#but overall it’s been OK! hopefully next year is better lmao

[churbo]

Happy new years everyone! Here is my post for the new year … even if I haven’t really posted this much this year, I’m still thankful for everyone here and in my life… I hope this next year looks upon us with love, fortune, and happiness!

[imaginespazzi]

GH Chapter 6 babyyyyy. Oooh girl, I needed this fluff! Feeling a little down in the dumps as our embryo transfer failed, and honestly this perked me up! No worries though I am remaining positive as we have a few more frozen embryos so we shall try again :) But truly reading this chapter yesterday gave me such a boost! Thank you :) REACTIONS - My only negative feedback/correction is that it is indeed, as easy for a literal child to buy alcohol in eastern Europe as it is to buy coke 😂😂😂 wild place. - The whole sequence of them in the gazebo, P bringing up the date, the angst, anticipation, butterflies brought me back to being 15. Which is a huge feat because girl, it was a while ago lol - "She does none of the above. Instead Azzi kisses Paige back." Oh thank the lord above Azzi Fudd LET YOUR LOINS LEAD YOU and chill a bit - Their hearts talking to each other. What a beautiful depiction of what it would feel like to be kissing your person again after all this time. Although I am firmly in the camp of them having had some sort of physical/sexual interaction either during Ps marriage or after her divorce teehee - “I- I broke your heart. I broke us. How could you possibly want that again. How could you possibly want me again?” AZZI does she have to spell it out in sky writing? She loves you and will always love you and will always want you. Forever. One step forward two steps back with this one eh - "Take it slow and see where it goes and maybe we’ll- maybe we’ll be even better this time.” See Paige is wise. Our dumb blonde is not so dumb when it comes to MATTERS OF THE HEART. And Vagina. - THE RULES. You been spending too much time w/ @pb524830 haha. Hopefully you don't EDGE US TO DEATH like a certain someone did for the first part of PnP. - I wanna know did they like sit down and have a formal conversation about what the rules are? Also what is within the kissing boundary lol Tongue? Little boob squeeze? Giving themselves blue-clits over here. Better buy batteries for their vibrators at Costco prob going through a couple double-As every 3 days. - But in all honestly the thought of them making out on Azzis couch after Stephie is in bed, then having to separate and have Paige go back to her house at the end of the night is very high school and precious and cute. - Ok girl you know the car seat thing was the highlight for me. You put a big smile on my face by including that I LOVED IT. And its pu-ple!!!! cute cute cute cute - “You look really happy today sweetheart,” Tim says softly. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 - Dying at the contrast of Stephie thinking the sun shines out of P's ass and she is the moral and Christ-like center of the universe while Jon and Jose are like um no this bitch is a menace you don't even know - Awwww are the 3 of them gonna sleep in a queen sized bed w/ Stephie in the middle. I can't. Lil family - “you won’t- you won’t run away again tomorrow morning will you?” make me cry again why don't you - I think hearing EVERYONE around her calling P 'Paige' has gotta switch up Stephies name for her at some point. Maybe hearing Drew call her Paigey will influence her? Overall this was such delicious fluff and perfect whisps of angst. Made my day- my week! Thank you for sharing your talent with us. Am I terrified for whats to come? YUP! But hopefully you can preserve our hearts a little bit by keeping up some tender fluff throughout 😭 <3 🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼🤱🏼

Aww bby sending you so much virtual love and hugs. I'm glad this chapter cheered you up and I'm manifesting so hard for it to work next time <3

LMAO I did actually think of this but then was like when would Paige have time to just walk around Minsk and find alcohol lol?

That whole scene is veryy vaguely inspired by my own first kiss so it was actually pretty easy to write and I just channeled my inner 15 year old (been a while for me too) into it

NOT THE LOINS LMAO I had a feeling you'd appreciate the "plot twist"

Azzi's just an overthinker BUT SHE'S WORKING ON IT! In the meantime I guess blondie has custody of their one shared braincell.

LMAO I don't think anyone will ever get to the level of edging that @pb524830 did like she's simply just the queen of sexual tension and making us suffer.

THE CAR SEAT SCENE REALLY WAS FOR YOU SO I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKED IT

I'm so attached to Miss Buecks like I lowkey don't want to have Stephie call her anything else and I can't think of any other original nickname that only Stephie would call her.

[deutoplasmic]

HELLOOO my sleep was good!! my time zone is not actually that far from yours!! its just that my sleep schedule is much worse LMAO

仙侠 fengfan would be so fun omg,,, imagine you’re delirious from dehydration and hunger and you collapse into his arms right in front of his shack and right before passing out you just go “哇… 好帅” AND NOW FENGFAN (who probably hasnt had real human contact for the better part of a century) IS LIKE. WHAT DID THAT MEAN WHAT DID THEY MEAN. WAS THAT FLIRTING. literally while hes nursing you back to health he has to pause and overthink every few minutes

PLS THE PLAYDATE WOULD BE SO FUNNY fengfan would probably be so grumpy for the first half until he finds something in common with masaya and reluctantly opens up,,, then by the next day theyre good buddies with inside jokes and youre just there like. what

i mean im kinda into cpop so theres that! ive watched a good chunk of the idol survival shows and i know some of the actors too. im not really into tfboys or TNT but i have watched some of tfboys’ acting (易烊千玺 in one of his movies which was awesome. and 王俊凯 when he guest starred in that absolutely terrible matt damon movie) but overall im more into idols (mostly 创造营 groups, and also uniq so i know 王一博)

i actually discovered wei daxun through his appearance in an idol show as a guest 😭 i havent watched any of his dramas. but now i kinda want to, just to see if any of them radiate masaya energy LMAO

YEA WE MAKE THE TRADITIONAL ONES FROM SCRATCH >< (well kinda. we use a base syrup from a seller that my family’s sourced from for years. but other than that we make the filling and dough all by ourselves) its so much fun i should really ask my mom if we can buy new molds to make new shapes hehe

omg hi asia pacific neighbour (or as you would probably spell it neighbor) 🙏 glad to hear your sleep was nice!!!!!! hopefully you got at least 7 hours LOL

omg you're like. idk. facing intense famine and decide to find greener pastures so you set off and find yourself in the middle of NOWHERE. and you're like on the verge of death and decide well you've had your time big guy 玉帝 can take you or whatever until . this really unbelievably handsome guy shows up. and hes all billowing robes gorgeous long hair pinned up with shiny jade and you're like well damn ok

overnight friendship for real. they say smth you don't understand before laughing it out and wow what you swear they hated each other before????? in the end masaya gives up the tanghulu life in favour of the worlds best crepes and everyone is happy

omg what was he doing in a MATT DAMON movie LOOOOOL.... everyday i lament the loss of uniq but the career in china yibo has is so much better than what he would've had in korea. i really like seungyoun's solo material too so..... uh....... i will take falling in love 😔 speaking of which what music do you like??? any songs you've been listening to a lot recently????

if you do watch please tell me if he truly does have the masaya energy my irl does not know what a masaya is except that he's part of ini 😰

REALLY THAT IS ACTUALLY SO COOL you guys prolly splash on the duck eggs for them too 🙏 hopefully you find some cool molds!!! and make cool mooncakes!!!!!!!!

[khiphop-discussions]

BOBBY is going to be a father next month and will get married.... he pulled a chen 101....

BOBBY wow!! Not expected. Is going to be a dad

OMG... Bobby is going to be a father and get married soon.

Did you see the news ? Bobby is getting married andd having a baby, i wonder what made him come public about it…. also after listening to both of his albums i was already thinking “this man is lying, aint no way he can write these lyrics and be sooo single like he claims”

Can't believe Bobby just pulled a Chen lmao. Also wasn't excepting him to be the first in ikon to get married/have a baby but here we are

BOBBY is going to be a father next month and will get married.... he pulled a Chen 101

So here's all the asks I got about it! I consolidated it into one!

Yeah, it really is out of nowhere! I'm gonna guess A) someone had the tea and was gonna leak it so Bobby was like "hahah Nah. You ain't finna play me like that" and just did it himself B) He just realized he couldn't really hide it anymore and just told everyone. Kinda hard to hide a child AND a fiancee. People are gonna question why he's always back and forth to the hospital starting in a few months. And then he DEFINITELY would have gotten caught C) he just wanted everyone to know. And Usually idol's can escape their fans wrath if it's a MARRIAGE as opposed to a gf. But it seems like Yunhyeong's got out pretty unscathed when he announced. Also, didn't Jay and DK get connected to someone? I don't think they officially announced but weren't they basically exposed?

idol's dating is a BIT less taboo now due to how many idols have been connected to each other over the years. And honestly, it seems like overall people react better if the idol just comes out and says it as opposed to being exposed. Its kinda weird. I guess cause then fans don't feel like they were purposely deceiving them or something? *Shrugs*

But yeah, now we know where songs like "Liliac" came from! Such a beautiful song! Many on Lucky Man are. I wonder if this was the same girl he was talking about on "Tendae" too? Cause that's the one where I was like "OK there's NO fucking way this didn't happen!" Hopefully not the same one from "Liar" cause AGAIN that HAD to fucking happen LOL

[thursdayforeverafter]

I would love to hear your thoughts on YJS3

sure! fair warning, though, I'm a ranty person by nature so this might end up being a bit long. sorry in advance ♡

anyway! things I liked:

the humor: s3 was pretty funny lmao, theres that whole collection of outta pocket scenes from throughout the season that I find hilarious each time + the humor was a little more dirty which is nice bc the audience has also grown up from the kids they might've been when they watched it on CN

dickbabs!: I'm not a huge fan of dickbabs, I prefer dickkory (no hate to dickbabs stans btw I just vibe more with dickkory) but this dynamic between the two of them was so sweet and well-balanced I couldnt help but squeal everytime they were on-screen

Clark and Conner getting along: them calling each other brothers was so CUTE I canttt

FORAGER: an absolute legend 10/10 freaking love him

That Episode With The Hallucination: mmmmmmm I miss wally. SO MUCH. and the og 6 I was Super Mad about the first timeskip so it was nice to see them all together again🥰

yeah that's about it for things I liked lmao. now time for the Much Longer list of Things I Hated:

HALO: young justice the bar was so fucking low how are you still successfully doing the limbo what the fuck. you take a muslim immigrant in what is VERY CLEARLY a hijab and 1. infantilize her to an exceptionally uncomfortable degree (I KNOW SHE WAS THE MOTHERBOX, I DONT CARE) to the point where she resembles a five-year-old with every sentence she speaks or action she takes 2. you made a visibly muslim girl claim that she's actually no longer muslim, she's just wearing the hijab as some kind of security blanket???? I'm sorry??? what the fuck were you aiming for here exactly 3. why did you have to name her violet harper. what. 4. really?? the immediate romance with brion? What the shit was up with that...you make her Muslim in some aspects like victor not seeing her hair when she brushes it but her LITERALLY making out with brion like I'm sorry what the fuck are you doing??? you had one muslim character and you fucked up so bad holy shit...like...it could've been simple as hell, man, but no...Big Yikes.

M'gann: I've said this before but I really feel like once they introduced artemis m'gann immediately became a side character whose only job is to be villainised again and again even though it doesn't really vibe with her character. Secret teams?? Lying to Conner??? This isn't s3 but that whole thing with their breakup in s2...what the shit are they doing to M'gann, man. I loved her so much in s1, she's literally trying her best after having gone through so much and it's never fully explored...like we get half explanations every season but we're never shown half the shit that we were given for artemis. And by making her the Uncool Girlfriend at points it just looks like they're trying make her easy to hate like what the fuck. no. stop it

The Plot: too overcomplicated, too many characters. It's only season three, why are you introducing Apokolips already. Why are there so many characters?? what's with all the subplots yall were switching location cards every five minutes. And it's so convoluted...like...what was going on with Beast Boy and the monkey-god-doom-patrol-exposition stuff? I can't even remember if there were two granny goodnesses or just the one. All of those meta kids left over from the last season are a cute cast but like...I was so bored??? we know you can do well-written self-contained storylines a la s1, so hop to it, yeah?

THE ANIMATION: ok ok ok so. season 1 and two (one especially) had a very distinct feeling to them and that feeling was very late-2000s Cartoon Network Action Show - the base model for the males and females is the same (like Ben 10 Alien Force) the colors were not dynamic (stayed the same no matter the lighting, lots of cel shading, and generally were realistically colored in the sense that suspension of disbelief was not entirely necessary) CHEEKBONES, gritty textures and purple skies (Batman the Brave and the Bold). overall theres a certain Tone to the earlier seasons that spoke a lot to the animation capabilities of the studios at the time, as well as the general feel of the show. however, season three was a MAJOR downgrade in terms of animation. they made it both simpler and more complicated - they started using their DCAMU animation style which while it does give muscles to the women, adds too many unneeded shadows and a strange stiffness and dullness to every character. There are now extra lines and uncessesary shadows on the face of every character, and their eyes and facial features are almost identical. There's also less highlights, and the hairstyles are way too overcomplicated now to be appealing (see mgann and dick) - the hair is unspeakably dull and and the skin tones and hair colors are painful on the eyes. This isn't even taking into account the shitty backgrounds they've started using (AHEM AHEM ARTEMIS'S KITCHEN) because while the earlier seasons may have had unappealing, mostly empty settings, the characters still fit in to the scene, unlike now.

the lack of sisterhood????: apparently, only artemis goes to see zatanna for her Dr. Fate appointments. Apparently, M'gann barely talks to Artemis after the very tragic apparent death of Wally. the two of them, dare I say even the THREE of them, should be close as hell considering they spent their early years super-heroing together on a team full of boys. M'gann LITERALLY called Artemis her sister in the SAME EPISODE she was introduced, and neither of them had any real girlfriends other than each other at this point. M'gann who fell apart so hard Artemis died in her head that she almost killed them all in her grief. Like. You're telling me, you're SHOWING me that these two aren't each other's support system? Where is the sisterhood, bitch????

Lastly: the costume design. I understand that they're constrained by the need to make it simple enough to animate, but COME ON. if you're going to borrow Diana's DCAMU/JL: War costume, at least keep the metal silver. What the fuck is that green-gold. And Tigress? god DAMN that mask is ugly. Cassie looks like she robbed a goddamn supermarket discount clothing aisle for her outfit. Why is bart's outfit Like That it's so ugly it makes me want to cry. @ young justice costume designers Please Rethink Your Decisions

that's about all I can think of right now. it got REALLY negative whoops, but theres just so much I didn't like about this season :/ hopefully the next one will better ;-;

[urmomification]

WOOO POG DREAM SMP AU

theres 1.8k words and 9,393 characters of a schlatt au below the cut LMAO

[i was rambling to my friend and this is what came out of it! send me an abt it if u have questions i would love to talk abt it more pls]

(slight body horror/gore tw!!)

slams fists on table rattling any dishes on the table au where schlatt doesnt die of a heartattack and tubbo locks him up to rot basically and his horns grow into his eyes effectively blinding him and chained his hands together and basically a leash on him to keep him from moving around in his cell so he cant do anything to break the horns off before they get too long and one day when technos breaking into lmanberg he gets chased into the prison and loses them in the halls before coming across schlatts cell and schlatts calling out like 'whos there i can hear ur foot steps whos there please someone whos there' etc yk and technos speechless they thought they executed him to keep him from causing any more problems in the country but this is this is just much worse than anything he even thought theyd do and hes standing in front of schlatts cell just looking at him as if hes imagining it he knew lmanberg was bad but holy fuck they just let this man rot in a cell to the point of his own horns blinding him and giving him no aid or way to ease the pain so he makes himself known and schlatt 'ive never been so happy to see, well, hear an anarchist in my life, its good to see- hear you technoblade' and chuckles and blood runs down his face like tears would, few drops landing on his clothes before techno starts trying to get into the cell to take him out of there he cant leave him here sure he was an anarchist terrorist w a murder record but he had standards and now that schlatt wasnt in power he had nothing against him really considering he isnt a citizen of lmanberg so he manages to pick the locks enough to get him out of there, schlatts arm slung over technos shoulder they stumble out of the prison building and as they slowly make their way to the nether portal to get back to technos base, they run into tubbo and quackity, schlatts old right hand men and they try to stop techno bc hes well an anarchist terrorist w a murder record but the glare techno gives them levels them and theyre left staring at each other for a moment when schlatt 'whyre we stopped whos there tech' and techno mumbles 'tubbo and quackity schlatt' and schlatt just furrows his brows as far as he can without sending excruciating pain into his eye sockets before he purses his lips and asks 'are they going to try and stop us?' techno looks back at the other two 'no they wont, isnt that right boys?' tubbo and quackity slink away allowing techno and schlatt to the portal and them going thru, schlatt still silent as he tries not to trip over technos cape or off the ledge of the bridge passing over the lava lakes, they make it to the portal and begin the walk across the arctic tundra to technos house, philza isnt there right now so its just the two of them and techno leads him up the ladder to his room (its not really a room i think its just a bed, a bell and an enchantment table) and sits him down on his bed mumbling something abt being right back and he is with some medical supplies and a change of clothes to clean everything up, they dont talk techno works in silence and when schlatt winces he mumbles a small apology before continuing eventually techno got schlatt as cleaned up as you can get someone w horns in their eyes and a sweater to keep him warm and finally starts asking questions 'how long had u been in there' 'lost count' 'did they bring you food' 'a chests worth at the beginning of the month' techno sighs 'i thought they executed you' 'tubbo chickened out despite me being 'an active threat to our peace in lmanberg' and locked me up a few days after u set the withers loose and dropped off a chest of food once a month and most of them refused to talk to me others couldnt even make eye contact with me, other than the few instances where they said things like 'heres ur food' or 'u deserve this' or 'i cant believe tubbo let u live' i talked to no one other than myself for however long i was in there' techno stands and walks around for a moment before flipping some pages and schlatt can hear him gasp quietly in mild surprise 'what is it tech' looking in the direction he heard techno from and techno says, turning to face schlatt on his bed 'schlatt that was almost 3 months ago' a single beat of silence rings for what feels like forever 'oh. i, i didnt think itd been that long. though it would explain my current predicament' loosely gesturing towards his face 'oh right abt that i have a few questions if ur ready to answer some' schlatt hums and techno grabs a pen and paper and sits next to him in case he needs to take any notes for future reference 'how fast do ur horns normally grow' 'idk just a steady amount my whole life pretty much' 'will they ever stop growing' 'they generally stop growing around 30 and continue to grow more in width than length' 'did anyone who brought u food notice' 'they grow quickly and by the time the person w the third chest came around they were getting close to my eyes but they didnt listen to me, no one did' he sighs looking down at would be his hands 'the odds of both of my horns growing into my eyes and blinding me like this are so low but of course it would happen to me' a chuckle void of any amusement 'because losing my country and my people and my power wasnt enough already' techno stands up 'you had that coming' schlatt actually laughs this time, short and curt 'ok fair, u were the one that took me down afterall' and from then on schlatt lives w techno and phil and eventually tommy and then without tommy (tommy was Not happy when he found out that schlatt was living with techno but he needed somewhere to stay too and techno happens to live in an arctic tundra where only a handful of people know how to get to so he didnt complain too much) and eventually techno saws off schlatts horns at the bend adn removes them from his eyes bc if they kept growing into his head theyd hit his brain and kill him on top of blinding  him and techno gags and almost throws up despite not being sensitive to gore  and gives schlatt a bandanna to cover the holes in his head for everyones sake and once they heal somewhat he can find something else out and thats how they live, schlatt helps with what he can like farming w phil but mostly spends his time learning braille or something so he can read and techno gets him books in braille so he isnt bored or alone like he was in the prison and he feeds him and takes care of him and schlatt is funny and entertaining despite being blinded by something from his own body and the torture it was like to rot in a cell alone for almost a 1/4 of a year and nights when techno gets home late and hes shaken and the voices are bad schlatt will sit behind him and play with his hair and talk abt his own day and rub technos back and in return when schlatt relapses and gets violent and angry techno will wash his hair and read him stories until he calms down and hopefully asleep and no one told him the news that wilbur died so when ghostbur shows up and starts talking to him he treats him the same as he would wilbur bc he cant see that hes a ghost all thats different is his speech pattern and overall personality and one day he says 'ur different wilbur what happened to that, i dunno spark u used to have' and wilbur simply 'im not sure if im being honest a lot abt me has changed since i died, or so im told i dont remember much from when i was alive' and schlatt just 0_0 and then hes scrambling down the ladder and stumbling around the house looking for techno, finding him in the basement working on something and when he gets there hes out of breath and his hands are shaking bc holy shit wilburs not only dead but a ghost and he was just talking to me and he doesnt remember what i did and and and and techno is shocked to see schlatt in the basement and asks whats up and schlatt just 'wilbur died wilbur fucking died tech why didnt anyone tell him and now hes a ghost hes a fucking ghost who lives in ur house and doesnt remember anything he doesnt remember that he blew up lmanberg does he he remembers my name but not anything that i did what hes a fucking ghost techno hes a ghost holy fuck' and technos just standing there like ??? no one no one told him 'yea philza had to kill him after he blew up lmanberg i thought u knew thats why i didnt say anything' oh. 'phil, phil had to kill him?' 'yea its a touchy subject, dont bring it up' and simply goes back to what he was working on so schlatt sits on the ground by the ladder and listens to him work his brain going a mile a minute trying to comprehend whats going on 'would i have become a ghost if theyd chosen to execute me?' 'its hard to say im unsure if theres specific circumstances that contribuite to someone becoming a ghost but theres really no telling' and goes back to working yet again and from then on they fall into an easy schedule of techno going out and doing whatever an anarchist terrorist w a murder record does on ur average wednesday and schlatt stays home reading and organizing whatever he can based on size and feeling and sleeping in windowsills and schlatt greeting techno comes home beaten up and full of new resources and a side of bruises and cuts so he tends to them, getting better at maneuvering and functioning without needing to see then techno making dinner and then curling up by the fire for the night enjoying each others company as they talk abt their days :]

[doyouever-daydream]

Friends with Kids.

