#ed would make the perfect bride

[myflagmeansace]

@aha-my-villainous-thoughts I just...this means the world to me like you fucking did this you took that wonderful talent of yours and lovingly made this. Like I am at a complete loss for words. My heart feels so full right now. You are a fucking amazing, talented, generous, and creative person and this is utterly perfect ❤️

And now I'm listening to this song on repeat and omg why can't I stop crying 😭😭😭

With the will to look to away When I was falling down Crawling in the dirt Is it fair enough to say That I needed you through the crazy pain Of living here with all this hurt And what I feel All I touch and how I steal The fantasy was far too real

Oh, so I let it slip away

(no one make eye contact with me today.)

@myflagmeansace this ok?

[dean-winchesters-clit]

Another theory post about OFMD S2 because it's all I think about anymore

I had a theory forming about the pearl necklace Ed is wearing that I wanted to share with y'all. I was originally speculating about where Ed got the necklace, thinking that maybe he stole it off one of the wedding guests or even the bride because you can see a lot of the women wearing pearl jewelry in these shots.

But the only pearl necklace we see is much larger than the ones Ed is wearing, and I did some digging and found out that pearl necklaces mostly went out of style in Europe due to a war and the church getting all uppity about people being excessive, so it would be unlikely that any of the other women would be wearing pearl necklaces, especially when the earrings and hairpins made with pearls were usually larger and more uniform than the ones we see on Ed's necklace.

So, where did the necklace come from? I think it makes perfect sense that Stede gave it to Ed because of course he did, but when? It's hard to see Ed's neck in any of the shots of him raiding the wedding ship or in the captain's cabin aboard the Revenge, but I think it's safe to say that he doesn't have it at that point in time.

The first time we see it clearly in the trailer is when he's in the forest, confronting the mysterious figure (who I have a theory about, but that's for another time).

So, Ed gets the pearl necklace some time between raiding a bunch of ships as Blackbeard and getting stranded on an island. What could possibly happen in the interim that could cause him to acquire a pearl necklace from Stede?

Well, we all know Mysterious Merchant Susan is definitely the Chinese Pirate Queen Shi Yang/Zheng Yi Sao/Ching Shih or some approximation of her (since the real Zheng Yi Sao was born in 1775). We also know that she's masquerading as a merchant for some reason. What if the scene of Stede and Oluwande at the market happens before Stede sends his message in a bottle to Ed?

What if, when talking about Blackbeard and Ed, Susan convinces Stede to buy a string of these?

Chinese freshwater pearls. They're smaller and less uniform than the pearls we associate with classic European pearl jewelry. And they match up in style and size pretty well to the pearls on Ed's necklace.

What if Stede buys these pearls from Susan and places them in the bottle along with his message to Ed? Then, when Ed gets stranded on the island, he finds the bottle on the beach and the pearls inside. That's why he goes from no pearls on the Revenge to pearl necklace on the deserted island.

Just some food for thought!

Edit

So, @naranjapetrificada pointed something out that kinda sinks this theory, but I do really like where this new info leads us.

Ed is wearing the pearl necklace before being stranded on the island. You can see it in the "fuck you, Stede Bonnet" frame, but it's easy to miss.

There she is, when Ed is very clearly on the deck of the Revenge.

So, this does burn my theory to the ground, but that's okay!! That's the fun of theory crafting! Someone noticed something I didn't and flipped the whole script!

I love the implications that the necklace is something Ed chooses for himself, rather than something he is gifted. He still likes fine things and wants to feel pretty and finds something that makes him feel that way. Babygirl is having a rough time and deserves some happiness, dammit!!

[fushipurro]

In the Shadows of Love

Chapter 6 - Vega

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☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, heavy angst, depression, suicidal ideation, implied/reference ED, mentions of blood (nosebleed), emotional hurt/comfort, insecure/intrusive thoughts

☆ Word Count: 7.8k

After your little “diner date” as Shoko and the gang started calling it, you found yourself hanging out with Toji more often than not, much to your surprise. You had your worries that the opposite would occur during said “date”, but it appears now to have brought you closer together.

Meals between the three of you ─ Megumi included of course ─ became a common occurrence, along with shared trips to the store. With winter settling in now, Toji stated he felt more comfortable with having you in his car instead of letting you carry bags home in the snow.

“Don’t need you freezin’ to death out here,” he’d say in an effort to convince you.

Other times, he would invite you over so Megumi could share some quality time with you to make up for all the times it’s just you and his dad. And who are you to deny the sweet boy?

Tonight is one of those nights.

The day began (early afternoon for you) with some games before dinner, enjoying said meal in front of the TV while watching a movie together. Megumi loves anything that features talking animals, so you thought it best to put on Kung Fu Panda, to which he fell in love. Hard.

He tired himself out trying to replicate all the moves, leading to Toji having to carry him off to his room to sleep. Turns out in this one-bedroom apartment, the two share the same king-sized bed. Toji had said before to you that because he’s out all night working, Megumi has the bed all to himself and vice versa during the day. He even took Megumi into consideration as far as bedroom décor went, stating his only preference is the happiness of his son, even if that means his sheets have dinosaur print all over them.

“Kid’s finally asleep,” Toji tells you upon his return, sinking back down into his spot on the couch with a thump. He laughs with a simpering expression, “Now we can watch something with a little more excitement for two adults.” His eyes fall on you from the side.

You jokingly gasp. “How can you say that movie wasn’t fun?” You place your hand over your heart to exaggerate the feeling of shock. “I’m telling you now, he’s going to be doing kung fu all week and have you in the Wuxi finger hold.”

“I can fight better,” he snorts, and you giggle. “I bet I could give any dragon warrior a run for their money.” Toji raises the sleeve of his ivory-colored sweater upwards. The veins and muscles bulge as he flexes with that same annoying grin stretched across his face looking for your approval.

“Okay, Tai Lung,” you tease, your voice coy sounding. “Whatever you say.” Your eyes roll away from him and back to the TV.

Toji laughs, snagging the remote before you can even think about it. “Just for that, I’m picking the next one,” he declares.

He pans through the options, debating what might be a good choice. He has a few ideas, but his primary goal like always is to get a reaction out of you. So, when he lands on a classic you know and love, he wastes no time putting it on.

Bride of Chucky.

“Perfect.” The words roll out like a purr. Or maybe a warning growl? Either way, he puts the remote down, leaning back against the couch and draping his arm over the back.

The movie picks up right away with an introduction to the main characters as you remember quite well. Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” playing while the one and only Tiffany Valentine makes off after the first kill of the movie.

Toji had thought the combination of blood and murderous dolls would have you leaning into him for protection, but to his surprise ─ and disappointment ─ you don’t. The most he gets out of you so far is a recoil during the first murder committed by Chucky himself.

“That’s what gets a reaction out of you?” His question comes out with a pout he doesn’t even hide.

You laugh through your nose, “Hey, the stabbings are one thing, but piercings getting ripped out?” You shudder. “No thank you.”

“Not even a little afraid of some creepy ass doll running around, killing people with a knife…” He goes silent for a minute as the bathtub scene occurs. “Or…a TV?”

“If we’re talking about Slappy from Goosebumps, then yeah,” you huff. “That guy was nightmare fuel for me, but Chucky I can enjoy.” You reach out for some popcorn, ever so quietly humming to “Call Me” by Blondie as it plays.

Toji takes his own handful before speaking, “You’re one odd girl, I’ll give you that.”

It’s funny the things that can affect you. Meeting new people turns you into a stuttering mess, yet you watch horror movies without a care in the world. As if the blood and guts doesn’t do anything to you unlike the words or actions of others do.

To others, you’re that of an iceberg. The image of you that others see is only a mere glimpse with the rest hiding below the surface. All it takes to reveal that side of you is time to warm up, something Toji is finally starting to see as you grow comfortable with him in your presence. No alcohol needed.

Throughout the rest of the movie, even if you weren’t clinging to him in order to shield your eyes, he still had his ways of keeping the distance close. There’s the brushing of fingers reaching for popcorn that seemed like more than accidents or the arm he has resting behind you this entire time for you to lean your head against.

It's like the awkward theater date you never had as a teen, except you’re the only one feeling awkward about it now. But at the same time, it’s endearing because you’re going through this milestone event in your life.

Except… you still aren’t aware if he’s single or not.

All signs point to yes since you’ve never once heard of another woman, or Megumi even talking about a mother. But she could just not live here, or they’re going through something, or she’s working abroad. The fact is, until you mount the courage to ask, or he tells you, you don’t know.

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t hoping he’s single. You’re enjoying this too much to think about this crush of yours falling apart.

Toji is sweet as could be and he makes you laugh every time you’re together. He continues to treat you and while you can’t return the favor financially, you’ve been trying with the little things like bringing baked goods over with the excuse that you made too many to cover up your nerves.

It's all you could ever hope to have with a friend or even a significant other, even if all it must be is platonic. It’s something you haven’t had in a long time, and one thing you don’t want to ruin by desiring more.

The movie ends and Toji stands up to stretch, collecting the leftover dishes to clean. You take a few, following him into the kitchen area.

“I would say let’s watch another, but I can’t be late for work tonight,” he groans, and you swear you can hear him pouting even with his back facing you.

“There’s always another night,” you reassure.

“I think we should just start the kid now with the good stuff.” His head turns in your direction flashing a mischeavous grin. “What do you think about watching Alien next time?”

“And scar him for the rest of his life over the spaghetti scene?” you reply with a sarcastic tone. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Hey, I saw much worse at an earlier age and look how I turned out.” He raises both his hands and shrugs all nice and proud.

“And it’s a miracle you’re sane.” He rolls his eyes with a laugh. “I vote that we watch Finding Nemo next time. I’m sure he’d love that one especially with how similar one of the characters is to you.”

He looks to you dumbfounded. “In what way could I possibly resemble a fish?” he says with disbelief lacing his words.

You giggle, “Personality for one; Gill is tough, smart, and cares a lot almost like a dad.” You extend your hand, gesturing to the man. “And two, you share similar features, like the color black, how you glare at others, scowl, even having a facial scar.”

You bite your tongue, eyes widening at what you just said. Another piece of info Toji hasn’t told you about yet is how he even got the scar on his lip. You know more than anyone that it may not be the easiest thing to talk about, mainly if there’s trauma tied to it versus something mundane like getting cut by a sticker bush.

