#and i got grass which is also pretty fitting!

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Five

He’s more upset than angry really, which just makes him feel pathetic. Irritated but...upset that he’s even upset about it in the first place. He tells himself on repeat that he shouldn’t give a shit what Steve and his dumb friend thinks of him. The fact that he actually does just banks the annoyance.

He can’t help but think about Steve’s Eddie’s on a stage analogy, he kind of gets it, he guesses. There’s an opportunity to examine how he’s feeling and be aware of it, rather than let it swallow him.

Fuck that; and fuck Steve’s shitty advice.

Eddie stomps straight through the house and out the back; it’s another nice day. It’s just even more irritating, Eddie’s rut an almost now familiar itch under his skin. How can you be in rut for so long you get used to it? Is that even a thing?

Eddie figures it must be, but his perpetually half mast cock is becoming almost painfully irritated, and only so many wipes with a flannel keep the precome drip under control. He’s just...he feels gross, no matter how many times Steve dunks him in the bath.

It makes Eddie feel like he wants to peel his skin off. Or maybe just scrape it off with sand paper.

Something.

The yoga mats are still sitting, rolled up, on the edge of the deck, and in a fit of pique, before he even realizes what he’s doing, Eddie picks one up and throws it. It’s really light, and that combined with the shape, means it travels less than ten feet before flopping uselessly, and unsatisfying, onto the grass.

Eddie throws himself into a chair; now even more angry with himself. Throwing things like a child; he’d kind of hoped he was past all that shit.

Apparently not.

Eddie sits. And he stares. And the gentle breeze that should be a soothing relief in the warmth just prickles and irritates his hyper aware skin.

Eddie sighs, his head in his hands, feeling washed out now, and kind of stupid, and not a little bit like he might cry which is just. More stupid.

His guitar is next to him, right where he left it, and he picks it up almost reflexively. Eddie had a pretty shitty time as a kid, before Wayne. The one good thing he had with his Mom was the music.

She fucking loved Dolly Parton, and Eddie finds himself idling through the notes of ‘Islands in the Stream,’ almost on autopilot. It was the one refuge. The one good thing his mother ever gave him, was this. Every single good memory he has with his mom involve music in some way.

She was alright on guitar, and she taught that allrightness to Eddie before she died. He’d far surpassed her abilities by the time he was about fourteen, and it was something Wayne religiously encouraged.

Unfortunately, Eddie also suspects his mother gifted him her highly addictive personality.

His fingers trickle their way into ‘Nine to Five,’ and Eddie lets it happen.

He starts to feel better by the time he hits ‘Jolene.’

“Didn’t realize you were a Dolly fan,” Steve says quietly, as he slips into the seat next to him.

“She has writing credits on over three thousand songs. Everyone is a Dolly fan, just a lot of people don’t know it,” Eddie tries to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Steve’s just a dick who will be out of his house soon, whatever him and that Robin person think, it doesn’t matter to Eddie.

“Huh...I didn’t know that.”

“She’s a genius,” Eddie keeps staring out over the lawn, but not seeing it, not really, “you know she has this program, to get kids books?”

“No?”

“Yeah, free books for any kid under five, you just got to sign up, I think.”

“That’s...wow,” Steve pulls his phone out, quietly reading while Eddie absently hits ‘Love is like a Butterfly.’ “This is incredible, I had no idea.”

“Met her once. Well, kinda’. Passed each other at some awards dinner thing you know. Wicked sense of humor.”

Steve makes a vague snorting sound, “I keep forgetting that you’re famous.”

Eddie actually misses a note, finally turning in the chair to look at Steve, “really?”

“Yeah, I mean, can’t forget you’re like, fucking loaded, obviously,” Steve gestures at the house behind them, “but...yeah. You’re just...some guy.”

“That what you were laughing about with your friend?” Eddie turns back to the lawn, finds himself moving onto some Johnny Cash, “that I’m just some guy.”

“What, me and Robs? No, of course not...she’s my best friend.”

“Uh hu.”

“Eddie, I would never. What happens with clients is private. Always.”

Eddie wants to believe him, he does, “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, huh?”

Steve snorts a laugh, and even without looking Eddie knows the exact look he has on his face, “something like that. We’ve been...good friends for a really long time, we’ve got a lot of dumb jokes, you know?”

“You don’t have to explain it,” Eddie suddenly feels a bit small and...shitty. It’s as bad as the anger. It’s making him unsteady all the...feeling. It was the great leveler, the drugs. No shitty emotions when you’re not really feeling any at all.

“Wasn’t going to,” Steve answers evenly, “it’s far, far too embarrassing.”

“Oh my god well now you gotta’!” Eddie slaps his guitar for good measure, sliding easily back into the tune.

Steve snorts a laugh, and then sighs, “it involves a drunken dare to do the splits and a dislocated patella. And that is all I will say about it.”

Eddie looks back at him for a second, and then back out across the grass again, he’s on ‘Stairway to Heaven’ now, an instinctive home ground that he played so often his hands know what they’re doing without any real input from Eddie. “Can’t imagine you drunk.”

“I don’t really, any more.”

“What, looking at us losers for a living put you off?”

“I mean, I stopped a long time ago anyway really, the hangovers just weren't worth it.”

“That’s your mistake, if you just keep drinking, the hangover can’t land.”

Steve huffs another laugh, “I’ll keep it in mind.”

By mid afternoon Eddie can’t sit with it any more. He paces, shirtless, praying for the crawling sensation to just fuck off. He doesn’t know where it’s come from, but he’s sure it’s not just in his head this time, the physical sensation of something unpleasant and fucking annoying shifting around against his skin.

“When will you have those results?” He shouts through the house, picking at the band aid on the bend of his elbow. He peels the bloody patch away and considers sticking it to the wall before he remembers why the cleaner quit and diverts to put it in the trash instead.

“Tomorrow lunch time ish, they should email me.”

Steve’s tapping his pen again, doing the stupid crossword.

Eddie’s scratching his forearms until they’re red.

“Come on then Steve, you’ve got an answer for everything, what can we do about this itchy shit.”

“Well you could-”

“Don’t say bath. Jesus. It’s your answer to everything. Or yoga.”

Steve clicks his pen closed, finally looking up at Eddie, “would you like a back rub?”

“Would I- Steve come on.”

“You’re in rut. You haven’t scented me, you haven’t nested, other than me washing your hair you’ve had no human contact.”

“No. Fuck off,” Eddie starts pacing again, “can’t you do better than that?”

“You presented me with a problem, and I suggested a potential solution. Your lack of engagement is your choice.” Steve has this fucking bitchy way of sounding professionally bored and it instantly makes Eddie want to gut Steve with a fucking spoon.

“You’re such a cunt.”

Steve just hums agreeably.

“All right, fine. We will try the stupid back rub, and when that doesn’t work, you’re going to come up with something else dumb for us to try?”

“I’m sure they’re all dumb ideas until one of them works.”

“God you’re insufferable. I’ll be in the bedroom.”

The bedding doesn’t irritate Eddie the way he thought it would, at least. Everything looks like it should be itchy at the moment, but it turns out not to be true as soon as he’s splayed out, face down, in the middle of his bed.

His cock’s sort of half hard and half caught, and he has to shove a hand down there to get the thing pointing north and lying flat, but then he’s pretty comfortable.

The bed dips when Steve climbs on, and it only irritates Eddie mildly. Hackles up, but just for a second, and then the fact that it’s Steve seems to sink in and he’s okay again.

“It’s going to be a little cold,” Steve tells him, almost the instant whatever it is hits Eddie’s back.

Eddie hisses at the feeling, “asshole.”

“Uh hu,” Steve agrees.

He starts just by rubbing it in, all over Eddie’s back, greasy and slick feeling. It doesn’t smell like anything as far as Eddie can tell. It doesn’t seem to be doing anything so far either, but it is a distraction, having Steve’s hands on him. They’re bigger than Eddie thought they’d be, and heavier feeling.

Warm, and that feels kind of nice despite the itchy heat of Eddie’s half formed rut.

This is worse than a fucking come down, Eddie thinks to himself. But then he quickly retracts that thought because, no, it obviously isn’t. Drying out at the center was one of the most harrowing experiences of Eddie’s life. Sure, this is shitty, but it doesn’t compare to that.

“Okay?”

It is. It’s more than; it’s definitely taking away from the itchy, my skin doesn’t fit right feeling that’s been plaguing Eddie for hours. Even if it isn’t from the back rub or the feeling of the greasy stuff Steve’s covered him in; maybe it’s purely that Eddie’s being distracted away from it.

Whatever it is, he feels a little better with Steve’s stupid bear paws rubbing circles on his back. It’s nothing like the fingertip treatment he gets when Steve washes his hair. It feels like Steve really, actually, knows what he's doing.

“Sure. I guess.” Eddie finally mumbles.

“Okay, I’m going to move closer now.”

Eddie just hums, and the bed dips again as Steve’s knees edge closer. One of Steve’s knees traps the edge of Eddie’s sweat pants, pulling and pinning Eddie’s leg to the bed with it. Steve leans over, getting more of his weight behind the pressure he’s applying, looming over Eddie.

Very suddenly, Eddie feels trapped. His hackles are up and a snarl rips out of him.

Steve hits the mattress with a thump.

Eddie realizes pretty fast what he’s done, but he can’t seem to let go, fingers digging hard into Steve’s shoulders. He’s on his knees, hovering over Steve. Steve, who has his head tilted back throat bared. His eyes are closed, arms spread wide on the bedding, hands loose and relaxed. He’s not tense, not even a little, just pliant and completely submissive.

He has moles on the exposed side of his neck, like a little target. Eddie leans in, gives in, rubbing his chin and cheek against Steve’s neck. His stubble drags. Eddie shivers as the goosebumps race over his body like a wave.

Steve just takes it, lying perfectly still.

Steve’s scent is faint, Beta faint, but it’s definitely there now that Eddie’s at point blank range.

He smells like sun warmed skin. A hint of fresh cut grass. Something else organic and natural smelling. Bark or dirt or some shit Eddie can't place. Passive though, natural, subtle Beta smells. Nice though. Not overwhelming. Eddie sinks a little lower, rubbing his own throat against Steve’s. He feels instantly better, his relentlessly irritated scent gland suddenly soothed with Steve’s scent.

Eddie breathes a deep sigh of relief before finally letting go and collapsing down onto Steve.

“Better?” Steve asks quietly.

“Shut the fuck up,” Eddie slurs into Steve’s neck.

Part Seven

[p0orbaby]

We No Speak Italiano

summary: you’ll never miss a day of Duolingo again

warnings: are language barriers and miscommunication warnings?

a/n: based on this request ! also thank you to @onsomenewsht for inflating my ego and helping navigate italian !

word count: 2.1k

-

Alexia looks at you like you’ve just dropped the biggest bombshell in the history of bombshells. Her eyes are wide, mouth slightly agape, and she’s got that look, like she’s trying to figure out how to assemble a piece of IKEA furniture with no instructions and half the screws missing.

“Estoy embarazada,” you say again, because you’re pretty sure that’s the right way to tell her you’re mortified after spilling your entire glass of wine on her brand-new sofa.

Your high school Spanish teacher would be so proud.

But instead of the expected response, maybe a nervous laugh or string of expletives, Alexia gasps, and her hands fly to her mouth like she’s just heard the Virgin Mary is back for round two. Her eyes flick down to your stomach and back up to your face. The calculation going on behind her eyes is something like 2 + 2 = 5, but you have no idea why.

“I… Oh my God,” she says, her voice all wobbly, like she’s about to cry. “I didn’t… I mean, this is… Are you okay?” She’s speaking in slow, deliberate Spanish now, like you’re suddenly a toddler and not a grown-ass woman who just spilled wine.

You blink at her. “Sí?”

“Madre mía”

-

It starts with a breakfast that makes no sense.

You wake up to the smell of something cooking in the kitchen, which is odd because Alexia barely knows how to operate a toaster without supervision. You stumble out of bed, groggy, and follow the scent of food.

What you find in the kitchen is nothing short of alarming: Alexia, apron-clad and concentrating so hard that she’s actually sticking her tongue out a little, is stirring something in a pot while a blender whirs ominously next to her.

“Buenos días,” she sings out when she notices you standing in the doorway. She’s all smiles, too bright for this early in the morning, and you immediately get suspicious.

“What’s going on?” you ask, eyes narrowing as you take in the sight of an overfull fruit bowl, a plate stacked with multigrain toast, and what appears to be an entire carton of eggs scrambled and ready to be eaten.

“Sit, sit,” she insists, pulling out a chair for you like you’ve suddenly developed a bad back and need assistance. “I made breakfast”

“You… made breakfast,” you repeat, eyeing the smoothie she pours into a glass and slides over to you. It’s an unsettling green color, like pond scum, and you’re not sure it’s fit for human consumption.

“Sí. You need to start your day with lots of nutrients.” She’s practically bouncing on her toes, like a Labrador eager to please.

You blink at the smoothie, then back at her. “Since when did you learn how to use the Nutribullet?”

She doesn’t answer directly, just gives you an encouraging smile that feels a little too close to a grimace. “Drink up. It’s good for you”

You take a tentative sip, and it’s like drinking liquid grass mixed with what you can only hope is kale. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No!” She’s almost offended, but there’s a hint of nervousness in her voice that you can’t quite place. “It’s full of vitamins. Good for… energy”

You stare at her, but she just stares back, eyes wide and almost… expectant.