A/N  I re-watched Friends with Kids for the firs time in years and I came up with this, if you, like me, love rom-coms I highly recommend it, therefore if you don't want spoilers for the movie, go watch it and then come back here to read this! For the sake of the story there might be some OOC moments, don't kill me. Also there are many time-jumps so I hope it’s not too confusing. English is not my first language so bear with me, I try my best, I'm still working on it. I enjoyed writing this so much! I started last month and it was a blast so hopefully you enjoyed it as well, if you did, let me know! Thank you for reading this super long oneshot. P.S. This is the first work of the Movie AU series that I've been planning (if you pay close attention, without intending to I wrote a couple clues about others stories I'm working on (Movie AU's as well) 👀

P.S. 2 You should go and check this post and this post and help if you can ❤

ALSO this is another entry for my @cmbingo​ card, the square is Friends to Lovers.

Summary: After seeing all of their friends having kids, Penelope and Luke decide that since none of them seem to have found their person, they agree to have a child of their own. Having a kid with your best friend can't be that bad, right? (Movie AU: Friends with Kids)

Pairing: Penelope Garcia x Luke Alvez (with a little bit of Jemily 🤭)

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of sex, bad jokes, SLOWBURN, some angst I guess, some grammar mistakes.

Word count: 15410 (y’all told me to post it as a one instalment lmao 🤯🤯🤯)

Masterlist (You can also find this and other fanfics in my AO3 acc )

Luke didn’t need to look up to know that Penelope was finally down in the lobby, the sound of her high heels gave it away, he pocketed his phone and got up, ready to go and meet their friends.

“Hello chica” He kissed her cheek and she returned the gesture.

“Hi newbie, I’m sorry it’s so late, I got caught up at work, let’s go”

“After you” Once they were outside their apartment building, they called a cab, eager to get to the restaurant and catch up with their friends.

“How was work?” Penelope asked him as she put on lipstick.

Luke shrugged “Same as usual, nothing exciting happens, what about you?”

“Terrible day, I can’t wait to drink a couple glasses of wine” Luke snorted and raised an eyebrow “Or five”

“It’s Friday so I’m also thinking about getting a little tipsy” She placed her lipstick in her purse and rested her hands in her lap with a smile on her face.

“It’s been so long since the eight of us have gone out to dinner, I miss everyone”

“I know, I don’t think I’ll recognize their faces anymore” Penelope rolled her eyes instead of going along with it.

They remained in a comfortable silence the rest of the time, saving everything else they had to say until they were with the rest. Penelope and Luke saw each other much more often than the others, mostly because they lived in the same building, just an elevator ride apart, Penelope’s place was on the third floor while Luke’s was on the seventh. Another reason as to why they didn’t see each other that much was because half of the gang, Matt, Kristy, Derek and Savannah were now parents and they didn’t have as much free time time as before.

Once in the restaurant, Penelope walked as quickly as she could, Luke following close behind careful to act if she tripped or something. Penelope’s smile fell just a little when she only saw Emily and JJ sitting at the table.

“Hey, you guys are here” Emily and JJ quickly rushed to them, and after a round of greetings and hugs, the four sat down.

“Where's the rest of the gang?” Luke asked, looking around to see if they were by the bar or coming from the bathroom.

“Yeah, we can’t be the awesome eight when there are only four of us here” Penelope stated as she nicely signaled the waiter to come over.

Emily bit her lip and looked at JJ “They called to inform us they can’t make it tonight” The blonde woman informed them.

“Kristy’s not feeling well and Matt has to be there to take care of the kids and Derek and Savannah couldn’t find a sitter” Emily added carefully watching Penelope, they all knew she had been looking forward to this dinner for a few weeks now.

“Oh” Penelope forced a smile “It’s ok, I get it, things happen” Under the table, Luke took her hand and squeezed it, she looked at him and smiled a little less forced this time.

“We’ll be the fabulous four tonight” JJ raised her glass and Penelope remembered she hadn’t seen them in a few months so it was still exciting getting the chance to see them.

“I’ll drink to that” They all proceeded to order their drinks and dinner, ready to make the most of the evening.

They spent the next hour and a half talking about how life was, JJ and Emily told them about the trip they made to Italy to celebrate their three years of marriage, Penelope told them a funny story about a blind date gone wrong, Luke shared he was getting promoted at work, overall life was good for all of them and it made the evening much more pleasant even though four of their best friends weren’t there.

“There’s this guy at work who I think would be great for you” JJ commented while eating her dessert.

“I don’t know if I should trust you to set me up anymore, last time was horrible” Penelope replied remembering the last date she had with one of JJ’s prospects for her.

“No, this time it’ll be better, I promise” 

“I think you’d like this guy, Pen” Emily said while sipping on her glass of wine.

Luke nudged her with his elbow “Come on, chica, let JJ set you up, it can’t be worse than the time the guy bursted into tears when you told him you were a Libra”

They all laughed, followed by a loud sigh from Penelope “God, I missed this so much, being with you, laughing at my terrible luck when it comes to dating”

“I missed it too” Emily interjected “Being together not laughing about your love life”

“I gotta say it” Luke started “I love our friends’ kids so much but I miss the times when it was just the eight of us, you know?”

Before JJ or Emily said anything Penelope spoke “I know, I mean I’m also super grateful those little sweethearts joined the fam but on nights like these I get all nostalgic reminiscing the pre-babies era”

JJ and Emily shared a look and both Penelope and Luke knew something was up “What’s that?” Luke wondered.

Emily took JJ’s hand “Well, one of the news we wanted to share tonight was that JJ and I are adopting” Penelope and Luke were wide eyed “We actually started the process a few months ago but didn’t know when we were going to be matched and we didn’t expect it to happen soon but we’ve been matched, it’s sweet one year old girl” JJ finished telling their news to their friends.

“Her name is Emerson and she’s coming home with us in a couple weeks” Emily waited anxiously to see their reactions.

Penelope was the first one to speak “Oh my God, you guys, congratulations, a new addition to the fam” She was genuinely excited with her news and so was Luke.

“It’s great to hear this, you’ll be amazing moms” He turned to Penelope “We’re getting a new niece”

“I know, I know, look about what we said earlier-” JJ cut her off.

“Oh, it’s ok, we know kids aren’t really your thing so it’s alright” Luke was the only one who noticed how Penelope’s face changed for one second, she quickly smiled again, hoping no one noticed the flash of disappointment in her face at JJ’s words.

After saying their goodbyes and promising to reunite once Emerson was settled with JJ and Em, Luke and Penelope took another cab to go back to their apartments. She was silent and Luke didn’t know if it was a good idea to ask what was on her mind, he debated whether or not to start a conversation.

Before thinking it twice he started “So was it true?” Luke questioned and Penelope tilted her head.

“What do you mean?” Luke licked his lips.

“What JJ said about kids not being your thing” Penelope sighed and bit her lip, of course Luke had noticed her expression when she heard their friend saying this.

“She was referring to both of us, Luke” She tried to avoid answering his question.

“I know but in my case she’s wrong I would like kids” She looked at him with raised eyebrows and a smirk in her face.

“I didn’t know that, newbie” Luke shrugged “I honestly assumed you were the no kids kind of guy” 

“Are you kidding me? My mom would never forgive me if I never gave her grandchildren” Penelope laughed imagining Elena, Luke’s mom, lecturing him to give her grandchildren.

“So you’re doing it for your mom then?” 

“No, I really wanna be a dad, someday, a tiny human that’s half me, that would be great” She patted his shoulder.

“You’re right, that would be great” He looked at her expectantly “What?”

“What about you, Penelope? Would you like to have kids?” She pressed her lips together.

“Yes, I would love that” She admitted after a few seconds of being silent “The thing is I have no one, sometimes I think I should’ve said yes to Kevin when he proposed, I’d have children by now”

“You’re gonna find someone” She rolled her eyes “You will, you are gorgeous and an amazing woman” 

“Have you ever wondered if you’ve already met your person? You know, the one you’re gonna end up with?” Penelope questioned.

“No, I haven’t met my person, I know that much, but I will and so will you, Pen, you’ll see” He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, starting to feel sleepy, they remained like that until they got home, said goodnight and went to sleep to their apartments.

Almost four months later, Luke and Penelope were hosting a baby shower for Matt and Kristy, it turned out that time they had cancelled dinner with them was because Kristy was having a hard time during the pregnancy.

Everyone was there, including friends they hadn’t seen in a while, all of them with their significant others: Spencer, Tara, Alex, Kate, David, Aaron and Elle.

At one point of the party, Penelope escaped from the conversations about marriage and kids, and she stood in a corner trying to go unnoticed, during the entire gathering Luke had kept an eye on her, since they were planning the party, he noticed the subject was still a sensitive for her.

“We did good” He said as he leaned against the wall.

Penelope looked around his place, everyone seemed to be having a good time “Yeah, I think it turned out pretty well” He offered his glass of wine, it was almost full “Thank you” 

“I’ve always known we were a dynamic duo” This earned him an eye roll from Penelope, he expected her to say something else but she remained quiet and so did he.

She took in the scene of her friends with their children, the look on their eyes were like nothing she had ever seen before, she knew these people from a very long time and there was always a huge difference between the before and after having kids.

“I want this” Penelope said out of the blue.

“Ok” Luke said unsure as to what she was referring, he thought about it for a second “I can plan a birthday party for you next year, Pen”

“Not a party, I want to have a baby” He didn’t know what to say to that but just in that moment JJ walked over to them with Emerson in her arms.

“This little one is looking for her fairy godmother” Emerson reached her arms to Penelope and she happily took the one year old in her arms.

“Did you, little Em?” She kissed her goddaughter’s head “I was missing you too” The baby babbled, content to be with her auntie.

“I’ll go grab some cake” JJ turned around and walked towards the kitchen and Kristy came to join the three of them.

“Thank you guys so much for this” She offered a warm smile “I promise you we’re done after this one” She announced while she rubbed her round belly.

“Oh don’t mind us, you have as many babies as you guys like” Luke joked and when they laughed, little Emerson joined them with a giggle.

“No, we’re definitely done, it’s your turn to find someone and start giving us nieces and nephews, right, Emerson?”

“I think this one will get a little sister or brother before we know it, Em and JJ are over the moon being moms” Penelope stated.

“I know” Kristy agreed “It’s been really touching seeing them in this new phase” 

“I hope someday you guys get to see me being a mom” The nostalgia was obvious in her voice.

“It’s gonna happen” Kristy assured her “And I can’t wait, Penelope” She smiled to her and then proceeded to go with her husband.

Seeing Penelope with Emerson and the rest of their friends’ children left him thinking, after the baby shower was over Penelope stayed to help him clean even when he told her to call it a night and go to  get some rest, but she refused, they spent the next couple hours tidying up the place, once they were done Luke offered to order takeout but she didn’t accept and went to her apartment.

Luke tried to get some sleep but he kept turning and tossing in his bed, his thoughts not letting him rest, he tried everything but ultimately failed, he looked at his alarm clock, it was almost 2:00 AM. Unable to get his idea out of his mind, he got up and walked towards the elevator, he needed to tell Penelope what was happening on his mind.

Once he got down to her floor, he stood outside her door for a few minutes thinking maybe it was too out of line to make her the proposition he was thinking about. He pressed his lips together and rubbed his palms in his pajama pants, trying to muster enough confidence to knock on her door.

  He sighed and knocked a couple times.

Luke tried a few more times, wanting to tell Penelope what he was thinking about, after all it was his best friend, if she didn’t accept, they could laugh it up and continue as if nothing happened. 

Penelope opened the door “What’s up, Luke?” She put on her glasses as her eyes adjusted to the light.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Penelope yawned.

He stared at her and took a deep breath “I want a baby” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Are you… Drunk?” She questioned and he shook his head.

“I want to be a dad” He blurted. 

“Ok? Well I know everyone calls me the fairy godmother but it’s not like I can make a baby appear and give it to you”

“What if you could?” Luke objected.

Penelope let out a frustrated sigh “Are you high?”

“No, Penelope, you want to be a mom and I want to be a dad, we haven’t found our person but we’re best friends I thought maybe we could try this” 

“How would that even work? Luke, what the fuck?” 

“Look, there are different types of families, two best friends having a kid and then finding their person doesn’t sound too crazy to me” He insisted.

“Are you being serious right now?” Penelope wondered, trying to examine his face to see if he was messing with her.

“I am” He walked to her and took her hand “Think about it, we’re best friends, we have a baby and we split everything 50/50 costs, responsibilities, and it will be good because we’re not attracted to each other, we won’t get to have married couple fights and all the complicated part” He offered a small smile to his friend who looked at him open-mouthed trying to process everything he was saying.

“I need some time to think about it” Luke smiled when he heard those words and let go of her hand.

“Alright, that’s ok” He walked towards the door “Let me know what you decide on, you know where to find me” As he was about to leave, he turned around and quickly walked to her to hug her.

“Go to sleep, Alvez”

“Garcia-Alvez has a nice ring to it” He whispered in her ear before she swatted at his chest, he rushed to the door and closed it behind him, leaving Penelope standing there, shocked at his proposition but also thoughtful, she walked to her bedroom and snuggled once again in her bed, trying to regain her sleep before Luke came to disrupt her mind.

Penelope and Luke were busy with work for the next couple weeks, until one night she texted him if she could come up to see him, he instantly replied with a yes and Penelope was on her way with an answer to his proposition. She let herself in and walked to his living room, he was watching TV.

“Hello stranger” He patted the couch, inviting her to sit beside him.

She plopped next to him and Luke put his arm around her without taking his eyes from the screen “How’s… life?” 

“Good I guess?” He quickly shot her a look with an eyebrow raised “How about you?”

Penelope played with her hands “Did you mean what you said that other night?” Luke turned to her and took the remote control turning the TV off and giving her his undivided attention.

“About having a baby with you? Absolutely” His voice was firm and his face was serious.

“I’ve thought about it” She looked at him and he was waiting for an answer.

“And?” He questioned with raised eyebrows.

“Ok” Penelope stated in a whisper.

Luke smiled “Ok?”

“Ok” She returned the smile “You are right, there are different type of families and two friends having a kid doesn’t sound like the worst idea”

He leaned forward to her “Should we get to it? Like now?” Penelope jumped.

“No, not now but soon I guess, I’m not sure” She was suddenly self conscious, thinking that in an attempt to have a baby together, they’d need to have sex.

“We could do those fertility tests to know when you’re ovulating” Penelope looked surprised.

“How do you know about those?” She asked with amusement.

“What? Because I’m a guy I can’t know? Come on, Pen, I’m a modern men” She chuckled and looked at him waiting for the truth.

“Ok I saw it on a movie but I do want to know more about this, I plan on being there for you during the pregnancy, Lamaze classes and all”

“Alright, we can talk about all of that later, I’ll just go have dinner now” As she was about to get up, Luke took her hand.

“Don’t go, we can order something or I could cook something for you”

“Didn’t you already had dinner?” He nodded 

“But you can have dinner here, you don’t need to eat all by yourself”

“Alright I’ll go check your fridge, I’m sure there’s some leftover takeout I can eat” Penelope went to the kitchen and Luke started to look for something she could also enjoy on the TV, this was their routine, having dinner at each other’s apartments whenever they could, talking about life, family, dates they’ve been, adding a baby to their dynamic didn’t sound like the worst idea.

“We are having a baby” Penelope announced to their friends, Luke was a little bit terrified of Derek’s reaction to the news, Penelope and him were very close.

“So you’re finally together?” Savannah said with a smile on her face.

Derek who was sitting beside his wife started grinning, he knew this day would come “I’m happy for the both of you”

“Uhm, no, we’re not together, we’re just having a kid” Savannah’s and Derek’s face changed into frowns.

“Oh” Savannah said smiling again, trying not to show her confusion, she wanted to be supportive of her friends, especially Penelope, she was Derek’s best friend.

“So how far along are you, baby girl?” Derek wondered with a more serious expression.

“I’m not pregnant yet, we just decided to have a baby”

“It’s because we both want to be parents so w-we came up with this idea” Luke added.

“Well, that’s great, isn’t it, babe?” Savannah squeezed Derek’s knee for him to say something supportive.

“Yeah, yeah, it is” He tried his best to offer an honest smile “Hank would love to have another cousin, especially coming from his fairy godmother”

Penelope smiled at Luke reassuring him that everything was ok, he had expressed his concerns over Derek’s reaction but as close as Penelope and Derek were, this was her decision. 

Later that evening Penelope offered to help Derek to do the dishes and he was glad he would have a moment alone with her.

“Are you sure about this, baby girl? The whole having a baby with Luke thing?” She noted the worry in his voice, she finished drying the last plate.

“I am, it’s not like we are getting any younger” She shrugged and leaned on the kitchen counter, he shot her a concerned look “Hey, if you weren’t married I’d go to you for this” She joked nudging him with her elbow “Just imagine your DNA and mine, that kid would be something else” They both laughed.

“I can only imagine how that’d conversation would go” Derek commented while drying his hands.