It doesn’t help that he’s facing away from you so you’re unable to read his current expression. “I’m sorry, I–“

“You think I’m all that, huh?” He interrupts with a huff, appearing unbothered. “Bet I’m tougher than any fish in the sea,” he tells you again, with another flex of both his arms this time around.

You sigh in relief, “What about an orca?” you ask, and he flashes you a toothy smile.

“Now that’s a better comparison for someone like me over some stinkin’ fish.”

You both laugh and continue to chat for a little while longer. While Toji is cleaning the dishware, you’re occupying yourself with Megumi’s toys, helping to tidy up. When all is said and done, he walks you out, hanging back in the threshold of his home and the hallway.

“I’ll see you later then, hope you have an easy time at work.”

“Thanks, sweetheart. Try not to have any nightmares later.” He winks, and you laugh.

“If I do, then I know who to blame,” you scoff. “Goodnight, Toji.”

“Sleep tight, and don’t let the cursed dolls bite.” You roll your eyes, calmy walking into your home. Once inside, you’re anything but calm. You practically skip your way over to your couch, throwing yourself onto the cushions to pet Tsumiki.

Sweetheart.

He calls you that from time to time, and the butterflies you feel are something else. It takes a few breaths to relax from such giddy feelings. It’s been far too long since you had someone like Toji in your life, and you crave this kind of attention. This closeness. For the first time in what’s most likely been years, you feel as though nothing could possibly go wrong.

You eventually pick up your phone that you haven’t bothered to look at in the hours spent next-door, and there were several notifications to greet you.

The first dozen were some cheers from work, namely from Kento regarding the publication of the magazine you modeled for.

The second bunch were the obligatory Instagram mentions, the most important being the one from Satoru’s post alongside a series of his choice photos from that day with you.

That’s when you remember things can and will go wrong, as the third set are all various notifications of strangers blowing up your account. The majority falls under Satoru’s post, a bunch of his followers spitting venom your way to target you.

Who’s this nobody he’s with?

Can she get any closer to him? I bet she’s just using him for clout

Must’ve been torture for him :( she’s not even that pretty lmao

Would look so much better with only Satoru.

You want to look away, you really do. You’d love nothing more than to shut your phone off and throw it at the wall, but you can’t bring yourself to do it.

It’s nothing new for you to be hated on like this. The sad reality is that it’s to be expected, no thanks to the anonymity of the internet. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.

They’re jealous.

You know that.

Just obsessed fans taking out their anger on you because they wish it was them at his side.

You know that too, but it doesn’t stop the dark cloud that hangs over you wherever you go.

Why don’t you just stay in your lane? Be a flower on the wall?

You should’ve turned the project down, given it to someone else. You don’t deserve the recognition it brings.

This is your fault, you know. You should’ve listened to your parents when they said you weren’t going to succeed in life.

You sit up properly on the couch, tucking your knees to your chest. For a while, all you can bring yourself to do is stare blankly at the screen, watching all the new messages come through every passing minute. It’s a given, considering Satoru’s astonishingly high following. It isn’t until your phone shuts down from a low battery that you throw it aside and fall to your side, letting the tears come cascading down.

You wake up later, still lying on your side with a damp feeling against your face. The light that comes through your apartment is soft, no doubt earlier in the day compared to when you normally choose to wake up. Begrudgingly, you push yourself off the couch, listening to every creak your bones make like dated wood.

The first thing you do is plug your phone in to charge, followed by feeding Tsumiki her breakfast. You ponder whether you want anything, but even if your stomach was growling, you don’t feel all that deserving to eat. Not only does your depression take away your appetite at times, but it also puts a strain on the relationship you have with food and other things pertaining to your day-to-day life.

A shower helps. At least there you can attempt to drown out your thoughts with the water that rains down. Even when physically after you’re clean and smell nice, you still don’t feel all that great. Against your better judgement, you go to see how things were looking today on your phone.

The answer?

Worse.

More of the same shit fills your feed, but with the added bonus now of threats and other hate in your DMs, and all over your own posts that had nothing to do with the magazine. All are a courtesy from the people with nothing better to do than wish harm upon you for breathing the same air as their celebrity crush.

Speaking of, there’s a new message from him.

Satoru Gojo heyyy so sugu, sho, and I are going out to star plasma later to celebrate, you wanna meet up???

You Sorry, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on :( hope you guys have fun though!

Satoru Gojo boooo :( well if you change your mind, we’ll be there <3

You wonder if he’s seen the same hate you have, or maybe he’s just that good at ignoring it for his own sanity. That, or maybe he just doesn’t care what they’re saying. Not everyone is like you.

Oh, how you wish you could be like that. You also wish you didn’t feel the need to lie to him about having work. The thought of the gang seeing you in this state fills you with disgust, not to mention if Toji’s working tonight.

You place your phone back down on your nightstand, eyes drifting across to your bed. Most of the time, it’s the only place you want to be in, all wrapped up nice and tight under lays of blankets.

Other times it feels like a prison.

All the fabric acting like chains, keeping you bound to your mattress with no hope to escape. It’s during these times that everything outside the walls of your apartment frighten you to no end. And like always, you give in to the call of your damnation.

Sinking down into the cold sheets, you stare now up at the blank, white ceiling. The various scuffs and spots act like sheep for you to count as you make a mental note to clean them later. That will have to wait for a day you feel capable. A day you feel better if that day ever comes before it’s too late.

Why does it seem so easy for others to ignore all the drama of life and intrusive thoughts? They make it sound so easy, that being a normal, functional being is easy but here you are, wallowing in your own misery. You long to feel happy in life rather than the sorrow you feel now.

But will that ever happen?

A few unremarkable days have gone by since then, and you still bear no signs of feeling better.

You’ve stopped crying now, but the emptiness took over. Somehow you manage to get out of bed, only to mindlessly complete your work and anything else you have to do. Tsumiki’s been hanging close-by, as if she senses how distraught you are. Her meows and cuddles are the only thing bringing a ghost of a smile to your face as you shut out the rest of the world.

Food has been minimal, most of it not even having a taste when it hits your tongue. Your appetite is lacking either for anything more than a few bites. All in all, you’re just passing time until you can fall asleep, letting time go by that you later hate yourself for missing.

Depression is an awful cycle.

Today you decided you needed to head to the store. You tell yourself it’s to get Tsumiki more food or toys for putting up with you, but the truth is that your fridge is looking scarce. Your meals have mainly consisted of whatever is easy to make, jokingly referring to it as “girl dinners” to try and make yourself laugh.

You don’t put much thought into your outfit, choosing to wear something easy to keep you warm in this December month. Sometimes it’s nice to try and look pretty to help your confidence and all, but right now you’d rather hide under bulky fabrics. There doesn’t feel like much of a point to care, either way. What does it matter?

It's a quick trip in the end, only coming back with a few bags. You keep your eyes low to the ground, counting the concrete tiles to keep your mind at bay. It works, up until you notice your neighbor hunched over an idled car out front of your building.

Something’s off, you notice, and it makes the hairs stand straight up on your neck.

Never once have you seen Toji express an emotion like the one you’re seeing ─ the death stare he’s giving whoever is sitting in the car. For someone so typically calm, this apparent anger is so much scarier than any cursed doll could hope to achieve.

Who is he talking to?

You want to know, but at the same time you don’t if they’re upsetting Toji this much. Your breathing stills as you walk by, hoping to slip into the front door without being noticed. You make it as far as a few steps up before you’re stopped short from a voice.

“Hey.”

Your body tenses up. You’ve been avoiding contact with anyone outside of work for a few days, and you especially don’t want to be near whatever was going on outside just moments ago. He doesn’t need to be burdened by you.

“Hey, Toji.” You turn your head slowly to the man, weakly smiling.

He makes a few steps up to where you are, a silent urge to continue heading up to your floor together. The fire you previously saw raging in his eyes no longer appears present, instead replaced with his normal scowl.

“I saw your friends the other night at the bar, was hoping you’d be with ‘em.”

You exhale quietly, swallowing thickly. “Yeah, I– wasn’t feeling it that day,” you mutter.

Toji’s eyes narrow with furrowed brows to match but he continues with your pace.

“I’ve got some time before my shift if you wanted to watch that fish movie or somethin’ else,” he asks. You bite your lip as you think of your response.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on.” You go silent for a moment, save for the tapping of shoes against the tiled floor. “Some other night?”

He raises his hand sheepishly to his neck. “Yeah, no problem,” he says with the hint of disappointment in his words.

Fuck, you don’t want to hurt him. Especially with another lie to someone close to you.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, turning the key in your front door. “See you later.”

“See yo–“ The door shuts before Toji can even finish responding.

The guilt settles in like a knife to your heart. Enough so that you slide your back down the door to sit with your head between your knees.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” Disgust drips off your words.

Tsumiki comes right up to you purring away. For several minutes, you remain there on the ground petting her before finally getting up to put the groceries away. Shortly after, you return to your bed, indulging yourself with some good old blue-light exposure therapy. Tsumiki joins you, bringing in one of the new toys you bought for her.

Later, a soft knocking startles you from your sleep, not even realizing you had fallen asleep in the first place. The time on your phone shows that it’s after midnight, so who in their right mind needs you at this hour?

Cautiously, you approach the door, peering through to the peephole only to reveal…no one?

Huh, wrong house?

You turn away from the door, only for there to be another knock, but still nothing through the peephole. You end up opening the door without even thinking, and now you realize why you couldn’t see anything.

“Megumi?” He stands there teary-eyed, clutching his frog plush tightly in his arms. “What’s wrong, did something happen?” you ask with a gentle voice.

“I had a bad dream.” He sniffles, his lip starting to quiver with oncoming sobs.

“Come here, ‘Gumi.” You take him into your arms, lifting him up, and closing the door behind you as you take him to the couch. With one hand, you rub soft shapes over his back as you sit him down with you. “There, there,” you coo.

Megumi holds on to you tightly like a baby koala. There’s a damp feeling sticking to your chest from the tears falling from his eyes. In this moment, you put aside whatever troubles you might have. He needs you right now.

