#Michael just actually confused of what his ‘dad’ did

[captain-huggy-bear]

Kesselring and telling him you’re pregnant

TW: Issues with conceiving/fertility issues Requests are open for specific people only, please see my pinned post for details :) Writing Masterlist

Two little pink lines.

It's interesting, how two tiny lines can change everything, how they can be so important. You've been waiting for months to see those two lines...trying and failing time and time again to get pregnant. The trying was fun, sure, but there were only so many times you could get a negative test result before it started to get to you and started to feel like there was something wrong.

It was getting to the point of frustrating. Michael was disappointed each time, God, he wanted to be a dad really bad, but you? God, you felt like your heart was being ripped out, like something was wrong with you. You were starting to feel like you were broken...but the doctors just told you to be patient, it could take time. It didn't help when you saw people around you seemingly able to get pregnant with ease, it felt like you were the problem.

Michael was good about it, always reassuring you that it was fine, it was natural for it to take time, that it wasn't your fault. It takes two to tango or to make a baby as he often said and just because you weren't getting pregnant didn't mean it was you that had the issues, it could have been him, it could just have been that time was required.

So you're a little shocked when you finally see those two lines...your instant reaction is to tell Michael except he's not around. He wasn't going to be back from his roadie for another day or two and this didn't feel like the sort of thing you were supposed to tell your husband over the phone.

So you do the responsible thing. You go to the doctors and get another pregnancy test done, final confirmation that you are in fact pregnant, 6 weeks to be exact. You hold that information in and try to act normal in your evening calls with Michael even though you're desperate to tell him.

You want to do something cute to tell him, a jersey with Daddy across the back or something, but there's no time. Not between work and Michael being at the end of his roadie. So you plan instead to just tell him, a buzz of excitement and nerves filling you because God, you've both been waiting for this for so long.

When he walks through the door after the roadie you try to greet him like normal; a kiss to the cheek, a big hug, a breathing in of his cologne, taking in the fact he's back and he's here. But, Michael's always been good at reading you. He notices right away that something is off.

"What's wrong? You look like something is wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?" He's already looking around the house behind you, seeing what's out of place, what's gone wrong. Big palms on your shoulders, reassuring, protective like he thinks there's a burglar in the house.

"Nothing is wrong...far from it." You wrap your arms around his waist, chin resting in the centre of his chest to look at him, a small smile starting, excited. Excited because you can't wait for his reaction. Excited because this is everything you've both been waiting for for months now.

"Oookay?" His worry fades to a smile, a little confused, but still a smile, brown eyes staring, waiting for you to tell him more, to stop being so cryptic.

"I'm pregnant."

Michael blinks. Once. Twice. Three times. Like his brain has short circuited a little bit, brain stopping to process the fact you've just told him the words he's been waiting to hear for months.

"A-are...are you serious?" Lips parting, licking his bottom lip, breathing coming out slow and shallow like he doesn't quite believe you yet.

"I'm pregnant, Michael." You start to smile as you watch the way that Michael starts to process it, starts to realise what you're actually saying.

"You're pregnant."

"I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant!" It's like it suddenly catches up to him, like his brain finishes processing because you're suddenly encapsulated in his arms, pulled tight against him as he picks you up for a moment, off your feet and spins you. It makes you feel slightly nauseous but you can't help but laugh, smacking his shoulder to put you down.

When you're back on solid ground Michael is leaning down towards you, forehead pressing against yours, nose nuzzling your own, the biggest, goofiest grin on his face.

"I'm going to be dad..."

"Yeah." You're grinning now, he's grinning too. Two goofy idiots just smiling at each other like you've won the lottery, like you'd had all your prayers answered because well, you have.

"You're gonna be a mom."

"Yeah."

"Fuck..." It's like he's still just processing and you don't mind. Don't mind the quiet, don't mind the silent way he stares at you, all the love in the world in his eyes because you get it. You totally get it. It's almost too good to be true but oh, is it good.

[blackcoldcrackedheart]

Tw/spoilers: major character death and grief

"He hasn't cried or gotten angry or anything. He's just quiet." Eddie sighed into his hand as he continued to look at Buck, they had just gotten back from the service and were at the station for the reception.

"I tried talking to him, but he kept saying he's fine. Maddie is trying to talk to him, but he just keeps shutting her down." Chimney looked over at where Athena, May, Harry, Michael, and David were standing, being surrounded by Bobby's mother and brother, Ann and Charlie, and the fire chief. What ever the chief was saying was a lot for Athena and Ann.

"I'm surprised he hasn't opened up to you about all this." Chimney admitted, eyeing Eddie as though he was keeping a secret. "Usually Buck tells you everything."

Eddie's eyes turned somber, he looked uncomfortable and cleared his throat. "Usually, not this time."

Eddie had tried. He knew how much Bobby meant to Buck, Buck never hid the fact that Bobby was like a dad to him and Bobby never hid the fact that he had a soft spot for Buck.

He figured Buck would open up to him.

But....

"It's not about me."

It was said with no emotion. Devoid of anything. Just cool with such a flat affect that Eddie was truly worried that his best friend would explode.

He looked to find Buck standing with Tommy, Hen, and Karen. Karen was consoling Hen, wiping away Hen's tears as they talked amongst themselves. And Tommy?

Tommy was standing close to Buck. Not touching each other, like Hen and Karen, but standing closer than most would.

"You think he talked to Tommy about losing Bobby? I know they're not da-"

Chimney snorted, "Oh wow, you're seriously out of the loop."

Eddie frowned, looking at Chimney and then at Tommy and Buck. "They're back together?"

"I don't have to run past everything by you."

Chimney let out a soft hum. "Pretty sure they are. Tommy's been by Buck's side since we lost Bobby."

-

Things were wrapping at Hen and Karen's house, the couple had decided to invite the group to dinner at their home. A small gathering to unwind after today. They had been up since 7 am for the mass and the wake.

The mood was somber, numb. Despite ordering food for the group, hardly anyone ate.

"Hey, have you seen Buck?" Maddie asked, hitching up a sleeping Jee on her hip. Chimney was quick to take Jee in his arms, "He's not here?"

"No."

Chimeny frowned and looked around to see Ravi talking to May. "Hey Rav, have you seen Buck?"

Ravi looked around, clearly confused and surprised at somehow missing Buck. "Actually, I don't think I've seen him for over an hour now."

"He left?" Eddie suddenly asked, Chimney tried not to jump.

"Wait, you haven't seen him?" Maddie asked, her worry palpable now as she peered at Eddie as though this was his fault.

Eddie shook his head "No", "I tried talking to him, but he brushed me off. Said he was exhausted and walked off."

Chimney felt his brows reach his hairline at that. "Ooookay." He caught Karen's attention. "Hey, did you see Buck leave?"

Karen turned to Hen, ready to say or ask something, but Athena beat her to the punch. "He left."

"Wait, what? He didn't even tell us or say goodbye?" Maddie asked incredulously. She pulled out her phone, pouting as her call to Buck just led to his voice mail. "You dont think he's going to do something stupid, right?" She turned to Eddie, "Did he tell you if he was going to go home or anything?"

Eddie looked pensive, scrubbing his face to save some time in answering.

"I don't think Buck is in the mood to talk to Eddie or any of us right now." Chimney explained as he looked at Eddie, knowing there was more there than Eddie was willing to admit.

Athena shook her head, her lips pulled up in a shadow of a smile. "Notice there's someone else missing too?"

-

The station was of course opened, the firefighters that were scheduled for overnight were mostly from other stations covering for those who attended services.

They didn't say much to Buck, except their condolences for losing Bobby.

He took a deep breath in and out as he stood on the roof. The night was cool, a slight breeze present that usually would have Buck shivering.

But he had been his formal uniform all day and he was starting to feel warm now. He pressed his hand against his forehead, feeling the sweat and warm skin.

"I have the perfect stew to make you feel better than. Old family secret, so don't try to cheat like last time."

"I know the family secret, Bobby. It's ginger and star annise." Buck chuckled, "You told me last year after I got the flu."

Bobby rolled his eyes, "True, but I like to pretend I have some cooking secrets left to share." He joked. "You know I love coming up here. It's probably one of the few places in the city where you can just hear yourself think."

"Yeah." Buck loosened his tie and unbuttoned his coat. "I know. I figured it's what I needed, after today. Today felt like a nightmare."

Bobby hummed softly. "You know what I like to do during days like that?"

Buck arched a brow, waiting for a reply.

"I like to pray."

Buck scoffed, he hated how his voice broke as he admitted, "Not really in a praying mode, Bobby." He sniffed, "That was always your thing more than mine."

Bobby laughed, crossing his arms, "Yeah, I know. Usually I say something that I know would make you feel better." He pressed his lips together, "I don't know if there's anything i can say to you now that will make you accept that there was nothing you could have done, Buck."

Buck's vision became blurry with tears, he felt his face grow warm, "I-I could have tried. I-I should have broken down the door or something. I should have stayed with you."

"So you could die too?" Bobby asked, sounding annoyed. "Listen to me Buck," he stepped closer to Buck till they were face to face. "You're an important person in my life, Buck, one of the most important. I wouldn't have wanted you down there with me if it meant we both die. You mean too much to me for that."

Buck's lower lip wobbled, he wiped his nose with his sleeve. "Bobby, I-I don't know if I can- how do I-"

Maybe it's the cool air.

Maybe it's just Buck running a fever or something.

But he feels Bobby's hands on his face. "You're gonna have to. Not because the others need you to be strong, but because you need to be able to live." He patted Buck's cheek, "You worked too hard to not be happy, Buck. I've had the pleasure and honor of watching you grow up into this amazing and capable adult and I'll continue to watch you grow."

"You promise?"

"Evan?"

Buck turned to see Tommy standing behind him. He looked worried, his eyes searching for something. "Are you okay?"

Buck sniffed, wiping his nose against. "Yeah, I was just talking to -" He turned around.

To nothing.

No one.

No Bobby.

"Evan?"

It wasn't about him.

Bobby had a family. He had Athena and the kids. He had his mom and brother.

It wasn't about him.

That's what Buck had told himself.

"I've got you. I got you." Tommy murmured into his curls, Buck was gripping Tommy like he was a life saver as he broke down. Sobbing loudly into Tommy's shoulder, three days worth of despair and anguish. "I've got you." Tommy repeated. He pressed kisses into Buck's hair, "I'm so sorry, Evan."

[endzithefangirl]

"I'm gong to put 'being a WAG' on my CV" part 2

Authors note: The part 2 of this to celebrate Maxie winning the Brazil GP! Sorry it took so long, your girl is a STEM student, life got busy. Also now you know the inspo for the TechCEO!Reader.....

Summary: You come with Max to the Brazil GP to see many things: a win, an engineer.... and to have a long chat about Alexa....

Warnings: English isn't my first language, no use of Y/N, female reader, famous reader, swearing, also slight jabs at Max's dad and a few others...

Word count: 2.9k

It was the first race you had come to watch in a while. You desperately wanted to attend the one in Austin, but you got stuck in New York for work. But here you are, in Brazil, being driven to the paddock at 6:30 am for a delayed qualifying session that was probably going to be in the rain. You were worried about many things: the fans, your looks, the fact that Max's dad was going to be there, and the possibility that Max's ex-girlfriend might also be there, although Max reassured you that they were on friendly enough terms where it wouldn't be a problem.

Also, Max winning. He hasn't won since, like, April. He's been doing better recently, but he still hasn't won. And Norris was getting closer and closer to that number one spot. It was an incredibly chaotic morning. In that pre-qualifying session, Max was doing everything to avoid a repeat of the weekend before. On top of that, he was trying to end a months-long winless streak.

Great.

"Well, at least I brushed my hair today..." you mumble, looking at yourself in the phone camera. You still didn't know how to dress like a WAG. You were wearing jeans, the Red Bull jacket Max got you a while ago, some boots for the rain, and your hair down and brushed, which for you is a big thing. You also put on concealer. Miracle.

You were incredibly sexy to Max, though. Unfortunately, you both knew his father and the fashion police on social media might disagree. He didn’t mind, though. He actually preferred you didn’t wear a high-fashion, tight dress. It would have just been a distraction, not to mention, he wouldn’t see you in anything but a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants in the flat anyway.

"Did you know," you say, trying to make conversation to distract from the anxiety, "that your engineer Michael and I went to college together?"

"Really?" he asks, genuinely surprised. If he was honest, he had no idea what the engineers were like outside of their job. The rain was coming down harder, hitting like stones against the windshield.

"Yeah. So, if he got into MIT, he must be good."

Max chuckles, nodding as he looks at the road in front of him for a bit. His engineer was good, but then again, Red Bull didn’t hire anyone but the best and the brightest from the top of the class. He needed people who could handle the race and perform well under pressure. Suddenly, Max turns to you.

"Remind me again, who graduated top of the class at MIT?"

"Allen Chen..." you say, confused.

He laughs loudly before turning back to the road, his eyes fixed ahead once more. He was impressed that you didn’t even have to think for a second before listing them. That was very much like you.

