week camp” Raya groaned. Sisu cackled as Raya finished telling her about an argument the tired girl had to break up.

“Well kids find certain things to be very important. Like, life or death important. It makes things interesting,” Sisu told her. “Well these damned kids are interesting if anything,” Raya sighed as the whistle blew signalling for the kids to get out of the pool. Thankfully, there were no other mishaps during the day and the campers were sent home once more.

Unfortunately for Raya, Sisu couldn’t drive her home because she needed to pick up her little sister Amba from soccer practice. Considering the fact that her ba was the director, he had to wait and make sure everyone had left before he could head home. Raya flopped on one of the steps of the amphitheater as she waited for the last few stragglers to get picked up.

Namaari, being one of the stragglers previously mentioned, stood right above her. “You want some candy? I’m heading up and thought I should ask you as well,” she explained. ‘Were her ears a little pink?’ Raya thought. She decided not to dwell on it. “Uh yeah actually. Can you check and see if there’s any Kit Kats left?” She asked. Namaari nodded and walked back up to the office.

A couple of minutes later Namaari walked backed down, tossing the other few JCs and counselors their candy. She simply sat down next to Raya and dropped three Kit Kats on her stomach. “Did you also want this mini Hershey’s bar? I can’t figure out who wanted it,” Namaari asked Raya. The shorter girl shrugged and held out her hand saying, “Sure why not? It’s been a very long day.” Namaari hummed in agreement and handed her the bar.

After eating the mini Hershey’s bar in one bite, Raya quickly moved on to the Kit Kat bars. Since Raya isn’t a monster, she naturally breaks the KIt Kat into two pieces. The chocolate is already melted and sticks to her fingers but Raya can’t find it within herself to care. The candy was just so good that she couldn’t help but release a happy moan when the chocolate hit her taste buds.

She was pulled out of her chocolate bliss by Namaari’s mocking laughter. “I never knew you were such a messy eater, Raya. You’re getting chocolate everywhere,” Namaari grinned. Raya sighed internally. Of course this binturi would ruin her vibes. “Well I apologise for my eating habits, dep la, maybe if it wasn't already melted we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Raya snarked back. She proceeded to throw away the candy wrappers, but was still left with the matter of her sticky chocolate fingers.

Namaari noticed her dilemma and smiled a rather vicious smile. It unnerved Raya greatly. “If you need help with cleaning up, all you need to do ask,” Namaari told her. Raya was confused as Namaari brought her hand close to her face. Nothing would have prepared Raya for what Namaari did.

The taller, muscular woman brought Raya’s hand to her mouth and licked the chocolate right off.

Raya’s face was an explosion of red. ‘SHE JUST LICKED MY HAND WHAT DO I DO SOMEONE HELP ME DOESN’T ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS MADNESS!’ she cried in her head. Namaari, clearly satisfied with Raya’s reaction, grabbed her bag and walk towards her mom’s car.

“My rides here, so I’ll be seeing you tomorrow sweetness,” Namaari practically purred as she waltzed right into her Ma’s car and drove off.

“Alright dewdrop, we’re all set! I even brought you some-,” her ba noticed the look on Raya’s face. “Is everything alright, dewdrop?” he asked. Raya gulped in some much needed air.

All Raya could say was, “I wish the ground would swallow me whole.” Benja chuckled. “The kids couldn’t have been that bad,” he told her.

Oh, if only he knew it wasn’t the kids Raya was worried about

Taglist: @isitbussinjanelle

[glacecakes]

Slowly Led up From the Deep

Despite what anyone else (Lance) said, Eugene wasn’t a mother hen. He wasn’t! There was a distinct difference between being cautious and prepared for the worst due to living on the streets, and mother henning the shit out of everyone.

(“You mother hen the shit out of everyone,” Lance would say. “And I’m a dad. With the same past as you.”)

Case in point: Varian.

(Or: the Baron tries to kidnap Varian to get back at Eugene.)

Weeee another project! This one is a lil different tho Basically I have ideas for four (maybe more? Debating whether or not to expand to 7) angst oneshots with each oneshot pertaining to an element. So this is water, I have a plan for earth, air, fire if I decide to go thru with this. Poor Varian, sorry not sorry

Despite what anyone else (Lance) said, Eugene wasn’t a mother hen. He wasn’t! There was a distinct difference between being cautious and prepared for the worst due to living on the streets , and mother henning the shit out of everyone.

(“You mother hen the shit out of everyone,” Lance would say. “And I’m a dad. With the same past as you.”)

Case in point: Varian. Following the events of… well, yknow, life , Eugene was a bit nervous about letting the kid out of his sight. After all, he got kidnapped, drugged, assaulted, imprisoned, and flung out a tower. And that was all in one day! So excuse him for being concerned about his friend's health. The guy had a death wish, and clearly someone had to watch over him or else he would die from falling, or forgetting to sleep, or setting himself on fire, and then Eugene would have a very angry beef-tittied man at his throat.

Since his redemption, Varian had quickly weaseled his way into the man’s heart, not unlike how Rapunzel did. He’d always wanted a younger sibling as a kid, and Varian fit the bill. His tiny frame and nervous demeanor made him a prime target for Eugene to try and instill life lessons into, no matter how much Varian protested. So long as he worked in the castle, Eugene saw to it that the kid got three square meals a day.

And when he’d failed to keep Varian safe...

Being trapped in unbreakable rock, helpless while Varian slid across the floor, the fading screams as he plummeted to what should’ve been his death…

Let’s just say Eugene has bolted awake to those sounds more than once.

And now he was Captain of the Guard, on top of being a big brother. Which meant that he had to oversee the Royal Alchemist’s (aka Varian’s) more… delicate experiments.

As of this moment, Varian was mixing a glowing red liquid, goggles pulled over his face. Eugene had tried to peer over his shoulder and watch, but the younger pushed him away, grumbling something about not spilling it all over.

Gloved hands wrapped around a pipette as he worked, mumbling scientific jargon under his breath. Rapunzel was able to follow along a lot better than he was, which meant Eugene had no clue what was going on.

“Hello, Allo, Varian?” He waved a hand in his face, startling Varian and nearly causing the liquid to slosh out its beaker. “Hi. Yea, I’m still here and I would like to know what’s going on.” He gave the kid an unimpressed eyebrow raise when he turned, sheepish. Clearly Varian forgot about his “lab partner”.

“Right, sorry.” Varian coughed, setting aside the pipette to hold up his substance. “So, the thing with the water tanks is that… they’re really hard to work on once they’re up and running. Right? You can’t exactly go into the tankers,” he snorted. “I mean, you could, but you’d boil alive.” His brows furrowed and he brought a free hand to his chin, deep in thought. “Actually, I don’t know what would happen… maybe…” His brain was off to the races, already miles away from the current conversation.

“Varian,” Eugene snapped, crossing his arms in frustration. Not that he didn’t want to be here, but he really didn’t want to hear about Varian’s new plan to throw someone into a vat of flynnolium to see if they’d survive. “Royal Engineer, more like Mad scientist.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Varian said, turning back to his lab table with a grin. “Aaaanyway, this stuff should, if my calculations are correct, and they are,” He added, knowing Eugene had already opened his mouth. “This stuff should dissolve stuff like rust, but only when exposed to water. So basically we’d just throw a vial of this into the tankers, wait a few minutes, and drain it. Then, tada! Sparkling clean tanks, good as new.” His voice floated with each step, bouncing around his workspace with eagerness and joy. Varian hummed under his breath, grabbing a pitcher and filling a small cup with water. Water from the nearly full pitcher sloshed around, nearly spilling onto the table as he sang along to the song in his head.

“Hey, kid, isn’t that the jug you use for drinking?” Eugene asked, walking over.

“Hmm?” Varian glanced back, not really caring, too in the zone. “So it is.”

“And it’s full, even though I gave it to you this morning?”

“Yeah?”

“Which would mean…” He circles his wrist, expectant gaze meeting Varian’s confused. The boy lifted up his goggles to reveal eyes bluer than any sky. “...That you haven’t had anything to drink?”

“I had some juice at lunch.” Varian said.

“That’s not the same.” Eugene responded.

Varian shot him an annoyed gaze. “Seriously? We’re doing this now?” He asked, a hand moving to lean on his desk. He missed, sending him stumbling, but he kept his gaze trained on Eugene.

Eugene simply hummed, walking over and plucking the red vial from it’s test tube. He placed it in his coat pocket. “Yea, we’re doing this now. No experimenting on that glass, you are to drink it right now.”

“What?” Varian’s face turned slightly green. “This thing hasn’t been properly washed in who knows when! I use it as my paint cup!” He gestured to the wall, covered in notes, writings, and the odd Rapunzel doodle. The one Varian was pointing to was a doodle of his pouty face, perfectly matching his current expression.

Eugene didn’t miss a beat. “Fine. Drink from the pitcher.”

“No!”

“Right now, chug it! Come on, you won’t do it, pussy.”

“I’m not going to chug it,” the alchemist pinched the bridge of his nose. “And didn’t Rapunzel tell you to stop calling people that?”

“No experimenting until you drink it. Captain’s orders.” Varian threw his arms up in frustration. “Why are you so against drinking right now? Come on, I know you’re thirsty!”

“I need the water for the experiment! If I drink it, I’ll have to get a refill!” Getting a refill meant going upstairs, disrupting his thought process and ruining the zone he had been in all day. It was hard to get into that state of absolute concentration, and leaving the lab would surely cause his bubble of productivity to pop.

“Oh no, a refill! The absolute horror!” Eugene fake gasped. The younger’s face burned red as his older friend draped his hand over his forehead in mock distress. “Whatever shall you do, cursed to go get some fresh air by… going upstairs!?”

Varian growled. He wasn’t going to win this argument, they’d had it often enough. But between his excitement over his invention, and Eugene’s teasing, and pulling rank… his ears burned as he took a long swig from the pitcher. He’d be dead before he told Eugene how soothing the cool water felt on his throat, how it spurred him to gulp down half of the pitcher in one go. “There.” He bit out, eyes narrow as daggers. “Are you happy?”

Eugene’s eyes, which had closed in his mock despair, opened to see the teen’s melancholy. Honestly, he was so moody over drinking water , it was ridiculous! All he was doing was making sure the kid didn’t die, oh how wicked of him.

“Yes, quite!” He grinned. “See, wasn’t that hard! I swear, you give me more grey hairs every day. How your dad kept you alive, I’ll never know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Varian asked, eyebrows raised in offense. Did Eugene not think he could handle himself?

“Well, y’know, the guy always ignored you for hours on end, the fact that you didn’t die of dehydration or starvation is a miracle,” Eugene snorted.

The atmosphere grew tense in a heartbeat. Varian froze where he stood, fingers outstretched towards the cup quickly retracting. "What did you just say?" Varian hissed, eyes narrowing as he turned.

“Just that your dad wasn’t there for you like I am.” Eugene couldn't stop the words that escaped his throat. Jealousy clawed at his mind, sinking sharp talons and cutting his common sense to ribbons. He’d been looking after Varian during his stays at the castle, both before and after he’d become Royal Engineer, and yet he was the bad guy here? He was the one who risked falling off a tower to crawl out to Varian while his dad, who was well versed in the moonstone, had decided he’d rather play with his pumpkins then get involved, despite his son being asked to translate a death spell.

“You did not just say that,” Varian growled, trying to keep himself in check. He hated getting mad, especially at his friends, seeing as he didn’t exactly have a good track record with it. “You did not just suggest that you’re better than my dad.”

“Hey, all I’m saying is that he literally let you cause earthquakes with no supervision when you were fourteen and then got mad when it didn’t exactly turn out great.”

“At least my dad didn’t abandon me for three months.”

“At least I came to save you when Cass kidnapped you.”

Varian slammed his fists on the table. “Did you even tell him about that? Or did he not know I was missing, just assumed you were taking care of me until I came home with broken ribs!?” The alchemist whirled around, marching up and planting a finger on Eugene’s chest. “He thought you guys were keeping me safe, but no ! So what, now you’re trying to make up for it by breathing down my neck? I’m not a little kid, Eugene! It’s one thing to look out for me, but a whole other to smother me and insult my dad!”

The man huffed. “I’m not smothering you, I’m concerned for you! What reasonable parent is ok with their kid forgetting to eat or drink?”

"Well I’m sorry he trusts me to! You’re just a control freak who can’t accept that not everyone needs his input! You don’t trust my judgement at all!"  The anger in Varian's eyes... Eugene hadn't seen it since the battle of Old Corona. He couldn’t stop himself from what came next; it was like a reflex, some leftover anger from before.

"WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU!?" Eugene screamed, before quickly covering his mouth in horror.

Varian's eyes widened, filling with tears. Then he carefully schooled his face back to impassive and cold.

Eugene faltered, guilt boiling red hot in his stomach. He really messed up, didn't he? It wasn't that he didn't trust Varian, far from it. From his sassy remarks to dorky antics, and the way he was so passionate about everything, it was clear that Varian put his heart and soul into everything he did, and he only shared that with the people he trusted. Eugene was honored to be one of those people. Now, he might have just lost that.

He trusted Varian with his life. But Varian's life? He couldn't trust anyone with that. It was too precious to him. He'd failed to protect Varian so many times, he just wanted to do it right from now on.

Eugene tried to reach out. "Kid, I didn't mean it like that," he began, but Varian ignored him. Instead, he shouldered past, marching up the stairs towards the main castle, pitcher in hand.

"I don't know, Eugene," Varian spat as he walked, words as bitter as the feeling in Eugene's gut. "Why should you? After all, I'm just a traitor to the crown. I could be a spy for the Baron or Saporia, you never know."

"Come on, I know that’s not true," Eugene stepped forward, moving to follow, but refrained. He could see the quaking of Varian’s shoulders, almost imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him as well as he did. "Varian, you've come so far, you're an amazing kid, I just.."

Varian whirled around, showing that sure enough, his eyes were brimming with tears. "You just what? Fear me? Like everyone else? It's fine, go ahead! Just next time," he sniffled, brushing away an angry tear. "Next time, don't pretend to care. Don’t pretend that you are monitoring me just out of the goodness of your heart. Just treat me like the criminal you think I am.”

He left the lab, leaving Eugene alone with his still untested compound.

About a minute after Varian had stormed off, a guard poked his head in.

“Hey Captain… is now a bad time to tell you a prisoner escaped?”

He groaned.

-

You could practically see the steam coming out of Varian’s ears as he stomped through the castle, to the point that all the maids and guards gave him a wide berth. His cheeks puffed up as he stomped. Stupid Eugene, stupid pitcher, stupid rules, stupid stupid stupid!

“Ugh!” He cried, kicking at the ground and delighting in the scuffing noises. What did he know anyway? Varian was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he had been for years! He’d been fine on his own in the months he’d been abandoned, after all. He didn’t need Eugene then, and he didn’t need Eugene now.

Never mind the fact that his descent into madness had been because no one was there.

He burst into the supply closet with all the fury of a thousand suns, thankful that no one was in there at the moment. His hands shook as he placed the pitcher under the pump, letting out his frustration at each up and down motion of the lever.