You give him a minute to relax and calm down, waiting to ask, “Do you want to talk about it?” But he shakes his head in response. “That’s alright, you don’t have to,” you tell him softly, further adding, “I’m right here with you, you’re safe now.”

Toji must be at work for Megumi to have come knocking, so you pull up his number on your phone, texting to let him know about the situation.

“Hey, ‘Gumi? You want to try going back to sleep?” He whines into your shirt, doing everything he can with his tiny hands to stay fixed to you.

“Don’t leave me, please…” He sniffles, and your heart breaks. There are those words again, you think, remembering the time in the bathroom with him once before.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you reassure.

You give him some time to calm down, humming a familiar lullaby to whisk him away to sleep. He grumbles when you place him down into your bed, the spot still warm from your earlier rest, but he finds that he can’t fight his heavy eyelids. Between your song and the fingers running through his hair, he has no choice but to fall asleep once again.

“Ma..ma…” he murmurs, and you feel a tear fall from your eye.

Tsumiki joins you now, curling right up to Megumi’s side like the comforting angel she is. You send another message to Toji to let him know he’s still with you, to which he replies that he’ll be right over after his shift ends.

So much for avoiding contact with others, but it’s for Megumi’s sake right now.

It feels like déjà vu the next time you hear the knocking at your front door.

“Hey Toji,” you greet, parting the door for him to enter. He looks around with a confused look at first. He’s thrown off by the lack of lit candles, ambient light, or anything else. Instead, it’s just you, illuminated only by the moonlight peeking through the apartment.

“Did I wake you?” he asks, meeting your eyes. It’s a good thing it’s dark, so he hopefully can’t see the evidence of your tears.

“No, I haven’t slept yet,” you admit, and it only serves to puzzle him further. There’s a lot he wants to ask, but you’re already motioning towards your bedroom. He sighs, moving to catch up with you.

“He looks right at home,” Toji remarks, brushing Megumi’s hair back to better see his face. He gives Tsumiki some attention, careful not to disturb his son’s sleep in the process. Once Megumi is up into his arms, the two of you head back towards your door. He stops, turning to look you in the eyes again. “Thanks for watching him.” He doesn’t move from his spot, though his brows begin to furrow in thought. “About earlier…is everything okay? Did I do something to upset you?”

You feel your stomach dropping. The guilt you felt earlier comes crawling back up with razor-sharp claws. “Oh. No, no ─ I’m…sorry about that,” you stammer out, feeling your chest tighten. “You didn’t do anything, I promise.”

“What’s up then, you’ve been actin’ weir–“ Megumi interrupts with some slight stirring in his sleep from Toji’s raised voice.

“I’m okay, Toji. Really,” you try and convince, despite feeling the exact opposite. Another lie that stains your soul, but you remind yourself that it’s not his problem. You’re not his burden to bear.

You’re not sure if even bought it, especially after the noncommittal grunt he makes with eyes that stare intently, as if peering into your soul despite the darkness.

“Alright,” he says after a minute, his voice noticeably calmer, but still unsure. “If there is something, you can talk to me, okay?”

“I will, thanks.” You open the door to let him out. “Goodnight.”

His head dips to you before the door shuts completely. “Goodnight,” he replies, with your name punctuating.

For some reason it hurts to hear your actual name for once instead of a pet name.

With your apartment empty once again, it feels colder than ever. Lately you’ve been feeling that way a lot. It’s only when Toji is there that your house truly feels like a home.

You meander your way back into bed, curling up into a ball facing the window. You can’t shake the cold you’re feeling, no matter the number of blankets overtop your body. Even the dimly lit skies seem to relate with you.

When was the last time you could see the stars shining so beautifully?

There was a time you yourself felt like a bright star once, one that floated easily through the cold expanse of the universe without any issue. Unlike the other stars that met their fate, there was no spectacular supernova at the end of it all. No rainbow plumes of stardust to vividly show all of existence how good of a life you’ve lived.

It was more like a flip of a switch when it came to you. Shining one day like normal and the next, a bleak void of what you once were, absent of any light.

You roll away to face the wall opposite of your room, moving your hands to clasp either shoulder in a self-embrace.

I miss the warmth.

You wake up alone for once, with Tsumiki nowhere to be found from where you lay. It’s nothing you worry about quite yet, as you figure she’s out in the living room watching birds. You get up to investigate, but to your dismay, she isn’t out there either.

You don’t see her anywhere.

Strange, you think. Maybe she’ll come out for breakfast…?

You try that next. Heading to the kitchen to prepare her usual pampered meal, making noise as you call for her.

“Tsumi!” you croon, adding a pspsps after, but again, nothing.

There’s no way she could’ve gotten out of the house, so she must be around here somewhere. Your heart beats a mile a minute as you’re scouring in and around every piece of furniture you have looking for her. Eventually, you do find her, all tucked away inside your closet on a pile of your clothes.

“There you are!” you exhale in relief. “Do you know how worried I was?” you coo. You then move to pick her up and she doesn’t protest, but she also doesn’t start purring or mewling either.

You bring her out the kitchen, placing her down with her bowl. Your heart sinks again when she sniffs the dish and ultimately turns her nose up.

Tears weld up at the edge of your eyes. “Fuck, Tsumi’, don’t do this to me.” You start to pace, chewing anxiously on your lip as you watch her huddle up in another corner of your apartment. “What’s the matter, baby?”

Fuck, fuck, what do I do?

Searching the internet is your first idea, but the results are anything but helpful. Half the results are akin to that of WebMD (read: you’re already dead). By this point, you’re hysterical now, fixing to hyperventilate as the last bit of control you have slips away.

Of all the times for something like this to happen, it has to happen to Tsumiki. You’d give anything to swap places because you love her more than life itself. But when it rains, it pours, and right now it feels like a hurricane is hanging overhead.

She needs a vet, but you can’t possibly run with her across town. Waiting for a taxi will only prolong whatever she’s suffering from. Fuck, if only you could afford your own car, this wouldn’t be an issue!

But then you remember one thing.

Toji has a car.

Toji.

With no time to waste, you sprint out the door of your apartment, frantically knocking on his all while desperately hoping he’s even home to answer. Your prayers are answered when the door opens, revealing the man himself, half-asleep and shirtless.

“Toji, I-I-I–“ your voice cracks between sobs.

“Woah, woah, slow down,” he interrupts, placing his hands on both ends of your shoulders. He lowers his head to your level. Seeing you in distress snaps him awake. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Tsumiki ─ I-I don’t know, I think she’s sick!” you stammer out, “I need to get her to a vet but–“

“Go get her; I’ll get my keys.” His voice is calm as he tries to reassure you, bringing his thumb up your cheek, wiping away a tear with the rough padding of his thumb. “Breathe, okay?” You nod, but you’re still trembling.

Toji releases his hands from you, allowing you to run back inside to grab Tsumiki. You place her gently into her transport while at the same time, Toji enters your apartment, taking the crate from your unsteady hands.

The two of you exit the building as quickly as you can, letting Toji settle her into the backseat while you situate yourself right there at her side, cooing to ease your baby’s scared hollers. Toji wastes no time pulling out on the main road for the directions you gave him, putting on his seatbelt as he went.

From time to time, he looks back at you through the mirror, seeing you hunched over in tears over the crate. You’re trying to be calm for her, you really are, but it’s so hard.

You arrive in record time at the emergency clinic, Toji once again carrying the crate inside the building while you briskly make your way to the receptionist. You tell them your name, and everything else they need to know while they work on all the check-in procedures, eventually handing you a clipboard and pen to fill out with further information to fill out.

Toji guides you with a steady hand to the waiting area which includes several benches and tables to take advantage of. He places Tsumiki’s crate on a spot directly in front of you, pulling you down to sit instead of letting you pace the room. Both your legs and hands are shaking uncontrollably with fear, teardrops dotting the paper and ink as you try to write out what they need.

“Hey.” Toji cups your dominant hand with his own, bringing the movement to a standstill. “Breathe,” he calmly requests. “I know it’s tough, but you gotta try and relax for Tsumiki. You aren’t gonna be helpful to her if you suddenly drop over,” he tells you, and he’s right.

“I can’t let anything happen to her,” you mutter with a hoarse voice. You lean forward in your seat, moving your hands to the back of your head.

Toji slings his arm around your shoulder, pulling you against him. “I know.” His words are low, only for you to hear as he speaks into your ear.

“I don’t know what I’d do if something h-happened to her, she’s–“ A hiccup interrupts you. “she’s all I have left. Without her, I…I can’t.”

Toji takes the clipboard from you, putting it next to Tsumiki so he can fully embrace you with both arms. Your head is pulled against his chest and the fabric of his shirt helps to muffle your shattering heart.

“That’s not true,” he begins, his tone of voice calm, but equally stern, “You have me, Megs, those other three friends, even that boss of yours. You said it all yourself to me.” He pauses, bringing his hand up through your hair. His grip is tight yet offers indescribable comfort. The bottom of his jaw settles on the crown of your head. “You are not alone. Not anymore,” he promises.

If you could put a pin on when you start to fall in love in with someone, this would be one of those moments. Even if all he’s doing is reassuring you as any good friend would, it means the world to you and more. A moment in time you’ll never forget for as long as you live.

“Toji, I–“ You lift your head from his chest, taking one sniffle before you catch that metallic scent. You move fast to clutch your nose, but it’s too late. “Shit!” you hiss.

Toji leans back to see what happened. His eyes widen upon seeing the blood trickling down the palm of your hand, hitting his shirt in the process. Thankfully, there’s plenty of tissues given the environment, so he grabs a handful to hold under your nose.

“Fuck,” you cry out, “I’m so sorry, Toji.”

“Don’t be,” he huffs with some underlying amusement. “A bit of blood is nothing, I couldn’t care less.” You swap places with his hand holding the tissues. “Are you okay?” he asks, helping to clean the area around your hand.

“I’m sorry, Toji,” you mumble, lowering your head. “I’m such a mess right now, I don’t mean to burden you.”

“Don’t say that,” he replies, resting his palm on the apex of your head, teasing your hair in the process like he does to Megumi. “You have nothing to be sorry for, and you’re not a burden. Let your ‘knight in shining armor’ be here for you.” He winks.