"God, you’re a nerd..." he mutters affectionately with a smile.

"Says you," you laugh. "It's really raining, huh?"

Seeing your reaction to his little joke made him feel all warm inside. Knowing your sense of humor, you had absolutely no idea what you were doing to him. It was also making Max forget about the race, but at this point, he knew it was a rain delay anyway. "Yeah. Feels like we're in a carwash."

"Well, as a big enjoyer of the laws of physics, the best advice I can give you is to go slow on the turns but speed up when going uphill... There is an uphill, right?"

Max actually paused and turned back to you with a grin. It’s funny how you can switch him from hot to cold so swiftly. He still wasn’t convinced you weren’t doing it on purpose. But he couldn’t help but be amused and also impressed. "There are two hill sections, yeah. You sure you never thought of becoming a race engineer instead of becoming a nerdy billionaire?"

"I was gonna be one, but I had to drop out of college, you know, to run the company."

"You had to?" he said with an amused smirk. Max was well aware of the fact that you could buy out the entire campus if you wanted to. But he’d be lying if he said your workaholic tendencies didn’t slightly concern him.

"I tried, but it was really hard. And also, I had to move to New York—"

"Babe, you can run your business in every country imaginable and you’re telling me attending one university was too much?" Max knew he was being a smartass about it. This was more than just the workaholic in you, though. You were also a very stubborn creature, to say the least.

"Okay, I just went to college to get the visa, there, I said it. You happy?"

He chuckles, the car coming to a halt as you arrive at the paddock. The rain is hitting the sides of the car loudly. Max turns to you with a playful smirk. "See, was that so hard? But I’m happy if you’re happy, babe."

You walk out, people with umbrellas waiting for you. There were people taking your pictures as you walk into the Red Bull garage. You introduce yourself to everyone new, and a few of the engineers want pictures with you.

"Hey, we went to MIT together," you say to Michael.

"You remember?" he says, shocked.

"Of course I do," you say before Max pulls you to walk back to the driver’s area.

Max had been watching you talk to the engineer and the others with a faint smile on his face. You had been able to charm all of them within 30 seconds. It wasn’t particularly surprising, but he was still amused. He didn’t think many people realized just how captivating you were.

When you’re done talking to Michael, Max takes you to the Red Bull garage.

"That was easy. How did you make friends with my mechanics so fast?" he asks with a small chuckle.

"You might be a legend to regular people, but I'm a legend to nerds."

"Do I want to know how that happened?" he asks, amused. He knew you had always been incredibly smart and talented, but he had no idea you actually had a bit of a nerd fandom attached to you.

"I’m running a billion-dollar tech company," you say, shrugging.

He looks at you for a moment, his eyes wide. He always somehow keeps forgetting that you’re a goddamn genius. Because whenever he looks at you, he can only think how goddamn beautiful you are.

And yet you say stuff like that as if it’s normal.

You kiss his cheek. "I'll leave you to go ride fast. I'm gonna see if Michael will let me sit with them during quali." Max smirks as you say it before you kiss his cheek. He’d always found your ability to go from incredibly sexy to super nerdy to be insanely attractive. It was one of the things that made him fall in love with you in the first place.

"Sure thing, nerd. Have fun." Max jokes before giving you a kiss on the forehead.

You stayed with the engineers during quali, both because it was super interesting and also to avoid Max's dad in the front of the garage.

And then the rain fucked it all up.

All up.

Max was out of Q2.

He was 17th.

You all saw him and his dad raging in the front of the garage.

The whole quali was a mess, with so many crashes, slips, and generally poor driving in the heavy rain and fog.

As Max got out of the car, soaked and drenched from the rain, he slams the door shut in sheer anger. This whole quali was a shitshow from start to finish. So many poor decisions, so much poor driving. He wasn’t even the worst offender. And he was still only P17. In the garage, he could still hear his dad going on a rage, but he just couldn’t. Max was too annoyed and frustrated to listen.

"Well, that was shit," you say, turning around to Max from where you were sitting.

He didn’t even notice you were nearby until he heard your voice. He turned around to look at you, his hair and shirt completely soaked from rain and sweat. But he couldn’t help but smile at your comment.

“That’s putting it lightly…”

"They definitely fucked you all up with that delayed yellow flag," you say, taking off the headphones and walking over to him slowly. "Save my seat for the race, guys."

He’s about to open his mouth to answer when he finally notices the headphones around your neck and realizes you had actually been in the garage the whole time. Despite how bad the day had been so far, he’s still very impressed that you’re here in the garage and not in some skybox with champagne in your glass. As you come closer, Max can’t help but wrap his arms around your waist and pull you close, not caring how soaked he is.

You hug him back. "It's fine. At least you didn't crash like some of them. Take a breather and then you'll do great at the race later." You take a Snickers out of your pocket. "Calm down now. You're not yourself when you're hungry. Here, eat a Snickers."

He raises an eyebrow as he sees you take out a Snickers from your pocket. It wasn’t the most normal thing to have in a pocket, but somehow it wasn’t surprising at all. It was definitely very you. He also couldn’t help but think that you were probably the type of person to carry emergency snacks around in case anyone was hungry.

“How many of those do you have on you?”

"A few. They're for you if you want them. You know I'm a Mars person," you say, showing him the inner pocket of the Red Bull jacket he got you.

He smirked slightly. The fact that you were so casually admitting to carrying around a little bag of Snickers for him was hilarious. But knowing how much you care and how much you want to make sure he’s doing okay, it wasn’t actually that surprising at the same time.

“Of course you are… Can I have another one?”

He unwraps the second one and pops it into his mouth, chewing on it slowly as he looks at you. Max takes a seat in the chair behind him, his legs spread wide as he leans back, exhausted.

“…come here…” he says, pulling you to sit on his lap. You blink as you realize what he wanted.

He looks at you with a pleading look in his eyes. He usually wouldn’t ask for something like this because he knows you weren’t the type for public displays of affection in the slightest. But for some reason, he was feeling particularly needy, and he knew you would most likely not refuse if he looked at you this way.

He’s surprised at how easy it was to convince you, but it probably has to do with how terrible this weekend has been and how miserable he looks. Or maybe you’re just extra nice today. Who knows…

As you sit on his lap, the other engineers laugh.

"That's right. I know how to code and I get laid," you say, making them all laugh. "You should go have lunch and then be ready for the race."

He hums in agreement. He knew you were right, but he was still very reluctant to let go of you now that he’d finally gotten you to sit with him. He’s well aware that the others are probably still watching you.

“One kiss, please?”

You roll your eyes and give him a quick kiss. You ruffle his helmet hair as you stand up. "Go."

“See you after the race?”

You nod and wink. Max’s heart skips a beat as you wink at him, and he gives you a small smirk in response. There was something insanely attractive about your confidence and how well you handled yourself in this environment.

Before the race, you came to the front of the garage to wish Max good luck. You saw him talking to his dad in Dutch. "Hey, just wanted to say good luck," you say from the door.

His dad noticed you first as you came in from behind Max. Both Max and his dad turn to look at you, Max’s features immediately softening as he sees you. He had to hold himself back from just immediately coming up and giving you a hug… his dad was standing literally next to him… He takes a deep breath, his voice still sounding a bit tense and nervous as he looks at you with a forced smile. “Thanks, babe… Thanks for coming…”

"I'll be with the engineers. Just be calm; it's gonna be a good race regardless."

Jos, Max's dad, nods at you politely. You smile at them both and then leave.

Max watches you leave, his smile turning much more genuine right after. He really did get lucky, being able to be with such an amazing person. Even his dad seemed to acknowledge it with a respectful nod in your direction.

Max looks at his dad, taking a breath as he can somehow feel a lecture coming.

".....Ik denk dat als je het uit moet maken met de dochter van een drievoudig wereldkampioen... Je hebt haar in ieder geval vervangen door iemand die heel rijk is...." his dad said.

Max looks at Jos, his face already turning into a frown as he starts his little speech. He already had his suspicions as to where this is going, but he knew he won’t be able to stop him anyway, so he just listens.

"...... Ze is een beetje raar. Maar... Niet de slechtste die je hebt uitgekozen..... Denk je dat zij mij kan helpen met het installeren van het volledige camera-AI-systeem op mijn nieuwe plek?"

The question takes him off guard a bit. He didn’t expect his dad to actually say something like that at all. He looks at him for a moment, his expression conflicted. On one hand, he didn’t like the idea that his dad wants to ask you something like this. On the other hand, he’s well aware that you would excel at something like that… “I wouldn’t be surprised…”

Max won the race. After a red flag and on-and-off rain, Max was the winner of the Brazil GP after a 10-race no-win streak. You run to the barrier with Christian, the Red Bull team principal, cheering with the team as Max comes into the garage. Max parks the car in the garage, exhausted by the long and hard race, but elated by the victory. He gets out of the car, helmet in hand, as he walks up to the rest of the Red Bull team, adrenaline still running through his veins. He looks around at everyone, giving them all some high-fives and handshakes as he walks through the garage. But he’s most excited to see you, standing by the side, cheering together with Christian.

Max immediately makes his way towards you and Christian. He gives the team principal a high-five, but his main focus is on you, of course. He looks at you with a tired but joyful smile as he finally comes up to you.

“Hey there…”

"Whoooo! That was one hell of a race!

He wraps his arms around your waist, hugging you tightly, not even caring that he got you all drenched with rain and sweat. “That it was…” He gives you a quick kiss before going to do the post-match interview and then into the cooldown room.

As he stood on the podium, you cheered loudly from the bottom.

"Hey there champ," you say, coming through the door of the trailer a bit later. "We were thinking of dinner? And by we I mean your dad and I.... He has an Alexa?" you say, confused.

Max looks up from his phone, his face brightening almost instantly as he saw you in the doorway. His eyebrows raise in surprise at the mention of his father. Though he supposed it wasn’t really a surprise, the two of them were supposed to go out to dinner together after all.

“An Alexa?” Max asks, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"He asked me if I could set him up an AI house helper, and I was like, 'an Alexa?'"

Max nods and shakes his head, amused, a little chuckle leaving his lips at the thought of his father coming up to you with those kinds of requests.

“You’re gonna have to be careful, he’ll be asking you to install a whole AI security system in his house next…”

"....he does know my corporation is a partial owner of Ring cameras, right?"

“Maybe we should keep that little fun fact secret from him for now…”

You hug him tightly, more intimately as he stands up. He hugs you back, his arms sneaking around your waist to hold you tight against his body.

“Could you do me a favor?”

"What do you need? An Alexa?"

[bitchinbarzal]

Elodie drops the gloves with kess at a family skate

It started out like any other family skate.

The team had wrapped practice, the music was playing, kids were lacing up their skates with too-big helmets and too-much confidence, and Clayton had Weston strapped to his chest in a fuzzy carrier, bouncing gently as he glided on the ice.

Kaia was on the bench, snapping photos of Elodie zipping across the rink like she owned it.

Because honestly? She kinda did.

Elodie had inherited her dad’s speed, her mom’s sass, and absolutely zero chill. She was in a bright pink jersey with “KELLER” and her dad’s number on the back, and she’d already “scored” on Cooley twice and told Logan his skating looked like a baby deer’s.

So yeah. Confidence: high.

Then came Kess.

Michael Kesselring—big, tall, good-natured, completely unprepared to be Elodie’s next victim.

“You wanna go, Kess?” Elodie chirped as she slid up next to him, pushing her helmet back just enough to let her curls spill out. “One-on-one. Loser gets a timeout.”

Kess blinked down at her. “A timeout? You’re five. You don’t give timeouts.”

Elodie stuck her tongue out. “Then you better not lose.”

Before Kess could respond, she took off down the ice like a rocket, deking an invisible defender, stickhandling like she’d been born in skates. Kess, confused but amused, chased after her.

She turned.

Stopped.

Squared up.

And dropped her gloves.

Right there, in the middle of the ice.

Two tiny gloves.

Fluttering to the ice.

Like a five-year-old enforcer.

“Let’s go, Kess. You scared?” Elodie called, her helmet slightly crooked, cheeks flushed.

From the bench, Kaia choked on her water. “Clayton,” she hissed, laughing, “your daughter just dropped the gloves with a grown man.”

Clayton skated over, wide-eyed. “Bug, what are you doing?!”

“He looked at me funny,” Elodie shrugged. “Had to defend my honor.”

Kess was bent over, wheezing with laughter. “She’s actually serious.”

“She’s always serious,” Kaia called. “Welcome to our lives.”

Clayton shook his head, kneeling beside her. “Bug, dropping the gloves is for fights. You’re not supposed to fight your dad’s teammates.”

Elodie gave him a deadpan look. “Then tell Kess not to chirp my skating.”

“I didn’t chirp anything!” Kess laughed. “I said you were fast!”

“Yeah. Fast like a squirrel. That’s a chirp.”

Everyone on the ice was now watching. Cooley had his phone out. Josh Doan was dying in the corner. Weston burped dramatically in his carrier.

