#also it��s my friends son’s birthday today

[primeofprimes115]

A Birthday to Remember - DCAU Supergirl x Male Reader

Fluff 🥰

Requested: Yes (From Wattpad)

Today was Kara's 21st Birthday, a birthday that was Kara's biggest birthday, at least in Earth terms, to her... Birthdays were celebrated a little differently on Argo, twin sister planet of Krypton.

What better than to spend it fighting and training in a simulated arena, that was overlooked by John Stewart, one of the Green Lanterns who Kara looked up to for advice from time to time, not just her cousin.

But, even though she got over the loss of Argo, her three sisters, mother and father, deeming her the Last Daughter of Argo, Kara In-Ze could never forget she was the last of her kind, wishing her family would be here to celebrate her 21st birthday with her.

But... At least she has new friends, her cousin of Krypton, and her ever-loving boyfriend of three years, who she fell in love with, knowing their first meeting before she revealed her super powers during an altercation with Apokolips' Granny Goodness years ago, the first time she debuted as "Supergirl".

Around that time, he had to reveal his little secret, that of being a technological genius who was a hero in his own right, being the son of a multibillionaire company much like Bruce Wayne's, his mother owns the company itself that has partnered up with Wayne-Enterprises then and there to change the world for the better.

Both were young at the time, now? They're happily together in a relationship, work closely together within the Justice League once it had opened up to allow many other heroes to join in, some would say that Y/N is the luckiest boy in the world to be dating someone like Supergirl. Though at most, Supergirl was lucky to be dating a hero such as S/H/N, his family was close with the Kents after all.

And with Kara's 21st birthday? Y/N had a very big surprise for her, something he'd been considering for a long time now, he'd been given the nod from Kara's cousin after asking about marriage, knowing he was married to Lois Lane. It shocked the Man of Steel at first, but he knew how much Kara loved him, and how much he loved her, he couldn't be anymore happier than knowing that his cousin was going to be married to someone like Y/N.

"C'mon, you gotta tell me what this surprise is!" Kara expressed dramatically toward her boyfriend, who stood with a smug look on his face, resisting Kara's efforts to make him spill the beans on what he had in store for her birthday. "It's my 21st! C'mon! Cut a girl some slack!" she sped up beside him, her cape rustling behind her as she walked normally with him in the hallway.

"Hahaha, then it won't be a surprise!" he chuckled, he hated to keep the surprise secret for now, knowing she'd say yes in a heartbeat to him upon asking the question, but it was also a good thing he had the box laced with lead, to prevent her from even detecting it with her x-ray vision since she was the snoopier one. "I even laced the surprise with lead".

"Ugh! C'mon! You're such a bummer!" she pouted childly, rolling her eyes playfully afterwards before she felt a pair of lips on her cheek' causing her to smirk and pin him to the wall next.

"Woah! Hey! Hahaha-Mmm!" his was shut up with a kiss to his lips straight after, his hands grasping around her hips where he felt her warm skin.

"I'll tickle it out of you if I have to" she whispered with a warm breath across his lips, knowing his ultimate weakness is being ticklish. However, Y/N felt confident still, smirking back at her.

"Good thing I'm wearing my ticklish-proof augments today" he noted to her, which made the blonde pout with a sigh.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Can't spoil the surprise babe" he told her before sealing her lips with a loving kiss. "I hate to keep it from you, but trust me... It's gonna be worth the wait until later, it's not the right time yet" he continued, pulling back after a moment to get some air.

His eyes locked with hers and he could see the love coming back from those blue irises, a soft smile brewing across her face while she blinked slowly, both getting lost in each other's eyes.

"Three years we've been together, you've been there since I came to Metropolis one day" Kara went down memory lane with him about that, making him chuckle about that certain memory. "The day I... You... Met. If only I knew then you'd become a beacon in my life" she smiled lovingly at him, giving him all of her heart.

"I remember that day fondly" the corners of his lips arched into a soft smile, still pinned to the wall by his girlfriend. "Being there with Jimmy as well, then Granny Goodness comes out of nowhere. I couldn't even believe that you were a lot alike Superman at the time, it was... Amazing" Kara smiled deeply hearing that, she always thought he'd found it amazing. "I remember at that moment I fell in love, there was always something about you that drew me to you".

"I'd say the same thing about you too" Kara smirked before her smirk fell. "Do you... Think Kal's proud of me? I mean... I'm now wearing his signature colors now but, I've never really heard him say he's proud of me in person" she looked down at herself, seeing the fact she had recently changed her suit from the white tee with a small red cape, gloves and blue office looking skirt with red boots to a mid-length red cape, blue crop-top and red skirt with a gold V-shaped belt, and traditional red boots with the gold V around the top, still donning the S in honor of her cousin. She even dropped the hairband.

"Oh, I'm sure he's proud of you, Sunshine. One-Hundred percent sure he is" he cheered her up just for that moment, before his lips were sealed with one more kiss from Kara In-Ze.

"Thanks" she murmured while pulling back from his lips. "I'm gonna go train some more, need that work-out".

"Again?" he asked with a soft laugh, playing it off like he didn't think she'd go again, it sounded like music to his ears, his plan was working very well. "Gonna try break the record?"

"You're welcome to watch ~" she kissed his cheek before taking a hold of his hand. "Well?".

"Of course, I was gonna say yes anyway"...

______________________________________________________________

From what seemed to be just some training exercise, which Kara was being a little cocky at first about, setting a new record in the exercise she completed, then turning into a complete disaster when all of a sudden, a blue orb surrounded Green Arrow, John Stewart and Supergirl within the simulated zone before zipping them out of existence while Superman tried to prevent it from happening, though he had no way to prevent it in any way.

This had made Y/N extremely worried, having just witnessed his girl, alongside Oliver and John, zipped away and out of existence, whereas unknown. He felt sick knowing she was gone within a heartbeat by an unknown entity, at least toward him and Clark.

Little beknown to them, the culprit that did this was from the 30th Century, a far-away future within the timeline itself, the culprit was nonother than Brainiac-5, an organic who rebelled against his ancestors way of life and joined a future version of the Justice League called "The Legion of Superheroes" which was inspired by certain heroes themselves, most notably, S/H/N and Supergirl themselves, which was a secret kept for now...

Brainiac-5 made a huge risk bringing Supergirl, alongside Green Arrow and John Stewart into the 30th Century, though it wasn't really intentional to bring Supergirl into here, she was merely needed the most for being a powerhouse mostly to help free their teammates from mental domination by the Fatal-Five, the Legion's most known batch of enemies within their time.

However... This mission was more riskier than it already was, it was said in the history books of the era, that Supergirl would not return from this mission. It wasn't said that she was killed or went missing in the records, but most feared she would die in this mission.

Or was the history books lying?

In the end... Supergirl, Kara In-Ze, had proved that history isn't as it seems or says to be, she survived the mission, she took a play out of Y/N's own book on making her own luck, rescuing the Legionnaires from the Fatal-Five's control and saved the day. She thought like her cousin, acted like a leader, acted heroically, even willing to sacrifice herself to save the Legionnaires, if only Kal could see her.

Meanwhile this was all going down, Y/N and Superman had Steel help search around the perimeter to search for any signs of where they could've gone, discussing where they could search while Y/N's worries began to overwhelm him a little, fearing that he might not see Oliver, John and Kara again. Clark being the optimistic man himself, gave the boy some hope to continue the search, just to hold out some more hope to find out what happened.

With that going on... The Legionnaires reunited together again, the Fatal-Five's plans now up in flames all thanks to Supergirl's efforts in the long run. 

Balloon Boy handed out a Legionnaire ring toward the three Leaguers, though Oliver and John handed them back as returning with them would disrupt the time stream, Kara looked at hers with a smile on her face, thinking of even staying since the 30th Century looked a lot like Argo.

From all the buildings, to its atmosphere, it felt like home to her... But then something dawned on her.

She'd be leaving behind important people also, one of those people being her boyfriend, who can't come here to the 30th Century after she asked Brainy on the Legionnaire's ship if he could've just brought Y/N with her here, he only revealed it was impossible before giving out a short explanation as to why, which would completely risk breaking the timestream

She felt so drawn here, it looked so much like Argo! But... She'd be breaking someone's heart back in her timeline, someone who meant the world to her, someone who changed her life drastically the more he was around her.

She couldn't leave the love of her life behind, her heart was drawn to him, she planned things out with him in life, he had been there for her while she done the same for him. 

And so... She made the decision after thinking about it.

"Although I think that I do belong here with the Legion, which means leaving my cousin and everyone else behind, but there's only one person I know that I really can't live without" Kara looked toward the Legion before her eyes sat on Brainiac-5, then... She looked away, a lump in her throat upon thinking about the one person she likes to her heart's content. "Y/N... ever since he entered in my life after I went to Metropolis for the first time, things had changed for me drastically, more than I have to admit. Many people had said great things about him and about his family. And I eventually found out who he is, he's just this amazing, caring and compassionate guy, he was that one guy I fell head over heels for, when I hadn't noticed he fell for me first in a way. Since that first ever meeting, since that very first time we worked together as part of a team. Our relationship was a burgeoned one at best, and I've never been happier" she began to smile in GL and GA's direction. 

"Y/N is the type of person who would do everything in his power to make sure you're okay, safe and happy, while he takes in all the bad things that's effecting you, like an unmoving, pillar. His outgoing and friendly nature is what drew me to him, it's what kept me happy, made me feel... Home in a way. He and I had thought of moving in together a year ago, go to the same college together, be together outside of me wearing my cape and him using his gear and tech, have a normal life since we both have all the time in the world for that. Supergirl and S/H/N, Kara and Y/N" She looked down to the Legion ring on her middle finger, a thought of one day particularly being married to him as her eyes set on her ring finger. A thought ran over her mind what it would be like to stay in the future, with the Legion. It all reminded her of home on Argo, the sister planet of Krypton. "He said he has a huge surprise for me today, since it's my birthday, I spent most of today wearing this new look, wearing the same colors like Kal. I would hate to burst that bubble and leave him behind also, because I can't fathom to live here without him since bringing him here could potentially damage the timestream" she then looked toward Brainiac-5 before walking towards him, her fingers still examining the ring to feel the metal alloy. "And we don't want that, don't we?". "No, unfortunately" the young man replied. "We know him here to be the greatest man that's ever lived, he was one of the reasons the Legion of Superheroes was created, so were you" he finally told her. "That's all I needed to hear" she said with a smile, before sliding off the flight ring, as much as she'd love to keep it. "My head says I belong here... But my heart says the opposite. Perhaps history can be broken, it seems Supergirl does return to the 21st century after all, and rejoins with her loved ones" she then handed Bouncing Boy the ring and returned to stand with John and Oliver.

______________________________________________________________

"Whatever abducted them didn't leave any traceable energy signature" Steel confirmed with his scanner, as Superman then looked toward Y/N who was trying to keep his mind hopeful, but his scouter wasn't giving him any positive feedback either.

"Y/N?".

"Nothing on my scouter either... Damn it all!" he said with a little more frustration. "The surprise was supposed to happen an hour ago and I... I-".

"Don't worry, we'll find them" Superman remained optimistic, keeping his cousin's boyfriend from worrying even more". We could go see Dr Fate, or Zatanna, maybe they could-"

All of a sudden, a loud mechanical like noise erupted loudly throughout the room they were investigating still, the orb had appeared again in a flash of blue energy and within it was John Stewart, Green Arrow and of course...

Supergirl.

As soon as the little bit of smoke cleared, Y/N's eyes laid upon his girlfriend, his eyes widening in pure relief as did hers. "Kara!" His heart raced fast upon seeing her and he rushed up to her, enveloping her in a big hug which she immediately accepted. "You're okay, thank God!"

"Someone sure missed me" she teased before her arms around him tightened.

"John, Oliver, what happened?" Kal asked the two green suited heroes, wondering what really happened to them.

"Well... It's a long story" John told him.

"To put it short. We were transported to the 30th Century by a... Boy, he needed our help freeing his teammates, we helped. You should've seen Kara though, she was amazing. Took a page out of your own book in a way" Oliver told him as Kal looked at her cousin who was currently hugging back Y/N before the two pulled away.

He then smiled at her, before approaching her as the returning 21st birthday girl noticed his approach and smiled.

"Kal" she said with a relieved sigh, hugging him next. The Man of Steel accepted his cousin's hug as he was going to hug her to begin with. "There's a lot to explain".

"I know, I'm just glad you're safe and back here" he smiled before glancing over behind her, seeing Y/N smiling, reaching into a cartridge in his gauntlet, his fingers held a small lead box which had stored a very special ring inside.

Clark smiled and nodded toward Y/N, knowing he should pop the question now, as it should've happened an hour ago.

The question that would make a birthday to remember by...

"I never got to tell you before you zipped away... I'm proud of you, Kara" he told her with a smile growing on both their faces. "But... Not only that. You're a little late but since you're back? I know someone here has a very important question you don't wanna miss" Kal then told her, which she pulled back in confusion.

"What?" she asked. "What do you mean by-" she took a glimpse at Y/N before turning back around as something dawned in her mind as she did, taking note that he was on one knee, holding something. "Wait, Y/N, what're you -?" She turned back around, her cape fluttering behind her as she did before, looking him in the eyes and down to the object he held in his hand as he then flicked up the top of the little box...

Noticing a ring with a small diamond, a diamond that sparkled upon seeing it for the first time. Her jaw dropped, trying to keep composure, feeling as if she was about to burst out in tears realizing what the surprise was really about.

"Y/N... Is this...?" she stuttered, putting her hands over her mouth 

And she wanted him to tell her what it was hours ago, before she was "abducted" by a good Brainiac from the future.

"I... I had a little speech but... I-I-I kinda forgot about it since... You disappeared" Y/N himself felt a lump in his throat, getting a little emotional just thinking about the moment currently as the four men in the room stood by and watched. "I uh... I've been waiting to ask this for a while now, I've been holding onto this ring for, well... Years now, since Mom passed it onto me, knowing she wouldn't need it after Dad passed, it was his last request before he did pass. I wanted to wait until your twenty-first birthday, your cousin and I planned it out..." he told her as tears began running down from Kara's eyes as a few muffled sobs escaped from her. Y/N kept himself strong, fighting back any urge to let a tear fall down from his eyes.

"We've been through so many adventures together since we first met, shared our first kiss in the sky during our first date which was adventurous some would say, from staying overnight with you at the Kents, attending the same school, graduating the same day together, and then all the adventures after that for the last three years. You're like the pillar that keeps everything up in my life, keeps me going and happy. You've saved me more times than I can count than I've saved you and I couldn't possibly be more happier than have you in my life" he croaked a little before chuckling, still keeping his eyes on her as she let more tears fall down. "Kara In-Ze Kent, Supergirl - My Girl of Steel - I have one question..." he paused for a moment as Kara took her hands away from her mouth, his one hand reached out and she held her one hand out for him to hold.

"Y-Y-Yes??" she croaked with more happy tears falling down from her face, using her other hand to wipe the tears away from herself.

"Will you take me as yours forever. Will you marry me, Kara In-Ze Kent?" he asked the question, giving out all his heart out with it as Kara then knelt down to his level with a huge smile and happy tears still falling from her face.

"Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!" she said with an utter outburst of joy, answering his question repeatedly while nodding up and down before the she enveloped him into a deep kiss as the others stood by and watched with a smile.

From this moment on?

Kara surely knew this was a birthday she'd remember, the biggest birthday present she's ever been gifted.

You...

"Best... Birthday... Ever!" she exclaimed, the two standing up now after the deep kiss.

"Congratulations to you both!" Oliver said from the back. "Had a feeling it'd happen someday, you both deserve it! Seriously".

The two took Oliver's compliment as Kara then looked down toward the ring now on her ring finger, Y/N took notice of her observation.

"You like it?" he asked.

"Like it?" she scoffed. "I LOVE it! It was your mom's, I'm honored to wear it!" she corrected him before smiling hugely. "Wait until I tell Babs about this!".

"I'm glad you love it, mom's probably expecting to hear something back by now" he noted.

"You should, I think she'll be worrying that things didn't go to plan originally" Kal suggested.

"Yeah... I should".

"I'll go with!" Kara hugged Y/N arms with pure joy, having just been asked the question. "We can tell her together" she suggested, Y/N couldn't be more than happy to have his now fiancé come with him.

"Sure, Hun! My mom would be happy to see you again!".

With that... They ventured toward the Watchtower's teleporter after saying their goodbyes for the rest of the day towards the four others within the room, the rest of the journey was Supergirl flying her now fiancé towards their actual destination.

Knowing of what happened earlier?

This was something the both would remember...

This was A Birthday to Remember.

______________________________________________________________

Fin...

Word Count: 3592

Tag List: @jacenradio7 @jadenyukiyusakufujikiyutoduelist @rodimusprime2017 @beestriker015 @ma1egamer @6rookie-writer0110 @multi-fandom-enjoyer

[kinzis-writing]

Surprises | Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)

Summary: Y/N ends up surprising Josh at one of his games, which leads to Josh knowing that he has to play his best to impress his woman.

Pairing/Fandom: Josh Allen x Wife! Reader (NFL)

Requested: Yes/No @thedoveesquire

Warning(s): none that I am aware of! Also the game is going to be a buffalo home game for the plot so!

*Not edited*

Y/N's heart ached at the way her husband had left their house upset. Her husband was the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, and they were playing the Miami Dolphins today. She had told her husband that she would not be able to make the game, because when she woke up, she had every intention of going to her friend's birthday party. That was until her best friend texted the group chat last minute saying she was sick and rescheduling her birthday celebration.

It wasn't that Y/N was putting her friend before her husband, it was the fact that the celebration was planned before the NFL couple knew Josh's NFL schedule this season. Now that her plans were cancelled, she was planning on surprising her husband at his game. She knew that he got anxiety before all of his games, no matter how many times he stated it was not anxiety. She was guaranteed a season pass in the VIP box, seeing as she was married to the quarterback.

After getting herself ready, she left their house and headed towards the bills stadium. Her custom jersey that had been made for her was what she had chosen to wear. This would have been one of the first games that she had missed, she tried her best to make as many games a season as she could. Y/N usually made all the home games but struggled with away games sometimes.

Getting to the stadium was hectic with the traffic, seeing as many people were trying to find parking spots and there were people walking to make it into the stadium. Once a parking spot was found, Y/N slipped her VIP ticket around her neck and headed towards the stadium. Once inside the stadium she was quickly escorted to the Bills VIP box and left to herself with other significant others and parents there as well.