“Okay,” you say slowly, deciding to let this weirdness slide, for now. Maybe she’s on a trendy new health kick. Or maybe it’s an early birthday surprise gone wrong. Either way, you down the smoothie in a few brave gulps, trying not to think about the fact that it tastes like lawn clippings.

Alexia beams at you when you finish, like you’ve just accomplished something monumental. “Bien, bien. Now, sit tight. I’ll get the rest”

She practically skips back to the stove, where she starts piling eggs and toast onto a plate. You don’t even bother asking why she’s suddenly turned into Martha Stewart; you’re too busy wondering if you’ve somehow walked into a parallel universe.

It’s only later, after you’ve forced down an absurd amount of scrambled eggs, that she starts talking about how “important it is to stay healthy” and how she’s “going to take care of everything from now on,” which sounds sweet but also vaguely threatening.

You brush it off, chalking it up to some kind of weird phase. After all, everyone gets weird sometimes, right?

-

By day two, you’re starting to suspect that something is seriously wrong.

It begins with a confrontation over laundry, specifically, the fact that you’re not allowed to do any. At all.

“I’ve got it,” Alexia says, practically wrestling the basket out of your hands when you attempt to head for the washing machine.

You try to grab it back, but she holds it over her head like some ridiculous game of keep-away. “What is with you?”

“You shouldn’t be lifting heavy things,” she says, so earnestly it makes your brain short-circuit for a second.

“It’s a basket of clothes,” you argue, “not a sack of bricks. And I lift heavier things at the gym every day”

She shakes her head, not budging. “No. Let me do it. Just relax”

You gape at her, watching as she carries the laundry to the washing machine like it’s a ticking time bomb. She’s being weirdly gentle, placing the clothes in like they might shatter if she drops them too hard.

Then there’s the vitamin situation. You’re sitting on the freshly cleaned sofa, flipping through channels, when Alexia plops down beside you with a clatter of bottles and packages.

“Take these,” she says, handing you an array of supplements that looks like it belongs on the shelf of a pharmacy. There are multivitamins, folic acid, omega-3s, and some other pill you can’t even pronounce.

“What is this?” You hold up the folic acid like it’s a foreign object. “I’m not trying to hatch an egg here”

“Just take them,” she insists, pushing the bottles toward you. “They’re good for you”

“I’m pretty sure the only thing these are good for is draining my will to live,” you mutter, but she gives you that look, the one that’s all big hazel eyes and soft smiles, and you end up taking them just to get her to stop hovering.

When you try to go for a run that afternoon, she practically tackles you at the door.

“Maybe you should rest,” she suggests, like she’s trying to steer a toddler away from a busy street. “You know, take it easy for a bit”

“Take it easy?” You raise an eyebrow. “I’m not 80. And since when do you care about rest days? You’re usually the one dragging me to the gym at 6 AM”

She opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again like a fish gasping for air. “It’s important to be careful”

“Careful of what, exactly?”

She hesitates, and you catch a flicker of something in her expression, nervousness, maybe? Fear? Whatever it is, it’s weirding you out. “Just… you know, careful”

You’re about to argue, but she gives you a kiss on the forehead, all soft and sweet, and you end up staying in just to avoid making things even more bizarre.

-

By day three, you’re done. Absolutely, 100% done.

It starts with the breakfast smoothies, again. This time, it’s a vibrant pink concoction that tastes like liquid chalk mixed with berries, and you’re pretty sure it’s the same smoothie you saw in a TV ad for pregnancy supplements once.

When Alexia starts lecturing you on the importance of hydration, while handing you a liter of water with electrolytes, you decide it’s time to get to the bottom of this.

“Alexia,” you say, setting the water down with a definitive thud, “we need to talk”

She glances at you, clearly nervous, and you know you’ve hit the jackpot. “About what?”

“About why you’re acting like I’m a fragile little baby bird that needs to be protected from all the big, scary things in life,” you reply, crossing your arms.

Her face flushes, and she avoids your gaze, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “I just-, I want to take care of you”

“I appreciate that,” you say, softening just a little, “but you’ve gone full-on helicopter mode. And it’s freaking me out”

She looks at you for a long moment, then sighs like she’s been carrying the weight of the world.

“You didn’t tell me,” she says, voice soft like she’s whispering state secrets. “How long? I mean… when did you find out?”

You stare at her, a mental Rolodex flipping through every interaction you’ve had over the last few days, searching for the moment when you apparently lost your mind. “Find out what?”

“That you’re…” She trails off, wide-eyed, and then whispers, like she’s on a soap opera, “Pregnant”

There’s a beat of silence. And then another one. You feel like someone just turned off the power in your brain. You’re pregnant? No, no, no. Last you checked, you were just really bad at pouring wine.

“Wait,” you finally say, holding up a hand to stop her from offering you yet another pillow or maybe a foot rub. “Pregnant?”

Alexia’s eyebrows are practically in her hairline. “You said you’re embarazada”

Oh. Oh. Oh no.

“Alexia,” you say slowly, enunciating like you’re the one explaining the IKEA instructions now. “I said I’m embarrassed. Not pregnant. Embarrassed. Mortified. Humiliated because I thought I ruined your sofa with a ten-euro bottle of red”

She looks like she’s buffering, trying to load what you just said. “Embarazada… means pregnant, in Spanish”

Ah, the joys of faux amis, false friends, words that sound like they should mean the same thing but are actually waiting to sabotage you like linguistic landmines. Your high school Spanish teacher can take a hike.

You wipe away a tear, trying to catch your breath. “Alexia… I told you I was embarrassed. Imbarazzato doesn’t mean pregnant in Italian, it means mortified. Humiliated. Just how I felt when I spilled that wine and thought I ruined your furniture”

“Wait,” Alexia says, her brow furrowing in that cute, confused way you’d normally find adorable if she weren’t in the middle of thinking you’re harbouring a tiny human in your uterus. “So you’re not…?”

“No!” You laugh, a little hysterically because, seriously, how did you get here? “I’m not pregnant. We’re both women. How would that even work? I mean, unless there’s something about human biology I missed in school, I’m pretty sure that’s not in the cards for us”

Her eyes widen as the realisation hits, and then she groans, burying her face in her hands. “Dios mío, I’m such an idiot”

You’re still laughing, but you manage to pat her knee reassuringly. “An adorable idiot, but yeah, kind of”

“Well, you did say ‘embarazada,’” she points out. “How was I supposed to know you just meant you were embarrassed?”

You shrug. “Maybe when I didn’t start eating pickles and ice cream? Or asking for your jersey for when the baby arrives?”

“Touché.” She’s still grinning, that big, beautiful smile that makes you forgive her for thinking you were about to drop a baby bomb on her. “So, you’re just embarrassed”

“Yes. Very. And I’m also very much not pregnant. I’m sorry for confusing you”

She sighs, exaggerated like she’s relieved, and you both start laughing again, the awkward tension from the past few days melting away. But there’s still a mischievous glint in her eye, one that makes you a little wary.

“What?” you ask, knowing full well you’re about to regret it.

“Well, since you’re not pregnant,” she says slowly, leaning closer with that flirty smirk you love and hate in equal measure, “how about we do something about that embarrassment?”

She wiggles her eyebrows, and you roll your eyes. “Oh, so now that I’m not a fragile incubator, you’re all over me?”

“Exactamente,” she says, pulling you into her lap with surprising ease, even for someone who regularly benches more than your body weight. “Besides, I have to make sure you’re really not pregnant”

“Alexia,” you say, trying to sound stern but failing miserably when she starts nuzzling your neck, “that’s not how this works, remember?”

She grins against your skin, pressing a teasing kiss to your collarbone. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” You push her back just enough to meet her eyes, raising an eyebrow. “But if you want to keep treating me like a queen, I’m not going to complain”

“Deal,” she says, her voice softening, her hand resting on your cheek. “But next time you’re embarrassed, can you please just say it in Italian, or English?”

You laugh, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Sure, but only if you promise not to freak out the next time I spill something”

“No promises,” she murmurs, pulling you closer, “but I’ll try”

[emberphoenixisgoingtolive]

Nublar Six post chaos theory headcanons

cw for slightly suggestive content on the last four bullet points

they all live together on Sammy’s ranch for a year or so so they can reconnect

also rent is expensive and Kenji has nowhere to live (his trailer probably got towed or something)

they delegate chores so one person is in charge of a certain thing (chore headcanons here)

grocery shopping is usually Darius and Kenji’s responsibility but sometimes they all come

Smoothie sits in the trolley basket and loves it

the others all use the animals for comfort. sometimes they just need to hug a horse or pet a chicken or sleep in the cow barn for the night and that is Okay

the idea prompts Sammy and Yaz to start a small therapeutic program for Texan kids who take comfort in animals

Smoothie and Bumpy also become emotional support animals for the kids who are maybe a bit scared of dinosaurs

Yaz does Brooklynn’s hair for her since she finds it hard cos of her arm

no matter what is going on in their day, they all always try to make it home for dinner so they can chat and have a nice meal

Darius usually cooks but Yaz and Sammy enjoy helping him out in the kitchen

Kenji enjoys ‘helping them’ (sitting at the dinner table and talking) too

a good spotify experience is very important to Kenji, so he bought the group premium deal

Brooklynn tried to cook once and was banned from ever trying it again

every saturday evening they hold a movie night with snacks and everyone piles onto the sofas (and usually end up asleep there)

altogether they have most of the streaming services (if only they could agree on a movie to watch)

Sammy isn’t really religious but still goes to church occasionally on sunday and puts Yaz in charge of the ranch

Sammy lowkey loves housewifing. she’ll make tupperwares of dinner leftovers for everyone for their lunch the next day with colour–coded tupperware lids and a smiley face drawn in marker

Yaz can’t run anymore due to her chronic ankle pain/instability but likes going for a solo walk around the ranch first thing in the morning

Kenji likes a late evening walk around the ranch, usually carrying Smoothie or walking with someone else. he lowkey does not like to be alone

sometimes Kenji also goes out for walks in the morning, and one time he finds Yaz having fallen over (she rolled her ankle badly because she forgot her brace and cane/was being stubborn and decided she didn’t need them) and he piggybacks her back to the ranch (should i fanfic this??? /gen)

Darius really vibes with the chickens. he loves feeding them. he loves petting them. he nicknames them all. Brooklynn lovingly teases him for it.

Kenji uses the cows/livestock as therapists. if he’s upset, off he goes to the fields to find the nearest cow that will listen. he’s not above eating grass with them (tried it once and disliked the ‘sour taste’ (pesticides))

Sammy has a massive truck which is the only vehicle that can transport all six of them at a time, and journeys in it are the most chaotic thing ever. the gps is broken and there’s not enough signal half the time and the only ones who can competently read a paper map are Darius and Brooklynn. there is always a argument over who gets the aux cord.

Ben steals everyone’s clothes. good luck to everyone else getting their stuff back

any items of clothing that are plain (e.g. black or white tops, jeans) are generally considered free real estate as long as it fits them

the living room sofa has a giant blanket that, with a lot of effort (and sitting on other peoples’ laps) can fit everyone + Smoothie

Kenji and Yaz bicker a lot but they love each other and it’s never that serious

to fuel Ben’s pyromania /nsrs they have a bonfire with marshmallows and s’mores once a month

the shower has a shower chair (for Yaz since standing too long can be painful for her ankle) and grab rails, but they’re pretty useful for everyone

speaking of, shower headcanons here

Sammy has a required hour where everyone has to go outside and enjoy the fresh air (no matter the weather, unless it’s literally a health hazard to be outdoors. she’s dragged them out into the rain before (they ended up loving it but Kenji would not stop whining for the first ten minutes) and she will do so again)

the group have successfully organised one (1) group holiday, where they all went to Italy for a week to see Gia and Nonna again, and another week in a holiday resort on a gorgeous Mediterranean island somewhere

i have so many holiday headcanons for them going to a holiday resort but i will do a proper post when i go on holiday to a resort myself this summer :D

they have a system where each person hangs a glowstick on their bedroom door handle if they are okay with being woken up that night for comforting someone who has a nightmare

Kenji wanders around shirtless all the time. Yaz throws pillows at him and yells at him to at least put a vest on and Kenji’s like, “it’s Texas, Yaz, I think I might be slowly cooking alive”

in retaliation Yaz wanders around without a shirt on (she has to stop when Sammy stares at her too long and walks into a door and gets a nosebleed)

everyone has probably seen each other mostly naked at least once

*cue modern family–esque scene where the others prepare a breakfast in bed for Sammy on her birthday and they walk into Sammy’s bedroom where her and Yaz are doing it and the others drop the tray and run and start screaming*

if one couple wants to bang, they text everyone else with the boom emoji and everyone else gets out of the house (the walls of the ranch are paper thin)

[xoxochb]

⋆·˚ ༘ * please, please, please

warnings: set during that one scene from ttc, reader is a minor goddess of music/singing (to fit the sabrina carpenter vibe ykwim?), a bunch of quotes are not mine they are direct from the book so credits to uncle rick!! there’s also a lorelai gilmore reference at the end

pairing: apollo x goddess! daughter of aphrodite and ares

“absolutely not”

you give the sun god a look of pleading and he laughs at your desperation

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

you hit his head “yes you do”

“she’s my dear old sister-” apollo begins

“exactly. along with her hunters and others”

“I don’t see the problem”

“the problem is that you can’t control yourself”

“well when I’m around you…”

“oh my gods!” you hit him twice this time “this is what I’m talking about. you’re an idiot”

apollo ignores your comment and drives (??) the sun chariot to the snowy ground

“I beg you do not embarrass motherfucker” you warn

when you step out onto the wet grass and before you have the chance to greet everyone apollo speaks,

"little sister!" he calls "what's up? you never call. you never write. I was getting worried!"

artemis sighs "I'm fine, apollo. and I am not your little sister"

"hey, I was born first."