Kess finally put his stick down and lifted his gloves. “Alright, alright. Truce, okay? We’ll settle it with a race next time. I don’t wanna get benched for fighting a kindergartener.”

Elodie tilted her head. “Fine. But I want a juice box after.”

“Deal.”

Later, in the locker room, Clayton looked at Kess and shook his head.

“She gets that from Kaia,” he muttered.

Kess rubbed his shoulder. “She hit me with a mini stick, Keller. I’m not convinced I’m walking away from this without bruises.”

And across the room, Elodie was bragging to Cooley that she “won the fight without even punching him,” and Kaia just smiled like the proud, exhausted mother of a tiny hockey terror.

Because Elodie Keller doesn’t fight to lose.

[writingoddess1125]

Could we have more of Price with his 3 kids and his wife please?

Love your wiring btw, I don't normally go poking into other fandoms but you got me reading outside your cod stuff too

Thank you! ❤️ And I'm glad you're enjoying the other fandoms I got here!

And Also- Per request!

How Did You Know?

FemReader X John Price

OOC Sons and John Price

Micheal 15, Moses 11, Emmey 6

Family Fluff + Some very mild suggestive themes

<<< Masterlist

The Price family was having a Lazy night in.

Currently watching some random ass comic book movie, John laid across the couch with you laying on him, your back to his chest and lower body tucked between his legs. Emmey asleep on your stomach as you rubbed his back gently.

The mountain of half empty chinese take away was on the table waiting to be picked up later as Moses sat on the floor engrossed in the movie and eating the remaining of his orange chicken.

Micheal half watching the movie and scrolling through his phone laying on the love seat.

It was peaceful and at least for John a perfect night-

"Hey Dad,"

Moses suddenly spoke up snapping John from the movie, the boy tilting his head back to look at thw two of you cuddled into each other.

"How did you know you were gonna marry Mum?"

John raised a brow. "Why ya wanna know?"

Moses shrugged eating another peice of chicken, seeming the age of 'Why this and That' seemed to have kicked in.

John glanced at you with a smirk before looking back at his middle child.

"Oh, well that’s an easy one actually, It all started at a really crazy party."

Michael perked up a bit and looked away from his phone. "A party?"

John nodded, scratching his beard a bit.

"Yeah. Your mom and I met there since a mate of mine decided to throw one on his first leave after graduation and we were all doing dumb shit- And thats when I first saw your Mom- Doing Jello Shots in the kitchen"

He smiled as his hand did a arch over his head like it was a magical moment. Making your eyes roll.

"We clicked instantly, talked all night, and decided to meet up the next day for a lunch date."

You groaned a bit at the memory and start to giggle. "Worst idea ever."

"Why?" Michael asked.

"Because," John grinned, "We were both horribly hungover."

The boys giggled while you shook head remembering this vividly. "I remember I crawled down the stairs of my flat and barely made it to that restaurant."

John nodded in agreement.

"So there we were, barely functioning, sitting across from each other. We didn’t even bother making conversation- we just ordered food and got straight to eating."

He paused, smiling at the memory. "I remember looking up from my doner meat and chips, feeling like my soul was finally coming back to me, and there was your mom devouring her food like it was the last thing on earth- Not a ounce of care in the world."

You snorted a laugh. "Hey, it was that or puke on you."

John chuckled. "And that’s when it hit me I thought, Yeah. This is the one. I could look at her every damn day like this-"

The Moses shook his head at this clearly not truly understanding "That’s so weird!"

"But also kinda sweet, So you essentially knew youd marry Mum from the first time you met her?" Michael questioned.

John nodded and kissed the top of your head, smiling at you softly. "Pretty much."

You blushing softly and looking up at him with a gently smile on your face.

"And after that thought- I immediately took your Mom back to my flat and we ban-"

You smacked his arm so fast to stop him as a blush went over your cheeks. John laughing hard as Michael immediately knew what his dad was about to say and wrinkled his nose.

"Gross-"

He grumbled, John still chuckling to himself.

"Well you had to get here somehow so don't complain-"

John cackled, as Moses turned his head to the side confused.

"What do you mean? How Michael got here?"

Moses asked as you covered yohr face with your hand and giggling mostly from embarrassment. Trying to keep Emmey from walking up still as John continued to laugh, Michael looking back at his phone shaking his head.

"Wait but what does that mean??"

[garbinge]

That One Christmas Without Carmy

Michael "Mikey" Berzatto & Platonic!F!Reader

30 Day Fic Challenge (22/30)

Word Count: 2k A/N: A little flashback with Mikey.

Warnings: All my fics are 18+ regardless of content. Mentions of abuse, angst, sadness, depression. Other fics from this universe The Bear Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @quixscentsposts @dadbodfanatic-x @adorable-punk-superheroes @lodeddiperrodrick @isalver @captainweasleybarnes @musicwithteeth @fancyvoidtragedy @shinebright2000 @knight4xmas @gills-lounge @navs-bhat @cosmicak @kmc1989

It was the one Christmas Carmy didn’t come home. With how things were with him, you weren’t shocked. He barely answered your texts, you talked for two minutes every few months. Things were just different, you knew he was distancing himself. It took some time but you put the pieces together as to why and weren’t going to force him into anything. 

You walked into the house, apple cider in your hand, something you did every year you came. Sugar hated that Donna drank herself a mess every holiday, which made bringing alcohol feel wrong, not to mention when you started coming over for these events as an adult, you were still under the legal drinking age and you knew food was off limits when Donna was cooking the 7 fishes. So apple cider it was. 

Not bothering to engage in whatever conversation was happening in the living room, you moved throughout the house looking for a quiet corner to just collect your thoughts. Life had been pretty rocky lately, you just moved back not that long ago and you still felt like you were trying to get your footing from being in Indiana with the jackass that was your ex. You weren’t sure what life held for you, but the pressure alone was enough to weigh you down. 

You let out the deepest sigh as you collapsed your back on the wall next to the pantry where Mikey was standing, the only quiet corner of the house that wasn’t the bathroom which was currently being hot boxed by the Faks. 

He let out a chuckle and a head shake, letting his long hair fall all crazy around him. 

“Just need a minute.” You stared at the ceiling. 

“Feel that.” Mikey was now staring up at the ceiling with you. “Sorry about the craziness.” 

“Ironically, Mikey, this is the most stable environment I’ve been in.” 

“You know that’s fucked, right?” He looked over at you with a smile. 

“Beats sitting in an empty house waiting for a santa that never comes.” You remembered the one Christmas in middle school where your dad told you he was going to visit Santa and to stay in the living room and he’d be back with gifts, he didn’t show back up for 3 days, and all he had in his hand was a public indecency ticket and a 6-pack. “I don’t think you get how much this shit means to me Mikey. You, Sug, Carm, shit, even Richie. You guys saved me, Donna being well,” you pointed to the kitchen as a way to replace any verb that just felt completely underwhelming in comparison of the action, “it’s something I’d happily deal with just to have your guys company.” 

“We love you, kid.” He grabbed your shoulder, staring at you. 

After a moment of silence, you spoke up. 

“You talk to him lately?” 

“No.” He answered quickly. “You?” He was now staring down at the floor, waiting for an answer.

“Not really. Maybe a month ago. He actually called me once, wished me a happy half birthday.” You chuckled and looked over at Mikey who was making a weird face. “It’s like a tradition.” You started to explain since he looked very confused. “We’ve done it since we were kids.” You shrugged. “But other than that and a text to let me know he wasn’t coming home, he hasn’t answered my calls. Barely texts me back.” 

“You know last year, he was standing right there where you are, giving me shit ‘bout talking to Claire Bear for him.” He laughed at the memory while you rolled your eyes. “Jealous?” Mikey caught you and smirked. 

“Barely.” You huffed. “It’s just so crazy you guys can’t see it.” You shrugged and looked at Mikey who was giving you a look like ‘are you going to continue?’. It made you laugh but you obliged. “You’re gonna make fun of me and him for saying this, but Carm, he’s so delicate. He gets tipped off his scale so easily you gotta ease him into things. I bet you, you, Richie, and Fak bum rushed him about how hot she is, and how he needs to hit that and whatever. That shit throws him off, you gotta be smooth with it. When he’s here, he’s waiting for something to tip the scales, that's why it’s so easy to tip.” 

“It was cousin Steve, not Fak, but you’re not wrong, that is what happened.” He nodded, letting his hand rest on the frame across from him as his head dropped and his back was still against the other side of the frame. “It’s like you’re his best friend or some shit.” It was meant as a joke, a light hearted comment but it held a lot more weight for you.

“I don’t know about that anymore.” 

“What happened to you out in Indiana. Could tell shits been different for you since then.” Mikey continued the conversation, his leg now lightly kicking the door frame as a subconscious tik. 

“Some really fucked shit happened. After all of it, I went to see Carmy, could tell he was working really hard to separate himself from this, and I just so happen to be a part of this. I think I tip the scales.” 

“If it makes you feel better, I most definitely tip the fuckin’ Carmy scales.” Mikey laughed, looking back down at the ground. 

“You know, you’re like a brother to me, Mikey.” That comment brought his eyes back up to you, his head nodding and his hair flopping all over the place as he acknowledged you. 

“I love you like a sister, you know this, sometimes even more than Sugar, you don’t ask Ma if she’s okay 20 times a day.” He teased, a smile growing on his face. 

It was nice to see him smile, it was so rare these days it felt like. 

“Your moms scales are easily tipped, too. Probably where Carm gets it.” You were now walking past him in the door frame and sitting on the radiator box that was parallel to the stairs. “Guess I got my dad’s scales, untippable.” You shrugged as you jumped up. 

“Think I got mine’s too.” Mikey’s eyebrows raised, he shifted his positioning, so he was facing you since you moved, but quickly mimicked how he was standing before, back against the door frame, hand on the opposite side holding him up. “How is your Pops?” 

You laughed and shook your head. “It’s Christmas Eve so, drunk, probably in a casino.” 

“Some things don’t change.” His eyes were now connected to yours. 

“And yet I feel like I can’t recognize my life anymore.” Your legs began to kick back and forth slightly hitting the radiator beneath you.

“Well, a lot of things do change.” Mikey shrugged, a smile growing on his face at the irony of his statements. 

“Funny guy.” You smiled back. 

“Bear made me this drawing that Christmas. Told me about Copenhagen.” He let out a deep sigh. “I tipped the scale though.” 

“He just misses you, Mike. Wishes he was doing this with you.” It was spoken like it was so obvious and Mikey missed all the signs. 

“He told you that?” It was curious how he asked, like he knew all along, but there was some shit no one but him knew that prevented it all from happening. 

“No, but I know he told you that, he’s my best friend, I've known him since we were kids, I know what he’s thinking before he thinks it.” You spoke jokingly but obviously.

“It’s just a mess here.” Mikey wasn’t in the mood to joke about this and you could tell that immediately.

“But it’s home.” You spoke in the same seriousness.The doorbell rang and you looked at Mikey and quickly nodded your head to the right. “I’ll get it.” 

Mikey stayed leaning against the pantry’s door frame as you walked over to the front door. With a smile, you tossed open the door, expecting to see Pete or even one of the Fak’s since they always managed to lock themselves out every year but your heart dropped when you saw him. 

“Hey, I uh, called your dad, said I could probably find you here.” 

The last time you saw this man was when Richie was pointing a gun at him in the middle of The Beef which was last year. That added with the fact that he mentioned talking to your father, you barely got to talk to him and he can just call him up and he offers up your information like its nothing. The feeling of your heart dropping was quickly being replaced with rage bubbling in every part of your boddy, but your hands and arms specifically. 

“What the fuck do you want.” It must’ve been obvious you were getting angry because the man in front of you lifted his arms in a sense on innocence but you knew there was nothing innocent about him. 

“Was back in the area, missed you, I know how much you love the holidays, figured maybe we could go out, catch up, or not talk at all.” His eyebrows raised and as he was talking you definitely smelt the alcohol on his breath. 

“You should actually get the fuck out of here.” Your hand was firm on the door, despite them shaking, ready to slam it closed. 

The man took a step forward now, his begging mixed with a desire to show power. As his hand rested on the door he began to slightly push it open against yours.  “Don’t be like that, I always hated when you were like that, you’re too pretty to have an attitude that ugly.” 

Suddenly, the pushing on the door stopped and you felt a hand right above yours. Turning you saw Mikey standing behind you, taking all the weight of the door in his hand as he held firm with a deep frown on his face. 

“Pretty sure she told you to get the fuck outta here.” 

You weren’t sure if you were mortified or happy someone had your back right now. 

“I’m talkin’ to the lady, alright, don’t mean to be a bother, you don’t–you don’t gotta get involved.” It was said to be nonchalant but anyone could have read between the lines. 

“No, you’re not talkin’ to the lady.” In a way so opposite of his other hand, Mikey lightly touched your shoulder and smiled at you as he nodded behind him. Quickly he was taking your hand in his and moving you behind him. “C’mere sweetheart, stand right there.” He turned his attention back to the man at the door and hardened his face again. “You’re talkin’ to me. Who are you?” 