"Y/N! I'm so happy you're here, Josh said you weren't going to be able to make it." LaVonne Allen spoke as she noticed her daughter-in-law. Unlike most people, Y/N had a great relationship with Josh's family the same way that he was loved by hers.

Y/N quickly pulled Josh's mother into a quick hug before backing away, "Plans changed last minute." she explained to the woman before grabbing a bottle of water and going to sit down next to her in-laws.

"I'm sure Josh will be happy to have you here." Joel stated upon seeing his daughter-in-law wearing his son's jersey number.

"My plan was to surprise him." She spoke standing next to her added family.

It was only a matter of time before the stadium was filled and the two teams were announced on the field. The national anthem was sung, and the game was kicked off with the bills having the ball first.

The game started off a bit slow, seeing that the bills had turned over the ball in the first couple minutes and that the dolphins were in the Bills territory. It made Y/N anxious to see how the bills were playing and she knew her husband better than anyone. He wasn't focused on the game the way that he should have been.

After Miami had kicked a field goal and missed, the Bills had the ball back and was running it down the field. Once the second quarter came, the bills were at 1st and 10, with Miami using a timeout. While timeout was happening, the NFL tv cam turned to the VIP box to capture Y/N, since many fans know of her and Josh being married.

On the field, during timeout Stefon lightly hit Josh getting his attention. "I thought you said Y/N wasn't coming?" He asked.

"she isn't." Josh muttered before turning his attention back to the huddle.

"She's here, man." Stefon told him before pointing up to the Bills VIP box. Stefon waved at Y/N before turning back to the huddle.

Josh wore a grin on his face as he noticed his wife standing next to his parents, in the place she always was for home games. Eventually, he tore his gaze and got back to his team. "We got this, let's go out here and win!"

Stefon gave him a pat on the back with a smirk before it was time to resume the game. He made a mental note to thank Y/N later.

After Josh had noticed his wife at the game, it had taken a big turn. The bills kept getting touchdowns every time they had the ball and they had even stopped Miami from getting far.

At half, the bills were up 35-0, which was rare for Miami to not score anything. It was just proof of how amazing the bills were doing and how they had stopped the dolphins before they could get anywhere or they had thrown interceptions and given the bills the ball.

"Josh is doing great." Y/N spoke to her mother-in-law as she took a sip from her plastic cup.

"Because his good luck charm showed up." Mrs. Allen told her new daughter, making sure the younger girl knew that she was her son's good luck charm.

Y/N blushed at the comment before taking another sip of her drink to hide her red cheeks. Josh had told her multiple timed that she was his good luck charm, even before they tied the knot. It made her feel warm on the inside to know he thought that, but she knew it was all in his head.

"Mrs. Allen." A deep voice spoke coming up behind the two women. Both turned towards the man, "Josh is requesting to talk to you for a moment." the security guard spoke to the younger woman. Y/N placed her drink down on the table beside her before following the security guard out of the VIP box.

She figured that she would be going to the locker room, just because halftime would be over soon and they would be going back on the field. The security guard led her exactly where she felt she was going to go. Y/N thanked him before walking inside the room slowly.

"Can I just say that you are the best for coming here." Stefon spoke as he blocked Y/N path to her husband. "We would've lost over him sulking about you." he added.

Y/N let out a laugh, "I'm glad I could help." she joked before going around him. She knew Josh would probably be towards the back seeing as he liked to do his "pre-game ritual." Which she knew was his anxiety, but she lets him call it what he wants.

"Did you need me, Mr. Allen?" Y/N asked softly, getting Josh's attention so he'd look at her.

Josh grinned seeing his wife in her jersey, "I always need you." He replied pulling her into a hug. Y/N gave him a squeeze before leaning back a bit. "What happened to Y/F/N's birthday?"

Y/N shrugged, "She's sick, so I decided to surprise my husband."

Josh nodded, his hands running up and down her sides. "Definitely surprised." He muttered before leaning closer trying to steal a kiss, only to be met with her finger.

"You know I try not to be rude, but your so called 'pre-game ritual' is gross and you're going to have to brush your teeth before I kiss you." Y/N explained pulling her finger away.

"Already did." he stated in a 'matter of fact' manner. "I know you, baby, we've been together long enough for me to learn you."

Y/N rolled her eyes before placing her lips on his for a moment before pulling back. "I'm going to go find my place, I will see you after the game." she spoke softly before placing one more kiss on his lips and leaving the locker room. The boys were outside waiting for Josh by the time she was returning to her seat.

After the game started back up, it felt like it went by fast. The bills ended up winning 41-0 and all the Bills fans were happy for the home team. Everyone was trying to leave the stadium, or they were lined up outside trying to get someone to sign something or meet one of the players. Y/N had decided to wait for her husband to get done with post-conference and then travel home together.

"There's josh's wife!", "I wish I was her.", "How'd she get so lucky to marry Josh Allen?" conversations were going on around Y/n as she walked herself with a security guard towards the locker room. It was no secret that she got some hate every now and then. That's why Josh always made sure that she was escorted by someone at all timed. She made sure to wave at the ones who were taking pictures or giving her smiles.

She always treated Josh's fans and supporters kindly. There was no reason not too and she loved being able to make someone's day just because she knows Josh.

"Thank you!" Y/N told the guard kindly when she stopped outside the locker room. She knocked on the door before pushing it open and peeking her head in with her eyes covered. "You guys decent?"

a course of "Yeah's" was heard before she uncovered her eyes and slipped into the locker room. Most of the guys were shirtless from just taking a shower but had the rest of their clothes on.

"Congratulations, you guys!" she spoke loudly as she made her way further into the locker room. The coach never truly liked her being in there, but he never said anything to her. It wasn't a very common occurrence, only for certain days. The men thanked her before going back to what they were doing. Making her turn back to her mission to find her husband before his post conference. "There you are! How did Josh Allen manage to pull a 41-0?" Y/N asked as Josh slipped a fresh shirt over his head.

"My good luck charm was here, and I knew I had to impress her." He shrugged as he walked closer to her.

"You already have me for the rest of our lives," She replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't have to impress me anymore."

"I do." He assured. "All because you agreed to marry me doesn't mean I'm going to stop dating you babe." He mumbled before placing a soft kiss on Y/N's head.

"I love you so much." Y/N whispered, playing with his damp hair from his shower.

"I love you more and that's a promise." He replied back pressing his lips to hers.

*Not edited*

Author's Note: I hate the way I ended this, but I hope it was okay. I wish I could have written this a bit different, but it is what it is. I honestly love writing NFL request right now. There are so many guys that are worth writing for that I may have to update my list! My cousin has been bugging me to write for Aaron, but I am not sure about that yet.

[theveniceangel]

So I made a Poppy Playtime OC a long while back, and she plays a big part in my Poppy Playtime AU.

Meet Holly Jolly! A kind porcelain doll who has a brave heart, and a strong connection to a certain purple feline.

BIO.

Name: Holly Jolly.

Age: She was 27 when she was turned into a doll, and she'd be 37 if she were still human today.

Specie(s): Sentient doll.

Gender: Female.

Height: 18 Inches.

Headcanon voice: Elsie Lovelock.

Likes: Catnap, art, writing, designing, helping others, tea and crumpets, Christmas, sewing, croquet, painting, reading, classical music, and daisies.

Dislikes: The Prototype, Leith Pierre, being trapped, isolation, liars, people hurting the ones she cares for (Especially her son), needles, and blood.

Crush, Partner, ETC: N/A.

Oc design based on: She's kind of based off China Girl from Oz The Great And Powerful.

Parents? Relatives?: Catnap (Adoptive son).

Friends: Kylie, Jessie, Manticat, Poppy, Kissy Missy, Dogday.

Personality: Kind, caring, compassionate, empathetic, smart, creative, courageous, strong-willed, a bit anxious but she tries not to show it, crafty, sassy, graceful, generous, protective, she's mature but can be sensitive at times, loyal.

Birthday: December 19th.

Markings: None.

Abillities: Having studied anatomy and medical science in college, and having watched the way the bigger bodies experiments are done, Holly is quite good at patching people (or toys) up, she's also a very good planner, she always tries her best to think her plans through before leaping into action.

Her creative mind also allows her to come up with creative ways of not only bringing a bit of creativity in life, but also keeping herself and by extension others alive.

Favorite drink: Fruit tea.

Favorite color: Light blue.

Favorite type of outfit: When she was human, she really liked wearing cardigans.

Story info for Oc: Long ago, there was a woman named Evelyn Snow, she was the head of the creative department at Playtime Co, and helped to make such incredible toys, but her best creation was a Christmas themed, ball jointed porcelain doll named Holly Jolly, a doll that became quite popular overtime, especially during the holiday season.

When the orphanage program began, Evelyn ended up befriending an orphaned boy named Theodore Grambell, a troubled boy who was very closed off, and didn't really trust others, how she managed to befriend the boy no one could understand, but she seemed to be the only one in the factory that Theodore actually trusted.

The two ended up becoming so close that they started to see each other as mother and son, and on Theodore's birthday, she promised the boy that she would adopt him.

Unfortunately for her, Evelyn got caught up in a disastrous situation, she discovered that the scientists in the factory were taking kids and experimenting on them, turning them into sentient toys, enraged by this, Evelyn started secretly collecting evidence of the bigger bodies experiments, and ended up learning quite a lot about how the experiments worked.

On a rather dark day, her soon to be son Theodore was in a terrible accident that left him hanging on for dear life, Evelyn begged the scientists to let her see her son but they cruelly refused.

Evelyn knew in her heart it was only a matter of time before Theodore would be experimented on, so she decided enough was enough and decided she was finally gonna reveal these twisted experiments to the public, before she could even leave however, she was caught and outted to the scientists, and her scheme was revealed.

In order to silence her, the scientists experimented on her and turned her into the very doll she created.

Despite her terrible situation, she was still determined to reunite with her son, unbeknownst to Holly, her strong bond with Theodore posed as a threat to the entity known as The Prototype, he knew that Theo's bond with her could throw a wrench in his plan, so with that in mind, The Prototype captured Holly and locked her in a closet in the school, where she has spent an entire decade, heartbroken and alone.

Little did she know that a certain brunette and her rag-tag group of friends would end up freeing her, and would end up being the key to reuniting with her son.

Credit to Ghostly-NightOwl on DeviantArt for the base.

@bumblehoneybee @citruslullabies @queenofwerewolves

[neteyamssyulang]

Toys

Day 16

Pairing: Neteyam aged up x Fem avatar reader

Summary: Today was your mates birthday and you had a special surprise for him, although that surprise takes a quick turn at the party the clan threw for him.

Warnings: Dom reader, Sub neteyam, Mommy kink, Orgasm Denial, Whimpering Neteyam.

Word count: 790

Translation(s): Yawne -> Beloved, Rutxe -> Please, Tewng -> Loincloth.

A/N: This was rushed so I apologize, it’s not my best. Also yayyy first time writing subby Neteyam.

Tags: @teyamsatan @pandoraslxna

You were beyond excited, but also pretty nervous. The eldest son of Toruk Makto had chosen you, YOU as his mate. Naturally it shocked everyone that he’d chosen a dreamwalker as his mate.

Even if you had an avatar body you preferred your human one. It wasn’t that you didn’t like your avatar no, it’s just because you felt more comfortable in your human body.

Neteyam had wanted you to make the conscious transfer but you refused, you didn’t want to give up your human body just yet. To your luck he had stopped asking.

Today was special though as it was your mates birthday. The clan prepared a party for him and then afterwards you had your own surprise.

Currently your on your way to the village, you didn’t wanna go in your human form so you opted for the avatar. Your tail swished nervously behind you as you reached it and began searching for your mate.

Squeezing your way through crowds of na’vi drinking pongu pongu, a very strong alcohol. Eventually you find him sitting with his family and stride over taking a seat beside him.

“Yawne you made it!” Neteyam smiles and pulls you into a hug making you giggle. “How could I miss my baby’s birthday?” He blushes slightly before engaging in conversation with his family again.

You sit there with your head on his shoulder just listening till a group of girls walk over. Ugh it’s Alira and her “friends” more like followers. They do whatever she says.

She walks till she’s in front of Neteyam waving her hand to catch his attention “Hey Neteyamm” she giggles.

Neteyam looks at her sighing “Hi Alira.” The girl ignores your presence as if your not there as she sits on the opposite side of him placing one of her hands on his chest. “You look so handsome tonight, maybe you could come find me later and I could give you my present.”

Before he hands a chance to speak you stand up grabbing him by his wrist and drag him towards the lab ignoring him telling you to stop so you both can talk things over:

Eventually making it to the lab and going inside you shove him towards your room locking the door once inside. Turning your met with a confused Neteyam “B-baby what’s wrong what did I-” “Shut up, remove your tewng and get on the bed.”

He gulps at your words but obliges removing his loincloth and sitting on your bed. Your glad you got this new one as your old bed wasn’t able to handle the weight of a na’vi on it.

You smile and remove your own top and loincloth aswell, you make your way over to the bed and straddle your boyfriend. “You’ve been very bad Teyam, you let another woman touch what’s mine.”

Reaching over to your nightstand you pick up what looks like a silicone ring. His head tilts in confusion “Yawne wh-what’s that?-”

Chuckling softly you get off him and slide the ring down to the base of his cock. “This was supposed to be your present but now not so much.”

Moving your hand down to the buldge of the ring you press on the button turning it on the first mode, Soft moans leave your mates mouth.

You press the button again, this time turning it to the 3rd mode. His breath hitches and he bucks his hips in the air whimpering, “Y-yawne r-r-rutxe!..”

“Shh my love” you hover your hips above him positioning his angry blue tip at your entrance, slowly you slide down his length till your clit pressed against the toy.

His groans filled your ears as you began lifting your hips only to slam back down onto him, his hands moved do grab onto your hips but you slapped them away. “You don’t get to touch.”

Neteyams ears flattened against his head instead opting to grab onto the sheets. He could feel his orgasm approaching yet he somehow couldn’t reach it.

You began grinding on him now feeling your own climax coming fast, your mates whimpers and broken moans filled the room “Mo-mommy please..”

“Please what darling?” You trail kisses from his jaw to his neck nipping at it. “C-can I cum?”

“My sweet boy.. release is for good boys not naughty ones” sobs began leaving him as tears ran down his face.

Reaching your own climax you cling onto your mate riding out your high till you come back down from it.

Carefully you lift yourself off him and reach down pressing on the button turning it off making him gasp in relief.

“Maybe next time if you’re a good boy you can cum”

[harry-hollands]

my boyfriend’s boyfriends

(a potential au stemming from ‘who does it better?’)

a part two to ‘who does it better’ but can be read as a stand alone.

part 1

alex turcotte x fem!hockey player reader

*PICTURES ARE FROM TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, AND MY OWN PERSONAL ONES I TOOK (10-28-2023)*

(inspired by faithlynn’s @babydollmarauders series media management and kaylin’s @starsandhughes series penalty box. if you haven’t checked them out, PLEASE DO THEYRE AMAZING)

yourusername

liked by quintonbyfield, _alexturcotte, and 42,752 others

yourusername: on today’s episode of “i had a day off at work and my boyfriend and best friend and son had team bonding today so i was left alone because my other roommates had a game tonight”, i decided that i, was going to support my boyfriend’s boyfriends—i mean roommates!

how generous of me right? i was in the upper bowl to watch the game so no one saw me but as is my job to be a professional nuisance to centers and defenders to keep the lethal flying piece of rubber out of my pretty net, i had to humble them somehow during warm ups.

for those wondering why i’m wearing my boyfriend’s boyfriend #2’s jersey, i lost a bet with him. for those also wondering what the bet was, it was on my boyfriend. i THOUGHT my boyfriend was a sweet person but apparently he took a page out of the enemy of silence’s book (@/trevorzegras) and got TWO penalties last game.

turcs was not impressed as you can imagine, and neither was homewrecker (@/jordanjs224) because apparently “homewreckers need to stick together and that comes with wearing my jersey” idk man im just their roommate that willingly has pieces of rubber shot at me at lethal speeds

despite my works of art, i also included other works of art from the professionals. (im legally obligated to make them look good like 3.8% of the time)

as much as i’d love to say that the boyfriends came out victorious, they did not 🥲

my boys played v*gas and lost in shootout but at least we got a point!

my cutie patootie laffy @/alaf14 (kings’s version, not to be confused with the rags’) SCORED HIS SECOND GOAL OF THE SEASON ON HIS TAYLOR SWIFT BIRTHDAY! you made me so proud 🫶🏼

next up, the infuriating maple leafs; auston matthews, I HAVE BEEF WITH YOU (i will be watching from home because it’s where my job is)

buckle up babes, turcs baby (@/_alexturcotte), my son (@/brandtclarke55), and my best friend (@/francesco.pinelli71) play tomorrow against the baby canucks and i don’t know if i’ll have the right mental state to watch them (i have to im their emergency goalie 🤠)

(ps m*rk st*ne, nicolas hague, brayden mcnabb, and ivan barbashev i hope you all suffer a 10 game losing streak you fucking bitch babies. DONT GO AFTER MY CUTIE PATOOTIE!!!)

tagged quintonbyfield, jordanjs224, lakings, anzekopitar, kevinfiala22, duber18, alaf14

view comments

quintonbyfield: WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT PICTURE OF ME?? HOW—?!

yourusername: @/quintonbyfield oh q baby, it’s all over twitter

quintonbyfield: @/yourusername oh, so you got it from twitter, got it

yourusername: @/quintonbyfield how do you think twitter got it? 🤭🫡

quintonbyfield: @/yourusername YOU LITTLE BI—

jordanjs224: oh my god. i look ATROCIOUS

quintonbyfield: @/jordanjs224 good. suffer.

jordanjs224: @/quintonbyfield alright listen here you little asshole—

_alexturcotte: @/jordanjs224 @/quintonbyfield babes, there’s no need to fight! cant we all just get along?