“I actually can’t, I mean Luke was really the one that came up with the subject”

“Was he now?” He asked with an arched brow

“Stop it, it’s not like that” She rolled her eyes “We’re friends, that’s all we are and all we’re going to be”

Derek shook his head and let out a sigh “Alright, if you’re sure then just know you have us for support, questions, help, anything you need, sweetness, and I better be godfather”

Penelope got teary eyed, it was really important to her to count on Derek for this new adventure, he was her most precious friendship, so listening to him saying those words made her feel more at ease, she was sure of her decision but that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified of the changes coming up.

Soon all of their friends heard the news from Penelope and Luke, Matt and Kristy were very supportive, mostly because in their eyes those two belonged together, they thought that maybe for them the baby had to come first then they’d realize how perfect they were for each other despite their differences. A contrast from Emily’s and JJ’s reaction, JJ had always been super protective of Penelope, and she thought this was a terrible idea where Penelope would end up being hurt, Luke was her friend as well and knew he wasn’t a bad guy but raising a kid with someone was complicated even when you were in a serious relationship with someone you were in love with, Emily wasn’t a fan of the idea either, someone was bound to get hurt and no matter who, their kid would have to pay the consequences, they didn’t explicitly voiced their concerns but neither did they applaud their decision.

Kirsty, JJ brought their kids at Savannah and Derek’s for a playdate, and it was only a matter of time before the subject was brought up.

“So what do you guys think about Pen and Luke’s plan?” JJ asked watching Hank helping Emerson to get the toys she wanted.

“Well I hope she gets pregnant soon, so their baby can be close to this little one in age” Kristy replied while rubbing her stomach.

“It’s gonna be interesting” Added Savannah while taking a sip of wine.

JJ squinted and looked at them “Don’t you think it’s crazy for them to go through it? Penelope is too sensitive, I’m not even sure she’s not feeling something for him already, what if she gets her heart broken?”

“It may not be ideal but…” Savannah shrugged her shoulder and pressed her lips “It’s their decision and I don’t think anything we say will change their minds”

“They want to be parents, they are planning this and seemed excited, I don’t think it’s the worst thing”

The blonde woman remained silent, she was still unsure it was the right choice but everyone seemed to be on board so she tried to be supportive of Luke and Penelope, hoping with all her heart they they’d prove her worries were silly and that they would make it work.

The day had finally come, they were trying tonight and Penelope was a bundle of nerves, Luke on the other hand was excited, lately his desire to be a father was getting stronger, all of his co-workers talked about their experiences in fatherhood and even though they shared both, the good and the bad, he was anxious to experience it firsthand.

“Alright I’m ready” Penelope announced as she entered his apartment in her mermaid nightie and fluffy robe with unicorn slippers, Luke smiled at the sight of her, soon with all the confidence she had mustered, Penelope straddled his waist.

“A ‘hello, how are you?’ would be nice” He joked and she lost all confidence, the blood traveled to her face and she stepped away from him but Luke took her hand and pulled her so she was sitting next to him “I’m kidding, it’s j-just I don’t know, I’m using humor to lighten up the mood”

“I’m mortified, Luke” She admitted with closed eyes “We’re having sex”

“It can’t be that bad, I know it won’t be bad” Penelope opened one eye.

“How could you know?” Luke shot her a smirk and a wink.

“If we’re comfortable enough to have a baby together then I’m comfortable enough to confess I’ve had some dreams”

Her eyes shot open “LUKE!” Penelope’s voice raised with surprise.

“That’s exactly how it sounded” He joked and if Penelope wasn’t red before she was now.

“Oh my God, stop, I don’t know if that makes me feel better or not” Luke laughed, not really understanding why she was so worried.

“Come on, chica, it’s gonna be alright” He placed a strand of her out of her face.

She sighed and sat up straighter “Ok, let’s do it”

Luke caressed her cheek “Are you sure?” 

Penelope swallowed and nodded, he went on to kiss her and after a few seconds she started laughing.

“Pen, this is not helping my confidence” He commented as he pulled away, Penelope rested her forehead on his.

“I’m sorry, it’s just, you know I laugh when I feel awkward” Luke softly placed his hands on her shoulders and got up.

He extended out his hand to her “Let’s go to the bedroom” Penelope looked hesitant “If you don’t feel like doing this today, we can do it some other day, it’s ok”

“No, I want to, it’s just… Weird” 

“So I shouldn’t have lit the candles or put a million rose petals on the bed then?” Penelope rolled her eyes, he was teasing her to that one time a guy had done that and it was a huge turn off for her.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, I hate your mouth so much”

Luke loved to mess with her “I bet you a hundred bucks you won’t be saying that in a few”

“Fuck you, newbie” Penelope spat.

HIs hands signaled to himself “Be my guest” This time he saw the eye roll on her face accompanied with annoyment and he decided to stop his teasing “Alright, alright, look, I know you like fresh sheets and I even used that softener you like, let’s go to bed and… Do this”

“I need a minute” She went to the bathroom and Luke sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her, he licked his lips, hoping she wasn’t regretting everything, soon Penelope came back and stood between his legs.

“Ok, shut up for real this time and let’s do this” She placed her hands on each side of his face.

“One baby coming up” Penelope facepalmed “... In nine months, th-” She kissed him in an attempt to shut him up for good, Luke immediately responded and placed his hands on her hips.

Once they were done, they remained on his bed, both were hopeful that everything was on their side so within the next couple months they could see a positive pregnancy test, Penelope’s awkwardness was all gone, she figured she was making a big deal of the whole thing, having sex with Luke wasn’t bad and she actually had enjoyed it more than she thought she would.

“Shouldn’t you lift your legs up or something?” Luke suggested.

He didn’t see her rolling her eyes “Is this another thing you saw in a movie?”

Luke turned to her “Maybe”

“Let’s go to sleep Luke” She turned to the other side and fell asleep easily.

That night Luke had another dream with Penelope, except this time, in his dream they were a family, they were even married and had twins, he woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it, he remembered the joy he felt in his dream and allowed himself to imagine how life would be if that scenario became a reality, after a few minutes he shook his head, Penelope was just his friend, there was no interest in being more than that from either side.

They decided to give it a few tries, to increase the chance for them to get pregnant, the next times weren’t awkward except for one time where Luke came in unannounced.

“Pen” He called for her entering her apartment “Chica, let’s get to baby making, there’s a game I really want to catch later” As he finished his sentence he reached Penelope’s living room only to find her sitting there having dinner with a guy, Luke’s eyes widened, she was going to kill him probably.

“Uhm, I think you already have plans for tonight” The guy said while getting to his feet.

“Wait, Joe, it’s-” Penelope didn’t know exactly what to say.

“No, no, it’s ok, I’ll go, it was nice meeting you” He hurriedly got his messenger bag and walked out of the apartment.

Luke immediately apologized “I should’ve knocked, sorry, I’m really sorry” Penelope waved him off.

“A mutual friend set us up, she insisted a lot and I ended up saying yes” She sighed “But right now, I’m not interested in dating, not when I’m trying to have a baby with my friend, so it’s ok” He still felt terrible so he decided to skip the game and stayed to have dinner with her.

“Pen” Luke squeezed her hand “Are you actually gonna take the tests or are you just gonna stare at them?” She looked at him.

“Maybe if I stare them long enough they’ll get some sort of vibes from me and show us if that week of trying worked or not” He smiled sympathetically, six weeks had passed since that week and Penelope avoided taking the pregnancy tests, even though her period had been late, she was scared of seeing the results, Luke was understanding and supportive, he had a good feeling but he put himself in Penelope’s shoes.

“Come on, let’s go” He took the bag of pregnancy tests he had bought and tried to guide her to the bathroom but she didn’t move an inch “It’ll all be ok”

“What if it’s not?” Penelope asked in a whisper.

“Then we’ll get through it, together” She felt tears coming to her eyes, she was terrified of the results, whatever they may be, she knew they would have an impact to her.

Luke was open to keep trying if the results were negative but he didn’t know what Penelope wanted so he wanted to know what the tests actually ended up showing before bringing up the conversation. A few minutes later, he was waiting outside the bathroom for her, he was starting to get worried, she was silent.

“Penelope, can I come in?” No response, that didn’t help his nerves “Ok, I’m coming in” When he entered, he saw her face filled with what he believed to be surprise.

She barely smiled “It’s positive, all of them are actually” Luke’s lips spread into a wide smile.

“I knew I had a good feeling about this” He hugged her and kissed her hair, they were going to be parents.

The next few months flew by, soon they were getting ready to welcome the little one, true to his word Luke had been with Penelope as much as he could, whenever he wasn’t at work he was beside her learning together, reading books, attending classes, building baby furniture, reading Penelope’s favorite children’s books to the baby, feeling the baby kick for the first time, discussing names, imagining how life would be once the baby arrived.

None of them had been really interested in meeting new people during the pregnancy, until Phil, Luke’s friend insisted on setting him up with a doctor, after much insistence Luke accepted, not without asking first Penelope for advice on whether he should go out with her or not.

“She sounds great, you should do it, it’s been an eternity since you’ve gone on a date” Penelope mentioned rubbing her belly “I miss listening to your disastrous dates stories, they are quite entertaining” Luke glared at her and handed her the ice cream pint she had asked for.

“Ha-ha, you’re very funny” He pursed his lips together “I think I’m gonna tell Phil yes”

Penelope winked at him while licking ice cream off her spoon “Great, I’ll help you choose a nice outfit”

A week later Luke was out with Lisa, Phil’s friend, she was really nice, easy to talk with and gorgeous, she didn’t seem to freak out entirely when he brought up that he was about to be a dad, he was actually enjoying the night, for a second he saw that she seemed distracted and looking behind him.

“I’m sorry, Luke” She cut him off “I think there’s someone trying to get your attention” His brows furrowed as he turned around to find Penelope carrying her hospital bag, this immediately made him panic as he rushed to her.

“Are you in labor?” He took her by the shoulders and examined her.

“Yes, my water broke” Luke was in shock for a second “An hour ago but it is until now that the contractions are getting frequent and…” She placed her hands on her shirt and clutched the fabric  “...Stronger” 

“Oh my God, you should’ve called me the minute it happened, let’s go” He tried to take her hand but she managed to remind him to give an explanation to the nice woman that looked at them with empathy in her eyes.

Soon they were settled in the hospital room, Penelope wasn’t ready to push yet but both her and the baby were doing fine.

“You were supposed to go into labor in two weeks” Luke was scared this was a sign something was wrong but after some tests, doctors and nurses assured them everything looked normal.

“I guess we already know newbie junior is antsy like daddy” 

“We don’t even know if the baby’s a boy”

“Oh newbie is gender neutral, I’ve been calling them this without actually thinking it’s a boy or a girl”

Luke smiled and started to push some strands of hair out of her face “You’re being a champion, Pen, you’re handling everything amazingly”

Penelope laughed as she took deep breaths “Oh, don’t be fooled newbie, I’m freaking out and I might pull one of those ‘what have you done to me? I hate you’ lines just like in the movies” 

“I’ll take it, chica, you can even punch me if you want, so I can experience at least a little bit of pain with you”

“I’ll keep that in mind” She joked.

Soon Penelope started to push and not even once she cursed at Luke, he held her hand, cleaned the sweat off her forehead and kept encouraging her to trust her body, Penelope was exhausted and sometimes she felt like she couldn’t go through it but then she remembered that after all the pain she would finally look her baby in the eyes and fall in love like she had never done before, she tried to remember everything she had learned from her doula, and within the hour she heard her baby’s cries.

Luke swore it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, while Penelope’s eyes focused on the baby who was being all cleaned up.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy” Doctor Kim said as she placed the newborn on his mother’s chest.

“Hello you” Penelope whispered with tears on her eyes, and Luke stood over her head watching his son “You couldn’t wait to meet us, little one” The small baby fuzzed.

“It’s alright, we couldn’t wait to meet you either” Luke said while seeing him open his eyes for a brief moment before he closed them and nuzzled to her mom’s chest.

“He’s here, Luke” She stated without taking her eyes off her boy “We did it”

The following morning, the new parents were still living in their own bubble with their son, he was healthy and so was Penelope.

“Ok so we agreed on Bowie, right?” Penelope tried to see if Luke would budge.

“No, sorry chica, we didn’t”

“Alright, Ziggy then” Luke laughed softly, she kept suggesting those ever since she got pregnant.

“Nope”

“Ok…” She tapped the baby’s little nose “David it is”

“What about Julian?” He suggested and Penelope felt in her heart that was perfect for him.

“Julian” She bit back the smile and thought about messing with him for a little “I guess we’ll go with your suggestion”

“Hey, I’m trying to-” Penelope finally looked up to him and smiled widely.

“I’m kidding, I love it, he looks like a Julian” His tiny lips turned up in what looked like a tiny smile “See? Jules agrees” She passed the tiny bundle to Luke and he happily held his son.

“Hello young Julian Garcia-Alvez, we love you more than you could ever imagine”

Later that day Derek and Savannah came to visit, they couldn’t wait one minute more to meet the new addition to their lives.

“Hello, hello” Savannah announced as she carefully opened the door and peeked her head “We’re here to meet the handsome boy”

“Ah! We were waiting to see you” Penelope was beaming at the thought of her found family meeting her boy “Come on in”

Derek entered eyeing the three of them, he was glad for her best friend, she had always wanted to be a mom and now she had finally become one.

“Look at that, my baby girl had a baby boy” Derek saw the tiny baby in Luke’s arms, he was familiar with the look on Luke’s face, it was one of pure love and adoration, the one he had for Hank when he had been born.

“Let me present to you to Julian Garcia”

Derek raised an eyebrow at Penelope “It’s Julian Garcia-Alvez but I guess Luke’s too lazy to say the full name”

Luke didn’t even seem to hear them mention his name, he was to absorbed in his son “I love the name, he’s gorgeous, congratulations guys” Savannah squeezed Penelope’s shoulder.

After a conversation about how Penelope had to interrupt Luke’s date and how was Julian’s birth, all while his auntie held little Jules, Savannah suggested Luke to go and get some tea and muffins, she wanted to give Derek and Penelope a moment so they could have a conversation of their own, ever since she had started dating Derek she knew him and Penelope shared a really special friendship and that sometimes they needed a moment just them alone to talk about life.

“We’ll be right back” Luke glanced at Penelope and Julian and smiled at them before closing the door behind him.

They remained silent for a few minutes as they only focused on Julian who was now wide awake.

“How are you feeling?” Derek asked softly.

“I feel like I’m in a dream” She admitted “I can’t believe this sweet little boy was given to me”

He placed his hand in the side of her face “I already know you’re gonna be the most amazing mom to Julian” Penelope leaned into his touch.

“Thank you for being there, both you and Savannah were the two people that were the most supportive, I’m still not sure JJ and Em are totally on board with this and Matt and Kristy they have five kids now so we don’t get to see them much but you and Savannah were always there for us”

“And we plan on continue being there for the three of you” Penelope couldn’t hold back her tears “May I?” She carefully handed Julian over to him.

“Can I confess something? I’m scared about how this is gonna go, I mean with Luke, how we’re gonna make this dynamic work”

“Baby girl, are you sure you don’t have feelings for him?” Penelope smiled.

“I love the guy, I mean he’s the father of my baby but no, there’s no feelings there” She was being honest but still Derek felt uneasy, thinking the situation could change and Penelope would end with a broken heart. 

“Ok, well I’m sure you will make it work, maybe it won’t be easy but both of you are very determined and at the end of the day it’s this little guy you’ll be doing everything for so I’m sure you’ll be ok”

“Oh, chocolate thunder, you always know what to say” Penelope stated seeing Derek smiling at Julian “I wanted to ask you something, well, Luke and I did” 

“Anything”

“We were wondering if Savannah and you would like to be Jules’ godparents?”

“Oh, Penelope, I would’ve disowned you if you hadn’t asked, of course, we would be honored to be his godparents” 

“I love you, Derek Morgan” She reached out for his hand.

He looked at her and squeezed her hand “And I love you Penelope Garcia” He looked down at his new godson “I love you too Julian”

That day after Derek and Savannah, Luke’s family, and the rest of their friends had visited them to meet Julian.

Penelope came out of Julian’s room, she had put him down to sleep, already knowing he was going to wake up in a few hours, three months had already come and gone, neither could believe how fast time was passing by, they had adjusted quite nicely.

“Ok, I have some more things I need you to store in your apartment” She signaled some things next to the door, they were some coats, a pair of skis, shoe boxes, even her ukulele was being forgotten at the moment and since it was taking space it had to be stored on Luke’s place, they had been doing that ever since they’ve brought Julian home.

“Have I ever told you you own way to many shoes?” Luke commented rubbing his eyes.

“All the time” She smiled “I still don’t care”

“Alright, I’ll take them now and don’t worry about waking up later, I’ll come down to feed him” She raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?” 

“Of course, it’s around 2 when he wakes up, right?” Luckily for them, Julian was the greatest baby, he easily fell into routine, he woke up around the same time each night, so Luke had alarms and he came down so it wasn’t only Penelope waking up at night.

“Yeah”

“Ok, goodnight”

For Luke it felt as if he had just closed his eyes when the alarm went off, he quickly got up and went to Penelope’s place, he opened the fridge to find the different bottles, each of them were labeled:

One glass of wine.

Couple of Margaritas.

Pure.

Stressful day.

Pure.

He snorted and grabbed one of the bottles labeled as ‘pure’ and proceeded to warm it, he didn’t hear any crying when he came in so he assumed Julian had yet to wake up demanding to be fed, a few minutes later the three month old woke up and Luke was ready to feed him, he sat in the rocking chair with the baby to his chest, once Julian was done with the bottle, he burped him and sat a little bit more with him, he loved those moments were he could hold his son and sing the lullabies his mom and grandma used to sing to him when he was a kid.

He was loving being a dad and co-parenting with Penelope, he practically lived there, he would leave only at night but even then, he’d come back and sometimes would end up crashing at the couch waking up at Penelope’s. Luke placed Julian on his crib and left the room, as he walked out of the room he saw a photo of the three of them in the hallway and smiled, everything felt right.

Luke hurried through the stairs, he was coming home from work and Penelope was calling him nonstop to get home, he didn’t wait for the elevator and took the stairs, once he opened the door, he was met by a crying Julian and a crying Penelope.

“I’ve done everything and he won’t stop crying, he hates me, Luke” She said through her sobs.

Luke felt bad for Penelope, she was more sensitive than usual, the hormones were to blame, he went to them and took Julian in his arms.

“I’m his mom and he already hates me” She cleaned her tears off her face.

Luke started to sway him from side to side “He can’t hate you now, wait until he’s sixteen”

“LUKE!” Soon Julian stopped crying in Luke’s arms “How the fuck did you do that?” She asked in surprise.

“Oh, I don’t know I guess he loves me but he hates you” He saw the tears on her eyes “I’m kidding, I’m kidding”

Penelope sighed and sat on the couch “I’m returning to work soon and we don’t have a nanny yet”

“I know, I asked around some of my coworkers and they recommended me some agency” She smiled.

“That’s great, but we need to be clear on something” He looked at her with a frown “You can’t fuck the nanny”

“Penelope! I wasn’t planning on doing that”

“Ok, just saying, newbie”

By the end of the week they had hired Max to be Julian’s nanny, Penelope was faced with another challenge, learning how to manage going to work and being a mom, soon she discovered it was hard but she could handle it, she missed going to work, seeing her co-workers and having an excuse to actually put on some decent clothes and makeup.

 Matt, Kristy, JJ, Emily and their six children were visiting Luke, Penelope and Julian, they hadn’t seen them since the hospital, they were curious to see how ‘the experiment’ as Emily called it was going.

“I’m not gonna lie, I think the reason they didn’t invite us over sooner it’s because they’re having a hard time adjusting” Emily spoke up.