“What does Eugene know,” Varian hissed. “He was on his own for-fucking-ever, and yet here he is thinking that I can’t handle myself? Says he doesn’t trust me to not die, I survived just fine without him!”

He was so focused on his task, on letting out his anger and ignoring the tears that fell into the pitcher, that he didn’t hear the muffled yelling, or the shuffle of guards, or even the heavy groaning of iron on wooden floors.

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud, and Varian frowned. So much for being left alone. He didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to face who he assumed was looking for him. For a moment, the only sound was the other party’s heavy breathing, and Varian’s sniffling.

“What do you want, Eugene?” He hissed. “Come to yell at me for not taking a break?”

The other person doesn’t speak for a moment. Then, a gruff, and decidedly not Eugene speaks. “Are you talking about Flynn Rider?”

Varian startles. He glances up to see the buffest man he’s ever seen (and considering his dad that’s saying a lot) is bent over, fiddling with something on his shoe.

“...yea. Eugene.” He says, turning back to the pitcher. Odd, no one in the castle called him that anymore. Maybe this guy was a visitor? A tourist who got lost? Ambassador, even? He wasn’t sure. Despite his technically high status, he wasn’t exactly welcome in court. Which meant he was often invited to royal balls only to not know a single person or anything about the current politics. It sucked.

There’s a clink as the man unlocks something. He smirks, turning back to where Varian is distracted. “So, you know him?”

“ Know him?” Varian scoffs. At the silence, he realizes the guy is serious. “Yea, I do. He’s annoying.”

“Tell me about it.” The man gruffs. Unfortunately for him (or, more accurately, unfortunately for Varian), the boy takes the invitation.

“He’s like a big brother to me, which is nice… except for the fact that he treats me like a baby brother instead of a younger one. Constantly hovering, always worried about me. I get that he means well,” he goes on, completely oblivious to how the man’s face lights up in a wicked grin, before shuffling around the closet, searching for rope and linen. “But god, it’s so frustrating when I’m trying to do something and he’s just yelling at me to take care of myself! He just wants to, to keep me locked away or something! And then today, he-he insulted my dad, tried to imply that my dad didn’t care. I get that to him it seems that way, since he’s only ever seen my dad a few times…” he let out a sigh. “I just… I appreciate what he’s doing, but he needs to chill.”

“I don’t know,” the man hums. “I’d argue he’d be valid to be concerned at this exact moment.”

Varian furrowed his brows, eyes glancing back and forth as he tried to make sense of the statement. “What does that…?” His eyes widened as the man turned around. Long blonde hair… rope in one hand… a ball and chain in another.

The Baron smirked.

-

Eugene kept a brisk pace, anger and annoyance growing by the second. Of course the one time he needed to be looking for Varian, he was stuck instead looking for a maniac. Leave it to Stan and Pete to mess up a prisoner transfer.

“Any sign?” He calls as he passes a guard, who turns to keep in step.

“No sir, but we have reason to suspect he hasn’t left the kingdom.”

“Good. I want all units on the lookout.” The guard saluted and ran off to execute. Their forces would be spread thin, but it was their best bet. He just hoped no one else would run into their convict.

Especially considering his past with the bastard.

No sooner does he make that wish, there’s a loud crash, akin to glass breaking, and a scream.

An all too familiar scream.

“No no no…” He breaks into a sprint, following the source of the noise. Please, for the love of god, let this not be the case. Let him be wrong, it’s just a scared maid, he just spooked him, let him be ok…!

He skids around the corner, and his heart stops dead in his chest.

Varian was strewn over the Baron’s shoulder, violently thrashing. His arms were bound behind his back, and a cloth tied into a gag over his mouth. Tears of desperation budded as his eyes were screwed shut. Strewn at his kidnapper’s feet were shards from a vase. Said man turned, and he saw how it was broken. Varian’s legs had been tied together, with one also chained to the iron ball that had been used to keep the Baron contained. A lot of good that did.

“How on earth are you still fighting?” The giant hissed. “That chain should keep your legs from moving!” Varian glared daggers down at his kidnapper, no doubt spitting fire through the cloth the likes of which would make Lance faint.

Eugene’s shock quickly morphed as he drew his sword with shaking hands and leveled a glare. He couldn’t protect Varian the last time he was kidnapped, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to fail this time.

The Baron smirked. “Ah, Rider. How nice of you to join us.”

Varian’s eyes snapped open, trying to look over his shoulder to see his brother. Large, tear-filled eyes met dark brown in a silent plea. Their previous argument no longer mattered. All that mattered was keeping him safe.

“Let him go. Now.” Eugene’s voice was deadly level, no longer filled with its usual charm and life. “And maybe I’ll be lenient on your sentence.”

The baron hummed, readjusting Varian in his fireman’s carry. “I have an alternative idea. See, I know you, Rider. And I know how weak you are for your friends. Your family.” The last bit caused Eugene to briefly glance up at Varian, before returning his glare to the Baron. “You’re going to let me walk out these halls, and out of this kingdom.”

“And if I don’t?” He really didn’t want to ask, he knew the answer. But he needed to know. How much danger was Varian in? It was one thing to hurt Lance, an adult who already was disliked by the Baron. But an innocent kid…?

The Baron smirked. “Let’s find out, shall we?” With that, the man thrust his fist into the giant window beside him. Glass spewed from the wound, splinters causing both Varian and Eugene to flinch, the latter taking a step back. It was all the advantage the Baron needed, climbing out and into Corona’s sprawling streets.

“Fuck!” Eugene hissed, leaping after, but it was too late. The man had vanished into the maze. He only had one option left, he realized, his gaze turning to the mainland.  

“I wasn’t planning on taking hostages, but you’re the Royal Engineer, hm? And Rider’s little brother. I’m sure I can fetch a pretty penny… though I’m not opposed to just killing you,” The Baron hummed, moving through the city’s alleys at a speed that really shouldn’t be possible when the man had a squirming teenager on his back. But the words had stunned Varian into submission, helpless to do anything but try and kick his chained leg. If he could just get the damned ball to move, he could potentially use it as a weapon.

Maybe then Eugene would actually trust him to take care of himself.

The main bridge was fast approaching, unguarded, with nothing stopping the criminal from making off with his prize. Wait… there! Straight ahead, a lampost. Varian didn’t need to move the ball, just get the chain stuck around it, and that should buy him some time!

Slowly, so as not to alert the Baron, he began to swing his leg, letting the ball’s momentum begin to carry. He couldn’t swing very much, its weight too much, but his timing was just right. The ball swung around the pole as they passed, hooking on. The Baron was not prepared for the jerk, and so he stumbled, Varian slipping down his grasp and tripping him further. He fell to the floor, grunting slightly in pain.

He only had one shot. If he didn’t get himself back up now , his attempt would fail. Nimble hands twisted around in his bonds, trying to slide out of the rope, but they were too tight.

Come on Varian, he thought to himself. Eugene taught you how to escape this stuff! Think! How do you get out of ropes?

His mind trailed to the post-Cassandra “Hostage 101” seminar Eugene had given (read: forced onto) him. Something about using your elbows to create a space in your wrists? No wait, that was for when your hands are in front of you! Gah!

Despite it all, Varian can’t help but let frustrated tears prick at his eyes, slicing down his cheek and cutting open his soul, leaving it raw, exposed to the elements, to this bastard. He couldn’t even get his binding undone! At least with his last kidnapping, he could not escape because it was literally unbreakable. Here, he was just too weak. Too naive. Too oblivious.

If Eugene was here, this wouldn’t be a problem. Eugene would never let anything bad happen to him on his watch, it was his job, after all. And he was damn good at it.

If only Varian hadn’t stormed off.

He squirmed forward, trying to drag himself away from the Baron and buy himself more time. But it didn’t work. The man grabbed onto the ball, and yanked hard , dragging the teen over rocks that slashed at his skin.

“I will admit, that is exactly what I should’ve expected from you,” he growled, his massive form towering over Varian. With one smooth motion, he hauled the alchemist up by his shirt collar, forcing their eyes to meet. “But you won’t get away that easily.”

“Neither will you!”

The Baron turned, a feral smirk crawling over his face as he saw Eugene’s panting form. “Rider. I thought I told you not to follow?” He clicked his tongue, more akin to scolding a small child.

Eugene didn’t back down, sword drawn and pointing straight at his prey. “Let him go. Now.” It wasn’t a suggestion, but an order.

The Baron raised an eyebrow, hand still tightly gripping Varian. “You took everything from me. My daughter, my legacy, my empire. You really think I should let him go?”

“He has nothing to do with any of that!” Eugene barked, protective rage racing through his veins and spitting out of his mouth like flames. “Release him. Or I will engage.”

The Baron teeth were bared, canines flashing. “Good.”

He turned and threw Varian off the bridge.

Time moved in slow motion. Wind whistled in Varian’s ears, ruffling his hair and sending it spiral above his head, filling his vision with raven edges. The sky seemed to shrink, growing farther and farther away.

Eugene’s horrified face from high above was the last thing he saw before he hit the water.

Water rushed up his unprepared nose, spilling into his soul as he choked and tried to spit and cough it out. But he couldn’t, gag remaining firmly in place. He thrashed, trying something, anything, to stop his rapid descent, but the heavy ball on his ankle prevented any success. Blue overtook his vision, rays of sun fading more and more along with his loss of oxygen. His ears ached with increasing pressure, more and more until finally the ball hit something, vibrations rocketing up his leg.

He tried desperately to think of something, anything that could help him, but as the fog of unconsciousness creeped ever closer, the haze growing stronger and stronger, all he could think of was Eugene .

It was his last thought before darkness overtook him.

“VARIAN!” Eugene shrieked, watching as his little brother hit the water with a splash . His horrified gaze whipped around to see the Baron calmly walking away. “Get back here!” He yelled, running forward with his sword prepared to strike the man down once and for all. It hit its target, slashing the Baron’s shirt open and his form onto the floor. Blow after blow, he whaled on the large man with fists so fast his enemy had no time to strike back. The Captain raised the sword with both hands on the hilt, preparing for the final strike in a fit of fury…

“Sure,” the Baron grinned through a split lip. “Kill me, go ahead. But you’ll be killing him too.”

Eugene froze mid air.

He had a choice to make.

He could fulfill his duty, keeping Corona safe… at the cost of his baby brother…

Just like during the blizzard, just like in the months after…

The Baron cackled, seeing the emotions flicker across Eugene’s face. “Tick tock, Rider!” He yelled, laughter ringing in the captain’s ears and drowning him in panic just like how Varian was drowning now-

He dropped his sword in horror, sprinting over to the bridge’s edge, barely able to make out a familiar shape down below.

There was no more hesitation; he dove straight down, teeth gritted as he took a deep breath and fell down into the murky abyss.

There was one small blessing, and that was that the bay wasn’t terribly deep. It didn’t exceed beyond 20 feet in depth, and while that wasn’t much, it was still enough to cause a problem when you’re fucking drowning .

His boots hit dirt level, eyes straining in the freshwater as he tried to make out Varian’s face. It was slack, no emotion, no open eyes… he was running out of time.

Think, Eugene, think! He’s dying! His panicked mind screeched. In theory, the gag and hands could wait, but the ball and chain needed to go. Where were his lock picks, he thought as he rifled through his pockets until he landed on a vial.

His eyes widened as he took it out, the red glow illuminating Varian’s rapidly paling face. Of course! The kid’s alchemy! Thank god he’d listened, god his brother was so smart!

Please, please work, he prayed, smashing the vial on the ankle chain, watching with delight as it dissolved like paper in water. Immediately, Varian started to float. His big brother wrapped his arms around him, pushing up off the floor to propel them to the surface.

He gasped, lungs aching as he treaded water, Varian’s head lolling against his chest as the captain struggled to keep them both afloat. Thankfully, the mainland was right by, and in no time he was pulling Varian onto a grassy bank.

He wasted no time, starting chest compressions the second they were both on shore. “Come on kid, come on, don’t die on me!” Eugene hissed, water dripping from his hair onto the teen’s face. “You survived fucking Zhan Tiri you do not get to die from this-”

He was cut off as Varian began to cough violently, rolling over onto his side as he threw up water. A soothing hand ran over Varian’s back, consoling him as the kid slowly came back to life.

Finally, he stopped gagging, only panting heavily as each breath felt like heaven. Clouded blue eyes glanced back at his savior, melting into relief when he saw who it was.

“Eugene,” he sighed, letting the older man pull him into a hug he quickly reciprocated.

“Fuck,” Eugene breathed, laying his chin on Varian’s head. “You ok, kid?”

“...I think I drank enough water for today.”

Eugene laughed, tightening his grip just a bit more. “Yea, ok, you got me there.”

-

The walk back to the castle was slow going. By the time they both got there, they were shivering like crazy, so much so that the maids took one look at them and tossed towels their way.

For now, they were settled in the infirmary, letting the doctors check Varian over to make sure he wasn’t at risk of secondary drowning. A fresh fire crackled nearby, permeating the room with a comfortable atmosphere as Varian laid his head on Eugene’s shoulder.

“Did…” Varian was the first to speak. “Did you catch the Baron…?”

“...No. He got away.” Eugene sighed, defeated. He was not looking forward to writing a report.

“I’m sorry,” Varian whispered.

“Don’t be.”

“But I am!” The teen leaned back, frustrated blue meeting confused brown. “If I had just remembered any of the stuff you taught me, I would’ve been able to escape on my own! I shouldn’t have to rely on you for everything…!” His face burned red at the admission, guilt overpowering.

Eugene frowned. “Hey, whoa. You were panicking, it’s ok to not remember! If you want a refresher I can give you one.” His eyes glanced elsewhere. “Or maybe. Someone else should. Don’t want me hovering after all.”

Varian was quiet for a moment, eyes looking anywhere but his brother as the words evaded him. “No. I… I don’t really mind hovering. Sometimes,” he added, holding a finger up. “Sometimes. It’s nice to remember you guys care. But… you need to trust me to not fall over at the smallest push.”

“You mean like this?” Eugene joked, poking Varian in the side, smirking when the kid leaned heavily and fell onto his back, resting against the cot.

“Not fair,” Varian grumbled, but sure enough, there was a small smile on his face. It faded slightly. “I’m sorry for blowing up. You were just trying to help.”

Eugene smiled, slightly pained, but still a smile. “Nah, I deserved it. I’m sorry for all the stuff I said, kid. You know I trust you with my life, right?”

Varian nodded, grabbing Eugene’s arm and pulling him down till he was resting beside the younger. “And I trust you with mine,” he said.

“Well, I would sure hope so.” Eugene snickered. “So, we good?”

“We're good.”

“Excellent. Now, I don’t know about you,” the man wrapped an arm around Varian, till he was resting his head against Eugene’s chest. “But I am exhausted. You exhaust me, you know that?”

“Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes,” Varian teased, but didn’t argue as his eyes slid shut.

“Grey hairs, Varian. Grey hairs.”

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Shotgun - m. tkachuk

And here is 8.7k of a road trip with Matthew Tkachuk, which honestly, is the real dream. Let me know what you think of it, reblog (I love looking at tags!!) and pop into my inbox if you’d like!