jordanjs224: @/_alexturcotte shut up, this ain’t about you

_alexturcotte: @/jordanjs224 🥲

quintonbyfield: @/_alexturcotte i would never treat you this way

yourusername: @/_quintonbyfield @/jordanjs224 if y’all are gonna fight, at least do it when y’all get home please? i need some entertainment in my life

francesco.pinelli71: @/yourusername am i not enough for you? 🤨

yourusername: @/francesco.pinelli71 YOU’RE LITERALLY LEAVING FOR COLORADO MONDAY 🤠

fan23: she’s feeding the jordan girlies 🤭

fan55: oh my god?? q?? holy fuck y/n KNOWS what she’s doing taking these photos

alaf14: y/n you didn’t need to threaten them, im okay 😭

yourusername: @/alaf14 you were practically thrown to the ice like a ragdoll and then you got HIGH STICKED and were BLEEDING and you’re telling me you’re “okay”??? dude…

alaf14: @/yourusername it’s hockey it happens. besides, YOU WILLINGLY HAVE PUCKS FLYING AT LETHAL SPEEDS AT YOUR FACE AND YOU STOP THEM WITH YOUR BODY

yourusername: @/alaf14 why are you YELLING?? im making sure everyone knows that if they hurt you that they are on my hit list. i will do what flower did to bedsy and trip them up

alaf14: @/yourusername that’s a sure way you don’t make it in the nhl

yourusername: @/alaf14 i will trip you up if you don’t shut the fuck up

alaf14: @/yourusername YOU’RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE KEEP DOING YOU 🫡

yourusername: @/alaf14 that’s what i thought <33

fan15: wait y/n is their emergency goalie?? how did i not know this information?

yourusername: @/fan15 it’s not widely advertised but im tryna be a big girl in the big leagues 🫶🏼

fan15: @/yourusername OMG THANK YOU

francesco.pinelli71: thank you for humbling them. clarkey and i have been dying of laughter for five minutes and turcs is looking at us like a disappointed father

yourusername: @/francesco.pinelli71 i live to serve, but i think it’s been established that turcs is disappointed father and im eccentric mother

francesco.pinelli71: @/yourusername YOU’RE SO RIGHT

_alexturcotte: @/yourusername @/francesco.pinelli71 i regret introducing the two of you

francesco.pinelli71: @/_alexturcotte i dont !

yourusername: @/_alexturcotte @/francesco.pinelli71 i don’t either!

fan12: y/n’s friendships with alex’s best friends >>>

brandtclarke55: MOM I WANNA BE LIKE YOU WHEN I GROW UP

liked by yourusername, francesco.pinelli71 and _alexturcotte

_alexturcotte: thank you for humbling my boyfriends. they’re not allowed to have their egos inflated.

yourusername: @/_alexturcotte of course, my love! expect nothing less!

quintonbyfield: @/_alexturcotte @/yourusername FUCKING OFFENDED???

jordanjs224: @/quintonbyfield @/_alexturcotte is this what betrayal feels like?

quintonbyfield: @/jordanjs224 fuck you.

jordanjs224: @/quintonbyfield time and place

_alexturcotte: @/quintonbyfield @/jordanjs224 without me?

quintonbyfield: @/_alexturcotte @/jordanjs224 never babygorl

yourusername: @/quintonbyfield @/jordanjs224 @/_alexturcotte 💀

_alexturcotte: i love you, my darling <33

yourusername: @/_alexturcotte i love you more, my love <33

~

a/n: i hope you enjoyed this little installment! i have a halloween one planned and am working on a blurb about worlds!! there will also be hopefully a blurb on turcs introducing her to the boys. I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING

as always, reblogs, likes, and comments are always appreciated 🫶🏼

~soph <33

[andreafmn]

Collision | Chapter 17

Word Count: 3.2K Story Description: (Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life is at its first standstill and she is taking this time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mystery, a man crashes into (Y/N)’s and her life will never be the same. Chapter: 17/? A/N: I really hoped I would be able to also write for Speak today, but couldn't finish on time and wanted to post as I had scheduled. If I finish the chapter this week, I'll post it, but y'all will probably have to wait two weeks more 😬😬Anywho, prepare for some feels... you've been warned. My content will always be free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can leave a tip on any of my posts to support me and my love of writing or buy me a coffee Follow 😊 -> TikTok • Instagram • Business If you’d like to be tagged in this or any other story: click here Make sure you have my notifications on so you know every time I post!

<- Previous | Next ->

Chapter 17

It wasn’t hard to figure out that Sam was planning a surprise party for her, especially when Jared had let it slip when she was over at her brother’s home. Accident or not, (Y/N) knew just what had been arranged for her 19th birthday.

“I swear, Sam. I had no idea she was here,” Jared had said.

“Don’t you have supernatural senses, Cameron?” (Y/N) laughed. “You should have known about it.”

“I’m not supposed to be on guard when we’re in the house,” he whined. “This is the place where we’re supposed to be relaxed and unaware. This is our safe space.”

“Technically, you should always be paying attention to your surroundings,” Sam responded. “That’s literally your job.”

“Also, when is she not here, dude?” Paul added with a chuckle. “If she’s not at work, she’s here.”

“I have other friends,” she grumbled, settling on the seat next to Paul. “Speaking of, are they invited to my party?”

“They would be if it weren’t for Paul,” Jared teased. “Can’t trust him not to go off at any given point when there are other people involved.”

“So, it’s only gonna be you guys, Emily and Kim? What a party,” (Y/N) laughed. “What about mom? Is she invited?”

Sam’s face contorted in an uncomfortable scowl. He knew the question would come. The obvious tension that existed between Sam and Allison Uley had been growing for almost a year, and the youngest Uley’s arrival only worked to cement the strain that had grown between mother and son.

“Okay, here’s what we can do,” Sam started. “We’ll have the party at the beach. A nice bonfire in a big open space where everyone can be. Paul will be on his best behavior and if anything happens, we’ll just leave.”

“Why does everything have to be so weird now?” she groaned. “This whole secret keeping just makes things harder.”

“Says the girl whose ex is a literal bloodsucker,” Jared chuckled without thinking. But as soon as he heard the words slip by his tongue, regret painted across his face. “Shit, (Y/N), I didn’t mean to say that.”

“It’s fine, Jared,” she smiled comfortingly. “You’re very right. It’s completely flabbergasting that my ex and his whole family are vampires. But I guess I dodged that bullet.”

After that afternoon, the Uley pack had set to prepare for (Y/N)’s first birthday back at the reservation. Everyone in town was happy to attend the bonfire. It was no secret that the Uley girl was loved around town. Even in her absence, all anyone could sing were high praises for her. So it was no surprise when the RSVPs started rolling in.

Quickly, the small gathering had turned into a party for the whole reservation. People were offering to bring plates of food and appetizers for the crowd that was forming, they offered their grilling and bonfire-making services, swiftly making Sam’s job simply inviting people and setting the time.

And somehow in the four days that were left, a whole town party was being set up. It was a stark contrast to the bonfire that had been set only two months before when the Cullens had left Forks. That one had been a fierce celebration as their ancestral enemies had finally left the land. Now, they were celebrating the life of one of their own — her achievements and her future endeavors. A joyous occasion in honor of a valuable member of their community.

At least, it was meant to be joyous, and (Y/N) knew that. She knew she should have been excited to be amongst her people. The same people that had seen her grow and had grown alongside her. The very people she knew she could count on whenever she might need them. She knew all that.

But it was such a bittersweet moment. She was constantly surrounded by people that loved her, but there was something missing. There was someone missing.

He had come into her life and, in so little time, he flipped it on its feet. He had made her believe that every decision, every moment, every second of her existence had led her to that instance —had led her to him.

And as swiftly as he had barreled into her life, he was fine. He had taken every promise, every declaration, every whisper of love with him. And it had left her with an emptiness that couldn’t be filled by anyone else. (Y/N) could only focus on herself —her career, her friendship, her family. But never again would she focus on love. Not when she knew how it could drastically transform her journey.

“Hi, honey,” her mother said as she peeked into her room. She had been staring at her reflection for what felt like hours, even if she knew it had barely been minutes. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, mom,” she smiled. “So do you.”

Allison had chosen a long dark red dress, her black jacket toning down the color even more. She had braided her hair and had put on makeup, but (Y/N) could see the years on her face. She could see having to raise two children on her own, having to work two jobs to keep the lights on, the pain of losing her son, the knowledge that one day she could lose her daughter as well. It was all the secrets and the hardships that she had gone through, that her family had put her through.

Those were the moments when (Y/N) wanted to tell her everything, every single detail that had derailed her mother’s life without her knowledge. She wanted to confess that she wasn’t alone in her pain, that the hurt she had carried most of her life was shared between each of the Uley family members. Instead, all she could do was remain quiet.

“Are you excited for tonight?”

“For the most part,” (Y/N) admitted. “It might be just a tad overwhelming. Heard through the grapevine that almost the whole rez is gonna be there.”

“You’ve gone to many bonfires, honey,” she chuckled. “What’s different about this one?”

“That I’m the guest of honor, mom,” the girl chuckled softly. “I’m gonna be the center of attention and that feels weird.”

“Well, I’ll be right there next to you, holding your hand.”

“Thanks, mom. I would never be where I am without you.”

Her mother smiled brightly, wrapping her arms around her tightly. “Oh, sweetheart that’s all you,” she said. “You’ve gotten this far because you’re bright and talented, and so hardworking.”

“And because I’ve had a mom that made all of that possible,” (Y/N) added. “I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, honey, more than you could ever know,” Allison smiled as she released her daughter. “And I have something for you. I wanna do it here, where it’s just you and me.”

The woman reached into her pocket, pulled out a black box, and handed it to her daughter. She followed expectantly every move, excitement filling her. Inside rested a crescent moon pendant that was engraved. As soon as her eyes fell on the necklace, tears formed in the corner of the girl’s eyes.

“Is this your pendant, mom?”

“Yes, honey,” she smiled. “It had been my mother’s, and her mother’s before her, and so on. I have been holding onto it until I felt it was time to pass it down to you. And I think there is no better time than now.”

“Oh, mom, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted this necklace,” (Y/N) said. “But I’ve always wondered, what do the markings mean?”

“After hardship comes ease,” her mother responded. “It’s what my mother would always say and I know how much you might need that reassurance now. Hard times pass, my darling. Even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.”

“I know, mom,” the younger Uley breathed, melting into her mother’s touch as Allison placed a comforting hand on her cheek. “I just wish that time came sooner rather than later.”

“Give time to time, (Y/N). We can’t rush things.”

“I know,” she sighed. “And I’m trying. I really am.”

“I’m sure of that, my darling,” Allison said. “But tonight is about you and not about what has happened or has stopped happening. We’re gonna celebrate your birthday and forget these past couple of months. Use tonight as your time to unwind and prepare yourself for what comes next.”

“I will. I just need a couple of minutes to finish getting ready.”

“Alright, honey. Let me know when you’re done and we’ll go down to the beach.”

As soon as her mother was out of the room, (Y/N) went back to perceiving herself. She stared at the bags that had formed under her eyes, the long restless nights evident on her face. Her fingers traced where her cheeks had seemed to hollow after months of terrible eating habits. She gawked at the lost gleam in her eyes, the emptiness that peeked behind her pupils.

She was a completely different girl than the one that had come back to La Push, and in a few months,  she would be another her. There was a (Y/N) before him. There was a (Y/N) during him. And there would now be a (Y/N) after him. Even if she had not planned for it, she would have to do it.

“It’s now or never,” she whispered to herself.

As she left her room, (Y/N) gave herself a once over. She smoothed down her navy-blue dress and put on a jacket. She was determined to put every sad thought, every bad moment to the back of her mind. He would never again be the reason she wouldn’t enjoy life.

Before she could reach the beach, she could hear the whispered commotion. Even if she knew the party was happening, she was still surprised. Where she was expecting a small group of her friends, it seemed like the whole town had come out to celebrate. As soon as she was close enough, everyone turned and yelled, “Surprise!”

Everyone she knew welcomed her with a smile on their face. People came up to her wishing her a happy birthday and telling her how glad they were she was back home. Even Charlie Swan had popped in for a bit, congratulating her and asking if she’d go by to see Bella. They gave her hugs and kisses, wishing her blessings for the coming years. It was the warmth of a community that she had not felt for four years, giving her a feeling of belonging she had no idea she craved.

“I think more people turned up to your birthday than for the last community bonfire,” Paul said as he joined her side and sat on a piece of driftwood.  The party was in full swing already. Plates of food had been passed out, children were playing, teenagers were talking, and the pack was keeping to themselves. “Hope you were still surprised.”

“I was,” (Y/N) smiled. “Didn’t think many people would care. I mean, it’s just my birthday. Not even a huge milestone. Just nineteen.”

“I think you’re underestimating just how much the people here love you. And any year is a milestone in my book,” he offered. “You made it another year. That’s an accomplishment in itself.”

“I also got approved by the board at UW to start taking aptitude tests,” she confessed. “I’ll spend the better part of December and January taking all kinds of exams to be able to slide into the next round of rotations.”

“Holy shit, (Y/N), that’s amazing!” Paul exclaimed as he twirled her in a tight hug. “It’s almost a miracle.”

“I know,” she added. “I don’t know what out there in the universe is looking out for me, but I’m glad it is. I honestly thought it would never happen. But I got the call yesterday afternoon. It’s really happening.”

“Well, they’re lucky to have you. I can’t think of anyone that would be a better doctor than you.”

“You’re just saying that, Paul,” she chuckled. “But I’m thankful for that vote of confidence. I’m just glad things seem to be moving forward. I really thought I’d be stuck in the same place for a while there.”

“I knew you’d make it out eventually,” he smiled. “Also, I got you something. And I promise it’s not sex coupons. I know I can get that for free.”

“You’re about to get those privileges revoked if you keep talking like that,” she laughed in response. “But I’ll grant you that comment because it seems Sam did not hear you.”

Paul laughed loudly, making a few heads snap back toward them. “But it’s something serious,” he continued as he handed her a wrapped box that had been resting by his feet. “It took me a while to get it, but I hope you like it.”

(Y/N) took hold of the box, carefully ripping away the neat wrapping paper —a job she was sure had been done by Emily. Inside the box, in perfect condition and wrapped in plastic, was a first edition of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. She ran her hands over the cover. She studied the spine. She inspected every single detail of the book, and it was perfect.

“Oh my god, Paul, it’s absolutely beautiful,” she joyfully cried. “But this must have cost you an arm and a leg. You shouldn’t have spent that on me.”

“I wanted to,” he beamed. “I know how much you like books so I asked Kim if she could help me get you something special.”

“It’s more than special, Paul. It’s a one-of-a-kind gift,” she smiled as she engulfed him in a hug. “I love it so much.”

“It’s as special a gift as you are,” he continued. Paul raised his hand to her cheek, tucking behind her ear a loose piece of hair. “Also, you look beautiful tonight. I don’t think I’ve told you that yet.”

“Thanks,” she replied, feeling the unnatural warmth of his skin seep onto hers. “I’m glad you’re here, Paul. And I’m grateful that you’re my friend.”

“For better or worse, (Y/N),” Paul added. “You know I’ll always be by your side.”

“You better mean that, dude. Cause I’ll hold you to it.”

“So will I,” Sam’s voice startled them. “You might be a part of my pack, but that’s my little sister right there.”

“By a couple of months at best, Sammy,” (Y/N) grumbled. “And I can handle myself perfectly. Thank you very much.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t always be looking out for you, (Y/N),” he smiled. “Now, come on. It’s time for cake.” 

The rest of the night went by quickly. They sang her happy birthday, they passed around cake, and they told stories by the fire. The same stories she had heard since she was just a little kid. The same stories that related the lives of the ancestors of their tribe. The same stories she knew were anything but fiction.

One second, she was staring at the figures that were dancing in the fire, showing her the past. The next, she was heading back home, a heap of presents overfilling her arms. “I’m so tired,” (Y/N) whined to her mother. “I could sleep for two weeks if I could.” 

“Unfortunately, you can’t,” Allison chuckled. “But at least you’ve got the rest of this week.”

They laughed in unison, knowing that the least she would do was actually rest. The only time she would probably have a full night’s rest was that night and it would have been out of pure social exhaustion.

But mother and daughter stopped dead in their tracks when they reached the front door of their house. Right in front of the wooden door were three presents elegantly wrapped in silver paper, the same paper she had seen days before her world fell apart. 

“I’m guessing those are for you,” her mother said. “Do you know who could have sent them?” 

“Maybe they’re from the team at the hospital,” (Y/N) thought quickly. “They couldn’t make it tonight because they were pulling double shifts.”

“That was nice of them,” Allison responded, accepting her daughter’s answer. “That wrapping paper is beautiful.” 

“Yeah,” she choked out. “Can you help me bring them up to my room, please?”

“Of course, darling.” The woman took the three boxes under one arm and opened the door before following her daughter up the stairs. “Alright, (Y/N). Well, I’m going to bed because I have an early shift tomorrow and I’m pretty beat. But, happy birthday, sweetheart.” 

“Thanks, mom. Good night.”

“Night, honey.” 

Allison left the room, shutting the door behind her and (Y/N) felt she could finally let go. She felt her blood run cold inside her body, her limbs trembling at the realization of just who had sent those presents. Even though they had ripped themselves from her life, they somehow kept appearing.

With shaking hands, she opened the first gift that was tagged with a note that said From Rosalie. It was a leather notebook, the cover engraved with the words: Dr. (Y/N) Uley. And on the first page, in beautiful calligraphy, she wrote: I may not be the one who sees the future, but I know you have a bright future ahead of you. Love, Rose.

The next one was labeled From The Cullens. It was a small black box that stored a necklace with the Cullen crest engraved onto a circle charm –small and modern. And it was attached to a note that said: Already part of the family.

(Y/N) could feel the warm tears stream down her cheeks. Her lungs ached at the shortness of air, filling as best as they could as she sobbed quietly. She knew the gifts weren’t sent with malice. A high probability that they had been ordered long before everything had gone awry. But it didn’t stop the wrenching of her heart.

There was only one box left and she knew exactly who it was from. She took the long box in her hand, ripping away the paper violently. She was surprised that it had some weight to it, her mind trying to anticipate what could have been inside before she raised the lid.

On a bed of sating rested a silver stethoscope with blue rubber. Engraved on the instrument's bell, in beautiful cursive letters, it read: Dr. Uley-Cullen. In addition, a card that read For our future.

Those couple of words completely broke (Y/N) down. She fell to her knees, feeling as if the weight of the past few months fell upon her. She muffled her shrieks with her pillow, not wanting to alarm her mother.

Suddenly, everything she thought she had started to get over rose to the surface and hollowness filled her core. As the tears kept falling, she could feel the painful hole in her chest grow deeper and deeper.

He had planned a future for them. A future where she was a part of their family. A future where they would take on the world, together. Yet he had thrown it all away in a second, without another thought. Without ever looking back. He had built everything so high to let it all topple down.

