#and I got yelled at to stay in my room and do this and that while she thought she was right and had a common cold and thought nothing of it

[star-writes-sometimes]

now i need tattooartist!thanos reacting to you getting a tattoo from someone he doesn’t like.. maybe player 333 or something

c/w - nothing really, fluff and tattoos

a/n - please please please send me requests for thanos and nam-gyu!! especially tattooartist!thanos!!!!!

tattooartist!thanos headcanons

—

“there’s my flower!” thanos yells out as he emerges from the back of the tattoo parlour. he throws his arms around you in a tight hug, swinging you from side to side.

you roll your eyes and smile, returning his hug, “hi thanos,” you say softly.

he pulls away from you but keeps his hands on your shoulders. “i haven’t seen you in forever!” he exclaims dramatically while rubbing his thumbs against your shoulders.

“it hasn’t even been two months,” you say, laughing a little.

“much too long,” he says with a grin. he lets go of you only to grab your wrist to drag you into his room.

this will be your fourth tattoo with him, so you know the routine. you sit down on the tattoo bench and take off your jacket while thanos sits on his rolling stool. he fiddles with a few things before he rolls in front of you and smiles up at you.

“so, gorgeous, left inner forearm, yeah?” he asks and looks at your arms.

“yeah, sort of in the middle but closer to my wrist,” you reply but thanos stays quiet. instead of grabbing your left arm and looking at the spot like he normally would, he holds your right arm. his thumb gently runs along the small tattoo that is inside your elbow crease.

it wasn’t there last time you saw him.

you got it about a month ago when you were at a friend's bachelorette party. it was early in the night when you were all just a little bit buzzed and decided to change what bar you were at. along the way you passed an almost empty tattoo shop that had a promotion going on, you would get a discount if two people got tattoos around the same size

your friend asked you to get a tattoo with her so the promotion would apply and you didn’t think much of it. but apparently thanos did.

“this is new,” he says quietly, his voice lacking its usual playful tone.

“yeah,” you say, not really understanding his shift in demeanour. sure you used him more than any other artist but it wasn’t like you had never gotten a tattoo from someone else before. this was just the first new one from a different artist since you started using thanos.

“i wish you would've gotten it from me,” he grumbles.

you have to hold back a laugh at the small pout that formed on his face, “i’m sorry it was an impulse decision and we were nowhere near here,” you say softly.

he pouts even more and looks closely at the tattoo, “where’d you get it? why’d you get it? who did it? was it done safely?” he asks rapidly.

you can’t hold back your laughs this time, “it was safe, don’t worry, i’m not dumb,” you giggle slightly, “my friend asked me to get one with her. it was some place downtown, bumblebee or something?”

his eyes widen and his grip on your arm tightens, “honeybee?”

“yeah that was it,” you say cautiously.

he groans dramatically and gets closer to you, “please tell me you didn’t get tattooed by myung-gi.”

you try not to smile at his theatrics, “that was him.”

he quickly spins on his stool away from you. you’re left sitting there confused as he grabs some aftercare cream and carefully applies it to the tattoo (which, of course, you had already been doing).

“what are you-” you start but he cuts you off.

“stupid asshole, he never knows how to treat a girl right,” he mutters. you can’t tell if he’s talking to you or himself, “breaks my heart thinking of you sitting there all pretty for him while he gets to touch you.”

you smile at his protectiveness. you thought his clinginess was for everybody but this felt even more personal than usual. the way he was rubbing the cream into your arm as gently as possible, studying the tattoo like looking at it would tell him a secret you were holding back, it all felt so intimate.

“thanos,” you say gently and he looks up at you. his expression softens but he doesn’t smile he usually does whenever his eyes are on you.

he stands up suddenly and grabs your cheeks in one hand, squishing them together. he brings your face close to his and stares into your eyes with a deadly seriousness you didn’t think he was capable of. 

“never get a tattoo from him again.” he says firmly before scoffing slightly, “actually i’d like it if you never got tattoos from anyone except me ever again, but particularly him.”

you're surprised by his intensity and you nod, “okay, thanos. i’ll only get tattoos from you for now on. i promise.”

he let’s go of your cheeks and holds out one of his pinky fingers, “pinky promise?”

you laugh and link your pinky with his, “pinky promise.”

a wide grin spreads across his face and he kisses you cheek, “good. you’re my favourite, baby, i can’t have you cheating on me,” he ruffles your hair affectionately and walk away to where he keeps his stencil paper, “now how big did you want this one?”

you were grateful he didn't touch your cheeks again because you were sure they were burning after the kiss. butterflies were making a home in your stomach and you couldn't even register his question properly, “hmm?”

“how big, princess?” he asks, turning to you with a cheeky grin.

“oh, um, six centimetres long and four centimetres tall,” you say and offer him a small smile in return.

he prints the first stencil and sits in front of you once again, “don't worry, beautiful, i'll treat you so much better you'll forget all about that little rat.”

as he places the stencil on you can't help the way your heart speeds up slightly. especially when he offers his hand to help you stand up.

you take his hand and stand in front of the mirror. he stands behind you and hums as he inspects the blue ink on your skin, “what do you think, lovely?”

it looked great, as usual. you’ve only needed him to move a stencil once before. it was like he instinctively knew what you wanted before you had even worked it out for yourself.

“it’s perfect,” you say softly. for a fleeting second you think about myung-gi. how he had to redo the stencil six times because he wasn't listening to you and how annoyed he acted everytime you asked for it to move.

thanos wraps his arms around your waist and smiles. he kisses your temple, “only the best for my prettiest customer.”

you didn’t need any other artists when you had him.

—

[charmedimsure]

Your writing is just fucken scrumptious 🌟🌟 if you don't mind, Can you write about Thanos's reaction to a Nana osaki fem! Reader? (Like reader got her style, career, and personality) {plus points if reader is pierced, like Se-mi} You can make this into a one shot if you like ;))

i have beef with you, anon. i watched the first episode to try and get a better grasp on her personality and i got hooked. holy crap that anime is sad but so good. decided to add others cuz i fell in love with this character

SQUID GAME X NANA OSAKI! READER

including: thanos, nam-gyu, dae-ho, in-ho

warnings: squid game stuff, blood, violence

THANOS

Thanos is not completely sure how he got himself in this position.

He's laying on the floor, his throat being squeezed by player 001, who's fist is positioned to hit him again.

"I'm sorry," Thanos manages to get out with the bit of air he still has in his lungs. "Please. Please let me go."

Player 001 let's go and he rolls over, bringing his own hand to his throat as he tries to suck in deep breaths to get as much oxygen into his lungs as he can.

The players around them break out in applause, praising the man for beating up Thanos. As the man walks back into the crowd, the soft sound of laughter can be heard from behind Thanos.

The rapper turns, ready to tell off whoever it is that's laughing at him. His words die on his tongue when he sees the source of the laughter is you.

You're sitting on your bunk, head tilted back in laughter. Your hair falls to the side, exposing your piercings. And for the second time today, Thanos' breath is stolen from him.

The next day he approaches you right before the second game.

"Señorita, excuse me."

You turn, an amused smirk gracing your face as you recognize the boy speaking to you. "Oh, it's you. How's your throat?"

He knows you're making fun of him, but he can't help the small flutter in his heart because you remember him. "Let's play the game together."

You bring your hand up to support your chin, showing off your rings. "Yeah? Why should I?"

One of the players behind him gives you a dumbfounded look. "Don't you know who he is? He's Thanos the rapper."

You chuckle as he recites one of his lines. Truth is, you do know who this is. You and Thanos had played at a few of the same places. You doubted he could remember though. He was always high out of his mind.

The other player behind him puts a hand on his shoulder. You recognize him from one of the clubs you play at. Nam-gyu, if you're remembering correctly. "Hang on, a girl? We don't know what the game is."

Thanos pushes him away, his eyes still on you. "I'm gonna destroy anyone who gets in my way," he says, punching the air in front of him.

You let out a chuckle. "Whatever, man. Just don't get me killed."

NAM-GYU

"Two."

Nam-gyu turns to Thanos, ready to run into a room with him. It's the last round and they're definitely getting out of here alive.

Thanos shakes his head quickly, looking between the three of you before ultimately grabbing Min-su's hand, dragging the boy toward one of the rooms.

Nam-gyu just stands there, watching as the person he's looked up to since before they even ended up in this shithole chooses some kid over him.