His helpful teasing earns the hint of a smile on your face and a short-lived laugh, but it’s enough to begin to lighten the mood. At least until you hear a voice calling out your name.

You stand up, reaching out for Tsumiki’s carrier but then you hesitate. “Hey Toji?” He hums in acknowledgement. “Do you mind coming with me for this, please?”

He smiles. “Not at all, princess.”

When all is said and done, Toji drives you back home, walking you back up into your apartment. There, he places the carrier down gently, allowing Tsumiki to roam free.

“I feel, so stupid,” you sigh, kneeling down and hiding your face with your hands out of embarrassment. “All of that for a simple tummy ache.”

Toji chuckles, “Hey, it shows how much you love her. You can’t fault yourself there.”

You turn your head to look at him with a soft smile. “I’m sorry I took so much time out of your day.” Your mind flashes back to when he opened the door earlier in his sleeping form and you can feel the heat reawakening in your body. “I woke you up for it too,” you breathe out a laugh.

“What did I say about the apologies, princess?” He crouches down in front of you causing his denim jeans to bunch up. One of his knees bumps against yours given how close he is. “I’d like to know what else is bothering you though,” he suddenly inquires, and you feel the same guilt you felt the last time creep back up like bile in your throat.

Once again, you border on the crossroads of what to say. It’s a huge step to trust someone else enough to share your vulnerabilities ─ but if it’s Toji… maybe you can? You did it before and it worked out better than expected.

You remain quiet as you stand from your spot, moving towards the couch. While you’re busy pulling your phone out, he rises and makes his way over to your side.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he says, trying to meet your eyes. “But we’re friends. I want to help you if you’ll let me.”

It’s a lot coming from Toji.

You’ve learned over the course of knowing him that feelings don’t come easy. He does what he can, and what he feels is the best course of action. It’s a big reason as to why you struggle to pay him back for all his moments of kindness. You’ve come to realize that that’s how he best expresses himself, not only through teasing, but also through acts of service.

Being not only a bartender, but also more importantly a father, it’s forced him to open up more to others and to himself. To reflect on his own feelings and shortcomings so he can be better for Megumi. It’s not easy and he certainly doesn’t do all this effort for others, but for you, he will.

You pass him the device silently, pulling your knees to your chest. You let one knee rest against your cheek as you look his way, and at the same time you avoid eye contact. Toji’s expression softens, and there’s the slightest hint of red on his ears, but mainly there’s some confusion in his features.

“These are beautiful ─ you’re beautiful,” he tells you, looking back your way. “What’s the problem with ‘em?”

You want to smile. It’s hard not to let alone the blush trying to come alive. There’s just one issue.

“This,” you proclaim, scrolling down to expand the comment section with your finger. “This,” you repeat, “is the problem.” You wrap your arms around your legs, hugging them to you with an empty expression.

He looks back and his face immediately darkens into a scowl. “You know they’re just spewing shit out of their asses, right? Bunch of dumb fucks that don’t have anything better to do,” he grumbles, more curses following under his breath.

“They’re not all wrong though,” you let out a dry chuckle.

“No, uh uh.” He shakes his head, the words spilling out fast and like that of a growl, “Do not do that to yourself. Don’t think for a second this shit means anything.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it!” you exclaim, drawing out each word. Your fears have come alive as the dam breaks. The tears that fall from your eyes are hot and heavy, flooding down your cheeks. “Every single thing they say sticks with me, and I hear it all the time in my head!”

He moves to sit in front of you, placing one hand down on your knee. “You shouldn’t listen to anything on here,” he says more calmly this time, scrolling further down the post. “It’s all garbage, they’re garbage.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t,” you mumble, tightening your grip around yourself to the point your nails are digging into the fabric of your pants to reach your skin. “I hate it so much,” you drawl, “and I hate mys–“

“No.”

His tone makes you flinch, stopping you from continuing. The only noises shared between you two is that of the sobs you try and hold back to not make a sound. To not let another hear you sob.

“Look at me,” he almost whispers to you. “Please?” he insists when you don’t respond.

You eventually do, keeping half your face hidden beneath your forearms, but your eyes finally meet his own and you see the worry behind them.

“No matter what anyone says, you deserved to be on that magazine. Satoru didn’t make you the model you are, that was all you, do you understand?” He pauses, waiting for you to nod before he continues, “Listen to me when I tell you that you are beautiful. These assholes don’t mean shit, and even he agrees,” he finishes by handing you your phone back.

You’re puzzled until you see what Toji is referring to ─ a recent update on Satoru’s page where he expresses how disgusted he is by the comments. He goes on to bash the people spewing hate at someone he deems his friend and how you deserve none of it. The words bring more tears to your eyes, but not all of them are sourced from a well of sorrow this time around.

Toji goes on to say, “You should post your own pics too from that day. Be proud of yourself and the work you put in.”

You still can’t help but scoff, “Yeah, and give them more fuel? It’s bad enough they’re under all my other photos too.”

“So?” he scoffs back. “Fuck whatever they have to say. Remember what I told you.”

“Okay,” you sigh, wiping your tears. “I’ll do it.”

His lips upturn into a wolfish grin. “Good girl. Show ‘em who’s boss.” He pats your knee a few times before returning it to his side. “Now what do you say about ordering in some food? We can watch that fish thing too with Megs if you’re up for it.”

Your eyes widen, darting to the clock on your phone to see how late it is. “Oh my god, Megumi! I’m so sorry, is he–“

“Relax, he’s fine,” he states, appeasing your worries. “I had his sitter pick him up from school.”

“Oh, thank god,” you sigh again. “I was so caught up with my own shit, I completely forgot.”

“No harm done, so quit apologizing already,” he teases.

“I’m sorry ─ fuck, sorr–“ You clasp your hand over your mouth to shut yourself up. Toji gives you a blank stare with his mouth stretched in a fine line before your stomach breaks the silence with a loud growl. You hide yourself behind your legs from the humiliation, meanwhile Toji breaks out laughing.

Funny how the tables have turned.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” He stands up, pulling his phone out from his back pocket. “Speaking of the kid though, his birthday is coming up.” His hand meets the back of his neck. “It’d mean a lot to him if you’re there for it, we’re havin’ a small party.”

“I’d love to,” you reply with a bright smile ─ the first and most genuine one you’ve made in several days.

“Thanks.” He returns your smile. “I’ll go get the kid then and order your favorite, so get comfortable while I’m gone.”

As he leaves, you go back to some of the latest posts on your profile. To your surprise, a lot of the hate and threats you saw were no longer there. Even the threats in your DMs disappeared or their accounts suspended. You have a feeling Kento has something to do with this, to which you’ll have to thank him later.

You pan through the official photos from the shoot, choosing all your favorites. With a shaky hand, you remember Toji’s words and hit the button to upload your post. Moments later, a new message comes through from your group chat.

Satoru Gojo oi oi, you’re posting again! are you okay??? we miss you :(

You I’m okay now, I’m sorry for worrying you guys.

Suguru Geto Don’t be, you have every right to want your own space. We’re just happy to hear from you again.

Shoko Ieirinext time though you should tell us so we can help you feel better 💕

Satoru Gojo yeah^^^ I was this 🤏 close to getting that double D DILF you like to drive us to your place so we could see you

You oh my god, don’t even start

Satoru Gojo hehehe I can see you blushing through the screen >:3

Shoko Ieiri no need to deny the obvious :)

Suguru Geto I’m with them on this. :)

You wipe the happy tears off your face just in time for Megumi to come running in. He throws himself into you for a nice big hug, with Toji following closely behind.

“Food’s on its way, you feelin’ better?”

“Yeah.” You nod in response. “And thank you, Toji. I’m glad we’re friends,” you tell him with a sincere sounding voice.

“Me too, sweetheart.” He plops down next to you, pulling Megumi into his lap to bounce on his knee. “Now let’s get this movie going then so we can watch Alien later.” He gives you a devious grin.

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Yeah, funny joke.”

“We’ll see about that,” he teases.

Megumi ends up thoroughly enjoying Finding Nemo, reciting Dory’s iconic line “just keep swimming” over and over to the amusement of you both. Toji on the other hand tries his best to deny the Gill allegations, but it proves to be an impossible battle once Megumi began to point it out and back you up on the claim.

After dinner, Tsumiki ends up joining you three on the couch as well, feeling better than ever now that she has the laps of three people to choose from for love. But between all the laughing and combined joy, you can safely say that in this moment, you feel a whole lot warmer than you did before.

☆ Notes: I will self-indulge myself with movie and song titles that I know and love unapologetically. It’s my way of giving recommendations in a self-insert fic where I try and make the reader as inclusive as I can within the realm of what I’m trying to achieve. jennifer tilly is my celebrity crush <3

also I don’t know about you all, but when I get super stressed out and cry, my nose starts bleeding like hell which is why I wanted to add that scene in specific to add to the depth of the reader's anxieties

revising this chapter makes me realize how much dialogue is hard to do for me. I get so stuck on whether or not I believe a character would actually say what I’m making them say, but then I try to remind myself that there’s some wildly outlandish stuff I’ve seen in other fics that’s still enjoyable to read even their personalities are crazy OOC. Hope that isn’t too much the case here, as soft!toji is something I really try to focus on given all the shit he’s been through.

Here's a fun toji edit by the way >:)

[poppadom0912]

His Girl

Warnings: Brief mentions of the Burke drama and Hannah's overdose situation, Will's dating life?

Summary: Through all the women in his life, at the end, only one ever truly mattered.

A/N: Just because I want to, I'm changing a few things around just for the plot. I was inspired by several fics on ao3 about singlefather!Will so i thought i'd make this part of my Faith Halstead series. Hope you enjoy!!

This is my last fic of the year. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and will have a wonderful new year. Fingers crossed 2024 will be our year. See you all next year!!!

Faith's mother had never been present. It had always been just Faith and Will from day one and he never saw a reason for that to change till he moved back home to Chicago.

Then Will's favourite duo became a trio, Jay unsurprisingly becoming a staple in their lives. Will didn't see any reason to change this dynamic when everyone was happy.

But then he met a few women who changed some things.

Natalie was the first to some degree. There were feelings on both sides but she had a newborn son and a mother-in-law who didn't like him for some reason. Their kiss was a 'mistake' and so he moved on.