“You think? I don’t know” Matt replied.

“I mean it wouldn’t be a surprise, becoming a parent it’s not easy” Kristy added to Emily’s comment.

“We’re about to see” JJ said as they all stepped out of the elevator, it took five seconds for Penelope and Luke receive them, he had Julian on a baby carrier close to his chest.

“Hello!” They said in unison, after a round of hugs and greetings, they went to the living room.

“Please, get yourselves some drinks, I made some tapas, I’ll go get them” Penelope announced and JJ joined her in the kitchen.

“Hey, everything looks great” She meant it.

“Thanks, we manage to keep everything in place but Jules is about to start crawling so next time you won’t find a tidy place” Penelope laughed.

JJ frowned “Is Luke living here?” 

“No, well, kind of, he spends a lot of time with Jules” She shrugged it off, it wasn’t a big deal for them.

“Penelope…” JJ sighed “What’s this that you have going on?” Penelope rolled her eyes at her words, it wasn’t the first time she questioned it and certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“We’re raising a baby, he stays over, sue me” JJ’s eyes widened “No, he stays over but nothing happens, I’m not attracted to him and he’s not attracted to me, it’s all fine” 

“Ok, then it’s time for you to get yourself out there again”

“Actually I’ve been thinking about it”

“Say no more” Her friend winked at her and Penelope just went long with it, JJ said about a co-worker of hers that sounded dreamy. Once they returned with some appetizers, everyone was settled, Luke had taken the older kids to the other room where they put on a movie for them and gave them some sandwiches and toys so they could be entertained.

“It looks like you’re doing amazing, man” Matt said as he placed Rose on the ground, she was eager to follow Emerson,

“Yeah, it is, Pen and I are convinced we got very lucky with Julian, he’s great”

“Wait until he starts walking” Emily commented while she watched Emerson closely, she was walking around the adults, observing what she could grab, unfortunately for her, the apartment was childproof so there was nothing she could really play with other than Julian’s toys and her own.

“I know I told Luke that by then I’m sure I’ll have to give up my high heels” Penelope said while sitting down next to him and absentmindedly resting her hand in Luke’s thigh “Can you imagine me running around a kid in five inch heels?” They all laughed and Luke placed an arm around her, everyone could see the look on his face as Penelope continued talking, Matt and Kristy shared a knowing look and JJ was just starting to think Penelope was lying about “nothing going on”.

The rest of their visit went by quite quickly, all of them enjoying their time together, at some point, Penelope realizes it’s their first time her and Luke can relate to the parenting experiences and struggles, even though Derek, Savannah and Hank couldn’t make it, her heart fills with joys as she sees most of her found family together.

“You’re almost there, buddy” Luke was sitting on the floor, multitasking, he folded laundry and watched Julian as he tried to stand using Luke’s arm as support.

“Breakfast is ready for my favorite guys” Penelope announced carrying two plates “Here, put these on the coffee table, I’ll go get Jules’ plate” She leaned down to carry him “Come on little guy, let’s get those hands clean”

While Luke and Penelope both sat on the floor, Julian used the coffee table for support and finally managed to stand up and grab some of his breakfast, he was a good eater, they stared at him, amazed by the little boy who owned their hearts.

“Can you believe he’s almost nine months? He’s getting so big” She sighed nostalgically.

“I know, I feel like in no time he’ll be going to preschool” Luke added as he took a bite of his own breakfast.

“Don’t even start” Jules looked up to his mom “Yeah, baby, what if we slow down a little with this whole growing up so fast? Can you do that for mommy?” Luke was also looking at Penelope, he was thinking about how wonderful the last year and a half of his life had been, since finding out about the pregnancy to that very moment, he felt extremely content to have Julian and Penelope in his life.

“Ma!” He exclaimed and went back to grab a fistful of scrambled eggs.

Luke smiled at his son then he turned to Penelope “You know? I don’t think it’s been that hard, all of this”

“Right?” She took a sip of juice “I feel the same, we make a good team, newbie”  Just as Luke was about to say something else, Penelope’s phone dinged, she quickly took it and smiled at the screen, he remained silent and took Julian and sat him between his legs and put his plate in front of him so he could continue eating his breakfast.

“You’re done, Julian” He said to his son as the baby looked up to him with wide eyes “Yeah, it’s gone, it’s all in your tummy now, come on, let’s get you changed”

“Oh, I can change him, don’t worry” Penelope took her eyes off her phone.

“Alright, I’ll go wash these” He said as he took the dishes into the kitchen, trying to think who was Penelope texting.

A very happy Penelope entered the kitchen carrying a very happy Julian, they went to stand beside Luke as he finished drying the plates.

“You’re in a good mood” Luke stated trying to seem nonchalant.

Penelope couldn’t hold back the smirk “I am, I need to tell you something” She sat Julian in the kitchen counter “I’m going out with someone tonight”

Luke wasn’t sure why he felt a stinging sensation in his heart “Oh” He couldn’t think of something else to say.

Her smile soon changed into a frown “Is that ok? I thought this was my free night, but if you’ve got plans I can- “ Luke interrupted her.

“No, no, no, no plans at all” He tried his best to fake smile “It’s great, I’m happy for you, who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Sam, JJ set us up, we’ve been texting these past couple weeks and we decided to go out today”

“Great” Luke said without looking at her nor sounding very cheerful but Penelope failed to notice that.

Later that evening Penelope was a nervous wreck, she had facetimed JJ and Emily to voice her concerns about going on a date, she felt like she didn’t even remembered how to go on a first date, she remained sat on her bed, with her robe on, looking at the outfit her friends had helped her choosing, she thought about calling Derek, he was great at helping her when she wasn’t feeling her best self, as Luke passed her bedroom after putting Julian to bed, he stopped and saw that she didn’t have the happy look she had that morning.

He opened the door a little bit more and peeked at her “Hey, how is getting ready going? Everything good? Did he cancel?”

Penelope quickly looked up “No, it’s just that I’m nervous” As soon as she said she felt a little embarrassed “That’s stupid, isn’t it? Oh God” Luke entered and sat beside her and took her hand.

“Not at all, it’s normal to be nervous before going on a first date, but I’m sure you’ll be fine, from what I gathered he’s a great guy”

Her eyebrows raised “Did you eavesdropped my conversation with the girls?”

“Pen, you were literally sitting across Julian and I”

“Oh, that’s true, sorry, I was a little distracted then” She confessed running her hands through her hair.

“Should I prepare some tea for you and your nerves?” He suggested, not liking to see her stressed and thinking she shouldn’t be worrying, it was impossible she wouldn’t blow the guy’s mind, she was a catch.

Penelope placed one hand on the side of his face “Luke, that would be wonderful, you are a gift” 

“Alright, you continue getting ready and I’ll bring your tea in a moment” Just as he was about to leave, Penelope called him “Yeah?”

“Nevermind” She sighed and stood up to start doing her hair.

“Penelope? Come on, you can tell me anything” He leaned in the door frame, waiting for her to say something, instead she turned around and opened her robe, she was in her underwear.

“Do you think my body is ready to, you know, get out there?” Luke ignored the sensations the image in front of him caused to his body and walked to her, putting his hands on either side of her face.

“You are beautiful, Penelope, don’t ever think you’re not, you could’ve gone out on a date the next month after having Julian for all I know” She blushed and looked down “I mean it, you are the whole package, you’re smart, kind, witty, and sexy as hell so stop doubting yourself and if for some reason this guy doesn’t seem to be into you, then we’ll tell JJ, her friend is out of his mind” He kissed her hair.

“You really have a way with words, Alvez” She managed to look up and smiled “We need to find you someone as well” He pressed his lips together and that’s when he knew he didn’t want someone else, he wanted Penelope.

As he prepared her tea, he sat on a stool and tried to think when his feelings for her had changed, he was sure he didn’t feel that way before, or maybe he was but didn’t realize? He was so deep in his thoughts he didn’t listen the kettle whistling, he rushed to it so it wouldn’t wake Julian up but he was late, he went to get him and later appeared in Penelope’s room with Jules attached to his hip and nuzzled in his neck in one arm and a mug in the other.

“Here you go” He said placing it on her vanity. 

“Oh thanks” She glanced at him through the mirror “And thanks for getting him, I can’t exactly stand up fast and move freely with these attached to my boobs” She laughed.

“It’s ok”

“Isn’t this sexy?” She joked “Hair curlers on my head, makeup half done and pumping breast milk” Penelope laughed, she felt much more relaxed after Luke’s words.

He managed to smirk, it was an amusing image but in that moment it was also a beautiful one to him, even though in some part of his heart he felt it was wrong seeing her getting ready to go out with someone else.

“Your mom doesn’t believe what I tell her, Jules, please don’t be like her when you grow up” Penelope swatted his stomach.

“Hey! Don’t put my baby against me” She reached to Julian and Luke got him closer to Pen “Go to sleep, my sweet boy, I love you” The sleepy baby barely registered his mom kissing his forehead.

Luke put Julian to sleep and half an hour later saw Penelope walk out the door, he tried to watch TV but got distracted every few minutes by his thoughts who were set on Penelope and how her date was going, he glanced at the clock every frequently and even at the door, hoping to see her come in and say she wasn’t going out anymore because she had realized it was him she wanted to be with.

He leaned back on the couch “Stop, Alvez” He said to himself, he thought about calling Matt but it was kinda late, so he decided against it, after what it seemed like an eternity, Penelope walked through the door, she quickly took off her shoes and coat, she didn’t see Luke until he spoke.

“Hey, how was it?” He said rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you”

 “It’s ok, I wasn’t sleeping well anyway, so did you have a good time?” Penelope smiled widely and nodded.

“JJ was right, he’s amazing, I-I think he could be the one, and I know it sounds precipitated to say that but...” Luke felt his heart break and couldn’t even focus on what she was saying, he felt his world starting to crumble down “Luke? Are you hearing what I’m saying?”

He snapped out of it “Yeah, yeah, I’m glad, Pen, uhm I guess we won’t have to complain to JJ about it” He rubbed his palms against his jeans and got up “I’m gonna call it a night, I’m gonna go up, ok? I’ll see you guys tomorrow”

“Ok, have a good night” She replied with the smile that had never left her lips since her date started, she really felt a connection with Sam.

A few weeks passed by and Luke called Matt to ask him if he wanted to go shoot some hoops with him, Matt found the urgency in his voice odd and was sure it was a bad sign, he agreed and met him at the basketball courts they frequented. As they started, Luke tried to tell him how he had felt ever since Penelope had started seeing Sam, he was going around about other things without saying what he actually meant.

At one moment when Luke tried to take the ball from Matt, he abruptly stopped and went to the bench signaling Luke to go with him.

“So you have feelings for Penelope” It was a statement not a question.

“That’s not what I-” Matt rolled his eyes.

“Cut the bullshit, Luke, I wasn’t asking, I know for a fact you do, it was bound to happen and that time we all went to your house, you looked at her the way I look at Kristy, the way Derek looks at Savannah”

“You should’ve told me then, maybe then she wouldn’t have gone out with mr. Wonderful”

“Hey, it wasn’t up to me to get your stubborn ass to come to terms with your feelings, it was something you had to figure out on your own, unfortunately you did until you saw her with someone else” He drank water as Luke sat beside him running his hands through his hair.

“Should I talk to Derek? Ask him some advice?” Matt snapped his head at him.

“About what? Winning her over? I hate to say this but if she’s happy with this Sam guy, you shouldn’t interfere” Luke looked at him feeling almost betrayed “Dude, I know she’s feeling very happy, she’s talked to Kristy and she seems hopeful to see where it leads”

Luke sat with his head in his hands, not liking what he was hearing but knowing Matt was right, Luke himself had witnessed Penelope’s new happiness and excitement over the relationship “Why do I have to be so fucking stupid? Imagine if I had known before, maybe it would’ve been us in a relationship” Matt patted his shoulder.

“Hey, their relationship is fairly new, no one knows, maybe they’ll be done in a few months and you’ll have your chance, don’t lose all hope but don’t interfere”

He sit up “I guess you’re right”

“You should try and find someone as well, give it a try and see where it goes”

“Yeah, maybe I will, I don’t know” Matt got up.

“Alright, let’s resume the game ‘cause I’m beating your ass, Alvez” Luke rolled his eyes and followed his friend.

A few days later, after getting some groceries Luke had encountered with Lisa, the woman he was on a date with the day Penelope had gone into labor, he remembered how nice she was and they agreed on meeting again sometime, soon after that they were dating and although he knew he still had feelings for Penelope, she was very happy with Sam, he had met him and he hated the fact that there wasn’t much to dislike about him. He was amazing to Penelope and Julian, he was attentive, very respectful, kind, and the list went on, Luke was starting to come to terms that maybe Penelope and Sam were going to become permanent at some point and it did hurt him to think about it, but then he remembered he had Lisa, who was also an incredible person that was very understanding of his co-parenting situation.

It was almost New Year’s and the entire gang were going to a cabin to spend it together, it was the first trip since Julian was born and Penelope and Luke brought significant others, everyone was excited to spend the holiday together.

Penelope was packing her suitcase for the trip, Luke had packed Julian’s the day before so she only had to worry about her stuff, she remembered Luke had her skis and went up to ask him if he could take them in his car. As the door opened she was met with a smiling Lisa, the one year old in Penelope’s arms squealed happily.

“Isa!” He extended his arms to her and Lisa looked at Penelope to which the blonde nodded and allowed Julian to go with her before asking to be down.

“Pen! You’re here, are you ready?” Luke greeted her.

Penelope swallowed unable to get her eyes off Lisa who was helping Julian to walk “Uhm yeah, almost ready, I was wondering if you could take my skis?”

“Sure thing, I already loaded them in the car”

“Alright, we’ll get going” Penelope announced wanting to have his son back in her arms.

“Hey, if you want we can take Jules” Luke suggested and before Penelope could say anything Lisa spoke.

“Oh, absolutely, we could do that” Penelope gave them a tight lipped smile and clasped her hands together.

“Alright if you want to, it’s alright, I mean, if you’re sure”

“Of course, he’s the sweetest boy, aren’t you Jules?” Julian hugged Lisa’s leg and Penelope felt something she didn’t know how to label.

“Ok then, I’ll see you guys later”

“Wait Pen, I’ll go down with you to get Jules’ stuff” Luke walked with her to the elevator and for the first time in years, there was an awkward silence, at least that’s how it felt to Penelope whereas to Luke was just a normal silence.

“Is it okay that Julian goes with us, right?” He turned to her.

“Oh, yeah, totally” She mirrored his actions.

“I’m really looking forward to this trip, it’s the first time JJ, Em, Derek and Savannah are gonna meet Lisa” Penelope shot him her best forced smile and nodded.

Luke was in fact, telling the truth, his relationship was in a good place, he felt hopeful about a future with Lisa, she was very clear by telling him that she was looking for something serious and it came as a surprise to him when he found himself telling Lisa, he was also expecting to be with someone for the long run and that they should work towards a relationship of that kind, he was finally moving on from Penelope.

Or so he thought.

The cabin they rented was beautiful, it was big but cozy at the same time, everyone, adults and kids, were excited to be spending the next few days there, getting to know Sam and Lisa a little bit more since everything indicated they could eventually be more present in their lives. Matt and Kristy entered carrying, what it seemed like twenty bags, followed by their five kids, David holding little Rose’s hand who was excited to be walking in the house.

“The Simmonses have arrived” Derek yelled as he walked over to them to help with their stuff.

“We have and we are ready for the kids to be with their uncles and aunts while mom and dad rest” Kristy joked placing the bags on the floor.

“You definitely deserve some relax time, you guys are saints” JJ said hugging the kids.

“Where are the others?” Mat asked.

“We’re here!” Penelope announced appearing from the kitchen walking hand in hand with Sam “I’d like you to meet Sam”

“Oh we’ve heard great things about you, it’s great to finally meet you, I’m Matt, this is Kristy, and these are Jake, David, Lily, Chloe and Rose” Sam shook hands with the married couple and high fived the kids.

“Nice to meet you all, I was looking forward to finally see you, I have two boys myself that are actually your age I think” He said to Jake and David “So if you want to play something maybe I can join you” Both kids eagerly nodded.

The next couple days, almost everyone seemed to be having a great time, except for Emily and JJ, they seemed a little bit off but no one dared to ask why, it was only at moments they would be quiet than usual and seemed to be a little bit out of it, they tried to put pieces together but no one seemed to have a clear idea of what was going on, they didn’t look distanced from each other nor from Emerson, so they tried to not interfere.

“Oh, I’m happy to see you’re feeling better, babe, are you joining us for breakfast?” Penelope said to Savannah who had missed previous breakfasts.

“Yes, I’ll be down in a minute” She replied while tapping Julian’s nose.

Penelope went down and found Sam helping the kids with their breakfasts, it was a funny and sweet sight, Jake, David, Chloe, Lily and Hank gathered around him as he placed pancakes on all of their plates.

“Look at you JJ, you finally got it right with Sam” Kristy teased her, JJ had the worst record setting up Penelope and it was a never ending joke between the group of friends.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and smirked “If you ever decide to have a kid, Pen, I must be the godmother” She half joked.

“I don’t know, maybe eventually” Both Kristy and JJ snapped their heads at her “What? I think this is going somewhere, he has two kids, I have one but I don’t know”

“I can’t believe there’s something you don’t know, Pen” Luke’s voice made them turn around to see him walking from the hallway, having listened only the last part of what Penelope was saying “Good morning ladies, I made some coffee if you want”

“Thanks Luke, where’s Lisa?” Kristy questioned.

“Oh, she’s getting ready for the day, she’ll be out in a few”

Once they were all sitting in the large dining table, Derek called their attention, both him and Savannah had big smiles on their faces.

“We would like to tell you that next year we’ll need a bigger cabin” Savannah taking her husband’s hand.

Derek continued “There’s going to be not one, but two new Morgans causing trouble” The entire group erupted in cheers and congratulations, JJ’s eyes went immediately to her wife, she knew her and knew that it took everything in Emily to smile, they were going through some stuff.

Part of the group had decided to go skiing while the others preferred to stay at the cabin and drink some hot chocolate, Matt, Derek and Luke walked a few feet behind Sam, Lisa and JJ.

“So Morgan’s party of five? How are you holding up?” Matt asked Derek, he remembered the surprise, nervousness and excitement that came when receiving the news he was going to have twins.

“Oh man, I can’t believe it, I still am processing all of it, Hank’s four so I’m not even sure I remember exactly how life with a newborn is, let alone two” All along Luke and Matt noticed how his features softened.

“I bet you and Savannah will get the hang of it” Luke assured him.

“You know we got you guys, so anything we can help with, I’m sure there’s some stuff we have that we don’t use anymore but it’s in great shape that you could use” Matt added and Derek felt thankful for them, all of them.

“Now that I have a son maybe you’ll finally trust me to babysit” 

“I’m not sure, we’ll see, we’ll see” Derek teased him and Luke scoffed.

“I vouch for him, Derek, I’m actually sort of proud of you, dude” Matt turned to Luke “It’s really warming to see you with Julian”

“I gotta agree with that, I was just messing with you Luke, what Matt is saying it’s true, I’ve loved to witness both you and baby girl, as parents to Jules”

“Thanks guys, it means a lot to have your support and to have you as a part of Julian’s life” Luke spoke from his heart but he also needed to point something out “Not to end the soft moment here, but did you see Sam’s face the other night when you called Penelope ‘baby girl’?”

“Oh I did, it took everything in me not to burst into laughter, Kristy actually kicked me in the shin beneath the table” Luke laughed.