“I’m a friend.” He pointed to you and tried to peak past Mikey at you. 

“You ain’t shit. This is my house, my property, and she’s my friend. So I’m gonna need you to get the fuck out of here.” Mikey gripped the guy up with such ease, if it wasn’t for the flex of his muscles and the veins on his arms popping out, it wouldn’t have been obvious as to how hard his grip around this guys neck was. He tossed him down the stairs almost like a ragdoll, it helped that the man was in the bag drunk and had little to no reflexes readily available anymore. “If you ring this doorbell or do any other shit in or around this house, I’ll kill you.” With that the door was being slammed and he was turning to look at you. It broke him to see someone he saw as family so scared, your eyes were terrified still. 

He was tossing his arm over your shoulder and pushing you back through the kitchen and to the dining room where the chaos was. A sure way to keep your mind off everything. 

“Hey, c’mon now. Ignore that, let’s steal one of those cannolis, yea?” 

[viaarts404]

I don't write fanfics often but gotta start now 'cause if I write it for myself then I won't write it at all.

Summery: Events after Adam's death...Michael tries to revive Adam while Lucifer tries to tame Sinner!Adam. Michael wakes something that was not supposed to be awakened.

    -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _______________>>+×+<<______________  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Michael hasn't left his office in two days. He took a bunch of books from the library and locked himself away. He only eats or drinks when someone brings him something. He's been living on coffee and energy drinks.

-I don't get it! These don't even make sense!-yelled Michael while sitting in his office chair at his desk. He tore a page out from his notes and threw it towards the trashcan. He missed and the paper fell on the floor. Michael sighed and rested his head on the notepad in front of him.

-I just don't get it. -Michael repeated, tears rolling down his cheeks.

    -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _______________>>+×+<<______________  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

-DAMMIT, ADAM! GET BACK HERE! -screamed Lucifer while chasing down Adam. Adam kept screaming curse words in random order with no relation to each other. Adam only stopped when chains wrapped around his body.

-LET ME GO, FREAK! -responded Adam, screaming as usual.

-Calm down already! -Luci ordered then dragged Adam onto the bed -now stay down! - Lucifer walked out of the room then locked the door. He made his way down the hall to the lobby.

-You didn't knock him out, right dad? -Charlie said as she walked up to Lucifer.

-I sadly did not. But I really wish I did. -responded Luci then sighed.

Luci and Charlie had a long talk about Adam, mostly what to do with him.

Lucifer made his way back to the room he locked Adam into. He tried to unlock the door but the key wouldn't turn. He was confused at first then realised it was already unlocked. Lucifer rushed into the room with an expression that was the mix of fear and confusion.

He froze when he saw Adam on the floor with a couple of old books around him. Most of the books were of basic literature. Just stories, mostly fantasy.

-What? Never seen a book before? -Adam said with a smug expression. He laughed at Lucifer a little bit then asked "what?" again. Luci shook his head.

-Since when can you read? -asked Lucifer mockingly.

-Michael thought me. It's actually quite fun.-responded Adam while reading his book. He put the open book down then took a dictionary and looked up a word then quickly went back to reading. Lucifer stood there in pure silence for a long minute.

-well, anyway, you'll be staying in the hotel. Charlie decided to keep you around. -Lucifer told Adam while facing another way but still looking at Adam from the corner of his eyes.

-Better than on the streets, I guess.-responded Adam.

    -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _______________>>+×+<<______________  _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

[blue-rose-soul]

Sad-sack, depressed Uncle Michael is actually on an info diet in Lost Son. He's aware of Alastor, he's even visited him a few times himself when Al was younger, but the actual plan to use Alastor against Lucifer was never divulged to him.

It adds an unintentional layer of authenticity to the plot, because Michael's guilt and regret from Lucifer's *Fall makes his attempts sincere, but halting.

As far as Michael is aware, Lucifer Did leave Alastor high and dry with no warning. He's not about to bring his brother up as a positive when the wound is still fresh.

Uriel, Gabriel, & Samael: *whisper* *whisper* Lucifer's *whisper* *whisper* *whisper* Michael: What was that about Lucifer? Uriel & Samael: Uuuuuuuhhh... Gabriel: Oh, he had a son on Earth and- Uriel & Samael, slapping their hands over Gabriel's mouth: SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!!! Michael: ...Luci has a child? Michael: [Tearing up.] Uriel & Samael: (internally) Fffffffffffffffffffffffff- Gabriel, freeing himself: Well, actually, he has two- Uriel & Samael: SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Cue Michael.... at least trying to be an actual good uncle to Alastor. Although he drops the ball a few times. Needless to say, when Alastor finally does meet dear old dad, he can't help noticing a few parallels.

And Michael's very confused about Lucifer seemingly abandoning his son. He doesn't want to believe Lucifer would do such a thing... But then, he also didn't want to believe that Lucifer would allow Evil onto Earth. It's painful to talk about so he just... doesn't. And Alastor can tell talking about Lucifer hurts Michael so he avoids the topic as well.

[ennard-is-near]

Some Michael Afton headcanons and crack theories and whatnot

🚨 warning, If you know me irl (You know who you are, I see you) be aware that I’m not serious hahahahaha I would never be cringe hahaha 🚨

Okay, here we go:

Kid/Teenage hcs:

He’s super quiet after The Bite of ‘83. Like won’t talk to anyone or answer most questions outside of occasional one word answers. [I’ve talked about this before]

He was 13 during the Bite of ‘83.

Wasn’t really popular or a bully or anything before the Bite of ‘83. He was just like, a regular kid whose dad was well-known. It’s like if the mayor’s son was in your class or something. Yeah he’s kind of an asshole, but so is every middle school boy.

Ppl tend to avoid him after The Bite just because if you had the choice between talking to the guy who killed his brother or not doing that, you’d probably pick the latter. People felt bad for him or whatever but it’s not like they wanted to befriend him.

Cannot drive because he just never learned (William was NOT about to teach him). He walks most places.

I know this is semi-canon but he likes drawing stuff. He’s not very creative though, so he mostly draws what he sees around him. He ends of up drawing a lot of animatronics and TV show characters.

Mowed lawns and washed cars around the neighborhood for money when he was like 11-12. William was the type of dad who didn’t give pocket change and made his kids work for their own money. Michael wasn’t great at his neighborhood jobs though so people only hired him if they had money to give away and were willing to go through and fix the spots he missed.

The rest of these are Post-Scoop:

The FNaF 3 hallucinations are like a semi-regular issue for him. He occasionally just sees shit. Doesn’t have to be phantom animatronics, though. Can be more chill (by comparison lol) and like people he knew just standing there, weird shadows (especially in reflections) and sounds and voices. [I‘ve talked about this before too, sorry]

Really scared of the dark. Lights on in every room + flashlight on him at all times scared.

The power went out in his house a couple times when it snowed and (even though it didn’t get pitch black because of light from the windows) he did not like it.

He’s also the master of batteries, they’re scattered all over the house.

His power bill is so much. Like you’d drop dead if you saw it. TV and lights and air conditioning on 24/7 drive it up. His water bill is virtually nothing, though, so that’s good.

Doesn’t have issues with money because he has access to William’s bank account somehow.

Still lives in the house he grew up in. I just feel like he does.

Sort of has an issue with animals. They do not like him and will bark at and attack him whenever given the opportunity. He’s literally a dead body and animals tend to not like those. Birds will literally swoop down and attack him sometimes. He has fought two raccoons.

Absolutely a creature of the night. Only leaves the house past midnight and is back before sunrise. This is for a couple reasons, mostly just because there’s less happening at night. He carries a flashlight around when he goes out though bc he’s so scared.

Has like one guy who he’s on good terms with. It’s some random graveyard shift worker at the local corner store. He goes to the same store like every Tuesday or whatever and it’s always the same guy working there. They don’t even say that much to each other but they’re still buddies. When Michael works at the FNaF 1 location the employee is actually kinda sad because he doesn’t come in that week and he’s really confused as to where that guy could have gone or if he finally died or something. And then Michael comes in the next week and the routine continues and the employee will never know what happened that one week the weird guy didn’t come in.

Okay that’s it. <3

[fluffyficsanddreams]

Still My Little Boy

Summary: Teenaged Michael thinks he's too cool for something as "childish as tickling"... William thinks that is an absolutely heinous crime, and eventually, a certain little brother decides to join in.

This was requested by anon, so whoever you are, I hope you enjoy this!!

It was about 7:30 in the evening at the Afton household when a loud slam was heard throughout the house. That was the front door, slammed by William's oldest son who had just returned from a hangout with his friends. Michael groaned, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the living room. Unbeknownst to his family, he had just fought with his buddies—and it wasn't just that usual argument you have over ice cream flavors or music taste. After that fight, he wasn't sure he'd talk to his friends again.

Michael jumped as he saw his father walk into the room, a confused expression on his face, alerted by the door slam. "Michael? You said you'd be back at 9, it's only 7. Did something happen?" William asked, taking off his rubber gloves that he used while he worked downstairs on whatever new mechanic parts. Michael swallowed, not wanting to tell his father about what had just went down between him an his friends—why should he? That was his business, after all—but William couldn't help feeling concerned at the anxious expression on Michael's face. Walking toward his son, William placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Mike, what's wrong? You can trust me, alright?" He asked again, but Michael stayed silent, not making eye contact with his father. He was born stubborn, and once he was set on not doing something, he absolutely refused to do that thing—and William knew that. Although... his father was aware of one time-tested method to get things out of his son...

William chuckled and took Michael into his signature dad-hug, and his son exhaled, letting himself relax a little in his father's embrace. "Mike, I can tell when you're upset. I promise, you can tell me anything." William murmured, rubbing his son's back with a comforting hand. Michael, being his stubborn self, still refused to open his mouth.

"Michaael... you know what happens when you don't tell me somethiiiing." William cooed, to which Michael tilted his head to look up at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" He asked, and his father actually chuckled. "Don't tell me you forgot about the ol' tickle monster, didja?" William asked, a smirk on his face. Michael groaned and rolled his eyes, shoving at his father's hands. "Daaad, you know I'm too old for that dumb stuff." His son sighed, to which William placed a hand on his chest and gasped in mock surprise. "Whatever on Earth are you talking about? You're never too old for that 'dumb stuff', since you'll always be my baby boy." William replied dramatically, and he began to poke and prod at Michael's sides. The teen started to squirm in his father's arms, tiny half-stifled snickers escaping him.

"Hmmm... I thought you were too old for your dad's tickles, you shouldn't be affected!" William teased, scribbling 8 fingers over Michael's lower sides. "Pfftdahahahad! Nahahahaha!" His son broke into a fit of laughter, writhing in his father's grasp. William had to hold on a little more than he'd used to, as Mike had naturally grown stronger with age—but that, of course, didn't stop him. "Dahahahahad! St-stohohop!" The teen protested, feeling his legs giving way as the tickling weakened him, resorting to holding himself up by leaning against William which eventually led to the two basically melting to the floor. "I'm not stopping until you tell me what's wrong!"

Now laying on the floor, Michael kicked out his feet as William continued his tickle-monster attack, poking at his son's stomach rapidly with a couple fingers, causing Mike to snort between laughs—one of his signature things, his family could recognize Michael's snorts from a mile away.

Due to this, Michael's younger brother walked into the room having heard all the noise. Evan looked astonished at what was unfolding on the floor, as he'd never seen his tough, brash older brother laughing so hard. He giggled, approaching the scene. "Papa, what's going on?" Evan asked, a wide, amused smile on his face. William looked up at his second son with a smirk as he continued to tickle his oldest to bits. "Well, he may not have ever told you, but your brother here is ridiculously ticklish."

"AHAHaham noHOHot!" Michael shouted in protest, cut off by his own cackle as William vibrated his fingers into his stomach. Evan giggled, walking toward his brother and sitting next to him on the floor.

“You know, Mikey, I think I should get you back for all those times you tickled me,” He spoke, to which his older brother shot his eyes open at him and tried to glare at him before squeezing them shut again in his laughter. “Dahahohohon’t you DAHAHARE!” Michael threatened, Evan not at all intending to listen to him and sitting up by his head, shoving his hands into his brother’s underarms, earning a screech and newfound cackles.

William winked at his second son with a chuckle. “You see, bud, what you wanna do is scribble all your fingers at the same time, like this.” Their father suggested, showing Evan what he was talking about by scribbling 8 fingers between Michael’s ribs, causing the teen to arch his spine as far as it could go before crashing back down again. Evan nodded eagerly, a bright smile on his face as he imitated what William had just shown him in his older brother’s armpits, not expecting the loud shrieking that came out of Michael’s mouth. He was almost alarmed, but he shrugged it off when he saw how brightly his brother was smiling and laughing. It was a rare sight, but Evan and William both wished that they could see it more.

“Okay, Evan, do you want to see something cool?”

“Yeah!”

Michael’s eyes shot open once again as he immediately realized what his father was referring to. “Nonononono! Don’t, please don’t!” He begged, nervous giggling pouring past his lips already. William pretended to think about for a moment, holding a hand to his chin.