"Come on!" you yell, grabbing Nam-gyu's wrist and pulling him along after you. He nearly falls over but stays on his feet, running after you to a pink door. Nam-gyu goes in first.

As you're entering the room, a man grabs you by the hair, yanking you backwards and out of the room. He takes a step forward before a foot makes contact with his crotch, causing the man to let out a yelp of pain. He falls to his knees, revealing you standing behind him.

You push him out of the doorway, coming in and closing the door just in time for it to lock.

Nam-gyu stands in the back of the room, massaging his wrist where you grabbed him.

You catch your breath, looking at the man in the room. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

Nam-gyu scowls at you. "You could've broken my wrist, you bitch."

You scoff, putting your hands on your hips. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

Nam-gyu just glares at you.

"You've been rude to me since you met me for no damn reason. And now when your 'friend' chooses someone over you and I step in to save your fucking life, you're still finding things to complain about!" You huff. "Get over yourself."

You turn your back to him. Nam-gyu thinks about your words. You're right, he has been rude to you since you joined their team. He was really just jealous because Thanos was paying more attention to you than to him. And now you're the whole reason he's alive and all he had to say was "you could've broke my wrist".

You pace back and forth, trying to get over you anger without physically attacking the boy standing by the other wall. You hear him mumble, which gets your attention.

"What was that?"

He sighs. "I said thank you."

You just look at each other. You study his face, seeing a hint of remorse in his eyes. You nod, a silent 'you're welcome'.

"Let's just hope those two idiots made it to a room on time."

DAE-HO

Dae-ho looks through the crowd of people. He'd jumped at the chance to prove himself a useful team member and find a fifth person for the game, but now he's struggling to choose. Everyone is either already in a group or isn't the kind of person the others are expecting him to bring back.

"Hey," a voice says behind him.

Dae-ho whips his head around and his jaw practically falls to the floor when he sees you looking up at him. Your hands are shoved into your pockets, the expression on your pierced face calm despite the situation you're in. Dae-ho is sure he's never seen a girl who looks more intimidating than you. Or more beautiful.

"Do you have a team yet?" you ask.

Dae-ho just stands there, staring at you with his mouth still open, brain trying to comprehend the words you just said to him.

You furrow your brows. "You okay, dude?"

He snaps himself out of it, nodding. "Y-yeah, I'm... uh... I'm f-fine."

You smirk as he tumbles over his words, finding the man endearing. "So, do you have a team yet?"

He nods. "Uh, yeah, yeah I do have a team."

The smirk on your face drops. "Bummer." You take one of your hands out of your pocket, giving him a small wave as you take a step back. "Well, good luck."

"Wait!" Dae-ho yells louder than he meant to, gaining the attention of a few people around him. You look back at him, an eyebrow cocked. "We, uh, actually need one m-more person, if you want to join." He knows you're not the person they wanted Dae-ho to find, but he has a good feeling about you.

You smile at him and he swears this is heaven. "Yeah, that'd be great."

He leads you through the crowd towards his own team. Jung-bae is the first to notice him. "Dae-ho, did you find someone?"

Dae-ho nods shyly, stepping to the side to reveal you behind him.

Jung-bae's smile falters. "This is who you got?"

You look between both players. "Is this a problem?"

He puts a polite smile back on his face. "No, miss, not at all. We were just expecting him to bring back someone more..."

"Male?" you finish for him. You look at the other men in the group. "It seems like you have enough testosterone in this group already."

Player 001 steps toward you. "Are you confident you can win this game?"

You nod. "I don't plan on dying in this place."

He turns to the others. "Let's let her join."

Player 456 steps forward. "I agree."

You turn to Dae-ho, smiling and giving him a small thank you nod.

He smiles back, a blush coloring his cheeks as he kicks at the sand on the ground.

IN-HO

"I saw what you did, you sick fuck!" a voice shouts.

In-ho looks up from his coversation with Gi-hun, eyes immediately finding the purple haired player in the middle of the floor. Another player is standing behind him, chest puffed out.

A plastic spoon is thrown at the purple player's chest. In-ho looks across the room to see a girl marching toward him. You. Your fists are clenched and the look on your face could send fear into the hearts of anyone.

Player 230 chuckles. "Saw what, Señorita?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," you growl. "You pushed those people! You killed them!"

"They would've died anyway!"

"They could have made it!"

He laughs again. "Who cares, it's more money for us." The player behind him, 124, snickers.

You scoff. "Well, why don't I do us all a favor then and add another 100 million won to the pot?"

Player 230 laughs out loud, raising an eyebrow at you and stepping closer, "Oh yeah? And what are you gonna be able to do?"

Gasps come from everyone in the room as you lunge at him, knocking the both of you to the ground. Player 124 watches with an open mouth, too shocked to do anything.

Player 230 looks up at his friend. "Help me, you fucker!"

Player 124 nods and kicks you off of 230. You manage to get to your feet, throwing a punch at 124.

He stumbles back, touching his fingers to his nose and pulling them away to find blood. He grits his teeth at you. "You bitch!"

He swings at you, which you manage to dodge until the other player kicks you in the back of the knee, sending you to the ground. You kick his legs out from under him, getting on him to hit him again.

In-ho stands up, pushing past Jung-bae and Dae-ho to the center of the room. He pulls you off of player 230. You try to attack him again but In-ho has a tight hold on you, putting his body between you and the rapper.

"They're not worth it," he says to you. "Don't get yourself hurt over this."

You look at the rappers face, smirking when you see the imprint of your ring on his cheek. You throw the man's arms off of you, wiping the blood from your face with your sleeve as you walk back to the bunks, a few players on the sidelines clapping for you.

In-ho turns to face the boys. Player 124 is helping 230 off the ground, both bleeding. Scratch marks can be seen on 230's face from your nails. He's lucky you didn't claw one of his eyes out. He looks back at you, watching you sit down on your bed, holding your sleeve up to your split lip.

You're someone he's gonna keep his eye out for.

Squid Game Tags: @thebiggestigurosimp @vvnbxz @lov3yy @miltzzy @l5byrinth @come-as-you-are-111 @starkeyszn @learninglinesintherainn @galactict3a @sawlover353 @jspidey5 @skywalker0809 @zannispppp @lianobody @ihrthoney @machii-d3arr

Dae-ho tags: @whatthefuckeryfuckityfuck @ally1uvsu @hiphip-horray @k1michii @tpwkcaryslizb @louissst28 @sshwaa @jennwonwoo @sunnysurvives @lalalaa2210 @tayshs @sunshinethatlooksalive @plntmxrss @lxnnrobin @mariaxman @alexx-iia @batty-barty-crouchjr @kxsm3t @takuma-talkz @peacemakersbeloved @skywalker0809 @soobinbunnie5 @dragons-h0ard @silas-222 @putrescentpoet @chrisgetsmewetter @sunhyeswife @smile1318 @casually-simping @slvtforfakemen @ang3licbabydolly

lmk if you want to be added to the taglist :)

[spiderb00]

- What Is Your Word Of The Day?

Manon Bannerman��x 7 member!reader  (request)

"The taste of victory is good, but don't celebrate too loudly” 

Genre – fluff          Warnings – none 

Now playing – Perfect Night, by Le Sserafim 

The night was calm, all the Kats were spread out comfortably in the living room. Sophia, Yoonchae and Megan were watching some movie on television, Lara and Daniela were gossiping about someone you didn't know very well, and Manon, your girlfriend, was listening to all the conversation of yours while stroking your hair. You all didn't have many days off, but when you did, you made it all worth it. The day off was a day with no stress, no complaints and no headache, you unfortunately, were going down a different path.

A few weeks ago, you discovered this word game called Daily Wordle, and you immediately became obsessed with it. You had X number of attempts and if you couldn't get them right, you would lose the game and could only play it again the next day. So, you were very concentrated at that moment, so concentrated, that you didn't even notice the strange looks that your friends and girlfriend were exchanging.

You were quiet for a long time, and that wasn't very normal for you, the girls always said that you and Daniela were the loudest, so when they didn't hear a word if it comes out of your mouth, they were definitely worried.

Exchanging silent glances, the girls debated whether or not to ask if there was something wrong. Your state of stillness was at least a little troubling, and Sophia, as the leader, began to really wonder if anything had upset you.