Wine pairing from someone with zero authority on the subject: a nice brut rosé - crisp, fruity, bubbly. Plus, I like the vibes. 

It all started with a text. What are the chances you can get the week after next off? Matthew had sent. Madison’s brow furrowed. Doubtful, but I can try. Are you going to tell me what this is about? There was a week left in the season before playoffs started, and with the points spread in the Pacific being what it was, the matchups were all but locked in. It took less than a minute to get a response. No :) I’ll let you know once you get an answer. She got approved for the time off two days later. Her phone rang as soon as she texted him the news. “How do you feel about road trips?”

---

Maddy had met Matthew about a little over a year prior, soon after she moved to Calgary from her hometown of Toronto. Having finished her first week of work as a computer programmer, there was nothing Madison wanted more than to let loose and enjoy a few drinks with her friends. She was sharing a two-bedroom with her best friend Emily, who Maddy would swear up and down was the sunniest, warmest, most kind person she’d ever met. Not like Maddy wasn’t a nice person — she was — but where her idea of relaxing meant going out bouldering, or camping, or a last-minute road trip, Emily was more of a homebody. 

But going out meant going out, and so Emily was happily dragged along to a bar downtown; which one, she couldn’t really say. Madison walked up to the bar as soon as they entered, catching the bartender’s eye and ordering a Tom Collins. She tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited, glancing around the room. It was ten o’clock on a Friday night, so it was plenty packed. “What are you getting?” Madison asked Emily curiously. 

She held up her Molson. “I’m a woman of simple tastes. Plus, I didn’t feel like waiting around for the bartender to actually make me a drink,” Emily added dryly. 

Maddy rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of going out to a bar when you’re just going to be drinking something you could get at the liquor store?” Emily stuck her tongue out. The bartender slid Maddy’s glass over, taking her card and swiping it through quickly. “Thank you!” she chirped, whipping around to head over and snag a free table she had seen a few minutes before. 

She never ended up getting to the table. Instead, she ran straight into 6 feet, 2 inches of pure Midwestern beef. “Woah!” Matthew said, steadying her as she watched her glass fall to the floor, thankfully not breaking but absolutely spilling its entire contents over the wood. “You good?” 

Madison nodded, grabbing a rag from the bartender. Matthew followed suit, joining her on the floor. “Got a little on my shoes, but it’ll be fine. They won’t stain.”

Matthew nodded, giving a final wipe before taking her rag and handing both back over the counter. “Did me spilling your drink all over you ruin my chances of getting your name?”

“Madison St. Pierre,” she said, laughing and sticking out a hand for him to shake. 

“Matthew Tkachuk, but—”

Maddy cut him off. “I probably already know that?” Matthew ducked his head sheepishly. “I may be a long-suffering Leafs fan, but I don’t live under a rock.”

He took a sip of his beer, leaning up against the bar. “Not from around here, eh?”

Maddy shook her head. “Just moved a couple weeks ago. I’m from Toronto, moved here for a job. I do computer programming,” she said by way of explanation. 

“A smart girl.”

She tilted her head. “You could say that.”

“Well,” he said, “I feel bad about spilling your drink on you, let me buy you another.” 

Maddy laughed. “If you insist. It’s really the least you could do.”

Matthew nodded at the bartender, ordering her another Tom Collins and putting it on his tab. “You and your friend are more than welcome to join us,” he gestured behind him to where the rest of his group was sitting, “we were playing a drinking game and could use a few more players anyway.”

And that was how Matthew met Maddy. 

---

Day 1 

Ten days later, Madison was hefting her duffel bag into the trunk of her Nissan. It was 7:00 on a Tuesday. Normally on a day off she’d be taking advantage of every possible minute of sleep she could get, but lines to cross the border could be long and they wanted to get to Montana by lunch. She waved goodbye to Emily, hopping in the driver’s seat and starting the engine. Matthew had initially suggested they just get a rental car, since it would save Maddy the 20-hour drive back. But a quick Google search let them know that the chances of finding a company willing to let them drop off a Canadian car in Nevada were slim to none. Plus, Maddy had always liked driving, so it wasn’t really an issue for her. They weren’t going to be alone on the trip; Matthew had invited Elias and Rasmus along. She felt a little bit like a school bus driver, stopping at Elias’s complex to pick him up, then Rasmus’ condo, finally pulling into the underground lot of Matthew’s apartment building. Holding one hand up in greeting, he wheeled his suitcases over to her car.

Maddy unblocked her seatbelt, hopping out to help him. “Why on earth did you need so many bags?” she huffed, turning one on its side and wedging it in between hers and Elias’s. 

He shrugged. “I’ve got a bag for the trip, a bag of actual clothes and workout stuff for the series, and the suit bag.” He hung the offending article on a hook. “Did you think I’d be able to set my vanity aside for a whole four days?”

“I should have known that would be too much to ask.”

Matty threw his head back, laughing. “Anyone ever told you how funny you are, Mads?”

“Once or twice, Ratthew,” she said, slamming the door shut. 

Maddy hopped back in the driver’s seat, jamming the key in the ignition and turning the engine on. “Next stop, boys, is America.”

---

Well technically, the next stop was a gas station off of Highway 2, about twenty minutes from the border. “Wait, wait,” Matthew said, a conspiratorial grin on his face as Madison took the pump out of the gas tank. 

She raised one eyebrow. “What?”

He made grabby hands at her keys. “Let me drive.”

“Why?” Madison asked. “I’ve been driving for like what, two hours? I’m not tired yet.”

“I’m the only American in the car.”

Maddy put the pump back. “And?”

Matthew looked sheepish. “Someone said that the border patrol officers will tell Americans ‘welcome home’ when they’re coming back. It’s never happened to me flying so I wanted to see if it would be different in a car.”

“If it means that much to you?” she said, tossing the keys over the hood of the car. Matthew caught them. Maddy rounded the back of the car before she could see him ducking his head, blushing. 

They arrived at the Piegan/Carway crossing shortly after. With exactly zero cars in front of them, Matthew pulled straight up to the booth. 

“Purpose of your visit?” the officer said, looking into the driver’s side. 

“Three of us play hockey, we’re road tripping down to Las Vegas before our playoff series starts in a few days,” Matty answered easily. 

He nodded. “And how long will you be in the States for?”

It was clear either this man had never watched a series of professional sports in his life, or he was just following a standard script. “Depends?” Matthew said, fully aware of how questionable that sounded. 

Maddy piped up from the passenger seat. “I’m driving the car back, so I’ll be back in eight days.”

“Right,” Matthew nodded, “But this trip to the US, we’ll be back in seven days. We’re flying back on the team plane, so it’s not a land crossing.” He decided to forego mentioning that, barring a sweep, they’d be back again in two weeks.

The poor officer looked bewildered. “Team plane?”

Matty shrugged his shoulders. “We play for the Calgary Flames, the team charters a plane to fly us from Calgary to wherever we’re playing and back. We decided to take the scenic route this time.” 

“Okay,” he said, but Madison still wasn’t convinced he actually understood what Matty was saying. If the border officer thought anything of the American, Canadian, and Swedish passports he was handed, he didn’t say anything. Giving a cursory glance, he handed them back. “Welcome back,” he nodded to Matthew, waving the car through the gate. Matthew pumped his fist.

---

An hour later, Matthew pulled into a dirt parking lot on the edge of Glacier National Park. “WE MADE IT!” he exclaimed, putting the car in park and throwing his hands up. 

“We drove three hours,” Elias said from the back seat. 

“And?” Matty challenged, opening the door. 

Maddy grabbed her backpack, stuffed with sandwiches and snacks that they had gotten on their way in. “If you guys brought hiking boots or good tennis shoes, now’s the time,” she said, lacing up her own boots. “There’s a loop around here that’s a little under four miles long, doesn’t sound like it’s too difficult but there is some elevation climb, so better safe than sorry.” People typically didn’t peg her for it, but Maddy was a very outdoorsy person at heart. She had taken up rock climbing in high school, and was a regular at the bouldering gyms back in Toronto until she moved. She’d found a climbing gym she liked well enough in Calgary, but with Banff just over an hour away from the city, the park had become her go-to for climbing and hiking. Matty had come with her on more than one occasion, and had surprised her with a long weekend camping for her birthday in March. The snow hadn’t all melted yet, and waking up to the powder-dusted fir trees outside of their tent had been one of the most beautiful sights of her life. 

“Everyone’s got a full water bottle?” she asked, tying up her hair. The last thing anyone wanted was to get heatstroke in one of the most remote parts of the park with only one phone that could even connect to an American cell tower. 

The group started off at a leisurely pace, wandering off-trail to check out anything and everything that caught their interest. The edge of the St. Mary Valley served as the perfect backdrop for lunch, Maddy pulling the sandwiches out from her bag and doling them out. “Oh thank God, I’m starving,” Elias said, grabbing his food from Maddy practically before she even had it in her hand. 

“Did you not have breakfast?” she asked incredulously. 

He nodded. “I did, but I’m still hungry. Should have brought snacks.” Off to his side, Matty snickered. 

 Day 2

Elias had volunteered to take over from Matthew to drive through the night, switching off sometime around sunrise with Rasmus. “I 100% have a crick in my neck,” Maddy grimaced, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and checking her phone. 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Matthew smiled. Maddy groaned, leaning into his side. Almost instinctively, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, taking a few gulps before setting it back down on the floor of the car, where it promptly rolled away. 

“Who do I have to blow to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Maddy groaned. Matthew almost choked on his water. He had to get his mind off of the idea of Maddy blowing anything or he was about to have an issue. He pulled out his phone, jumping on Google maps. 

“There’s a little coffee shop a few miles ahead, off of the Spruce Drive exit?” he asked tentatively. 

She yawned. “As long as they sell caffeine, I’m game.” They did indeed sell caffeine, and after inhaling two cappuchinos and a small mountain of pastries later, Maddy hopped back behind the wheel. “You sure bear claws and muffins are on the meal plan, boys?” she asked, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. 

Rasmus waved her off. “It’s not like you’re going to rat us out, are you?” 

She shrugged, wiggling her phone in her hand as she pulled up at a stoplight. “Bold of you to assume I don’t have Coach’s number in my phone.”

Matty plucked her phone from her hand, placing it back by the center console. “Be that as it may, sweet Madison, you neglect to remember that I’m the only one with coverage in the U.S.” He might not strike most people as a particularly sentimental person, but Matthew loved his family, and decided that the extra charge was well worth being able to call his parents and sister whenever he was missing them. 

She stuck her tongue out at Matthew. “You ruin all of my fun, you know that?” All he did was grin. The drive to Mesa Falls wasn’t long at all, they had just finished their food — Matty popping bites of muffin into Madison’s mouth as she drove — when she pulled over to the curb by the sign. Maddy threw the boys’ backpacks to them, pointing to the single bathroom stall in the tiny rest area. “Go change, I’ll use the car.”

“Why can’t we have the car?” Matthew complained.

She looked at him. “Three full-grown men, all over six feet, in one car. I know you see each other’s dicks all day in the locker room, but I’d really rather not have that in my car. Think.”

Matty made an “o” with his mouth. “Gotcha.”

Swim trunks were much easier to get on than a wrap bikini, Madison was finding, and the boys were finished changing well before she was done figuring out her top. She bit her lip, poking her head out of the door. “Matty?” 

He turned around, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”

“Could you help me tie this?” she asked, gesturing to the halter top. “I think it’s stuck or something.”

Matthew swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he tried to stutter through a sentence. “Uh, yeah. I can do that. For sure,” he said, shuffling over to the car. He gently untwisted the straps, gathering them into a bow at the base of her neck and trying very, very hard to not think about how soft her skin felt underneath his fingers. This was one of his best friends. And best friends weren’t supposed to think about that kind of stuff. Right?

Behind them, Elias and Rasmus shared a glance. They had expected something was going on between them, really ever since the party in November, but this was something new. They had never seen Matthew gone this far for a girl before. And they liked this side of him. 

“Thanks,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before disappearing back into the car to throw on a coverup. “How long is the walk to the actual waterfalls?”

“Not long,” Elias responded. “Ten minutes or so?” It was an easy walk to the falls, which were mercifully empty when they got there. They kicked off their sandals, leaving the bags under a nearby bush. Matthew knew Madison was pretty. She wasn’t a nun and he wasn’t a saint; she had seen him shirtless more times than he could count and he had seen her come out of his guest room in nothing but an oversized t-shirt of his after she stayed the night. His thoughts hadn’t exactly been innocent. But as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her clad only in that damn red bikini, he was convinced he’d never seen a more gorgeous sight. 

She turned around just as Matthew tore his eyes away, looking mischievously at him. “Last one in?” They sprinted to the water. Matty let her win. 

---

About half of their stops had been planned in advance; the others were pulled from websites or Google suggestions or whatever their waitress’ recommendation was for a local must-see. The Idaho Potato Museum fell into the latter category. Rasmus had floated the idea shortly after they had left Mesa Falls, and seeing as how nobody had anything better to suggest, they ran with it. 

“Free taters for out of staters,” Matthew said, reading off of the pamphlet they had been handed at the welcome desk. 

“Will they give me extra since I’m Canadian?” Madison wondered aloud. “For all intents and purposes they think you live in Missouri, Matty.” The nickname rolled off her tongue so easily, she didn’t even think twice. 

He passed the paper to her, the tips of their fingers barely brushing together, but Matthew could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. “Don’t get greedy, Mads.” They walked down a dimly-lit hallway lined with black-and-white photos. 

“Did you know that the first potatoes grown in the United States were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Scotch-Irish immigrants?” Elias read off of a placard, his voice sounding like a disinterested radio announcer. 

Maddy shook her head. “I didn’t, thank you so much for imparting on me this most important knowledge, Elias.”

“My pleasure,” he replied. 

“Did you know that you could survive off of a diet of only potatoes and butter?” Rasmus chimed in, reading another sign. 

“Really?” Matthew asked, leaning in to read. He turned to Madison a moment later. “Really, apparently.”

Half an hour of wandering later, Matthew and Madison had stumbled into the “artifacts” portion of the museum. “What kind of artifacts does a potato museum have?” Maddy asked, looking supremely confused. 

Matthew wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Why don’t we see?” For some reason, he decided it would be a good idea to hold his hand out for her. And for some reason, Maddy took it. 

The “artifacts” turned out to consist of some old farm tools, dusty burlap sacks, and the world’s largest potato chip. Elias and Ramsus were on the other side of the museum, leaving Matthew and Madison to drift through alone. “Crisp, actually,” Matthew said, reading the card under the glass case. “Because I guess they’re worried about people stealing it?”

“There’s a difference?”