"we're twins! how many millennia do we have to argue?"

"so what's up?" he interrupted. "got the girls with you, I see. you all need some tips on archery?”

“I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to camp half-blood”

"sure, sis" he then raised his hands in a stop everything gesture “I feel a haiku coming”

the hunters groaned but nonetheless he held up a dramatic hand and began to speak,

‘green grass breaks through snow

artemis pleads for my help

I am so cool’

he grinned waiting for an applause

“last line was four syllables” you point out

apollo frowns "was it?"

"yes” artemis agrees “what about I am so big-headed?"

"no, no, that's six syllables” he starts to mutter to himself but you ignore it, you could be here for days

one of the hunters, zoe you recognized turned to the demigods and explained how apollo had been into haikus since he got back from japan, and said god interrupted her soon after

"I've got it!" he announced "I am so awesome. that's five syllables!" he bowed feeling pleased with himself

"and now, sis” he continues “transportation for the hunters, you say? good timing. I was just about ready to roll”

"these demigods will also need a ride," artemis points to them

"no problem!" apollo checked them out "let's see... thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

thalia blushes "hi, lord apollo"

‘isn’t that his sister?’ you think

"zeus's girl, yes? makes you my half sister. used to be a tree, didn't you? glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. man, I remember one time-”

you cut him off with an elbow to his stomach, he winces in pain. a black haired demigod- with sea green eyes to differentiate him from the others, he must be poseidon’s- eyes you before asking,

“are you a goddess? how come I don’t recognize you?”

“minor goddess” you confirm “of music. my parents are ares and aphrodite, and unfortunately I am married to this idiot” you give apollo an angry look but he throws an arm around your shoulder

the daughter of zeus chokes on nearly nothing “married?!”

you nod “twelve years”

artemis speaks again “how she can put up with him is a mystery”

“well we should get going” apollo interrupts

“yes, I agree” you say and pull the sun god’s arm off of you, he frowns at the loss of contact

the hunters and demigods pack up their belongings and you pull apollo to the side, he prepares himself for whatever you’re going to say, which he’s sure will be a scolding because he ignored the one thing you asked of him

“listen-” he starts

“how about I talk you listen?” you cross your arms

this was going to be a long scolding…

[cryingatwindermerepeaks]

Cg!Van x Little!Mel - Accidents happen (no-crash au)

Everyone’s favourite butch babies !! Based on the scene in ep 9 but no crash or wilderness or other bad stuff !!

Cw: shame about accidents, teeniest of tiniest injuries ever

Word count: 1155

——————————

“Peeka… boo!” Van grinned, pulling her hands away from her face and sending Lottie, who was sat straddling her knees, into a fit of giggles.

“Again!” Lottie squealed, clapping her hands.

“Ok, ok,” Van nodded, going to cover her face again but not before casting a quick glance over to the other littles who were running around on the school oval. They’d all decided to stay back after practice so the little’s would have time to regress and play together without anyone seeing. Everything seemed fine, a game of tip had broken out and Shauna was chasing a group of girls across the pitch. Van covered her eyes, Lottie’s clumsy baby fingers reaching out to hold them in place. She was about to uncover her eyes anyway, when a shriek from across the grass had her quickly moving her hands and passing Lottie off to sit on Laura Lee’s lap.

She quickly jogged over to where the sound had come from. Nat, Jackie, Mari and Gen were clustered together in the middle of the field. When Van pushed through them she saw Shauna, standing teary eyed over Melissa who was on the floor - also, with a face full of tears. “What happened here?” She asked, noticing the damp spot growing on Melissa’s denim overalls.

“Didn’t mean it! Didn’t mean it!” Shauna babbled quickly, sniffling as tears rolled down her face.

Van crouched down beside Melissa, putting a firm hand on the distressed girl’s back. “You’re not in trouble, I just need to know what happened.” Realising Shauna was too upset to give answers, Van turned to the others.

“Shauna was chasing Mel and accidentally knocked her over,” Nat mumbled, scuffing her shoe against the ground.

“‘N she had ‘n accident,” Jackie added quietly, as if it wasn’t clear enough.

“Ok,” Van nodded, gently helping Melissa stand up once she’d determined that the girl wasn’t actually injured - only crying from shock. “Let’s go,” She whispered gently, shrugging off her jacket and tying it around Mel’s waist so no one else had to see her accident while they crossed the pitch towards the locker rooms.

Mel didn’t think she could be more embarrassed. Van was so cool and grown up and funny, and now she was helping her out of her wet pants. She felt like her whole body was flush with shame. What made it worse was that this wasn’t a one time incident - she had accidents like this all the time when she regressed. It annoyed the little to no end. Shauna didn’t have this problem, Gen didn’t have this problem. Why did she? “Have you got a change in your locker kiddo?” Van asked, pulling a small bag out of her own locker. Mel nodded and after a little bit of frustrated fiddling with the lock she managed to get it open. She pulled out her spare clothes - her gym clothes. She really wasn’t a fan of the idea of having to put on her sweaty soccer uniform. She tried to cover the tears that fell at the thought of this, petulantly covering her face with her hands. She wished she had her hat which she would usually use to cover her tears but it must’ve come off when she fell. The thought only made her cry harder.

“Melissa?” Van questioned, looking worriedly at the girl who was standing in the middle of the change room with her hands over her face. “What’s the matter?”

Mel crossed her arms defensively. “Stupid…” she whined.

Van sighed, moving to stand beside Melissa and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s not stupid, buddy. What’s the matter?”

“Don’t wan’ wear my un’form,” she mumbled. Van glanced down at the uniform bunched up in Mel’s hand - she knew from experience that it wasn’t comfortable and could assume it was pretty sweaty from practice.

“Alright, no need to worry about that. I’ve got some spare sweats in my locker.” Van opened up her locker again, pulling out a pair of burgundy sweatpants. She also found a spare pair of socks and stole a pair of Tai’s trainers which seemed about the right size. She handed them to Melissa. “Do you need some help?”

Melissa shrugged shyly, “No.”

She immediately took back her statement when she began fiddling with the hook of her overalls, Van quickly stepping in to help her take the damp clothing off. Melissa kicked them off clumsily, pushing them as far away as she could. Standing in the locker room wearing only her striped rainbow baby tee, Melissa should’ve felt more self conscious but Van was so gentle and patient that she couldn’t find it in herself to worry. Van handed Mel some wipes from the bag she’d grabbed before and let the girl wipe herself clean. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, once her legs were clean again and she was dressed in Van’s red sweatpants and a pair of clean socks and sneakers. She felt like a baby. A stupid crybaby who couldn’t even use the bathroom and it was so embarrassing.

Van cut into the mental turmoil with a gentle smile and a hand on Melissa’s shoulder. “Kiddo, there’s nothing to be sorry about, ok?” Melissa looked down at her feet, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Oh, no, no, no, she didn’t want to cry in front of Van again! “Do you wanna go back out and keep playing?” Melissa sniffled, rubbing at her face. She did want to keep playing because tip was fun but also she didn’t want to face the other girls. Melissa shrugged. “Ok, how about you come sit with me for a little bit.”

Van held Melissa’s hand and took her back to where Lottie, Laura Lee and Tai were sitting on the bleachers. It was a little bit scary because they were all varsity players but so was Van and Van wasn’t scary. Melissa sat between Tai and Van, neither of them made a comment about her accident. Instead, they asked her about her favourite dinosaurs and let her play peekaboo with Lottie.

When Melissa saw Shauna coming over, she couldn’t help but lean into Van’s side for comfort. Shauna stopped a little bit in front of Melissa, rocking back and forth nervously on her toes. “I’m sorry for hurting you,” she whispered, looking down.

“It’s ok.” It really was ok - she hadn’t even been that hurt, just a bit embarrassed.

Shauna held out Melissa’s hat which she hadn't even noticed was behind the girls back. “Thought you’d want this back.” Melissa nodded eagerly, taking the hat and quickly putting it back on her head. She felt a lot better with it back. “Would you come play with us again? We can play puppies or, Uhm, whatever else you wanna play. Jackie says it’s ok.” Melissa nodded eagerly, all previous hesitancy gone. With an excited smile back at Van, she ran off with Shauna to join the others.

[daisyjonesgf]

finnick odair x sweet & oblivious!partner hc's

based off this request

masterlist

finnick usually considered how sweet you were one of the most endearing things about you

except when it was towards certain people who didn't seem to understand it was just your way, being so sweet, in a tooth rotting way, that they assumed you must be flirting with them

additionally you always assumed they were doing the same back even if their flirting was egregiously overt

someone could wink and comment on how nicely your jeans fit, yet you'd assume it was genuine, smile, and thank them even tell them where you got the pair

finnick was constantly in your ear telling you that people were hitting on you, which you'd laugh off and deny

you'd try and make an effort to be more conscious of it when you could see how much it upset finnick that other people would act like you weren't with him

finnick of course never blamed you, it was just how kind you were that would draw everyone in

he adored the sweetness though

the way you'd dedicate lengths of time to find or make something he liked, spend hours with mags and annie to keep them in good company, the way you'd softly take care of him if he wasn't even slightly feeling well, when he was sad you'd cradle him, kiss him, say the loveliest things he imagined a person could no matter how cheesy

"you don't have to doubt us, finn, I'd stay with you past the time when everything's dust, I'm never going to let you go"

"you're my everything, the sea, the sun, the moon, the air, the wind, the grass, the dirt, it's like the angels decided we were meant to be."

"I think I'd be yours in every lifetime and you would be mine, we'd always find each other."

you'd call him handsome, say he was hand sculpted by angels, what a pretty boy he was, literally any time you had the chance

your kisses were so soft, hugs so warm, finnick felt like he genuinely could lay with you for eternity

you'd write him cheesy little poems that would have him blushing and kissing you until you were giggling and kicking your feet as he peppered you with kisses

finnick couldn't understand how someone as sugary sweet as you were could ever love someone as damaged, as ruined as he felt

but if you even saw a glimpse of those feelings you'd fall into pure prose of how worthy he was of love and you could pour buckets of it on him every day

even if he had enough money to buy a new closet for any piece of ripped clothing you'd insist on stitching things back together for him, it's what you parents had once done for each other so you adored doing it for finnick too

nsfw - finnick also was enthralled by the times your obliviousness came into clutch for him, he'd see how far he could go before you even realized what he was trying to do to you, all the comments he could make without you realizing the intentions, it was always adorable when you finally did manage to catch on

you'd bake him his favorite sweet treats, make breakfast and feel guilty if he ever didn't wake you up when he woke and ended up making it for both of you

finnick loved it and seeing the way you insisted on doing anything else to make up for it

finnick would move the heavens and the earth for you and all your kindness, he could never do enough for all the things your big heart would do for him and others

maybe you thought he was made by angels, but he was sure you were one, in the flesh, his own guardian angel intent on showering him in love

[sprunkisunshinesuburbia]

Resident List pt II

“OWAKXC” Ozwalt Linden-Daze

Age: 29

Gender: Male, He/him

Height: 5’9 ft

Color: Lime Green

How he got here was… Well less favorable than the rest- A long fall from a cliff that he … Thank sun and Miss Vineria he made it. This fall left him wheel-chair bound and a bit spastic— Sort of yells when he doesn’t mean to.(It’s mostly brain and spinal damage I think… I’m no doctor but thats what I’ve heard from Dr. Princey…)

Um- Accident aside he usually hangs around Vineria and seems pretty smart, He helps her with paperwork (Mostly taxes- Honestly really appreciate how neatly he sorts them and writes things down.) I think he’s also pretty funny- Does self-deprecate a worrying bit, He’s really sensitive about how the accident affected him so please don’t point things out- (Basic sprunki respect and all!) He also tells me how the city was like which… Uh makes me not want to visit it! It sounds hectic and noisy- But he also says

“I may just be being a fucking weenie about it— I don’t know…”

I don’t think he is- He's really hard on himself sometimes...

Vineria Edith Bosch

Age: 27

Gender: Female She/They

Height: 6’3 ft

Color: Grass Green

She’s a very chill person and I like listening to her talk about her plants (She names all of them- She’s why I named my succulent!— It’s name is Planty… Because its a… plant.) She’s very knowledgeable about them too- And honestly from when she first arrived here I wasn’t expecting it (She seemed so scary back then— But maybe it was the biker jacket- Maybe it was because she didn’t have her wigs yet…Kind of intimidating-) It was kind of like she did a full flip mostly fashion-wise but she seems much happier now with her greenhouse!

She’s usually around Oz , Clukr and Garnold- (She arrived alongside the latter two) She also occasionally volunteers at the town clinic to help out whenever someone does get injured. I do warn that she is— Sometimes very high on sprunknip- Which does smell pretty strongly and she does act a bit… Looser on it. (She once offered to beat up people who were mean to me- I politely declined. I don’t think that would do any good but its nice to know someone cares! in… uh their own way!)