The girls looked at your girlfriend, silently asking if you were okay. Manon, who just shrugged, tried to look over your shoulder at what you were doing on your phone. When she was close to seeing what you saw so much on that phone, you jumped up off the couch.

"FUCK, YEAH!" You said, jumping up and down, making the girls startle and Sophia glare.

"Yn! Language!" Sophia said as she watched you jump for joy.

"I'm sorry, but I've finally settled the word of the day!" You said, jumping until you got close to Manon and threw yourself into your girlfriend's lap.

"Solved what?" Megan asks, getting confused by what you were saying.

"It's a game, I only have a few tries to figure out the word of the day and I finally got it, at the last minute." You said, laughing and kissing Manon's cheek, showing your happiness. "It was one of the hardest words I've ever caught."

"Why didn't you ask for our help?" Lara asked, reaching out and picking up your phone, to see how the game worked.

"I thought you might think it was silly." You said, slightly embarrassed by your confession.

"Awn, baby. It's not silly." Manon said, putting a strand of your hair behind your ear and giving a little kiss on your lips. "How about I help you next time, huh?" Manon offered, bringing a smile to your face.

"I would love it, love." You respond, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, we're still here!" Daniela said, throwing a cushion at both of you. "And we can help too." The Latina said, making you a little surprised.

"yes, it sounds fun. We'll help you next time." Lara said, giving you back your phone.

"Thank you girls." You said, making them smile back at you.

"But don't yell like that again." Yoonchae said, looking at you with a warning look, making you swallow hard and agree.

MY CLASSES WILL START IN A WEEK, I'M FREAKING OUT GUYS SORRY

Stay safe and drink water

xoxo, spider.

[cupidbedsy]

Hi Love, can I request roses 🌹🌹🌹 with the prompt “You don’t have to be so brave when you’re with me.” Jack or Quinn Hughes… your choice because they both give warm comforting vibes. Thank you!

✿ CUPID'S FLORAL SHOP ✿

here's a freshly picked restless rose 🌹 !

warnings: feelings of having to be perfect, being a burden,

word count: 1k

florist cupid: whoops, this like just hit the 1k mark so it's okay, shhh. if you're wondering how i picked, i spun a wheel. that's actually how i make most of my decisions. anyway, thank you for requesting lovely ! also for reference, this is the key holder thingy that i was referencing .

being one of many children in your family, you were used to pushing your emotions off to make sure your siblings got the attention they needed.

it happened through various stages of your life; when you were younger, running home to show your mom you got 100% on your math test just to see her consoling your older brother who just got broken up with, or when you were in middle school and who you thought was your best friend yelled your crush's name in front of the whole cafeteria and came home with fat tears streaking down your face to see everyone praising your older sister for getting into college.

you loved your siblings with every bit of your heart, so much so you were willing to put off your happiness for them, wanting to be brave so they could be vulnerable. and that little habit of yours had wedged itself into your relationship with quinn.

quinn who was attuned to your every move and every feeling, quinn who could make you happy just by brushing his fingers against your cheek, quinn who made you breakfast in the morning before he went off to practice.

he had enough weight on himself as it was, leading the team through an injury, trying to stay positive after loss after loss, and staying up late just to get up early. you didn't need to burden him with your minor worries.

after a long day of being criticized, work piling up higher than your head, and barely having time to eat a decent lunch, you just wanted to go home and curl up in your bed and eat a whole pizza with your cuddly, handsome, boyfriend.

you stopped at the door, said pizza clutched in your hands, purse hanging off your shoulder. your feet ached as you stood but you needed to compose yourself, fix your face so it didn't look like you just spent 8 straight hours in hell.

once you plastered on your more than fake smile and mentally prepared yourself for telling quinn your day was long but nothing you couldn't handle, you opened the door and stepped into your shared apartment.

you kicked your shoes off almost immediately, dropping your bag and your keys onto the counter before delicately placing the pizza next to it.

your eyes scanned your surroundings and frowned when quinn was nowhere to be found.

"quinn?"

there was no reply and you looked over at the small key holder the two of you had purchased when you moved in together, the carl keychain noticeably missing meaning he was out of the house.

looking back at the pizza, you sighed, it didn't even seem appetizing anymore. so you walked to your room, changing out of your work clothes and into a pair of sweatpants and your favorite hoodie of quinn's.

you settled onto the couch, bringing the multiple blankets you had into your lap as you navigated to the disney+ app to watch your favorite movie.

just as you were about to hit play, the door opened and in walked quinn with a pizza in his hands. you gaped at him, watching as he placed his keys back on the wall and kicked his shoes off like you had done earlier.

his eyes met yours and grinned, "hi baby."

you stood up, walking over to him, "hi. you bought a pizza?"

"figured you would want it after work, but-" he looked to the side at the pizza you had already gotten, "it seems like you had the same thought as me."

"great minds think alike i suppose."

"hmm, that they do." he kissed you softly, placing his free hand on your hip, bringing you closer to him.

you opted to wrap your pizza up and put it in the fridge since it was colder than his, letting him bring his to coffee table.

"watching our movie without me?"

"just wanted to watch something." you shrugged it off but quinn could detect the slightest bit of sadness in your tone.

it wasn't like you only watched up when you were sad or missing quinn, but it was weird that you hadn't even told him you were planning on watching it.

when you came back, sitting next to him on the couch, he asked, not wanting to spend another minute seeing you upset, "what's wrong?"

"nothing." the lie fell from your lips with ease causing him to furrow his eyebrows and frown.

"sweetheart, i know when something's wrong." curse him and his stupid all-knowing superpower. "talk to me."

"long day at work."

"and?"

"and that's it. was a long day, lots of work to get done, had to sit through a couple meetings, talked to my boss too, she said-"

you froze as he pulled you onto his lap, looking down at him with wide eyes, "what're you doing?"

"something's going on in that beautiful head of yours and i'm trying to figure it out."

"i'm serious, quinny. i'm fine."

"you're not. please, talk to me, that's what i'm here for."

so you did, you rambled about your frustrating day in extreme detail, finally letting the anger and annoyance out of you. and when you were done, he didn't say a word, just held you close and traced his fingers up and down your back in a soothing matter.

"why didn't you want to tell me?" he asked softly.

you shrugged, "i dunno, just always done that."

"done what?"

"kept things to myself. wanting everyone else to feel how they felt so i stayed to the side, keeping it all in."

"sweetheart... you don't have to be so brave when you're with me. i never want you to have to feel like you're feelings aren't important to me. i just want you to be happy."

you couldn't help the tears that welled in your eyes as he spoke, hanging onto every word he said like an emotional lifeline. he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, "i want to hear about every part of your day, want to know how you're feeling at every moment, want to see every part of you that makes you you."

you buried your head into his shoulder, too overwhelmed by what he was saying. thankfully, he didn't say anything more, just kept you close, protecting you from anything that could harm you.

back to the shop ! ; navigation !

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie tiptoed into his bedroom and pressed a finger to his lips. Chrissy was fast asleep, curled up on the other side of the bed.

"Are you sure she'll be okay with this?" Steve asked.

"Of course, your parents are home. Chrissy understands that more than anyone. Why do you think she's here so much?" Eddie whispered.

"Because she's your girlfriend, and she likes spending time with you?" Steve asked.

"Well, that, too," Eddie grinned. "According to her, it's a thousand times better here than her house."

"I agree," he whispered.

"Thank God, we have a house now instead of that tiny ass trailer. Doubt we could have fit all of us," Eddie said.

Eddie slid into the bed behind Chrissy and patted the empty spot next to him. Steve crawled in behind him and let Eddie throw the covers over them.

"Goodnight, and thank you for letting me stay here," Steve said.

"Anytime, big boy," Eddie said.

It was early in the morning when Chrissy woke before anyone else. She smiled at Eddie, his face pressed to the pillow. She always loved watching him sleep. His arm was thrown over her, and she touched it, her hand trailing upward until it came into contact with the arm that was wrapped around Eddie. Chrissy frowned. That was NOT her arm. She looked over Eddie and found Steve sleeping on the other side of him. She grinned and tapped Eddie's face. He woke up and smiled.

"Hey, gorgeous," Eddie said.

"Steve is sleeping in our bed," Chrissy said.

"Oh, uh, yeah, his parents are home, and he didn't have anywhere else to go," Eddie whispered.