“Hmm… let’s see… no!” His father replied mischievously before pulling Michael’s shirt up, and taking a deep breath…

“PBBPHBPPBBT!”

“YAAAHAHAHAHA!”

Michael actually screamed before letting out the loudest cackles Evan had ever heard. William’s signature thing was raspberries, of course! Evan knew that from his own experiences. Now Michael was practically a red-faced, cackling, snorting puddle.

“OKAY! OHOHOHOKAHAY! I GIHIVE UP! I’LL TEHEHELL YOU!” The teen finally screeched, and William lifted his hands from his son’s body and let Michael out from underneath his grip. Evan giggled as he watched his older brother gasping for breath, his face flushed red and sweat beaded on his forehead. “Mikey, we should do that more.” Evan smiled, to which Mike shot a glare at him and growled, “Shut it.” He was trying to be intimidating, but the wobbly smile that split his face gave him away completely.

“Hey, be nice to your brother. Now, tell me what was wrong.” William prompted, placing a hand on his oldest’s shoulder. Michael exhaled, having regained most of his composure, and recounted some of the fight he’d had to his father.

“I’m sorry, bud. But hey, friends come and go. Just know that I’ll always be here for ya, alright? Your old man loves you.” William told him, taking him into a gentle hug. Michael exhaled in his embrace, wrapping his own arms around his dad. The teen felt his younger brother hug him from behind, and a small smile crossed his face.

He wouldn’t trade these moments for the world.

[hereyeswithoutaface]

A couple of fruits (Part 3)

Bullet train prequel fanfiction! third chapter <3 the other two are on my profile!!!

notes: this one is PACKED with references to the film, including one of tan's iconic tattos, and y'all hopefully will get to know a lot more about Ashley in this chapter (my fave diva icl) this is one of the more fluff filled parts of the story, apart from the first bit of this part lmaooo, but i hope you all enjoy because i love this chapter!

TW: death + suicide mention, alcohol briefly spoken about, talk of addiction and abuse, strong language, smoking and i think thats all!

your constant character name switch reminder-

Tangerine- Michael

Lemon- Toby

Michael blinked a few times at the computer screen, Ashley had just admitted to him that she doesn't care that he killed his foster father, and he was even more so curious on how she even knew he did it in the first place, it only happened a few hours ago, but the boy couldn't dwell on that thought for too long, because even though he wanted to avoid the stress of dealing with a distraught foster mother, he was going to have to help Toby sooner or later; so, with a sigh, he got up and went into the kitchen, where a blubbering Mrs Davies sat, Toby beside her and patting her shoulder with a slightly awkward look on his face.

"Oh i just can't believe h- he would do that! He's always seemed so happy" She shook her head, her glasses on the table in front of her as she was crying so much that they would've become a bath if she had kept them on. "Michael- my sweet boy, come sit with us, Your dad's....d- died." She manages to croak out, beckoning him closer with her hand, and Toby giving him a 'fooking-sit-down' look.

Reluctantly, Michael puts on a horrified expression and sat down on the squeaky kitchen chair on the other side of his foster mother, placing his hand slowly onto her shoulder. He was beginning to realize he was not as slick at acting as he thought he was.

"Oh-that sounds, urm- bloody horrible. what- what happened?"

"He- he killed himself- drank beer and drain cleaner, oh it's so awful! The paramedics took his body, but they- they couldn't do anything about it, i'm, i'm so sorry boys-" Their mother sniffled as she spoke softly to them, and put her head down on the table, which revealed to Michael a very pissed off looking Toby staring right at him, mouthing the words 'you owe me', which was actually unfair, considering Michael had won the game in the first place.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The next morning, the two woke up in their shared bedroom, and Toby looked around for his brother with pure confusion on why he wasn't in the twin bed on the opposite side of the room, "Mike?" He yawned out, before noticing his brother sat at their desk, using the computer, typing away at something. Toby was not stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing, and no- he wasn't watching videos of Angelina Jolie, he wasn't that much of a loser teen boy, he was messaging Ash- which was arguably worse.

@tolstoyluvr: 'how do you know that i killed him???'

@ashlediquehead: 'i live in the same apartment block, there's a big window in your front room. i walked past when it happened.'

@tolstoyluvr: 'right... how come i never knew you lived here?'

@ashlediquehead: 'why would you?'

@tolstoyluvr: 'fair point'

@ashlediquehead: 'meet me in 5 at the side stairs.'

@tolstoyluvr: 'the rusty one with the shoelace wrapped around it?

@ashlediquehead: 'yeah"

@tolstoyluvr: 'got it'

Before Toby could say anything to Michael, or ask him why he was still talking to Ashley even though he thought he didn't like her, Michael seemed to throw on a jacket and leave the apartment through their bedroom window.

He walked along the damp pavement walkway that went past all the bottom floor apartments, and reached the damp staircase where he saw Ashley, who looked a lot more simpler than she had done the last time he had seen her, her hair now down fully, and no makeup on her face, just smudged mascara, she was smoking a cigarette.

"D'ya want one?" She spoke up when she noticed him, holding out the packet. "They're my mum's, but she won't wake up for hours, or even notice they are gone."

"Gowan then." Michael nodded and held out his hand as he sat beside her on the metal steps, his back leaning against the brick wall of the apartment building. She was sat with her back to the railing, and her knees up to her chest, she passed him a cigarette and lit it when he held it to his lips, he took a drag, and breathed out.

"I'm sorry about your dad, even if you didn't like him."

"Don't apologize, he was a prick." Michael shook his head, "He was my foster dad, my own father was a boxer- and a bloody good one, but some bastard killed him in a rigged fight, and i had no mum, so straight to a foster care home- i met Toby there, we clicked instantly, and then we got shipped to the bloody Davies family, and my new dad, was a proper piece of work, abusive piece of shit." He wasn't sure why he was saying all of this, never did he tell people all these things so quickly, but around Ashley, he felt comfortable.

"Oh, that sounds shit." Ashley nodded and took a drag of hers, breathing out into the cold air, "Toby don't really talk about his past much, just assumed you two were proper brothers."

"Really?"

"Yeah, i mean- you two are always next to each other at school, never gave it much thought i guess." She shrugged and looked out at the dingy courtyard of the apartments, and then back at him, "I like your jacket."

His jacket was only simple, he'd found it at a charity shop, it was black and a zip up, and there was a small picture of a tangerine embroidered on the upper left side.

"I like tangerines." She continued, and smiled a little, laughing as she spoke. "They're...adaptable, y'know? Like- they are so good, in any situation- well maybe not if you got run over but- you get the point. I like lemons too, we put those in the drinks at the pub, but they don't bloody bleed."

Michael was listening to her as she spoke, taking yet another drag, and raised his eyebrow at the words 'they don't bloody bleed'. "How could a fruit bleed in the first place?"

"When you cut it, that's the problem, it don't cut on the first try, either i've got a shitty knife, or these lemons are difficult to cut into pieces for the drinks."

Michael laughed at that, he thought back to the previous afternoon, and her slightly atrocious lemon cutting skills for their cokes, that must've been the reason, after a moment, he began to talk again. "What do you wanna do with your life, Ash, i mean, surely you don't wanna be stuck here forever?"

Ashley stubbed out her cigarette on the floor, extinguishing it fully by stamping on it, and her eyes didn't meet his, "I want to break my family's cycle, i guess. I want to make it out of here, out of this dump, and prove to everyone that i won't end up being some alcoholic screw up like everyone else. I want to be an artist, i want to show people the way i see the world."

There was silence for a moment after that, the girl didn't look at the boy, but he looked at her, he honestly thought she was so beautiful, so different to the girls in their school and city, she was odd and had a weird sense of style, with colourful tights and mismatched army boots, and she was slightly off putting and with slight hesitation, but she was so pretty and unique. Slowly, he moved his hand, and was just about to place it over hers when a voice spoke up-

"I wanna be a interviewer, for the police- you have to be good at reading people for that, and i am mint at it." Unbeknownst to them, Toby had left the apartment and joined them, sitting on the step below them and munching on a packet of corner store pick n' mix, staring ahead, he wasn't even looking at his brother trying to flirt with a girl, and most likely didn't even know that was happening at all.

Ashley and Michael's heads whipped round, and he quickly pulled his hand away from hovering over hers, stubbing out his cigarette and rolling his eyes internally. "The prodigal son has risen, thought you were asleep- ya tosser."

Toby turned around, offering them both a sweet, to which, Michael declined and shook his head, but Ashley whispered a small thank-you and took a marshmallow, putting it in her mouth.

"Well, Mikey, if you were an observant person, like myself- you would've realized i was very much awake, and saw you climb through the window like- i don't know, but obviously, being intuitive as i am, i decided to follow and investigate, like Henry in Thomas and friends-"

"Jesus-" Michael sighed and looked over at Ash, giving her an awkward smile, "Sorry about him-"

"Why are you saying sorry? Me and Toby are like uh- give me a Thomas analogy"

"Donald and Douglas, a pair of tender engines fro-"

"Donald and Douglas" Ash repeated and cut Toby off from another rant about steam trains, and rain her hand through her hair. "I pierced his ears and i got a fiver, that's basically friendship."

Michael raised an eyebrow, he was pretty sure that was not how friendship worked, but he knew how much of a loner Ash was, and decided to leave it. "Right, sure then...does that make me your friend? And no, you aren't piercing my ears, yet."

She perked up when he said this, and it took Ash a couple of moments before she could respond, the only time people wanted to be her friends were:

a) the chavs taking the piss out of her.

b) people wanting free drinks.

So the whole idea of him wanting to be her friend was a little unusual, but she nodded after a moment of thought, these two teens were harmless- apart from the fact that just yesterday the two had killed their foster father and she had seen it clear as day, but that didn't matter, and she whispered.

"I- yeah, you're both my friends."

Toby gave Michael a look, which meant 'you-wanna-be-more-than-her-friend' but luckily Ash didn't see it, and Michael nudged Toby, almost sending him flying down the stairs, but he kept his grounding.

This trio did not know what the hell was coming for them yet.

[hazbininlove]

Hopelessly Devoted - Chapter 3

-About 5.5k. No real warnings in this chapter!

Charlie is more or less freaking out at the moment. She received news a week ago that Esther would be coming back down to assist with the Hotel and would be bringing a guest. Now today is the day of that visit and she feels like nothing is ready. Everything in the hotel feels out of place and she doesn’t know how to fix it.

“Charlie, you need to relax,” Vaggie says, coming up to her and placing her hands on Charlie’s shoulders. Charlie grabs at her own hair in frustration.

“I can’t, Vaggie! Esther didn’t come into the hotel last time and I just want it to be perfect! And she said she’s bringing someone else! What if it’s Sera? What if it’s Michael?! WHAT IF IT'S GOD?!”

“Charlie! She’s not bringing God to our hotel! And I doubt she’d bring Michael here! He’s probably the last person who’d ever willingly down here.”

Charlie groans and slumps into Vaggies hold. “What am I gonna dooooooo-“

“Do about what?”

“Ah!” Charlie jumps out of Vaggie’s hold and looks to the entrance where her dad is standing. His eyebrows furrow in concern.

“You doing alright, apple pie? You look uhhh kinda tired,” he inquires.

“Dad! Hi! I could really use your help right now! Esther is coming down any minute now and he’s bringing someone and-“

“Esther!” Her dad yells, his hands now gripping her arms. “She’s coming here?! Today?! Now?!!”

“Ooooh I see I forgot to mention that,” Charlie replies sheepishly, laughing awkwardly to herself. “I knew I was forgetting something.”

Lucifer’s hands let go of her to grip his own hair, knowing his hat off his head. He starts pacing as he freaks out.

“Oh hell she’s coming here. I haven’t prepared anything. Nothing has felt right! I haven’t even had the time to fix up my wings. My WINGS!”

He yells, and his wings pop out behind him in the largest form Charlie’s seen from him in months, knocking over a painting as he does so. “Satan’s smelly asscrack! They’re a mess! How the fuck am I supposed to impress her with this disaster?!”

“I don’t think Uncle Satan would appreciate that comment,” Charlie mumbles, trying to defuse the situation.

“He’s an ugly sweaty fuck! He can handle a few insults in his name!” Lucifer yells back. He pauses, groans, and rubs at his temples. “Sorry, apple pie. I’m just nervous and didn’t mean to yell. Satan definitely deserves it though.”

“Aren’t the two of you supposed to be twins or something?” Vaggie asks, approaching the two of them. “Isn’t that why people confuse you two so often?”

“Aha, no, you know all those pictures of a red dude with horns that people think is me? That’s Satan. He’s just such a damn menace that of course when shit goes sideways, they think he’s the actual devil which then confuses people and- you know what? It’s a whole thing. The point is, he smells like shit half the time I see him and I think he does it on purpose.”

“Dad, I think we’re off track again. Why are you freaking out about your wings? And can you please make them smaller before you break anything else?” Charlie asks.

