#co parenting plot

[reputationolivia]

try again?

would anyone be interested in this, i thought of this plot awhile back and started working on it recently but i feel like its just gotten long and idk i feel like it might be a bit boring? so idk if anyone would be up for reading this! but i put a little snippet of it here so if anyone sees this please share your thoughts! :)

18+ minors dni

warnings: none for this one yet.

summary: you and harry dated for almost 5 years but you ended things, only problem? you got a cat together three years ago that you co-parent.

wc: 1.8k

I glanced around in search for opal as I tied the laces on my shoes. She’s always been good at hiding when she sees her crate out and ready for her, but i was ready for her today with her favorite treat in hand. "Opal, where are you baby?” I called for her. pacing through the living room I heard a faint meow coming from the kitchen, and i sighed, already knowing where she would be - the narrow gap between the counter and the fridge. I bend down and waved her treat in front of her little face to get her interested in it. “Come on out sweetie,” i coaxed, slowly her fluffy face popped out of the gap and she began licking the treat. I took this as my opportunity and gently tugged her out and scooped her up, letting her have the entire treat now as I walked over to her crate.

As I helped opal get settles into her crate I tried not to think too much about the trip ahead and what’s to come. The keys jingled in my hands as i snatched them from there small side table near the front door creating a slight sound of normalcy between all of the craziness my life has been lately. I slung my headphones around my neck, and with opal securely inside her carrier i finally stepped out into the bright, sunlit street. I caught my reflection in a car window and felt a bit ridiculous - sunglasses on, headphones dangling, and cat in tow - i shrugged it off and began my journey to the subway station.

The subway ride was pretty uneventful, at least it was at first. Opal was sitting quietly in her crate beside me as she watched the window in front of us, watching the city blur through the window. I put my headphones on and mindlessly browsed through Apple Music, i eventually decided on just playing “my station” after not being able to settle on any of my existing playlists. I wasn’t thinking of anything in particular really, i mean besides the fact that I was currently on my way to meet my ex boyfriend of 4 1/2 years. As if my phone knew what was on my mind a familiar melody began playing, i felt my body tense as i recognized it immediately, my chest tightened and the air suddenly became too thick to breathe. I reached for my phone to skip to the next song. It was his song, of course it’d be my luck that’s the song that starts playing as I’m on my way to see him again. Of course, skipping it didn’t help, the damage was done.

Moving on has been hard, actually it’s been more than hard, it’s been hell, absolutely brutal. We were together for so long, four and a half years. That’s a long time to share a life with someone, it wasn’t just the memories that lingered though - it was our plans, the dreams we shared that we’d stay up all night talking about, when the world felt ours. Marriage, kids, a beautiful house with a garden, i thought it was all within reach, that it was just a matter of time. But now? Just the sound of his voice in a song sends me spiraling. It’s only been a couple months since we broke up, and seeing him as often as I do doesn’t exactly help with the whole “moving on” thing.

But now, all we have left is opal.

Opal. Our little baby. She wasn’t quite a child, but the closest thing we had. We adopted her when she was just a baby, three months old. After we broke up neither of us could bear to part with her. we had gotten her together so in the end we decided on co-parenting opal, which isn’t ideal but at the very least she had two people who loved her, and despite our failed relationship i knew she was safe with him. Even if seeing him every time i dropped her off still hurt.

The familiar ding of the subway pulled me out of my thoughts and i realized we were at our stop. I pulled my headphones back down to the back of my neck as i stood up, then grabbed opals crate and hopped off the subway. I felt like the subway ride ended far too quickly, and before i realized it i was walking up the now somewhat familiar street towards his apartment. as i got closer and closer each step i took felt heavier than the last. It felt like i was dragging the weight of everything we left unsaid, unresolved. I tightened my grip on opals crate, her quiet purring served as a reminder that despite everything, some things hadn’t changed.

But most things had.