“Honestly I’m so used to it that I didn’t notice but Savannah did and she told me to do something about it but Penelope assured me that she had explained everything to him and that he seemed fine with it, but I’ve toned it down a lot, I don’t know, I think this could be it for Penelope you know?” Luke swallowed, he had thought about it but wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Matt spoke up “They seem to be very serious, I like him”

“I guess I do too?” Derek shrugged, his mind remembering how just a few months ago he was convinced Luke was the one for Penelope, Luke and Matt eyed him curiously and that made him rephrase his words “I-I do like him, it’s just I’m super protective of her but he makes her happy so yeah” Luke refrained from offering his thoughts on Penelope’s relationship, he wasn’t sure what he made of it, how he felt, just then Lisa called out for him and he remembered he had an amazing woman in his life.

It was finally New Year’s Eve, the kids were all asleep and the adults were planning on enjoying dinner and drinks together, they were halfway through their dinner when Sam brought up an interesting subject.

“I have to say, I’ve been curious how did you come up with the idea of having a child together? Whose idea was it?” He wondered genuinely interested in listening the story.

“I… Don’t remember” Penelope tried to shrug it off, not wanting to discuss that in front of everyone.

“It was me actually, I had the idea, she had talked to me about wanting to be a mom and I wanted to be a dad and next thing we know we had Jules” Luke replied nonchalantly.

“The truth is he wanted this genepool for his kid, I mean, can you blame him?” Penelope joked while signaling herself.

“And have you thought what exactly are you gonna tell him when he’s older? About his parents being with other people” Lisa inquiried, her tone wasn’t rude at all.

The rest listened and focused on their plates, that was until a tipsy Emily decided to jump in the conversation.

“Oh, I want to listen to this, I bet they didn’t think about it”

“Well we might have talked about it once or twice but didn’t came up with a plan exactly” Penelope replied nervously, thinking it wasn’t any of their business, except Luke and hers.

“I’m sure you’ll do great, at least you were always aware that you were going to have the conversation, I never believed I had to until I got divorced” Sam interjected, regretting bringing up the subject.

“No, but that actually makes more sense to me, I mean why you decide that you’ll bring a child into a world with someone you don’t love” The alcohol started to make Emily talk way more than she intended to

JJ tried to stop her, she took her hand “Babe, stop” Emily shook her hand and ignored her suggestion.

“You were in love with your wife I assume, I understand shit happens, people get divorced all the time and have to talk about this with their kids but doing it deliberately? I can’t fucking understand it”

Luke cleared his throat “Em, with all due respect, that’s how you think but-” Emily cut him off.

“No, not only me, everyone on this table believed you were crazy for doing this” She slurred “We all thought having a kid with someone you don’t love wasn’t the brightest idea”

Penelope who had remained silent, couldn’t hold it anymore and started to speak “Ok Emily but how are you so sure we don’t love each other? I’ve known Luke for more than half of my life, he’s one of my closest friends” She took a deep breath trying not to raise her voice and continued “He has been there through the good and the bad more than any of you have, sure it’s because we’ve been practically neighbors for years but that doesn’t make it less valid, I know pretty much anything there is to know about him and I love him for who he is, I know why when we first met him he was kind of a loner, I know he’s not a great cook but he does a mean lasagna, I know he’s loyal and honest and has one of the kindest hearts ever, we have the same values, we have the same sense of humor, I know his position on just about everything and I wholeheartedly agree with him, what better man could I have possibly chose to be the father of my son? Huh? So please refrain from giving your opinion on something that’s not your business at all, Em” Luke seemed to be at loss of words, many different emotions were going through his heart, for a second he forgot why was Penelope telling all of this, because of Emily, and everyone else seemed to fade into the background, he wasn’t moving on with his life, he was deeply in love with Penelope Garcia.

“Well-” Penelope cut Savannah off

“And I know, I just know that no matter what happens in a year or two or ten, we’ll be fine, because we love each other” She finished feeling how her pulse had quickened.

Emily snorted “Alright if you say so, but let me tell you something, you seem fine now but life gets complicated, friends” She addressed the entire gang “You don’t know it yet but it does” She rushed to their bedroom and JJ goes after her not before muttering apologies to Penelope, Luke and the rest of their friends, everyone is uncomfortable and confused by Emily’s outburst.

Penelope is excited to see everyone and celebrate Luke’s birthday together, she’s rushes out of the cab to the restaurant, only to find Luke in the waiting area of the restaurant.

“Hi, happy birthday” Luke hugged her “Where’s everybody? I thought I was going to be the last one here?” She breathed out.

“Oh, it’s just us tonight” Penelope frowned but didn’t say a thing “Julian seemed really happy to be with his grandma” Luke tried to change the subject so she wouldn’t question him. 

“Aw, he does love her, how’s your mom?” He took the chair out for her and then proceeded to take his sit.

“She’s doing alright, she asked me to say hi to you” He passed the message, knowing his mom wouldn’t forgive him if he forgot to do so.

“I should go and visit Elena one of these days, talking to her always lifts my spirits”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

“Yeah, I’m sure she’d be thrilled to see you, she loves you, Pen” He leaned against the table and took her hand in his.

“She’s the sweetest, really” She adjusted her glasses and opened the menu “And where’s Lisa?” 

“No Lisa tonight, she’s on duty” He lied, rubbing his beard. 

Penelope pouted “Oh, I’m sorry, Luke” When he saw her sympathetic look he decided to cut the act.

“Don’t be, because it’s actually not true” Her face filled with confusion.

“Oh no, what happened?”

“Nothing, everything was great, she’s great” Luke looked down and felt it coming.

“Then what’s wrong?” Penelope asked with a furrowed eyebrows.

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m sure my mom would’ve loved her but…” He looked in her eyes and once again grabbed her hand “All I do when I’m with her is think about you and only you” Penelope mouth fell open, she felt the air removed from her lungs “I didn’t want her here tonight nor anyone really, I broke things off with her, I wanted my family with me and I realized you are my family” His voice broke “You and Julian are everything I need to get through life” The moment Penelope realized there were tears on his eyes, her own vision became blurry, she moved her chair to be next to him and leaned her head in his shoulder. 

Next thing she knew Luke was lifting her chin and searching for her lips, she pulled away even before their lips touched “Luke, I’m with Sam”

“Oh, yeah, sorry I should allow you to talk to him before-” Penelope closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’re moving in together” Luke forgot how to breathe for a moment “I met his kids a few months ago and we’ve been talking about taking the next step ever since and we found a great place, I’m sorry, Luke”

He looked confused “But what about all you said that time Emily questioned us?”

Penelope look dumbfounded “I-I, it wasn’t a lie, I meant everything that I said, I love you but I-I’m not-” She took the hair out of her face “I love you so much as a friend, I thought we were on the same page, I don’t know what-” Luke let her go and got up, he needed to get out of there “Luke, wait” Before Penelope could walk to him, he was gone, and she was left there not knowing what to do of his confession.

The truth was her and Sam were in a great place, they were looking forward to start a life together, they had even discussed marriage, Julian loved him, she loved Taylor and Benji, Sam’s kids, everything seemed to fall into place with him.

The next months after that, Luke and Penelope barely spoke unless it was regarding Julian, the times where they would just spend weekends together with their son were long gone, Julian still spent a lot of time with his parents just separately, Penelope was starting to pack their stuff, she felt terrible and she wanted Luke to lash out at her, to tell her off, yell at her for taking Julian to another house, instead all Luke ever did was remain distant, she couldn’t blame him but she missed her best friend.

Penelope sighed “What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?” Derek said, he had offered to help her packing the last stuff before she was out of the apartment.

“Do you think I’m making a mistake by moving in with Sam?” He frowned, not knowing exactly where that was coming from, she had seemed when she told him and Savannah the news.

“I think you should do what makes you happy, if-” Penelope didn’t let him finish his sentence.

“Do you think I should’ve given Luke and I a chance?” Derek’s eyebrows raised, he was surprised at her question.

“Why are you asking this?” Penelope bit her lip and then sat down on the floor, since there was no couch or chairs left, and proceeded to tell him what had happened a few months ago, as Derek listened he didn’t have it in him to be surprised by Luke’s feelings nor Penelope’s second guessing her decision.

“Look, baby girl” He started as he cleaned the tears falling on her cheeks “I still think you should do what makes you happy, and follow your heart, you shouldn’t do something because you feel obligated to, you know? Moving in with Sam because you already leased the house or give Luke a chance because he’s the father of your son” Derek wrapped an arm around her “There’s nothing more I want than to see you happy, whether is with Sam, Luke, only you and Jules, look, even if you wanna go back to what’s-his-name let’s go live in a farm guy?” She laughed through the tears “I want you to be happy and I’ll be there for you, ok?”

“Ok” She managed to say “Kevin, he was the one that wanted me us to go and live in a farm”

“Alright, well if you wanna go live in a farm I’m sure Julian will love all the free space to run around” They laughed and Derek kissed her forehead, hoping she’d follow his advice and go with whatever made her truly happy.

Penelope was meeting Emily for drinks, she entered the bar to see Emily already sitting there, she greeted her and they started to catch up, it had been a really long time since they last saw each other, once again, life making it complicated to hang out more often.

“So” Emily started “I don’t think I ever actually apologized about that one time” She felt embarrassed reminiscing her behaviour during that New Year’s.

“Come on, Em” Penelope waved her off “It’s ok, you don’t have to say anything”

“No, but I do, I was- we were going through a difficult time, JJ and I were going through the adoption process for Nick and we weren’t getting matched and there were a lot of setbacks, that’s why we didn’t tell any of you at the time but it was difficult for us and of course, JJ was way better than at handling everything and I just let out my frustration that time when it wasn’t my place to say anything, I was an asshole to you” Penelope placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t say that, Emily, we all snap sometimes, I’m sorry you were going through that but now you have Nick and he’s a great kid” Penelope smiled remembering the curly boy.

“I didn’t mean anything that I said, I mean, we did have our doubts but you proved it was possible to do what you did”

“Oh no, I actually think you were right, it’s a bit of a mess right now” Penelope looked away.

“I... Know, and even though the situation is not great right now, I’m sure you’ll get through it” Emily gave her a sympathetic smile and Penelope nodded “I gotta say one more thing though, I’ll never understand why you guys didn’t even try”

The blonde woman just shrugged, at that point neither did she “It’s just, we’ve been friends for half of our lives, it would’ve been, I don’t know, weird? We’ve seen each other at our worse and our best, he’s like always been there” As much as Penelope tried to convince herself it wouldn’t have worked out, she never actually did it.

“Babe, I don’t see how that’s bad” Emily commented taking a sip of her drink, her words echoed in Penelope’s head.

Luke opened the door and Julian immediately launched himself at him.

“Daddy!” He clung onto Luke’s neck while Penelope awkwardly stood there.

“Sorry I couldn’t pick him up tonight” Luke said, looking at Julian instead of her, he was still hurt but really trying to move on this time.

“Don’t worry, it’s ok” Luke expected to see her turn around and go back to her place but she remained there “I found this at my place, it’s your birthday present from last year, you never actually got it so I thought I should bring it” He saw the bag in her hands and it just reminded him of the day he had gotten his heart broken.

“Oh, Penelope, I appreciate it but I’m fine, I don’t need anything”

“Please, I insist” She offered it to him and Julian was fast take it.

“Open it, daddy!” He started to kick his legs so Luke would put him down.

“I’ll open it tomorrow, bud, it’s time for bed now” He could see Julian was not happy about it. 

“NO!” Julian dropped to the floor “Open it! Open it!” The terrible twos were not a joke, he started to throw kicks and Luke kneeled to his level.

“Jules, it’s time to go to bed, come on” He grabbed him in his arms.

“Open the pwesent” Luke sighed.

“I’ll make you a deal, we open it and then you go to bed” Julian seemed to calm.

“I’m gonna get going now, good night Jules, have sweet dreams, my love” She took a step to them and leaned to kiss Julian’s head, when she was about to step away she grabbed her sweater.

“Stay!” Penelope softly took his little hand and let herself free from his grasp.

“I can’t, I gotta go, baby” Julian started to cry.

“Maybe you can stay and help us with bedtime” Luke suggested, Penelope silently agreed.

They walked towards Julian’s bedroom and Penelope felt like an outsider, it had been a long time since she had walked inside Luke’s home, once they got there, she helped Julian to put on his PJ’s while Luke watched them and untuck his bed covers. 

“Pwesent!” Julian said once he was underneath his blankets, each of his parents sat on either side of the bed next to him.

Luke opened the bag and put out something that look like a binder? Photo album? ‘Luke + Jules + Pen’ was engraved on the cover, when he opened it, he saw it was a scrapbook, it had photos of him and Penelope when they first met back in college, ticket stubs of that time when Penelope was in different plays, from when all of the gang had gone to see the Yankees, Luke’s favorite baseball team, photos of them with their friends and then it was Julian’s first sonogram, photos of Penelope pregnant, photos of their baby shower, their first picture the three of them that Savannah had taken at the hospital, all of it was filled with memories.

Luke closed it abruptly, it was all too much for him “Alright, bud, it’s time for you to sleep, we’re picking up Roxy from the shelter tomorrow, remember?” A sleepy boy nodded and just when Penelope and Luke thought they had won, Julian spoke again.

“Mommy, stay!” Penelope tried her best to smile.

“I have to go to your other home, remember?” Luke noticed how Penelope’s voice faltered and decided to back her up.

“Julian, remember what I told you about your two houses? That only the most special little boys get two, so Mommy needs to go and take care of your other house”

“I want Mommy to stay!” He demanded, starting to cry again.

It took everything in Penelope not to tell him that he wanted to stay as well so she just held him and sang the lullaby Luke used to sing to him when he was a baby, it didn’t take long until he fell asleep, Penelope kissed his forehead and silently left the room with Luke behind her.

Before she could speak Luke beat her to it “Drive safe, I’ll take him to you on Sunday” He said and Penelope could only nod as she walked out of the door an to her car.

She sat there for a few minutes, not realizing tears were rolling down her cheeks, when she calmed down she started to drive home, it took her ten minutes to decide she was not going home, she made an u-turn to go back to Luke’s place.

She knocked, unsure what she was going to say but trusting it would be the right thing.

“Penelope? Did you forget something?” Luke asked, confused as to why she was back.

She walked right past him into his apartment “Remember when I asked you if you had met your person?” She said with tears in her eyes.

“Yes” He breathed out.

“We both said no” Penelope stated “Can you ask me if I’ve met my person, please?” Luke felt some sort of anger form in his chest.

“Why? So you can tell me it’s perfect Sam? I don’t under-”

“Please” She interrupted him “Please ask me”

“Have you met your person?”

“Yeah, I have, for a long time now, but I was an idiot and I didn’t realize it until just recently” She said through her sobs, Luke forgot how to breathe, playing her words over and over again “When I found your present and looked through it I realized it’s you, it has been you all along, Luke, you’re my person”

Luke didn’t waste no time and kissed her, feeling his heart being mend with every second that passed, when they pulled away, he asked “What about Sam?”

“He’s been out of the picture for months” She admitted and Luke resumed their kiss only to pull apart immediately.

“You’re my person, Penelope, always have, always will” He choked out.

“I love you, Luke” She caressed his face in her hands.

Luke closed her eyes, her words giving him a joy he didn’t knew existed “I love you too, Penelope” 

“So… Can I stay?” She chuckled through her tears.

“Only if you stay forever” Luke answered and took her in his arms, planning to make up for all the lost time where he wasn’t able to show her how much he loved her.

“Home, let me come home, home is wherever I’m with you” 

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

[tellthestoryofmybrokendreams]

Rollercoaster

Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender

Pairing: Zuko/Katara

Status: Complete

Words: 1,927

AO3 Link 

Previous Next 

Desc: Katara has her ups and downs. Sometimes they’re bumps in the road, and sometimes they’re a ride on an Omashu mail cart. Zuko learns more about her everyday as she surprises him and they grow together. But these surprises are the things he loves about her.

(Or, a story of Katara being everything Zuko could ever want or need, and an examination of just how exactly they got together.)

A/N: Hello again my loves! This is second in my new series based on my love of Zutara, my love of Bleachers, and the ways they intertwine. I explain better in the first fic, but these are in track order, not chronological order, and the whole set contains two continuities.

Now, let's get on with Zuko drinking his loving Katara juice lmao. Enjoy!

If someone were to ask Zuko to list Katara’s flaws, he supposes he could. She has a temper, she holds grudges, and she tends to make impulse decisions without realizing the consequences. She cares almost too much, especially about the people she loves, to the point where he thinks if any of Team Avatar had to die to defeat the Fire Lord she might let Ozai and Azula win. Though, really, the same could be said of him.

And it’s not like he particularly cared about or looked for her “flaws” anyway, he’s just heard Toph and Sokka complain about her. Or maybe he got annoyed once or twice at her attempts to help everyone they come across, despite the weight it puts on her shoulders.

Everyone has a flaw or two, everyone has a negative aspect to their personality. He would know, he’s got a top twenty list for himself. And he spent his childhood surrounded by people dominated by their flaws.

That doesn’t mean she’s not incredible, though. He thinks often about their own “life changing field trip”, and how powerful she was, how that trip changed how he saw her and made everything make sense. Before they left, he knew she’d had lessons with a waterbending master, and that she was teaching Aang. But whenever he imagined her, thought of their last fight, he hadn’t even imagined her full power. She’d been good, but he’d thought it surely was just because of the full moon. To see her reach inside someone and take control of the water inside them? That was the moment he recognized that she was a true master, probably one of the best water benders in the world.

That trip overall had been a lot for the two of them, the tension was thick and she went out of her way to avoid touching him. Their last meaningful interaction was weighing on them both.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Katara had come to his room for a second time after he returned from Boiling Rock. She wanted to know exactly what had happened, and her brother refused to tell her. She’d perched herself on his window sill as he sighed, sat on his bed, and thought back to try to give her every detail. Spirits knew he’d want to know everything if she’d brought his mother back to him.

He hadn’t noticed at the time, but as he recounted their daring escape, tears had slowly filled her eyes. She’d curled herself into a ball slowly as she took in the information. And when she heard him describe their final fight with Azula and Ty Lee on top of the gondola, and coming so close to dying, she stood suddenly. He finished explaining how he knew if Azula was there, she’d have a war balloon before looking up, noticing her sudden movement and startling.

She took a tentative step closer to him, then hesitated, “What would you have done? If Mai hadn’t saved you I mean.”

He shrugged, “Well, I’d grab Sokka, Suki, and your father, and try to do that move Azula did. Shoot fire and use it to propel me as I jump. If I couldn’t make it, I’d throw them up, either to the rim of the volcano or so they could grab the other line and climb it.”

She considered for a moment, nodding, before freezing and narrowing her eyes slightly, “If you did that, you’d die.”

“I’d die if I didn’t do it-”

“No, the gondolas are probably built to float.”

“Well either way, it was more important for them to survive. You and Aang need Sokka, Sokka would never forgive himself if Suki died, and I refuse to let the two of you lose your second parent. Aang progressed quickly with firebending, he could have gone on and taught himself decently without me. It would be an honor to die and save some of the most important people in this fight.”

Katara almost seemed to tremble as her mouth fell open. She took a small step, then another, before practically sprinting towards him and throwing her arms around him. Shocked, he almost didn’t return the embrace. After a second she pulled away, still leaving her hands on his shoulders despite the slightly awkward distance between them, and he stared at her in confusion.