He shrugged. “Apparently it’s only a chip if it’s a slice of potato. This was made from dehydrated potato flakes, or something like that.” Maddy wasn’t sure if it was the sepia-tinted lighting, or the lingering memory of how Matty’s fingertips burned like fire against her back as he tied her bikini, or if there was something particularly romantic about dehydrated potato flakes, but they were alone in the room and suddenly she was looking at him a little bit differently. Matthew looked at her, gaze soft as his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly down towards her lips. Her lips. His body leaned in, and just as she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to meet hers, wondering if they were really going to do this in the middle of the Idaho fucking Potato Museum—

“We were wondering where you guys had gone off to!” Elias’s Swedish accent cut through the silence. Matthew threw his head back, silently cursing his teammate’s timing. If Elias and Rasmus realized anything was off, they didn’t say. “The lady at the front said it’s closing in ten minutes, so we thought we should head out and get something to eat.”

Maddy nodded in agreement, her cheeks burning. “Sounds good. I could go for some food.” They made their way back outside, Matthew settling behind the wheel as he steered the car back onto the highway. He tried to shake the almost-kiss from his mind, but the more he tried to forget it, the more the memory stuck. 

Elias looked down at his phone. “Yelp says there’s an Indian place coming up on the left if that sounds good to you guys,” he said, shaking Matthew from his thoughts. 

Maddy scrunched her nose. “All due respect, I don’t trust this town to make good Indian food. Potatoes, burgers, meat, sure. I buy it. But I haven’t seen a single person of color since we left Glacier.” 

“Fair.” 

The burgers were good; nothing to write home about, but Maddy was honestly thrilled to eat something that didn’t come out of a bag. The plan had originally been to drive through the night again to reach Salt Lake City by the early morning, but Maddy made it clear her back didn’t take too well to sleeping in the car, and the others agreed. “Rasmus, mind finding a hotel nearby? Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just somewhere not too far off of the freeway,” Madison asked. He nodded, pulling out his phone. They had gotten tired of passing around Matthew’s phone anytime they were out of Wifi range, so after a little complaining and one of Maddy’s puppy-dog eye looks, he finally relented and turned his hotspot on. 

“There’s a Holiday Inn up off of the next exit if that sounds good to you guys,” Rasmus said. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the Post Malone song that Matty had plugged in. They switched the aux every few hours. 

“Yeah, works for me.” Madison hummed her agreement; Matty nodded. Rasmus flicked on the blinkers, gently cruising down the offramp, pulling into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn about half a mile down the road. 

Madison bit the inside of her cheek. “They’re going to have rooms available, yeah?” 

“Mads, it’s May in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. I don’t exactly think they’ve got business lining up out the door.” Matty said, looking at her from the side as they walked into the hotel lobby. 

The whole trip was Matthew’s idea, so he insisted on footing the bill, handing his credit card and license over to the receptionist. Maddy snickered behind her hand. Matthew turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. “Something you’d like to share with the class, Madison?”

“Missouri licenses look weird,” she commented.

“And Alberta’s any better?”

She scrunched her nose. “We have a dinosaur on ours. Beat that.”

“I’ll let you have that one,” Matty said, the corner of his lip twitching as he thanked the receptionist, tucking the cards back into his wallet. She handed over the room keys, Matthew passing two to Rasmus and Elias and one to Maddy. “I had us together, if you don’t mind.” 

Madison shook her head. “Fine with me.” It wasn’t unusual for her to stay over at Matthew’s apartment, either after going out or when their movie nights ran a little long and she woke up to Matty tucking her into the bed in his guest room. She had a toothbrush in his bathroom, a change of clothes in the dresser. She had offered to take her stuff back a few months ago, not wanting any girl he might bring over to get the wrong idea. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he had said when she asked, waving her off. Though, come to think of it, he hadn’t brought any girl home — that she knew about — since sometime around the beginning of the year. 

They waved goodbye to Rasmus and Elias, promising to wake up bright and early to get the first crack at the breakfast buffet when it opened at 7. Matty swiped his card, holding the door open when the light turned green and the knob twisted. “After you, m’lady.” 

“Why thank you, good sir,” Maddy giggled, ducking under his arm into the entryway. She stopped at the end of the hall, eyes flickering into the room. 

Matthew stopped behind her. “What’s up?”

“There’s only one bed.”

His head jerked around the corner, not like he doubted her word or anything, but he needed to see it for himself. There was only one bed. One big bed, one very comfortable-looking bed, but one bed. Matty dropped his bag on the floor. “Uh...D’you want me to call down? I can see if they’ve got another room if that would make you more comfortable.”

Madison pursed her lips for a second before shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. We’re adults, we can share a bed without burning the house down.” It wasn’t like Maddy was lying for Matthew’s sake; she really was fine with it. Maybe a little too fine. But they had slept together — in the innocent sense of the word — before, and everything had turned out okay. His arm draped over her shoulder as she cuddled into his shoulder on a late night, her legs tangled in his when some of his friends from St. Louis were visiting for the weekend and took the guest room. He had offered to take the couch that night, but Maddy didn’t want to relegate him to a night of back cramps and drafty breezes, especially when he had an early practice the next day. Nobody ever made it weird, so it wasn’t weird. 

She took her bundle of clothes into the shower, relishing in the feeling of hot water raining down on her aching muscles. Maddy was loving the trip, genuinely, but being in a car for twelve hours out of the day took something out of a person. Slipping into an old college t-shirt, Madison thought for a moment about putting on a pair of sweats. It wasn’t particularly cold — the opposite, in fact — but she didn’t know if it would make Matthew feel weird if she wasn’t wearing pants. Fuck it, she thought, pulling up her boyshorts. If he had an issue with it, it was his problem. Throwing her hair up in a towel to dry, she turned the doorknob, poking her head out the door. “Shower’s open if you wanted to hop in,” she said.

Matty nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “I shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you find something for us to watch?” he asked, tossing her the remote. It wasn’t quite nine o’clock, and while she was tired, Maddy knew if she tried to go to sleep she’d wake up well before dawn, and that wasn’t something anyone wanted. Madison climbed up onto the bed, tucking her feet underneath her and grabbed the channel guide. True to his word, Matthew was in and out in under ten minutes, rubbing his hair with a towel as he walked out. Athletic shorts. Shirtless. Maddy couldn’t help but give him the once-over, having to jerk her eyes back up to his face the moment she realized what she was doing. Matthew met her eyes, the ghost of a smirk playing on his face. “I can put a shirt on if you’d like…”

“No! You’re good,” Maddy replied, maybe a little too quickly to avoid suspicion. 

He ducked back into the bathroom, throwing the towel over the shower curtain. “So, what did you settle on?”

She looked back at the TV. “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives?”

Matty jumped onto the bed. “Guy Fieri. What a legend. Awesome. Where’s he going?”

Three and a half episodes later, it was almost eleven, and Madison’s eyes were starting to droop. Sometime midway through the second episode, when Guy was visiting an Asian fusion restaurant in Colorado, her head had drifted onto Matthew’s shoulder, where it had stayed ever since. His arm wrapped loosely around her, Matty brought his hand up to brush away a stray piece of hair that had drifted into her face. “Getting sleepy, Mads?”

She yawned, nodding and trying to push herself up. “‘M looking forward to a good night’s sleep in an actual bed.”

Matthew laughed softly. “Let’s get you in bed, then.” He threw back the comforter, Madison crawling under, and reached over to the nightstand, turning off the lamps and TV. “Give me your phone,” he said. 

“Why?” Maddy asked, her brow furrowing. 

“You always forget to charge it overnight, and I don’t want you to be grumpy when it dies at 10 AM.” She mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a concession, handing over her iPhone. Matty plugged it in, clambering beneath the sheets. “Sweet dreams, Mads. Good night.”

“Night, Matty.”

 Day 3

 The first thing Madison noticed when she woke up was the warm, unfamiliar weight slung around her waist. It took her a moment to realize that it was Matty’s arm, who hadn’t woken up yet. For some reason that she couldn’t quite identify, or maybe didn’t want to confront quite yet, it wasn’t unwelcome at all, and she savored the last few minutes of physical closeness before he woke up. And he did, wake up, that is. His cheeks reddened as he opened his eyes, pulling his arm away to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly.

Maddy ducked her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. I didn’t mind.”

Matthew yawned. “What time is it?”

“Uh, just before seven,” she said, rolling over to look at the alarm clock. “I’d love to stay in bed a little longer, but we did promise the boys we’d meet them down at breakfast soon.”

He nodded, making a very concerted effort to not read into her statements any more than he absolutely had to. “Yeah, good idea,” he said, tossing the covers off and walking into the bathroom. “I’ll sit on you if you’re not up by the time I get back out there.” Maddy took the opportunity to change, threading a belt through her jeans and half-tucking a t-shirt. “I like the look,” he said when he walked out, as Maddy was twisting her hair up into a bun. It wasn’t entirely unusual for Matthew to compliment her; she had accompanied him to more than one charity event for the Flames as his date, but she had always been dressed up. Dress, heels, makeup that she probably stressed way too much over. Dressed to the nines, never in jeans and a t-shirt before. But she didn’t really notice, the compliment meaning just as much to her as if she’d been in a floor-length gown. 

“Thanks,” she said, stuffing her clothes from the night before back into her duffel. “I packed the rest of your bag while you were in there, figured I might as well.”

It was Matty’s turn to thank her, squeezing her hand appreciatively before giving the room a quick look. “We didn’t forget anything, then?”

Madison laughed. “We really didn’t stay long enough to unpack, but yeah, we’ve got everything, don’t worry.”

---

Elias had volunteered to do the drive down to Salt Lake City. Matthew’s inner six-year-old had returned, insisting that the group stop at a dinosaur park in a rural part of Utah. What “dinosaur park” meant, Madison wasn’t sure, but it made Matty happy, so she didn’t fight it. 

The museum was mostly outdoors, with life-sized dinosaur models dotting the massive field. “Were you much into dinosaurs as a kid?” Matthew asked Madison. 

“Kind of?” she replied noncommittally. “I always loved learning about them, but never had like a ‘dinosaur phase’ like David or Cody,” she said, referring to her older brothers. “My family used to go to the Canadian Museum of Nature a ton when I was a kid, since it was only a few hours away in Ottawa, and it has like a billion fossils in it.”

“Which was your favorite?”

“Pachycephalosaurus,” she said easily.

Matthew blinked. “Pachycephalo-what?” he asked in confusion. He thought he knew all of them?

Maddy laughed. “Pachycephalosaurus. They had these really spiny heads. But secretly, I think I was a little bit of a teacher’s pet who just liked saying the name. Pretty sure they were actually native to Alberta?” she added. “What about you?”

“Well, now I’m embarrassed to say.”

“Oh, come on,” Madison said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Promise I won’t make fun of you.”

“Fine, fine,” Matty gave in, “it was the brachiosaurus.”

“How come?” she asked curiously. 

“I liked the long necks.” 

They spent another hour or so at the park, Matty grabbing a keychain on the way out. “They didn’t have a brachiosaurus,” he muttered, half-angry, picking up a T-rex one instead. It wasn’t a long drive to the actual Great Salt Lake, and for some reason, they had trusted Elias with the aux. Much to Maddy’s chagrin, he didn’t end up playing ABBA, and they were instead led to cruise down I-15 to the dulcet tones of J.S. Bach. 

Madison looked down at her phone. “Anyone want to go see the Joseph Smith sphinx?” 

“Joseph Smith?” Rasmus questioned.

“Sphinx?” asked Elias.

Matthew laughed. “You know those Egyptian statues of like the cat ladies? Where they have cat bodies but the faces of people?” 

“Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church,” Madison explained. “Well, technically it’s called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but—”

“Know-it-all,” Matty said in a sing-song voice. Madison shot a glare at him from the back seat. 

“But most people still call them Mormons. And apparently they made him into a sphinx.”

Elias looked at her, still dumbfounded. “But why?”

Maddy shrugged. “Honestly? Beats me.” The weather had dropped too much by the time they had reached the lake to make swimming very practical, so the four of them settled for taking off their shoes, rolling up pants, and wading into the shoreline. 

Matthew bent down, picking up a chipped white rock from the ground, the water just lapping at his fingers. He handed it to Madison. “For you.”

She took it gently, running her hands over the jagged surface. “Aren’t you not allowed to take anything from a national park?”

He winked. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” They stopped at a Chipotle just as the sun was beginning to set, Matthew taking over driving duties from Rasmus. The plan was to drive for another two hours or so, stopping somewhere in southern Utah for the night to spare themselves from another night spent in her Nissan. 

They drove in silence for a while, Elias and Rasmus drifting to sleep in the back row, before a road sign caught Matty’s eyes and he spoke. “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, you know,” he said as they continued down I-15. 

Maddy looked over at him. “Do you want to go?” She didn’t know where the suggestion came from, but it was out of her mouth before she could take it back, and after a moment, she realized that she didn’t even want to.

His eyebrows raised as he glanced over at her before turning back to the road, the car’s headlights the only thing in sight. “You mean it?” 

Madison shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” She quickly popped the directions into her phone. “It’s only a few hours out of the way, if we drive through the night instead of stopping somewhere we should have more than enough time.” 

“But didn’t you say sleeping in the car made your back hurt?” Matty asked curiously. 

She smiled softly. “I don’t mind, really. I’ll drive. You’re more important.” Honestly, Maddy surprised herself with her boldness. She wasn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination, but it hadn’t escaped her that the dynamic between her and Matthew had changed in the past few weeks and was about to come to a boil. Matty wasn’t exactly the type of guy Madison expected to have a lot of friends who were girls. And a part of her hated that, hated that because of his reputation she automatically assumed when they became friends that all he wanted to do was get in her pants. There had only been one time in their entire year of friendship when they’d even done so much as kissed, and it wasn’t exactly what you’d consider normal circumstances.

---

It was November of the previous year, about six months after Matthew and Madison had met. Matthew had been even more in his head than normal; he hadn’t scored a single point since midway through their East Coast road trip over two weeks ago, and the disappointment was really starting to rag on him. It might not have been something he outwardly showed all that much, but those who knew him knew that Matthew was actually a deeply sensitive person, who took pride in his wins and carried losses with him well after they had faded from the minds of the rest of the hockey world. 

When it had gotten to the point where his frustration was starting to affect his game, Maddy knew it was time to do something. “You’re so much more than your stats, Matty,” she had said, calling him right before she left for the Saddledome. “I know you take this personally, and you feel like you’re letting down the team, but that’s bullshit and somewhere deep down, I know you agree.” Matthew grumbled something that might have been an agreement. “Your team trusts you, they trust you with the puck and with the A, and you’re never going to disappoint them as long as you’re giving it your all. And if you’re the Matthew Tkachuk I know, there’s never a time when you don’t. And win or lose tonight, there’s nothing you could do to change the fact that your family loves you, and your friends love you, and I love you too. Okay?” Clearly, something in her little pep talk had flipped a switch in Matty, because he returned in spectacular form that night, scoring a hat trick in a roaring 5-1 win over the Coyotes. And he didn’t throw a single punch all game. 

A good game without a travel day following usually calls for going out, and a great game with your best friend scoring a hat trick definitely calls for going out, so she dragged Emily along to the bar that Matthew had told her to meet the team at. Matthew had pulled her into a hug the moment she arrived, kissing her cheek and trying his damndest not to spill the beer in his hand on her shoes. An hour and a half into the night, Madison was four drinks in, well and truly drunk, and Emily had wandered off and appeared to be flirting with an extremely oblivious Noah Hanifin. 