“brud” Bradley Bucketsworth

Age: 21

Gender: Male He/They

Height: 4’11

Color: Brown

A really sweet fella! Genuinely just happy to be here!! (He drew a cute little portrait of me I keep at my desk- Makes me smile!) He's really into fantasy novels and he's shown me his collection of them in his room at the clinic. (He says he wanted to take all of them from his old home but he couldn't fit them all in his bags-) I've also read some drafts he'd written himself, It was mostly fanfiction, But most of it seems to steer away from romance to more about characters he thinks didn't get enough time in the spotlight.. He does have to have someone around to make sure he doesn't accidently hurt himself ( I've been told he can't feel pain and he doesn't really have the reflex to pull back or flinch because of that..) Usually the people supervising him are clinic staff- Most of the time its Simon, Sometimes Vineria and like on the rarest occasions its Dr. Princey herself when the other two are busy. He also chooses not to speak,- Usually just communicates through writing and sign language but he isn't incapable of it (To him its a last resort.)

Simon Citrine-Poncirus

Age: 26

Gender: Any He/She/They

Height: 4'10

Color: Yellow

Moved in around the same time as his brother Oren- He's colored like a ray of sunshine and sure acts like it! He's super cheerful and practically bouncing off the walls when I see him! ( How does he do it? I need at least a nap and a cup of coffee to even think of going out- Let alone pull the insane acrobatics he does sometimes.) He works at the clinic as a dentist. (Though that only really comes in when we get our teeth checked or something happens to someone's teeth-) But he also helps out there as well (I think he's probably the only other person in town who's gone to medical school.) I also didn't really have to approach him he sort of bounded up to me and went

 "Hey hi Thermie!! Pinki's making chili tonight! Dooo You want some?"

And well!! I did say yes and it was very nice- Him, Pinki and Oren do love inviting people over for dinner. ( I did eat an embarassing amount of chili that night.) There's usually two options (With meat and no meat) at these dinners as far as I know since Simon's a vegetarian. (Its pretty common where he was from- Usually the meat products were saved for the island's guardian beast. Its not a topic I'm very familar with...) And also he does maybe feel a little bad about eating critters ( He thinks they're all too cute for him to eat.)

<< Part I Pinned Post Part III >>

[burningcheese-merchant]

If the Beasts/Ancients had signature pokémon (or were pokémon themselves) what do you think they would be? I just know White Lily needs to be a fairy type

Do you have the slightest idea how happy I am to have gotten this ask

Time to flex my encyclopedic knowledge + almost 20 years of playing Pokémon

(Note: gonna stick to just assigning types to them, if that's ok)

A N C I E N T S

Pure Vanilla as a Pokemon: Normal/Psychic (thought of Normal/Fairy, but I thought Psychic may suit him better bc of his magic + the Light of Truth + the association with intelligence/knowledge the Psychic type has always had)

Pure Vanilla as a trainer: The very first Pokemon that came to my mind was Audino. Something about Vanilla says he'd be an Audino guy. I'm not even sure what it is, Blissey would probably be slightly more fitting, but I keep imagining him being besties with an Audino and it's adorable to me

Hollyberry as a Pokemon: Normal/Fighting, I think (or perhaps Fairy/Fighting, because of Fairy's power over and invulnerability towards Dragon)

Hollyberry as a trainer: Hmm... Bastiodon kind of feels like the easy way out tbh. Tinkaton would be funny (but suits Princess a lot better imo). Chesnaught reflects her fighting style and personality pretty well... Chesnaught it is

Dark Cacao as a Pokemon: Dark/Fighting for sure (I considered Dark/Ice as well, but I just can't ignore the Fighting type for him. I feel like I'd be committing a crime if I did. Also, I don't think he's actually from the Great Icing Ridge? It's not super clear, but Might of the Ancients made it seem like he was a traveler from somewhere else. That could perhaps be used as justification for shelving the Ice type for him. (Also also you don't NEED to be Ice-type to live in cold places, plenty of other types seen in snowy biomes in Pokemon)

Dark Cacao as a trainer: Man would be rocking a Kingambit, change my mind

Golden Cheese as a Pokemon: Ground/Flying, duh. (Or maybe Rock/Flying? Ground seems better idk)

Golden Cheese as a trainer: It's hard. There are so many Pokemon that would suit her imo. Sableye. Diancie. Persian (Kantonian or Alolan, doesn't matter). Unfezant (female, the Pokedex repeatedly lists them as superior fliers). But... keeping with the lore of both CRK and Pokemon... I think, after she wakes up and reenters the world, all Golden should have is the one Sigilyph left in the entire desert, who chose to be loyal to her and the kingdom to the very end and beyond

Just want to note that Golden Cheese would be besties with Olivia and you cannot change my mind on that

White Lily as a Pokemon: Grass/Fairy with some Dark-type moves available in her movepool as a nod to her being Dark Enchantress, change my mind

White Lily as a trainer: FLORGES! WHITE FLOWER FORM! RAAAAHHHHHHH

B E A S T S

Shadow Milk as a Pokemon: Dark/Psychic, duh

Shadow Milk as a trainer: this one is tough tbh. Malamar? Banette? Zoroark (Unovan)? Probably Malamar due to its natural malevolence and hypnotism powers tbh (but the other two are so compelling... why did I limit myself to an ace for each of them...). Also, I think he would've had a Slowking as a hero

Eternal Sugar as a Pokemon: leaning towards Fairy/Poison, latter because I've already been imagining her as a succubus of some sort and Poison suits that better (yes I know she has wings, Flying is a basic bitch answer and not all winged Pokemon are classified as Flying-types)

Eternal Sugar as a trainer: Komala is right there... but so is Musharna :/ (lots of "dream eater" Pokemon would suit her probably. Which is funny bc most of those are Ghost-types lol)

Mystic Flour as a Pokemon: Psychic at the very least. Not sure about a second type though... (or just make her Mewtwo from the anime/movies, they've got the same genocidal emo attitude lol)

Mystic Flour as a trainer: Girlie gets an Espeon, the end. (Maybe she knew Jirachi once upon a time)

Burning Spice as a Pokemon: Fire/Fighting (thought of Fire/Dark too, but... same deal as with Cacao, if I didn't add Fighting I'd probably go to jail)

Burning Spice as a trainer: Incineroar Incineroar Incineroar Incineroar Incineroar Incineroar Incineroar- (he'd suck ass as a trainer though, just because I know he'd treat his Pokemon terribly, the same way he mistreats the Wild Spices...)

Silent Salt as a Pokemon: Dark/Steel. Like. Come on lol

Silent Salt as a trainer: Something else that would land me in prison is not giving Salt an Aegislash lol. Or maybe a Bisharp. And a Corviknight. (Perhaps he would have met Cobalion while he was still a hero)

I'M STARTING TO IMAGINE A POKEMON AU NOW. LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME. I'VE GOT, LIKE, EIGHT OTHER AUs I'M JUGGLING IN MY HEAD ALREADY. NOW I WANT TO MAKE UP ANGST FOR GOLDIE AND THAT SIGILYPH. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS

(you can atone for your sins by asking me for full teams for each of these good-for-nothing short stacks)

[wordingg]

Smells Like Teen Hormones

Summary: Charles just transferred to St. Hilarion's and sees the most beautiful boy across the lawn. Edwin Payne is the prima ballerino of St. Hilarion's dance program and a well known ice queen. But, it's not like something like that could stop Charles Rowland.

AN: I wrote this for deadboyween's free day, but got kind of stuck halfway through. This really deserves to be a lot longer and slower, but I just wanted to hit the scenes I thought was fun. I hope you enjoy it!

The first time Charles Rowland saw Edwin Payne, he almost tripped and fell on his face.

Charles had been aware when he got the sports scholarship to St. Hilarion’s that what it was well known for was its dance program. That had smarted a little bit, because Charles knew that if his skin wasn’t so dark and the type of dance that he practiced was something classy like ballet, he could have gotten a scholarship for his dancing. Instead, he got a scholarship for cricket, which wasn’t that bad as Charles sincerely liked cricket. But, it wasn’t dancing.

What Charles hadn’t realized when he transferred to St. Hilarion’s was that a dance program would have boys as well as girls. And not just fit b-boys like the boys who had been in his crew with him. No, beautiful posh boys with legs for days and porcelain skin who moved like water when they walked across the quad.

Charles stumbled and almost knocked over his new mate from the cricket team, Mark, who gave him a dirty look and shoved him back.

“Who the hell is that?” Charles breathed, not taking his eyes off the boy swanning across the grass in the center of a gaggle of small delicate girls.

Mark frowned in the direction that Charles was looking. “Who?” he asked, confused.

“That boy! The tall ballerina one!” Charles exclaimed, rudely pointing.

The boy turned and noticed Charles pointing at him and gave him such an offended look that Charles almost shriveled up like a prune.

Mark scoffed. “That’s Edwin Payne. The dance department falls all over themselves for him, but don’t bother trying to make friends. He’s a tosser, apparently.”

But, Charles wasn’t listening. The name Edwin Payne was ringing like a bell in his ears.

---

The next day, Charles went to find Crystal somewhere in the bowels of the art department. She was the only person he felt he could rely on to understand what he was going through. She was beautiful, and mean as shit, and probably his best friend in the world. Which was saying something because he had known her for about two weeks.

“Crystal, you have friends in the dance department, right?” Charles had asked, trying to find somewhere to lean that didn’t have paint all over it. If he ruined another uniform, he was pretty sure his dad would literally kill him.

“Yes, I am friends with the Japanese exchange student in our grade who is also in the dance department. Her name is Niko, Charles,” Crystal said in a long suffering tone as she tried blending in the blues on an oil painting it seemed like she had been working on for a week.

Charles winced. Based on her tone, she had probably told him a few times before, but he had forgotten. In his defense, he was neck deep in love.

“Right, the cute girl with the white hair. And, she’s in the dance department,” Charles forged on.

Sighing, Crystal gave up on her painting and turned to Charles. “Okay. What do you want?” she asked flatly.

“I think the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen in my whole life has class with her and will you pleeeeeeease introduce us?” Charles rushed out breathlessly.

Crystal stared at Charles. Charles tried to give her his best puppy dog eyes, the ones that made all the old ladies in his neighborhood coo and ruffle his hair.

“And you can’t just walk up to him and introduce yourself why?” Crystal asked incredulously.

“Because I think I would probably die on the spot,” Charles said seriously.

Crystal let her head tip back and let out an explosive sigh. “Fine!” she groaned.

Charles jumped up and punched the air.

“But, you owe me so many chocolate milks!” Crystal said, a threatening finger pointed at Charles. “I have no idea how you hustle the cafeteria ladies out of them, but I want in!”

“It’s my natural charm,” Charles said with a grin and then dodged the wet paintbrush that Crystal threw at him.

---

What Crystal set up was a study group with all four of them: Charles, Crystal, Edwin and Niko Sasaki, the Japanese transfer student.

“It’s basically impossible to fuck this up,” Crystal had told him firmly while Charles tried not to hyperventilate in the library bathroom ten minutes before their meet up time. “Just ask him to help you with your algebra with those big wet doe eyes and he’ll be done for.”

“But, what if I ask him for help with my algebra homework and he sees how hopeless I am and he’s disgusted?” Charles asked, pulling at his hair. Transferring from a public school to a private school had a lot of difficulties, but the sudden change in curriculum was by far becoming the biggest one for Charles. He didn’t think he was stupid, but he definitely was way behind all the other students who had been at St. Hilarion’s for years.

Crystal knocked his hands away from his head and grabbed his face in her terrifying claws, squishing his cheeks. She shook him a little and Charles flailed.

“Edwin Payne is the gayest gay boy that I have ever met in my life,” she said vehemently. “And you, Charles Rowland, are the most golden retriever shaped motherfucker in existence. If he doesn’t fall in love with you immediately, I’ll eat my fucking shoe.”

“Thanks, Crystal. You’re a real friend,” Charles said wetly.

“You’re damn right I am,” she said.

Then, the bathroom door opened and a boy yelped, “Hey, what! You’re not supposed to be in the boy’s-”

Crystal kicked the door shut with her big terrifying combat boots, nailing the boy in the nose. “Fuck off, terf!” she screamed.

Charles thought he loved her a little bit.

---

If Charles thought that Edwin was beautiful from across a crowded lawn, he was an idiot, because he was even prettier up close.

He was about as tall as Charles, but he was so lanky. He had these long arms and long legs, but all his limbs were under careful precise control at all times. His hands were pretty, pale with long manicured fingers, always carefully folded or deftly handling a pencil. His face was all long lines and flat planes, like someone had crafted him out of marble or something. Except his big dark eyebrows and thick dark lashes made him look incredibly alive, every small expression made louder by the twitch of his eyebrows.

Charles felt like an idiot the second he stepped into the room with him. His hands were immediately clammy with sweat and rubbing them on his trousers didn’t seem to resolve the issue. He kept stumbling over words and talking either too loudly or too softly. He lost count of how many times he dropped his pencil on the floor or knocked the table askew with his jittering knees. He felt like an oaf.

Crystal was looking at him like he disgusted her on a personal level. Charles didn’t know Niko very well, but the intense way her big sparkly eyes focused on him gave him the impression that she was enjoying whatever incredible meltdown he was experiencing.