He had left her to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and rebuild a life on her own. And that was the only thing she would allow him to have. She would create a life for herself, by herself, and she would prove to him that she was bigger than her heartbreak.

Next ->

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[callsign-jinx]

Seeing Red | Ch. 27: Jake's secret ✍️📲

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: A N G S T, Jake's past, death, guns, dirty money, mentions of war... idk guys, this one has almost everything you can imagine.

A/N: IT'S FUCKING 04:30 AM I SAID I'LL PUBLISH IT TODAY AND HERE IT IS. THIS IS THE SECRET, BUT WE STILL HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF US, BABES.

MASTERLIST ON PINNED

“I think I should start the story by telling you that Seresin isn’t my real surname.” 

“Holy shit, what a way to start.” You mumble, grabbing a cushion to embrace while he tells you the story. 

“Seresin is my mom’s maiden name. I was born as Jacob St. James.” 

You hug the cushion tighter. “St. James. Sounds like a rich surname.” 

Jake swallows, playing with the edge of his t-shirt. “Have you heard of the St. James Armament Corporation?” 

"Of course, they're the ones who provide the Na-" You realize what he just said, the connection he’s implying. “You gotta be kidding me.”

“I wish I was.” 

“Jake. SJAC is the biggest armament company in the States.” You state, as if he didn’t know already. 

“And I’m their 17-year-old son that disappeared almost 20 years ago.” He confesses, his hands trembling. 

You grab his hands, moving closer to him. “It’s okay. I’m here, okay? You’re not alone.” 

He nods, and takes a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“You think you can go on? We can stop.” A part of you feels bad now. This is bigger than you have thought, and somehow it feels like it has just started. 

He shakes his head, brings your hand to his lips, and kisses your knuckles. “I’m okay. I’m just… gonna pour it all out, and you interrupt me when you need it, okay?” You nod, and he presses his lips into a thin line. 

It’s now or never. 

Jacob St. James was born into a rich family. He had more money than he could ever spend. As the only child of Gregory St. James, Jake was supposed to become the perfect heir. His childhood wasn’t a normal one. 

Normal children have crayons and coloring books. Jake had math books and private teachers. 

Normal children play football with their friends. Jake’s only friend was his grandpa, James Seresin, a veteran. He had been a naval aviator all his life. Jake’s dream was to become like him, fly in the sky with his teammates, and help the world become a better place. But it was an impossible dream. 

Normal children go to birthday parties. Jake was a prisoner in his own castle of glass. 

Normal children get a car for their 16th birthday. Jake discovered that his father not only supplied weapons to the United States military branches, but also sold them to their enemies, who had been killing innocent people for years. 

“Who do you mean by ‘enemies’?” You question, not liking where this is going. 

“Anyone you can think of: Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, mafias all around the world… He was the main supplier.” 

“Iraq… as in Operation Iraqi Freedom?”

Jake nods. “I know your dad died there, sweets. I don’t know if it was one of my father’s weapons but…” 

“Whatever your father did, it isn’t your fault.” You reassure him, running your fingers through his hair. “What did you do when you found out about this?” 

“I tried to confront my him. I told him that I didn’t want to become the heir of a company that was behind so many murders. Innocent people were dying because of him. Men and women like my grandpa, people who fought to save this country and so many others, were dying because of him.” 

“I’m sure he didn’t like it.” 

Jake shakes his head and looks down. “That’s when it all became scary.” 

Jake’s father only laughed at his words. You will do as you are told, he said. If I say ‘jump’, you’ll ask ‘how high?’, he said. You’re only a puppet, controlled by me, he said. 

I’ll run away and I’ll become a pilot, like grandpa. I’ll help to save all the people you’re killing. I don’t want to live surrounded by dirty money.

Jake’s grandpa died in a mysterious car accident the next day. 

“Oh dear god. How old were you?” You hug him close, as close as you can. 

He wipes his tears with his free hand, the only one bringing you impossibly closer. “Seventeen.” 

“You were just a kid…” 

“And my father killed my grandpa as a warning. ‘You want to become something you’re not? That’s what happens’. He never said those words to me, but the message was clear.” 

“Where was your mom?” 

“My mom…” Jake takes a shaky breath in. Seeing him in such a state breaks your soul. “She blamed herself for everything bad that happened to me throughout my life. It took her a while to realize that my father didn’t marry her because he loved her; he married her because of her dad’s connections. My grandpa’s contacts with the Navy would help his armament company.” 

“That’s horrible, Jake.” 

“There’s nothing pretty in this story.” 

Jake took months to figure out how to get out of his house and run away. But eventually, he got help from where he least expected it: his grandpa. He had been collecting information for years: guard shift changes, where the keys were, where the money was hidden, who could help him once he was out, how to get a car, everything he needed. 

“He wanted you to be free.” You speak softly, playing with the collar of his shirt. 

“He even left me his wings.”

“I’m sure he was an amazing man.” 

Jake smiles. “I know he would have loved you.” 

“Of course, I’m pretty lovable.”

Jake looks at you, his eyes glistening with unshed tears and love. “Yeah, you are.” 

You clear your throat, looking away. “Did you manage to run away?” 

“My mom distracted my father long enough for me to escape. I changed my name, joined the Navy, and never contacted my family again. I received a letter once a year, on my birthday. Mom used them to tell me everything was okay. But… if she knew where I was…”

“So did your father.” You finish the sentence for him, feeling that this is when you come into the scene. 

“I didn’t realize until much, much later.” 

Everything was good for a while. He became a hell of an aviator, began to live his own life, and started to do things that he never thought he could. He went to parties, got drunk, and became a player—all the things one is supposed to do in their adolescent years, the ones that were stolen from him. Somewhere along the way, he found you. 

“This is gonna sound ridiculous, but you were the first person I fell in love with." Jake explains, scratching the back of his neck. “Nobody ever explained to me why love was how you’re supposed to feel when it happens, not even my mom." 

“That’s why you stayed around even though we weren’t actually together.” You recall how he agreed to that friends with benefits relationship right away. 

“I thought that maybe, if I tried hard enough, you’d fall for me, too.” He chuckles. “And you did.” 

“Yeah, I did.” You look at the streetlight outside the house, “They found me, right?” 

“I made a mistake. I sent a photo of our wedding to my mom. And he found it. My mom sent a letter back, and I knew something was wrong because I got two letters from her in the same year.” Jake sighs, his head resting on the back of the sofa, and you find yourself hypnotized by the movement of his Adam's apple when he speaks. “She said that he was looking after me. I got a random message one morning, it said: ‘You don’t deserve to be happy’. I knew it was him. And I got so fucking scared that you could end up like my grandpa that I just made everyone believe that our marriage had ended.” 

You close your eyes, tears running down your face. This is it. This is the truth. He had a good reason. He was protecting you. He has always been protecting you. 

“He allowed me to be an aviator, but not to be happy.”

"And you went through this alone." He runs his fingers through your face, trying to get rid of the tears. "I'm sorry, Jake, this is… T-this is crazy."

"I know. But I need you to know that if I had known that I was leaving you and a little kid behind, I would have fought to keep you at my side." He pats his chest before opening his right front pocket and getting his wedding band from the inside. He carries it around? "I've seen your dog tags, sweets." 

You pulled them out. The rings, separated three years ago, are reunited again. "I thought you would wear it with your dog tags as well." 

"It would have led to unnecessary questions. But now…" He opens the chain of his dog tags, sliding the ring before closing it. "I can do this." 

You chuckle, trying to assimilate everything. "This is a lot." 

"I know… I've been preparing myself for a month. But you… it has to be overwhelming." 

"Is it safe for me and Liam to be here?" 

Jake nods. "Mav called an old NCIS friend. Is helping me prove that my father killed my grandpa. This friend has shown every guard at the base the faces of the people who cannot enter the base under any circumstances. As long as we're here, we're safe." 

Yeah, that's true. This is probably the safest place you could be right now. 

"So that's why you're trying to get Liam everything he wants? Because you didn't have anything?" 

He sighs, playing with the engagement ring in your dog tags. Liam has the same face when he plays with them. Like father, like son. "I lived in a castle of glass that had everything and nothing at the same time." 

You grab his chin, forcing him to look at you. "Jake you're not your father, you know. You just came back from the ER with me because he had an ear infection." 

"I know I'm not like him, Red. But I missed a lot of things" He softly moves your hand from his face. 

"That's not true. You want to see his first steps? Hear his first words? I have videos. I recorded everything I could." You tell him, getting up and turning a light on so you can search your laptop. 

"Why? I mean, I guess it was to have memories of that, right?" 

"I recorded everything for you, Jake. In case you came back." You sheepishly admit, sitting down next to him.

You open your laptop and search for a folder named 'Liam'. There's almost a hundred videos, if not more. From his very first days, to last month's beach day. You play the first video, pushing the laptop in front of Jake. 

And now he knows how it feels to see his kid take his first steps. How excited he was on his first birthday. How he loves to play with Lady. How his first word was 'baba' and his second 'dada'. Red must have talked about him every single day for him to be his second word. He sees Liam's face covered in chocolate the first time he eats ice cream. How he loved the sea and the sand. How much he loves his mom—a brilliant smile on his face every time she says something to him. 

And he also sees that same feeling in your eyes. Devotion. Pure love and devotion. 

"Thank you, Red. For showing me this, for raising him alone… You're the best mother ever." Red hands him a box of tissues, and he chuckles but takes a few and cleans his face. "I'm a crybaby."

"I think you're allowed to cry, cowboy. I used to say to Liam that his dad was a superhero who had to stay away from his wife and son to protect them, and that’s literally what you did. You protected us." 

He looks at you. You're practically sitting in his lap. Your puffy eyes look at him with a familiar glint in them. The one you had the first time he said that he loved you. The same glimpse of devotion that he has seen in those videos. Maybe not everything is lost. 

"I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I need you to go home." You mention closing the laptop. 

He blinks a few times. "Wait, what? You want me to leave?" 

"Yeah, because right now I could kiss you, and I don't trust myself when I'm around you." You mutter, getting up from the couch and moving to the door. 

"Okay, but… now that you know that I didn't want to leave you, would you consider giving me another chance?" 

"We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" 

He takes out his phone, looks at the time, and shows it to you. "It's already tomorrow."

You frown. "Is that a picture of me and Liam?" 

He nods. "There are a few of them; they change each time I unlock it." 

You can't fight anymore. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, you pull him close to you, kissing him like you've been wanting for the last month. For the last three years. It becomes desperate, with your whole body curving into his. His hands fly to your hips, pulling you even closer if it's possible. He bites your lip, making you gasp and moan at the same time, and before he can explore the insides of your mouth with his tongue, you pull away. 

"You still need to go, Jake." 

He nods. "Okay. I'll come back tomorrow morning." 

"Goodnight, Jake," you say as you open the door for him. 

"Goodnight, sweets." He stays there until you close the door, then walks to his car. He smiles like an idiot all the time. Once he is inside, he gets a text.

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[vesprynna]

✨🌻The Journey Home🌻✨ Today is my friend @unicornia93's 30th birthday, so of course a gift is in order! Toot toot the birthday floot, haha! 🥳

I decided to draw our DnD OCs Alusys, Gaeril and his wolf companion Fang, riding homeward to Gaeril's mother. We finally met her last session. Needless to say a very emotionally charged moment between mother and son when they met again after being separated for years. Loredh's interactions with Alusys were also so sweet, the two drank coffee, talked and made clothes together (Loredh is a seamstress and weaver). It really inspired me, and I thought the idea of Ally and Gaeril traveling back to his home in Lunalucia would make a nice gift for Uni 🥹 💕

[roseofdarknessblog]

Unnecessary Wars (Reiner Braun x Reader)

Word count: 4 515

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

TW: mentions of anxiety and panic attacks

Summary: Getting Reiner the best and most wanted birthday gift was pretty challenging. But miracles do happen, and the two of you were finally expecting your first baby while being just two weeks away from getting married. Everything seemed more than perfect. Unfortunately, Reiner′s own mother was causing the two of you many unnecessary problems, even during the happiest moments of your life.

Unnecessary Wars

„You didn′t eat much. Was there something wrong with the food? Did you not like it?“ asked Karina Braun as soon, as you walked through the kitchen door with the intention of helping her clean up after dinner.

„No, no... the food was excellent, thank you so much. I′m just not feeling my best today.“

Reiner's mom really put a lot of effort into this dinner. After all, it was her son′s birthday and she was the one who wanted to have a nice dinner with only the closest family members. Now including you as well, since you and Reiner were supposed to get married in just two weeks. You did all the planning and everything seemed perfect and ready. Now you just had to wait for the big day to arrive.

You and Reiner were beyond excited and happy. Thinking about marriage was something truly natural for both of you, you′ve always wanted to marry someone you loved and potentially start a family with that person. Buy your own house and have a few kids, since you knew Reiner wanted a big family.

That was the main reason you didn′t tell him the big news. You wanted to wait until his birthday, to tell him about your pregnancy. It was pretty hard to keep this kind of news from him for the last two weeks, but today it was finally the day. From now on, there would be no more reasons to hide your morning sickness, which usually lasted throughout the entire day, and now was also the reason you didn′t eat almost anything.

The only person, who knew about you being pregnant, was Pieck. As your best friend, it was she, who you called first – still crying and in shock, when you saw the positive pregnancy test.

„Did you think about our last conversation?“ Karina asked, tearing you away from your memories. After blinking several times, you found yourself back in her kitchen, a couple of empty plates still in your hands. „I think you′ve had enough time.“

Out of politeness, you tasted almost everything, that was served tonight. Despite not getting along with Karina Braun, you wanted to appreciate her effort with this dinner. But the unending nausea was far too strong and you didn′t want to risk getting even sicker. So you mostly just sat there, listened to everyone′s conversation, and tried to seem as if nothing was happening. Karina and her older brother were the ones who talked the most, but Reiner's little cousin Gabi simply loved to interrupt them every chance she got.

You swallowed hard and put the plates into the sink. „Actually, I didn′t really have the time to think about such things. Planning a wedding is really time and energy-consuming.“

„So my son′s future doesn't matter to you at all?“

„It does, of course. I care about him and you know that. That is why I′ll be marrying him in two weeks,“ you answered confidently but calmly, one of your hands subconsciously coming to rest on your stomach. Arguing was the last thing you wanted. Especially today and about the topic, that was addressed more than enough times.

You knew Karina never liked you and she truly wasn′t thrilled about the idea of you and Reiner getting married. It was she, Reiner′s own mother, who tried to convince you to break off the proposal. To leave her son alone even a long time before that. During the days the two of you only just started dating and Reiner brought you home for the first time. You tried your hardest to make a good impression – you were nice and polite to her in every way possible. But it seemed, that the more you tried, the more she despised you.

„I′m really not sure why you are so against me. I′ve never done anything to hurt you.“ Her quiet laugh made shivers run down your spine. It was useless. She′s never going to like or accept you. „I love your son and I only want the best for him.“

„In that case, you should finally leave him alone. Stay as far away from him as possible. And not force yourself on our family.“ You clenched your fists, trying to take a steadying breath. „You surely noticed, that nobody was thrilled by your presence tonight.“

„I′m sure you had something to do with it,“ you muttered, leaning against the kitchen counter. „You′re not going to scare me off,“ you added, looking her over. Her mean and cold personality intimidated you from the very first time the two of you met. But she didn't scare you. Not like she wanted to. „Look, you don′t have to like me. I′ll live with it, it′s fine, really. But don't try to ruin your own son′s happiness. Reiner loves me and wants to marry me. Simple as that. It′s truly not up to you, to decide this aspect of his life.“

„You′ll never be a woman worthy of my son, remember that. You will always be just a simple nobody. Getting involved with my son was the biggest mistake of your entire life, I′ll make sure you regret that day.“

You were already opening your mouth to say something, to defend yourself, when you noticed somebody standing in the doorway. Reiner was looking wide-eyed, while Gabi was standing right there beside him.

„Don't mind me, go on. I′d like to hear the rest of this conversation,“ he said in a cold tone, not even bothering to look at his mother. His eyes were on you, making sure you′re okay.

Before you reassured him with even the tiniest smile, another wave of nausea unexpectedly hit you, and made you hurry out of the kitchen. You almost knocked Gabi′s mom over, when you walked past her, hurrying into the bathroom upstairs. You made it just in time, to not throw up in the middle of the staircase.

Looking into the mirror, while you were washing your hands afterward, you could see the first few tears running down your cheeks. Everything made you so emotional these last few weeks. Even Reiner noticed but didn′t ask. He knew, that if something was troubling you and you needed to talk, you would come to him.

You felt more disgusting than ever before and could only hope, that your entire pregnancy is not going to look like this. You could hardly make it to work every day, not to mention all sorts of everyday tasks which needed to be done, combined with the wedding planning.

A loud knock on the door startled you. „Are you okay, honey?“ Reiner asked, waiting for your answer.

„Sure, I′m fine,“ you said, trying to wipe away your tears. But it only made everything worse, as you forgot about your makeup, and smudged mascara and black eyeliner all over.

„May I come in?“

With a feeling of panic quickly growing in your chest, you wanted to lock the door to keep him out. But Reiner was quicker and entered the small bathroom without your consent. You blinked a few times, trying to stop the tears from coming, as you turned your head away.

„Can you leave me alone, please? I just... need a moment,“ you stuttered, turning your back to him and facing the sink again. All you needed to do, was concentrate on your breathing. Everything was fine, nothing was happening. Nothing you didn't experience before. „Go talk to your mother,“ you added a little too cold and harshly.

It only took a moment, until Reiner came closer and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him until your back was leaning against his broad chest. He knew what was about to happen and wanted to step in before the situation escalated any further.

„It′s okay, just breathe. I′m here,“ he said in a reassuring voice, pressing a tiny kiss behind your left ear. „Don′t think about my mother now. Just focus on me, okay? We′re leaving as soon as you feel a bit better.“ You nodded, trying to give him at least a tiny smile.

There was no reason for you to have a panic attack over what happened. Not that such states needed a reason to happen. Many times, they came out of the blue and you couldn′t prepare for them. You simply had to wait for them to pass. But that was much harder to do than say or even think.

You could feel Reiner standing there right behind you, supporting you and watching over every shallow breath you tried to take. His chin was resting on the top of your head, while his right hand was lovingly caressing your hip.

„Just breathe, everything is fine. Nothing is going to happen to you, I′m here and I won′t let anything or anyone hurt you. Not my mother, understand? This was the last time she talked to you like that.“

The more you tried to concentrate on your breathing and push Karina′s words out of your mind, the more you were becoming aware of how hard your heart was pounding. You could feel your fiancé′s embrace tighten around your trembling body, as you closed your eyes and let another few tears run down your cheeks.