“How are you doing, Mads?” Matthew asked, coming up from behind her barstool and resting his hand gently on the small of her back. 

She looked back at him, a goofy smile on her face, and took another sip of her drink. “I’m good, I’m realllly good,” she giggled. “Did I ever get a chance to tell you how good you were tonight?” Matthew shook his head, very poorly concealing a laugh. He had had more than one beer, sure, but he was nowhere near as gone as Madison. “Because you were really good. A-ma-zing,” she added, punctuating each syllable. Her eyes softened as she leaned in. “I know the points drought was starting to weigh on you, and I’m really glad you were able to do this for yourself. I’m always proud of you, Matty, but I was a little extra proud of you tonight. People sometimes write you off as just another good player without any real subsistence,” she paused, correcting herself, “substance, off the ice, but I know the real you, and the real you is even more incredible than the you that plays hockey. It’s my favorite thing to see.”

“It is?” Matthew asked softly, leaning into the hand that had begun to caress his cheek a little bit imprecisely, but that somehow communicated every kind of unsaid word between them. 

Madison nodded, touching his forehead to hers, and then she tilted in. And then she kissed him. Her lips met his, and she tasted like lime and spearmint chewing gum and his favorite kind of tequila. Her lips met his, and it seemed like the room stood still; he barely heard his teammates’ wolf-whistles or Emily’s elated gasp in the background. Her lips met his, and he drank in every second of the kiss until she pulled away. 

---

Maddy hadn’t been drunk enough to black out that night, and she came to the next morning with a roaring headache and the pang of regret in her heart. She thought it was shame at her behavior, embarrassment that she could act so impulsively, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized. The fact that she kissed Matthew wasn’t the issue, not to her, at least. It was the fact that she was drunk in a bar after a hockey game and that wasn’t how she wanted it to happen. She pushed her feelings to the side, trying desperately to focus on work and supporting Matty through the rest of the season, but they always tended to flare up when they were least welcome. Like at the Idaho Potato Museum.

Which of course meant that Matthew would choose this moment, driving down I-15 with two sleeping Swedish hockey players in the backseat, to bring it up. “I remember when you kissed me, you know,” Matty said softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over his lips, like if he tried hard enough he could remember what it felt like to have Maddy’s pressed against his. 

Madison froze, which isn’t exactly what you’re supposed to do when you’re driving. She thought he had forgotten. He had never brought it up, so she really had no reason to believe he would have remembered. “You do?” she asked, swallowing.

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. “Mhm. I hadn’t thought about it in a couple weeks, but back in Idaho, in front of the World’s Largest Potato Crisp…” He let out an airy chuckle. 

Maddy breathed in sharply. So she hadn’t imagined that. Her fingers tapped nervously against the faux leather of the steering wheel. “Yeah…” She trailed off nervously. “I was drunk.”

“Oh, you were hammered,” Matthew agreed. “But do you regret it?”

There it was, the million-dollar question that she somehow actually had the answer to. A long moment passed before she answered, figuring it would be best to just rip the band-aid off. Worst case, Matty would hate her and she’d only be stuck in a car with him for ten-odd more hours. No big deal. “No,” she whispered, voice so small he almost didn’t hear it. 

“I’m glad, because I don’t either,” Matty said. Madison hazarded a glance to her side; he looked almost nervous, and nervous wasn’t a look Matthew Tkachuk did all that often. “I had wanted to for a few months, but it always seemed like it was never the right time, or something interrupted us, or I didn’t know how you felt about me. But you made the first move, and I’m glad you did.”

“How come?”

He sighed. “I don’t know how long I would have waited to do something, or if I ever would have done anything. I feel like sometimes…,” he searched for the right words, “the confidence that I have on the ice can be misleading. Hockey is about reflexes and instincts and knowing the game, but it’s also thinking three steps ahead, anticipating every possible outcome and preparing for them. And that’s the part that I carry off the ice. I think I was worried if I ever brought it up with you, if I ever mentioned that I so much as remembered the kiss, you might clam up and tell me it was a stupid, drunken mistake, and I don’t know what I’d do if you said that. Because I don’t know how you feel about me, not like that”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to force the words out, as scared as she was about admitting them. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” Matthew had never seen Madison like this before, unsure and worried and downright vulnerable, and it meant so much to him that she was letting him see her like that. 

Matthew let out a watery laugh. “Only pretty sure? Hurts my ego a little bit.” Maddy opened her mouth, but he waved her off. “Because I’m definitely sure I’m in love with you.” This wasn’t ever how she imagined telling him, and it wasn’t how Matty thought he’d tell her, on a freeway in Southern Utah on their way to the Grand Canyon, but sometimes life throws unexpected things at you and you have to roll with the punches. 

“When did you know?” Madison asked curiously. 

Matthew bit his lip. “Few months ago? I knew I liked you as more than a friend probably since you kissed me, but it was after that game against Vancouver that I really understood I had fallen in love with you.” Maddy remembered the game. It had gone terribly for the Flames, a 4-0 shutout with more than one fight and the bench racking up penalty minutes. What she didn’t know was what made that one special. Matthew looked over at her, answering her unspoken question. “Why that one?” She nodded. “I think it’s because it was such a shitty game. I wouldn’t have blamed you at all if you had just skipped out after the end of the third, I know I can be hard to deal with after a loss. But you didn’t leave, you stayed. I remember seeing you outside the tunnel, swallowed by my jersey because it’s three sizes too big for you and you refuse to let me buy you another—”

“I don’t want another because it’s yours, and I love it,” Maddy said quietly.

Matthew smiled. “Your call. But when I turned the corner and saw you, I realized three things at the exact same time. You were there for me when you didn’t have to be, and I wanted to be able to do the same thing for you. Second, you’re who I wanted to come home to. And last,” he gathered his thoughts, “I realized if I never saw another girl in my jersey for the rest of my life, that would be fine with me.”

“I think I knew when you introduced me to your family, when you flew me down for the All-Star break?” He nodded in recognition. “Just seeing you with them, how much you love your parents and adore Taryn. You even managed to not chirp Brady for a whole dinner.”

“My mom threatened me.”

Madison laughed. “Even so. It just gave me a whole new side to you. I had seen you with your friends, and with the boys, and with me, but it wasn’t the same. How deeply you cared about making sure I fit in with them, and had fun, and felt included. It was the last piece of the puzzle, really.” Her hand rested on the center console after she downshifted.

“So, are we going to do this? Do you want to do this, Mads?” Matty asked, wrapping his fingertips gently around her free hand. 

Flipping her hand around, she interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m all in if you are.”

Matthew bent down, kissing their hands. “I’ve been all in since the moment I met you.” He glanced behind him to the backseat, where Elias and Rasmus were still fast asleep. “What do you think they’re going to say when they wake up?” 

“I’m not sure,” Madison said, laughing. “Probably tell us it’s about time. Pass me my phone, will you?” Matthew pulled out her phone from where it was charging on the passenger side. 

“What do you need to look up?” he asked curiously as she pulled off of the freeway and into a gas station; the directions were already programmed into the car’s navigation system.

Maddy gave a coy smile, gently putting the car into park. “I’ve got to text the girl’s chat, tell them they’ve got to make me a jacket. They’re going to go wild.”

 Day 4

 The chat did go wild, even more so after she sent a picture of her kissing Matty’s cheek. After about a half-dozen “we called its” and a promise for her jacket to be ready by the first home game of the series, she turned her phone off, leaning over to ruffle Matthew’s hair; he had taken over driving sometime around four o’clock. “I like that I can just do this now,” she mused, playing with his curls as they crossed the border into Arizona. 

“Please, no PDA in front of the children,” he said playfully, gesturing to the backseat. Elias flipped him off. 

The entrance to the Grand Canyon was only an hour past the state line, and there were more than a few cafés to grab a quick breakfast at. Most of the day was spent walking around the vast expanse of the park, marvelling at its natural grandeur, and taking more than a few incredibly aesthetically pleasing Instagram pictures. A few minutes before they had to pack up and leave for the last leg of the drive, they had hiked over to the South Rim. 

Matty leaned on the barriers overlooking the canyon. “It’s so big.” 

Rasmus snickered from behind them. “Duh, Tkachuk. That’s why they call it grand.” 

He ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah, I mean, obviously. But it’s just kind of surreal, you know?” Madison nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and if either of them had turned around they would have seen Rasmus and Elias sharing a very “I-told-you-so” look. “Kind of reminds us how small we are in the grand scheme of things.” 

It seemed like only a few minutes later that they were pulling into Las Vegas, Rasmus steering the car into the underground lot of the team hotel. None of the boys were expected at practice until the next morning, and they had decided before leaving that the easiest thing to do would just be to book the rooms for the one night. 

“Anyone feeling up to going out?” Maddy asked as they walked down the hallway to their adjoining rooms. “I found a tiki bar a couple blocks away, great Yelp reviews.”

“Sounds good,” Rasmus said. Elias nodded. 

“I’m in,” Matthew added, unlocking the door. “Meet out here in ten?”

The break allowed Madison to get a much-needed change of clothes while Matthew hopped in for a quick shower, emerging in a T-shirt and very, very nice-looking pair of black jeans. Maddy bit her lip, looking him up and down. “You like what you see?” Matthew asked, expression cocky. 

She shrugged. “I don’t have to hide it now.” Madison slipped her phone into her back pocket, grabbing her jacket from where it was slung over the lounge chair. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Matthew said, poking his head out the door. “Boys are already out.”

The walk to the bar couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but it felt like twenty in the best way possible. She was holding hands with Matty, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing over the top of her hand, the twinkling lights of dozens of Vegas casinos in their view. Two and a half mai tais and an hour later, the group sat at a table in the corner as Maddy giggled, retelling a particularly embarrassing moment on her high school volleyball team when she tried to make a dive that instead ended up with a ten minute pause in gameplay and the worst nosebleed of her life. She finished the story to raucous laughter, leaning into Matthew’s side. He bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “What is it, Matty?” she asked, pulling away to look at him. 

Eyes soft, he tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear before speaking. “Just thanking God I invited you on the trip. And for the Idaho Potato Museum.”

Madison laughed, the sound like music as it reached his ears. “We should write them. Thank them for helping to get us together. Maybe they’d give us season tickets.”

“Who needs season tickets when I have you?” Matty chuckled, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.  Sure, Madison was a few drinks in when she kissed him. And sure, it wasn’t like Matty was exactly sober either. But this kiss was different. This kiss was the start of everything. 

[miggydiaz]

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.

 I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~ 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* 

I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks! 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* 

Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good. 

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* 

I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible  for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

 Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 

I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?

 Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

 Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.

 My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him.


26. Most shippable character?

 Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || Accidental Idol Pregnancy [Request]

Seokjin:

One night. It was one night and you were going to have to face the consequences about it for the rest of your life, you stared down at the stick in your hands and wanted to scream at yourself. Your manager had pointed out that she thought you were gaining a little weight, and you were always wondering why you started to feel sick every morning and your boobs were sore so you took a test just to be sure.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." You whispered rolling the test up in tissue and putting it into the bin, you sat down on the toilet seat and let the information sink in that you were pregnant with Jin's baby. You'd been together for four years but neither of you was ready for kids, you were both Idols but your career was only just started to take off and your manager had rules about you dating Jin, the number one rule being no babies.

"Babe, you okay?" You almost jumped out of your skin, you flushed the toilet and came out to greet Jin with a smile, hugging him and looking at what he was cooking in the kitchen,

"I'm fine baby, what smells so good?" You questioned, he smirked kissing the top of your head and walking further into the kitchen with you to show you what he'd been working on,

"I made us some stew, and then I made-" He stopped as soon as you ran off into the bathroom to throw up, the smell of beef hitting you too soon and making you want to vomit.

(X)

"We should get you to a doctor," Jin said as you emerged from the bathroom, you shook your head sitting down on a kitchen chair and taking a glass of water he was holding out for you,

"I know what's wrong with me, and I don't need a doctor." You knew you had to tell him, you told each other everything and you knew hiding something like this from him would be bad news.

"What's wrong? Do you have a bug?" He sat down in front of you and you took his hands in yours, trying not to tear up but doing it anyway, you cursed yourself.

"I didn't want to cry, fuck." You whispered rubbing your face on your shoulder and looking up to look him in the eyes, his face was full of concern, worry and sadness, your eyebrows knotted together. The news was either going to ruin his life or make his life better, you'd had conversations about kids before, you both wanted them but you didn't know if it was soon or if it was so far into the future that you didn't need to think about it right now.

"What is it?" He whispered trying to reassure you that he could handle the news, you swallowed the lump that was forming in your throat and turned to look at him, taking a deep breath,

"I'm pregnant." He stared at you blankly for a couple of seconds, it was hard to read him at the best of times but now he was completely blank and you had no idea if he'd heard you or if he heard you and was planning his nearest escape route.

"Jin?" You questioned, his hands slipped from yours and he stood up from the chair, turning to face the wall. You let the tears go and stood up,

"How? When?" He questioned turning to look at you, his expression still unreadable,

"You plus me equals baby...And I think it was when we had that one night without protection...We were just too heated that night to even think about it." You whispered playing with the chair, he stayed on his side of the kitchen and you cleared your throat before speaking again,

"I'll leave. I'll move away and I'll make sure the company hides me away, no one will know and it won't ruin your career, It'll be like I never dated you I promise and you don't have to be apart of their life if you don't want to be." You ranted on but Jin came over to you and grabbed your arms, kissing you on the lips to stop you from talking, you relaxed against his touch and he smiled, pulling away from you and pushing the hair from your face as he stared down into your eyes.

"We're ready for this, sure it's sooner than expected but we're going to be parents." He was smiling now and you felt as though a giant weight had been lifted from your chest, you were engulfed in a giant hug and he chuckled making you shake a little.

"We're going to be parents!" He repeated pulling away from you and going to look for his phone, probably to tell the boys what was going on and you knew you had to call you manager and tell her the news as well, but you were just so relieved that Jin was happy about it too which meant you could finally relax and be happy about it.

Yoongi:

You didn't know what to do when the test came back positive, you were freaking out over every small detail, wondering if you could even have a baby while you were an Idol, if the company you worked for was going to drop you as soon as they found out that you were with child. Yoongi was asleep next to you in the bed and you slowly got out, wanting to leave him to his break, you'd text Jin asking to meet him to talk about something serious, he was one of your best friends before you started dating Yoongi and you knew he would know what to do in the situation.  

"Where are you going?" Yoongi grumbled when he shifted over and you weren't laying next to him, you looked at him and smiled even half asleep he looks amazing.

"I'm just going to see Jin, stay here." You whispered leaning over the bed and kissing him on the nose, he chuckled and rolled back over, pulling the covers over his head and going back to sleep. You walked out of the bedroom and grabbed your car keys, going to meet Jin at the BigHit building, the only place you could have a decent private conversation without someone overhearing you both.

(X)

You were sat in a board room across from one another, he'd brought you a cup of tea and some biscuits to eat with them and you thanked him, bringing your knees up into your chest on the chair and staring at him.