"Good call," Chrissy smiled.

"Chrissy. . .," Eddie trailed off and paused.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Can we keep him?" He asked, his big brown eyes wider than ever before. "Pleeasse?"

Chrissy couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her. He was just too damn cute. They both were. Steve snorted awake and glanced at Chrissy.

"Oh, good morning," Steve said, his cheeks turning red.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she said.

She leaned forward and gave Eddie a kiss on the lips before doing the same with Steve. She went into Eddie's ensuite bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"Does that mean we can keep him?!" Eddie yelled.

"Yeah!" She yelled back. "But he's not a dog, Eddie!"

"Tell that to his fucking eyes, babe," Eddie said and she giggled.

"You want to keep me?" Steve asked in soft voice.

Chrissy washed her hands and hopped out of the bathroom. She jumped onto the bed and straddled Steve’s hips.

"We're definitely keeping you," Chrissy said.

She started placing kisses all over his face. Eddie cackled gleefully and joined in, causing Steve to giggle. After showering him with kisses, Chrissy snuggled in between her two men, ready to get some more sleep. It was still rather early.

The next time Chrissy and Eddie woke up, it was to the smell of bacon. Steve was no longer in the bed with them. They quickly scrambled out of bed and went to the kitchen where Steve was cooking breakfast. Wayne was sitting at the table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading a gardening magazine.

"Is Steve planning on moving in, too?" Wayne asked.

"Moving in?" Eddie and Chrissy asked.

"Darling, when was the last time you were at your parents' house?" Wayne asked Chrissy.

"Oh. . .well, I guess it's been a while," Chrissy said with a frown.

"I was gonna tell you," Wayne said and put down the magazine. "The other day, your parents came back and dropped off a box with the rest of your stuff. I just didn't know how to break it to you, that they didn't want to see you."

"Oh. . .that's okay, Wayne," Chrissy said and paused. "I'm actually relieved. I didn't want to see them either. I know now where I'm actually wanted. I just hope you don't have a problem with it."

"Not all, sweetheart, you're definitely wanted around here," Wayne said. "Steve, too. We got plenty of room now to figure it all out."

"Look at you, Uncle Wayne," Eddie grinned. "At least I know where I get my whole collecting lost sheep thing from."

"Did he just call us sheep?" Steve asked.

"It's a compliment, sheep are cute," Chrissy said.

"They are fluffy," Steve grinned and ran a hand through his hair.

Chrissy moved over and hugged Wayne before kissing his cheek.

"Thank you, Wayne," she said.

"You and Steve make my boy here very happy," Wayne said. "You're both great kids. I'm happy to have you guys here."

Eddie placed an obnoxiously loud kiss right on Wayne's bald spot.

"You old softie," Eddie said.

He gestured for Chrissy to sit down at the table, and then he fixed them both a cup before joining his uncle.

"Admit it, Wayne," Steve said with a grin. "You just want me and Chrissy around because we both know how to cook."

"Aw, hell, you got me," Wayne said sarcastically.

"I knew it," Steve said seriously.

They all laughed as Steve handed out plates, and they settled down to a nice breakfast. Eddie and Chrissy kissed him both, thanking Steve for the delicious meal. Steve gave a crooked smile, blushing as they all ate in a comfortable silence. After breakfast, Wayne insisted on cleaning up, putting his foot down when Chrissy tried to help. He kissed all three of his kids' foreheads and ushered them out of the house so they could enjoy the morning. It was a completely different porch, nice and wide, but Eddie still insisted on keeping a couch out there. It was a nice idea, Chrissy thought as she curled up on the couch with them, and they all drank their second cup of coffee.

"This is nice," Steve said as he breathed in the fresh air and the other two hummed in agreement.

They watched the house across from them. Max insisted on still being across the Munsons, claiming them to be alright neighbors. It was high praise coming from her. Max's bedroom window opened, and a figure came tumbling out. It was Lucas. Eddie and Steve shared a look. No surprise there. Although, they both knew they weren't doing anything other than kissing and sleeping. . .at least Chrissy hoped not yet. The next figure that came out wasn't that much of a surprise either, considering that El was Max's best friend. Max leaned out the window and gave Lucas a goodbye kiss. Their eyebrows rose when she did the same with El.

"You know you could have used the door," Max's voice was heard from across the small road.

"It was more fun this way," El said.

"Totally," Lucas grinned.

"Dorks," she said affectionately.

Lucas and El took each other's hands before walking over to their bikes parked in front of Max's house. Max was watching them when her eyes caught Chrissy's, Eddie's, and Steve's. She froze. El and Lucas caught a glimpse of them as well. They couldn't help but freeze along with Max. Chrissy smiled. She enter laced her fingers with Steve and Eddie's before holding them up, letting them know they were safe. They breathed a sigh of relief. Max moved back inside while the other two rode off on their bikes, waving.

"Looks like we're not the only ones starting something new," Steve grinned.

Chrissy beamed as a bird fluttered by, singing as the sun shone down upon them. It was certainly a beautiful morning. They deserved this. Happiness. Love. Not a dark cloud in sight.

[alittlegiraffe]

Title: Close Enough – Part 2

Marshall wasn’t in a great mood.

He had been on set for hours, filming a music video, and everything felt off. The lights were too bright, the director was yelling instructions that didn’t make sense, and the energy wasn’t clicking the way it usually did.

But most of all, it was her.

The actress they’d hired to play the female lead was standing a little too close, laughing a little too hard at his jokes, and touching his arm every chance she got. Normally, Marshall could brush off stuff like that—part of the job, no big deal. But today, it was getting under his skin.

Because she wasn’t you.

It hit him like a punch to the gut halfway through the third take.

The actress leaned into him, her hand brushing his chest as she delivered her line. The director called, “Cut!” and she stayed there, still in his personal space.

Marshall stepped back, his jaw clenching. He shoved his hands into his pockets, his mind racing.

He missed you.

He missed the way you’d wander onto set during his shoots, bringing him coffee and staying just out of the way. He missed the way you’d lean against him between takes, stealing kisses when no one was looking. He missed your laugh, your touch, you.

And as he stood there, feeling uncharacteristically irritable, he realized something else: he was clingy, too.

Not with anyone else. Not with people he worked with or even his closest friends. But with you? He craved your presence like it was oxygen.

The thought made him smile, even as he glanced over at the actress who was now chatting with the makeup artist. This isn’t it, he thought. She’s not who I want here.

As soon as the shoot wrapped for the day, Marshall made a beeline for his dressing room, pulling out his phone. He didn’t care that he was sweaty and tired, or that his voice was still hoarse from hours of yelling his lyrics on set. He needed to talk to you.

You picked up on the second ring. “Hey, you,” you said, your voice immediately softening his rough edges.

“Hey,” he said, his tone lighter than it had been all day. “What are you up to?”

“Not much,” you replied. “Just hanging out at home. How’s the shoot going?”

“It’s fine,” he said quickly, not wanting to linger on the details. “But I was thinking about you.”

“Oh?” you said, a teasing lilt in your voice. “What kind of thoughts?”

“The kind where I wish you were here,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, it’s just weird without you. I feel… off.”

There was a pause on your end, and when you spoke again, your voice was softer. “You really mean that?”

“Of course I do,” he said, his tone earnest. “You’re my person, you know? I hate it when you’re not around. And I know that probably makes me sound clingy as hell, but I don’t care. I like having you close.”

You laughed gently, and he could hear the smile in your voice. “You don’t sound clingy. You sound sweet. I like being around you too, you know.”

“Yeah?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.

“Yeah,” you said. “I’ll always make time for you, Marshall. You know that.”

His chest ached with the kind of love that made him feel both invincible and vulnerable all at once. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice,” you teased.

---

The next day, Marshall insisted you come to set. When you arrived, coffee in hand, he couldn’t hide the way his face lit up.

“Finally,” he said, pulling you into a tight hug. “Now this feels right.”

You laughed, leaning into him. “Missed me that much, huh?”

“Always,” he said, pressing a kiss to your temple. “It’s just not the same without you.”

As you sat in the corner of the set, quietly watching him work, Marshall felt more at ease than he had all week. And when the actress tried to flirt with him between takes, he barely noticed, too focused on sneaking glances at you.

Because at the end of the day, there was only one person he wanted in his space.

And that was you.