Sheepishly, Lucifer does just that, letting them get smaller until they’re at a more appropriate size indoors. He snaps his fingers to fix the things he knocked over and continues pacing as he fiddles with his hands.

How does one explain to their daughter that he has an inside joke of sorts with his soulmate and now as part of proving himself to her again, he has to behave like a duck during mating season and impress her.

Shit, had Esther even meant that literally? Knowing her humor, she probably did, though she definitely expected more than just that as an apology. He wasn’t entirely sure how to apologize either. He’d told her everything the week before. Of course, just because he explained and apologized doesn’t mean she had to forgive him. And he knew one apology wouldn’t make up for several millennia apart, due to his own actions, but he really didn’t know what else to say or even do to make it up to her.

It just stressed him out more that he couldn’t think of anything to do about this. He couldn’t lose her again, not when he finally had a second chance. He’d been struggling to sleep for the past week just thinking about her. Her beautiful dark blue eyes, her wavy black hair with the streaks of white, the rich blue on the underside of her beautiful wings. Lucifer feels his heart beat a little faster at the thought of her bright smile aimed at him, eyes crinkled at the end in pure joy and those cheek marks on the corner of her mouth so high they almost look like they’re reaching her eyes.

“It’s nothing Char,” he replies to his daughter. “I just want to look my best when she arrives. And you said she’s bringing a gues- Who the fuck is she bringing?”

“We don’t know, sir. We can only assume it’s another angel,” Vaggie answers for her, likely stopping Charlie from panicking again.

“Oh fuck me! It’s probably Michael! It’s definitely Michael,” he replies, hands in his hair again as his eyes start to turn red and his voice sounds almost layered. “She talked about him so much last time, it probably is him. That fucker probably did mess with her head. She said she doesn’t love him but someone with Stockholm Syndrome probably wouldn’t admit they have it!”

“Okay!” Charlie claps loudly. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here! Vaggie’s right. We need to relax and think things through. I doubt she’d bring him of all people here. So let’s just focus on one thing at a time! Like cleaning up the lobby!”

Lucifer looks at his daughter with a blank stare and snaps his finger. A burst of gold sparks from his hand and sweeps around the room, cleaning up any dust and straightening out paintings and chairs alike as it goes.

“Can I go back to panicking now?”

“No!” Charlie yells, grabbing her dad and leading him towards the elevators. “We’re going to go get ourselves looking presentable!”

Vaggie watches in amusement but also concern as her girlfriend drags her whining father out of the lobby. Looking around the room, he definitely did a good job of cleaning up and saved them a good amount of time. Especially after the disaster left in the wake of Charlie’s own panicking.

She’s thankful that her and Charlie’s relationship isn’t as complicated as Lucifer’s and Esther’s. She feels bad for them. Knowing what she knows now, it all seemed like a “right person, wrong time” situation. And who knows how long those two even actually spent together before Lucifer had fallen.

The books she read aren’t exactly clear on how long between Lucifer’s creation and the creation of Eden took place. Lucifer is older than Earth, that much she knows, but how much older remains a mystery to everyone except the man himself, and she isn’t sure if asking is appropriate.

And to an immortal being who’s been around for as long as he has and still looks like a relatively young adult, how does time pass for him? Sinners remain the age they died at, but was Lucifer like Adam, Lilith, and Eve? Was he also created as an adult? Were the older angels created as children and then raised into adulthood before the aging stopped? Looking at a picture of Lucifer and Charlie, Lucifer looks the same age now as he did then. Now that Charlie’s older, he looks like he could’ve been a teenage father.

Had Lucifer and Esther had thousands of years between their creation and the Earth’s creation to spend together, or had it just been a few short years together before their forced separation? It doesn’t really matter, at the end of the day. They seemed to be the first and most functional of three pairs of soulmates ever made.

Like Esther had said the day before. The first attempt to recreate them ended in disaster with Adam and Lilith, Eve… No one in heaven had seen Eve in thousands of years and Adam never cared to talk about her besides when insulting her. The only pair that seemed to want to be together was Lucifer and Esther, and even they weren’t actually together because of the miscommunication between them that caused eons of loneliness for the two of them.

No wonder God never made more soulmates. The more Vaggie thinks about it, the more her head starts to hurt. She walks around the lobby instead, making sure nothing was out of place even with Lucifer’s magic.

A knock on the door alerted her to a guest. Vaggie paused, looking over to the bar where Husk had paused in his own polishing, and stared back at her.

“Try to keep the drinks to a minimum, please,” she says to him. He rolls his eyes but continues wiping the bar as she walks towards the door.

Before she can reach the door, a swirl of shadows lifts from the ground, and she curses to herself as she sees Alastor appear from it. She’s practically sprinting and he shifts his eyes to look at her, smile stretched impossibly wide, as he grips the door and pulls it open.

”Welcome, dear guests, to the Hazbin Hotel,” he says, greeting the two at the door.

There is Esther, smiling softly in greeting, with a taller man beside her. His skin is ghostly white like Lucifer’s, but his hair is black like Esther’s. It’s a bit longer than Lucifer’s, falling more into his face and curling around his neck. His suit is impeccable, white pants, black coat, and gray waistcoat. Along the shoulders of his coat are black pads lined in silver with intricate designs. His eyes are dark gray, bordering on blue closer to the pupils.

He looks like royalty, carries himself with an air of importance, but his eyes look soft and his expression is easygoing. It takes Vaggie a few moments before his appearance clicks in her mind.

This is Azrael, the Archangel of Death, the Virtue of Patience.

He’s rarely seen in any of the spheres of Heaven. He, like Raphael, spends most of his time on Earth. When he does return to Heaven, he passes through the spheres and says his hellos, but typically spends most of his time on Primum Mobile with the other higher ranking angels that aren’t ruling over a sphere like Sera.

If he spends any time in another sphere, it’s likely the first sphere where the majority of the winners reside, or in the third sphere where he was created, Venus, just as Lucifer and Esther were.

Well, Azrael is certainly better than Michael in terms of who would stress Lucifer out the most, but Vaggie isn’t holding out much hope. Esther had mentioned that Azrael was likely to visit, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Especially since it’s only her second visit.

At least she could say that of all the virtues or archangels to bring, the Virtue of Patience would probably be the best to deal with all the chaos the people of this hotel were capable of causing.

Both of their wings were tucked away and out of sight, which was probably for the best both to get them through the door and so they wouldn’t take up too much space. They likely planned on spending a good amount of time there, if that was the case.

Vaggie bows to both of them, nervous at the sight of one of Heaven’s strongest angels. Azrael doesn’t fight, might as well be a pacifist, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable. The Seven Capital Virtues all have more power than most beings besides God himself, and even they aren’t the top of the hierarchy the way that the Seven Deadly Sins were down here in Hell.

“Welcome! It’s an honor for you to visit us,” Vaggie says. She may not live in Heaven anymore, or agree with everything they do, but even she knows the Virtues and the Archangel of Death deserved her utmost respect. Esther visiting had been a shock, especially since Vaggie had never seen her so she didn’t know her importance.

“Please, no need for all of that,” Azrael replies. His voice is light, almost airy, but strong. It’s so different from Lucifer’s rich and smooth tone of voice. Lucifer, despite his awkwardness around his daughter, talks in a voice that is loud and boisterous when he wants it to be, like he’s demanding attention. Azrael’s voice sounds more like a soft breeze, calming and comforting.

She supposes when it’s your job to console the souls of the dead and guide them towards their final resting place, a comforting tone is probably for the best.

“I assume you know who I am?” Azrael asks, taking a step into the hotel after gesturing for Esther to enter first. Vaggie nods, not sure what else to say. “I don’t get to say this often, but it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He holds his hand out for her to shake, and she takes it. His grip is just as soft as his voice. “It’s nice to meet you too, sir.”

“None of that. Azrael is just fine,” he replies.

Behind them, Esther is greeting Husk and Alastor. Vaggie wants to warn Esther that staying away from Alastor is for the best, especially considering Lucifer’s hatred for the other man, but there’s really no nice way to say that.

Lucifer’s not going to be happy when he sees both a brother of his that he hasn’t seen in eons suddenly here, and Alastor around the love of his life.

Today’s gonna be a shitty day in hell, that’s for sure.

“Well, where is our lovely host? I’ve been dying to meet my little niece,” Azrael says, looking around the lobby. Esther chuckles behind him.

“The puns will never stop with you, will they?” Esther asks him, a knowing smirk on her lips.

“Not until my last breath,” he teases back. It’s then that Vaggie realizes he’s been making references to death. It’s not something she expected, but knowing how Lucifer acts, she can’t say she’s entirely surprised that the weird jokes run in the family. “Now, my niece, please?”

“Right, yeah, she actually just went upstairs with her dad a few minutes ago, so they should be down shortly,” Vaggie’s replies. She wants to offer to go get them, but the idea of leaving them alone with Alastor sounds like a bad idea. Especially knowing that Husk is likely too drunk even this early in the afternoon to do anything about it.

Something in Azrael’s eyes flash at the mention of Lucifer, and his smile tightens just a bit. It’s not a good sign in Vaggie’s eyes.

“Samael is here as well? How splendid, I’ve missed the little one,” Azrael says back. Vaggie sees Esther roll her eyes at the nickname. It appears Lucifer’s height is a running joke. “My workload increased drastically when my fellow angel of death fell. Of course there are others but Samael was always a joy to work with.”

“You know he prefers to be called Lucifer,” Esther scolds him. Azrael pats her gently. They don’t look alike, besides the black hair, but they act almost like siblings.

The way Lucifer and Esther were created, to be practically married, and the fact that they’ve known each other for thousands of years, Vaggie wouldn’t be surprised if the other Virtues did see her as a sister.

Azrael hums but stays silent on the subject. Instead he chooses to move around the lobby. He goes to the bar to greet a stressed looking Husk as Esther approaches her.

“It’s Vaggie, correct?” She asks and Vaggie nods. “It’s nice to see you again, dear. I apologize for not mentioning Azrael’s visit. He likes surprises and once he has it in his head, there’s no stopping him.”

“Yes ma’am. It was definitely surprising, but I think that’s because I tend to forget that Charlie’s dad was also a high ranking angel.”

“Technically, he still is,” Esther replies. She smiles down at Vaggie, her eyes warm despite the dark cool blue color they have. “He may not be allowed in Heaven anymore, nor is he a Virtue as he once was, but he’s still one of the oldest and strongest of the angels.”

“How interesting,” Alastor says, approaching them. “One would think we’d see more of this strength you speak of.”

“If that was the case, you’d be wiped from existence with the way you like pissing him off, asshole,” Vaggie replies to him. She pauses for a moment to look back at Esther and apologize for her language, but the angel doesn’t look upset at all.

“Well, I suppose some good came from our king’s reclusive nature then!”

Alastor’s eye twitches but he says nothing more, thankfully.

Even after the battle against Adam, Vaggie knows that was nowhere near Lucifer’s full strength. The man was once a Virtue, an Archangel who answered directly to God, and a Seraphim, the highest rank of the angels. He wasn’t called God’s favorite angel for nothing. With all the power Lucifer was given upon his creation, being called the favorite almost felt like an understatement.

Not that there weren’t angels stronger than Lucifer, but Vaggie read about the fall. Lucifer wasn’t just tossed out of the gates like Charlie’s story makes it seem. Lucifer fought, and he fought hard. Michael may have led the charge against him, and been the one to throw him and Lilith towards hell, but it took several angels, mostly Seraphim, to finally weaken him.

Lucifer truly was a terrifying being, even before becoming the first sin.

“I hope you know you have nothing to worry about, dear,” Esther says to her as Alastor walks away. “If he’s anything like he was before, he’s never cared much for power.”

That much is obvious. Alastor didn’t call him a recluse for nothing. Lucifer has made it clear many times that he doesn’t care for sinners or want to truly rule them. The only times he shows off his powers is when he wants to show off for Charlie or do something for her.

“Now, tell me about the hotel, dear. Any new arrivals?”

Vaggie sits with her on the couches as she discusses the details. She’d prefer Charlie to be here, but she won’t keep her waiting either.

They haven’t had any new guests. Half the sinners were scared another attack would come from Heaven and wanted to avoid it. A few cannibals wanted to but really only for the promise of more angels attacking so they could eat more angels. Rosie had taken those few back quickly enough.

Vaggie wasn’t going to mention the cannibals to her, though she did mention their dilemma.

“I see, so an announcement should be made then, to confirm the end of these exterminations,” Esther decides.

That would require either Vox or Katie Killjoy, neither of which Vaggie wanted to deal with or felt Esther should have to.

Before she can respond, the elevator dings. Before she turns, she notices Azrael’s attention now off of Husk and turning towards the elevator as well.

“Okay, we’re ready to get this plan done!” Charlie says as she exits the elevators! Lucifer is behind her, messing with his clothes and patting himself down to make sure nothing is out of place.

“Uhh, Charlie?” Vaggie says, loudly enough for Charlie to hear her. Charlie looks to her, catches sight of Esther, and her eyes go wide.

“Oh shit she’s here already!”