"So what's wrong? You normally sit like that when something is on your mind," You shifted a little and looked out of the window at the city, before glancing back at Jin who was starting to look worried for you.

"Hypothetically speaking," You started, leaning onto the table and looking him in the eyes, he leant forward as well.

"If an idol was pregnant, and wasn't married to the father what would happen to said idol?" You questioned trying to make it seem as though it wasn't you, but clearly failing.

"Well, hypothetically speaking the idol would have to go through her contract and see if there was a clause about it." He said to you, taking hold of your hand from across the table and squeezing.

"How far along are you?" You stared down at the table and let a couple of tears go.

"Three months...I didn't know until I was two months in and then I hid it because I was scared of what Yoongi would think and then what my boss would think." Jin was out of the chair and pulling you into his arms within seconds and you cried into his chest as he rubbed your head.

"Have you and Yoongi ever talked about kids?" You shook your head and took the tissue he was holding out for you and wiping your face with it.

"You have to tell him sooner or later, you can't wait until you're giving birth and just drop it on him." You knew that of course you did but it didn't make the situation any easier.

"I don't know how Jin...Will he be excited about it? Mad?" He sighed taking hold of your hand again and looking at you in the eyes.

"He's Yoongi, unpredictable but you of all people know him best." You nodded, you had been together for six years so you did know him the best but it didn't mean you knew how he was going to react about the whole thing but lucky for you, you didn't need to tell him about the pregnancy, he burst through the door and you jumped up from the chair, he said nothing but just rushed to your side, wrapping his arms around you in a hug.

"Yoongi?" You stuttered looking over his shoulder Jin who was smiling, you hugged Yoongi back and he pulled away with a giant smile on his face.

"You're sure you're pregnant?" You nodded and he placed his hand on your small unnoticeable bump under the baggy clothes and smiled, you didn't expect him to be this excited but you loved it all the same.

"Parents, us." He chuckled looking up at you, he could tell you were still worried and he sat you down on the chair.

"We'll bring your contract out and we'll go through it later, make sure there isn't a clause that will let them fire you and if there is we will figure this out together, no one will let your talent go to waste, I promise." He kissed your cheek and you nodded in agreement, starting to feel better about the whole thing and Jin smiled at you both.

"I'll let you guys talk it through." He got up and you reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze and smiling up at him.

"Thank you, Jin." He smiled and let go of your hand, leaving the room and letting you and Yoongi talk everything over.

Hoseok:

"Hobi I'm so fat." You complained looking at yourself in the mirror and groaning, he sighed coming over to you and wrapping his arms around your waist, leaving kisses on your neck as he shook his head.

"You are not." You grumbled something back at him about your jeans not fitting you anymore and then he sighed,

"If you really think you're fat, which you're not, we can go on a diet together...Start working out together?" You nodded in agreement, it sounded like a good plan to do together. You were an idol, you couldn't risk gaining weight and having your bosses comment on it, it was one of the rules that you had to look a certain way, everyone knew that

"Sounds good to me Hobi,"

(X)

That was a month ago and you finally know why you were gaining weight so quickly, you were pregnant but you hadn't told Hoseok yet. You wanted to tell him but you didn't know how to, so you continued to work out and diet with him but when he wasn't around or was in bed you would sneak to the snack cupboard and eat the cookies that were in the jar. You'd been craving them a lot since the pregnancy. You figured if you ignored the pregnancy long enough you could pretend it wasn't really for a little while longer, you were scared about losing your job and scared about losing Hoseok if you came out as pregnant, you'd already spent a lot of time crying over it, scared that this could ruin your life or Hoseok's life but you were also excited to bring another human into the world.

Hoseok was at the studios again and you were sat on the sofa watching a new drama you found, you had the cookie jar in your hands as you ate from it, eyes not moving from the screen. The door opened and Hoseok walked in, you didn't have the effort to hide the cookies and you didn't want to lie anymore.

"Diet." He reminded you taking the jar away from you but you snatched it back, going back to your drama and eating.

"I'm pregnant, I can do what I want." You said blankly, not concentrating on Hobi's reaction if you did you would have seen him laughing and shaking his head.

"That's a good one," He said thinking you were joking and taking the jar away from you, going to place it on top of the fridge where you couldn't reach it.

"Hobi!" You pouted following him into the kitchen, he stared at you with an eyebrow raised and arms folded over his chest.

"I thought you didn't want to gain weight." You rolled your eyes, taking his hand in yours and walking him upstairs towards the main bathroom, you sat him on the bathtub edge and went through the cupboard looking for the tests you'd been saving, you found them and slid them over to him in the box they were sitting. All 12 of them sitting there and staring up at him with the words 'Positive' or 'pregnant' written across them, some with a smiley face and others with a plus sign.

"I wanted to be positive I was." You said to him, reaching back through the cupboard and pulling out the hidden stash of chocolate bars and bit into one of them, Hoseok was still staring at the tests in shock while you snacked out in front of him.

"I have a scan soon...I was going to tell you but I was scared." You whispered finishing off the chocolate bar, Hoseok looked up at you and dropped to his knees, kissing your lips and cheeks before placing his hand on the small bump.

"We created another human." He chuckled kissing your lips again and smiling at you brightly, all the worries you had before were out of your mind and you felt more relaxed now that you had told him about the baby.

Namjoon:

As soon as you knew you panicked over the test, you threw it into the bin and hid it under a bunch of other rubbish as soon as you heard the front door of the dorm's opening, you didn't have time to hide that one properly like you had the others, you came out of the dorms bathroom and hugging Jungkook as he came home from the studios wrapping his arms around you as a greeting. It had become a tradition that when he came home he walked over to you and hugged you first, it was to tease Namjoon at first but now it was a habit of you both.

"How was your day?" You questioned as Namjoon came over and replaced Jungkook, he smiled picking you up and spinning you around in the air, making you giggle a little as he did so.

"Amazing! How was yours?" He questioned putting you down on the floor and kissing your nose,

"Brilliant," You lied. You'd taken three weeks off work to get some writing done but you'd spent those three weeks throwing up and taking multiple tests, one after the other to make sure you were actually pregnant and not just sick, you hadn't told anyone about it. Not even your manager who was going to have to know sooner or later, you knew you couldn't hide it from everyone forever but you could keep it a secret for a little while, or just until you figured out what to do with it.

"I'll start dinner soon." You said with a smile looking over his shoulder at Jin who walked in with bags of food that you asked him to get for you, Jungkook walked off down the hallway and you walked over to Jin, smiling and asking him how his day had gone.

(X)

Dinner was finished, the dishes were done and now all the boys were crashed on the sofa watching some movie. Jungkook had been on edge all night and as soon as you locked eyes with him he nodded over to the kitchen, you got up from the sofa leaving Namjoon on his own.

"What's up?" You questioned, he took something from his pocket and laid it on the dinner table, you frowned opening the tissue it was wrapped around and wanted to scream.

"Why are you going through the rubbish?" You whispered staring at it and then up to Jungkook who was staring at you with a raised eyebrow.

"I tripped over the bin and it fell out...Have you told him?" You shook your head and looked at the floor, you didn't know how to tell anyone.

"This is a good thing right?" He questioned you, you looked up with a sad smile. You saw it as a brilliant thing, Namjoon was going to be a terrific father but what about both of your lives, you didn't mind quitting being an idol and looking after your child but you wanted Namjoon to stay doing what he loved, you didn't want him to give it all up for you. Both you and Jungkook were so lost in thought you hadn't heard the kitchen door open and Namjoon walk in, his eyes went to the table.

"Is that a pregnancy test?" Your eyes shot up to meet Namjoon who had a giant smile across his face as he saw the test that said positive on the front of it, you looked down at the test and then back up to him.

"You're not scared?" You questioned, he just stepped closer to you and bent down to kiss you, wrapping his arms around your waist and smiling brightly.

"Excited and scared...Mostly excited, hey! At least those booties I bought will go to good use now." He chuckled bending down and kissing you again, all thoughts of worry were gone for now. You could worry about the details later, right now you wanted to spend time with the man who would be the father of your child and celebrate with his friends. Jungkook smirked, going into the living room and screaming it out that he was the first to know which made him the first godfather, you and Namjoon giggled to one another.

"You're going to be an amazing dad." You whispered to him, running your hand through his hair, he chuckled and kissed your nose.

"And you're going to be a fantastic mother."

Jimin:

"Jimin! Can you get me my chapstick?!" You yelled from downstairs, he shouted back a yes and he walked into your shared bedroom, looking one the bedside table and not seeing it, he frowned walking over to the drawer and trying to open it but it was locked, weird, you never locked the drawer. He took the key out from under the pumpkin candle holder you owned and unlocked the drawer, it was a stupid hiding place but he wasn't going to tell you he knew where it was because you would move it, he reached through the drawer and spotted the chapstick, taking it out and knocking over some pens, he moved them back into place and then saw a white and blue stick, he frowned. Taking it out from the drawer he read the front of it, and then found another one. He dropped them onto the desk and walked down the stairs, handing you your chapstick and giving you an excuse to leave the house.

"I told Joonie I would help him with something." The front door slammed before you could question him and you went back to folding the laundry. You went up the stairs to put the clean clothes away when you noticed the drawer to your desk open, you walked further into the room dropping the clothes onto the bed and going to look at the desk, you could have sworn you locked it but you must not have. It wasn't until you got to the drawer that you noticed the pregnancy tests were on top of the desk and not in their hiding spot, Jimin...Shit! You rushed down the stairs again to find your phone and called his phone but he was either ignoring you or didn't hear his phone ringing so you called Hoseok.

"He knows...Can you call him? I don't know where he is, he found the tests and now I'm freaking out Hobi." You panicked down the phone, you hadn't told Jimin you were pregnant because you were trying not to freak about it yourself, you told your manager and she told you she would get back to you because your contract had a clear clause in it that if you fell pregnant your contract would be terminated and you wouldn't be able to work for that company anymore and she was going to do anything she could to work around it. You told Hoseok the moment you knew because he was like a brother to you, you could tell him anything and everything.

(X)

You were crying onto Hoseok's shoulder when the door opened, Jimin walked in followed by Namjoon, both of them staring at you and Hoseok.

"Jimin?" You whispered sitting up straight and staring at him, he walked into the living room and came to sit down next to you, taking your hand in his and smiling at you.

"Look I know it's scary but my manager is trying to figure out how I can still work and even if I can't, I have enough money saved so I will be okay...You don't have to be around if you don't want to, I totally understand if you don't want to be here...It was an accident." He shook his head at you and you shut up, Namjoon nodded at Hoseok for them to leave you both alone. Jimin had gone straight to him after finding out because he was the most mature and he knew he could trust his leader with everything, and wanted strong advice from him,

"I talked to Joonie. I didn't mean to run out...I was just scared but I didn't think about how scared you must be," You sniffled and nodded, scared was an understatement you were terrified about how this was going to affect everything now.

"It's a happy accident, we'll make it work. I promise." He whispered to you, taking hold of your face and kissing you, you relaxed against his grip and smiled a little. It felt good to have it out in the open to him that you were pregnant, it meant you could stop hiding your midnight eating sessions and that you were going to go through everything together instead of being alone.

Taehyung:

You paced up and down in the women's bathroom in the hospital, you were supposed to be going to have a scan but once you got to the hospital you panicked realising that it was real. You had a baby growing inside of you and that you were here alone, you looked at your screen. You had to call Taehyung and ask him to meet you but you'd been hiding the pregnancy for the last 14 weeks. You hadn't even told your manager about the pregnancy, you just told her you had to take a couple of months away for a 'creative' break which she granted and you told your fans about, but it was getting harder to hide now. You'd snuck out of the house this morning, leaving a note telling Tae you'd gone for a jog but you were supposed to be getting a scan. You hit his caller ID and waited for him to pick up.

"Baby?" He questioned as he answered the phone, hearing his voice made you relax a little but not enough because where you were standing brought your reality back to you.

"Can you come to the hospital, I'm okay...I just need you here please...I'm on the first-floor women's bathroom." You said to him, he didn't question anything, he just told you he would be there soon and hung up the phone. It was what you loved about Taehyung, he wouldn't question anything, he would show up if you needed him and be there to hold your hand through everything, he always told you that no matter what it was, you would get through anything together. Like when there were rumours about you cheating on him with Hoseok after you'd been spending a lot of time together which of course it wasn't true but a lot of companies blew it out of the air and made it a bigger deal than it was.

(X)

"Are you going to tell me why we're here?" Tae questioned as you sat outside a nurses room waiting to be seen, you nodded and went to talk but the nurse called you over, you took his hand and squeezed it.

"I guess you'll find out now." You whispered, Tae was worried about you. When he came to the hospital and told you he was there you came out of the bathroom crying into your hands and walked with him towards a set of doctors offices, telling him nothing but crying into his shoulder, he wanted to know what was bothering you so much but he also knew if you were going to tell him you would tell him in your own time.

"Find what out now?" You sat on the doctor's bed and the nurse smiled at you, lifting your top up and applying the cream to your stomach, as soon as the machine came out Tae knew what was happening but he said nothing, he just took hold of your hand and stared at the screen with you as you waited for the first sign of your son or daughter on the screen.

"How long have you known?" He questioned after the nurse left to get the images of your child for you, you wiped the cream from your stomach and sat up.

"Since I missed my first period...I panicked Tae, I didn't know what to do and I figured I could hide it a little longer and pretend you were going to be happy about it when I told you." You whimpered but he took hold of your face and kissed your forehead.

"I'm more than happy about it...I would be ecstatic if I knew before now that you're carrying my child but I'm so happy." You smiled at him and the nurse came in carrying some photos and handing them to you, Tae smiled taking them and putting them into the bag you had with you.

"We'll figure this all out together... In the meantime, we need to start coming up with names." He chuckled causing you to laugh as you got down from the bed and headed out into the hospital, both of you calling out names to one another.

Jungkook:

You told Jungkook the moment you were late and the moment you realised your period wasn't going to come. He spent the week getting people to go out and buy you both tests on the down-low, he didn't want to get either of you caught buying pregnancy tests, setting off the rumours and having unwanted attention on you both. You were both young and knew that this was an accident, yet he was excited about it. He was excited about the thought of being a dad, having a son or daughter and being able to spend time with them and raise them, you were excited too but more worried about what it meant for your singing career and for Jungkook's, while Jungkook was planning the future nursery you were panicking about how it was all going to work with you both being idol's.

"It's time." He said as the alarm went off, you snapped from your daydream and looked at him. He'd woken you up early as he read that to get the best reading you should be awake right away and taking a test so that's what you did. He'd been doing a lot of research on it while you were busy worrying about how to deal with everything.

"Turn it over for me." You whispered looking at him and not the test, he spun it around and you couldn't read his facial expression so you stared down at the test, a plus sign.

"You're going to be a dad." You whispered to him as you took the test from his hand and looked at it, shaking it a little and then staring at the plus sign again.