Nina was his first official girlfriend since moving back and his hesitancy to get back into the dating scene was as clear as day. So they took it as slow as necessary.

Will was scared. He liked Nina relatively and they were at a point where he was comfortable enough to introduce her to Faith but the lingering fear of abandonment remained. He didn't want to introduce a female and a possible maternal figure into her life just for them to leave.

Luckily, Faith was just touching five when they broke up and he finally got with Natalie.

Those two to three years could be described as near bliss.

He loved Natalie and to see how she took Faith in with open arms, he could've cried on the spot right then. And she was the perfect older sister to Owen, three years her younger, getting along as though they were blood related siblings and being as thick as thieves.

"Hey bubbles." Will called out. His nerves radiating as he sat down besides his daughter on the floor with her toys splayed out on the carpet.

"How would you feel about papa and Natalie getting married?" He asked, apprehension lacing his words. Marriage and having a mother were topics Will often breached with Faith but it had never got this serious and he'd never do anything to this degree without having Faith's permission.

But the second her brown eyes lit up as bright as the stars in the sky, Will felt like everything was finally coming together and for once, he could give his daughter everything she wanted and deserved.

Faith was seven when everything came tumbling down.

She'd been with the bridal party when everything unfolded. She tried remaining naive to the nerves of the bride who she had yet to start calling mum. She tried remaining oblivious at the church when her dad hadn't shown up yet but she sobbed her little heart out when Will was dragged away from her into witness protection.

For the first time in her life, Faith didn't have her dad and she didn't know what to do with herself. Nothing made sense to her, living in a house with Natalie and Owen but not her papa.

When uncle Jay Jay brought him back though, Faith's world was glued back together again, she could finally breathe and for a second everything went back to normal and she thought they'd get the happy ending they deserved.

But then Natalie, the only motherly figure she had besides Maggie, broke up with Will and wouldn't let the duo back into her life.

That was the first ever heartbreak Faith experienced and somewhere deep down, she wasn't sure she was ever going to forgive Natalie for putting her and her papa through such pain like they hadn't been through so much already.

Her newly turned hatred was made apparent. Once the father and daughter moved out, whenever Faith found herself visiting the ED, she actively tried avoiding the woman and if they happened to stumble upon each other, Faith would send the hardest glare a seven-year-old could muster and not even a hi was exchanged.

Natalie's hurt didn't make Faith feel too guilty. She only felt a little bad when Will gently scolded her for being so cold to the woman who was supposed to be her mother once upon a time.

Faith was eight when she was introduced to Hannah. Ever since Natalie, Will had been more hesitant than ever to get into a relationship. The pain Faith went through post breaking up with Natalie had been long lasting and the thought of that happening again deterred Will from the dating scene.

But surprisingly, Faith was the first to propose he go forth with whatever his feelings for Hannah were. Somewhere deep down, apparently, Faith had a soft spot for the OBGYN that gave Will the confidence to move forward.

However, fast forward one year and no disrespect towards Hannah, but if Will could go back in time, he would've changed things.

Will could never forget the events that unfolded that night.

He was coming back from work, you were with Hannah at her apartment, spending the night together which made Will feel some sort of way knowing how well the two were getting along.

The apartment was pin drop silent when he entered which was surprising since it was a weekend and Faith always begged with her puppy eyes to stay up, Hannah could never resist them.

Just as he was taking his jacket off, he heard a familiar cry that caused the hair on his arms to stand on end, his head snapping up at the sound.

Will moved faster than he ever did before, taking large strides towards the distressing cries he barely heard from his little girl as she got older.

"Bubbles, what's-" Will cut himself off as he rounded the corner and caught himself in the bathroom doorway, gripping the doorframe so he wouldn't trip from how fast he was moving.

"Papa!" Faith's voice cracked as she cried. The second she saw her father; she scrambled up from where she was sat on her knees on the ground. "I w- I was just going to brush my teeth when I heard a bang and, and I found her..."

Faith sobbed into her father’s shirt, back turned to the unconscious woman on the floor, her face pushing into his torso as though she could burn away the image from her mind but she had seen enough.

Will immediately switched back on. "Bubbles, listen to me. I need you to go into her room and get that big bag that papa has at home and bring it. Can you do that for me Faith?"

Faith hiccupped, rubbing her red eyes as she nodded up at her dad. Will pressed a quick kiss onto her temple before watching her scramble out the bathroom allowing him to give all his attention to his girlfriend.

It was safe to say, that night did quite a number on Faith and Will found himself taking the blame.

Now in present time, Will hadn't dated anyone since Hannah. He talked to a few women at work and if things had been so much more simpler, something could've happened but then everything flashed before his eyes and he stopped himself.

Faith was eleven now and she was still the sole focus of his life besides work. He could never forgive himself for what he put her through with the women he tried bringing into their lives only for it to never work out.

In the end though, when all was done it seemed that just the two of them survived and thrived perfectly alone.

When Faith first came into Will's life, it was just the two of them battling alone together in a world neither could navigate and eleven years later, it was a little easier but there was still so much Will wished he could get rid of just for her sake.

The sound of the car door opening broke him out of his thoughts, his head turning as he smiled at his dishevelled daughter.

"Hey, how was school?" Will asked, softly smiling at her messy braid, tucking back the fly away hairs behind her ears before pulling away from the school.

Faith hummed, fiddling with her beaded bracelet. "Was good, I have a permission slip you need to sign."

"I'll do it tonight after work, make sure to remind me." Will told her as he started driving towards his brothers and sisters-in-law’s place. Despite his failing love life, his younger brother managed to settle down and Hailey loved Faith despite the short amount of time she knew her.

"Papa-" Faith stumbled over her words, picking the skin around her nails as she tried to form her question. "Um, are you happy?"

Will was caught off guard. His eyes widened a little as he took one hand off the wheel to stop Faith from picking her skin, his tutting making her stop instantly.

"What? Why would you ask that bubbles? Of course I am, I'm more than happy." Will answered confidently, looking at her at a red light to try understand what was going through her mind.

"Why? What happened at school?" Will's tone changed at the thought of someone saying something bad to his little girl.

"No! No! It was nothing like that I promise!" Faith hastily answered before her dad could turn the car back around to give the school a piece of his mind.

"It's just, you haven't gone on a date since Hannah..." Faith licked her lips nervously as she brought up Will's ex who didn't have the best lasting effects on them. "Is it because of me?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" Will asked her calmly, completely confused as to why she was thinking in such a way. "I promise you bubbles that I'm happy. You're all I need Faith."

While he drove, Will took a quick glance over to his right and found himself smiling at the adorable face Faith was making. Her eyes squinted from how hard she was smiling to herself at her father's comment.

"C'mere you little gremlin." Will said, welcoming how fast she got up from her seat to be enveloped into his arms. Squeezing as tight as he could, Will made sure not to suffocate her before pressing a kiss onto her hairline.

"Alright, love you lots. Have fun-"

"But not too much fun. I'll keep Uncle Jay in line." Faith rolled her eyes, already knowing what her dad was going to say since he'd been saying the same thing all her life.

Watching his not so baby girl run out the car and towards her uncle's home, Will felt his heart flutter, his chest all warm.

Yeah, he's made some questionable decisions regarding his love life but there was not one mistake made when it came to Faith. When everything came tumbling down, she was all that mattered and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

[ace-reviews]

Fall 2024 First Impressions Digest Part 2

Part 1 here.

Ranma 1/2: Hey, Mappa, cut out Happosai.

Puniru Is A Kawaii Slime: This show is going to be formative in nurturing the slime kinks of a bunch of young kids. Also, Puniru is the colors of the trans flag, uses a masculine pronoun (boku), and Kotaru keeps loudly insisting that she's "not a girl", but I'm sure none of that means anything. Anyway, it's a cute show but not my thing.

TsumaSho: I read a chapter or two of the manga this is adapted from a while back and completely forgot about it until checking the description of this anime to see if it could be interesting. It's not. I have very little patience for mothers being portrayed as perfect saintly beings at the best of times, and her being turned into a grade schooler gives it a layer of weird I really don't want to deal with. Ultimately, though, it's biggest problem is that it's boring. This premier dropped with two episodes and I didn't even make it through the first one.

Nina the Starry Bride: This one is also boring.

*thousand yard stare*

Magilumiere Magical Girls INC.: It's a good show. Wish the uniforms looked different.

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth: If the universe expands infinitely in all directions, then wouldn't everywhere and nowhere be the center of the universe? Either way, this is one of those shows that's so good that I have nothing to say about it. I'm not much of a medievalist but I do like a well-made, talky cartoon that portrays Catholics like horror movie villains.

Haigakura: Holy inelegant exposition, Batman! A premier opening with a history lesson immediately followed by some character explaining the protagonist's motivation to him is generally a bad sign. And it certainly doesn't bode well for this premier, which is roughly 50% characters explaining things to each other that they already know for the benefit of the audience and 50% lame slapstick. Anyway, it's bad.

Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga ii: I do not like this art style and never have. That's the only negative thing I have to say about this premier, however. This is trash, but it's fun trash. We love a man voiced by Akira Ishida who can beat a man into a crate of beer bottles and then make this face:

he's like hakkai without the sister fucking

I might not stick with it all season (there are already a dozen other anime on my watchlist for this season and we're only halfway done with the premiers), but the way it delivers it's last-two-minutes-of-the-episode twist was chef's kiss.

You Are Ms. Servant: Do.... Do the people who decided on the English title not know that 'maid' is a common English word? They have to know, don't they? Maids are popular in anime and among anime fans why would they take the word 'maid' out of the title? That's so weird. I haven't even watched the episode yet and I can't concentrate on anything except how weird that is.

That aside (for now), this premier is worth checking out just for the OP & ED and their really extremely cool mix of really extremely cool visual styles. The actual episode is pretty good, too. Still, it is very weird that they translated 'meido' as 'servant' instead of, y'know, 'maid'.

A Terrified Teacher At Ghoul School!: This is another one I read a couple chapters of the manga of a little bit ago. It was cute. I mostly stopped reading it because it was on one of the official manga reading apps that's really bad (I think the Square Enix one that split one chapter into like 4 chapters and then limited you to only one 1/4 of a chapter per day).

way to be motivational, sensei

Regardless, the anime is also cute. The pacing is a bit hectic, but it's a fun time. It also makes for an interesting double feature with Kimi wa Maid-sama since Maid-sama kept making me think of Mahoromatic and this one makes me think of GTO, which are both classic anime that are better than these (though they're both fine).