For his part, Edwin seemed very confused by him. Charles couldn’t blame him. He knew he was acting like a bumbling idiot, primarily in Edwin’s direction. At one point, Edwin had asked him a direction question and it had startled Charles so much he literally threw his pencil across the room. If he hadn’t wanted to sink into the floor so much at that moment, he was pretty sure based on the acidic look that Crystal shot him she would put him there herself.

When the girls took a brief break to visit the bathroom and get them all some coffee, Edwin turned to Charles with a somber look. Charles gulped audibly.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable-” he started to say.

“Not at all!” Charles hurried to say.

“I know I can be somewhat unapproachable to people my own age,” Edwin continued.

“You’ve been aces, mate, really!” Charles insisted.

“I think it’s quite admirable that you are making an effort to improve your academics. If I made you feel any other way, I sincerely apologize,” Edwin said to his lap, looking a bit miserable.

Charles had no idea what Edwin was talking about. If he had insulted Charles accidentally during their study session, Charles had probably been too busy trying not to spontaneously combust to notice. All Charles knew was that he wanted to clear away this misunderstanding as soon as possible.

“It’s not that at all!” Charles said firmly, pressing his hand over both of Edwin’s, where they were folded primly in his lap. “It’s just that you’re proper fit and every time I look at you, I think I’m in danger of choking on my tongue a bit.”

Edwin’s eyes, previously trained on his lap, snapped up to Charles, wide and gray and beautiful. Charles stared back a little breathless. This was the closest he had been able to look at Edwin’s eyes and they were really pretty, like a pale gray, blue, green color. Charles couldn’t quite put his finger on an exact description.

Edwin’s face then flushed with color and belatedly Charles realized what he had said and his face heated, as well. Charles didn’t think he’d ever seen another bloke full face blush before. The pink went all the way down Edwin’s neck. Charles wondered how far down it went…

“Oh,” Edwin said faintly.

“Ah, sorry, that’s-” Charles fumbled, feeling all his awkwardness come back in a rush.

“No, it’s not-” Edwin mumbled, suddenly matching Charles’ stutter for stutter.

Crystal and Niko chose that moment to come back into the study room holding two steaming coffees each.

“Why does it smell like teenage hormones in here?” Crystal asked with a wrinkled nose.

“Did you guys have fun without us?” Niko asked in a sing song voice that might have been a lingering bit of accent or might have had to do with the sparkle in her eyes as she took in both of their flushed faces.

The two boys mumbled something and thanked the girls for their coffees and got back to studying quickly.

---

After the study group was over, Crystal and Niko waved goodbye and walked together toward the girl’s dorms. Charles and Edwin both hesitated on the front steps of the library.

“Hey would you-” Charles started to say at the exact time that Edwin spoke.

“It was very-” Edwin said, then stopped, both of them freezing with their mouths opening before stumbling over each other.

“Oh, so sorry, please go ahead.”

“Nah, mate. You go first.”

They both stumbled to a stop again and then fidgeted on the top step, not quite looking at each other.

Charles bit his lip and mustered his courage and asked, “Would you want to hang out this weekend?”

Edwin’s eyebrows went up. “With Crystal and Niko?” he asked slowly.

“If you want,” Charles said, keeping his face still so it wouldn’t show his disappointment.

But maybe he didn’t keep it still enough, because Edwin Payne was looking at him with all of his considerable focus.

“Would you want that?” Edwin asked. And his eyes were so odd and clear and he was looking at Charles and Charles couldn’t help but to tell the entire truth when Edwin Payne was looking into his eyes like that.

“I was wanting to take you on a date, to be honest,” he said with a lopsided smile.

And, oh, that blush was back and it looked even nicer in the fading sunlight than it had in the harsh fluorescence in the library.

“If that’s okay with you,” Charles hurried to tack on. He had never asked a boy out before. He very much didn’t want to embarrass or shock Edwin.

But, Edwin only smiled a small smile and said, “That would be quite alright with me.” Then he ripped a piece of notebook paper out of one of his many color coded spiral notepads he carried in his arms and scribbled something on it before holding it out to Charles. Charles took the paper curiously. “I look forward to it,” Edwin said awkwardly, then hurried down the steps and away across the grass.

Charles looked down at the paper in his hand. It had a phone number written across it in perfect handwriting.

Charles made good on his earlier statement and choked on his own tongue.

[souliebird]

[[and then I met you || ch. 4]]

Series: Daredevil || Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader || Rating: Explicit

Summary:

A one-night stand years ago gave you a daughter and you are now able to put a name to her father – Matthew Murdock. Everything is about to change again as you navigate trying to integrate your life with that of the handsome and charming blind lawyer’s and Matt realizes he needs to protect his new family from not only Hell's Kitchen but from the world.

pt: 1 | 2 | 3

words: 4k

As you walk to the park that is a few blocks away from the diner with Matt and Minnie, you allow yourself time to think. 

Minnie is tucked into her stroller, Scooby Doo and Pig clutched firmly in her arms. She is excitedly updating Scooby about the drama that is the ducks at the pier. Matt walks beside you, his cane in one hand, held up away from the sidewalk, while his other lightly grips at your elbow. Neither of you talk - he's probably concentrating on walking and listening to Minnie babble. You wonder how often he's walked with someone while they push something - it seems awkward. 

Which has got you thinking about the best way to get around when you are all out as a family. The stroller is great storage, but you can transfer that into a backpack pretty easily. The problem is you are not sure if you can carry Minnie for that long.  She's small for her age but you're not that strong. She's been walking more and more, but you don't expect her to make a big jump so soon. 

Maybe you can invest in a wagon. You are sure there must be one somewhere you can buy that fits your needs. It's not like Matt is the first Blind parent ever. 

You add it to your mental research and buy list. You also need a Braille labeler - you know for a fact Minnie is going to want to learn it to be like her father and you'll need to label everything anyways. It will help you both learn. 

Your mind won't stop whirling and adding to your list - it's jumping from fun to practical to everything in between. You wish you could get out your phone as you walk to type everything up, so you won't forget later. When you get to the park, you'll do just that. You have a feeling Matt will be too preoccupied to care if you're on your phone for a bit.

You can sneak in some pictures, too.

The pier isn't as crowded as you expect it to be for a Saturday. People are milling about but most of the benches along the walking path are open.  There are a few couples having picnics on the grass and some at the tables along the river having lunch. 

You have a preferred spot in the corner of the park - there's a bench that faces the grass and the river, so you can sit while also watching Minnie. It also has a good view of the fountain, so it is perfect for duck watching. As usual, no one is there so you lead your little group there. 

As you come to a stop, you describe where you are to Matt. You try to be accurate without sounding condescending. Then you jump into the plan, "I have a blanket in the stroller. We can lay it out and we can play here, and we can also sit on the bench while Mouse does her thing."

Matt hums his approval, "that sounds perfect. Do you need help setting up?"

You turn the question to Minnie, "Do you need help setting up, Mouse?"

She looks up at you as she works on unbuckling herself. She scrunches up her face as she considers the question then shakes her head, "No, I'm a Big Girl. I can do it by myself. Thank you���" She trails off as she tries to remember the rest of the phrase. This isn't something you've taught her - she's picked it up from you apparently. She remembers after a beat and smiles up at Matt best she can from the angle she's at, "Thank you for asking."

Matt looks so surprised by her adorable politeness. You chuckle as a grin spreads across his face before he answers her. 

"You're very welcome." 

You hold the stroller steady, even after putting on the break, as Minnie climbs out. Instantly she turns back around and sets her toys where she was sitting.

"You have to wait here," she says as she buckles Pig and Scooby back into the stroller. 

You look over to Matt as Minnie starts to pull things out of the storage space. He's got his head tilted towards where she is piling things in the ground, this soft little smile on his face. He looks so relaxed and happy. You wonder what is going through his head - if this is anything like he thought it would be. 

None of this is how you thought it would be. You never considered this could be a possibility - being here with him and Minnie, enjoying time together as a family. It makes you kind of giddy thinking this could become a thing. You could come to the park on Saturdays and watch the ducks together. 

That's something you never had as a kid. You never had family outings. You went to school and went home - that was your childhood. No family vacations. No weekend getaways. No special trips. You were lucky if you were allowed to accompany your parents to dinners out. 

You never felt wanted as a child.

Minnie is never going to experience that. You love her to the moon and back and you let her know at every turn.  You show her in every way you can think of that she is your world. 

You don't expect Matt to feel the same way you do, even if you are pretty sure he's already head over heels for his daughter. You know he must be extremely busy running his own firm, but you hope you'll be open to your idea of spending this time together. Lunch on Saturdays, then coming to the park. It's a perfect little outing. 

You make a mental note to ask him.

Minnie is efficient in her setting up. She spreads out the blanket, making sure it's laid out flat. Then she brings her backpack over and pulls out her notepad and crayons and the cutest thing is she is narrating all by herself.

"And I brought bubbles, too! And my sunglasses!" She shows Matt her stylish Barbie sunglasses before unfolding them and putting them on. "We match!"

"We match?" He confirms, his voice getting a touch soft. 

"You match," you say with a smile. "Her glasses are a little more pink than yours. And cat eyed."

"Mommy, put on yours too!" Minnie requests, and who are you to deny her? You pull your sunglasses out from your purse and perch them on your nose.

"Now we all match," you tell Matt with a bit of a shy smile. Your little one loves to feel included and dressing like you is one of her favorite ways to do that. You have a feeling it will be no different once she gets closer to Matt and she will start to mimic him more. The glasses are just the first step. 

Of course, Minnie doesn't register that her sweetness is having an emotional effect and continues on by pulling one of her many paper maps out. You're lucky that such things are out of style - it makes them extremely cheap. You bought a bunch of random map booklets online for about twenty dollars and giving them to her was a bigger event than Christmas. 

You watch her unfold it and lay it out on the blanket and can't help but smile. You lean towards Matt to update him once you realize Mouse has distracted herself and has stopped talking. 

"She brought one of her maps with her and now she's trying to figure out which way to turn it. I think it's safe for us to go over now." 

You unlock the stroller and offer your arm out to Matt, letting him know you have done so. He gently takes your elbow, and you lead him the few feet into the grass. He uses his cane to find a free space to sit and lowers himself to the ground, somehow managing to sit legs crossed despite his tight slacks. You angle the stroller, so Scooby and Pig are watching over you before joining everyone else on the ground.

Attention turns back to Matt as you settle. Minnie looks over to him, her smile lighting up. She moves to be between the two of you, crawling on her knees to do so. 

"There's duckies by the water," she tells Matt as she plops back down.

"Would you mind telling me about them?" He asks, voice taking on just a bit of emotion. You know it's something Mouse can't pick up on, but it makes your heart sing a little bit. Seeing Matt react to your daughter and how much he wants to interact with her makes you emotional in all of the best ways. 

You turn a little so you can get a better look at the fountain - there are some ducks milling about and you are extremely curious how Minnie is going to describe them to Matt.

"They are over there!" She points to the fountain, then to your great surprise, uses her non-pointing hand to take Matt's hand and over her own. He seems stunned as well, as it takes him a few beats before he starts to feel over her little fist and discovers which way, she is directing his attention. 

"That way?" He confirms, motioning in the same direction. 

"Uh-huh, and there's…there's one. Two. Three. Four! There's four ducks," she counts, moving her hand to try and show him where each duck is. Only they are grouped pretty close, so you don't know how helpful that is. It's the thought that counts.

"You're really good at counting," Matt praises and your little one lights up.

She puffs up her chest and proudly declares, "I can count to six."

"You can count to six?" He repeats, sounding in awe. You really don't know if it's genuine or played up, but either way you find yourself grinning. 

She answers in the affirmative before starting to describe the ducks. They are more brown, but she tells Matt they are yellow. You don't correct her - you want Minnie to describe things to Matt in her own words and get comfortable with it. You can ask him later if those little details are something he wants depicted as accurate. For now, you let Mouse and Matt bond. 

She drops his hand once she's done showing him exactly which duck is which, then jumps into actions. "They are sitting and brushing their flappies with their nose. Mommy says that is their bath."

"That's right," you affirm, "they don't have a bathtub, so they use their beaks to clean their feathers." You always try to relate new concepts back to things Minnie will understand. She gets she has to brush her hair to keep it clean and not tangled and you told her feathers are like the ducks' hair, but their brush is their beak.

"Ducks are stinky and need lots of baths," she tells Matt with lots of confidence. She's never told you the ducks smell bad before, so you are amused by this new information. "Dogs are stinky, too. But not Scooby, he's not stinky."

"I think dogs are stinky, too," Matt says in agreement, this little smile starting to grow on his face like he and Minnie share a secret. The knowledge they have something else in common spurs your daughter on.

"There's a doggie over there," once again, she picks up Matt's hands and directs him towards a nearby couple with their dog. "He looks like a snowball. And that doggie," she points them another way and you have a feeling Mouse's new goal is to make sure Matt knows all the animals in the park. 

You take this opportunity to get your phone out so you can write out your notes. But, first, of course, you snap a few candid photos of Minnie sitting beside her father, hand and hand, talking about dogs. You catch a one you will definitely want to print and hang - Minnie beaming up at Matt mid-sentence while he looks like he is enthralled by every word. You can't help yourself and also record her telling him about an old fat dog someone is walking. 