"We're going to be parents!" You yelled, the excitement of being a mum overwashing the worrying thoughts now, Jungkook was smiling widely as he watched you finally getting excited about it, he was worried you weren't as happy about the thought of being a parent as he was but seeing you getting excited over the test he began to relax, but not too much because everything that needed to be doing crept into his mind, he was going to have to tell BigHit and then get the nursery stuff, then tell the tabloids. He was going through everything you had been going through before the test came back but once he felt you kissing him the thoughts all melted away and he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer to him.

"We're going to be parents." You giggled pulling away from the kiss and looking him in the eyes, you pushed his hair out of his face and then kissed his forehead.

"You'll be the best dad." You reminded him, you knew he was going to be worrying about it, you saw the look on his face was the same as yours when you realised you could have been pregnant and you wanted to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

"I'll talk to my manager about everything...I'm sure I can take as much time as I need off to look after our baby...and you can still work, There is no way I'm letting you not work because of this one." You said putting your hand on your stomach but Jungkook was smiling while shaking his head at you.

"We'll take all the time off together to raise him or her...I'm not letting you raise them on their own." He promised you, kissing your lips and then walking out of the bathroom, he was going to have to find a way to tell the rest of the boys in a funny way, he didn't want it to just be a statement of 'We're having a baby' he wanted to prank them first.

"Parents!" You yelled coming out of the bathroom and jumping up and down.

"We're going to be parents!" You giggled, going into the kitchen to make you and Jungkook some breakfast, forgetting your worries for now and enjoying the moment.

tagline:

@yoongisdumplingcheeks​ @yourguessisasgoodasminemate​ @kpopfanfictionhoes​ @snowy-meowl​ @lynnthevirgo​

[c4pricornc4ts]

The Minors Lunch Club (MLC for short.)

This is a Valentines day one-shot for intruxx <3

Characters: Tommy, Ranboo, Sam, Tubbo

Catagory: Fluff 

Words:2.1k 

For a MCYT writing challenge, join the writer’s block discord here!

----------------------------------------------- It’s a very on-brand thing for Tommy to do- leave getting his friend a gift the day before Valentine’s day. He kept putting it off because he wasn’t sure what to get Ranboo. He has hybrid friends, but Tubbo was easy. He and Sam had taken a break from the hotel to make the boy a small bee necklace that he knew he’d love. 

Endermen were a whole new category. What did enderman hybrids even like? He hadn’t talked to Ranboo much unlike Tubbo. So he was really at a loss for ideas. Are there items that are offensive to give an enderman? He hopes Sam will know. Otherwise, he’s going to have to ask Tubbo and he really doesn’t want to get laughed at. 

Sam doesn’t laugh, even if Tommy knew the question was ridiculous. He wasn’t used to that. 

“What do endermen like?” He’s gathering more wood for the hotel, Sam somewhere behind him. 

“What are you setting up some kind of… enderman trap?” 

He throws his axe down, splitting another log. Trying to keep his focus on his work, embarrassed to admit the truth to Sam. 

“No- I don’t know what to get Ranboo for tomorrow. And I don’t think he’d appreciate me trapping his cousins.” 

“Yeah you’re right, don’t tell him about Philza’s hardcore world then.” Tommy hears Sam shudder, his tail making a slight sound as it puffs out. 

“Didn’t plan on it Big S.” Tommy laughs and cuts through another trunk. 

“Just get him something he likes, we hybrids aren’t that different you know.” 

“That’s the problem! I don’t know what he likes. We barely talk, but Tubbo went and invited the guy to our lunch and now I need to find him something.” He tosses the logs into their wheelbarrow and pushes it towards Sam’s pile to collect his as well. 

“Okay then, get him a grass block or something. Better yet, let him pick. Y’know?” 

“Your ideas are shit, Sam.” He hopes Sam can somehow hear a “thank you” in that insult. Because Tommy just got the best idea ever. “I’ll drop all this off, then I’m off to build something else. I’ll see you tonight yeah?” 

“See you then, good luck with Ranboo. The only way you could mess this up is by giving him water so just- don’t do that.” The creeper hybrid goes back to the rest of the trees as Tommy pulls out his silk touch shovel and gets to work collecting grass blocks and a few other blocks just in case Ranboo likes variety. 

He tucks his new blocks away into his inventory and goes towards the main path of the SMP. 

With how far everything has gone, can he even call this the main path anymore?

He goes into the abandoned Walmart that Tommy for the life of him can’t remember who built it and starts arranging the mostly grass blocks into different piles and sections. Adding a small pile of sand and some smooth stone he mined with a silk touch pick for a little variety. He can’t have a store that only sold one thing, it was bad for the economy. He reasons. 

Once he was finished he went to Sam’s house to find something to make for dinner. He and the creeper hybrid had a deal, he does dinners and Sam lets him stay in the spare room while the hotel is being built. Though he knows Sam doesn’t actually care if he does it, he just wants Tommy to feel like he’s earning his stay. 

He appreciates it. He’ll never say it out loud but he appreciates all the little things Sam does for him. Maybe he’ll try being nicer to the man tomorrow. 

Probably not. 

He tears into his baked potato after wrapping Sam’s in some tin foil before running up the stairs to his room. Tomorrow he would drag a hopefully excited Ranboo to an abandoned Walmart and make the best second impression ever. 

------------------------------------------------

Once he’s dressed and double-checks he has Tubbo’s gift in his inventory he pulls out his communicator to message Ranboo. Leaning against the front door. 

You whisper to Ranboo: Hey, meet me outside Sam’s house, I want to show you something. :)

Ranboo whispers to you: Alright, I’ll be there by the time you read this message. 

Tommy reads the message again, trying to understand what it meant when he hears a small vwhoop and jumps a bit when he looks up to see a slightly disoriented 6’6” enderman hybrid standing on his front porch surrounded by purple particles. 

“I hate teleporting. But Philza says I need to do it more so here I am.” 

Tommy regains his composure as Ranboo straightens out his suit that Tommy can only assume got ruffled in the process. 

“You know, that whole teleporting thing would’ve been useful back when we were fighting for L’manberg.” Referring to L’manberg so lightly with anyone else would be impossible, but Ranboo’s absence from those days made it easier to joke about with. “What were you doing before you came here anyway?” 

“I don’t remember.” Ranboo looks away, Tommy silently berates himself for asking. He really didn’t want Ranboo to hate him. 

“That’s okay tall man! You’re here now and I’m stupid for asking.” He starts walking towards the Walmart hoping Ranboo would just follow. 

He does. “You’re not stupid, most people would remember. I just have beef with memories y’know?” 

“Beef with memories…? You’re gonna have to tell me about whatever that means later. But for now I gotta show you your gift.” 

“My gift?”

Tommy stops and turns to him. “Your valentine’s day gift! I thought you knew, why else would you just teleport to me no questions asked?” 

“I must’ve-” 

“Forgotten. Right. It’s no big deal, but what I’m about to show you inside of this broken down Walmart is.” He takes Ranboo to the entrance which is just the 2x2 opening not surrounded by broken glass. “Welcome to the enderman store! I made it myself because I am just so cool.” 

Ranboo immediately ducks under the doorway and starts moving the blocks around. “You aren’t very cool but this makes you at least 20% cooler.” 

“Does that mean you like it?” Tommy asks as he goes to stand behind the makeshift counter. 

“Of course I do! It’s like- like a block playground.” Ranboo teleports around the store and Tommy looks down because the sight of him appearing and disappearing was making his head hurt. 

“You pick one yet?” He plants his elbow on the counter and tries to give his friend a good impression of an underpaid cashier. 

“Pick one for what?” 

“As your gift.” He says it like it was the most obvious thing in the world but with the way Ranboo stands confused he supposes it wasn’t. “I mean, the whole store is your gift actually. But you gotta like, pick your favorite block or something.”

“That’s kinda stupid.” 

“Whatever, at least I’m not 6’6”, now pick your favorite grass block so we can go to Tubbo’s and show him how cool I am.” 

“Okay, I like…” He carefully considers the dirt for what? Tommy doesn’t know. Maybe endermen have a block grading system. 

He finally picks one of the many grass blocks in the corner and places it in front of Tommy. 

Tommy uses his communicator as a scanner and pretends to ring up the block. Ranboo just seems even more confused. 

“What? This is a store roleplay. I’m just keeping things realistic.” He pushes the grass block back to Ranboo who takes it and immediately holds it out in front of him. “The cost is teleporting Tommy to Tubbos because he’s lazy and doesn’t want to walk.” 

The taller laughs and Tommy climbs over the counter and clings to Ranboo’s arm bracing for the sudden movement. He closes his eyes and stumbles forward a bit when the hybrid brings them to Tubbo’s in under a second. 

He lets go of Ranboo once he’s sure he won’t trip and goes up to Tubbo’s door, instead of knocking he just let’s himself in. Rather he announces he’s here by shouting, “Big T! We’re here for lunch and I brought a very tall man with me. I think his name is Rainbow, not sure though.”

“Tommy it’s-” Ranboo is interrupted by Tubbo appearing from the kitchen, the fur coat he is usually buried in abandoned for a cheesy heart covered apron. 

“Ranboo! Tommy!” He runs up to them both with excitement, but he quickly tilts his head at the grass block Ranboo had brought in that was no doubt ruining his floor. Tubbo runs back into the kitchen and orders the boys to, “Stay there!” and when he returns he is carrying a planter pot with a little note attached that says, “To: Ranboo, From: Me :)”

“This is perfect, you can fill my gift with… wait did Tommy really give you fuckin dirt?” 

“No! I gave him a whole store of dirt you dickhead!” 

“I liked it.” Ranboo adds, trying to help Tommy’s case. 

“See Tubbo? He loves my gift, you are just a hater.” 

“Whatever.” Tubbo rolls his eyes and turns around, leading the other two into his kitchen. 

They take a seat and Tubbo places a basket of bread in the middle of the small wooden table. Tommy runs his hands under it to where he can feel the carvings of his and Tubbo’s name. They had built the table together, hell they had built most of the furniture in this house together.

Tubbo sits down next to Ranboo and places a jar of honey, no doubt from his own bees on the table.

“You know we should invite Purpled next time, then we can call it the MLC.”

“Call it the what?” 

“Y’know the minor lunch club! All the teenagers in one place, hopefully shit-talking the adults.”

“Tubbo can you-” Ranboo is interrupted by Tubbo, who was focused on what Tommy just said.

“We are not naming anything ‘Lunch Club’ ever, pick another name.”

“What? Why not?” He whined. 

Ranboo reaches over the table to grab the honey, knocking over the vase of flowers in the middle of the table. Tubbo pauses, he’s stood up, preparing to lean over and hit Tommy. 

“Tubbo I’m so sorry I’ll-I’ll clean it up.” Ranboo starts to go grab a towel when Tubbo tackles him and pretends to be mad. Tommy just sighs at the scene and goes to actually grab a towel before the water could ruin the table. 

“It’s valentine’s day and you’re fighting.” 

“It’s play fighting, it's a hybrid thing you wouldn’t get it.” 

Tubbo knew what he was doing, get Tommy mad so he’ll come over there and join them too. 

It works, Tubbo giggling as Tommy pushes him off Ranboo and shakes him gently. 

Tubbo headbutts him gently, careful not to actually hurt him. (It had happened once, Philza was not happy.) 

Tommy wraps his arms around the deer and refuses to stop hugging him, Ranboo takes the opportunity to get up and actually wipe down the table before going back to where Tommy was sitting against the door laughing holding a faux annoyed Tubbo. 

“Let me go Tommyyyy.” Tubbo whines, it’s muffled by the blond’s shirt. 

“No, you were mean to me and now I’m sad.” 

Ranboo sits down next to them and whispers “Clingyinnit.” causing Tubbo to laugh and Tommy to let him go opting to go mess with the enderman instead. 

“I am not clingy!” 

“He says, as he clings to Ranboo. His newest victim.” 

They finally get up, dusting themselves off, and go to exchange the rest of their gifts. Tubbo giving Tommy earrings with two purple disks on them. Tommy hands him the bee necklace and then Ranboo gives both of them a pig spawner. 

They go out and help Sam with the hotel for the rest of the day and when it’s dark outside they say their goodbyes and promise to come back tomorrow to see Tubbo’s new ‘project’ which the two no doubt means more nukes. 

It’s almost midnight by the time Tommy works up the courage to give Sam his gift. Walking up to his bedroom door and knocking gently. Fiddling with the letter he had made. He had no reason to be nervous, it was just a card to thank Sam for everything. He owed the man so much more. 

He had avoided giving Sam the card all day, but there was no turning back now. He supposes he could just run back to his room, pretend to be asleep when Sam goes to ask if he knocked. 

“Tommy?” Sam opens the door, yawning. Tommy had clearly woken him up.

He shoves the card towards the creeper hybrid and looks away as he reads it. 

Tommy can tell when he’s done because Sam murmurs an “Oh, Tommy…” before going to hug the blond. Who happily accepts it. 

“Your gift idea wasn’t shit, he loved it actually.”

“I know, I never have bad ideas.” Tommy can imagine the grin on Sam’s face as he says that and it’s enough to make him laugh softly. For the first time in a long time, Tommy finally takes a deep breath. Holding onto Sam a little tighter than maybe he should. Tommy’s tired of letting go. 

Neither of them ever want to let go. 

[thoseofgreatambition]

sandwiches

a/n: my lovely @ickle-ronniekins asked the void for a fluffy comfort fic. the void has chosen me to follow through. i suppose this could go in with our collab duet because we talked about it for those loveable nerds, but we’ll see! love you bab

taglist: @georgeweasleyx @seppys-return-to-madness @fopdoodledane @fredd-weasley @iprobablyshipit91 @darling-details @laneygthememequeen @lupinsx @keoghans @helloallthethingsilove @waschbiber @dreamer821 @feffffffy @the-hufflepuff-of-221b @62442-am @wtfweasleyy @obsessedwithrandomthings @sleep-i-ness @shadowsinger11 @harrysweasleys @shadychaoticcollection @haphazardhufflepuff @afriendlyneighborhoodhufflepuff @hood-and-horan @geeksareunique @insearchofnewdreams @notstandingstill-imlyinginwait @lumos-barnes @thatfuckingliardavidtennant @slytherinqween @xinyourdreamsx @skiving-snackboxess @wildfire-whizbangs @dwarfwizard-from-panem @diary-of-an-onliner @answer-the-sirens@woakiees @black-widow-fangirl @theheirofnightandday @summerstardust @whysoseriouspadfoot @chocok22 @myhopesareanchoredinyou @siriusblackisme @illusivedaydreamer @zeeneee @writingwitchly @wolfpotter12 @obsessedwithrandomthings @carolinesbookworld @shadowsinger11 @pit-and-the-pen @summer-writes @peachesandpinks @gweaslvy @alpinewinchester @letsfightsomeorcs @theweasleysredhair @purpleskiesstorm @hxfflxpxffs @wand3ringr0s3 @finecole

George Weasley, was tired. George Weasley was hungry. George Weasley was a little annoyed that his favorite suit jacket-- the one that always made you eye him just a bit more than usual-- was stained beyond repair. 