[hsangel64]

˙✧˖°🦊 ༘ ⋆｡˚ farmhouse lovin’ ˙✧˖°🦊 ༘ ⋆｡˚

pairings: farmhouse!ellie x fem!reader (domestic)

synopsis: a day in the life of you and ellie at your beloved farmhouse

warnings: nothing just some cursing and a little bit of friskiness- also shimmer never dies and so does joel-

a/n: tooth rotting fluff! i have so many ideas written down so get ready for some content!!

the morning rays hit your face and the cold chill of the morning air wakes you up. you turn over to see ellie still fast asleep, her light snores filling the air and making you smile. you slowly get out of bed and throw your robe on feeling chilly from sleeping in basically nothing. you kiss and pet your guys dog, lady, she usually joins you in the morning. you make your way downstairs and start your morning routine, every morning you’ll usually be the first awake and you go put your boots on to go let all your guys animals out. starting with the chickens, grabbing your usual basket to grab the eggs that you happen to find from the night before.

“what do we have here ladies?” you mumbled as you went into the coop and checked in their little cubbies. you were successful with about 15 eggs, thanking the girls and making your way to the other animals. you opened the barn door walking to the horses first.

“good morning miss shimmer and good morning to you too silver.” you greeted them with some pets to the head and went and grabbed their feed. feeding them and then grabbing the hose to poor some fresh water in their buckets. once finished with that you head over to the sheep and let them out of the barn. you went back into the house with lady and headed to the kitchen, starting to clean the eggs. grabbing all the things to feed lady, you start on that. you heard footsteps coming down the stairs, turning around you see ellie coming down the stairs rubbing her eyes of sleep.

“hey pretty lady.” she said as she walked over to you and grabbed your waist from behind.

“good morning honey.” you giggled as she started swaying side to side, kissing down your neck. getting that butterfly like feeling in your stomach.

“how long you been up?”

“just about an hour at most.” she nodded and kept her head in the crevice of your neck. you both stayed like that for what felt like forever, not wanting to move from each other. the warmth of your bodies bringing you comfort.

“have you done everything already?”

“mhm, got 15 eggs today so we can use those for breakfast!” ellie finally pulled away and grabbed the dog bowl from you to give to lady.

“what did you want to have?”

“well we can do simple bacon and eggs because joel brought us that bacon earlier this week. i also have some stuff for french toast. honestly its up to you!”

“lets do some french toast, we can still use that bacon and have it on the side. so we can let joel know how it was!” you agreed and started to grab what you would need. walking into the living room you started up a record so you had some music in the background. the best thing about living here was you could be as loud as you want.

“what record for today?” you yelled into the kitchen.

“how about some queen!” you nodded and out the record on. walking back to the kitchen you got started on the french toast.

“hey i was thinking we go for a little right today maybe visit jackson, joel usually has something for us.”

“yeah that sounds perfect it’s the one day this spring that we haven’t had rain.” as you were at the stove starting up some french toast and ellie pulled you away.

“lets dance baby.” you giggled at her as she grabbed your hands to put them around her neck and placed her hands at your waist. you felt lady jump up on you guys.

“oooo miss lady wants to dance too.” ellie bent down to give her kisses all over.

“you are such a good girl aren’t you.” ellie said in a cute little baby voice and she barked in response. standing back up putting her hands around you again.

“i love you, so so much my love.” your face turning read at the love and pet name.

“i love you more.”

“oh but i love you most.” you both shared a laugh and she started to kiss all over your face.

“ellie ellie i need to get to the food, its gonna burn.” giggling the whole time, she pulled away and let go of you, going back to her job. you both cooked in a comfortable silence with the music playing, every so often sharing kisses and teasing touches.

you had finished cooking and plated everything so nicely, sitting on the couch and turning on the tv. you guys had found a bunch of dvd’s at this old movie store and had been hooked on this show series you two found called friends, so you put that on to watch a couple of episodes while you eat. lady came and sat on the floor in between you begging for food like always. cutting the first little piece of french toast and cheersing.

“first bite!” you both said and both let out an ‘mmm’ at how good the food tasted.

“holy shit this is so good babe!” she yelled and kissed your cheek. you giggled at her excitement over the food, that was the way to her heart. you watched two episodes before finishing and going to wash the dishes.

“you know i am on rachel’s side she should be mad, ross was an ashole for that.”

“we were on a break, my ass! typical man.” you finished the dishes and made your way upstairs to find ellie already dressed in a brown flannel and some jeans.

“well hello there sexy, you single?” you walked into your shared room and walked over to ellie.

“no no i have a beautiful girlfriend.” you laughed at her giving you the hand and shooing you away.

“i’ve trained you well.” ellie laughed and walked past you slapping your butt which leads you to let out a small scream and a hey. you heard her footsteps pick up indicating she ran and you just shook your head. making your way to the closet and grabbing some short considering it wasn’t too cold today you took it as a sign. throwing on those and a cute matching flannel to ellie, you walked to the bathroom to do your hair. on a patrol you guys found a hair salon and found working hair tools and snatched them right up. you and ellie had a ‘his and her’ sink, getting lucky with that. taking your spot next to her to straighten your hair, it took some time to get it to work but thanks to joel and tommy they got the electricity to work.

you both finished getting ready, making your way downstairs and putting your shoes on. you grabbed lady’s harness to put on her, you usually let her roam without a leash so the harness is just for more protection.

“come here girly, harness time.” she came to you and got into position knowing she was going on an adventure. you guys had found her when she was a puppy, someone in jackson was giving away some puppies that their dog had just given birth to and lady was one of them. you were able to train her to know to kill bad people and she had been a great edition to your little family.

“hey you got everything?”

“yup all good!.” both grabbing your bags and heading out to the animals. lady came with you guys to herd the sheep back into the barn.

“good job girl go get em’” you patted her and sent her on her way. watching her as she herds the sheep inside ellie walks over to the chicken coop and lets the girls back inside. you walked over and grabbed your horses to get going. usually the way to jackson was only a 30 min hike and the patrol kept the trail pretty empty so it’ll be a nice relaxed ride over. you two get on your horses and are on your way. the feeling of the chilled breeze on your skin sends shivers, making you grab your cardigan from your bag to cover yourself.

“i could never get over the view.” you heard ellie say from behind you and you nodded your head at the comment.

“me neither its too good every time.”

“oh no that view, this one.” you turn confused and see her staring at you. your face turning red at the eyes on you.

“oh shut it.”

“never!!” ellie yells as she passes you. rolling your eyes you follow behind.

———————————————————————————

you see the gate to jackson and signal to the people at the watch that it’s you and ellie. they open the gate and you guys make your ways inside. you both say hello to everyone on the way to the stables.

“hey guys, visiting for the day?” the woman, angie who runs the stables, said and pulled silver into the barn.

“yeah it felt like a good day to do so get ourselves out the house for a little!.” she nodded and you walked out the barn to meet with ellie.

“hey baby.” she kissed you on your cheek and you both made your way our of the stables. lady already made herself at home getting all the lovin’ from dina.

“hey d!” you yelled over at her and caught her attention.

“hey guys, what are you you two doing here today?” she said getting up and hugging you both.

“just visiting, wanting to drop in and see if joel had anything for us, maybe catch a drink.”

“awesome! jesse is actually waiting for me we’ve got patrol unfortunately but we should see you guys before you head out.”

“awe no fun.”

“i know but i can’t miss more maria will kill me….” you said your goodbyes and started the walk to joel’s. walking through jackson makes you forget the world around you, saying your hellos to everyone you pass by, taking a second to play with some of the kids and just overall catching up with everything. you finally appreciate being alive again, having people who love and care about you and a cozy home that you had always wanted. it helps with the horrors that are away from jackson.

finding joel’s house you both make it up the steps and knock on the door. there’s a second before you hear footsteps and the barking of joel’s dog, aka lady’s boyfriend, chuck. the door opens and lady immediately runs inside to say hello.

“woah lady, hi there pretty lady.”

“hey kiddo, oh and ellie.” you cackled as he came and hugged you.

“yeah yeah i get it you like my girlfriend more than me.”

“oh shush silly come here.” he said and pulled ellie in for a hug.

“what are you kiddos doing here, just visiting?”

“yeah we figured since its so nice to come see everyone.”

“well good thing you did i’ve got some stuff for you guys i picked up earlier this week.” he got up from his chair to grab what he got.