Physical touch was a double-edged weapon in situations like these. Sometimes it was the only thing, that helped you not lose your mind completely. But other times, even the slightest touch made you panic even more.

Right at that moment it was for the best to lean on him, and let Reiner hold you in his arms. You could feel the room around you spinning, while your knees were threatening to give out at any given moment. And you had to be careful, even more than before. All of this was no longer just about you. Yours and Reiner′s unborn baby had to come first in any situation. Stressing over unnecessary things wasn′t good for any of you.

„I need to tell you something,“ you said after a short while. This wasn't the best moment for announcing such big news, but it felt like the only way to prevent a full-blown panic attack from happening. „I wanted to wait until we get home, but I think...“

„It′s fine, you can tell me now,“ he assured you, while one of his hands reached forward and turned on the cold water. You didn′t understand, until he gently took both of your wrists and held them under the running water. „I′ve read somewhere, that feeling something cold, like holding an ice cube or submerging your hand or even face can help with anxiety and panic attacks. The cold sensation and the slight pain it brings is supposed to stop your brain from focusing on all of those horrible thoughts and emotions.“

You nodded slightly, trying to focus on the mirror in front of you. Your and Reiner′s reflections were looking back at you, reminding you about the present moment. Your eyes were red and puffy from the tears, while your cheeks were stained black from your ruined makeup.

„Just give it a moment,“ Reiner said, watching the mirror just as closely. He was worried, there was no denying it. You could see the concern written in his eyes and all over his beautiful face.

„I′m sorry for ruining tonight. Maybe I should have stayed home, don′t think anybody would mind or miss me here,“ you muttered almost inaudibly, but somehow calmer. Feeling the slow and regular rising and falling of his chest right there behind your back made you try and match your breathing with his.

„You don′t have to be sorry about anything. I′ve heard everything you and my mother said to each other. You did nothing wrong.“ The coldness in his voice made you feel another wave of panic. You never wanted to be the reason for him and his mother arguing. Reiner loved her, despite everything. And you had to accept that. No... you wanted to accept that. For him. His peace and happiness. Not for Karina, you couldn't care less about how she was feeling. „It′s me who should apologize. You′ve told me countless times about your misunderstandings, but I never thought that it′s this serious.“

„I didn′t want to worry you and...“ you shrugged, while Reiner gently massaged both of your wrists still under the cold water. The pain, which slowly started to get more intense, felt as if millions of tiny needles were pricking your hands all at once. It was much more comforting than you would′ve thought. „Maybe I hoped that it would get better. That she would start liking me, mainly after we got engaged and started planning the wedding.“

His half-sad and half-desperate smile made you look over your shoulder and look at him from a different angle. „After what I′ve heard... I don′t know, I should be glad, that you still want to become my wife,“ he joked, kissing the top of your head. „I wouldn't blame you, if...“

„No, stop! I don′t want to talk about your mother and what she did to me. Today and many other times before.“

It was a lie, you wanted to talk about it. About everything that happened throughout the last few years. You wanted to rant and complain about your soon-to-be mother-in-law. But looking at Reiner, you didn′t want to trouble him. Not today, not on his birthday. And surely not on the day you wanted to tell him, that he′s going to be a father.

„You wanted to tell me something,“ Reiner reminded you, stopping the water. Your hands were shaking and almost completely numb. But this little hack really did help you avoid the worst-case scenario. You had many panic attacks before, some worse than others. If Reiner didn′t come to check on you, it would have been much, much worse. „Go on, if you still want to talk. Or we can talk at home, it′s up to you.“ You thought a little, before standing on your tip toes and giving him a kiss on the cheek. „So later it is, I guess.“ You nodded, while he reached for a towel and gently wrapped your ice-cold hands into it. „Do you feel better?“

„Much better, thank you.“

Still, staying shut away in the bathroom for some extra minutes was unnecessary. You only felt comfortable leaving, when you stopped shaking and your heart rate slowed down again. And after your eyes weren′t that red anymore. Reiner held your hand tightly the entire time, gently running his thumb back and forth over your knuckles, a couple of times making a little circle around your engagement ring.

„We′ll be leaving,“ said Reiner, when the two of you stood at the entrance to the living room. Everybody sat there, talking and having fun. „It′s getting late and I have to get up early for work tomorrow,“ he added, wrapping one of his arms around your waist.

It was a lie, he had the next week off. Even his aunt and uncle knew since Gabi was set to stay at your place for a couple of days. You′ve already made many fun plans and were looking forward to them. His little cousin loved you since your first meeting and always loved to come over or go someplace with the two of you. Or sometimes just with you alone, mainly when you picked her up after school from time to time.

„Thanks for the dinner,“ he said just a bit quietly, not even looking at his mother. And you didn′t either. Giving all of them a forced smile had to be enough. The only person, that wanted a proper goodbye was Gabi, who ran up to you and gave you and Reiner a hug.

You were quiet for the whole ride home. The traffic was minimal, it was almost nine in the evening, so it didn′t take you too long to get home. Thankfully, you were soon unlocking the front door of your apartment, already thinking about the hot shower you were planning to take.

You tried to relax and forget what happened, but Karina Braun′s words were still playing over and over again in your head. It was pointless, you knew that. Every little argument with her was pointless. All she wanted, was to make you angry and try to separate you and Reiner. But it was too late for that. You and he were so in love, that it was unthinkable to break up. You′ve planned your whole life together, working towards all of your dreams for the last couple of years.

And now... you were expecting your first baby. In a perfect scenario, you would break the big news tonight during the family dinner. Everyone would be happy and congratulate you, already looking forward to meeting the little one. But since everything was very different, all you could do was cry once again.

„Everything okay?“ Reiner asked from the couch when you came out of the bathroom. Your eyes were red and puffy again, which he noticed almost immediately. „My mother just called. She wanted to talk about what happened. But I don′t have the energy to deal with it now, maybe tomorrow. Or when I won′t be this angry anymore.“

You shrugged without interest, making your way into the bedroom to pick out some comfortable clothes for the night. The whole day made you super exhausted, your pregnancy adding to the fatigue even more. A few more tears slipped down your cheeks, while you were getting dressed and climbing into bed.

Reiner joined you a few minutes later after he too took a quick shower. „We can talk now if you still want to,“ he whispered quietly, pulling you into his embrace. He was always careful and gentle with you, but today he was acting even more cautiously. „What is it about? Something important?“

You nodded, turning over to your side to face him. It felt really comforting to nestle into his arms and lay your head on his chest. „It′s about your birthday present,“ you whispered, kissing him just above his heart. „I′ve been hiding it for a while now, waiting for today.“

„We agreed on no presents, remember? All of our money went on the wedding, I don′t need anything else.“ You smiled a little, wrapping one of your arms around his body. Everything felt so different once you were in his embrace. The whole world got quiet and much more peaceful. „Is this something special you are sure I can't live without?“ he teased you, running his fingers through your still-damp hair.

„It is something I know you wanted for a long time.“

For the last couple of months, you and Reiner were trying for a baby, but without success. You felt defeated and hopeless every single month when you got your period or got a negative pregnancy test. Your friends were reassuring you, that everything will turn out fine. And then it finally happened, you missed your period and after a couple of days, you and Pieck were looking at a positive pregnancy test.

And now it was time to tell Reiner, that one of his biggest wishes, was about to come true.

„Hmmm, what did I want for a long time?“ he asked, rubbing your back.

„To become a father,“ you finally said out loud, closing your eyes while you waited for any kind of reaction.

„Yeah, that′s right. That would be really nice and I′m sure we′ll soon become the best parents ever.“

„Did you hear what I just said?“ you asked in surprise when his reaction was way different than what you′ve expected. It seemed that Reiner didn't really understand what you were trying to tell him.

„I did, of course.“

„Okay, and... did you understand? Do you know what I meant by those words?“ Reiner slowly sat up with you still in his arms, brushing a few strands of hair away from your face. You got to see the exact moment when the realization started to set in. His eyes lit up with unimaginable joy almost immediately.

„You′re pregnant?“ he asked in disbelief, looking you over as if he never saw you before in his life. For a moment you were worried that he′s going to start crying. „Like right now? In this moment?“ You nodded with a hopeful smile on your lips, grabbing his hands and interlocking your fingers. „Are you for real?“ You nodded again, biting down on your lower lip, to stop the tears from ruining another moment.

„I found out a couple of weeks ago but wanted to tell you today. I wanted your birthday to be even more special.“ But his mother almost ruined it all. Once again. As if it truly made her happy... making you suffer just because she wanted to argue during every possible moment. About every little thing. „It was really hard to keep it from you.“

„Would you tell me sooner if my birthday wasn't now?“

„Yeah, sure. I would probably tell you straight away.“

Without letting you continue talking, he leaned closer and kissed you. With that, he said everything important. With only one long and passionate kiss, you were able to feel his joy and excitement. „This is the best gift anyone ever gave me. You can′t imagine how excited I am. About... everything, really.“

„I′m so glad it′s finally happening, Reiner, you can't even imagine. I know everyone was telling us to just relax and don′t force it, but I was really getting worried that it will never happen.“

That would destroy both of you. Yes, life was about more than just settling down and having kids. Everybody had different outlooks on the future and you with Reiner wanted a family, it was as simple as that. You knew he was going to be an amazing father, although he never truly knew his own dad. Maybe that was his motivation. He wanted to be everything, his own father wasn't.

„I′m really happy, Y/N,“ he said in a soft voice, carefully making you lay back down. One of his hands came to rest over your stomach, while he leaned closer and gave it a tiny kiss. „I love you so much already, you have no idea. And I promise to be the best dad you could′ve ever asked for.“

„I can′t wait to see you together,“ you said, running your fingers through his hair, as he rested his head on your stomach and made himself comfortable. „You′ll be the best father ever, I know that.“

„All thanks to you, honey.“

Reiner gave your stomach another little kiss, before he made himself comfortable next to you again, taking you into his arms and giving you at least a hundred more kisses – on your lips and cheeks, along your haw and neck, on your forehead and to the tip of your nose. You couldn′t remember when was the last time you′ve seen him this happy.

„Do you still want to have the wedding now? It′s really stressful, all that planning and the wedding day itself. You need to be careful and rest as much as possible.“

„Everything is settled, Reiner. We just have to get all dressed up, stand at the altar, and exchange the wedding bands. Then we can go home and let the others have all the... fun.“

You never wanted a big wedding with many people. But both of you had many friends and big families. And, of course, you wanted to please everyone. That′s why now you had to host almost a hundred people on your wedding day. And to be honest, it truly terrified you. Now even more, when you had to think about the baby.

„I′m just... worried about your mother,“ you whispered quietly, a little scared to tell him what you were thinking about. „I know I′m maybe being paranoid, but I can't shake the feeling that she will try to ruin something on purpose.“

„I′m really sorry, that you feel this way,“ Reiner said, one of his hands coming to rest on your stomach, while he kissed the top of your head. „You know I talked to her on many occasions and tried to reason with her. And for a while, I thought that things had settled between the two of you. Mainly because you never complained.“

„I didn′t, but just because I didn′t want to worry you. It never got better between us, quite the opposite.“

You tried to respect that woman. After all, it was thanks to her, that you had Reiner in your life. He never really talked about his mother, since their relationship was somewhat complicated since Reiner was a teenager. But it seemed that they tried to make up throughout the last year or two. Maybe that was why Karina acted so cold and rude toward you. She felt threatened by your presence in her son′s life. Maybe she was finally aware of her own mistakes and now feared, that Reiner would shut her out of his life, just because you acted so differently towards him – more lovingly, more gentle, and more understanding.

You gave him something, she never did. Not the way she was supposed to. Something, that was so important for everyone – unconditional love.

Saying that she was a bad mother wasn′t up to you. But you knew, that when the time comes, you will raise your child completely differently. And Reiner as well, since he was nothing like his mother.

Thankfully.

„Do you want to tell her about the baby? Or should we wait?“ he asked curiously, playing with a strand of your hair. His eyes were almost overflowing with happiness and pride, as he was looking at you, probably still in disbelief. „It′s up to you.“

„I think we should wait for a little. With everybody, not just her. These first few weeks tend to be quite risky.“

He nodded in agreement. „That′s why I′m concerned about the wedding. We waited so long for this to happen, and now... I′m scared, that′s all.“ You gently kissed the warm skin on his neck, cuddling ever further into his side. „If I knew sooner, I would have never let you go to that dinner tonight.“

„I know, that′s why I didn′t tell you anything sooner,“ you smiled a little, closing your eyes in utter exhaustion. Today was a long and uncomfortable day. It was almost a miracle, that its ending was so peaceful and full of love.

„We′ll make a deal, alright? You won′t even get close to my mother, let alone talk to her. I know how angry she can make you, and I′m not willing to risk the baby′s health and life because of some nonsense fights.“

„Babe, it′s not me who wants to argue at every given moment,“ you reminded him a little annoyed, furrowing your brows. „But I′ll be happy to avoid her,“ you added willingly, not wanting to continue this conversation. „I′ll be careful, I promise. Just, please, don't try to control every aspect of my life from now on, okay?“

It took Reiner a rather long while until he nodded, gently grabbed your chin, and leaned closer to press his lips to yours. All you ever wanted, was to make this man the happiest possible. And at that moment, you were more than sure, that he was happier than ever and beyond excited about your future, as his hand was still protectively covering your stomach.

To hell with Karina Braun.

You were prepared to fight with her for the rest of your life, but never surrender. Nobody, and especially not her, will ever take Reiner from you.

From you and your baby.

[dorihey]

Today is the birthday of the late Ed Asner. Many are familiar with him as the voices of Carl Fredricksen from Up, Santa from Elf, and Hudson from Gargoyles, as well as Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the aptly named, Lou Grant (series).

Back in the mid 2000's, my family and I were staying at a very large expensive house that belonged to friends of my parents as guests. They had a larger cable package than we did back at home, and they had ToonDisney. I remember seeing Gargoyles while staying there, on the "Hangin' with the Heroes" block in the evening. I remember seeing this show very vaguely as a younger kid, but I must not have been older than 6 or 7 or so given the original air dates.

I was totally enamored with these characters almost instantly. I hopped on their upscale internet, and immediately perused various Disney media sites at the time and started going down the rabbit hole with what little material the internet had back in like 2004 about the show. I learned about the cast, Greg Weisman's blog Station 8, and somehow convinced my parents to upgrade our cable so I could watch it. I even made a Neopets Fanpage about the show, and I have no idea if it's still around.

I don't have a lot of specific memories about Hudson being my favorite, or even having a particularly verbose knowledge of the show back them, but I DO remember becoming familiar and fond of Ed Asner, seeing a teaser for Up, learning he was in it, and that detail making it NECESSARY for me to watch it on release day.

I remember the evening before watching Up, and enjoying it, but I rewatched it with my mom a few days later. I am not sure what was different here, but I became OBSESSED. I joined a Pixar fan site, became a highly active member, and began absolutely marathoning this film. I also spent 5 hours one evening with a mechanical pencil, very little drawing skill, and drew this. (apologies, the picture is 14 years old and washed out)

To be clear, this was EXTREMELY out of nowhere. I had never drawn anything remotely this detailed before. So I (quite ignorantly, but still strongly) decided to change college majors and pursue art. Still workin' on that one...

Down the line, I ultimately watched Up in theaters 50 times, held movie nights for the fansite over Skype, made multiple forum signatures for myself and other members, and even got invited to Pixar, and met a lot of Pixar leadership (albeit briefly for most).

At the center of this though, Ed Asner was responsible for me gravitating to these characters. I've been pretty consistently enamored with his brand of wholesome curmudgeonry.

(I just made up that word, and I like it, so it's real now)

In any case, I've always felt a bit odd for having an attachment to an actor that hit his acting stride while being middle-aged in the 70s, 20 years before I was even alive - like I'm the only person my age that even knows this guy existed.

I had never gotten to meet Ed, but I did make an attempt shortly before he passed. It didn't work out, but his son Matt runs a charity organization called The Ed Asner Family Center that focuses on supporting individuals and families with autism and neurodivergence. I was fortunate enough to join an early screening of Dug Days before it released on Disney + thanks to a fundraiser by the center, including a Zoom Q&A with Ed. The thing I noticed during the call is that Ed was so immensely quick-witted, absolutely hilarious, and would not leave his piece unsaid. He had an astoundingly magnetic personality. It wasn't open mic, but I managed to get a question through - "What was it that got you into acting?"

Jonas Rivera, the Producer of Up was moderating the call and Ed about verbally trampled the guy by the time he was getting the last few words out, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

I don't have the exact words, but it boiled down to "escapism" - which was a bit shocking to me. You've got a former president of SAG, who'd been acting for longer than I have been a living person, and he was immediately compelled to tell everyone that the reason he got into showbusiness is to run from the world and its problems. It was remarkably humble.

Ed passed away exactly a week later. I couldn't eat for 2 days, I was so distraught.

I highly recommend that folks check out a lot of the acting Ed has done. He's absolutely brilliant, and one of the most fun people to watch. He was intimidatingly witty, and yet seemed like the guy who would talk to just about anyone. And then make them laugh their sides off.

I haven't shared my deep admiration for Ed too often other than with folks closest to me, but Ed Asner was a precious gem of a human being, and embodies a lot of things I think the world - particularly folks of the male persuasion - should have a bit more of.

Here's to you, Ed. Have a happy birthday up there for us, big guy. We love ya. <3

(side note, the portrait at the top, I drew to commemorate his first birthday after he passed in 2021. The picture at the bottom was drawn, but not adequately finished imo, about 2 weeks before he left us. I need to give it a proper redo someday)

[starkstruck27]

Harringrove Week Day 5

Prompt(s): A Mix Tape (It's modern day though, so I made it a playlist), In the Front Seat of Neil Hargrove's Truck

Dialogue Challenge: "When I turned 18..."

Word Count: 10,001

Tw(s): none

Also, if you'd like to listen to the playlist I used to write this story, here's the link. There are more songs on there than are in the story, since it's my own personal playlist for Billy, but I hope you enjoy if you listen to it!

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 6:00 AM

Billy knew better than to keep his phone on when he was at home. He couldn’t even leave it on vibrate, lest he get a notification at the wrong time and his father remembered he had it. And even though Billy had bought it and continued to pay for it on his own, his father wasn’t above taking it away or even breaking it if it meant gaining more control over his son’s life. So he kept it on ‘Do Not Disturb’ at all times, and only turned on the vibrations once he’d left the house for the day. It wasn’t like anyone texted him all that much anyway, except for Max, when she needed a ride or something like that.