She looked conflicted, unsure of herself, as she looked him in the eye before whispering, “Th-thank you Zuko. That was good of you,” she paused, before returning to her normal tone when addressing him, “But I...I still don’t trust you. This doesn’t change that.”

He deflated a little, “I kno-”

And she suddenly shot up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his. This time, it was almost instinctive. He kissed her back fiercely and went to wrap his arms around her waist.

Before he could, she was out of his reach, a look of shock and horror on her face that morphed into anger as she quickly bent the water from the glass by his bed to fall over his head. She turned on her heel and stormed out, muttering under her breath. Her words were rapid and blended together, and his head was spinning, so even his above average hearing couldn’t make sense of it.

They hadn’t discussed it, not even on their expedition, but he knows it’s the reason she was so hostile between then and when they faced Yon Rha. At the time, he was completely bewildered. He was certain she’d kissed him, but then she was so angry and disgusted, like he’d forced himself. He knew he hadn’t, and she probably would have done more than released water over his head if he had, anyway.

And then she was yelling at him about her mother when he tried to talk to her about how she was acting, and he figured out what she was thinking. Really, it was just what she’d said beneath Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation took her mother, and when she thought of the Fire Nation she pictured him. Throw in her bizarre fury over their even more bizarre...incident, and of course she was cold and angry with him.

He knew he had to make it up to her, make everything up to her, and he figured getting closure for her mother was exactly what she needed. Whatever closure meant to her.

Their adventure to get said closure was...eventful. She proved herself a force to be reckoned with, and he silently thanked the Spirits that he’d switched sides when he did. He was certain she’d now be able to stop his heart with a flick of her wrist if she wanted to.

And when they climbed back on Appa’s back, she’d immediately curled up in a ball in the saddle. He pulled a blanket from his pack and gently laid it over her, before taking the reins and steering Appa toward Ember Island. All this time discussing her past had made him think of his own, and a safe haven it held.

“I know somewhere we can stay for now,” he called back to her, “And I’m gonna take us there and drop you off before I go get the others.”

He thought he saw her nod.

But when they touched down at his family beach house, and he explained what it was and led her to a bedroom to rest, the rain outside became a heavy storm with far too much lightning for Appa to fly safely. So he stayed the night in the house with her, waiting for the rain to let up. He’d given Katara his mother’s room, but as he stood upstairs in the hallway he knew his childhood bedroom was not where he should stay.

He made his way to his father’s old room at the end of the hall and stepped inside. This room had the most dust, despite their servants usually cleaning before a trip, since Ozai hadn’t come to the house with his family for years even before they stopped going altogether. Zuko shook out the bedding before climbing in and falling asleep quickly as his exhaustion hit him.

These circumstances usually led to dreamless sleep, but he was still chased through his subconscious by long, dark hair and beautiful blue eyes, just as he had been every night since his return from Boiling Rock. If he was truly honest with himself, she’d haunted him since he first laid eyes on her at the South Pole.

The next day, the rain was still pounding down outside. He lit a fire and they sat down together in front of it, drinking tea that had probably gone bad. They were silent, until he asked how she was doing and she sighed and turned to face him.

“I’m ok. I feel better than I have in a while. I don’t know if it was weakness or strength that I didn’t kill him, but I don’t think he deserved it anyway. He is a cowardly, empty man, and death would be too kind. I embarrassed him by beating him so easily, and by finding him too pitiful to bother killing. He will suffer with his crimes for the rest of his life, be imprisoned once we win, and die a slow death in his old age, hopefully from a painful disease. I think I did the right thing.”

He smiled, “If you feel it was right, then it was.”

She stared at him all morning, and he pretended not to notice. When he finally was able to leave and get the rest of the crew, she looked at him unabashedly, smiled, and said goodbye.

When the whole Team Avatar came back and saw that she wasn’t in the house, he and Aang went out to look for her on Appa. Finding his favorite waterbender sitting on the dock and swishing the ocean with her feet, he stood back and allowed Aang to talk with her. He wasn’t really listening, it was a private conversation, and probably a repeat of their own exchange. He did tune in when he noticed her stand up angrily.

“I didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him,” she told Aang, hard and direct and letting him know he was wrong this time. But then she softened and turned to him with a smile, “But I am ready to forgive you.”

She walked toward him, and he stayed still, waiting for her next move. And she launched herself at him and threw her arms around him. He felt his inner fire expand as another drive cemented itself in his soul, “Be everything Katara needed him to be.”

And from then on, she was always by his side and he was always by hers. They were Yin and Yang, and they made each other better. Even before they told their friends, they knew they were each other’s one and only. She led him into battle and adventure alike, and he loved every bit of her. She was fun and incredible, his favorite person in the world. She continues to surprise him as she did on that first trip together, and they run free together with no plans to ever stop. Stuffy Fire Nation politics couldn’t even begin to hope to contain them. Each of her flaws only makes her more beautiful, another aspect of the woman he loves. He never knew what would come next with her, but he knew and trusted every bit of this girl with every bit of him.

[leviheichou23]

Princess Principal 10/19 Live Report!!

Just got back!!!!!!! Here is the recording! 1hr 17min is where the Kajiura portion starts ^^ I will try to go to the one tomorrow as well! (I believe tomorrow is the day they're filming)

Warning, I'm a diehard keiko stan so this is gonna be just mostly focused on her xD

But for the report it was really really amazing and for me just so worth it to see Keiko in person finally after literally like 8 years , it felt soooooooo unreal. She's so gorgeous and stunning in person, i love her so much <3 <3 They were all wearing the YK15 dresses, but Keiko had her hair up in a ponytail this time!

For the void chords section, I don't have much to say as I didn't really recognize any of the songs except for the OP and ED (I didn't realize there was a character songs album lmao) but the singer was really good! Very jazzy haha

The crowd seemed to be way more into the Void Chords section though, they had these green lightsticks and everything that they only used during it, and they were only standing up during the Void Chords portion too, during the whole Kajiura section everyone was just sitting quietly it was kinda odd lol.

But for Kajiura:

shadows and fog- Joelle and Yuriko mained the beginning, then all 4 joined in and UGHHH it was so so so good. Just hearing Keiko's lower harmony's live like that was so unreal I couldn't believe it the sound literally took over the whole venue. I've always loved this track a lot too

then the MC, Kajiura talked a lot, its so cute how whenever Kajiura talks in MC's Keiko always stares at her so attentively and nods and laughs, it was really cute ;; The scream from the audience when they introduced Keiko lmao (I was so tempted to scream Keiko but i didn't want to embarrass myself haha) Keiko only said 1 line during the whole thing, I really wanted to hear her talk more, I miss that a lot about Kalafina lives :(

espionage trap- Only Joelle and Yuriko, not much to say here but they both sounded pretty good! Yuriko being Yuriko lol

then a bunch of instrumental songs, i dont reallly have much to say on those but i like that new female violinist they have, and the FBM all sounded really good live (as always). Kinda weird they didn't have a cello player tho (or just more strings in general, unless I missed something) when a lot of the tracks were very cello centric. I think they chose a pretty decent selection of tracks overall though

Then another MC and more instrumental tracks, then another MC aaaand the absolute highlight of the live for me:

もひとつまわし���ー I was PRAYING they would do this and that Keiko would lead and SHE DID!!!! This was the only song Keiko got a real solo in but it was soooo amazing, her voice fit the song so well and she looked so happy and cute performing it too!! <3 This song has always reminded me of a lighter Marchen, honestly just hearing this live made the whole experience worth it, I was sooo happy :D The recording doesn't do it justice just hearing her voice take up the whole venue was so amazing her voice really is absolutely a one of a kind;; Hearing this made me really sad and nostalgic for all the kalafina lives i missed out on over the years though :( Kaori seemed to be having some mic troubles or something, she kept fiddling with it throughout.

My one real complaint with the concert in general is that I barely saw Keiko's face throughout the whole thing bc there were so little closeup shots of her (the screen mostly showed stuff from the anime arghh) and I was too far away to see her face that clearly :( Hopefully that might be different tomorrow if they have more proper recording stuff but we'll see. The few closeup shots we did get though were great, she's literally so ungodly pretty in person :((

then battle of the shadows- keiko and kaori came in from the right and yuriko and joelle from the left, they were all clapping and being cute and smiley so everyone clapped along too lol. This song is kinda like a better version of shadows and fog imo, and then joelles part !!! i broke out in chills

and then moonlight melody!!- I've always loved this song, it was so great finally being able to hear keikos countermelodys so clearly in person, ive always struggled to hear them clearly in the bootlegged recordings and stuff haha. Joelles verse is always <3 <3 And then the extended lalala's was so cuuuute, the spotlight was on the audience and they were encouraging everyone to sing along and everything;;

I can't remember during which song exactly (it might've been this one), but Keiko and Kaori and Keiko and Yuriko were being super flirty and cute during the whole concert, Keiko had her arms around Yurikos back at one point and was like serenading her xD, and then at another point Kaori started playing with Keiko's ponytail, they were all holding hands at some other point too, it all blended together for me lol i was really in a daze.  And then when the concert was over, Keiko and Yuriko walked out together while hugging each others backs it was so cute :(

And then the last song, shadows and fog again but this time they brought in the void chords vocalist too (shes the one doing the kajiurago in the beginning and all the adlibs). The girls were a lot more involved and cute this time though, they kept bouncing around the stage hugging and being cute, and then during all the FBM solos Keiko and Yuriko were like running around the stage to each member and like jamming out with them it was so hskgsfkgjhjg

and sorry the recording cuts off at the end, that was when I stopped to take a picture, the live pretty much ended right then anyways xD

no encore unfortunately :(

overall it was a really great experience and honestly just worth it for me finally getting to see keiko xD i was kinda bummed she was in so few songs, and only truly had a real solo in 1, but I was expecting that going in. She just has such an infectious transfixing aura whenever she performs, I honestly only had my eyes on her the whole time so I probably missed a lot of other stuff xD

It just made me miss Kalafina and seeing her both regularly, and as like the focus of the concert a lot (especially since I never got to see a kalafina live ever...:/), I really really realllly hope Kajiura is working on some sort of other project for her soon because she has such an infectious love and joy for performing thats so obvious and i really have to wonder if shes ok with performing so seldomly (basically whenever YK feels like having lives xD) when she was probably so used to kalafina's super constant touring schedule. but oh well :( im here until next August so ill probably get more chances to see her, hopefully a full proper YK live sometime next summer!

[dbzebra]

☕️ The American Dragon Ball fanbase/fandom (overall)

ok, let me preface this by saying I grew up watching the English dub on toonami in NOrth America. I still prefer the dub cast to this day.  So im not just some foreigner who just goes “waaaaaaahhh english dub sux” or whatever. One of my earliest memories with the series was this promo!!

Anyway, pre 2010, this fanbase was fine. Sure it wasnt perfect but no fanbase is. Theres the sub vs dub and power level debates and a few running jokes thanks to TFS still being relatively small, but it was harmless.

After TFS blew up and later with Dragon Ball Super, both permanently tarnished this fanbase. First, you have casual fans believing TFS memes are canon. And then dbs... just in general lmao. Its in part due to meme culture which is a big problem in some ways not just with DB. Like when Skyrim came out, the “Arrow to the knee” was funny like twice. but then everyone and their mother made the jokes every day for like 3 fucking years and it ruined it. Thats the problem with the DB fanbase in the west. too focused on memes, even ones that are 1) objectively false and 2) havent been funny since 2007. almost 2 decades later. Yet here we are, in almost May 2020, ‘”gOkU bAd DAd, VeGeTas BettEr” most of these people never even saw the series, they watch the fights and see the jokes, call themselves DB fans and spam memes so they can get the internet points. 

next, this seems to be more with american culture in general just going by the type of movies we get. Super hardcore action. and they think thats all DB is. Like yeah its a part, but only a piece of the puzzle. goes back to what i said before, all these fans care about is the fights and nothing else. They shit on Krillin for getting a hot wife, despite all the things he did cause hes “Weak.” yet these same fans will love Vegeta despite him being a mass murdering douche, and only became a decent guy at the end of the series and claim hes the best. Not trying to point fingers at Vegeta as I do geninuely enjoy him in Saiyan-Namek Saga and parts of Buu saga, thats just what ive seen and its usually from Vegeta fans. gohan fans arent much better which I mentioned in the other post

Just that type of thing. Ik theres more but im blanking rn lol

Anyway now that DBS is gone hopefully for good, ive noticed more and more people are calling out these things and it seems the Goku dad jokes are finally going away and looked down on as opposed to a few years ago where it was at its peak. 

sorry for the super long post lol

[1800-seungshine]

acts of kindness.

group: txt. member: choi yeonjun. genre(s): fluff, highschool!au. summary: a bandaid and an umbrella. who knew that a simple act of kindness one fateful day could lead to a blooming friendship and possibly even more. (bullet-point format) word count: 1.5k

note: what better way than to publish a scenario as a 100th post! this is my first time writing since last year and this time it’s not wanna one but about one of the txt boys. i’m very nervous about how it turned out ooft. hopefully, i didn’t butcher it too much since i haven’t watched a lot of videos to grasp yeonjun’s personality lmao. anyways, thank you for the likes, follows and reblogs i’ve been getting :’)) i appreciate it very much aheh. happy readings!

ok wow i’m so rusty 

bear with me y’all lmao 

i know that yeonjun would have probably graduated by now but let’s pretend that he didn’t lmao teleport yourselves to last year aight

choi yeonjun is known around the school for being one of the coolest and nicest seniors around.

he’s popular with all the girls, guys and even the teachers love him.

he’s involved in the dance club but also an honorary member in the music club. he’s the guy they call when they need someone to sing or rap.

basically,, sis is your talented all rounder smh how rude is he amirite

you were also a senior like yeonjun except you weren’t as famous around the school and you’re more involved in academic clubs. 

there are a large number of students who know you but that’s because you often help out with tutoring.

the teachers are quite fond of you as well since you’re quick to jump when they need help, even if they didn’t think they needed help.

overall, you’re a helpful person. 11/10 good citizen yknow.

but due to being in different classes, you don’t know yeonjun that well and vice-versa; you two only pass each other in the hallways.

hence you recognise his face but you don’t really know his name.

[inserts jungkook’s “i know her face but i don’t her name”]

you don’t know much about the social circles around the school since you usually find yourself cooped up in the library during break, helping out younger students with their assigned work

and if tutoring wasn’t the case, the academic clubs you’re in always seem to have endless lunch meetings.

look at me trying to fix a plot hole lmao

but you have heard the name yeonjun thrown around here and there

you just shrug it off though since you don’t know who the guy is or what he looks like.

your paths never really cross anyways.

but that won’t be the case for long :^D

it all started when yeonjun found himself in the school library, printing his assignment last minute (it was due the next class). 

being in such a rush, what yeonjun didn’t realise was that he gave himself a paper cut

“ack!” he feels a jolt of pain, causing him to stand there as he flails his hand around, a pained expression on his face as he internally screams because hey it’s free real estate the library

you were going over to the printer to collect the documents which were you but you momentarily stopped as you watched this dude making a bunch of pained expressions in a single minute, grumbling to himself.

from his endless mutterings, all you could make out was “why does paper hurt so much? why is the world forsaking me? i hate this library.” 

we love a dramatic boi

stifling a laugh, you walked over to check up on him. 

“hey are you ok?” 

realising someone had approached him, yeonjun pulls himself together as he clears his throat. 

“oh yeah, i’m good. just a paper cut, nothing major. i can handle it.” 

doubting his statement, you rummage in your skirt pocket for a bandaid and after successfully finding one, you hand it to him. 

“i experience paper cuts quite a lot. more than i want, really.” you tell him, chuckling a little bit, “here you go, just so it won’t irritate you as much.”

he looks down at the bandaid you gave to him, staring at the sky blue background and the drawing of a polar bear lying down. 

“what a cute bandaid.” yeonjun mumbles, chuckling in amusement at the design before he looks up, his eyes immediately meeting yours as he sends a smile. “thanks...” 

you reciprocate with a smile, “no worries.” you say to him before walking off. 

left in a small trance, yeonjun finally snaps out of it as he smacks his forehead. 

“i forgot to ask what her name was!”

time skip yeet 

it was nearing the end of another school day and of course being the last period of classes, you couldn’t help but to zone out for certain sections of it.

you stared out the window again, taking note of how the huge grey clouds that formed earlier began to cover the sky and rain started to fall.

as you watched the rain transition from light sprinkling and now pelting down, the school bell rings as realisation hits you. 

you didn’t bring your umbrella today. 

releasing a tiny groan, you shut your eyes in frustration before shaking your head at yourself. 

“seems like we’re walking home in the rain today.” you say to yourself as you pack your things, placing them in your bag. 

as you near the school doors, you briefly stop your tracks to take off your blazer, placing it over you as you let out a sigh, “well there’s no other choice.” 

with your blazer providing some sort of shelter, you exit out of the school gates in a rush. 

what you didn’t know was that someone was waiting for you.

choi yeonjun to be exact. 

he notices you power walk through the large groups of students walking together, with a blazer above your head. 

and suddenly he finds himself trying to catch up with you, “hey!”

luckily for yeonjun, his yelling caused you to halt and his long strides helped him block your path. 

forgetting his original plan of thanking you and asking for your name, he takes your blazer and places it in your arm whilst shoving the umbrella he had in your other hand. “take it, you’ll get sick.” 

“i- but,, what-” you fumbled, taken by surprise due to his sudden presence and gesture.

but before you could utter a coherent sentence, yeonjun had already turned the other direction, running in the pouring rain. 

time skip bleep bloop.

the next day, you made sure you went to school earlier than usual. 

you stopped by a convenience store on the way to school, purchasing a box of chocolate milk as a way of saying thanks to the guy who helped you out the previous day.

unsure of what time yeonjun would arrive, you aimlessly walked back and forth the hallways where you usually see him.

with the chocolate milk in one hand and the umbrella in the other, you take a look at the flower patterned design on it, grinning at it in amusement.

you chortled in amusement when you saw it last night, wondering how a guy who seemed so cool had such an umbrella. 

as you direct your gaze away from the umbrella, you look up to see a figure walking down the hallway. 

“hey umbrella guy!” you let out a small yell, waving your arm as you were sure of the familiar face.

hearing your voice, yeonjun then jogs lightly to you with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. 

“oh, hey bandaid girl.” 

you raise a brow at the nickname, smiling softly. “bandaid girl?” you repeat before snapping out of the thought at how cute the nickname was.

getting to your original point, you hand him the things in your hands, “this is for you!”

yeonjun slightly tilts his head to the side, looking down at the umbrella and the chocolate milk.

“just a simple gesture to say thanks since i didn’t get the chance to do so yesterday.” 

he lets out a small chuckle, placing his bag down to unzip his bag, putting the umbrella back before pulling out a carton of strawberry milk.

standing upright, yeonjun places the strawberry milk in your hands. “seems like we had the same idea, i wanted to say thanks for the bandaid but i didn’t get the chance either.” 

taking the strawberry milk from him, you let out a soft laughing as you sheepishly scratch your cheek out of habit. 

“this is quite strange, i don’t really know your name so i don’t know whether to call you umbrella guy or to ask what your name is before thanking you.” 

forming a wide grin, yeonjun stretches out his hand, “the name’s choi yeonjun but umbrella guy also works i guess. nice to meet you.” 

“oh you’re yeonjun. oh goodness, i should have known.” you say with realisation, hitting your forehead lightly before replying with a similar grin, “i’m y/n but bandaid girl’s just as fine.” 

you take his outstretched hand, shaking it as firmly as possible, sending a sweet smile at his way. 

“it’s very nice to meet you, yeonjun and thanks for the strawberry milk.” 