[firawren]

First & Last Lines

Thanks for the tag, @bad-at-names-and-faces!

Rules: post the first and last lines of the last 10 fics you posted.

Air heavy with the sound and scent of rain - Belle usually wakes up full of energy, but it’s one of those languid mornings where not even Belle wants to stir from bed. - “Never,” he promises.

Six inches deep (in mud) - Darcy held his wife’s gloved hand as she hopped off the stile and straight into a mud puddle. - He’d had no idea Mr. Darcy was capable of such a thing, let alone Mrs. Darcy, but he silently congratulated the pair on having the vitality of youth and new love to drive them to carry it out.

Charming in its imperfection - Beast supposes it’s funny that one of his favorite things about Belle is that small piece of hair that always comes loose and hangs over her forehead. - “It’s one of my favorite things.”

Seize such an opportunity - “Would either of you ladies be so kind as to indulge us all with some music?” - It was just as things ought to be, and remain, between them.

Dismissed, rejected, publicly humiliated - Adam tapped the headshot on his desk contemplatively. - “Perfect as a fairy tale.”

Transformation - “It’s breathtaking!” she gasped as she swiveled her head around her. - He was enough.

Teach and teach - The first thing that Ed noticed about Stede Bonnet was that he dressed like some fancy, rich guy from one of those old black and white movies his mom had liked to watch when he was a little kid. - Using a sailing metaphor for riding a motorcycle was a slightly odd choice, but Ed fucking loved every delightfully odd thing about Stede Bonnet.

Warming up - The ice tightening around Beast’s heart wasn’t from the cold—it was from fear that Belle was going to die. - For Belle.

Ungentlemanly - The first time Darcy nearly lost control and spoke obscenity to his bride was not his wedding night. - “Or we can forgo the quarrel and simply agree to fuck like this from now on.”

Walking under ladders - Adam straightened up from where he was weeding to watch Gaston’s backside shifting as he came down the ladder from the roof. - “Exactly.”

I really like how some of these mirror each other so well (3, 7, and 9), and others of them make no sense out of context.

Zero pressure tagging @thefamilybruno, @glassslippers-n-cowboyboots and anyone else who wants to do this!

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Runaway - Chapter Nine.

Happy Friday, besties! Awww, it makes me so happy to see you all enjoying this, it really does. I love to create something that gets people talking, and thank you so much for investing in it :) If you want to go slower with the notes over the weekend to get to 30 then go for it, completely up to you, as ever :) Now, back to the story. You all get to meet Manny’s grandpa. Something tells me you’re going to like Ed... 

Previous chapters - Prologue  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight

Taglist - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 2,288

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

“You fucking what?”

Oh yes. There went the sound barrier. And his eardrums.  

“Baby, I’m so sorry. This is a shock, I know it is, I know,” he began, his fiancée amping up to irate within a blink.

“How could you do this to me!”

“It happened before I met you, Carmen,” he revealed, attempting to placate her.

“And how do you know she’s yours, huh? This bitch could be just passing her off as yours, could have had any number of dicks all up in her and she’s trying to pin it on you!” His eyebrows knitted at that.

“Hannah isn’t a bitch. She’s a nice girl who I ended up having a one-night stand with. Trust me, I believe her when she says she knows I’m the father. The only other guy it could have been didn’t match on a paternity test. Plus, you ain’t seen the kid. She’s my double. Ain’t no doubt over her parentage, mi dulce. She’s mine.”

“And so, what now? What does this mean, going forward? She sticking you for child support, huh?” Money. Of course, that would be at the forefront of her mind. It always was. “We have a wedding to pay for, you know!”  

Manny took a breath, opening the fridge and pulling a beer out, twisting the cap off before swinging the door shut and leaning back against it. “She didn’t mention anything about child support, but I will be contributing. Ain’t no question there. That don’t mean you go without anything, though. I make good bank, you know that.”  

Despite the fact she was being selfish and thinking of herself first in all of this, Manny was, as ever, understanding, selfless as he was. At that moment, Carmen was of course tits deep in the world according to bride, not wanting anything to get in the way of her special day. He wouldn’t let it either, he loved her, after all. At the same time, though, he would not welch on a commitment to his own blood.  

“I’m going for a bath.” She tore a path through the kitchen, out towards the bathroom, the door slamming shut. He couldn’t help but note that she hadn’t even asked him, not once, how he was coping with the news. It was all about how it affected her.  

‘I’m mindful of what I just dropped on you, and it matters to me, that you’re alright with it.’

Hannah’s concern came back to him immediately, wanting to make sure he was okay after her life changing revelation. The difference was not lost on him. He sighed, pulling his phone out, scrolling through to the pictures he’d taken, pictures of his baby, ones Hannah had taken of him holding her, too, smiling widely. Oh, she was so beautiful, such a precious little thing.  

“As if I made something as fucking perfect as you, Lola Lydia Gray,” he beamed, his thumb stroking her image. “Shit, I’m a dad. I’m someone’s dad.”  

It was there that his thoughts went to his own father, Manny’s mouth thinning as he moved to go and sit down in the lounge. Manuel Santiago Snr had walked out on him, his mother and two sisters when he was five, the family moving back to his mother’s home of La Paz County, Arizona, to live with a considerably better father figure; his grandfather, Ed.  

Edward Ellison was a formidable force, half Apache, half white, and one hundred percent no nonsense. A rancher all his life, working fourteen hours a day, come rain or shine, producing some of the best, if not the best beef cattle in Arizona, breeding horses as well as a lucrative second income. A tough life for a tough man. He had perhaps the kindest heart Manny had ever encountered for his family and friends, but still, there was no doubting his mettle.  

He sat and remembered the first time he’d ever put him on a horse as a six-year-old kid. Not a pony, oh no. A fully grown quarter horse. ‘The boy needs to learn if he’s gon’ drive cattle in’ he’d explained, when his mom had pitched somewhat of a fit about seeing her little boy sitting up on a huge steed led by her father, Manny’s feet barely reaching the bottom of the saddle flaps. He had got him something a little more suitable once he did learn, though, a little dappled grey horse of just over fourteen hands in height named Chester.

Driving cattle was exactly what Manny had done, too, until he was twenty-four, spending eight years working the same hard job. It was rewarding, but he couldn’t continue, meeting a girl who lived over in Yuma and leaving to join her down there. His relationship with Corrine hadn’t lasted, but the outlaw life he’d fallen into had.  

She’d been the daughter of one of the members of the Yuma charter of the MC, hence how he got involved in it all in the first place. He missed the ranch sometimes, but definitely not the 4am starts of a morning. Thinking of his grandpa, Manny knew he was the first person he wanted to reveal the news to.  

“Hey mijo, hold on. He’s in the kitchen, doing something to the coffee machine,” his grandmother, Rosita spoke, the words ‘I’m trying to fix the godforsaken thing, Rosie!’ muttered from his grandpa, Ed taking the phone.

“You’re calling late.”

Manny checked the time on his phone. “It’s 8:06pm, gramps.”

“That’s late for me, you know I go to bed at eight thirty.” It was true, he did. In bed by eight thirty and out of it by 4am, even still at seventy-one years old.  

He couldn’t help but be smart. “Well then we have just over twenty minutes, don’t we?”  

“Fucking kids and their sass,” Ed muttered, Manny laughing. “So, how are you?”

“I’m great, gramps, really good. I had some news today, and you’re the first person I wanted to tell. I’m a dad.”

Ed stood much taller than his 6ft 2 height at hearing that, a smile lighting up his still handsome features. “You and Carmen ain’t wasting any time, huh? Congratulations, son. When’s she due?”

“Um, that’s the thing. Baby is here already, twelve weeks old, and not Carmen’s.” He waited for it; the no doubt comically delivered reaction.

“You been philandering in some other woman’s honey pot, boy?” He didn’t disappoint, his grandson hissing softly with laughter.

“Yep, but this was before I met Carmen,” he explained, Ed snorting.

“You were cutting that finer than a flea’s nut sack hair!”

Manny was in hysterics at his words, sipping his beer. “I met her two months after I was with Hannah, that’s my baby mama, by the way. Well, I wasn’t really with her, more of a one-night thing.”

Ed sighed, coughing as he let himself out of the back door, looking out over his vast property as he sat down in the porch chair. “Still no fan of condoms, then?”

“Nope,” Manny confessed, knowing it was bad. HPV had made him finally learn his lesson, though.  

“Cesspool,” Ed grunted. “I’m surprised your dick ain’t dropped off yet.” He rummaged in his pocket, taking out one of his slim cigars and lighting up. “So, what kind is my first great grandbaby? Pink or blue?” His comment sparked a memory of the time his grandmother had bought him a new shirt, one he’d refused to wear in his stubbornness, all because it had a trace of dark pink in the plaid, Manny laughing softly through his nose at how rigid his grandpa could be over such simple things as colours.

“Pink, her name’s Lola,” Manny revealed proudly. “Hold on, I’ll send you a picture.”

“Alright, I’ll put you on the speaker phone so I can talk and look.” Manny accessed his pictures on a message, clicking a few and sending them through. A few seconds passed before Ed’s phone pinged, and then a couple more before he spoke again. “Aw, hell. Would you look at that little face. She’s a peach, boy. Damn, she looks the double of your mama when she was a baby. When you bringing her here so granny and I can meet her?”

“I dunno. I only found out today, so let me settle into a routine of things with Hannah first and I’ll see.”

Ed made a ‘umhm’ noise, taking a drag on his cigar. “You told your mama yet?”

“Nah, I’m working up to that. I kinda guess she’s gon’ scream at me.” Truly an understatement if ever there was one.  

“Well, of course she will. She inherited her mother’s lungs, if nothing else. How about Carmen, is she good about it all?”

Manny sniffed, finishing his beer, rising from the couch to go and fetch another. “Not really, but I’m guessing she needs time to get used to the idea.”