So when he woke up to his alarm clock at 6 o’clock sharp the morning of his birthday, he was more than a little surprised to find he had eight new messages, all from the same unknown number. He only had four numbers saved in his phone: Max, his dad, his step-mom, Susan, and his basketball coach. It was safer that way, in case his father decided to do a phone check, so that way he wouldn’t find anyone else and lord it over Billy. And even though he had most of his friend’s numbers memorized, this one he didn’t recognize. Still, he opened the messages out of curiosity, but it only left him even more puzzled.

Hi, Billy! Happy birthday! Hope it’s a good one!

That was all the first message said. It was time-stamped at exactly 12:00 that morning, and not even a minute passed before the next message was sent. It was a link to YouTube, nothing else, not even an explanation. The next five messages were the same, just YouTube links, nothing else. They had been sent every hour, on the hour, and the last one had just come in.

Billy sat and scanned over the links. This couldn’t be a spam number, because each link was different, and each one led to a different video. He didn’t know much about music, but he recognized some of the names of the artists. Rihanna, Gorillaz, and Lana Del Rey were all pretty popular with the kids at school, and Max had a thing for the first band that was sent, All Time Low. Still, this was weird. Who in the world would know that today was his birthday and would go out of their way to lose sleep just to send him a new song every hour?

He didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, though. It was already 6:10, and he wasn’t even dressed yet. He had to leave by 6:40 to avoid his father, so he put his phone in his backpack and went to his closet to get dressed, not bothering with a shower today. His hair looked fine from when he styled it yesterday, so after a few minor adjustments, he was about ready to leave. He snagged a piece of Max’s toast on the way out the door and grabbed his favorite blue thermos, and when Max finally joined him in the car, they were finally able to leave for school. 

While Billy had waited, he’d opened his phone back up and opened his messages, clicking the unknown number and then on the links. Each one, obviously, took him to YouTube, and he entered them into a playlist, simply titled 18. He hadn’t listened to any of the songs yet, but he started his car while he waited for Max so that it would be warm when she finally came out, and that gave his phone the opportunity to hook up to the bluetooth sound system. Max got into the car just as the first song began playing, the All Time Low one, called Weightless. 

“Since when do you like ATL?” Max asked, munching her toast and getting crumbs everywhere.

“I don’t, and watch where you’re eating for fucks sake!” Billy replied, muttering under his breath about how she was gonna have to vacuum his car after school.

“Then how come you’re playing them? It can’t be for little ol’ me, that’s for damn sure,” Max said, rolling her eyes and brushing more crumbs off of her lap.

“First of all, watch your fucking language. If your mother hears you talking like that, I’m gonna be the one in trouble, so quit it with the goddamn cursing. Second, someone sent it to me for some reason. They sent me a bunch of songs, so I’m gonna listen to them and try to figure out why,” Billy said, glancing at his phone. It was 6:45. Would there be another message when 7:00 hit?

“That’s weird. How many songs did they send?” Max asked, glancing at Billy’s phone screen, too, but she couldn’t see it very well.

“Seven, so far,” Billy said, the song changing to one he’d never heard of before. It was called Bukowski by some band called Modest Mouse.

“Mind if I see what they are?” Max asks, and Billy shrugged.

“Have at it,” he said, letting Max examine his phone. The seven songs on the playlist so far were listed in the same order they’d been sent, starting with Weightless and Bukowski, and followed by Umbrella by Rihanna, Video Games by Lana Del Rey, On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz, Good Morning Sunshine by Aqua, and finally, Betrayed by the Game by a band called Dance Gavin Dance. 

“Huh. Seems like whoever sent them had trouble picking a genre, this is all over the place. So, who would have your number and would have a music taste this diverse?” Max thought out loud, then added, “It could’ve been-”

“It could’ve been anyone, Maxine, but that’s none of your business. When I want your theories, I’ll ask. Now shut your trap for the rest of the ride or I’m not giving you a ride to Wheeler’s house later,” Billy interrupted, not in the mood for Max to start up. Once she got herself started on trying to figure something out, she became relentless, and right now, he was too tired for that. Besides, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know who it was sending him the music. What if it was some nutcase like that Carver kid on the basketball team, or that Muppet girl Tammy Thompson? Yeah, if it was someone like that, Billy really didn’t want to know. 

Thankfully, Max shut up after that and just listened as the songs played on their way to school. 

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 7:03 AM

Billy had pulled into the high school’s parking lot four minutes ago, and after letting Max out of the car, he waited anxiously until his clock changed to say 7:00. He’d listened to almost all of the playlist so far, and decided to finish it up in his car before the bell rang at 7:45 and he’d have to get to class. He was halfway through one of the songs when a notification came through on his phone, another link, a few seconds after the clock changed. He paused the song he was listening to and went to the message, finding another link and no words, just like the others. 

He added the song, called Far Too Near by AFI, to the playlist, and continued to sit in his car and listen until the latest song had finished, and hence, the playlist. It was only 7:17, but Billy went inside the school anyway, making sure to grab his earbuds from his center console before he did. He grabbed his thermos, too, and went straight to his favorite classroom, Mrs. Norcum’s. She was a young teacher, early thirties at the very most, and she and Billy got along like they’d been friends since childhood. She often let him eat lunch in her room, or spend study halls there, if he wanted a quiet place to read or work. She was one of those cool teachers that was up to date on all the latest trends, and she made her classroom a safe space for all her students. She was the kind of teacher that everyone always wanted, and were disappointed if they didn’t see her name on their schedule at the beginning of the year.

“Hi, Billy! Happy birthday!” Mrs. Norcum said as she saw him walk into her room, a smile bright on her face as she rummaged around in her Golden Girls lunch bag. She finally produced a cupcake with green frosting and sprinkles, gesturing for Billy to come closer so she could give it to him. Billy was one of her favorite students, and while she never showed favoritism when they were in class, she’d told Billy of it when they were having lunch a few months ago. 

“Thanks, Mrs. N. Is it cool if I make myself some tea?” Billy asked as he held up his thermos. Mrs. Norcum nodded and turned on her Keurig machine, then offered Billy the box of different flavors of tea. He chose the honey-infused black tea and dropped the bags into his thermos, then set it under the machine to brew.

“So, what’s new, birthday boy?” Mrs. Norcum asked as she put her selection of teas away. She opened the minifridge beneath her desk and pulled out the cream she kept in there, as well as a few sugar packets, and handed them to Billy as well as a spoon. 

“Not much. Max is getting on my fucking nerves again, but,” Billy shrugged again, watching as the machine spit hot water into his thermos.

“Since the bell hasn’t rung yet, I’m not gonna get on you about the cursing, but remember that not all your teachers are as cool as me, so you better watch it,” Mrs. Norcum said, giving Billy a wink as she watched him prepare his tea.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just kinda absent minded today. I started getting these weird texts this morning at 12 am and I’ve been getting more every hour, on the hour. It’s kinda freaky,” Billy said, putting the lid on his thermos and taking a sip of the scalding hot liquid. It tasted like heaven.

“What do you mean, ‘weird texts’? Like, weird in the way that you need to block the person or weird as in it felt like you woke up in an episode of Black Mirror?” Mrs. Norcum asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Weird as in someone sent me a message to say happy birthday and every hour after that they send me a link to a YouTube video so I can listen to a song. The songs are pretty good, the only thing that’s weird is that I don’t know who sent them. I made a playlist out of them,” Billy said, sitting in one of the bean bag chairs Mrs. Norcum kept in her room. Another thing about Mrs. Norcum was that she believed students learned best when they were comfortable, so she kept very few actual desks in her classroom. Mostly the students sat on couches and comfy chairs, and they could even sit on the floor if they wanted to. Billy almost always chose a bean bag.

“That reminds me of something I used to do,” Mrs. Norcum said, “Back in the 80s, when my parents were teenagers, people would make each other mixtapes, then when I was a teen in the 2000s, we made each other CDs, and now, kids send each other playlists. It’s kinda odd that this person isn’t sending the songs all at once, but it is intriguing. Let me know what becomes of it, especially if you find out who it is.”

“Will do, Mrs. N. See you later!” Billy said, leaving the classroom with his tea and heading for his homeroom.

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 8:14 AM

Billy was sitting alone in Mr. Murphy’s silent study hall, trying to get some work done for his history class, and listening to his playlist again from the beginning. Another song had come in at 8:00 on the dot, and he’d added it to the list as he listened to it. This time it was one he knew, mostly because of Max, called Tear in my Heart by Twenty One Pilots. He’d never admit it in his sister’s presence, but he liked it, and he was beginning to enjoy the mystery person’s eclectic music taste.

It was about halfway through the class period when Billy noticed Steve Harrington checking his phone almost religiously every couple of minutes or so. This wasn’t out of the ordinary for him, he almost always had his phone in his hand, always playing a game or checking his social media. But he usually put it down when he needed to, and as he and his friend were trying to work on a project, he shouldn’t have had it in his hand. 

“Steve, c’mon, you gotta help me. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, but I need help,” his friend said. Billy thought her name was Robin.

“Yeah, I know,” Steve replied, glancing all over the room. Billy had stopped paying too much attention at this point, so he didn’t notice the other boy glancing back at him. “Just trying to figure something out.”

Billy had turned his attention back to his worksheet, his stomach twirling as he saw himself doodling a heart with an arrow through it over in the margins. He quickly turned his pencil over and erased it, feeling his face heating up as he did so. He knew he had a thing for brunettes with pretty eyes and bright smiles, but that didn’t mean he had come to terms with the stupid crush he had on the other boy. He’d realized it a while ago, but he’d pushed it down, knowing that it would go away after a while if he just ignored it. 

Only, it didn’t go away. In fact, every time he saw Steve laughing at something his friend said, sweating through his shirt as he ran around during basketball practice, or acting like a disgruntled mother when someone says something to one of the little gremlins he babysits, it only got worse. He was still doing his best to ignore it, but he couldn’t always ignore the way his heart fluttered when he saw Steve fluffing up his hair, or the way his breath got shorter when he saw him dancing his way through the halls with his headphones on. There was just something about Steve Harrington that made Billy weak in the knees, no matter how much he tried to make it stop.

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 9:43 AM

Another song had come in at 9:00, and Billy had been listening to it on repeat as long as he could. It was his favorite so far, called Achilles, Come Down by Gang of Youths. He’d spent more time researching the song, its lyrics, and the band that wrote it than he had paying attention to his algebra teacher, and he knew that it would come back to bite him in the ass later, but he couldn’t have cared less. He was more determined than ever to find out who was sending him these messages, because the song was so beautiful, and it made him feel so much, he just had to know who had shown it to him. Surely they couldn’t be one of the crazy assholes that went to school with him. It couldn’t be them. It had to be someone special.

As the bell rang at 9:55 to signal the end of class, Billy packed up his things and headed for the gym. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to it, since all they were doing today was walking the track, and even though it was almost 10:00, it was still fucking freezing outside, and Billy hadn’t packed a sweatshirt in his gym bag. 

As Billy got to the locker room, he saw that the spot by the door that was usually occupied by Coach Garven was instead taken by a short, stick figure like man with glasses that must’ve been at least four inches thick. Billy recognized him as one of the Hawkins’ substitute teachers, though he’d never been in a class where this guy was subbing. 

“Are you one of Coach G’s kids?” The sub asked as Billy walked over.

“Yeah,” Billy replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. He’d turned on the vibration feature on his phone ever since he’d started getting the messages, and now he was waiting anxiously for the next one.

“Alright, well, I’m Mr. Helfer. I know you guys aren’t supposed to have your phones on you in the gym, but since we’re just walking outside today, I don’t mind if you guys bring them. My only condition is that you have to check off your name on the attendance sheet by the coach’s office. We got a deal?” Mr. Helfer asked, and Billy nodded. Mr. Helfer nodded back and let Billy into the locker room, just as the bell rang. Not even a full second later, Billy felt his phone buzz with a text. He smiled.

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 12:31 PM

Billy had kept his earbuds in all through gym class, Spanish class, and now he was keeping them in through lunch. He typically ate in Mrs. Norcum’s room, but today she was busy, so he had to eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the student body. Three new songs had come in, including the one from gym class, and all were added to the playlist. It now contained 13 songs, but Billy still had no idea who was sending them. 

After the song at 10:00 came in, Billy thought it might’ve been that guy Eddie Munson. The 10:00 song was called Freaks by a band called Surf Curse, and while he and everyone else in Hawkins knew that Eddie listened primarily to metal, was it so far-fetched to think that he might be branching out a little bit? Especially since he’d gotten together with his girlfriend, Chrissy, because she was the complete opposite of him and was probably trying to expand his horizons when it came to music. 

But as soon as 11:00 rolled around and a link came through that led to Crocodile Rock by Elton John, Billy quickly scrapped that idea. Most people in Hawkins under the age of thirty had never even heard of Elton John, and some, like Eddie, openly hated his music with a passion. So, that was one suspect down. The problem was, Billy didn’t have a next one to look at. He was back at square one.

At 12:00, the song This Is The Best Day Ever by My Chemical Romance came through, and Billy started to observe the other outcasts around the school, thinking that it might be one of them that had somehow gotten his number and started sending him songs. He was especially suspicious of the goths, since they tended to favor music more than anybody else, but none of them had ever looked his way before, and none of them were looking now. So that was another flop.

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 3:30 PM

Roger Rabbit by Sleeping with Sirens, Cabron by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Gotten by Slash all came in at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 respectively. Now that the school day was over, Billy was a little sad, since he had to go to basketball practice and he’d have to stay until at least 5:00. Coach G had gotten back from his doctor’s appointment and he had a strict no phones rule, so he’d have to wait until he got back to the locker room to check it again, and Billy was not a patient person. Halfway through practice, though, when everyone was taking a short break to drink some water and stretch, Coach G pulled Billy aside.

“Hargrove! C’mere for a minute!” Coach G yelled, waving him over. Billy jogged over to him, still drinking from his water bottle as he stood in front of the older man.

“Yeah, Coach?” He asked, wiping some sweat from his brow. He couldn’t help but notice the clock behind the coach reading 4:01. 

“Listen kid, your pop has a pickup truck, right?” Coach G asked, looking up from his clipboard at the boy.

“Yes, sir,” Billy replied.

“Alright, good. Can you borrow it for a day? I have a shipment of new uniforms and equipment coming in two towns over in Goldville tomorrow, but I have another appointment and I can’t get out there. If I could get you out of class a little early, could you go and pick it up for me? Goldville is about an hour away, and the Sports Center you’d have to pick them up from is right at the entrance to the town. You think you could do that for me? I’ll pay you back for gas,” Coach G asked, clapping a hand on Billy’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I can do that. Just let me know what time to be down here,” Billy said, hoping he’d be able to leave early enough to miss Bio.

“Well, school ends at 3:00, so how about I get you out at 1:00, just after lunch? I think that’ll give you enough time to get there and back before all the teams leave for the night, and Coach Vargas should be here to help you bring the stuff inside before she goes home,” Coach G said, checking some papers on his clipboard.

“That works for me,” Billy said, shrugging, taking one final sip of water and crushing the plastic bottle in his fist.

“Good. Now, when you get there, go into the sports center and ask for Oscar. When you find him, tell him you came for the stuff that Howard Garven ordered, and give him this,” Coach G said, handing him a note scribbled on scrap paper with a phone number and his signature on it. “If he gives you any shit, tell him to give me a call at that number. I’m just getting some blood drawn, so I should be able to take the call, but it probably won’t be an issue. Oscar’s pretty laid back.”

“Yes, sir,” Billy said, taking the note. “I’m gonna go put this in my bag so I don’t lose it, is that alright?”

“Sure, kid, but hustle back. We’re not going to wait for you all day and we gotta get practice going again. And thanks again,” Coach G said, patting Billy on the shoulder again and blowing his whistle to get everyone else’s attention as he ran off for the locker room.

When Billy got into the locker room, he went straight for his locker, opening it as quickly as he could. Coach had told him to hustle, but he was determined to check his phone before he left again. There was no cell service in the locker room, and he didn’t have time to listen to a whole song anyway, but he was at least able to open his texts and see a new message, sent at exactly 4:00, pop up on the screen. He couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of practice.

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 7:13 PM

Billy was sitting on his bed, facing the door, his laptop in front of him as he worked on an essay for English. He didn’t have much homework tonight, thank goodness, and so he decided to just relax until Max finished helping Susan with the dishes. He needed to ask her a favor, but in the meantime, he decided to listen to the latest songs he’d been sent. He hadn’t gotten a chance to until now since his father had been home, and now he was anxious to hear them.

The song sent at 4:00 was called The Fall by half∙alive. Then, at 5:00, it was This Ain’t a Love Song by Bon Jovi. 6:00 brought the song Better by Guns ‘N’ Roses, which was actually one of Billy’s favorite songs of all time, though he doubted whoever was sending it knew that. Finally, at 7:00, The Red by Chevelle came through, and he’d just gotten through listening to it when he heard the sink turn off in the kitchen and the sound of Vans squeaking on the wooden floors of the hallway.

“Max!” He called from inside, just loud enough for her to hear. He didn’t want to alert his father or Susan, and he hoped he’d been quiet enough for that. Thankfully, he was, since the only thing he could hear after that was Max’s annoyed groan and the sound of his bedroom door opening.

“What do you need, fuckwad?” She asked, shutting the door behind her as she leaned on the frame.

“I need a favor, can you help me with something?” Billy replied, motioning for her to come closer.

“Depends. What is it?” Max asked, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him. That kid Henderson must be rubbing off on her, she never used to take this tone with him before. It made him want to smile a little, but he held it back.

“I need you to ask Neil if I can use his truck tomorrow. He won’t say no to you. Just say that you and one of your little friends did a big project that’s too big to take in any other cars, so you were hoping I could drive you and your friend tomorrow and we could put the thing in the truck bed. I need the truck for a basketball thing, but he’ll probably tell me no. He won’t say no to you,” Billy reiterated, hoping Max would just do it.

“What’s in it for me?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips now. Christ, she was getting too sassy for her own good.

“I’ll give you ten bucks,” Billy said.

“Make it twenty,” Max replied.

“Fifteen,” Billy sighed.

“It’s a deal,” Max grinned.

“You suck, shitbird,” Billy groaned.