I wasn’t the same person who used to walk the streets of New York with him by my side, laughing at the stupidest things, talking absentmindedly about everything, and nothing at all. Yet now it feels like that was a lifetime ago when in reality it was just a few short months ago. And now here i was, walking the streets of the city we once shared, alone. Having to act normal in front of the man i loved, love but trying not to as I’m about to hand over our cat like it was just some business transaction, something normal.

Ahead i spotted him standing in front of his building. He was leaning against the wall near the doors to the lobby, looking down at his phone, a casual stance that didn’t betray any of the turmoil i was feeling. Typical harry, i thought. Always composed, always calm. I wished i could say the same for myself. I reached up with my free hand to adjust my sunglasses, hoping they hid more than just the sun from my eyes. As i approached his eyes were still glues to his phone, did he even notice i was walking up to him? Now a few feet away from him, i clear my throat in hopes of catching his attention, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible.

He finally looks up, his green eyes meeting mine, and though he couldn’t see mine due to my sunglasses i swore i could see something flash in his - recognition? Annoyance? Regret? I couldn’t quite place it. Maybe I’m just imagining things. “Hey,” he said, finally pushing off the wall and sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Hey,” i replied, keeping my voice as steady as i could even though every bit of me felt like breaking and like my voice was shaking with the tension of being this close to him. We walk into the lobby and i crouch down to let opal out. Immediately, she dashed out of her crate, and toward him, brushing against him with a happy meow. I couldn’t help the slight pang of jealousy i felt at how easily she seemed to adjust to this life of back and forth we’d created for her. I wish it was that easy for me.

“It’s been a while, nice shoes by the way.” Harry said as he crouched down, scratching opal behind her ears. He didn’t look at me when. He said it, instead keeping his eyes on opal. I couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a subtle dig when he said it’s been a while. “Yeah works been a bit hectic, and thanks.” I responded as i stood there awkwardly and hugged my arms to myself. Suddenly the distance between us felt a lot larger than just a few feet.

He stood up slowly, his gaze finally meeting mine, and i just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. “How’ve you been?” He asked, for a moment i almost believed he actually wanted to know.

Good. You?”

“Same.” he said, glancing down at opal again.

The conversation stalled, i could feel the silence expanding between us, this is all we had now — awkward exchanges, empty words just to fill the space where something real used to be. I wanted so badly just to say something, anything that could break through the surface. I didn’t even know where to start, everything felt too different, too fragile and close to breaking. Opal meowed again, winding between our legs, completely oblivious to the tension hanging in the air between us.

I sighed, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “She’s been eating normally. Likes to hide under the bed more often lately but that’s probably because of all the travel recently.” Harrys eyes softened a little. “Yeah, she’s always liked her hiding spots huh.” He paused, then added, “I’ve missed her.” His words hung there, suspended in the air between us for a while and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if he was just talking about opal. I nodded at his words, something about the way he said it lingered longer than it should have, i tried to push it aside, maybe I’m just reading too much into his words. Looking down at opal again i sighed, “i’ll uh, see you later.” I mumbled, now just wanting to get out and as far away from this awkward situation as possible. I turned to walk away before he could say anything, i felt his eyes on me as i made my way towards the lobby door. His gaze was sticking with me more than i wanted it to.

As i exited the building, i felt my footsteps heavy on the ground again. I took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and trying to clear my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the what-ifs. How i wish i could be done with all this. I couldn’t afford to keep dwelling on our past, especially not with everything going on. At least through all this change i still had my job, and im fortunate enough to really love my job. My job has always been my escape, allowing be to take a break from my real life and everything i had going on. I could create stories outside my own, i could be in control, or at the very least, i could pretend to be. But in moments like this, i was just me - and I couldn’t pretend to be anyone else. I had no script or direction, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

The months after the breakup have been such a blur, it’s like I’ve been moving on autopilot. Filming, press events, and trying to keep it together in front of the cameras. I was good at that. I’ve played so many different roles, performed rehearsed lines perfectly, but none of that could’ve prepared me for the messy reality of seeing him. Missing him.