“Where?!” Lucifer calls from behind her, his wings once more popping up. He doesn’t make them as large as last time, but they definitely look a bit better compared to minutes before. They puff up behind him, shaking a bit like a rattle snake’s tail, though clearly more from anxiety than warning.

Vaggie’s eyes shift to look at Esther, who’s covered her mouth a bit and looked away from the display, though based on the way her cheeks are raised, she’s trying to hide a smile.

“Well isn’t this a marvelous display?” a soft voice says. Vaggie turns to her other side where Azrael is standing now beside her, a smile on his face just as before. “Wonderful display of wings, brother.”

“A-Azrael? What are you doing here?” Lucifer shuffles closer to the door of the now closed elevator.

“I do believe Esther mentioned my desire for a visit. I simply couldn’t pass up the chance when she mentioned her plans to return so soon. It’s not often I have a moment to myself after all. But enough of that, this must be my niece, Charlotte, correct?”

“Yes! Hi! I’m Charlie! Um- Uncle?”

Azrael chuckles at Charlie’s stammering and approaches them. It’s at that moment that Lucifer moves forward, eyes narrowed and wings spread high and wide to cover Charlie behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Lucifer repeats, his tone much harsher now compared to his panicked tone before. Esther moves forward now, stepping between Lucifer and Azrael calmly.

She steps closer to Lucifer and grabs one of his hands. “Listen to him first, please. Don’t be rash.”

“Don’t be- You want me to believe one of my brothers just suddenly wants to visit?! Out of the goodness of his heart?!”

“Lucifer-“

“It’s fine, dear,” Azrael says, cutting Esther off. Lucifer’s eyes narrow further at the term of endearment. “He has every right to be suspicious. Our siblings, myself included, have let this go on for far too long right under our noses. And after the last time he saw us, it’s only fair he should be worried.”

Lucifer looks at Azrael with suspicion as he continues.

“Worry not, dear brother, I have no ill will. My intentions were solely to express my apologies for not being aware of this massacre of souls.”

Lucifer’s wings lower a bit when Esther’s hand tightens on his own. He looks at her briefly before looking back at Azrael and rolling his shoulders, allowing his wings to fully disappear again. Esther sighs in relief in front of him and gives him a comforting smile before moving completely out of the way, giving them the full view of Azrael.

It’s Charlie who looks between the three of them before coughing and offering them a seat. Both men nod and Charlie guides them back to the couches where Vaggie is still sitting.

“Thank you, my dear. It truly is wonderful to finally be able to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances but I suppose there’s no better time than the present,” Azrael says to Charlie. She lights up a bit as she sits beside Vaggie, and motions for him to sit across from her. Esther sits beside him on the couch, and Lucifer looks conflicted before taking a seat beside his daughter, his scowl clear and directed at his brother. “I’m sure you’re aware, but I am Azrael, one of your father’s older brothers. You may call me uncle if you’d like!”

Lucifer’s scowl deepens but says nothing as Charlie squeals in excitement and bursts with questions towards the older man. Vaggie is grateful that Azrael just happens to be the Virtue of Patience, because she isn’t sure any of the other Seven, especially Michael, would’ve lasted as long as him or answered as many questions.

“Babe, slow down. How about we talk about the hotel,” Vaggie suggests. Charlie takes a deep breath before rushing to go get her poster presentation that she’d apparently made especially for this.

She goes into detail about how she understands the number of sinners is greater than the number of winners which is why redemption would help even out the numbers and keep Hell’s population more steady. Azrael and Esther nod along as she speaks, taking in all of the information she presents to them.

“My biggest concern is that so far, we’ve only redeemed one person, and we had to watch him die for that to happen. Does that mean every sinner has to die and just hope they’ll be redeemed?”

“That’s hard to say,” Azrael replies. “Little is known about this, or that redemption was even possible. It shouldn’t be a surprise though. Father always says there is time in one’s life to repent for their ways.”

Charlie nods, happy that someone agrees.

“However,” Azrael continues, “it’s hard to say exactly in the afterlife. There’s a reason I never realized what was going on. I am fine tuned to the lives of living souls, and it is my job to guide them towards their afterlife, whether that be Heaven or Hell. Once they pass either gate, my connection to that soul is lost. They are not meant to die again in their afterlife. They are meant to remain where they are, whether that be punishment in Hell for their sins, or reward for their good behavior in Heaven.”

“But we can change that! We can give sinners a chance to repent in their afterlife,” Charlie replies. Azrael nods, but his face grows a bit more serious.

”I will be honest with you, dear child. This is new territory for all of us. We have yet to see if the souls of the dead can receive a retrial that does not require a second death. But if those from Heaven can fall,” Azrael says, his eyes shifting briefly to Lucifer beside Charlie, “then I have no doubt those from Hell should be able to ascend. I ask that you remain patient as we all navigate through this new discovery.”

Charlie nods along and Azrael smiles brightly at her. He stands, patting down his clothes to remove any wrinkles and offers his hand to Charlie.

”Now! I would love to hear more of your plans to entice sinners to the idea of redemption and a tour of this lovely establishment of yours! Let’s go, I believe your father needs a break from my presence and I would love to hear more about you without his glare on my head,” Azrael announces, already walking towards the elevator with Charlie who’d taken his hand. Vaggie follows after them, confused and a bit entertained by the man’s behavior.

“Now hold on a minute,” Lucifer begins to say, before he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks over his shoulder at Esther who is smiling at him, and nearly forgets his worries. “Esther, I don’t know how I feel about this.”

”Do you believe I’d bring anyone here that would harm your daughter?” She asks in return. Lucifer pouts a bit but shakes his head. “He’s been very excited about this trip to meet her. The other Seven have wanted to visit as well but Azrael convinced them not to overwhelm you.”

“I think I would prefer Ramiel. Or Raphael. Or Uriel- Or, really anyone but Michael,” Lucifer replies. “Ramiel definitely would be preferred though.”

“Funny you should say that. Uriel and Cassiel send their regards, by the way. They say they love and miss you, and that they will be sure to judge you themselves should I choose to forgive you.” Esther laughs when Lucifer throws his head back and groans. “Ramiel managed to convince them not to, though Michael… Well you know how Michael is. He is hopeful, though he has his concerns.”

“Michael can shove his concerns up his own ass,” Lucifer mumbles to himself, though he smiles finally when Esther laughs a bit at his words. She moves her hand down his arm until it stops around his forearm just below his elbow. He instinctively curls his arm and moves his other to hold her hand on his arm.

“How about you give me your own tour?” She asks him, changing the subject. “I didn’t get to see the hotel last time I was here.”

Lucifer nods and guides her through the hotel for his own tour while his daughter shows his brother around. He’s still wary of it all, but he knows Esther is right. She wouldn’t bring anyone that would hurt them, and Azrael is the least likely, besides Raphael who’s dedicated his life to saving lives, to ever start a fight. Had it been Michael, Lucifer isn’t sure if he could’ve been stopped from attacking him on the spot. He at least has much fonder memories of Azrael.

He guides Esther through the hotel, showing off some of the different rooms such as the parlor, kitchen, or the more recreational areas he added himself simply because he could upon the hotel’s reconstruction. He puffs his chest in pride as she looks on, impressed by the hotel’s amenities.

He vaguely motions towards Alastor’s radio tower, not keen on taking her there, and she doesn’t question his reasoning, thankfully. She seemed to have caught onto his distaste.

Instead, towards the end of their tour, he leads her towards his own workshop. Not his room, he knows she won’t appreciate that level of forwardness, but he knows his new growing collection of rubber ducks will amuse her.

It’s not something he’d typically show off to anyone, and he’s sure under normal circumstances this isn’t something you’d show to someone you were interested in dating, but Esther wasn’t just anyone. This was something so much more than dating.

Part of him wondered, after Hell’s creation, if maybe they were meant to be separated. If humans were allowed to choose their partner, why couldn’t he? It had bugged him for so long. Part of it was what led to Charlie’s creation if he was being honest. But then he’d think of Esther, of her beauty and kindness, of the warmth he felt just when her eyes were on him, and he thought being bound to someone like her was the greatest gift his father ever gave him. He doesn’t regret Charlie, not in the slightest, even if he wishes Charlie’s mother could’ve been Esther, but sometimes he thinks his greatest punishment wasn’t his fall, it was the loss of his other half.

He’d give up everything if it meant another chance with her.

He leads her into his workshop, grinning proudly at the wonder in his eyes at the sight of all his rubber ducks.

She moves further into the room as she lets go of his arm, rushing towards the ducks in the rooms and grabbing at a few.

“Lucifer, what is all of this?” she asks as she chuckles, holding a rubber duck in her hands to inspect its design.

“My rubber duck collection,” he says, laughing to himself as he picks one up. “This isn’t even half of it.”

“Where are the rest?”

“In my manor,” he responds. He sits at his desk and watches her inspect another duck. “I think I made at least one a day for years.”

”That… doesn’t sound very healthy,” Esther says, lowering the duck in her hand and approaching him.

”No, I don’t think it was,” he responded, a melancholic smile on his face. “But they were something that comforted me when I felt like everything else was falling apart. Lilith left, can’t say it was without warning. She was getting tired of my moping and there was really nothing either of us could do about it. The friendship was already falling apart after Charlie’s birth. We tried to get along, we’re still friends, I think, but she didn’t want my hatred for Hell to affect Charlie. Charlie and I weren’t always close because of it. And for a long time, I felt more alone than ever. So I started making these to take my mind off things, and it helped.”

Esther is silent as she kneels in front of him, a hand on his knee in comfort.

She looks at him with those beautiful dark blue eyes, hair falling into them, and he reaches out to move her hand behind her ear.

”Why ducks?” She asks, voice just above a whisper.

”They reminded me of you,” he replies, pressing his forehead against hers. “They were something we created together. I used to create these beautiful projections of them for Charlie when she was a little girl and she loved them. They felt like a little piece of you here with me.”

Esther’s hand that isn’t on his knee moves to his hair, moving through the short hairs on the back of his neck.

“I’ve never stopped thinking about you. I’ll admit I wanted to sometimes. I thought maybe it’d hurt less if I just erased the memory of you, but then I’d think of your smile and everything hurt a little less. I’d think of the times we spent together, of how blissful everything felt with you by my side, and I couldn’t forget you. And then Charlie was born and I wanted her to have a piece of that happiness.”

He closes his eyes as his hands comb through her hair, enjoying the feeling of her’s in his own.

”You truly are something special, Lucifer Morningstar,” Esther says to him. He chuckles lightly and lifts his head to place a kiss on her forehead.

“Only because of you, Esther Eveningstar,” he replies, lips still pressed against her skin.

He never wants to be apart from her again.

————————————————————————

Apologies for any typos. My sleep schedule this week has been lacking to say the least.

Another character introduced! Learning about Azrael was fun for this. When I read he was from the “third heaven” I panicked a bit because it didn’t seem to fit with Dante’s spheres of paradise, but then I remembered that he and Lucifer(Samael) are angels of death, so having them all from the same sphere felt fitting! I was originally going to have Ramiel be the first to visit, as the Virtue of Kindness, but decided on Azrael instead because I thought Patience would be the best for Lucifer to be reintroduced to.

Anyways, at this point I feel like I can’t post a chapter unless I include a drawing at the end. This time I I decided I wanted to draw an idea for Lucifer’s look when he was still the Virtue of Humility. The Story of Hell shows him in a robe and still with his hat. I’ve seen people say his eyes were blue before his fall, but as his name means “the shining one” I feel like gold is more fitting. I also headcanon that his halo didn’t take the shape of a snake until after his fall, with the apple being added because of his actions, and as he took on a more demonic form, his appearance shifted as well. His eyes shifted to red, and when in his demonic form, his irises shift back to gold, but now with red sclera.

I’m not entirely happy with this drawing but, I didn’t want to hold off on posting the chapter so here it is!