“Yeah, and you swallow, assface. Now pay up and I’ll go ask,” Max said, holding out her hand with a smirk. Billy groaned again and gave her the money, then watched as she took a second to put on her best puppy-dog eyes and headed for the door.

“Oh, by the by,” she said, stopping and turning around just before leaving the room, “Did you ever figure out who was sending you those messages earlier?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. Either way, I’m not telling you,” Billy said, feeling his cheeks going a little warm.

“So that’s a no, then. Alright, whatever. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Max said, leaving. Billy couldn’t hear what was said in the living room, but a few minutes later, Max came in to get his keys so she could swap them with Neil’s. 

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023: 11:54 PM

Billy had been listening to his playlist for almost the past hour, trying to fall asleep. He didn’t think any more songs would be coming in since the day was over, and the next hour would be midnight, technically making it tomorrow, and thus, his birthday would be over. He had gotten Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!) by Garbage at 8:00, followed by Sweater Weather by the Neighborhood at 9:00, Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco at 10:00, and Santa Monica by Everclear just about an hour ago at 11:00. There were still no actual text messages, but Billy found he didn’t really mind it. He loved his playlist and even though he’d like to know who sent it to him, he figured they must’ve remained anonymous for a reason, and he could respect that.

It wasn’t until 11:59 that Billy was once again surprised by his mystery text-buddy. One of the songs went quiet for a moment and his text sound played instead, making Billy crack his eyes open and sit up before squinting at his phone. He saw a message with actual words in it and clicked on the notification, sitting up for real and leaving his earbuds in, even though the music stopped playing on YouTube when he left the app. He rubbed his eyes a little and let them adjust to the bright phone screen, then looked at the two messages that had popped up almost immediately when the clock changed to the last minute of the day.

Hi, Billy. I hope you had a good birthday, and that you liked the songs. I just thought you might like them, and they made me think of you. Whatever. I just hope you liked them. Here’s one more. Happy Birthday!

“God, whoever this is texts like an old man,” Billy muttered to himself as he read the message, but he couldn’t help the coy, unavoidable smile that rose to his lips as he clicked on the final link. It opened YouTube again, and as Billy added the song to his playlist, he heard a piano intro begin. He read the title, Great Party by Frank Iero and the Future Violents, as the singer began to croon, then set his phone back where he had it and settled back into bed to listen and focus on the lyrics. 

By the end of the song, Billy was beginning to cry a little, but he blamed it on yawning too much. The song was pretty, and gritty, and heartfelt in a way he wasn’t expecting. He sat up again as soon as it was over and picked up his phone again, taking his earbuds out and opening his messages. He found the unknown number that’d been texting him all day and finally sent a message back, typing and retyping it over and over again to make sure he didn’t sound like an idiot. Somehow his cheeks still burned anyway.

Who is this? I’ve been trying to figure it out all day and I mean I like the songs but I kinda wanna know who’s sending them, y’know?

There was never a reply.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 6:10 AM

When Billy woke up and checked his phone again, he found three things that pissed him off beyond belief.

One, he’d woken up ten minutes late, and thus would have to skip either breakfast or a shower if he wanted to leave the house on time.

Two, he’d forgotten to put it back on the charger last night, so his battery was down to 23%.

Three, whoever had been texting him still hadn’t responded to his message from last night.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 12:45 PM

Billy had left lunch a little earlier than normal today. First of all, he’d decided to skip breakfast that morning, so he wolfed down his lunch as quickly as possible. Second, he had to go down to Mr. Kline’s room to drop off the note Coach G had given him to leave class early. Mr. Kline didn’t have a class during the junior/senior lunch period, and when Billy got to his room, he was almost always napping, so he knew he wouldn’t be disturbing anything important. Mr. Kline was still grumpy about being interrupted in his nap, but he took the note, gave Billy his homework, and sent him on his way. 

Billy then went towards the gym after stopping at Mr. Kline’s room, twirling his keys on his finger as he walked. He knew that Coach G had a class now, so he went into the locker room and sat on one of the benches, checking his phone again. He’d been able to charge it earlier and get it up to 100%, and now he was trying to play a game to kill some time before the coach came back. The reception in the locker room was still lousy, but he was still able to play for a little while until the gym class came back. 

“You ready to go, Hargrove?” Coach G asked as he checked his clipboard again. Billy would be surprised if he could put that thing down without having it surgically removed. 

“Yes, sir,” Billy said, patting his pocket where his keys were.

“Good. I’m getting ready to head out, myself. Now we’re just waiting on your partner,” Coach G said, shuffling some papers around.

“What?” Billy asked, confused.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. I asked one of the guys from the team to go with you to help with some of the heavy lifting. You need to work on your team work, anyway, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity. He should be here any minute,” Coach G said, putting his clipboard papers down. “If you want, you can go to your truck and I’ll send him out when he gets here.”

“Alright, I guess. See you later, coach,” Billy said, biting his lip as he walked out to his dad’s truck. He didn’t like most of the guys on the team, he could hardly tolerate some of them, so he was really not looking forward to spending upwards of three hours with one of them. But he didn’t have much of a choice at this point, so he bit his tongue and threw his backpack into the backseat of the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat, turning on the car. He plugged in the aux cord and opened his new favorite playlist, and he was just about to hit the shuffle button when the passenger door opened, and who should climb into the car beside him but Steve Harrington.

“Hey, Billy!” He said, all chipper as he put his bag on the floor between his legs. 

“Hey, Harrington,” Billy replied, a lot less enthusiastic, “You ready to go?”

“Whenever you are,” Steve said, buckling his seatbelt and smiling brightly. 

“Alright,” Billy said, abandoning the idea of putting on his playlist in front of Harrington and instead turning on the radio as he pulled out of his parking space.

“You can play whatever you want, I’m not picky,” Steve said when he saw Billy attempting to put the cord away. Billy stopped and thought for a second, but eventually took the cord out again, and once he got to the stop sign at the edge of the parking lot, he plugged it back in.

“Alright,” he repeated, pressing the shuffle button and praying that nothing too mortifying would start. It was Santa Monica, so he was safe. For now.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 1:36 PM

They hadn’t said much for the entire half an hour that they had been driving. In fact, the only sound in the car at this point was the music, which, despite the variation in the tracks, Steve didn’t comment on. Billy was sure he’d laugh when Umbrella came on, but Steve just smiled and listened to it, bobbing his head a little to the beat.

“I didn’t know you liked Rihanna,” he said after a minute, glancing over at Billy and keeping on his smile.

“I mean, who doesn’t like Rihanna?” Billy said, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. “But yeah, I didn’t even make this playlist. Someone sent me the songs and I like them, so I put them together into one.”

“Hm. Well, whoever it was, they have good taste. I love Rihanna,” Steve said, turning back to look through the windshield as he began to hum along to the song. It was a nice sound, and Billy felt his stomach erupting with butterflies.

A few more songs played as the car traveled further down the highway. There were no more comments made by either boy as they drove closer and closer to Goldville. That is, until Achilles, Come Down came on and Steve’s entire face softened, a sweet little smile making it seem like he was a kid on Christmas.

“Oh, I love this song,” he sighed, “It’s one of my favorites.”

“Mine, too,” Billy replied, “And I had never heard it before until yesterday. But I love mythology, and I like the message of the song.”

“Yeah, same. The singer kinda sounds like Johnny Depp, though,” Steve said, laughing a little. 

“Now why would you say that? I’m never going to unhear it now,” Billy said, but he found he was smiling, too. 

“Hey, there are worse people to be serenaded by, right? I’d rather have Johnny Depp singing to me than, like, Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knightly,” Steve said, shrugging.

“Are you just naming the Pirates of the Caribbean actors?” Billy grinned, glancing over at Steve for the first time since they’d started driving. Seeing him so giggly and carefree made Billy’s heart skip a few beats.

“Shut up, they were the only people I could think of. But I meant it, I’d rather have Johnny Depp singing to me than anyone else. He’s handsome,” Steve said, pretending to fan himself like an overdramatic fangirl.

“Yeah, you’re not wrong,” Billy laughed, turning his face back to the road. He smiled a little when he saw a group of seven crows sitting on a power line, seeming to watch them as they passed. 

His smile quickly faded away during the second verse of the song, though, and was replaced by a look of something close to wonder as, after a few more moments of quiet, Steve began to sing along. 

He had a wonderful voice. It was smooth and silvery, as if he’d had honey coating his vocal cords, even though he wasn’t singing very loudly. Billy was completely enamored by it. And at the same time, he wished Steve would stop. He didn’t know if he’d be able to control his actions if Steve kept singing, and he didn’t necessarily want to find out what consequences that might bring. But Steve didn’t stop singing once the song had ended, nor after the next song, nor the next one. He sang along the rest of the way to the sports center, and only stopped when they got out of the truck. Billy had never been so relieved and so disappointed at the same time in his entire life.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 2:14 PM

The town of Goldville wasn’t a very big one. It wasn’t even as big as Hawkins. It had a tiny town square filled with shops, a large fountain in the center of a roundabout in the middle of the square, and at the North-most point, there was a church with a large clock tower overlooking the square. There were a few fast food restaurants on the road in, and a couple grocery and department stores scattered around the outskirts of the square, halfway between it and the houses making up Goldville’s suburbs. There wasn’t much else except for the schools and a few buildings that were most likely offices of some kind, and of course, the sports center.

It didn’t take them long to find it, though the GPS was due most of the credit. They traveled through the square, took two lefts, and soon they were pulling into the parking lot. It wasn’t a very big sports center, but in a town like Goldville, it didn’t need to be. They pulled into a parking spot near the front of the store and went inside, Billy twirling his keys on his finger again and Steve slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Oh, by the way, I was gonna ask,” Steve said as they walked inside and looked around for an employee, “I saw a games and comics store in the square as we got into town. Do you mind if we stop there before we leave? My friend has a birthday coming up and I wanted to see if they had anything I could get him for a present.”

“Yeah, the Henderson kid, right? Max was saying something about that,” Billy replied, tucking his keys away and shrugging. “I don’t mind. I was actually considering staying a little to look around the town, too. I like small towns like this.”

“Really? I thought you preferred big cities, what with the way you seem to hate Hawkins,” Steve said.

“I do like cities, I like the anonymity they give to a person. No one knows who you are or what you’re like, so they don’t pay you any attention, and I like that. And I like small towns because they just seem very quaint and friendly and like you belong there even if you’ve never been there before and you’ll never be there again. But Hawkins is different. It’s a big town, so the people there are nosy, and while everyone knows you, they know enough people not to care about you, unless they don’t like you, so you become a pariah. Big towns and small cities are the worst. I like big cities and small towns,” Billy explained, shrugging as they continued to wander around the sports center.

“ I never thought of it like that,” Steve said back, smiling shyly. Then he looked down one of the aisles of running shoes and stopped. He saw an employee at the end of the aisle, and nodded his head in his direction, signaling for Billy to follow him. Billy almost wanted to choke himself when he thought that he’d follow Steve to the ends of the Earth if only he asked.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 3:27 PM

It took an hour for the guys at the sports center to confirm, check, and help them load up the order Coach G had made into Billy’s truck, plus another ten minutes to secure the equipment with ropes. By the time Steve and Billy made it back to the square and found a parking spot, they were almost a half hour late in their schedule, but neither of them really cared. After all, Steve’s friend Robin was helping with lights and sound in the spring musical, so even if Coach Vargas was gone by the time they got back, Robin and the other theater kids would still be there to let them in. So rather than fret about time, they parked the truck and began to explore Goldville’s town square.

Their first stop was the comic and games store. It was called Throwback Games and Comics and had a picture of Marvel’s Squirrel Girl painted on the front window holding a bouquet of flowers for spring. Inside there were shelves of comics all along one of the walls, as well as figurines and other trinkets that were categorized by universe and publishing company. There were posters littering the walls, and life-size plastic statues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in one of the corners. The other side of the store had tables set up with more figurines on them, as well as every type of trading card imaginable and about a million sets of those stupid dice Max collected. There were boxes of board games and guide books displayed on shelves all over, as well as a basket spinner full of stuffed Pokemon, Superheroes and other creatures. It was like being inside a nerd’s wet dream.

“The kids would absolutely lose their shit if I brought them here,” Steve said, looking around the store in wonder. “Maybe I can arrange a trip here for spring break.”

“You really care about those kids, don’t you?” Billy asked, fighting a dopey grin as Steve blushed.

“Yeah, I do. They’re all shitheads sometimes, but they can be sweet, y’know?” Steve chuckled as he took out his phone and opened his photos. “When I turned 18 was when I really got to know them, though. I didn’t really want a party, but Nancy insisted on throwing me one. I’d had a bit of a falling out with Tommy and Carol at that point, so she didn’t invite them, but that didn’t leave a whole lot of people she could invite, so she did the best she could. She invited Jonathan Byers, which meant Will was gonna come along, since he stuck to Jon like glue back then. Mike was obviously already there, and Dustin since we had just started to get close, and that didn’t leave a whole lot of other people to invite, so she told Mike to invite El and Lucas, too. Erica didn’t want to be left out, so she came with Lucas. It was the most awkward party I’ve ever been to in my life, but it wasn’t all bad. The kids started to take a liking to me, and when no one was around, they started coming to me for rides and stuff. It was a little annoying at first, I felt like I was nothing but a chauffeur to them, but little by little, things changed again. A few weeks after that party, El was having trouble at school, getting bullied because even though she’s smart, she wasn’t the best at reading or math because of where she lived before Hopper adopted her. But she was too scared to tell Hop what was going on, so she came to me instead. I helped her with the bullying thing, but I was also able to help her with some of the academic stuff, too, and her grades started improving. And when Will was getting ready to come out to Jonathan and his mom, he got scared of how they would react, so I went with him for moral support. I guess what I’m saying is that all my life, people told me that I would never amount to anything, that I was essentially worthless. But with the kids, I feel like I’m not only useful, but wanted. They want me around and that means a lot to me, since a lot of people don’t, so I try to be as nice and caring to them as possible, even if they make me want to tear my hair out sometimes. But this is a perfect example, look.”

Billy smiled at the photo Steve was showing him, a warm feeling bubbling up in his chest as he studied it. It was a Snapchat story that he’d saved to his phone, and it showed a selfie that El had taken of the group of kids and Steve in the Wheeler’s basement. The TV was showing a four player game of Mario Kart, and sitting on the floor was Steve, Dustin, Max and Lucas, all with colorful controllers in their hands. Max was cheering and pointing at the screen, Dustin had his hands thrown up in frustration, Steve was giggling and leaning forward to see better, and Lucas was shrugging with a sympathetic smile. Mike and Will were laughing together on the couch behind them, and El was smiling brightly between them and Erica, who was rolling her eyes. The caption read, ‘Game night with my friends! Erica thinks they’re all getting way too into it.’

“This was from a few weeks ago. Dustin had been talking so much smack about how he was going to win the little tournament bracket that we had set up, but Max had thrown a blue shell at him and knocked him down a peg. She didn’t win, either, Lucas did, but what really got me about this picture was that when I saw it later on El’s story, she said it was game night with her friends. I was the only one of the older teens that the kids hang out with that was officially invited, and even though Nancy was there because she lives there and Jonathan stayed for a little bit after dropping Will off, I was the only one that they said, ‘hey, we’re having a game night, you should come and hang out with us’. I don’t know, it’s kinda silly. Robin always makes fun of me for being friends with literal children, but I always just think about it like I’m the cool older brother that they like to hang out with, and it makes me feel pretty special considering that four out of seven of them actually have older siblings to pal around with.”

“Eh, I’d say only three out of seven. Max and I don’t really hang out much aside from being forced to,” Billy said, picking up a little figurine of a knight and smiling. “But I suppose you’re right. It is pretty special that they like hanging out with you as much as they do. And you’re good with them. Max is always raving about how cool you are and how much she loves hanging out with you. They’re all very lucky to have someone like you looking after them.”

“Max is lucky to have you too, you know. You give her rides and stuff and she told me about the time you made cookies for her school bake sale when Susan forgot to. Plus there was that time she said that one kid at school was picking on her for being a redhead and the next day he came to school with a black eye,” Steve said, putting his phone away and giving Billy a knowing look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Harrington,” Billy replied, crossing his arms and looking away. Steve saw right through him, though, and he knew it.

“Sure you don’t,” he said, turning to look at some of the shelves, “But if I do bring the kids here over break, maybe you could start knowing what I’m talking about. I mean, my car only has five seats and there’s seven kids, plus me, so three of them are gonna need some other mode of transportation. Besides, we probably won’t be able to explore this whole town today in the time we have, so then we could walk around a little more and it might even be a little bit warmer out, too. There’s a lot of cute little shops here and I’d like to come back and look around them without having to worry about herding seven kids in the process.”

“I’ll think about it,” Billy said, knowing full well he’d be back here, surrounded by Steve and his gaggle of Hellions, in a few week’s time.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 4:36 PM

After going to Throwback, Billy and Steve began to get hungry, so they started looking for a place to eat. They figured that Coach Vargas would already be long gone by the time Steve had found a gift for Dustin, so they stopped worrying so much about time and decided to focus on satisfying their appetites instead.

Steve was the one to see the adorable, 1950’s style diner somewhere towards the West end of the square, and he suggested stopping there to grab a bite. Billy was up for anything at this point, so he followed Steve inside, waiting by the front for a hostess to seat them.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes to take your order,” the waitress said. Her name tag said her name was Violet.

“Thanks,” the boys said at the same time, taking their menus from her and looking through them. They didn’t need long to decide, and when Violet came back, they both ordered simple burgers and fries with Cokes to drink.

“This place is so cute,” Steve said, smiling as he looked around the place from the small booth they were seated at. “I love places that are authentic like this. Like there are a lot of 50’s style diners, but very few of them actually get the looks right the way this one does.”

“What do you mean?” Billy asked, looking around the place along with Steve.

“Well, for one, a lot of authentic diners from the time period didn’t have a ton of pictures on the walls. They had some, but not a huge amount like most replica diners do. And another thing is the color scheme. A lot of diners would have only one or two central colors besides black and white, and they were most often red, blue and yellow, or blue and pink. This place only really uses blue and pink, with a few accent colors here and there, which is more true to the origins. Plus, they have an actual jukebox and no music playing without the jukebox being on, which is true to the time. The uniforms are another thing. All the guys are wearing short sleeve white shirts, white pants with black belts, and black bow ties, plus the little hats, and the girls are wearing 50’s style light pink dresses or poodle skirts. I just think it’s cool that they put that much thought into the place,” Steve explained, pointing out things as he mentioned them. 