“see i told you.” ellie whispered to you and you both chuckled at joel always having something for you guys. he came back in the room with a basket full of stuff.

“so i harvested some stuff finally and wanted to give you guys some of it, i’ve got some strawberries, apples, bell peppers, green onions, and some of those avocados you guys like. i went and did some huntin’ as well and got some good venison meat, and then maria made you folks some meatballs for pasta. i made some cool shelves for your bathroom under the stairs, y/n mentioned you guys needed some.”

“thank you so much joel thats so thoughtful.” you thanked him for doing what he does for you guys. he started to garden because you have a small garden behind the house and asked if you could teach him. you taught him all he knows now and you’re so happy to see he’s harvesting now.

“i can help you folks bring the shelves if you’d like so you can carry whatever else you get.”

“we would appreciate that, thanks joel.”

“its no problem kiddo.” you all smiled at each other and ended up getting caught up in conversation again. catching up with each other you guys ended up at the food hall with tommy and maria having some lunch.

“we wanted to host a dinner with everyone at the farmhouse soon, after we get some more stuff decorated.”

“that would be wonderful we haven’t had a good family dinner in a bit.” you smiled at joel being excited for a family dinner with everyone. his hard exterior was slowly coming off and he was just a big ole teddy bear. it was cute.

“hey were having a festival soon, ill let y’all know the date so y’all can come down and spend it with us.”

“yeah we found some fun stands at the warehouse down south that would be perfect for carnival games.” tommy nodded at maria staring at her with the most loving look.

“well that sounds very exciting, we will definitely be there. let us know if there’s anything we can do to help!”

“well we could use your paintin’ skills ellie.” joel pointed at her and winked.

“sounds great, i’ve been wanting a small project.”

“perfect why don’t you guys come back in two days and we can get started.” tommy proposed and you both agreed excited for a new project. you all chatted and finished eating. maria had some stuff for you guys, just some essentials like bread and some soap.

you guys were at the tipsy bison now with everyone. you started to get really sleepy, feeling the adventure of the day hitting you hard and the alcohol hitting harder.

“hey els, im feeling sleepy.” you placed your head on her shoulder resting your eyes.

“okay do you want to start heading back?”

“yes please.”

“okay baby let me let joel know so we can head out.” she kissed your head and made her way to the bar where joel was. the feeling of dina’s hand rubbing your back was lulling you to sleep. dina was always super affectionate with you all, always has a hand on you. she was like a sister to you, it brought you comfort. ellie came back and pulled you up into her arms.

“hey baby we gotta go, gotta get on the horse now.” you didn’t realize she had carried you all the way to the stables, you had been set down and you just really felt so tired. stretching your body out trying to wake yourself up.

“tommy’s gonna come as well to bring the rest of the stuff and so joel has someone when they come back.” you nodded at her and said your goodbyes to everyone. you had the best day with the people you are glad to call family.

———————————————————————————

you had made it home safely, the cold wind hitting your face the whole time was the only thing keeping you awake. you guys rode the horses into the barn and set them up for the night.

“hey head into the house okay go get comfy honey.” you nodded and kissed ellie before walking the ways to the house. you walked upstairs and grabbed some comfy pajamas, it was a colder night so you threw on something that would keep you warmer through the night. you walked downstairs to help joel and tommy put the food away.

“already gettin’ comfy kiddo?” you rolled your eyes at joel’s comment.

“once i get home i will be in pajamas.” they both laughed at your comment and you all put the rest of the stuff away. joel showed you the shelf and it was perfect next to the mirror. you thanked him and walked them out to the porch where ellie joined you guys.

“thank you so much for the help and the stuff we really appreciate it.”

“of course, y’all are helpin’ me with the stands so its all comin’ around.” tommy patted ellie’s back and pulled her into a small hug. you said your goodbyes and set them off on their ways. ellie gabbed your waist and you waved goodbye at the two men like little old ladies.

“okay lets go im freezing.” you pulled her into the house, closed and locked the door for the night. you went around and did your ‘closing shift’ and closed all the windows and locked them all up. going through your mental checklist of things to do before bed, turning off the lights downstairs and making your way up. ellie was in the bathroom already getting ready for bed and in some pajamas.

“hey cutie.” you gave her a side hug and kissed her on the cheek, you could smell the faint bit of cologne she still had on from the day and her freshly washed face. she had resisted the first time you mentioned that she should start washing her face because she insisted she didn’t need it now she does it every night before bed.

“hey beautiful, i made sure to feed to animals and they’re all good and in their little beds.”

“thank you my love i appreciate it a lot, i don’t know why i feel so tired.”

“we had a big day together.” smiling up at her you kissed her, the kiss lasting longer than expected.

“up.” ellie mumbled in your ear, you jumped and she picked you up to place you on the counter.

“you’re so pretty baby.” not a second later you crashed your lips into hers, your hands traveling up to her hair. ellie pulled you closer towards her deepening the kiss, you cheeks flushed feeling her pull you into her and feeling her hands make her way down to your butt. she pulled you up off the counter still kissing you taking you to the bed. you giggled at her throwing you down onto the bed, kissing up and down your neck and your face the feeling tickling you. she made her way back up to your lips and you both slowed down your kisses, softly feeling every curve of your lips hitting each other. you stay there for what feels like forever just enjoying the moment of each other. you feel the whine of a little puppy dog right next to you, you both turn and see lady sitting their with a smile on her face and her tail wagging indicating she wants attention too.

“hey girl you want some kisses too??” ellie moves from on top of you and goes over to her and gives her kisses all over her face, she licks ellie all over her face and tackles her. its so cheesy but hearing ellie’s laughs filled you with such joy, the amount that you two had been through to get here she deserves to be happy. this simple life was all you had wanted, you were so happy to just settle down in a beautiful home with the most amazing girl and surrounded by the most amazing people.

“hey sweetie, you still with us?”

“oh of course!”

“you okay?”

“more than okay.” you smiled at ellie, falling into each other on the bed with your head on ellie’s chest. hearing her heart beat was the only way you could fall asleep now, can’t live without it.

“i love you baby.”

“i love you more els.”

“i’ll let you win this round.” you both giggled settling into each other, with lady at your feet. ellie reached over and turned the lamp off, both of you humming into each other. ellie playing with your hair makes you drown out the night noise and fall right too sleep. she notices you had fallen asleep and kissed your forehead.

“i love you more than you know.” lulling herself to sleep of the sounds of your soft snores.

———————————————————————————

a/n: i have already started another one shot that’ll be out tomorrow for abby! i hope you enjoyed this!! requests are open!!

[ashthewaterghoul]

Imagine this: One day Copia was extremely stressed. Paperwork, organizing the tour dates, putting up with Nihil, listen to Sister Imperator’s list of things to do, Psaltarian’s weird ass calm mood that radiates “we don’t know what his deal is so he be cryptic” and just the members of the clergy’s BS

So imagine Copia is at his office, having just listened to Nihil’s bs “advice.” The frontman is tired, he’s irritated, stressed. And then poor Phantom shows up to his office at the wrong time to talk. And all the poor ghoul said was “Hey Papa-?” Before Copia goes off and yells “CAN I JUST HAVE 5 MINUTES AND BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE?” (Or something like that)

It isn’t until he realizes who it was at the door until it’s too late. Phantom flinches in fear and runs off, leaving Copia guilt ridden.

Add more pain to the heart? Phantom avoids Copia for a whole week out of fear of making him mad again

What you think happens during the whole time? I don’t know I’m talking as I go! I need your yaps!!

Ohhhhhh anon, I just want you to know that I put my ipad away and got my laptop out to yap about this ehehehehehhe

SO!

Copia regrets it the minute he hears that whimper. And it is the most sad whimper you've ever heard. It's more depressing than that of a kicked puppy because Phantom's just been falcon-punched to the heart.

He takes a few steps towards Phantom, both their eyes full of tears.

"Pipistrello, I'm sorry. Please- !"

But Phantom's already sprinted away with a sob bubbling from their throat.

They practically slam into Aether as they run through the corridors, the larger Quint letting out a big "Oof!" and honestly getting slightly winded from Phantom's velocity.

Aether's trying to ask what's wrong, why they're sobbing and running so hard but Phantom can barely breathe, they're that torn up. Aether's instantly shushing them, kissing the top of their head and giving them enough Quintessence to knock them out and get them up to their room.