[godwaltz]

"Dancing? I can't imagine you dancing."

i hate them so much. tumblr I am diseased.

[lamentable-comedy]

you know, that one story about a relationship between a guy with an unprecedented one of a kind power and his kind of dead love interest who wears a lot of fancy floral print outfits

(aka Simon Snow Pushing Daisies AU)

[vaguely-concerned]

morning frost's '100% done with this shit' voice is everything to me. it's such a minute shift in his habitual monotone and yet. and yet

[mugentakeda]

i just loveeeee the idea that there was a big gap of understanding between lu ten and iroh the same way theres a big gap of understanding between zuko and iroh. mistakes that iroh didnt realize he made with his son he then also made with his nephew and still not realizing it. a whole world of things about lu ten that iroh didnt know about, and will never know about. im gonna talk about it though because i am insane so look away from my cringe

lu ten had gone to his father with problems before, and iroh cant help but wonder, now, if his son had ever been trying to imply deeper things in between sugarcoated words because there were things you just didnt say in the palace, and irohs head had been so far up his ass he hadnt seen it. despite it being waved practically right in his face by his son, desperate for sound advice from his father, whos brain was too waterlogged by thoughts of how he was going to pull off his next bloody conquest. like how zuko was always howling for help, hurt and confused like a cornered animal, hidden deep under his fits of rage, and irohs head was Still so far up his ass that he kept meeting zukos silent begging for straightforward guidance with convoluted proverbs. he can sit here and bury his face in his hands in shame over the sheer amount of times hed failed his nephew without realizing, and how much convincing it'll take to get his nephew to understand that yes, iroh did fail him so many times, and he couldve prevented so much suffering simply by holding himself to the same standards he held his nephew to. all those times during those three years before the avatar returned that he couldve done something. sit here and think about how sad it is that he has to even try hard to convince his nephew such a thing, how sad it is that he finally got zuko to stop seeing ozai as some all-wise god that can do no error as a father, just for zuko to start seeing iroh as some all-wise god that has done no error as an uncle. but he can at least go and do something about it. he can never do something about what he did to his son. the things he knows he did, the things he doesnt know he did, and everything in between. he will never find out what lu ten truly thought about him. he will never have that reconciliation, that silent scream of relief and violent shiver in the crook of his neck that zuko gave when iroh yanked him in close after their separation, with his lu ten. he just has to hear about his own son through word of mouth and somehow be content with that. and worst of all, its all his own and his god damned family's fault. no amount of healing and learning by trying to do right by zuko and the world he helped nearly ruin not much more than a half decade ago can act as a balm for the agony that brings him. he knows healing his guilty conscience isnt supposed to even be a reason for why he helped the avatar, but god- it's when the rationality leaves him and he realizes that this is something he cant seem to make himself be the bigger person in. he knows its his own fault, that there are hundreds- thousands, maybe- of earth kingdom sons he personally stole from earth kingdom fathers, and only gave up on his siege when the consequences of his war came into his own backyard, but he cant help it. doesnt want to help it. hes still angry and hateful anyway. his son should still be here. his son should still be here. his son should still be here. and if he tells zuko about how much he still hates himself as both an uncle and a father, zuko will definitely rush to reassure him, all the while he is chained to his desk and meetings day in and day out, fixing this uncles mistakes best he can, losing sleep and forgetting to eat. none of it will mean anything to zuko, if it means he can make his uncle feel better. and if that happens, iroh might actually vomit in front of his nephew.