“Hmm.” Ed’s tone was non-comital, choosing not to voice the truth that he wasn’t surprised at all. He didn’t care for Carmen one bit. ‘That girl, she’s bougee and self-centred. Ain’t what he needs’ he’d said to his darling Rosita after meeting her for the first time. “Yeah, I guess she’ll come round to it, eventually.” Instead of being his usual, mildly abrasive, truth spewing self, he chose diplomacy. His grandson had enough to think about, without him throwing in his two cents.  

Manny said he’d call again soon, Ed telling him he’d relay the news to his grandma before getting off, leaving him to make the phone call he was carrying a certain amount of mild dread over.  

“You fathered a child with a woman who isn’t the one you’re marrying? For the love of god, Manuel! How could you be so reckless? Poor Carmen! This must be breaking her heart, and who is this woman you got pregnant in the first place? Is she an ex-girlfriend? Please don’t tell me it’s that little whore from the dry cleaners, I couldn’t stand her and...”

“Mom, breathe,” he interjected with.

“It’s her, isn’t it? It’s that girl! Oh my god, I need a drink! I mean, did I not always tell you to fucking use contraception? You’re thirty-nine, for heaven’s sake, and...”

“Mom, I’m sending you a picture.”  

“...I’d like to think that you’re at the age where you’d kno-OH MY GOD! She’s so beautiful!”  

He knew that would shut her up.  

“Ain’t she? Her name’s Lola, and no, she isn’t Esther’s. Her mom is a girl named Hannah, she’s really nice, you’ll like her,” he explained, hearing his mother virtually whimpering with joy on the other end of the line.  

“How old is she?”

“What, Hannah or bubs?”

Val sighed audibly. “The baby! As long as this Hannah girl is over eighteen then It's all good.”

“Oh yeah, well over. She’s fifty-two.”

“Manny!”  

He laughed hard, never able to resist winding the key in his mother’s back and watching her go. “I’m just playing, calm down! She’s twelve weeks, well, a little under actually. And Hannah is thirty-eight.”

“So, when can I meet her?”

He told her the same thing he had his grandpa, his mom understanding and asking him to please send more photographs in the meantime. They chatted a little more before ending the call, just as Carmen was exiting the bathroom, swathed in towels and still looking sour. “You have a nice bath, mamas?”

No reply.  

“Baby, come on. Can we just sit down and talk about this calmly?” he tried with again.

“Fuck you!” 

He winced at her ire, shaking his head as the lounge door slammed shut, picking up the remote and turning the TV on, wishing he wasn’t already four beers in so he could head back to the clubhouse and hang out. He’d come home early at Carmen’s request so he could spend some time with her, but now that idea was shot to shit entirely. He got it, why she was mad, but he couldn’t help it. A baby didn’t come with a return to sender option. Besides, he wouldn’t want her to. He was thrilled at becoming a father; he just hoped his fiancée would land on the same page sooner rather than later.  

It was a few days before she seemed to settle a little more, but he knew she was still pretty sour over the whole thing.  

“Hey yo, come look at this,” he called to Lily and Jodie a few days later, he and Carmen hanging out at the clubhouse, Angel and EZ’s wives approaching to look at the picture he showed them.  

“Awwwww! Look her smile!” Jodie gushed, bouncing on the spot, grasping her hands to her own heavily pregnant belly, Lily reading the message that accompanied it.  

“Hey daddy, look how happy I am that I just spit up all over the seventh romper mommy put me in today. Can’t wait to see you on Friday and puke all over you, too! Love Lola. Oh, that’s so sweet!”

“I know, right? She always sends a little message like it’s from the baby. Imma ruin my street cred thinking that shit is adorable, but I don’t give a fuck,” he laughed.

“You shouldn’t! She’s your first born, it’s an exciting time for you,” Jodie enthused, rubbing his arm affectionately. Carmen was within earshot, snorting and throwing herself down from the barstool, stomping out of the clubhouse. “Something I said?”

“Naw, baby girl. She’s just having a time of it, adjusting to the fact.” he replied, Jodie nodding sagely. She’d expected as much, but what Manny didn’t expect was to get blasted about it as soon as they walked through the front door upon their arrival home a few hours on.  

Carmen, it seemed, was not done being pissed off about it just yet.  

[boxingcleverrr]

So Kate and her (righteous, correct) annoyance at puritanical people unable to engage with Poor Things normally reminded me today of one of my faaaavorite Christian Romance Novels (tm) from back in the day. And I realized it's a perfect example of "why you sometimes NEED sex scenes, no hyperbole or moralizing required."

Jeanette Oke is a famous Christian author, I'm sure plenty of people have heard of the Love Comes Softly series, or When Calls The Heart series, cause they've both been made into tv shows - terrible ones, with terrible production values, lol.

If that's all you know her by, you might be surprised to learn that the source material doesn't suck! She tells a very good story, builds all kinds of relationships well, and definitely does way more historical research than the producers of any films/shows based on her work. They're very PG to PG13 as far as violence goes, no smut obv, usually with a religious message buried or shoehorned in there.

It's kinda like how Louis L'amour is an objectively solid writer of westerns, while adaptations are usually middling, cause his fanbase tends to be within uh, certain other (white) demographics who wish to push certain other (white) agendas via their traditional-looking settings.

But I digress.

Basically the writing = good and engaging. She coulda just been a wildly successful historical fiction writer, but yanno, gotta get something Jesus-y into EVERY tome.

Which brings us to my favorite, A Bride For Donegan.

This was a mail order bride story set in the 1880s I believe, based on the very real practice of skeezy agencies realizing they could make big money off frontiersmen looking for wives, via poor UK & European women and girls looking to escape poverty and blights. It follows one girl from Ireland stuck in a terrible home situation in England, who LEAPS at the chance to gtfo.

And the dynamic set up is very good, and a heart-wrenching portrait of her trauma! She'd endured sexist and racist abuse from her English stepmother, who drilled into her that no man would ever want her plain, overly-chatty, Irish self for a wife (gee I wonder why this appealed to 13 year old annoying, undiagnosed me). Donegan is a quiet, successful young rancher who has less character development, of course, he's just So Nice, Kinda Funny, and Tall. But the book does make it clear that he was looking for a friend first and foremost, to share this life he made with, and to draw him out of his shell.

So, quiet guy orders a wife, gets girl whose been told no man wants a chatty partner, much silent hilarity and misunderstanding ensues. These characters go on through a very good slow burn to break down that wall, they're cute and funny together, eventually have like, 5 kids? And of course in the last chapter Jesus gets found, yaaaaay (why is The Lord ALWAYS getting lost, does he not have maps). I always skipped the last chapter.

But even as a 13 year old virgin who was mostly still Jesus-pilled, I remember getting to points early on in the novel and being like, "wait. They've had sex?!"

There's ONE scene in the second act, where they're still barely talking to each other yet, when he worries that she might get pregnant while they're still relative strangers.

That's IT.

So this establishes that, in the say, 3-4 months they're first married, they're having sex like good married people should, but barely talking.

And though I had no experience at that point whatsoever, I just squinted at the page all, "So...what IS that sex life like? I am engaged in this slow burn that's happening, and yet I have no idea what's going through either of your heads when you KISS, let alone be more intimate. Are either of you worrying about how much the other person is engaged? Consenting?! This is the late 19th century, how much sex-ed do either of you have? Do you get any inkling of each others' softer sides when you undress before bed? Hell, do you snuggle in your sleep and wake up just...not addressing it?!"

Their bedroom is, otherwise, just a place we know all those kids get made, eventually, somehow.

Am I to infer that this guy, with a wry sense of humor to his internal monologue, is cool with this situation of just...begetting with a girl who I guess I should also infer is just lying back and thinking of Ireland?!

The story ends with them both delighted by each other, she chatty, he listening, riding horses and enthusiastically having babies. So obviously consent was there. But it was just so glaring and educational to me, what was missing, and that it was a huge, important aspect of their interaction and growth.

Not all stories are about or need sex, obviously. But any time I see people saying they're NEVER needed, like. Even as a good little church girl, I knew important lessons about how people in love interacted within intimacy were being left out of what I was consuming, and it was leaving a big gap in my understanding of how love and intimacy could look, good bad or somewhere unfinished in-between.

And no, as far as I know there's no fanfiction of this anywhere, haha of course there isn't (though I have years later found this LOTR fic about Eomer/Lothiriel that scratched that itch very well).

Humans have sex. Not all humans, but most, that's just a fact. Every part of messy human interaction has a place in storytelling, and when it doesn't, uh, well. A lot of people I know personally grew up assuming those blanks in their knowledge would just magically be filled in by....someone. Someday.

It didn't go great for a lot of them.

[prettybluelites]

Thoughts: Red Flags

And away we go!

Love the blissful piano score in this opening scene

Buttons sleeping in Legs Up the Wall pose because of course he is

Hogod there's a lot in that sigh Stede gives as he's remembering You Wear Fine Things Well

And just noticed Ed's parallel sigh, equally loaded but obviously very different

Probably reading way too much into it but I'm interested that Ed could have just chucked the cake toppers - and based on the "fuck you, Stede Bonnet" that he utters to the groom in E1, that would have made sense - but he positions them carefully in the window ledge facing outward as if they're jumping. The groom jumps and the bride jumps after him. So...yeah.

One of the only sour notes for me is the ongoing "no one can pronounce 'China'" thing. Maybe I'm dumb but I don't really get it. Is it playing to Susan's comment that people in the RoP "know so little"? Whatever, I didn't find it that funny.

Buttons has assimilated well, I see

Who is making t-shirts that say "Tender as Hell" because I want one

Oh my god. If the day ever comes when Lucius' return doesn't make me grin and cry and cry and grin, just go ahead and put me out of my misery. There's so much that's perfect about this moment. As someone who has had the experience of completely unexpectedly (but happily) running into someone I never thought I'd see again, I can say they captured that feeling of the world stopping for a sec and then everything swooping back into motion. In my situation I was not tackled to the floor but I love with every part of my heart that Pete tackled Lucius. Matthew Maher's expression is just wonderful. And in the following scene when you can tell he's been crying... *sniff* Pete has grown up so much and I'm so happy he and Lucius get to be together again.

On the one hand Stede sounds a bit tone deaf when he asks Lucius what happened to him, but would it ever in a million years occur to Stede that what happened to Lucius was, in fact, what happened to Lucius?