When they wake, they're still heartbroken. They're so destroyed that they go non-verbal and have to sign out what they're thinking. They explained what they saw, Copia looking very stressed and him turning around and snapping like that.

The rational part to the Ghouls' minds know it was probably just a misunderstanding but Phantom's so destroyed that it spikes all their instincts. While Phantom is basically depressed and non-verbal in their nest all week, at least one other person stays in the room and one other guards the door.

The entire time they're just wondering what they did to their Papa to make him say that to them.

Meanwhile, Copia is equally torn up. He can't get the sound of that whimper or the sight of their teary eyes out of his mind. And what is almost the worst part is that he can't get a break to go see them and try to explain himself.

His schedule is packed, he has so much work to do that he's barely finding time to eat and as soon as he's done he passes out cold, ready to throw himself straight back into the next day.

It's about a week and a half later the paperwork and meetings and shit start slowing back to their usual amount. Copia freshens himself up, puts on his VVLGARI tshirt and maroon tracksuit and goes down to the den. Luckily, it's just Aether who's there, outside Phantom's door and he knows Copia well enough to know that this was all a misunderstanding, most likely.

He coaxes Dew out of the room so the two can have a moment, not without a few snarls and hisses from the Fire Ghoul, but he comes out of there. Copia walks in and his heart breaks all over again seeing the condition Phantom's been in.

"Bambino? Can I try and explain myself?"

Phantom nods and Copia walks over, sitting himself on the ground next to Phantom's nest. They're on their side so they can see him perfectly well.

"I did not mean to yell at you. I didn't even know it was you. My day had been terrible and I thought it was someone else coming to give me more work. I have truly been haunted by the way I've hurt you so as well as being sorry for snapping, I am sorry for not being able to come up sooner."

Copia feels his heart in his throat as he waits for them to respond.

They lift their face from the bat plushie it was stuffed into - one of the dozens Copia has bought them - and in such a tiny voice, they whisper:

"Just please don't yell at me again."

Copia smiles and promises they never will ever again. He puts his hand over to rifle through their hair, hovering just short though and letting them decide if they want the contact.

They respond by yoinking Copia into the nest with them, and purring for the first time since they ran from that office. And they don't stop purring for a long while after that.

[sl-newsie]

American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 62: Don't Count On my Sympathy

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/sl-newsie/739551758747090944/american-woman-thomas-shelby-x-american-oc?source=share

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Surely Ada is exaggerating Thomas’ reaction to my coldness. If he’s survived this long on the love of whores and Lizzie then there is no reason for him to act so hurt. 

I’m really doing this. Driving to the home of the man who broke my life. Arrow House is straight ahead, pale against the dim gray morning light. Even after all these years they still kept my Bentley in good shape. Another reminder of Thomas’ financial perks.

In no more than ten seconds after I park there’s a familiar sound of scampering footsteps.

“Hello, Charlie!” I smile as the young Shelby runs up the hill.

“Venna!” His face lights up and he tackles my legs for a hug. “You’re back!”

“Yes I am, dierbaar jongen. My my, you have grown so much!”

He giggles when I try to ruffle his hair and continues running to the house. “I’ve got violin practice now.”

“Oh! I won’t keep you, then. Go on!”

In one hand I grip the briefcase Ada sent with me. The very reason why I’m forced to be here. With my other hand I feel the comforting cross around my neck again. Lord, please give me patience-

What’s that?

Something white in an empty muddy field catches my eye. It’s very faint. Is that a person…? It’s a cross. Off in the distance, a giant wooden cross stands a single cross with familiar clothes. Thomas’ clothes. And the man himself is standing across from it. What is that? Is it supposed to be a mockery of faith? How dare-!?

Bang! Bang! Bang! Thomas lifts up a gun and blasts the clothes to shreds, causing sparks to scatter. What the Hell?! I drop the briefcase and break into a sprint. What the Hell is happening?! I nearly stumble and trip down the hill and by the time I reach the fence my dress is splattered in mud. Is he trying to kill himself-?!

Ka-boom!

A giant explosion rips a crater open in the field, sending dirt and rock flying everywhere. A blast of fire clouds over Thomas and I give a loud shriek. My stomach drops. He really was trying to die…

And he still lives. The cloud of ash lifts and Thomas walks back across the field, covered in mud. I nearly scream again. How can he look so- so… calm?! How far has his mind spiraled since I’ve been gone?

“What the Hell was that?!” I yell at the top of my lungs, my eyes nearly bulging out.

Across the dirty field, Thomas spots me as he walks closer and immediately panics.

“Verena? Fuck! Why are you-?”

“I come here to get your signature and this is what you’re doing?!" I screech and stand my ground. "What the Hell happened?!”

Thomas walks through the gate and looks me up and down with wild eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t know! Just please-” He desperately grips my shoulders. “Please stay off this place. Now… What do you need signed? Wait, wait. I’ve got a call to respond to.”

He takes off towards the house, leaving me speechless and confused as to what to think of this. Did he rig that cross to explode? Was it a trap? A warning? I swear if there’s another bloody vendetta I’m going to punch him clean in the face! Reluctantly, I follow Thomas’ muddy footprints and retrieve the briefcase before going inside.

Grrrr.

A brown mutt walks out from the dining room, alerted to my presence. I calmly let him smell my hand. He doesn’t look too harmless. Since when did Thomas get a dog-?

“That’s Cyril,” Charlie beams from another doorway.

“He’s very charming,” I smile as the mutt wanders to the small boy. “You must be done with your lesson. Aunt Ada also told me you speak Rokka, Charlie?”

He nods. “Bits and pieces. Do you still speak Dutch?”

“Yes, I’m learning. You should be very proud of yourself for holding onto your heritage.”

Another set of footsteps echo down the stairs and I look up to see a little girl with dark hair. When she sees me she freezes and watches me as if I just threatened to shoot Cyril. She's Lizzie’s daughter, for sure. She has her eyes. And her look of judgement.

“And you must be Ruby!” I kneel down and offer a friendly wave.

“Hello,” Ruby says shyly. “What’s your name?”

“This is Veena,” Charlie introduces me. “She’s fun.”

Someone else steps down and now Lizzie herself joins us, wearing a very fancy fur stole. A vast contrast to my filthy dress and simple hair braids. She puts a protective hand on Ruby and looks down at me with the same lowly expression from four years ago. I should have been more prepared to feel her smug victory over me.

“Hello, Ms. Steenstra.”

I show no sign of friendly acknowledgement. “Mrs. Shelby.” 

Her eyes narrow slightly. “Why are you here?”

“Straight to the point, I see,” I quip and hold up the briefcase. “I’m here because Mr. Shelby has some papers to sign, ASAP.”

“What about me?” Charlie whines.

“And I’m here for you too, Charlie,” I assure him with a wink, then turn back to Lizzie with another cold glare. “I am not staying in England for long. Mr. Shelby is currently in the middle of a call but as soon as he is finished I will swiftly accomplish my ordeal with him.”

Lizzie, not amused by my agenda to conduct my visit as quickly as possible, leads Ruby back upstairs. At least Grace eventually let me interact with Charlie. I probably won’t ever be able to talk to Ruby again.

Charlie interrupts my thoughts by skipping over to wait by his vader’s office door. “I’m going to show him what I learned today!”

He proudly holds up the violin he’s holding and I almost chuckle to think of Thomas subjecting his kids to musical practice. Intriguing. Would Thomas ever learn to play music himself?

I lean my head to the door, hearing the phone being set down. Good. Time to get things over with.

Knock knock.

“Come!” Thomas’ voice booms through the door.

I enter slowly, deeply trying to forget about the last time I was in this room, and spot Thomas leaning against his desk. He looks like the walking dead. Lasting remains of mud still stain his white shirt. However, Charlie ignores his vader's troubled state and goes to stand at the center of the room.

“He has something to show you,” I tell Thomas. “Then you-”

“I know, I’ll sign.”

Charlie grips his violin and smiles. “I learned something today!”

Thomas, as usual, holds a whiskey. “So did I. And what have you learned, my boy?”

Charlie brings the bow to the instrument. A screech of strings pinches my ears and I do my best to not cringe. The young boy carries out the thankfully quick Hellish melody and Thomas sits blankly across from him. Perhaps the terrors conspiring inside Thomas’ head are horrendous enough to drown out any outside noise.