Taglist: @dreamcatcher62 @art3misa635 @cimadreamer

[likeshipsonthesea]

i had feelings and wrote this post about shannon and i didn't wanna confuse it w eddie stuff but as she is ultimately a character in eddie's story i also wanted to go into the implications of this for eddie

do i think eddie was a bad husband? yes. does this make him a horrible irredeemable man who should take a vow of celibacy to protect the world from the burden of his romantic love? no.

but i think it's important that eddie actually deals with the reality of his relationship with shannon. i think we've got a start with this arc, and all the things he said to kim, but even then he starts out saying shannon was "the love of [his] life" when bestie, you didn't even know her.

they met in high school. they got pregnant unexpectedly and married just as fast. and then eddie left and they didn't know each other outside of a screen and brief visits for five years, then eddie was full of trauma and shannon's mother was dying, and then another two years apart, and then they were back together but didn't really talk outside of christopher.

by the time eddie re-proposed, he knew shannon as christopher's mother. that's it. he had no idea she wouldn't want another proposal. he heard "pregnant" and immediately went back to his 18-21ish self who knew nothing more than Responsibility. he didn't know shannon wouldn't want that. he didn't know anything about her--or at least, the audience didn't. where did she live? what did she do for work? what were her interests? from the beginning, the narrative--and eddie--treated shannon like a mother-shaped ghost to flit into and out of eddie's life.

and right as eddie was forced to look the truth of his and shannon's relationship in the eye, she died. how is he meant to consider all the nitty gritty rough edges and centers of their relationship through the rose-colored veil of grief?

i get why eddie hasn't tried to de-tangle all these feelings. it feels like he's shitting on shannon's memory. but i don't think eddie will ever be able to give himself to anyone until he realizes how formative his relationship with shannon was in all the wrong ways.

i'mma be bold here and claim: eddie didn't love shannon towards the end. he didn't KNOW her. he was happy to play family with her until she thought she might be pregnant again and then he immediately thought Pregnancy=Propose=Responsibility. it wasn't out of love for who shannon was as a person, it was out of responsibility.

and the shannon eddie married would've said yes, as she presumably did when they got married the first time. but the shannon of s2 didn't want that, a marriage of necessity. she knew herself enough to know she couldn't devote herself to eddie as a husband and christopher as a mom at the same time, and she chose christopher. i think eddie loves her for being christopher's mother, the way michael loves athena even though he isn't In love with her, but i don't think eddie knows the difference.

eddie thinks romantic love is responsibility and tradition and expectation and christopher's mother. he's learned how to live for himself and be better for himself but he hasn't learned how to LOVE for himself.

this doesn't keep him from making incredibly selfish decisions, like leading kim on or treating his love-interests like sex-giving mother machines, but i digress. eddie has learned how to break out of the roles he's played--perfect son, army hero, self-sacrificing single dad--but he's never stopped to think about the role he plays in a romantic relationship and the feelings that come along with it.

the kim arc is forcing him to look all of this straight-on and i love it. i hope they take it further. i need eddie to reckon with the fact that he and shannon failed each other, and that she wasn't the great love of his life because he didn't actually know her well enough to be in love with her at the end. i need eddie to look at how he acts as a husband/boyfriend and realize he's fucked up, to acknowledge how he's made bad choices and decide to make better ones.

eddie has so much to give, and i think he can make someone really happy if he manages to break out of the Husband role he's learned and really give himself truly to someone. and hopefully, it'll make him really happy too.

[zabala0z]

I’m very scared to watch the next episodes. Anyways hi, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood host. I got a lot of thoughts and I’m dying here 😭

MAG 72: Takeaway

Another meat thing oh god. Like I physically grimaced when Goodall had his Achilles heel cut like genuinely that’s one of my fears. Also another direct connection to like Christianity and meat. Or like kinda because in Rations I think, that guy made a prayer that was originally a Christian prayer I believe but altered it to put meat in. ALSO, Haan killed his wife but apparently she had self-inflicted wounds as well. I’m thinking this is maybe cult or some kind of like sacrificial thing going on. Maybe the wife wanted to die.

We also have Haans nephew who appeared in “Killing Floor”. He had his own meat sort of story. Guess it runs in the family 💀

MAG 73: Police Lights

I feel like Maxwell Rayner is not dead simply because it’s not the most implausible thing considering Michael Crew pops up in a couple episodes after jumping out a window. But who knows maybe Rayner is truly gone (I am betting not) also Natalie was there which definitely made me feel a little sad. I always feel a lot in terms of cults. I’m trying to figure out what Rayner and like the cult was planning on doing to the kid. Maybe kill him? But I feel like that’s too basic, they were probably doing something else. The fog seemed to hurt when it hit that one police guy like it burned him. Came out of that dusty old man’s mouth after all.

Also Basira quitting? Queen shit. I cannot blame her.

MAG 74: Fatigue

Oh yeah this is good. Something about the disjointed events really adds to the sleep deprived perspective I love it. Also MICHAEL. What is Michael I swear to god. Every appearance of this weirdo makes me more and more confused. What does he get out of this? Is it just for fun? He didn’t seem to benefit at all, like he even told Lydia she looked terrible 💀

It was said he was making spirals out of grass blades. What is with this creature and spirals, like that corridor was trippy too. I’m wondering if spirals are fractals. Lydia was drawing them for some reason. Similar to Evo’s dad in Burned Out.

And I KNEW Sasha was going through the tunnels. Like duh. I think she was the one who screwed up the quality because multiple times have electronics have been screwed around like tape recorder and the computer. I have no idea who that man is though.

MAG 75: A Long Way Down

This statement takes place after Michael jumps out the window. I guess he changed a lot. And he got some drip because why is he wearing a full suit?? I can’t tell if he actually contributed to Grants disappearance because maybe he was doing something else y’all 😭 (I’m in denial.) I am wondering what his little spell did back in Literary Heights. Did he like- bind himself with the lightning thing? I don’t know how that would work. He did say “I am yours” so did he like..sell his soul. That’s what I’m thinking.

Feeling really bad for grant. I don’t have a major fear of heights but the way the situation is described, I’d develop one.

MAG 76: The Smell of Blood

Wooo Melanie King! First time a character gave two statements which is cool. I’m wondering what kind of meme she ended up. Someone draw that.

Not much to say about this episode but oh my god I’m so happy someone noticed Sasha. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I miss Sasha dude 😭

One thing I’m curious about is like…what is going to be the ending. Because right now, the institute, or technically Jon, has so many probable enemies right now. Like you got the Church of yada yada, the circus, Fake Sasha, all those diseased people, Michael, the Lukas family, etc. Who is going to drop the other shoe? Because right now, they all have the other shoe istg.

[amostimprobabledream]

Thoughts on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice *SPOILERS*

The Good:

The reveal that Astrid could see ghosts this whole time and that Jeremy was actually a ghost was genuinely really good - I didn't see it coming but in hindsight it was so obvious. The whole bit about him trying to trick Astrid into giving her life for his was so fun.

Michael Keaton was a treat to watch as usual - all the actors seemed to be having the times of their lives, especially him, Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci. I was actually laughing out loud at some of the scenes he was in and I appreciate that they used him sparingly. I also thought the gag of Willem Dafoe's character being a former actor who liked pretending to be a cop and his secretary kept fetching him coffees and feeding him his lines was genuinely funny.

I was on the fence about Astrid because from what I got from the promotional material she seemed pretty bratty and whiny, but I think her frustrations with Lydia and her life in general were generally fairly understandable and I think she and Winona Ryder had great chemistry. Also I want Astrid's wardrobe, that sweater-dress with the bike shorts and boots? An absolute serve.

It's cool that Tim Burton and Michael Keaton both insisted on building sets instead of relying on CGI to do everything, I think that one of the charming things about the first movie was the handmade feel of the sets and they managed to capture a lot of it in this one. I mean, they do use SOME CGI, especially where Beetlejuice is involved, but I think it's good they didn't just rely on greenscreens.

Banger soundtrack, as usual, thanks to Danny Elfman.

Killing off Charles and Delia was surprising but I thought it was handled in a good way. I thought the actor who played Charles had died or something and when I googled why he wasn't in the sequel I think they did the best they could with the character. Catherine O'Hara sort of held together the Lydia/Astrid subplot for me, especially when she says to Lydia, "What happened to the angsty goth girl who gave me so much trouble? I think you need to find her!" The Bad: - This movie really made me appreciate the Maitlands more. The whole thing with the first movie is that Adam and Barbara ground it and give it a sense of normalcy - they have random, sudden, unfair deaths and as the audience we're thrown into the confusing world and rules of the afterlife as much as they are. In this movie I feel like everyone is too busy trying to be different flavours of wacky to feel real, which is fine for people like Beetlejuice or Delores but the human characters didn't feel like that had substance like the Maitlands.

Am I the only one who felt like this film felt kind of like a character assassination of Lydia?? I love Winona Ryder to death (pun unintended), but I feel like all she did in this movie is make that pop-eyed shocked face and say exposition. I'm sorry but am I meant to believe that Lydia Deetz, the only person in the first movie who could communicate with Adam and Barbara, called Otho, Lydia and her dad out on their shit multiple times and had the balls to make a deal with Beetlejuice to save the former, would seriously let some creepy man pressgang her into marriage? Not to mention I can't remember a single line of dialogue from Lydia, she's kind of been demoted to just being a depressed goth mom and that's kind of it. Also I felt like the way she was using her power for a TV show felt OOC when she was the only one who opposed the haunted house idea in the original. (Also Winona Ryder's hair looked terrible in the movie, it made sense for teenaged Lydia to have those gel spikes but on a Lydia who's hit fifty they look ridiculous. Like what, did her fashion sense never evolve past age fifteen?)

There were WAY too many subplots. I genuinely really liked the subplot with Astrid and Jeremy, and I think Beetlejuice and his ex-wife had a lot of potential, but the end of the movie was like Tim Burton forgot to keep track of every subplot he had going on and wrapped them up really unsatisfyingly.

Monica Bellucci's character was WAY underused. Like. I absolutely loved her design and stuff but she was walking around the whole movie attacking random people we don't give a shit about, and then in the climax she just stands there and lets herself get eaten. (That staple-face look would make a fire Halloween costume though.) I feel like the subplot with Lydia's creepy boyfriend/producer should have been cut so she had more time to shine.

The dialogue. Some of it was fine but other times phrases showed up that are so obviously going to become dated in a couple of years, it sounded like adults trying way too hard to be edgy and relatable to Gen Z viewers, like when Astrid goes "the afterlife is so random!" or that one woman describing something as "non-triggering". I don't remember the dialogue in the first movie feeling so buzzword-heavy.

Beetlejuice felt less like a threat this time. In the first movie he's more of a clear-cut antagonist but this time he's very clearly on Lydia's side and even dispatches all the other bad guys, so I think some of his more sinister energy was lost here.

The ending was really dumb ngl. It feels like it's setting up for a third one but Tim Burton was like "lol not gonna happen" so I have no idea why he chose to ending it like that.

[killer-bug-boi]

wakeup call

Days, weeks even, had passed, Mayfly still hadn't woken up, or realized he was asleep. In his dream, he was walking aimlessly through a grassfield that seemed to go on infinitely, when he heard a noise, something between whining and speaking. He tried to reach for it but couldn't, he tried to respond to it, but couldn't. After a while of trying to respond to the noises, he felt a familiar falling sensation.

May didn't know what happened when he woke up, his black overcoat was missing. He was lying in the living room of an unfamiliar house, staring at the ceiling. He sat up slowly, the throbbing in his head coming back, the familiar rush of thoughts returning, but it was short-lived as he heard a girl's voice shouting "Dad!" And he was tackled back down onto his back. He was confused what had even happened just then, he looked down at what just tackled him and was surprised by what he saw. A little girl who looked to be around 10 years old, ginger hair tied back in low pigtails, at first he thought she was wearing a dress but realized it was actually a really oversized sweater. He didn't get a good look at her face because it was buried in his shoulder "sorry.. do I know you..?" After he said that, he heard a vaguely familiar voice from his side "Michael.. are you alright? Is your head okay?" May slowly sat up, the girl on his chest still clinging to him. He turned his head to the side, in the direction of the voice to see the face of a woman he recognized.

He searched through his memories, trying to figure out where he knew her from, until he finally remembered her "Jane?" She nodded "yes, that's me.." it took a little bit for the reality of the situation to fully sink in for him, he was staring his biological mother in the face, not some foster mom, not a random woman he looked up to, his real mom "you- you're my mother? Really..?" Jane smiled but didn't have a chance to respond as the girl clinging onto Mayfly lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him "dad! You're okay.. I was scared you weren't gonna make it." Complete confusing overtaking him, he repeated to her, this time loud enough for her to hear "sorry, do I know you" the air in the room seemed to thicken around the three, Jane's smile slowly faded "Michael, that's your daughter, don't you remember her?".

may shook his head profusely, unaware of who this child was "no- I-i don't have any kids.. I'd remember if I did", he turned back to the girl, finally getting a good look at her face. She had odd marks underneath her eyes, almost like spirals, a small x-shaped scar above her left eye- wait.. she looked familiar. He started searching in his mind again, where did he know her from?.. then it dawned on him, Skipp. She looked like Skipp "no.. I don't know you.. where 𝘢𝘳𝘦 your parents..?". The girl shook her head and placed her hands on both sides of his face, refusing to believe he wasn't her father "you're right here.. why don't you remember me??" Tears welled in her eyes "it's me.. Pump?? Stop playing, it's not funny anymore..".

Mayfly realized telling this kid the truth wouldn't do any good, so he chose to lie to her, pretending to be a father who'd forgotten briefly about his little girl. Afterall, he knew the pain of growing up without any real family to turn to, he didn't fully know the weight of the decision he was about to make, but he knew he needed to, to help this little girl. He gently smiled at pump, seemingly apologizing for "forgetting" her "sorry.. didn't mean to scare you." He watched as her face quickly lit up, she practically dove back into his arms, crying out of happiness this time. It was then that Mayfly realized, he had a real family now. He leaned into the girl's hug and wrapped his arms around her in return, holding back tears. Even if this child wasn't his, he'd love her like his own.