“Huh, I never would’ve noticed, like, any of that. How did you pick it all out?” Billy asked, still looking around at everything. 

“I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to that stuff. You might laugh at me when I say this, but I absolutely love interior design. I was never given much choice on what my room looked like growing up, because my mother decided on all that for me, but I love seeing how it evolves through the time periods and stuff. It’s interesting,” Steve said, sipping on his Coke as Violet returned and set it in front of him.

“I won’t laugh at that,” Billy said, stirring the ice cubes in his own drink around with his straw. “Everyone has their thing, and if yours is interior design, then that’s honestly pretty cool. I don’t know anyone else who’d be able to tell me all the ways 50’s style diners are inaccurate portrayals of the real thing.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, and Billy was almost sure he could see a blush rising on his cheeks as Violet walked over with their food in hand. Billy couldn’t help but think about how pretty it was for the rest of the time they spent in the diner.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 6:06 PM

Billy stood at the gas pump, shivering as a cool wind blew through the gas station like a wind tunnel. The sun was starting to set and they were only halfway back to Hawkins, so by the time they’d get there, it would probably be pitch black out. Steve was inside the rest stop they were at, using the bathroom and going into the little convenience store area to get them some drinks for the way home. He had just come back outside as Billy finished pumping the gas, climbing back into the truck as Billy paid and already opened his drink, leaving Billy’s in the cup holder.

“Did you seriously go in there and buy yourself a bottle of Minute Maid orange juice?” Billy asked as he plugged the aux cord back into his phone and queued up the GPS.

“Maybe,” Steve replied, twisting the cap back on as Billy grinned at him.

“Only you, Steve Harrington. Only you,” he said, shaking his head as he smiled and pulled out of the rest stop onto the highway.

Thursday, March 30th, 2023: 7:17 PM

Thanks to a car accident on the highway, there had been an almost half hour delay in the two boys getting back to Hawkins, meaning they didn’t get in until almost 7:00. Thankfully, when they did get back, Robin and the rest of the theater kids were just wrapping up, so they were all willing to pitch in to bring all the stuff inside the school to where Coach G wanted it. After that, everyone went home, and Robin hitched a ride with another friend who lived much closer to her, even though Steve offered to give her a ride like he always did. She and her friend drove off, and soon enough, it was just Billy and Steve in the parking lot.

“I had fun with you today,” Steve said as he grabbed his backpack out of the truck, tossing it over his shoulder.

“Me too, Harrington. You’re actually a lot more interesting than you look,” Billy grinned, leaning against the side of the truck.

“If anyone else had said that, I’d take offense to it, but coming from you it’s probably the best compliment I’m gonna get, so I’ll take it,” Steve smiled, and Billy swore he could see him blushing in the dim headlights.

“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then, right?” Billy asked, smiling back as he climbed back into the truck. Only, something seemed off. Steve wasn’t smiling now as much as he was biting his lips, almost like he was in the middle of making a tough decision.

“Yeah, of course,” he said, fiddling with his bag strap. “Only, there’s just one more thing I wanted to tell you. I wasn’t going to, I was too chickenshit, but Robin said that if I don’t tell you tonight, she’ll tell you tomorrow, so it was up to me.”

“What is it, Steve?” Billy asked, looking at him with concern in his eyes. “C’mon man, get back in the car. It’s cold out and you look like you’re about to dump a whole lotta words on me all at once, so you might as well sit down for it.”

Steve nodded and climbed back into the truck, but he still took a moment before speaking, as if he were searching for the words to say.

“It really isn’t going to take too long, it’s just something I have to tell you about…” he paused, taking in a deep breath, “About that playlist from earlier. Y’know, the one that mystery person sent you. Well, it wasn’t exactly a mystery person.”

Steve paused again, taking another breath before looking up at Billy, straight into his eyes.

“I was the one who sent it,” he said, “I wanted to, I don’t know, I guess just try and make your birthday a little bit better since Max told me that you don’t really like it and I also wanted to try and subtly tell you how much I like you without saying straight to your face. But I thought that if I told you who I was, you might not keep checking the messages and I didn’t want that. And I was gonna tell you earlier when you first put it on when we were driving, but I got nervous and-”

Billy cut him off then, he’d heard all he needed to hear. He reached forward and grabbed Steve by the front of his shirt and pulled him in, crashing their lips together as softly as he could. It wasn’t magic and fireworks and all that, but it was the most amazing kiss Billy had ever been a part of, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. And Steve was kissing him back just as fiercely, moving his hands to hold the sides of Billy’s face until it ended, leaving them both smiling like fools.

“I wish you would’ve told me from the start it was you,” Billy said, “I would’ve done that a lot sooner.”

“Well, had I known that, I wouldn’t’ve even made a playlist,” Steve replied.

“Don’t say that, I love my playlist. You did really good with it, showed me a lot of great songs I might not’ve listened to otherwise,” Billy said, a blush painting his cheeks as he tucked some of Steve’s hair behind his ear.

“I’ve got a lot more of them, you know,” Steve said, taking Billy’s hand and kissing his knuckles. “Maybe you can come over to my house tonight and I can show you some more.”

“I’d love that,” Billy said, beaming brightly.

“And I love you,” Steve replied, kissing it off his face. 

[getitfrenchship]

Meet the S/I: Julia

This time, I took the bad writing personally and was really fueled by spite towards it when developing this S/I

Time for Julia, codenamed Pikes for Fire Embul Fates!

Self Insert or OC? Started off as a self insert, but I’ve definitely flanderized her personality into an OC as I’ve distanced myself from Fates’ writing.

Appearance:

(Won this in an art raffle on Tweetor oooooh)

Her signature color is green, but I can also see her in blue and orange. She wears a man’s Hero outfit for her main appearance because I do not like how it has a skirt.

Basic Info:

Birthday: Right now I have it as June 7th as well, but upon reflection, I wonder if I should change it 🤔

Likes: …originally she had my original likes of mythology and chocolate but I might change that as well.

Dislikes: Noh//rian nobility and royalty

Classes: Mercenary, Hero, Kinshi Knight

Character relationship dynamics:

Romantic: Kaze (…there’s also a crackship with Tar//ba aka the boss of Shiro’s map)

Friends: Aza//ma, Sakura, Benny

Mentors: Reina, Yukimura

Rivalry: Xander

Background, Personality, & Changes I’ve Made from Canon:

Background: Born in a Noh//rian noble family, with her father being a retired General, Julia spent whatever free time she could playing with common folk much to her mother’s chagrin. She realized how miserable they were and wanted to help ease their pains, but even with her noble standing and attempts to help, the king made damn well sure everyone suffered. One day, she decided enough was enough and wanted to overthrow Ga//ron. She felt she couldn’t fight on the inside, though, so she fled to Hosh//ido to find help on the outside. She crashed at the Kitsune Hamlet but was recruited by the queen of Hos//hido after a visit to the Hamlet. Julia wears scarves that her mother gave her as bandannas, and gave herself the name Pikes so that she wouldn’t be easily recognized when she eventually returns home.

Personality: Her flanderization definitely comes into play in wanting to overthrow Gar//on. She’s not Peri or Reina enthusiastic about killing, mind you, but she becomes very goal focused and tends to not see the outside world/bigger picture as a result.

Changes I’ve Made from Canon: Were this a just world, Fates might have been like a really good seinen. But alas. It is not. During my prime salt days, I pictured a Dark//Souls 3 AU with a sprinkling of Dragon//Age level morality choices. Magic corrupted Noh//r and made it the terrible kingdom it is today. BUT YEAH, Julia could potentially be like Tho//rrfin if I want to keep the seinen parallel. Or Kaze could help her by helping remind her she’s fighting for others rather than for the demise of a king. Her & Kaze have a son named Gilligan who likes fishing a bunch :>

[artastickk]

Day 5!

Karina’s 30’s ❤️ (she’s 39 in the pic I drew, but it still counts 😅)

Heads up there will be some mention of death. Also I’m sorry this is so long my brain is a bit fried from work today 😅💚

Up until Mirabel’s ceremony, Karina and Bruno’s life was pretty quiet and happy. Other than battling the constant disappointment from Alma and the aggressive rumor mill of the village. Alma makes it known not long into their marriage she doesn’t exactly approve of her son’s choice in a wife, but she makes the best of the situation.

The day before Mirabel’s gift ceremony Karina realized that she is pregnant. After so many years of marriage and no “slip-ups” her and Bruno became content with the fact they may never have children. She was ecstatic. She chose to wait until the day after Mirabel got her gift to tell the good news, it wanting to take any attention away and figuring everyone would be in a good mood by then. That is until the day actually came and Mirabel didn’t get her gift nor did anyone know where Bruno was.

Karina was devastated when Bruno disappeared. Alma and his sisters were also heartbroken at first until Alma decided that there would be no more talk about Bruno and that him leaving was a disgrace to the family. Julieta and Pepa were easily influenced by what Alma said and thought in the situation.

Things got pretty hostile a couple of months after Bruno had gone. Karina refused to stop looking for him and the Madrigal’s saw her as a walking reminder of their biggest shame. So, Karina had to make the choice to leave Casita and hope for a better life for her and her baby somewhere else.

The first place she went for help was her parent’s. They knew of what had happened from what Alma was willing to divulge to the other elders in town. Instead of supporting their daughter, they took Alma’s side. Staying if she just told them where Bruno was everything could go back to how it was. When she continued to beg them to listen to the truth, they refused and said that their child that would never help tear a family apart the way she did. She never saw them again after this day.

From then on she determinedly worked a handful of jobs around town. Waitressing, working a local farm during the harvest season, and being an assistant to an elderly seamstress, Bastía Sosa. She came to the Encanto with her husband, leaving her adult children and other close family behind for a safer life. In exchange for room and board, Karina would help her meet deadlines for certain commissions she had. After several months they became quite close. Just before Karina gave birth to her daughter, Bastía passed away after falling in her shop and hitting her head on a corner shelf. With no living relatives in the Encanto, nobody fought Karina for the inheritance of the store.

October of that year was an awful month for her. She lost her only friend and confidante. Shockingly found herself the owner of a loft and a whole storefront. Bruno’s first birthday since he left rolled around and she didn’t bother getting out of bed that week. Two weeks later she goes into labor, but sadly her little girl did not make it passed her first breath. The midwife called it an “fluke tragedy”. Karina never fully recovers from that day. She thought she was shattered before and yet her heart still breaks anew from this.

💚 Bastía Amora Vergera Madrigal- 1st born October 29th, 1940 💚

@encanto-extended-edition

🥀🥀🥀

[taegularities]

rid! i, for one, have just not been around much recently because i've been busy with a mini work project and helping my mom out with stuff and it was my son's birthday last week, so we planned a little party for him 😊 but i've missed you! still trying to get candles & flames and silk & stones read before work starts back up in full in march. and on a personal note, my best friend asked me to be her maid of honor yesterday 🥺 so that's super exciting! how have you been?

ariiii, i miss you, too!! a very happy belated birthday to your lil one, i hope it was a great break from all the stuff you've had to do. good luck with the project, as well!! also fksljakf i've said it before, but i think you'd really like s&s, so whenever you get to it, enjoyyy – but take your time. no stress <3 ALSO WAHHH THAT'S SO COOL 😭 wishing your friend the best. that's incredibly exciting indeed!!

i'm better now! i had my final exam and presentations today (let's ignore that i need to write papers throughout feb just for a sec ksjfkfss) and i feel super relieved. gonna see what i can do with my free time now, so i'm alright, love <3

[theretirementstory]

Brrrrr what a cold week it has been or was it just because I was up early in the morning for the journey to the hospital? Whatever the reason, I don’t like it! . However, this morning the sun is shining, I was thinking of heading out early for a walk BUT a quick check of Météo informed me that it is 1c out there and that the highest temperature for today is 5c. Think I will just snuggle up under a blanket and look at the sunshine through the window 😂.

So the first week of treatment is over and done with, just another two and a half weeks to go

I have enjoyed the journey to Troyes, catching sight of the grues (cranes) as they continued on their migration. One day there were even cigognes (storks) feeding in a field.

Last Sunday was a gorgeous day and I took advantage of it with a lovely walk. The sun shone and it was quite warm (10c). Perfect for the photos by the river and also around town.

Have I been resting up this week? Well most afternoons, yes, but on a morning when I returned from hospital I have been out shopping, rearranging appointments and preparing and cooking meals. My cleaner hasn’t been 😩 but she is coming for two hours next week.

Thanks to all my family and friends ( from all around the world) who have been sending love during this time. Your support has helped me remain positive.

Pauline messaged to say she is feeling better and so we will meet up (at some point).

I visited my “sisters” at the knitting workshop as I had to take the knitted items ready for the sale. One pair of fingerless gloves were snapped up straight away!

Monique has still been coughing after her bout of bronchitis, she was going to visit me yesterday but messaged on Friday to say her neighbour (who she has been helping because they were unwell) has been taken to hospital with Covid!. So fearful that she may be positive or even a carrier, decided not to put me at risk.

Anie came to see me on Tuesday evening bearing homemade gifts. She told me she is going to stay with her son in Indonesia for Xmas. She will be home in time for her birthday on the 19 January, so I think I will ask her for lunch that day and give her birthday and Xmas presents together.

I bought two Xmas cactus, one which looks white or cream and the other a magenta colour. I thought I would give Anie the magenta coloured one as part of her Xmas present. Both plants had lots of buds on but the magenta one has some flowers very close to opening, I may end up keeping both plants for myself 😂.

An English friend (lives in France) is celebrating her birthday today 🥳🥳. I hope she likes the present I sent her. It is difficult to know what to buy. I saw two things I would have sent her so hopefully the second item will do for next years birthday.

As we hurtle towards Xmas I have been snapping up boxes of chocolates, biscuits, stollen and pates de fruits, these are for the nurses who have visited me at home since June, the taxi companies who have coped with my French and sorted vehicles for me, the cleaner (who has done a great job) and my friends. I may need to go and buy some more but once these are wrapped I will be in a better position to see who else I need presents for. I would like to think that I can get them all wrapped up this afternoon.

Now it’s time for my choice of records, this is for “The Trainee Solicitor” who I think is “guardian” of my CD by this artist 😉. The song is from 2005 and it’s “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter.

The next record dates back to 1982 but the more famous version is the re-worked 1987 hit, it is “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake. I like to include artists local to where I lived in the UK and David Coverdale was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, a mere three miles from where I lived.

“The Daddy” was due to be THE photographer for Scarborough AFC match yesterday, unfortunately he had tummy troubles Friday into Saturday morning and was unable to attend. I hope you are feeling better this morning.

“The Trainee Solicitor” and “The Ex-Graduate” had a great night on Thursday evening at Luke Combs UK but today they are in need of cheering up, so it’s off for breakfast and hopefully a read of the blog which should cheer them both up 😉.

I really want to apologise to the eagle eyed amongst you who may have noticed that I have listed “The Letter” by the Box Tops twice! Well it is a great song and it’s been around for 56 years 😱 really that long!

Now it’s time for me to bid you all adieu. Have a great week until I “see” you again next week.

[sonicenvy]

So y'all here's a sweet experience that I had at work today that has watered my crops, given me hope for humanity, etc.:

I had this sweet little boy, his sweet sister and his mom come up to my desk today to get their summer reading prizes, and I'm all like,

"What are your names?"

The kids tell me, but the mom then goes, "Oh [little boy]'s name might be wrong in the system it might still be [girl deadname]. I just look up the kids' last name, and I'm like,

"Great news! His name in our summer reading system is [actual boy name]"

The mom is like, so happy about this btw, she goes, "Oh good! I'm so glad that [husband] changed it!"

I'm all like, "Does [son] have a library card? His name could be wrong on that too. I can check for you."

The mom goes, "He does, and it probably is."

I'm all like, "I can fix that for y'all if you'd like, let me look it up for you."

Mom and kids are both very happy, "Could you?" the mom says, "That would be great."

I look up [son's deadname] in the library card look up and sure enough it is under that. I ask him when his birthday is, but because he's four, he can't remember the day or the year, he's just like "February," which is pretty common for kids his age and never ceases to crack me up lmao. The month is good enough for me, but the mom gives the rest of it.

I update the son's name to [new boy name] and update his gender/pronouns field to "boy", which takes me all of about 30 seconds, and I go, "It's all fixed now, He's now in the system as a boy named [new boy name]. If you got one of the library cards with the name printed on it, you can go to the lobby and they will get you a new one with his new name printed on it. If you got one of the ones where you sharpied his name on there, you can wipe the old name off with rubbing alcohol pretty easily, and write his new one on there."

The mom, who clearly has already been having issues with other places (probably school) updating her sweet little four year old's name is like, "That's it?"

I'm like, "Yup. You're all good to go!"

The mom is like, so grateful y'all, she goes, "Thank you so much for making that so easy for us!"

I'm like, "You're welcome! It's no problem whatsoever, we want everyone to be called by their actual name around here!"

This interaction made me so happy y'all because it was so sweet how extremely, enthusiastically supportive the mom and the 6 year old sister are about this four year old being trans. Like y'all for every shitty story I read about in the news about shitty transphobic parents or every shitty transphobic parent story I hear from friends, I get to have these interactions with parents at my job who are so supportive of their kids and their gender expressions.

The fact that this kid's mom is helping him socially transition at AGE 4 is such a wonderful, loving thing that is going to mean a lot for the rest of his life. This is not the first time I've helped a kid and their parent change their name/gender on their library card account either. There's a parent of a sweet transgender 7 year old girl whose name I updated last year. I also have a number of excellent parents of NB children, who are very enthusiastically making sure their kid doesn't get misgendered. I also appreciate the parents who are teaching their little kids to they/them people of unknown pronouns (so they/theming me when I forget to put on my she/her name tag.) because these parents are teaching their kindergartners not to assume people's genders. Gives me hope for the future of queer kids amidst all the vitriol and hatred that's out there right now.

Like all the kids I generally work with at my library are under the age of 12 and I have multiple trans kids with enthusiastically supportive parents who are helping their kids socially transition while they are single digit aged.

I also love that the area my library is in has a lot of very visibly queer parents who come to our library! Lots of kids with two dads or two moms come to my library, which is so wonderful to see as a fellow queer. Big love to the one lesbian mom who has 2 sons with her wife and is a super huge boy/cub scout volunteer (she wears the uniform when she hosts the meetings at our library!).

Anyways, I'm so happy for this kid and the familial support he clearly has.