“Hey George.”  “Yeah Fred?”  “Think this test is a little fucked up.”  George looked towards his brother with eyebrows raised in mock disbelief, “You think? Thought having rubber ducks running on the ceiling meant that it was all going well.” 

He was faced with a scowl from his older brother. “Don’t need to sass me.” 

George’s mouth was about to open in a retort, when the familiar sound of someone apparating in rang out from the shop floor. “Georgie?” 

His smile was immediate-- of course he got excited at the sound of his wife’s voice. “Y/N? Lovey?” He ignored the fake gagging sound of Fred in the background.  You strode down to the workroom with a baggie in your hand, dressed in your healer robes. “Hello!” You placed a sweet kiss to George’s lips before giving Fred a hug and kiss on the cheek. “You hadn’t come home for dinner, so I thought I’d bring you something before I have to go to work.” 

Briefly, you flicked your eyes around the room, taking in the rubber talks traversing the ceiling, the spill goop on the floor, and George’s ruined suit jacket. 

What a shame, he looked so handsome in that one.  “Having a bit of trouble, are we boys?”   Fred had already taken the bag from your hands and fished out a sandwich. “More than you would believe, Y/N. Your husband’s being rude to me as well. I need you to give him a talking to. I’ve got to go up to my bedroom and have a good cry now. He’s been a bully all day.”  You can’t help the giggle that bubbles out of your mouth as Fred pretends to stomp off upstairs. “Have you been mean to Freddie? That’s not nice Lovey, he’s my best friend.” 

George pouts and presses another kiss to your lips. “He started it. Anyways, you’re my wife. Thought I was your best friend.” 

More giggles, as he peppers your face with tickles. “So sorry, Fred’s still my best friend.” 

“You’re a mean wife.”  “I brought you dinner.” 

“I suppose that helps a bit.” 

You pinched the side of his tummy through his shirt, grinning as he began to giggle. After hoisting yourself up to sit on the work table, you unwrapped your own sandwich and took a bite. “I’ve got a double shift at work. I won’t be back until tomorrow after noon. I wanted to spend a bit of extra time with you.” 

It was so unfair, your work schedule! You were a newlywed. You wanted to spend your nights under the covers with your husband, surrounded by the millions of flowers at your cottage.  It seemed that George was in an immediately better mood after taking a bite of his sandwich. “Thank you for coming to visit. I know you’d rather sleep before a long shift.”  “I’d rather spend some time with my husband.”  He gave you a delightful grin. “I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow then. And lunch.”  “Both? You’re spoiling me Georgie.” 

Unfortunately, you had to head off to work, but that didn’t stop you from allowing several more kisses pressed to your face. 

“Wanna spoil you too Georgie.” 

“Hmm? How do you plan to do that?”  “How about we stay home all weekend? We both have Sunday and Monday off. Stay home and bundled up all day. You can cook that mince pie you like so much.” 

There was a hum from George as he pressed his lips against yours. Chuckling at the fact that you both tasted a bit like roast beef. “I love that idea. I can’t wait.” 

Yes, it seemed that the little things meant the most to George.  How fortunate, since they mattered the most to you as well. 

[multifandomfanficreclist]

Witcher Fic Mass Post

I have delved deep into the Witcher fandom during these quarantimes. This is a selection of the fics I’ve enjoyed.

All are Geralt/Jaskier unless stated otherwise.

***

Louder and Louder - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22295869

Geralt tries to puzzle out why Jaskier keeps following him into danger after danger... completely missing the obvious. There's too great a gulf between what his witcher senses pick up, and what his damaged heart is willing to accept.

//

 "The bard’s heart always beats faster whenever the witcher draws near. That isn't unusual. So do the hearts of most humans he encounters. Not only do they blanch and recoil at the sight of his white hair and amber eyes, but they begin to sweat, the stench of their fear a sour tang at the back of his throat.

 But the bard never seems to reek of fear."

***

The Courting Jewellery A/B/O - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689562

Geralt doesn’t wear his courting jewelry—the medallion is apparently a witcher thing, not an omega one—and Jaskier supposes that makes sense. Geralt leads a very active life, and probably saves the jewelry for situations it won’t run the constant risk of getting ruined in. Certainly a nice set of earrings would be a lot more fragile than the plain studs he wears instead. A lot of omegas don’t wear their courting jewelry day to day, anyway, or at least not most of it. Geralt’s hardly unusual in that.

It’s a bit of a shame, though, because Jaskier’d like to see him in it.

***

You Follow? - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620703

I’m a Jaskier Rivia stan first and a person second @whitewolfpackleader: Did @bardofficial win a Grammy? No. But he DID put his husband in a leather tunic for the red carpet and in that sense, we’re all winners tonight

***

Front Row Praises - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22326214

The girl rolls her eyes at him. “If you’re just going to stand here ogling the witcher, maybe go and do it out of the way.”

“Ogling.” Jaskier scoffs. “Who’s ogling?”

She looks unimpressed. “Have you told him you want him to fuck you?”

***

Even a Small Love - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473670

“Well,” Jaskier replies distractedly. “Lots of things want to strangle you.”

“You don’t.”

It isn’t a particularly troublesome accusation, or even necessarily an accusation at all.

***

Redwood and Dandelion - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22681252

"The Witcher's bought a room for the night, and says he'll pay double for anyone who can bed him without stinking of fear the whole time."

"Oh, I've fucking got this," Jaskier promised.

Or, the one where Jaskier works in a brothel and falls head over heels for the stoic, not-actually-that-scary Witcher who comes in requesting his services.

Geralt doesn't know what he's getting himself into.

***

Petrichor - Geralt/Eskel/Jaskier - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22866559/chapters/54652891

 “Geralt…? What, by Melitele’s tits, are you doing? The door, man, normal people use a d--... Geralt?” He noticed it now. The feverish sheen on the Witcher’s skin, the alert, skittish look in his eyes and the--. He cleared the distance between them in three strides. Geralt retreated until his back hit the wall with a dull thud, but Jaskier would not be deterred. He shoved his face into the crook of Geralt’s neck and breathed in deeply, his hands gripping the edges of the damp cloak draped over broad shoulders. “You’re…”

 “I need… need to ask you… for a…” He clenched his teeth, eyes rolling to the ceiling. Two gloved hands lifted to push Jaskier away from his chest; it felt like trying to move a mountain. Not because Jaskier pushed back, but because every fibre of his being wanted to pull the other way. Ask for a what though? ‘Favour’ didn’t quite fit the bill for what he was about to request, and so he stared at Jaskier with those intense golden eyes, while mentally scrambling for a coherent explanation amidst the brain fog.

The saga of Geralt and Jaskier getting together, falling in love with Eskel, and learning that it's all right to want (and let themselves have) things.

***

Where There’s a Witcher - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604140

Jaskier is a twentysomething recently unemployed journalist and amateur musician looking for his big break. So when he’s saved from the jaws of a wyvern by the infamous Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia, he comes up with a brilliant idea: he’ll follow the Witcher around and sing about their exploits. He’ll gain fame and fortune and Geralt will get a much needed image rehab. Everyone wins. Unless Jaskier goes and falls in love like an idiot.

***

Tired Symphony Verse - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597723

Silence reigned between them. Outside there was the dull sound of training swords clashing and Jaskier turned his gaze towards the window, watching the sky outside.

“I’m-- sorry.” Geralt said. It sounded truly remorseful.

Jaskier took a deep breath and then tipped himself slightly to the side, pressing his shoulder against the witcher’s.

“I know.”

***

There Goes my Heart Beating - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22382665

“Sometimes,” Geralt says quietly, “I forget that you care.”

Jaskier looks up surprised and sees that Geralt is looking down at him with a small frown on his face. “Geralt,” Jaskier sighs, shaking his head fondly, “you foolish beef-brain. Of course I care.”

Or,

Five times Jaskier asks Geralt questions, and the one time Geralt asked Jaskier.

***

Shrug off the Shroud - https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027161

askier's student doesn’t see him when she skids into the tavern. Her friends are already present, drinking merrily, and she slaps their table so hard their tankards rattle.

“Have you heard?" She flashes a gossiper's secretive grin. "The White Wolf’s gone mad.”

After Geralt sends Jaskier away, Jaskier returns to Oxenfurt and builds a good (albeit unfulfilling) life there. He's fine—moving on, truly—until gut-wrenching rumors start to circulate that the White Wolf's lost his his mind. Jaskier's a bard. A truth-teller. He can't just let the rumors go unsubstantiated.

***

Sometimes a Hammer, Sometimes a Lockpick - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22998961

Geralt's been in a dungeon for two weeks and is understandably frustrated. Jaskier, on the other hand, is what one might call... livid.

***

New Monster Stories - https://archiveofourown.org/works/23097970/chapters/55260658

 “So do you have a name?”

 “Yeah.” The man who had saved his life less than an hour ago – the white-haired, absurdly buff, weirdly sexy man Jaskier might have called taciturn if he was feeling charitable and surly if he was feeling less so – dug into his second burger.

 Jaskier waited. “Are… you going to tell me what it is?”

 The man paused mid-bite, and looked at him reproachfully as if to say how dare you. How dare you interrupt me. Can’t you see I’m enjoying my cheeseburger. Can’t you see this cheeseburger is the most important thing in my life right at the moment. He swallowed, and said, “Geralt.”

It turns out almost getting eaten by a werewolf can make your whole life go careening off in a new, terrifying, wondrous, artistically flourishing direction. Who knew?

***

When Midnights Break their Sleep - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647292

  The first Snapchat that anyone ever sends Geralt is a picture of his own irritated face.

 shrike_princess: can u believe this dumbass finally got a snapchat bc a cute boy asked him nicely

 "It wasn't even that nicely," Geralt says flatly.

AKA: The one where Geralt is a bartender and Jaskier sings karaoke.

***

An Exaltation of Wolves - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687699

Jaskier accompanies Geralt to Kaer Morhen for the winter and finds the other Witchers just as prickly--and just as deserving of love--as the White Wolf.

***

Lilacs and Dandelions - Jaskier/Yennefer/Geralt - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22929526/chapters/54808162

“The Witcher believes you’re under a spell,” Yennefer said, conversationally, drawing a sip from her tea.

“I most certainly am,” said Jaskier to her in a warm drawl that Geralt recognized as the tone of voice he slipped into when flirting and frankly, things needed to start making more sense and fast before he gave into his impulse to do something rash and wholly unhelpful. Namely, chuck himself out the cottage window and into the sea.

Or Geralt seeks out Yennefer only to find her, of all unbelievable and ridiculous things, shacking up with his bard.

***

Woodash and Iron and Leather - https://archiveofourown.org/works/22114921

Jaskier is the only person Geralt's ever been around who doesn't smell of fear

[hopelesshawks]

Okayokayokay I haven’t seen this and I’m a huge Dabi stan as well as a massive Keigo stan. But can to do a female reader x Dabi where he hasnt seen his girlfriend do makeup because usually shes too busy with like college or something to do it and he comes over/she goes to meet him and sees her with really sparkly and pretty eyemakeup and genuinely doesnt know to to react? Bonus points if she wears one of his jackets or hoodies and its SUPER big on her extra bonus points if she wears leggings with it and he starts to feel some things👀

I’m mad at Dabi for things he’s done in the manga 😠 but let’s be honest I’d still let that asshole ruin my life. Plus he and I be runnin the Endeavor hate club together so 😌 I’m happy to write for my favorite beef jerky boy.

Had almost finished this and then tumblr mobile glitched out and deleted a hefty chunk of it 🥲 BUT WE PERSEVERE so it’s a little later than I wanted to post it but it’s here!

Your fingers hover over the keyboard as you stare at your screen in shock. Your eyes go from your essay, to the clock, and then back to your essay. You’d actually finished. Holy shit, you’d actually finished. The clock reads only 8pm and yet here you were with a fully fleshed out and proofread essay. You had anticipated the damn thing taking you well into the night, as evidenced by your choice of comfy clothes. You wore your favorite pair of leggings and one of Dabi’s hoodies you had kept from the last time he had spent the night at your place. He still didn’t know you had it and would probably throw a hissy fit when he found out but it’s worth it. The sleeves extend to the tips of your fingers and the bottom hem reaches your mid-thigh, not to mention the material had long ago been worn soft so wearing the thing is way cozier than any of your own hoodies. In summary, the hoodie is yours now and if your boyfriend has issue with that he can fight you over it.

As you came to terms with your suddenly free evening, you briefly debate texting Dabi to see if he’s free, but then it occurs to you that going out to see him would mean changing clothes and you are far too comfortable for that shit. You lean back in your chair and think for a moment. How should you fill your sudden free time? Your eyes land on your long abandoned makeup bag and a smile brightens your face. It’s been ages since you’d experimented with make up but now there’s nothing to stop you. So you grab your makeup bag, rush into your bathroom, and spread out the tools on your counter that you’ll need to make your masterpiece.

Dabi is in a mood. It isn’t a bad one necessarily, but it sure as fuck isn’t a good one either. Instead of hanging around the league, where surely at least one of those idiots would grate on his nerves and truly turn his mood sour, he had decided to pay you a visit instead. He vaguely remembers you saying something about an essay the last time the two of you talked, but he was also fairly confident he could convince you to abandon it in favor of entertaining him instead. Which is how he found himself scaling the balconies outside your apartment building until he found yours. He tried to tug the door open only to find it locked. He tugged it a second time still no luck. He decides the best move is obviously to break the glass of the door and just climb in that way.

The sound of the glass shattering draws you rushing out of the bathroom only to watch your boyfriend climbing in through your balcony door. “I- you- wha- DABI!” You sputter as you take in your broken door. “What? Door was locked,” he shrugs. “YOU COULD’VE KNOCKED! I swear to God...” you start to lecture but Dabi tunes you out because he’s just noticed your appearance. He had never seen you wear more makeup than concealer and maybe some eyeliner, and even that was a rarity since classes and work typically occupied your time and energy too much for you to bother putting in even that much effort. Now, your eyes are beautifully framed in silver and blue, eyeliner winged perfectly in a way he’s sure must’ve taken several tries (he knew all too well from the multiple times you’d had to stitch him up that you didn’t have the steadiest of hands). Dabi isn’t one for compliments so he’d never admit it, but your eyes have always been one of his favorites of your features and the work you’d done highlighted them in the best way possible.

When he finally drags his eyes away from yours, they begin to drink in the rest of your outfit. God, how he loved you in leggings. You almost never wear them when you leave the house so it’s a treat when he does catch you in them. It’s your hoodie, however, that really captures his attention. It’s massive on you and vaguely familiar. He stares at it in confusion for a long while before finally it clicks. Something hungry and possessive begins to burn in him as he very carefully says, “(y/n),” causing you to pause mid-rant, “is that my sweatshirt?” “What? Oh! Yea it is. Why? Problem with that?” you reply cheekily. Dabi takes several steps closer to you until he’s well within your personal space. “Take it off. Now.” “Ugh, I know you’re possessive of your stuff but come onnn, it’s comfy!” you protest. “No babygirl, you’re keeping the hoodie after this. I mean take it off,” he tries again as his hands find your waist and pull you against him, “before I have to burn it off.”

Oh...

OH

That you could do.