“Good start, Charlie,” I praise after Thomas fails to speak. “Why don’t you go get yourself ready for supper, eh?”

He nods eagerly and scampers off. I set down my briefcase and wave a hand in front of Thomas’ eerily quiet face.

“Here are the papers.”

Thomas blinks at me and seems to remember where he is. He slowly stands up and goes to grab a pen from his desk. Time to fire the next shot.

“I am also here for my next payment.”

A quick flash of anger colors Thomas’ eyes but it’s replaced by another blank stare. “‘S that why you came back?”

“For the sake of my familie, yes.”

“Are you sure?”

My eyes narrow and my jaw tightens. If he thinks he can guilt-talk me out of this he is dead wrong. I came for my familie and nothing else.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I respond firmly and reroute the subject. “I also heard about what happened to Finn. Please tell me you’re going to talk to him. He’s not the same man from two years ago. He’s becoming just like you. Drinking, chatting up girls, going in guns a-blazing. It’s-!”

“I will,” Thomas says evenly as he signs the documents. “Arthur and I are going to sit him down tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” The shadow of a smirk crosses my mouth. “How did your chat with Mr. Dixon go?”

Thomas takes another drink. “Your country has some of the oddest people. Half the time he wanted to talk about guns and mixing moonshine instead of actual business. I left him to some associates in London. Did your dad really make him come with you?”

“When you’re a single woman traveling alone it’s considered proper to be escorted, according to my parents. Now that I am here I plan to do things my way.”

I hold out my hand expectantly. Thomas hands me the papers and I store them away in the briefcase. Next he passes me a handsome stack of bills. There. Done and done. Now I can tell Ada I talked to him, sort of, and don’t have to see him again-

“Another thing,” Thomas calls once I’m halfway across the room. “Have you been in contact with Michael?”

Despite the raging voice telling me to flee from him, I turn around to face Thomas once more with a lazy head shake. “No. I’ve stuck to the west side of Michigan and practically avoided him, honestly. He’s grown just as arrogant.”

“Yet you still agree to work for us,” Thomas points out as he lights another cigarette.

Stay calm, Steentstra. “Now that the depression is underway, what choice do I have? Anything I earn goes to my familie.”

“Hm. Well, do not trust Michael. That call just told me he was making deals to kill me.”

“Sweet Jesus-!” I gasp and stop myself short.

Nothing could prepare me for this! I’m supposed to distance myself from Thomas, not panic over another death threat! Calm the Hell down, Verena!

“Now don’t get your skirt in a bunch, love,” Thomas implores. “‘S for me to handle, eh? Did you ever notice any strange transactions from Ireland?”

I shake my head. “My uncle would have told me. If you doubt it then you can talk with him yourself.”

“Alright. I might.” Thomas gets a look that says he’s lost in thought again and waves me off. “Now go play with Charlie before he starts whining again. He missed you.”

I slip over to the door and offer one last remark, a sort-of peace offering. “Ruby’s a darling, too.”

“That she is,” Thomas murmurs and looks at me again. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

No no no! Get out, get out. Lizzie’s going to have my head just for him suggesting that! I’m supposed to get paid and leave-!

“I do not think I will be welcomed by all-”

“Lizzie and Ruby have been staying in the Midland Hotel,” Thomas explains and takes another puff on his cigarette. “‘S just me, Charlie, and Frances.”

So their marriage isn’t so peachy after all. Lizzie finally realized what she dug herself into. Say no. Say no! Thomas knows I want no part of his life anymore. Even though it is nice to see Charlie again…

“One hour.” I hold up a finger. “One hour, and then I’m gone.”

Before Thomas can react I slip through the door and back down the familiar hallway. A few maids give me quiet greetings but for the most part the house is empty. So this is the life you wanted, Thomas? It’s awfully lonely.

“Hello again, Charlie!” I announce when I spot the boy sitting at the long dining table.

His face scrunches with hopeful confusion. “Are you staying for supper?”

“For tonight, yes.”

I take a seat next to him and take a moment to observe the young Shelby. He’s definitely grown up. Instead of a boyish carefree smile Charlie has traded it for a rigid frown. Oh, Thomas. You’re turning your son into yourself. 

A deep whistling sound draws my attention to the window. Outside a strong wind blows fiercely across the pastures. Dark clouds churn overhead, drowning out the little sunlight that’s left of the day. The dark skeletons of the leafless trees sway and stand as ghostly figures left to the imagination.

“It looks really spooky outside,” I observe mysteriously, playing at Charlie’s remaining curiosity.

He shrugs. “That’s appropriate for this time of year.”

I try again. “Do you know about the Samhain celebration, Charlie?”

His eyes widen. “What’s that?”

Bingo!

“It’s a Celtic tradition celebrating the autumn harvest. It was last week on October 31, between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. I went to Belfast last year for the Samhain festival and it was incredible!”

In the corner of my eye I see Thomas appear. He silently makes his way to the end of the table and takes a seat. He's changed into clean clothes. As if on cue, a couple servants appear with trays of food. My first instinct is to stand up and help but then I remind myself I’m not in America anymore. Things are still done differently here.

“So you still celebrate Samhain even though you’re American?” Charlie asks after a few bites of pork.

“Yes. Samhain can be a very spiritual time for me. It’s believed to be a period when spirits can cross over and interact with the living.”

Thomas stops eating for a second. Does speaking with the dead intrigue him? Maybe reconciling with spirits is one way to deal with yourself. And I need to deal with myself before I start feeling sorry for him again.

“Thank you for having me,” I start off and stand up from the table. “But I’m afraid that I need to be going.”

“Really?” Charlie grumbles but doesn’t dare to complain more in front of his vader.

Thomas keeps quiet but watches me leave with noticeable emotionless eyes. One hour, Thomas. That’s all I will allow to make up for nearly four years of absence. After what I’ve seen today it’s not only my life that’s changed. Thomas, Lizzie, Charlie. They’re different. Even Ruby seems different than a normal girl. Not that I would expect any Shelby to be normal.

As I begin the drive back to Birmingham I can’t help but wonder if the Shelbys were right. Do I really have such an influence? That my presence helps in more ways than one? How have things become so gloomy in the past years? Well, now there is a depression to add to this and it will confuse my thoughts even harder.

@meadows5

[asterdeer]

not to be like “i miss college” even though i do but mostly i think i miss being smart. before depression and life events had chewed up and partially swallowed my brain. just getting to problem solve and think, being Very Into something as the norm. i know being an english major is basically the easiest thing you can be at the undergrad level but i do feel like that was the one and only time in my life where my natural state was actually a pro instead of a con. i graduated with the highest honors and absolutely no one cared but i cared

[arlathen]

oh i made myself sad thinking abt amadea. like her best friends in the inquisition are.

solas (left). varric (barely remembers shes a person). cole (returned to the fade). dorian (left).

she gets to talk on the fantasy phone w dorian but legit the only person who might canonically spend any amount of time w her is blackwall.

[salsflore]

everyday i wake up and have to start a new boss challenge called dealing with my mother

[astarkey]

I think the biggest, sickest joke anything could ever happen to me was having covid for the first time last week, and I'm still trying to recover from it...

[bellarichie]

everyone talks about the cat distribution system with glamour and reciprocity but no one ever warns you about an annoying ass cat fixating on you without any reason whatsoever when you already have a cat who's perfectly fine. like ok i guess? i'll be your loving owner. begrudgingly.

[jonny-b-meowborn]

Actually also my mom needs to stop being so fucking selfish and careless when it comes to my kitten. Because when I tell her to not bother Salem because she's sleepy, then I'm being selfish and mom can pet her whenever she wants because she also lives there and pays for her. But when she almost lets the baby fall out the window and scares her and I get angry at mom, then it's my problem because it's my cat and the baby should get used to living with people. The cat is ours when it's convenient to my mom, but it's just mine when mom does something wrong or when Salem makes a mess. Fucking hell

[milo-is-rambling]

My mom was just like ahhh Im anxious to go out of my comfort zone and I was like you’re good how is this out of your comfort zone you’ve done this before and she was like why do you always judge my feelings and say I’m not allowed to feel that way I should feel some other way and I’m sitting here like :| as if she hasn’t done that to my my entire life and as if I didn’t mean you’ve done this before as a you got this sentiment not get over urself