You are sure you'll want to look back on this moment in a few years’ time.

Or maybe tonight.

You have to pull yourself away from the camera app and force yourself to switch to your notes. You already have something going for things you need to buy and start adding to it, half listening to the pair beside you. There is so much you want to write; you feel like you type non-stop for five minutes straight before you open up the web browser on your phone to see the price of the items you want. 

Things aren't as disgustingly expensive as you expected them to be, but you will still need to rearrange your budget a bit. You shouldn't need to dip into your savings if you put one or two things on your credit card, if your mental math is adding up. Of course, things might get more costly depending on quality - you are never one to skimp on that. 

You are going to have to do a lot more research. There is probably a forum somewhere that will give accurate reviews of products and you'll probably find things to buy you hadn't even thought of yet. 

You debate starting that search on your phone. At least until you notice Minnie is starting to tilt her head so she can rub her ear against her shoulder. You have told her she can't put her fingers in her ears after she managed to cut the inside of one with her nails and it got infected. This behavior is new, so you put your phone down and address it.

"Does your ear itch, Mouse?" You ask, thinking maybe her hair is tickling her or a bug got on her. 

"The boom-boom is too loud," she says with a pout, and you have no idea what she is talking about. The park is relatively quiet - no one is playing music and the river is clear of boats. But if your baby is saying something is too loud and it is hurting her ears, you are going to listen to her. She knows what she is experiencing, and you don't. You never want her to dismiss something that is hurting her.

Matt cocks his head to the side, his smile turning down into a frown, "The boom-boom? Which way is that coming from, sweetheart?"

Minnie, still holding onto Matt's hand, points towards the seating area by the river. There are a few people sitting there - but they are not making any sort of ruckus. 

It doesn't matter to you - you fish the pair of noise canceling headphones you always have on you out of your purse. You unfold them and gently put them over Minnie's ears. She squirms before finally letting go of Matt to fuss with their positioning. 

"Is that better, honey?" You ask, gently rubbing her back, hoping to give some comfort. She pushes at her eyes with the back of her hand before nodding. She takes a few moments to adjust then your little one turns and crawls her way into your lap, burying her face against your neck and hugging onto you. You wrap your arms around her, starting to rock in hopes it will make any lingering aches go away.

Matt is facing towards the direction Minnie said the loud noise was coming from, his brow wrinkled and openly scowling now. For someone with such a joyful smile, his unhappy face is a little terrifying. 

"I put her noise canceling headphones on," you tell Matt. He jerks to face you, his expression relaxing into something more concerned than angry. 

"Is she okay?" 

"She will be. She's crawled into my lap, and it takes her a few minutes to get used to the headphones. She might get a little fussy if whatever was bothering her is still going, but she'll be okay." You kiss your daughter's hair before looking back to Matt. "I don't know what triggers it or what she can hear that I can't, but the headphones help." 

"Does this happen often? Needing the headphones?" He asks and there is something in his voice that makes you feel like this is an important issue to him. His worry is almost tangible. You remember your phone call and his apprehension when you mentioned Minnie's sensitivities. It feels like you something you should review together when Minnie is preoccupied, and you can have more privacy. 

"Enough that I bring them with me when we go out. There's always sirens going off and if they are close, they hurt my ears, so I imagine they hurt hers." You rub your hand in a soothing motion over Minnie's back. She's leaning heavy into you, and you wonder if all her excitement has drained out of her after this upset. 

"Have you mentioned it to her doctor?" Matt asks, cautiousness in his voice like he's worried he's overstepping. You want to tell him he's allowed to ask these questions, but now is not the time.

"We did a hearing test, but they were only concerned if she couldn't hear, not if she was hearing too much. She hasn't gotten any ear deformities or any other medical problems with her ears, so they just sent us on our way, saying she'll grow out of it. She says the headphones help, but you can hear me just fine, can't you, Mouse?"

She nods against your neck, mumbling into your skin, "I don't like the doctor."

"I know, baby. I'm sorry." You give Matt a sad smile, "I think they are just too big for her. But she can play in them and hear me still, so I try to think of it as a plus?" 

"A plus?" He asks, brow scrunching up slightly. Again, he doesn't sound judgmental, only curious. 

You shrug, "I don't know, thinking of everything so negatively all the time is draining, so I just try to even out the pro-con list. Like, sometimes she'll wear them when we are here and I can go sit on the bench, but if I call out to her, she hears me. I can let her be a little independent, but she's still safe. I can be three feet away instead of right on top of her. When I wear my earphones, I can't hear anything at all. So, they help but don't block everything out? When she gets bigger, we can find ones that fit better. And she gets a cute little accessory and we get to make the little sleeves together. There are so many cute headphones, too..." 

You trail off, unsure where you are going with your little explanation. You aren't even sure it makes sense. Matt's still got a strange little frown on his face and you don't know if it's from how Minnie is acting or from how you are handling everything. You have to bite your lip to keep you from continuing on, rambling about how your daughter's sensitivities will never be a burden. 

Matt wets his lips with his tongue, and he starts to pick at the hem of his pants. It's a small insight to how he is feeling, and you don't know what to do, so you just keep rocking Minnie.

"After I lost my sight, I only had a few months with my dad," his voice is so soft, you can just barely hear him, but you are so focused on it. "It was hard on him, harder on him than it was me. He didn't know how to help me; he didn't know how to get the resources - not that a lot was available to us. But he tried, you know? He really did…and when I lost him, it felt like I lost that, too. I mean, the social workers and nuns were there, I wasn't neglected, but…it wasn't the same." He angles his head towards you, motioning to his ears. "And I know this isn't the same situation, a sense being sensitive versus losing one completely, but you being so in tune with her needs, it reminds me of my dad." 

You can't imagine how high of a praise that is and you feel yourself turning pink. Matt ducks his head, this shy little smile on his face like he knows how touched you are. 

"It is what she deserves," you mumble. You want to push past your own awkwardness, so you clear your throat and default to questions you already have in your mind. "Do…you want to do this again? Next Saturday?"

His head jerks up in surprise and a smile blooms across his face. "I would love that."

"Love that," is grumbled against your neck and right away you know Mouse is going to need her nap soon. Once she starts mimicking like this, it is only a matter of time before she is conked out and you rocking her is only luring her closer. 

Matt looks completely over the moon by the comment, and you dare to push just a little bit. "I was thinking…maybe we could make this a thing? Saturday lunches?"

Matt licks his lips then nods, his grin just getting bigger and bigger, "Yes, yeah. That would be…yeah." He seems a little overwhelmed by the thought, but in a good way. Like he didn't think it was a possibility. 

He rubs his hand over his mouth, then tilts his head so it appears he's looking down at the little girl half asleep in your lap, "I want that. I want…this. I want it to be official." He drops his hand, "You said we need to do a doctor's appointment. What would be after that?"

"They have over the counter ones now, but I think that would be best. Then…altering documentation and stuff, at least, officially and legally." You don't want to get into the discussion of rights and such at the moment and Matt seems to be on the same page. He's a lawyer, so it must be occurring to him. "I'll, um, contact the doctor and ask when we could come in."

Fingers brush against your thigh and you look down to see Matt offering out his hand. Hesitantly, not knowing what he wants, you take it. Gently, he squeezes your fingers, then starts running his thumb over your knuckles. 

"Thank you. For finding me. For this. For her. I thought God had showed me what my path should be, but I think I was foolish for thinking He was done with me just yet," Matt says, voice so soft and fond. "He was just preparing me for this."

The religious talk makes you flush - you don't remember if you've ever actually been in a church before - but it seems important to Matt, so you gently squeeze his fingers back, and as usual, say the first thought that crosses your mind. "I thank God for her every day. Somedays, I really do think she is Heaven sent." 

"Our gift from God."

You fall into a comfortable silence, you holding Mouse as she gets limper and limper against you, and Matt beside you, a little breeze blowing his hair a bit and somehow making him look ethereal. You have to tear your eyes away from him - even if he is blind and you are wearing sunglasses, it is rude to stare. Instead, you focus on the ducks.

They are still cleaning their feathers, but now one has started to quack occasionally. The ambient park noises are almost relaxing, and you find yourself thinking maybe, just maybe, all of this is going to be okay. Maybe, the world won't spiral out of control now that Matt is in your life. Maybe, you'll just keep having nice Saturdays at the park until Minnie decides it's too uncool to spend the day with her mom and dad and wants to hang out with her friends instead. 

But that won't come for a very long time. Right now, you'll sit holding hands with the man who changed your life forever and the little angel you have both been blessed with. 

a/n:

yes matt, god dropped a building on you to make you a better dad

tags:

@midnightreids @cloudroomblog @yeonalie @thychuvaluswife 

@dorothleah @mattmurdocksstarlight @mars-on-vinyl @mywellspringoflife @sleepdeprived-barelyalive @simmilarly @soupyspence @darkened-writer @akila-twt

@murc0ckmurc0ck @groovycass @sumo-b98 @just3rowsing @tongueofcat @zoom1374

@theclassicvinyldragon @aoi-targaryen @lunaticgurly @nikitawolfxo @shireentapestry @snakevyro @yondiii @echos-muses @honeybug-victoria @the-bisaster @ristare @mrs-bellingham @eugene-emt-roe @cometenthusiast @stevenknightmarc @hunnybelha @

Specialagentjackbauer @yarrystyleeza @ofmusesandsecrets @mayp11-blog@danzer8705 @thinking-at-dusk @remuslupinwifee @akila-twt

[12woso12]

Dorothy lands in North London - Part 6

Part 5

I know it's been quite the build up to meet all the players but trust me it's coming :) A short chapter ahead, sorry!

Once you had bid goodbye to Jonas, Jennifer wasted no time in dragging you pitch side. It was there that you experienced just how much went into announcing new signings as you met the rest of Jennifer and David's team and crew members. They took long videos of you walking pitch side and sitting among the thousands of seats in the stadium, you couldn't wait to hear them roar to life on match days.

'Here' Jennifer approach where you were seated with a box in hand. 'New pair of boots for the day, wanna give them a try?'

'Hell yes' you said excitedly ripping open the box to find a pair of pink Nike phantoms laying in wait. You grinned and held them up to the camera examining with glee the way your initials and number were engraved into the side. 'Fucking fantastic aren't they?'

'Language!' Jennifer exclaimed 'We'll have to mute that Y/n'

You glanced at her sheepishly before pulling the boots snuggly over your feet.

'Perfect fit.' You weren't ashamed to admit that you went through football boots like a Foxes through chicken. They never usually lasted longer than a few months before they were falling apart of the seams, maybe it was the rough tackles or the way you liked to knee slide but you weren't all that sure. It was a shame considering how much you loved your new pair.

As you got up from your seat and made your way back down to the grass an Irish voice abruptly stopped you in your tracks.

'There's me new protege'

You turn to see Katie McCabe sauntering out the tunnel. The Irish Captain was also decked out in an Arsenal kit and she dragged a ball bag behind her.

'Katie' She introduced herself, dumping the balls at your feet.

You decided instantly that you liked the girl. You'd be lying if you said you didn't admire her style of play, it was incredibly similar to your own right down to the risky tackles and red cards. From what you'd seen in videos online, you were also pretty sure she'd appreciate your humour.

'I know who you are' You began ' Katie Robinson, right?'

A look of shock crossed Katie's features for a moment before she cackled loudly. 'Got a mouth on ya, don't ya?'

You shrugged. 'That's what they all say'

Jennifer inserted herself into the conversation. 'Okay, now we can get started'

'Started?' You frowned

'On the video."

You shook your head. 'Then what've we been filming for the last half hour?'

Jennifer shared an amused glance with Katie. 'Just some little snippets and shorts for social media, some of it might make the cut for our main video but it's going to be something a little different and i think the fans will really love it' She beckoned you and Katie to follow her over to the nearest goal where the crew had began to set up large cameras.

'That's why i'm here kid, the fans love me' Katie joked to which you sniggered.

Ignoring the Irish defender, Jennifer continued. 'The whole concept is based around reputations, people hear Katie's name and they think passionate, fearsome, daring, dangerous and your name carries that weight too. So we're gonna play onto that, teams aren't just going to have to deal with one McCabe now, but two.'

You liked that idea. You thought it made you sound tough, like you were built to handle anything.

'We're gonna be bringing the danger kid, me and you'

You smirked 'I think your face alone is scary enough'

Katie shook her head. 'I'm going to have to keep an eye on you aren't I?'

'As long as it's not when i'm in the shower' You countered

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at you as Katie just laughed. 'Stop saying things like that Y/n'

You held your hands up in surrender, you were surprised at how easily you'd managed to fit in already. It was a calming feeling, it made you more at peace with your new life in England despite only arriving a day earlier.

'Kyra's taken a liking to ya' Katie said suddenly as Jennifer wondered away with David to deal with a lighting issue. 'Came through the door at 7 this morning covered in mud but grinning like a mad man'

'Yeah, Emily wasn't too pleased with me about that'

Katie shrugged. 'That's valid, at least Kyra left me a note...even if i couldn't exactly decipher her hand writing.'

'Well I'll know for next time.'

'Next time?' Katie rolled her eyes 'Fantastic'

You honestly couldn't wait to see Kyra again. 'It's good to know someone my own age over here, most of my friends are back in the States'

'Any boyfriend...or girlfriend?' Katie teased

'Not anymore' You answer cryptically but before Katie can respond Jennifer is rushing the two of you into position in front of the camera.