“likewise, y/n. thanks for the chocolate milk as well, i appreciate it.” 

having twenty minutes of free time, the two of you open your cartons of milk as you walk around the school, spending some time chatting with one another.

“so you’re choi yeonjun, the popular senior who everyone thinks is cool right?” 

“yeap, and you must y/n the smart tutor senior?”

“smart isn’t the proper word but i do tutor the younger grades.”

“wait— hang on! what do you mean by everyone thinks i’m cool? i am cool.”

“well, that’s what i first thought too when i heard stories about you but your flower patterned umbrella ruined it.” 

“ok hold on,,, that was my mom’s.” 

“uhuh ok.” 

“what? you don’t believe me?? :’(”

as the day slowly begins, the empty hallways begin to be filled with laughter and voices of two people who never really knew the impact of their benevolence until now. 

[explcsivcs]

––––– ( jacob elordi, cismale, he/him ) i just saw CASEY O'NEILL walking down the street’s of provincetown the other day playing WATCH ME by JADEN out loud. rumor has it that the TWENTY-TWO year old is +CHARISMATIC, but can also be -RECKLESS — overall they’re a CRIMSON. they remind me of THE SOUND OF A REVVING CAR ENGINE, BOTTLE ROCKETS AT MIDNIGHT, NEUTRAL COLOR SCHEMES, and EMPTY MOVIE THEATERS.  –– it’s your local idiot, here with a new child! he’s a mess, but aren’t they all ?? like this or whatevaaaa and i’ll come to u for PLOTS !

BACKGROUND.

casey boiiii was born in london to a couple’a rich folk. dad, sean, is the ceo of a massive pharmaceutical company, and mom, emma, is from old money but spends most of her time bein’ a lil socialite and doing heavy charity work. they were good for a long long time. like casey grew up wanting for nothing, attending elite private schools and just all around living The Dream™

his dad is stern and driven by logic and money. if it were up to him, he woulda been working 24/7 and leaving his son in the hands of a nanny until he was old enough to inherit the company lmao. his mama is the one who really ... held the family together. she stayed home with case, she made sure sean regularly spent time with the family. queen of holidays and sunday dinners. casey was absolutely a mama’s boy

all was well! until casey turned 12 and his mom fell terminally ill. she passed away within like six months of her diagnosis and yessir this is.. when shit hit the fan. sean became absolutely miserable and threw himself into work, thus throwing casey into the hands of house staff. he was rarely ever home and really... kind of just stopped dad duties and wallowed in his own grief.

casey tried desperately to get his dad’s attention back. he was making stellar grades, perfect grades even. he was in sports year around, and he was fucking good at them esp lacrosse. he ... fuckin learned to cook in hopes of taking after his mom and being able to keep sunday dinners going. he joined student council and even faked an interest in business. lil dude grew the fuck up at such a young age. and it! didn’t! work!

when he ... got into high school ... he got frustrated with his situation and started leaning into his unresolved anger because let me tell you he was ... pissed. about all of it. this is when he fell into the wrong crowd. he made friends who were rowdy and rude and violent, and he found that the most fervent things he felt was when he was doing something wrong. he ,.... dabbled in vandalism but also really started to get in trouble for fighting akdjfh

and it worked. his dad was halfway paying attention, being called into school after school as casey was suspended and occasionally even expelled for.. fighting. .. he was woken up in the middle of the night when casey was escorted home for being too drunk at a party or for getting caught street racing. every time they saw each other, his dad was screaming at him, but at least he was seeing him ya know??

casey really got into a lot of trouble when he got his license and began street racing. the adrenaline from racing kinda.... solved all of his problems?? like it dulled the anger and numbed the pain while also ... bringing him all the excitement and joy ya know. 

when he was sixteen he uhhh got kicked outta the last private school in london that would take him for shitty attendance and fighting. the same week, he completely totaled his car, damn near killing himself in the process, by racing in a new housing development and uhhhh literally taking out an unfinished house (it’s ok all that was standing was like the wooden support beams aight) BUT it was either... spendin time in a juvenile detention center...... or being shipped off to stay with someone else and hopefully start over

so that’s what happened! good old sean o’neill said “nope” and sent his son to live with his brother in a tiny town in a tiny state in america. that’s right bois... when he was seventeen, case moved from london to provincetown. casey kinda saw this as... his dad giving up on him and got... angrier. but it’s better than prison so!

he was kind of... a brat when he got to provincetown. didn’t want to be there. didn’t want to be anywhere really. just broody and mad all the time. participated in sports solely to get some of the angry energy out but didn’t do much else. he’s really only a part of snackpack because his cousin (hiiiii bronny) is.... and he loves her tons so he was obligated to at least be civil to her friends

he ,... got his grades on track, for the most part... and stopped fighting, for the most part. but this dumb bitch can’t stop doing reckless shit. like i’m surprised he still has a license bc the number of speeding tickets is borderline not livable.

he never really felt like he... fit... in provincetown. he still doesn’t really know where he fits in the grand scheme of life. his grades and his dad’s bank account were the only reason he got into a decent college. he went for business, bc that’s all his dad would pay for, and his heart just wasn’t fuckin’ in it at all. he graduated in may but has no fuckin idea what he wants to do. at this rate though, if he keeps fucking around, he’s going to end up being :) a nothing :) just like good old dad expects :)

PERSONALITY.

very dude bro. like you look at him and you’re like ‘idk if i wanna fuck with that’ bc he is large and stupid confident ... sometimes arrogant. definitely one of those cocky smirk lookin, backwards hat wearin, lemme take u out types of assholes idk like he’s not broody ya know. 

he doesn’t really initiate conversation. like he’s not one for small talk, kinda thinks its a lil bit of a waste of time. he’s not unapproachable.. he just values good, interesting conversation

think ... jess mariano from gilmore girls, ronan lynch from trc, and a lil sprinkle of brian o’conner from fast and furious kAJSDAHFA

his moral compass is outta whack ok! like life is not black and white in his mind. everything is grey

very clever boy. consciously makes bad decisions, but he’s clever as fuck. quick witted. he doesn’t look it but... ya boy is smart. just doesn’t fuckin’ apply himself

charming! but like ... into the woods charming, not cinderella charming. charming with an ulterior motive. charming to get what he wants. very rarely charming just for the hell of makin someone feel nice. selfish lil shit

fearless as hell, always down for adventure and a good time

a lot nicer to his close friends than he is to everyone else like akdfhas sorry @ everyone who isn’t in the snack pack ur automatically a lil bit worse in his mind

a massive flaw of his is that he truly doesn’t know how to handle his own emotions,. he’s become a pro at repressing them. even when they’re good . feelings, he has a hard time showing it?? that’s why he... acts out dude. he’s pissed

would die for his lil cuzzo y’all should know this now to prepare urself

fiercely loyal to his people

still luvs to fsu when he has the chance,,... loves a good adrenaline rush

surprisingly good at cheering people up. not great at comforting them! he’s workin’ on that... but he is good turning that frown upside down!

literally just needs someone to kick his ass. 

PLOTS IDEAS.

a best friend... obvi. someone he clicked with as soon as he moved to ptown

frenemies bro... like they rag on each other all the time, they’re always competitive as hell, but in the end... they’ve got each other’s back type of frenemies

i have a plot in mind based on billie eilish’s ‘i love you’ that could be interesting aksdjfh specifically the ‘say you were tyrna make me laugh, and nothing has to change today you didn’t mean to say i love you’ line lol angsty

a mom friend! someone to kinda... keep an eye on him

partners in crime bro the kinda person that just..... when they’re together it’s next level . and borderline dangerous because they just continue to hype each other up and play off of each other

a bit of a hookup .. situation like kajsdf basically the type of shit you see in friends with benefits and no strings attached before they catch feelings. smth like a fling idk

college roommatesr

flirtationships or just generally flirty frienships those are s ofun 

exes and unrequited loves and slowburns y’all know i’m a slut for that shit 

ok that’s all!! this is so shitty lmao aksjfh ok like this and i’ll come to u for plotzzzzzz 

[purplesurveys]

495

Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies? If I’m starving to death, I can eat them provided that I manually remove the raisins. But if there were other options I could leave it easily. Which smells better - Pez or Play-Doh? I’ve never come into contact with Pez, so Play-Doh is my pick by default. I don’t feel bad about it though cause their clay smells gooooooddddd. Does your hair reach your boobs? Surprisingly, no. It used to grow back really quick in the past, but right now it’s only up till my collarbone and I haven’t had a trim since almost a full year ago. When are you having spring break? Never? And how will you be spending that time? I won’t be?

Have you ever had a crush on celebrity no one knew about? HAH, yes. Wrestlers are technically celebrities and boy is my one guy crush all up in that alley. Do you have a Roku? No, we don’t...I don’t think that’s a thing here. What's something that fills you with anxiety? Pending meetings. Even though I’ve never had one bad meeting in my life, I always think that the next one is gonna go terribly. I never have gotten used to it. Do you like Anthony Green or Jack White? I have no idea who both of them are. I guess the Gen Z-ness is strong here hah. Do you think you're attractive? I know I look okay but like I’m not gonna voluntarily parade myself as ‘attractive.’ Do you drink coffee on a daily basis? No, not daily. Probably 1-3 times a week. I love coffee but I know how bad the effects can be sometimes, so I try not to rely on it for every situation. Do you have strict parents or are they more chill? They were strict when I was a kid, which I understand now because I was a PRETTY FUCKING DUMB KID. I could never clean my school backpack, I took 5 hours to finish meals, I lost every phone ever handed to me, I failed math exams, I lost activity sheets from school and missed assignments here and there, and I stopped playing with every toy I was bought mere days after it was bought for me. I was an absolute nightmare...then I kinda gave myself a huge kick in the ass when I started growing up for real and matured from there. My parents have seen the development through my teens so they've grown to be super chill these days. At what age did you move out of your parents? (or what age will you?) I don’t have a definite plan when it comes to age, but hopefully in the next couple of years.

What age do you think is too old to still live with your parents? Probably like 30. Filipino family culture works a little differently, and parents don’t mind if their kids live with them a little longer. Do you think Clinton Kelly looks like a less scruffy Bradley Cooper? Ok I had to look up this dude so I know what you’re talking about...and hey you know what you’re kinda right! Just in some angles though. Do you always download the free songs on iTunes? I never did this. Have you ever loved a boy who was dating some other girl? Welp, I’ve never loved a boy, period. Is your hair all the same color? Yes. It’s all black, never been touched other than the yearly haircut. Have you ever tie dyed anything? We had to tie-dye a shirt for home econ in Grade 6. Do you know anyone who says 'wow' a lot? That would be me. I can always find a way to use it regardless of how I’m feeling lmfao. Have you ever watched Bob's Burgers? Nope. How many cardigans do you own? One. It used to be Gabie’s but she gave it to me because she says it’s too small for her.

Denim, leather or varsity jacket? Denim! Goes with everything, except denim jeans. Has a teacher ever caught and read a note you were passing in class? No, not like that exactly. But I was once reprimanded because I was the one caught with a note that was being passed around in class that whole time. Like out of everyone in that class, that teacher - who obviously hated me - chose to pick me as her target for that day. I hated the kid who started that note for the rest of the year.   Do you know anyone who is afraid of horses? I don’t think so. Do you clean things that are already clean when you're bored? Nope. I like cleaning, but it is NOT one of the things I do when I’m bored. How did you spend Valentine's Day? I don’t even remember...malls don’t take bookings on Valentine’s, so Gab and I had to go to like three different restaurants before we were able to settle in Barcino, which I didn’t even enjoy 100% because it was at that moment that I found out I don’t really like Spanish cuisine. Do you get President's Day off at your school? No. We don’t have that ~holiday~ and UP would NEVER take part in it if we did. Would you rather live in a tropical or arctic climate? I’ve lived in tropical climate my whole life and I could do with some change. What is the last thing you took that wasn't yours? My dad’s car keys. Do you have an older brother? Not biologically, but I’m very close with my eldest cousin and he’s pretty much a big brother to me. What do you do when someone overweight complains about being overweight? My girlfriend does this and what I do is to find something really pretty about her for that day, let her know about it, and keep repeating it so that she feels less shitty. Is there any Irish, Scottish, or Danish in your heritage? None at all. Do you find Asians attractive? That’s my race, so sure? Is it racist to ask if a specific race is attractive or not to someone? Yes. Have either of your parents ever been to jail? They haven’t. Have you ever been to jail? I have a very vague memory of my parents making a stopover to a prison once, and I still have no clue why they did it.

Do you think Urban Outfitters is overpriced? I haven’t been to their store. Are your collarbones prominent? Yesss, I love my collarbones. Have you heard about the Alyssa Bustamante case? No. Bustamante is like insanely a Filipino surname though and I hope she’s just part Spanish or something? Have you ever in your life worn overalls? Yep. How did you react when you heard Whitney Houston had died? I was a little sad because it happened at a time when I was obsessed with Beyonce (and Whitney was one of her idols), but I didn’t know a lot of her songs so I forgot about it pretty quickly. Do you love yourself? What is the brand of desktop/laptop you're on right now? Apple. Are there any words you don't usually pronounce correctly? I’ve never figured out how to pronounce ‘innovative,’ for one. Do you think Helena Bonham Carter is attractive? Y E S. Would you rather listen to Dolly Parton or Dusty Springfield? Dolly Parton, but really, neither. Are you watching The Walking Dead this season? Ooh, I stopped watching 4-5 seasons ago. It sucks now. What TV shows do you keep up with? Queer Eye and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Are you a light sleeper? When I have to sleep lightly, yes. Have you ever forgiven a cheater? I’ve never been cheated on. Would you consider cuddling cheating? Of course. What does the purse/bag you last used look like? It used to be a white tote bag, but now it’s dirty white with a coffee stain at the back lmao. It has a cute doodle of a whale shark for its design. Would you wear heeled/wedged oxfords? I wouldn’t be opposed to those. Go for it. Do you own a blazer? I do. Gunmetal, cooper, silver, or gold? Silver, if we’re talking about jewelry. When's the last time it snowed where you live? Literally never in the entire history of the planet and the universe and time. Can you make a clover with your tongue? I haven’t tried. What's your favorite coffee brand/flavor? Starbucks, caramel macchiato. Have you ever made out with a firecrotch? With a who now????? Do you listen to The Story So Far or Balance and Composure? Neither. Is your belly button pierced? It isn’t.

[seojvns]

everything you didn’t care to know about seojun yoon. 

basic statistics.

full name: seojun yoon. 

nickname: jun, junnie, seo. 

how'd they get it?: they’re just... variations of his name...

age: twenty one. 

date of birth: april 27th. 

zodiac: taurus. 

gender: male. 

sexual orientation: pansexual. 

when did they realize this?: around the age he started being interested in people. it’s never been something he’s struggled with, it’s jus how things were/are. 

nationality: american.

hometown: daejeon, south korea.

current residence: cortland, wisconsin.

occupation: freelance photographer. 

for how long?: umm, probably since high school?? he started out doing it for free, to build his resume, and over time he began building it into something he could actually make money from. not much, but !! getting paid for doing something he loves?? really couldn’t ask for more than that. 

do they like his/her job?: obvs!!! does he wish he could have a lot more clients?? ya, but he’s patient and he’s got the time. 

salary: mm, depends on the job but probably anywhere from $150-250/job. 

family.

any significant ancestors?: ummmm, no. 

grandparents (describe relationship): he was really close to his grandmother, on his mom’s side, who passed away a few years ago. he’s close to his grandfather from that side too, but he’s a bit old fashioned in his views and sometimes conversations are... not really something he can take much from. but he likes his company, and overall they have a good relationship. his grandparents on his father’s side both died before he really got a chance to even know them. 

aunts/uncles (describe relationship): there’s definitely a distance. when he was younger, he’d see more of them, and his cousins too, but as he grew up... it became less of a tradition his parents and his aunts/uncles bothered to keep up with. he sees them at family gatherings, usually around holidays, but that’s about it. 

parents (describe relationship): there’s a lot of distance between him and his parents. his father’s always been distant, even at a young age he wasn’t very invested in seojun. but he’d buy him things, assuming that was a decent enough way to show his ‘love,’ but it only made seojun resentful of the money he tried to use in an attempt to get out of actually caring or showing interest. his mother, on the other hand, cared. but only when he was young. from the time he was adopted, at age five, until about eleven. after that she became more disinterested in him. she also started nitpicking him a lot?? like no snacks, finding a poem and critiquing it, etc. support wasn’t something he was given, which is why he’s become such a desperate lil people pleaser. 

are they still together?: yes, yep. 

what is the character's family life like: it was really lonely growing up, cause even if everyone was home they’d all be off doing their own things. usually seojun was in his room writing, or out exploring and taking photos. he probably would’ve found his way to his hobbies regardless, but their neglect definitely encouraged him to explore them in a way he might not have done much sooner. 

what does their family love most about them?: hmm, probably his manners. he’s a good boy and he’d never embarrass them or anything when they drag him to events or parties, so, yeah! 

hate?: they see him as too shy, and lacking of a personality, but really that’s just because they’ve kind of made him feel like he should just keep quiet and do what he’s told :/ and that’s exactly what he does. 

does the family have a specific set of values?: his parents are very much the type of people who want everything to look perfect on the outside, and not care much about how they actually are on the inside. 

what would their family be described like by another person?: reserved, well put together, successful. 

have they ever had any pets?: he did! he had a dog, a samoyed, which he got from his parents for his seventh birthday. his name was ghost,, original, i know!

what happened to them?: he died a few years ago :/ it was a rly rough time for jun, who basically had him throughout his entire childhood. 

relationships.

are they a virgin?: umm, nope. 

how did they lose it?: i’m embarrassed just thinkin abt it. 

have they ever cheated on a partner?: never would he ever!!! 

has a partner ever cheated on them?: probably. 

how did they react?: better question - did he ever find out? doubtful. 

who was their first crush?: hard to say :/ he gets a new crush everyday :/ 

are they in any kind of romantic relationship?: no!! 

how serious/relaxed is it?: hmph. 

describe the relationship with their current partner: this is... pointless... 

how did they meet?: why ask so many questions based on the POTENTIAL of him bein in a relationship... 

who made the first move?: prob not seojun in any situation ... he’s not very bold 

how does your character truly feel about their partner?: this.... is so redundant... 

when did they realize this?: thank u, next! 

who is your characters closest friend?: minnie uwu 

how did they meet?: umm they’ve been bffs for as long as seojun can remember okay!!! so how they met is just one of those things he doesn’t... rly remember bc it feels like he’s known her his WHOLE entire life, u know?? 

why do they get along so well?: because they’re both cute and soft and they just vibe together well ok,, why question these things?? there’s been so many late nights up talking about anything n everything, so many heartbreaks that she’s been there for, so many adventures they’ve had n have yet to have... she’s his other half!!! <333 

describe relationship with any other significant friends: adrian’s one of the most important ppl to him ?? like ever?? cause he’s jun’s best friend but also a lot more than that. even though they can’t seem to get things right, he’s always gonna have feels for adrian. kian......... gross where do i even begin!!!! seojun would literally die for kian. he’s more than his roomie ok seojun’s so disgustingly attached that no matter what kian did he’d never leave his side lmao #dedicated. jiwon is who seojun would be if he could choose his life sjfsfks she’s jus so,, uwu perfect n everything he aspires to be. he LUVS her even tho she can lowkey be a lil scary?? not in like a way that he’s legit scared but like... she can be intimidating a lil bit. rt if u agree

favorites.

favorite foods: sushi, korean fried chicken, fries. 

least favorite food: black licorice, celery. 