[eddiesghxst]

oh my god

this is gonna be a fic right? you’ve got me like 👀👀👀

god can u imagine having to go to all the kids things together (because obviously steve refuses to be an absent father, even if you piss each other off, he’ll gladly suck it up to make sure his kids never have to relate with steve about his relationship with his parents)

having to begrudgingly put up with each other at soccer games, parent teacher meetings, school plays, etc.

omfg and during the holiday season steve always spends it with your family because he doesn’t talk to his parents. and usually you two are extraaaaa soft around that time bc for a moment you get to play house as if nothing ever went wrong. but then this year you start dating someone during the holiday season and you invite him over for the gangs friendsgiving and steve has to spend the entire day watching you be all cozied up with some guy and well… steve doesn’t like that… he despises that actually

HMM MAYBE I COULD TYPE SOMETHING UP WHEN I HAVE SOME TIMEEE

IVE GOT A FEW WIPS I WANNA WORK ON FIRST BUT IF I DO WRITE THIS I THINK I MIGHT SAVE IT FOR THE HOLIDAYSSS🫣

[teaforce-steph]

i finished Echoes of Wisdom, it was fantastic! I loved the different dungeons and how puzzle-focused it was (even combat is mostly problem solving). The devs cearly put a lot of effort into rewarding creative thinking and unusual item use which I appreciate immensely, and the final boss stage mechanics were delightful. 10/10 can't wait to play again with challenge runs with different sets of echoes just to see what you sort of nonsense can get away with. I was definitely cackling about my own diabolical schemes more than once.

Absolutely loved everything about the final boss too, but I won't say more because spoilers.

Also through side quests you can get items and echoes (sidequest spoilers incoming!) Like PJs and a teddy bear which go perfectly with the beds in the most high tension and/or silly locations you can think to take a nap in. Its not even about the heart recovery, it's about the flex.

[valdrinors-writing]

DIRTY LITTLE SECRET - LEIA & MIKE AESTHETIC

Mike: You know, I think we're alike in a lot of ways

Leia: I always tell people you're like the not-cool version of me

[the-woman-who-reads]

As much as people don’t see it that way, having the space/time to kinda be aimless in life is definitely a privilege

[morningmask27]

I'm going to be bitching about Star for a while now. I'll tag them all with #asc spoilers, but really what the fuck was this book?

[raiiny-bay]

thinking about it & genuinely i don't think i could have picked a better name for kel if i tried. that guy is a kelly through & through

[starfall-calamity]

Combining my interests & am finally starting to make my HMS Ace Attorney AU [feat. tfem mind because I can]

Whole is also in this au but I am hella tired atm & don't wanna draw him rn cos he'll take more effort for no reason whatsoever [ He's totally fine dw :} ]

[jewishcissiekj]

just realized just how much fic there is to write until I actually get to the part of the AU I started thinking about...

[francesderwent]

the thing is. Wednesday is a pretty poorly constructed show

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

If Takaaki and Kiyotaka were Masterminds in my AU, they'd have matching Monokuma eye tattoos! And imagine Taka's armband having a Monokuma on it??? I'm going insane. Anyways, they'd be inseparable. They're so toxic with their fucking co-dependency, lollll. Not really, but they can't be in a different room by themselves, they need each other because Takaaki is afraid to be alone and wants his son to be beside him. Kiyotaka is afraid to be separated from his father again after being stuck in Hope's Peak with the other students for so long. (Taka joins Takaaki after Mondo's trial when Takaaki just appears and asks his son to join him. And Taka accepts, what else does he have to lose? He's also Kiyondo at this time, but he switches back to Kiyotaka. Yet, he still has one side completely Kiyondo-fied.)

And with them being kinda inseparable, they'd have an execution together. Because we're here for the angsty family feels. And because they've basically lost everything and only have each other to care for, they're pretty heartless and cold. But they have a huge care for each other.

They're both just sad and insane. My favorite father-son duo.

But Takaaki and Taka do tend to try and help each other with their grief or insanity (like when one of them goes a little too insane.) Takaaki is very much afraid that he'll lose Taka in the end and that if they're found out, they'll both die. He tries to get Taka to go into hiding if they're found out and only he'd get executed. But Kiyotaka doesn't just want to live without his only family. And with Mondo gone, he'd just be alone. And he stubbornly tells his father he'll die with him, for they were in this together and that he'll happily die with his father with him.

[bahoreal]

i wonder if the other final product of the metacrisis (tentoo) and any possible child he might have also have memories of donna and everything they went through in space