'ACTION'

[cheshire387]

Luffy

Uses the pokeballs that he finds the coolest looking, usually fastballs.

Chimchar just seems like the best starter option for Luffy, other being Grookey but I went with a fire type. There is several monkey pokemon that could be on his team, maybe he has them in the box.

Scizor and Heracross because Luffy loves collecting bugs, plus Scizor, Clobbopus and Breloom all fight using punches. Also Breloom has a hat and a shiny version is red.

Fighting type is also fitting for Luffy.

Talonflame as a reference to red hawk move.

Zoro

Doesn't care about pokeball types so uses plain npokeballs, with the exception of cherishball that holds Kuina's Gallade. Only has 3 pokemon, cause, you know.

All three pokemon seem selfexplanatory why I picked them for Zoro? Gallade's story was here.

He easily went through rock and grass gyms with Treecko and Charcadet but got stuck at fighting gym because of Kuina.

Nami

Uses luxuryballs, probably stollen.

Found shiny Purrloin in a trash as a kid and took it home. Has a team of sneaky cats with Meowth being a lucky charm in their heist.

Castform and Wingul as a reference to her navigation skills/role in canon.

Nickit could be on the team but I thought it'd fit Karina more with the whole cat and fox dynamic. Done it here.

Usopp

Bug collector and uses netballs, probably has every bug pokemon and a few shinies in the box.

His Heracross often spars with Luffy's.

Doesn't collect badges but somehow ended up earning one in a ghost gym.

Probably has Smeargle and Kecleon in the box.

Sanji

Is a sea cook so he fishes a lot, uses lureballs, diveballs and netballs, which is funny because I forgot to give him a water type on the team let's just say he has them in a box. He feeds wild pokemon.

Blaziken is just a pokemon version of Sanji pretty much and Tsareena seems right for his team… for several reasons.

Alcremie is just one of the many food related pokemon that Sanji probbaly has.

Ninetails and Zorua mainly because Sanji assosiates with a fox for me, been thinking of Alolan Vulpix line and Hisuian Zorua line as options too, but went with fire type because of Sanji's moves and a dark type for how sneaky he usually is during story arcs.

Gardevoir as a counterpart to Zoro's Gallade.

Been thinking of giving him Skiddo because of Oda's words that Sanji's animal self would be a goat and grass types just seemed fitting with all the ingredients that grow on themselves? Maybe a flying type too.

[paintedstories]

Y/n was tired of being stuck in the castle, Only being known as the king and queen’s daughter. She wanted to experience the world, So she snuck into the village and met hwang hyunjin, Local troublemaker and peasant. Kinda a jack and rose plot where they don’t like each other at first, but y/n keeps going into the village and they eventually fall for each other, Hyunjin sneaks into the castle during a party and they fuck each other in her room trying not to alert the guards. And also hyunjin being like a huge perv towards reader but in a charming way😭😭

pleaseeee I NEED THIS from ur beautiful mind🙏🏽💕💕

PHILOPHOBIA

♥: Thank you for the request and kind words! 💋💌

⚠: cussing ; weapons; almost caught up s3x ⚠: This is an AU meaning the SKZ band does not exist, and Hyun-Jin does not know any of the members. ⚠: Reader is a female 🚺 She/Her ⚠: Peasant Hwang Hyun-Jin x Royal reader ⚠: SMUT ⚠: Master list 📃 halter*= the design of the top of the dress(go search it up it'll help visualise better)

"Fuck it, I'm done with all this bull-shit," the Daughter of the golden king said to herself, she hated being perfect in the peasant's eye, hated being the pretty image of her mother gold and father golden, hatred was a small word for the sentiment she felt for her family, whom wanted to marry her for money. Dreadful washer life to say the least.

While looking outside the beautiful floral decorated garden an idea came up to her beautiful head, which everyone thought was all but mischief, only innocence could be seen through her eyes, which was a good advantage in the big castle when she had to lie her way out.

And this is how she is in this situation, lying to her father about going to sleep faster than usual and pleading with him to let her leave before the royal dinner, is not like it was something special, just her, her mother, and her father.

Fortunately, he agreed, as she tried to contain the excitement in her eyes she got the front of the dress in her hands and rapidly walked to her room, chuckling slightly when her dad ordered her to walk like a lady.

Closing the door to her room and getting the gown that she had with her own "incapable" regal hands made so she will look like the other peasants. Putting her hair in a messy ponytail and getting the leather shoes she made so the fit will be a total success she looked in the elegant golden framed mirror to see herself, unrecognizable she thought with a smirk. Finally, she will see the world, finally!

Climbing from her beautifully decorated window full of drawings she made of flowers and happy couples who found love by destiny not by the force of family she smiled and jumped on the branch from the big old tree from her childhood that stayed in front of her window as a welcome to escape the prison her golden family called the perfect home and finally be free, for a little while sadly.

Looking down from the tree while making the dress shorter by folding it in a spiral mode and knotting it at the front she jumped on the next tree and the final one that had the branch thick enough to go and jump from the tip on the big stone made barrier that kept her away from the world for so long.

the click of her leather shoes was heart on the rounded stones from the so called unbreakable golden fence.

Her hopes were almost taken away when she saw how far the imperial village was, but seeing a horse-drawn carriage, fortunately, by a peasant and not one of the guards, she jumped on the dirt path and walked rapidly to the peasant while fixing her dress and asked the very kind old man if he could leave her in the center of the village.

the man smiled and gestured for her to go and sit next to him, the man looked kind had blue eyes and a crispy-looking beard, he was bald and had a sun hat that was made of dried hard leaves, the traditional, and in the carriage was dried grass.

They talked and she asked where he was from, she found out he lives in the out-gate of the village but he had work in the center, that's why he accepted to let her come with him.

She found out that he had a beautiful wife and unfortunately event of her miscarriage, but they still hoped and prayed to god to give them a child. She was happy that the first person she meet was so kind, and on the 30 minutes of her listening to the poor man talking about his life, she silently prayed for all the happiness to come to him, when they arrived she hugged him and left the man shocked and smiling as she waved to him and ran to the deeps of the center, where all the people where.

Then she saw a guy with long black hair and dirty white clothes steal from a lady that was paying attention to three singers in the middle, the angry girl ran after him screaming.

"Hey you coward come back, stop stealing!" she screamed after him and when he turned on his track to look at the screaming girl he got annoyed and angry, who was she to scream after him!?! he just glared at her and showed her the middle finger while he kept running, thinking he will lose her and eat the sweet he stole from that hag, little did he know that she was trained and she had the stamina of a soldier. when he thought he lost her he turned to look behind him while jogging and saw that she was still running after him.

"What THE FUCK! WOMAN, STOP FOLLOWING ME" he screamed while he continued to run and slowly start to gasp for air, realizing that he was going nowhere he jumped onto wooden casks, but when his foot touched the cask he flew on the floor, as they were empty and very old, meaning, very fragile.

She watched as he fell on his ass grunting and rubbing his back, she then rush walked to him and punched him in the face. "what was that for?!" he screamed while rubbing the part of his face where she punched him. "for being a coward thief and not getting a job like normal humans and living in poverty because you're lazy and a coward" she repeated the word coward to him twice because of the anger she felt, she hated cowards, and hated thief's even more!

"How can you live like this!" she screamed at him. He truly didn't know the answer himself, for a second you could see the pain in his eyes as he registers the harsh words of the girl.

"fuck off, you don't know anything... stupid woman" he pushed her off of him and then handed her a hand to get up and she, unfortunately, accepted, when she got up half a meter he let her hand go and she fell with a squeak, cute, he thought before shaking bis head and smirking while gesturing to her that now she could trust him by grabbing his hand but he did not grab it, instead she swatted his hand away with anger "fucking peasant" she muttered under her breath while getting up and leaving the boy dumbfounded.

she started walking away from him, mumbling to herself while patting the hem of her dress and sleeves.

but he wasn't having none of her stubborn attitude and with his long feet slowly walked to her, with a mischievous smirk.

"you're new here, never seen such a stubborn lady around here," he said while grabbing her by the waist. Swatting his hand away and walking further ahead without responding to him. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead, feeling annoyed about the girl not being like the others.

Y/n decided to ignore the boy, as she said in her mind.

"he is not worth enough to deal with, I have to see other things than talk with a thief" and she continued her adventure through the village, for another 1 hour and a quarter when she came back to the castle fortunately with the same man as when she left, she found out he goes to the village every day. "perfect," she thought, she will sneak out and go with the man.

for the past three days, Y/n kept sneaking out, of course, her family thought it was weird how all of a sudden she was happy, but glad she was they did not disturb her with unanswerable questions.

as the day's passed of the beautiful girl sneaking out of the palace in the village, sometimes (quite often) meeting with the handsome boy, whose name was Hwang Hyun-Jin, she found out after an unfortunate encounter of him bumping into her the 100th time, she could confidently say, he became more and more annoying, she hated him and knew he hated her too, always pinching her waist or taking a bit of her hair and yanking it. He was the dear devil.

it was the 35th day of her sneaking out, keeping track of her sneakings was always good, of course very well hidden under a plank of wood of her floor.

the sneaking went as it always went, no one said, saw, or discovered anything, or she thought so.

but while being in the village, walking without any thought where, she started thinking about tomorrow's party, again needing to act as the perfect spoiled princess, glad could say she was that only royals would be, but as fast as she entered her thoughts a rather someone or a one rather annoying Hwang interrupted her thoughts. "Oh hello ~ There princess" he purred in her neck as he circled her, how did he know?! she thought scared but without showing an expression.

"Come on Princess, I've known from our first encounter, knew something was different with you," he said while sneaking his arm around her shoulder making her feel trapped. "and what if I am?!" she said annoyed. "nothing, nothing, just curious what a spoiled princess would want to do around here" rolling her eyes she swatted his hand away and went back to the man who she saw was going to his horse carriage and hoped in with a huff after of course greeting the old man.

Laughing slightly the man made the horses start walking and in no time she was at the back of the palace after he left she started climbing on her spot, but little did she know that a certain someone was watching her.

and as fast as that, the next day came and everyone was on alert to get ready, themself and the party.

and as the days always pass, the party came too, after the dinner, where she should have been, she could excuse herself in her room, as always, only the face, nothing more, only a pretty face.

Walking towards her room in the annoyingly long hall while huffing she finally arrived in her room and after closing the door and lighting a candle as it was getting dark she heard shuffling from her window when she turned to look around she almost screamed but the stranger slapped his hand accidentally too hard around her mouth while turning her around with her back to his chest.

"shh princess, we don't want anyone hearing us now do we?" he said, his breath tickling her neck sending shudders down her spine. "what, do you want?"

she manages to mutter after removing his hand from her mouth. "Oh, nothing sweetheart, I just, came here to get a taste from the mysterious girl" he smirked behind her while he kept holding the scared aroused girl in his strong grip, making her feel trapped.

He took her breath away when she was thrown into her bed by the man, and started kissing her hungrily, he told himself that if she wouldn't kiss him bake he would leave her, but she started kissing him and grabbing his hair.

When the girl started moaning, he knew he could continue.

Smirking into the kiss he motioned to her that he wanted her Halter, when she nodded he removed it and started kissing her chest making her whimper, slowly sliding down to grab the corset and untie it from behind her after making her stand in a sitting position and freeing her from the dress.

Seeing her naked body made him even more hungered by the girl. Kissing her softly on the lips then going down to her chest and tummy like a starved man, making you whimper and shakily call his name. "shh, sweetheart, don't let them hear you" he smirked while moving his hand down to your undergarments making your legs close. "no need to close your legs on me, I desire to see all of you, my dove" he said then slowly entered her making her whimper. " I love you my dove, every since- ngh fuck- I saw you" Her eyes widened, and cummed instantly after hearing him confess to her, he started pounding into her harder after feeling her clench on him and hearing her heavenly moans, few more thrusts and he got out cumming on her stomach while his eyes rolled to the back of his head and whimpered then let half of his weight fall on your body.

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

"mistress is everything alright, I heard a moan of pain."

"oh n-no Brunhilde I just stumbled my toe to the leg of the bed, haha you know how clumsy I get when I'm tired, no need to check on me, you can leave, and tell the others not to disturb me as I'm going to my much-needed slumber!* she said trying o sound normal. only if her maid knew what happened. fortunately the maid left, leaving the two alone.

"so mistress what are we?" he said with a smirk moving his face at the crock of her neck and kissing her while leaving a hickey at the back of her neck not visible when having her hair down.

"I don't know, my father would never let me marry you..." she said with sadness in her voice and eyes.

he hugged her back to his chest and kissed her naked shoulder while moving his left hand soothingly on her waist up to her underboob and down to her ass.

"lets run" he said with devotion in his voice.

OH my god hi love!!

I'm sorry for responding so late but I loved the ask so much that I had to remake it 3 times haha.

If you liked it please reblog, it helps a lot ♥

[sparklingcid3r]

wut do u think is the biggest thing each of the brothers worry about the others. like what is darrys genuinely biggest worry about soda and pony? and vice versa?