favorite colors: pale yellow and light pink. 

least favorite color: whatever the fuck u call the color blue that tumblr chose for the new bg color fksdjfs

music: pop, r&b. 

literature: mysteries!! 

smell: honeysuckles, bonfires, fresh bread. 

feeling: affection uwu

season: autumn. 

pets: dogs, but... he loves cats too :/ 

place: hmm, he’s really drawn to the woods?? like when he was younger he’d go into the woods with his camera and a book and just spend all fucking day out there. there’s something really peaceful about it ?? and there’s just so much to experience... the woods jus make him soft, k?? 

favorite sport(s): huh

possession this character values most: his camera!!!!!!!! his journals filled with poems about everyone he knows. 

why is it so important to them?: um, his camera is p obvious?? his poetry filled journals, well, that’s p obvious too. he doesn’t want to forget how he felt in the moments where he was inspired to write whatever he wrote. 

physical characteristics.

height: 5′8′‘. 

weight: 130 lbs. 

body build: slim. 

eye color: brown. 

glasses or contact lenses?: contact lenses, but sometimes he’ll wear his glasses when he’s feelin’ lazy. 

hair color: naturally it’s black, but he prob keeps it either light pink or blond.  

scent: tbh idk what to answer for this, describing someone’s natural scent... hard. 

voice: he’s got a soft voice :/ 

mannerisms: says ‘um’ and ‘uh’ too much, whining about nothing, watching anything/everything with subtitles, turns the tab on a soda can sideways. 

style: comfy clothing mostly?? like loose fitting tops and form fitting bottoms. 

how do they walk?: like a fucking model tbh??? 

what are their nervous tics: he’s blushing 99% of the time tbh,, nose scrunches, averting his gaze 

usual body posture: umm, i’d say he’s got p good posture?? idk,,

preferred clothing.

underwear: boxer briefs babey!

shirts: loose!! t-shirts, flannels, hoodies. anything oversized. 

pants: usually black jeans, like, 9 times out of 10. 

skirts: nah. 

jackets: more oversized shit. 

shoes: prob jus black boots? 

accessories: earrings, rings, make up. make up isn’t an accessory rly but i dunno where else to put that so yayuh that’s a thing. 

formal wear: umm he’s a classic black suit kinda guy, prob w a bowtie, idk. 

sleeping wear: t-shirts and boxer briefs,, do ppl ... actually have real pajamas? like in real life? 

swimming wear: swim trunks ig?? weird question but ok. 

intellectual/mental/personality attributes and attitudes.

did they go to school?: ya, duh. 

where?: west bridge!!! 

what did they learn?: he’s studying photography :-)

what were their grades like?: uh, they’re alright... could be better... he wants to do better but his focus is usually just... anywhere but where it should be. so he procrastinates, and turns in things late a lot, and still is trying to do better. 

native language: korean. 

do they know any other languages?: english. 

how smart are they?: not... very... both book smart and street smart. 

what is their strengths?: creativity, generosity, compassion. 

weaknesses?: time management, insecurity, awareness. 

character's short-term goals in life: don’t go to jail, pass all classes. 

character's long-term goals in life: have a lil photography studio and live happily ever after uwu

how does your character see themselves?: umm, he’s self aware enough to know that he’s kind of sheepish?? he feels like he’s probably awkward in,, so many situations, rip, but he tries his best to not be too weird skfjs 

how does your character believe they are perceived by others?: as a soft boy who wants to be everyone’s friend?? hopefully?? 

how self-confident is your character?: UM LOL NOT AT ALL

what makes their self-confidence waver?: everything,, he just never feels like he’s good enough?? prob because of his mom’s nitpicking, his parents’ lack of interest generally, and the fact that he just has a low self esteem overall. 

what would embarrass your character the most?: being put on the spot about anything, having too much attention, falling for someone who doesn’t like him. 

how does your character feel about love: he!! loves love!!! he rly thinks that there’s someone out there for everyone... maybe not in a ~soulmates~ sense, but he thinks that companionship is a big part of happiness.

about crime: he doesn’t commit crimes... often... but if he does it’s because he can be talked into almost anything. 

people of a different sexuality?: loves everyone, thanks. 

different nationality/race?: loves everyone, thanks. 

how does your character show affection/love?: listening to them n remembering things they’re told, hand holding, doing literally anything they ask. 

how does your character handle grief? not well. especially in the case of manon, which has left him with a terrible sleeping pattern and the heavy feeling of guilt. 

what are they like when they cry?: prob like really dramatic,, like cry a lot while curled up in his bed under the covers kinda cry. 

what can make them cry?: betrayal, loss, anxiousness, stress. 

how does your character handle physical pain?: not well, he probably whines a lot and pouts even more. 

emotional pain?: even worse. he’s so forgiving that even if someone hurt him emotionally, he’d forgive them, but he’d probably be lowkey sad (but in a self blame kind of way) about it for awhile.

is your character typically a leader or a follower?: big time follower. 

what kind of energy level does your character typically display?: soft, upbeat, 

describe their sense of humor: prob either lame or softly sarcastic. 

hobbies: takin pics, writing poems, making playlists for people that’ll never hear them, watching shows instead of studying. 

talents: ...takin pics, writing poems, making playlists for people that’ll never hear them...

extremely unskilled at: focusing! and sports. 

if any, what musical instruments can they play?: piano :-) 

emotional characteristics.

how does the character relate to others?: through soft interactions and deep conversations. he’s pretty honest and open, so if someone asks him something, or even just talks to him, chances are he’s being as open with them as he would be with his close friends. 

how does the character deal with anger?: not well, but when he’s angry, he’s usually more upset than angry? and he wants to resolve things as quickly as possible, otherwise he’s stressed abt it until it’s fixed. 

with sadness?: listens to sad music and cries in the shower. drama queen. 

with conflict?: he’s always the first to apologize. 

with change?: he’s actually pretty adaptable for the most part?? but if it were like a major change, maybe not as good. 

with loss?: ummm, could be better!! probably gets a lil distant when he’s dealing with a loss. 

what does your character want out of life?: happiness :/ 

what would your character like to change in his/her life?: the whole manon thing JFKLSF

what motivates your character?: his future, or at least the ideal future he has in mind for himself. 

what frightens your character?: the fact that they could get caught for covering up a murder perhaps??? terrifying. 

are they afraid of the dark?: ...yes, but he acts like he isn’t cause he’s embarrassed. 

death?: not really?? like he doesn’t WANT to die or anything, but he’s not afraid of death.

what makes your character happy?: listening to good music, giving people things that make him think of them, the photo editing process. 

sad?: being alone, the fact that his parents never care to check up on him, films where the main couple doesn’t end up together.

angry?: people being rude to his friends, being lied to, unnecessarily passive aggressive people. 

aroused?: neck kisses, being called baby, someone who’s rly direct and just kind of... does what they want skjfsl 

annoyed?: people who speak over other people.

guilty?: covering up a potential murder, turning things in late, lying. 

is your character judgmental of others?: no. even if he doesn’t agree with their opinions/things they do he still tries to refrain from judgment. 

is your character generous or stingy?: generous af. 

is your character generally polite or rude?: polite!! angel boy. 

optimistic or pessimistic?: optimistic. 

introvert or extrovert?: lil bit of both?? 

daredevil or cautious?: cautious. 

logical or emotional?: emotional lmao. 

disorderly and messy or methodical and neat?: he thinks he’s methodical and neat but he’s actually disorderly and messy. 

would they rather be working or relaxing?: working, even though he thinks he’d rather be chillin he’s kind of terrible at doing nothing. 

how do they feel about animals?: um... he loves them?? he’s the kind of person that’d accidentally let a raccoon in his house and let it stay. 

what is their best quality?: his sincerity. 

what is their biggest flaw?: how trusting he is. 

[magicallyclueless]

rereading a farm in the forest: a ramble pt 2

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | part six

I’m going through my fanfic again so that when I resume writing, I don’t forget anything important. Comments/feedback also welcome.You can read my fanfic here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7470858/chapters/16977999 There will be spoilers in these rambles if you want to read but haven’t. I’m gonna start putting ‘read more’ in these, but hopefully you still check it out. ty love u smooch

Chapter 11-20

Things I Liked

- The descriptions are getting better, particularly environments. I felt like I did a good job with environments, especially the cave.

- Chapter 11 had pretty solid grounds and is probably the chapter I look at the most, in any situation, lmao. I got stuck for a while because I ended up doing some things differently, but with how I’m doing the tasks, it’s a lot of fun and I’m excited to show off the last 2 tasks.

- I remember working really hard on those action scenes and they look pretty good to me! I like how I made the bugs/slimes more in tune to their environment and they pose an actual threat beyond how a health bar would be in-game.

- I love how Jade justifies getting her farm animals. I dunno, it’s just cheesy but in a funny way. Like in real life it would be much harder to be a breeder or a farmer or anything, but it just fits the world in a silly way.

- Sebastian and Jade’s talk in chapter 19 felt extremely Sebastian to me, which is good. Especially in the earlier chapters where I felt like he was talking too much, writing from his perspective in this chapter felt great and I enjoyed how I used him. I still hate how I chose the third person omniscient perspective since it’s more of a cop-out for me (it’s my first fanfic ok), but it gave me the idea to write for Sebastian.

- I forgot how frequent Jade’s nightmares were and that they were so early into the story. I know this was a big push for her to get along with Alex, so I like that, especially since she traditionally wouldn’t get along with him.

- I did laugh at some of my dialogue not gonna lie. Especially Sam

- Maru’s development as a character has been really nice. I feel like she often gets the short end of the stick especially since Sebastian is the more popular bachelor in the SDV community. Even though Sebastian is my True Husbando(tm) I think it’s important to show that Maru has her problems too.

- Jade’s flaws start showing, which I think is important. It’s a lot easier to tell who she is as a character, and that she has more than “is kinda sad but excitable”. She’s a very reckless person despite caring about others, and also does stick her nose in people’s business too much, even if she feels justified for doing so Things I Didn’t Like

- THE PLURAL FOR JUNIMO IS JUNIMO. “JUNIMOS” IS IN MY WHOLE FIC. HOW CAN I CALL MYSELF A FAN

- Sebastian and Jade becoming more comfortable friends went by in a blink of an eye to me. I swear to God I read all the way through and I just don’t know how they became comfortable to the point of saying memey things to each other. I would have made the transition slower, or if I could go back (I won’t or else I’ll rewrite the whole story lmao, I need to at least finish it) I would make a first text chat between them and also tone down the memes a smidge.

- Some of the dialogue felt a little unnatural this time at the expense of jokes, and I wish I noticed this. I think I was too proud of the jokes I made to really go back on it. Especially since I tried to establish serious themes in the undertone (the nightmares, the stalker) from the beginning, I don’t want a massive genre change even if I’ll still have lighthearted moments.

- While I’m on that note, kind of a rant about earlier chapters still, but I shouldn’t have brought up anything about a stalker. To me, Jade was paranoid about a specific person and covered up the truth some to avoid getting too deep into it, but this is the only time I wrote the word “stalker” and I should do literally anything else. I think that confuses the story I’m trying to tell especially since she openly talks about it later. I might literally go back and change stalker into “someone” instead.

-While I think the dialogue in Ch 18-19 were done well, the descriptions of Jade from Sebastian’s perspective was overdone for me. I really should have skipped describing her face, because that felt like shoehorning in a romantic narrative. I think Chapter 19 was when he started to get a crush on her, but if I rewrote it I would have made it a little more subtle.

- I think a lot of it is my humor changing, even if it’s only been a few years. I had different friends and different experiences which I think influenced my humor a lot compared to now. I’m not as big of a fan of the campiness the earlier chapters had, so if I could, I would make it a little more natural/realistic. I do think that most people probably don’t care about this, but it’s just how I feel at my own work really

Overall

I think while the dialogue was consistently great in 1-10, the dialogue was hit or miss in 11-20 mostly because of the jokes I tried to make. I think specific chapters were WAY better than the previous 10 however, and my descriptions (especially environments) improved quite a bit. The characters are making more connections with one another. While I wish I made the transition to friendship with the squad a lot softer, I know I won’t have to worry about that kind of development all too much in the coming chapters. I’m hoping the next chapters progress much better than this and feel as natural as it did when I was making it. I didn’t feel that much this time sadly.

[darawonplease]

My Insolent Housemate! [P.O x Dara]

“Terms of agreement” – pt.2

Dara offers to set up a pre-festival date for Seho. The two tenants decide to help him find a nice outfit when Seho comes up with a bet

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[D-3]

Seho put his arms at the sides, glaring at the two tenants voraciously consuming the seafood pasta he had cooked with so much dedication.

“You guys really forgot about your promise huh?”.

The two exchanged a guilty look and then slowly lowered their gazes as if that abundant plate of Italian food in front of them could hide them from the issue at hand.

He whined again— “…we established those terms together, you can’t be like this!”.

Pyo scratched the side of his head out of habit:” The festival is just 3 days away, how are we going to accomplish that?”.

.

Of course Dara knew what a struggle it was for celebrities to get a date, that’s why she kept silent for the last couple of days. She wasn’t comfortable either: that’s just how she was with acquaintances- they started living together for just a few days after all. Would ignoring her shy nature enough to make the situation better? She wasn’t one who would let down friends, that’s why the sight of Seho’s disappointed pout felt particularly painful.

“Let’s start from you Seho Oppa!”, Dara jumped on her seat, finally breaking the awkward silence that filled the living room.

“Me?”. Seho pointed at himself, caught in disbelief. That’s exactly what he had hoped for but just couldn’t believe the timid one out of the two would be so proactive.

“I’ll set you up on a blind date. Me and Pyo will help you with the preparations, as a true dream team!”. She reassured him, a coy smile appearing on her peachy-colored lips.

“Would you really do that for me?”. Dara’s excitement was so infectious that Seho’s eyes sparkled in anticipation. He had a hard time having serious relationships or just simply date, that was the con of becoming such a big tv star —but that was about to change— hopefully.

Pyo scratched his sideburns once again, “But what about me and noona?”.

“I’ll do it!”, Seho confidently proposed with a hint of pride in his tone of voice.

“That’s grea—”

-–"NO! THANKS, HYUNG”, Pyo interrupted Dara from accepting, yelling over to protect her from a possible unpleasant experience.

“…Last time I let you handle a date of mine… you told the girl I was Zico!”. He quickly explained himself, glancing right at Dara in the hope she’d understand the context.

“Ah- that…”, Seho scratched the back of his head, he had completely forgotten about that episode but the indignation in his dongsaeng’s voice made him feel guilty as charged. “Then you should take care of yourself and Dara’s date”.

“Me and Noona?...”.

“Don’t you have any friends that would die to accompany her to the festival?”.

.

[…]

“Is it true that you live with Sandara Park? Please introduce me to her!”

“Jihoon-ah, we’ve been friends for a lifetime and I’ve never asked you for a favor. Set me up for a date with her!”.

“Aish- leave Sandara Noona alone!”.

“Selfish prick, you want to keep noona all for yourself! Isn’t living with her enough?”.

“Don’t do request as such with a face like that, she’s a goddess, you rascal”.

[…]

.

“N-no! N-not at all, I'm sorry. They’re all busy this week”. He panicked to find a plausible excuse. No matter how much he loved his bros, he’d never let Dara alone with them. To be truthful, he wasn’t one who would pay attention to others, but since cohabiting with her ideal type? He couldn’t help but notice all the gazes men directed towards her.

.

[later that day…]

.

“Found anything?”.

Seho questioned the two fashionistas, deeply invested in the search for the perfect outfit for his pre-festival date.

“Pyo… do you think this shirt is too much?”.

“It looks fine to me… Dara noona”.

“These two are really ignoring me, huh”, Seho plopped on the leather seat, defeated. He could only hope they wouldn’t choose a bizarre outfit. Both of them were idol singers and their fashion sense could get quite bizarre, which didn’t really fit his casual view of style.

“Wouldn’t these two look good together?”. Pyo held up a beige cardigan and a simple white tee.

“You two would look good together indeed”. Seho mumbled, jokingly.

“Did you say something Seho Oppa?”.

“Me? What? No. And just how much stuff are you guys picking up? I only need one outfit!”. He managed to swiftly change the topic, that was a skill he honed throughout the years as a host and comedian.

“You’ll have to choose one then ”. P.O murmured as the realization hit him.

“Let’s make this fun”— Seho grinned at his own idea “—you’ll have to ask girls in the store which outfit they prefer and the loser will have his date set up by me personally”.

oh no.

“CALL!”. They both screamed in unison, the atmosphere getting overly competitive all of a sudden.

“Remember guys, I’m just choosing an outfit, It’s nothing personal”.

(an. As if it was about the outfit lmao)

“Isn’t your outfit too flashy noona?”.

“Isn’t your outfit too cliché, Pyo?”.

“Aren’t the two of you taking this too seriously?”. A nervous laugh left the comedian’s lips.

“Just relax, I’ll promise you that you’ll be so charming she’ll be the one asking you for a second date!”. Dara gently patted Seho’s shoulders from behind, making him sit again on the leather pouf.

.

[a short while later]

.

“Ok, Oppa! Are you ready?”. She dropped a pile of clothes on Seho’s arms.

“And don’t forget this!” she put a newsboy’s cap on his head before he could disappear in the changing room.

“How do I look?”.

He turned around, a chestnut-colored cardigan was tied up on his shoulders over a cream polo. Dark jeans and white sneakers completed the overall look.

“You look so chic, I’d date you myself”, Dara giggled satisfied.

“Really?!”, Seho looked at his own reflection in the mirror, Dara’s words boosting his confidence to the max.

“I wish my date had an outfit like this when we meet”. The small woman tilted her head, completely satisfied by the whole imagine she created.

“Pyo, take notes”. Seho whispered to Jihoon, who slightly nodded, taking mental notes.  She took a few steps towards him and fixed the cardigan’s sleeves before taking out her cellphone and having a full-on photoshoot session.

“Ok, now put your left hand in your pocket, yes! got it! The perfect pic!”.

.

[a while later]

.

“Hyung, come out!”.

Seho busted open the curtains to his changing stall and confidently modeled Pyo’s outfit. He held the denim jacket with his right hand, a simple graphic tee under. He wore light wash straight jeans paired with casual dress shoes as bottoms.

“You look so youthful Oppa”. Dara had hearts on her eyes.

“I’ll take a few pics Hyung”.

“Pyo is such a talented photographer”, he hit a pose, “his girlfriend would get the best pictures ever taken by him—“, he winked at his friend. Jihoon shook his head, “Hyung, stop it”, he mouthed.

.

Aware of it or not, Dara’s fresh face and polite manners made her naturally persuasive and amicable to the public, that’s why she found herself in charge of asking opinions around the store.

She radiated the same feel-good feeling of a sunny day during a gloomy autumn, that’s how pleasant she was.

“Hello miss! May I steal you a couple of minutes?... If you had a coffee date, which outfit would suit your date the best?—Really?! Thank you so much for your time! Have a nice day!”.

.

“What are you grinning so much for?”. Seho called out Pyo, unconscious of the wide smile appearing on his face as he observed Dara from a distance.

“Isn’t it fascinating?”, the grin quickly spread from cheek to cheek, “…how determined she is in helping you, despite knowing you for such a short time”.

Seho crossed his arms, “She must be very serious about the bet”.

“Nah-…”, Pyo paused, “I think she really wants your date to be successful”.

.

Dara turned around to look at the two men and did the thumbs up, her fingers shyly poking through the long sleeves of her yellow hoodie.

“Are you ready you guys? I’m going to announce the winner of the bet!”.

-

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