This is such a creative question so I want to give it all my own creativity, which means I’m not gonna take the easy way out and say anything about Vietnam 🙏

I think Pony’s biggest worry when it comes to Darry and Soda is just being left alone. I might be taking from “Death’s at my Door” but honestly it fits Pony well enough on its own. He’s thirteen and starting a new section of his life in high school. Ik when I started high school I was pretty scared shitless of literally everything. I can’t imagine having to do that and then just a few months later, his parents die. And yeah, Darry can take care of them, but in doing so he sacrifices his role of brother to split it with that of a father. And from Pony’s perspective, Darry just isn’t the same person he was before the accident, so in his eyes he pretty much has lost his brother, at least the part that he was close with (before the events of the book yk yk). But after the book, he knows that him and Darry have come to an understanding, and it makes him way more afraid of Darry dying like their parents or just straight up leaving them. And everyone knows that Pony worships the ground Soda walks on and the air Soda breathes, and after Johnny’s death, he kind of becomes the only one Pony feels he can be the most vulnerable to. They’re so close that they willingly share a bed and discuss things like their parents, Darry, Sandy, etc., and also I have this thought rattling around in my head that Pony can’t sleep soundly if he goes to sleep in his bed and Soda isn’t next to him. Like he can sleep fine on the couch or in the lot on his own, but when he’s in bed he just is constantly waking up and throwing fits in his sleep when Soda’s weight isn’t on the other side of the mattress.

Soda’s biggest fear is honestly that Darry and Pony never reconcile, or that they promise they will and just aren’t able to. He doesn’t want either of them to go no-contact with each other, not for his own sake, but because they really are the only family they got left and family clearly means so much to Soda. Losing everything makes people fight, which makes them bitter, which is no better than dead. But also Soda’s seen sides of both his brothers that Darry and Pony haven’t seen about the other. Soda’s the one helping Darry figure out groceries and chipping in with taxes and the bills, helping them keep their heads above water. He understands exactly why Darry is the way he is, and respects him for making the hard decisions that Soda would never be able to make. On the other hand, Soda’s the one Pony goes to for emotional support. He’s the one who calms Pony down from nightmares, he’s the one teaching Pony how to pick up chicks, he’s the one making sure the gang treats Pony right and not like some baby. Soda loves his brothers so fiercely, them not being able to understand each other just rips him up inside. The idea of Pony and Darry hating each other enough to completely abandon their bond would just ruin him.

Darry is kind of unique enough to say a bunch of general things. Like duh of course he’s scared of the idea of his brothers being killed by a Soc or getting into an accident, anything that happens to them is on him and him alone. But if we’re going to be more introspective, I think the idea that neither Soda or Pony would be able to leave Tulsa—or even have the option of leaving Tulsa—would kill him. He knows that Soda probably wouldn’t mind living and dying in his hometown, and if that’s his choice then so be it, but he knows Pony was made for more than what he was given. It’s why he pushes so hard for Pony to excel in school, because he’s capable of reaching for more than the low-hanging fruit of the East side. Darry knows personally that the grass is greener on the other side, and he wants Pony to live there, not just see it. He also knows that Pony’s a better person than he is and doesn’t have to resort to turning himself into a Soc just to advance, which makes it all the more important to Darry that he gets his kid brother out.

Wow I wish I could have said more, I feel kind of underwhelmed by myself lmfao 😭 but this was great!! Tysm for the ask🫶

[welovetesvkaidan]

OPINIONS ON KAIDAN EE/IF???

My honest reaction:

in all seriousness, if you wanna hear me yap about it, more under the cut

warning like, genuinely a ginormous yap, like a HUMUNGOUS, sleep-deprived yap,,, im cursed to be obsessed with skyrim + modded followers instead of touching grass

I think a lot of this is probably gonna be the same thing other people have said, so im sorry

if you feel i'm gonna be bringing up redundant points and get mad at me😓dont read

I haven't experienced and thus won't talk about the versions of EE and IF that are now separate mods from each other. I don't know anything about that.

if they're better now yayyy but this is about pre-separation

I should preface this with the fact that I've played through Skyrim 3 times with different stages of Kaidan EE/IF:

The initial Dawnguard + fixes/miscs mod

Kaidan EE/IF versions before extensive faction/NPC dialogue for Kaidan

EE/IF w/ NPC Dialogue (AKA Fratpack)

I was also part of the two different discords that were purged and created during these intervals. i don't even know if there is a discord currently?

anyway, that is to say that I have experienced the mod and it's behind-the-scenes progress, extensively so I have a pretty good idea of what I liked and didn't like

That being said, I will introduce probably my biggest problems with it: Tonal whiplash

Okay, well the most common complaint is ofc that a lot of the writing is out of character - and I agree. But it's not just ooc on paper, it's his voice too. I swear, it is very jarring hearing hushed, mild og Kaidan 2 voicelines, and then being deafened by EE Kaidan SCREAMING in my ear ALL.THE.TIME. (like... why are you yelling at me rn jeez)

Seriously. I'm not sure why they didn't just re-record everything from the original mod instead of adding more and more contradicting lines on top of the originals. It definitely could have been a standalone mod, and sometimes it almost feels like it is - because he is just so different.

My most infamous moment in my last playthrough with him happened after we defeated the dragon at Kynesgrove. His og Kaidan 2 dialogue played first, in it he shows interest and is cordial about Delphine ("I wouldn't mind prodding her mind" or whatver dialogue), THEN immediately after his Kaidan EE/IF dialogue will play, in which he walks up to Delphine and STARTS YELLING AT HER AND INSULTING HER - like they argue for quite a bit wtf. And it's like, listen, I have my thoughts about Delphine, but whether or not it was okay to yell at her isn't the problem. It would be fine - IF he hadn't just calmly told me he thought she was okay.

It is sooo confusing how he contradicts himself :(

I mean, yeah, fragments of who he is are still there, I can tell it's Kaidan, but he's warped to fit a different character. Like a con-artist Kaidan.

Anyway, besides the contradictions, it also feels out of character because of his established backstory.

Let's go over it: He's an orphan, lost his only connection to his family(his guardian) to drugs, fell into substances himself, joined a violent cult, had to escape said cult, came clean from his addictions, has been traveling Tamriel bounty-hunting, got brutally attacked by the Thalmor, rescued by mere chance. Do you honestly mean to tell me this man would be yelling, pissing, drinking, lewding, and joking his ass off?? After all that???? NO - or maybe not these levels of extreme. (maybe some other dude might, but Kaidan's characterization insists he is a brooding, keeps-to-himself man, even though he never acts like it anymore)

That man should be tired, and he did feel like he was tired in the original. He was more brooding then than he is now, usually silent, but could still have an edge of comedy/wittiness, he was smart, he had been through a lot!

In that regard, EE/IF Kaidan felt like... we are experiencing Kaidan 10 years in the past - like a Kaidan in his early 20s when he was still a drunkard low-key terrible person. He is just so energetic, always yapping - GOD he talks a lot now. ugh but most of the time it wasn't about anything, it was either inside-jokes, meta jokes, and only occasionally did we get things that added to the experience.

For example, I think most of us who have played Kaidan 2 remember at least one specific line he has said while exploring. What comes to mind for me is either "Can you smell the magicka in the air too? Smells like a rainless thunderstorm." or "Watch for the mammoth with the carvings on their tusks, that's how the giants mark their herd." Alright, both pretty nice small talk for characterization (he IS smart) and worldbuilding.

Tbh i can't really remember any iconic lines from the additions of EE/IF Kaidan... the only two lines that stood out for me were: the "elevenses" line from the clip above (started bumping into him every time he was about to say this so he would stfu... total tonal dissonance), and one he said while I looted Lucky Lorenz ("poor sod wasn't as lucky as his namesake would have you believe!") kai HOW do you know this man, and his nickname, who told you that??? (idc about it that much but its like the only other added line i remember)

I thought that maybe his ooc-iness might have been caused due to the collaborative approach of the mod, I think the mod authors created their own perfect Kaidan - and that's good for them! It takes a shit ton of work (Ik cuz i was there!!) But I think the original essence was lost with each addition. It might have been lack of direction for the voice acting too, a lot of the lines might have hit better if they weren't borderline screamed.

Okay, at some point while playing I got so tired of his constant himbo chit-chatter that I tried tuning him out and bringing other npcs from vanilla skyrim as followers. Problem: even without kaidan on your party, everything starts being about kaidan. Because the extension made it so that Kaidan either has history with/character interactions and development with different NPCs from the base game.

The main poor sods that traveled with me:

Erik the Slayer: Apparently was Kaidan's childhood friend, got inspired by Kaidan to become an adventurer. Least egregious in my opinion, they say sweet things to each other. I swear, Kaidan yells more at me than he ever did at Erik.

The Companions: dumb, dumber, and dumbest basically.. This part of EE/IF was also known as "The Fratpack" and y e a h they pretty much had Vilkas, Kaidan, and Farkas acting like immature frat boys all the time. Just,, absulutely taking away all the maturity out of these GROWN ASS MEN. im sorry, i guess i dont get the appeal. I liked it when they didn't behave like teens (Aela im so sorry, you deserved better than being part of this)

Lydia: All she does is simp for him, ALL.THE.TIME. You think she's about to have a meaningful thing to say? nope, she's checking out Kaidan's ass. Think she'll have a deep convo with another npc about one another? nope! she wants them to tell her all about Kaidan. Both the Companions and Erik will either talk down to her or have to deal with her thirst for Kaidan. i had to start leaving her home.

They also suffered from the same tonal whiplash as Kaidan, unfortunately

additionally, the mod added an "early flirt switch" - you could basically toggle Kaidan to start showing romantic affection for the Dragonborn before the amulet of mara., the interactions were good on paper, but everytime he stammered and stumbled over his words it was written in such an unnatural way... pls people don't talk like fanfics lol !!!

I did like that he gave me flowers, my inventory got full of them - but then he noticed how many flowers I had in my inventory and judged me for "picking everything i see" ugh dude you gave them to me, but also even if you hadnt... mind your business lol

Another addition was a feature that basically made it so NPCs could potentially throw flirtatious comments at Kaidan and the Dragonborn (Bishop flashbacks😨)

You can't do anything to defend Kaidan from those comments, but he WILL take it upon himself to defend your honor infront of any men, women, jarls, or criminals that even so much as find you attractive (THIS INCLUDES FARKAS AND VILKAS BTW :( ) by being rude, forthcoming, AND violent. so yea, you can guess the target audience

speaking of which, he definitely comes on too strong on you once you start the romance, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I specifically picked the "go slow" option for the romance, and the next day or two it was him constantly complaining about having to go slow under his breath, how he wanted to do anything but slow rn... and like just, wow. :/ yikeees lmao

Maybe this is the result of "i can fix him" romance ideals? im sorry but I liked him when he was down to earth

Bonus? He comes with a campsite now, which has to be magic because its ginormous and he somehow lugs it around despite it also coming with a whole ass furnace (fine fine i'll hold my disbelief)

anyway I do like it, its basically a player house you can take anywhere (so long as kai is with you ig) also you can have a cat in there

I like that there is an MCM, I like that the MCM lets you get through the quest stages in case you get stuck

I like that he can guide you places, usually he gets stuck in a tree or rock but its the thought that counts

I think if the mod had continued in the vein as its original iteration when it was just audio/bug fixes and included these qol features it would have been better than it is now.

But it seems maybe i'm just not the target audience, and as a young woman I'm really confused as who the target audience is 😓

okay im srry rant over

if anyone else wants me to yap about other kaidan skyrim things also ask or join in cuz i like yapping about skyrim and kaidan to people!!!

[myvi0lentheart]

┈ 🎸 SONIC TEMPLE 5/10

DAY 3: screamo day!!!

fit went the hardest 2day!! i got a lot of compliments & even sm1 asking 4 a picture with me

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🫀 | Nevertel

not a band im familiar with at all but they played at the same stage as ismfof before them, so i got 2 watch them while waiting. i thought they were pretty good

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🫀 | I Set My Friends On Fire

heres a pic of me w the narwhal i brought bc i was too excited to get pics of ismfof 😋

ismfof is my 2nd fav band evr so i have been so excited abt this 4 months now & i wasnt disappointed they were so hype!! there were crowd surfers standing on top of each other & shit it was crayzee

i had so much fun & knew every word but i gave myself whiplash so bad 💔💔💔 ended up giving the narwhal 2 the girl next 2 me & she hugged me :3

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🫀 | Set It Off

i sat in the grass a distance away during most of their set bc i needed to recover from ismfof 😣 but they sounded so good

they opened with wolf in sheeps clothing which was super nostalgic bc i was obsessed w that song when i was little

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🫀 | Scary Kids Scaring Kids

didnt stay 4 their full set bc i wanted a good spot for escape the fate but what i did stay 4 was awesome

dude the lead singer looks NOTHING like how he sounds lmao i was lwk shocked

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🫀 | Escape The Fate

another one of my all time fav bands and they killed it i had sooo much fun! craig was just made 4 the stage i think bc ive seen dead rabbitts and he killed it then too

they played gorgeous nightmare and i flipped out bc thats one of my fav songs evr, its literally the song on my pinned post

there were also like 4 walls of death which was so kewl

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🫀 | The Devil Wears Prada

tbh i dont rlly care for tdwps newer stuff and that was mostly what they played but they closed with hey john whats ur name again and i got rlly excited for that

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— OVERVIEW —

REALLY wanted 2 see silverstein & underoath too but my head was hurting so bad from whiplash that we had 2 leave early :( this was still the biggest day 4 me i think & im soooo happy i got to see ismfof and escape the fate