Already adored how accepting everyone is of Buttons's spirituality, but the fact that Auntie perceives him immediately as a Sea Witch is awesome.

Time out from Frenchie's Treacherous Lying to point out that his silhouette when he's standing in the corridor - when Ed calls him back to say he's expecting great things - is just to die for. The cut of that outfit? I think I literally gasped the fist time I saw it. Mad props to the costumers.

"We just had him asleep" - that's like something you say when you're caring for an infant, IDK, it stands out to me that Jim phrases it like that, they could have said, "You woke him up, pendejo," but phrasing it the way they do really speaks of caregiving. Again, probably reading too much into it, but. I like semantics.

Oh Stede, you are so wildly inappropriate doing your personal little homework project in the workplace

So...I forgot to bank on pissed-off Lucius. If someone had asked me, before the season started, do you think Lucius will be pissed about what happened to him, of course I would have said yes, but I didn't really think about how that would play out. More aimed at Ed, I think. I love what they did here, love the pacing of bringing him back early (we all knew he was alive anyway, lol) and Nathan Foad is so, so good.

I know there probably isn't room for it but I would love to get Archie's backstory

If you don't know what the scrolls say, I would say filling them by weight makes as much sense as anything. On the other hand, Olu's been around, the map board with the little ships was clearly something sailing-related, I don't believe for a second he would have messed with it. My sis asked if I thought they'd dumbed Oluwande down a bit this season and I don't totally agree but I sort of see what she meant. He definitely seems way more out of his element than we've seen him so far.

Samba Schutte making the most of his moments :D

Lucius snapping at Pete just grabs at my heart

Still processing the Izzy stuff, probably not going to be ready to talk about that for a loooonng time

Lucius recounting his horrors shouldn't be funny, but...it's funny

Only just now noticed Ed's long coat, interesting how it's reminiscent of the one in Pete's fantasy in S1

You know things are going to shit when someone in a position of power starts trying to make people fight each other to the death

"Some people are just broken, no matter what you do" - oh help, I am having so many overlapping Ed and Lucius thoughts right now, all tangled in the above line of dialogue as well as "what if life just begins again," oh help

The whole sequence with the wave washing over the deck is gorgeous and I know Frenchie was just grabbing the capstan for something to grab but when you think of it as where we see the crew in S1 "living for each other, not just to survive"... *shivers*

"Indestructible little fucker" is an early favorite for best line delivery in S2

So Zheng has at least two more ships that are currently en route? Fascinating...

God, I just noticed the way Izzy's leaning on Fang when they're all looking down at Ed. I never, when I first watched this show, thought I would ever be this consumed with Izzy thoughts.

And there we have Episode 2! Thanks for bearing with me. One more to go and then NEW SHIT! Today I went back and watched the trailer and thought about all that's still to come...can't wait.

[goodmorningdove]

Revolutionary girl utena ep 2 liveblog under the cut. Utena you need a lust for murder imo

I love how utena fulfills the “hottest boy at school” archetype. Like it's a little over the top but it gets a pass for being. Revolutionary. hehehe :)

Okay utena. What are you going to say to wakaba. Theres a lot that needs to be said here

utena. I would no start off with cheerfully pointing out what wakaba is doing differently

Oh ok wakaba is okay. I would kill for her. Wakaba tell me who you want me to kill. (I dont know if she is truely okay or just pretending, i dont have a solid grasp on how much of a side character she is, but i hope there is some pain in her heart, because that means she is being treated justly by the narrative)

Wakaba i dont know whats going to happen to youuu you are obesseing over utena saying that you belong to utena, then enters Himemiya who i think literally does belong to utena.( Yeah theyre making commentary on marriage and women being treated as objects. Wakaba, you can belong to yourself! Take charge of your life and KILL ALL WHO OPPOSE YOU!!)

Hello shadow people. Please do not kill the world? That would mega suck.

I honestly love how the student council's main concern is not that Himemiya is engaged to a girl. It's that Utena is not part of the student council. They really said i can excuse being a lesbian but i draw the line at the undeserving rising the ranks.

Hold on. “What will you do, drop out of the game?” That feels like it has a double meaning yes they are playing a game literally, but this could refer to the larger game, the game of revolution (??) Aka the larger situation at hand

Joker card.

Whats up with timer boy. I dont trust that timer.

“To think that Best Friends liek us got assaigned to seperate rooms” is that what the original japanese said. Be honest subbers. Like actually because i think a lot of what Wakaba is saying is relevant to the subtle messaging Of the show and having words changed can mess with that. Like if she really is saying best friends i want to be sure of that, but if she said something with more romantic implications i would very much like to know that.

“Getting a single is perfect for a gal like me” Utena i think you are rooming with Himemiya. They just didnt tell you.

Holy fuck thats hilarious. Her room is literally falling apart. Lmao. The rest of the building is fine except her room

Oh it was a thought. Okay her room is going to be fine lol

HA I WAS RIGHT. Utena and Himemiya are roomates. Get amd they were roomates-ed.

“Funny coincidence us being roomates” you are the only two people in this whole building and Himemiya's named was hand written under yours it could not be less of a coincidence

I was right it was on purpose.

Also they keep calling this a middle school but no one here looks under 16. What is classified as middle school in japan? Looked it up they are 12-15? I mean it could be worse i think the angular faces are throwing me off. Madoka magica had super round faces as does more modern anime's, sharp faces tend to be reserved for people in their 20s-30s

Utena: “whats with the castle and the sword” Himemiya “i dont know” maybe she does know but shes not saying shit. Her job is lamp sword.

Oh shit my apologies Himemiya. But uh. Be honest did you *really* like being engaged to saionji? What do you get out of being the rose bride. Are you lying?

Thats a fucking. Mouse monkey? What. he is dying.

Utena: “please stop being so formal its freaking me out” Himemiya: “no <3 this is my job”

Utena i dont think you have a choice in dueling.

dont do a goddamn think saionji. Ill fucking kill you.

You keep an exchange diary?

Chu chu said its murder time

Horoscope spotted. Obligatory Homestuck mention. Moving on. Ill fucking kill you saionji

Holy fuck saionji. Get some cognitive behavioral therapy you idiot

CHU CHU SAID ITS MURDER TIME

Hes so comically evil. How did he get this far in school. How does anyone like him. Id Kill him. Utena show him no mercy stab his stupid heart

UTENA. DO NOT LOSE ON PURPOSE. HIMEMIYA WILL GET ABUSED AGAIN.

God Himemiya looked so dead inside responding to utena deciding to lose on purpose

Lmao wild west horseback gun duel? I hope this is foreshadowing saionji's death tbh

Oh lmao its a reference to spaghetti westerns

“Losing may be harder than you think” ??? Lmao is she going to win by accident.

God these shadow girls 100% inspired the uwasa girls of magia record

Utena do Not let Himemiya die

Lmao utena has the soul of rose or something and is instinctually taking her place in the world. She cannot lose.

Oh shit she summoned… a guy? And they fused?? I think?

OH FUCK SHE BROKE SAIONJI'S SWORD!! THATS SYMBOLIC FOR DESTROYING HIS DICK MASCULINITY

Utena you didnt do that shit for anyone. You barely did it yourself. I would have done it because i hate saionji. And i would have killed him.

Himemiya's like “fuck i thought you actually cared about me. Wheres the romance. I signed up to be romanced”

Nvm she smiled idk i would be pissed personally. I think Himemiya trusts that utena isnt a dick.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 89: A Poolside Wedding

The time had come for Chance and the unexpectedly pregnant Bianca to tie the knot, and they’d decided to have a little fun while doing it.

To that end they’d rented out the Oasis Springs Community Pool and invited the whole family to come dressed for a day of fun in the sun.

Instead of an officiant the family comedian led them down the aisle with his best jokes about love and marriage. Peachy had everyone laughing as the couple took their places at the inflatable palm tree arch to start the ceremony.

---------------------------------------------

Given her new “condition” the bride was glad the wedding attire was swimwear. Her slightly rounded stomach might not have screamed baby to everyone, but squeezing herself into a fancy fitted pantsuit made for her pre-pregnancy frame would have been less than ideal.

Instead, she wore her best spandex one-piece in comfort as she and Chance exchanged vows and rings, ending with a picture-perfect spousal kiss.

The formalities out of the way, it was time to party!

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The wedding feast consisted of pizza and ice cream. He may have been lactose intolerant, but Chance was willing to risk a little discomfort to enjoy his favorite meal on this most special of days.

The couple had invited all their friends and family to join them in celebrating.

Not everyone could make it, but even those not in attendance made sure to reach out and offer their congratulations.

---------------------------------------------

Paul and Nikita took a seat next to his parents during lunch and shared their own happy news. The grandparents to be were thrilled for the young couple and surprised them with an offer to move in with them at the new nectar farm in Chestnut Ridge.

Having grandparents around to help take care of the incoming little one would make it much easier for Nikita to finish school, and having young people around, especially animal lovers and professional gardeners, would help them get the ranch ticking over nicely and let them leave it in good hands.

Nikita and Paul said they’d need some time to think it over, but they arranged to come for a visit soon to get a better feel for the place.

---------------------------------------------

Having finished their meal Peachy joined Jack in the otherwise empty hot tub. Wasting no time, he mentioned that he’d seen how much Jack had enjoyed spending time with Kelsie when they’d visited Valentina and asked if he’d ever considered having a child of his own.

With a laugh Jack replied that when you were marrying a legacy heir having a kid was sort of required, before seriously telling his fiancée that while he’d almost given up on the idea, he would in fact like that very much.

The boys agreed they’d figure out how to proceed after their own rapidly approaching wedding, but it felt good to know they were on the same page.

---------------------------------------------

Across the way the bride and groom were making the rounds.

Bianca thanked those from her squad who’d been able to make the trek for coming, and Chance excitedly shared the news about becoming a father again with his good friend and old flame Candor.

---------------------------------------------

While the young people enjoyed the amenities, a certain group of elders convened in the empty dining area.

They’d never intended to extend their elderhood again, but now there was Peachy’s wedding and Paul’s new baby to look forward to. Not to mention that Ed was just starting to get a handle on the nectar scene in Chestnut Ridge and hoped to leave behind a solid legacy for his nieces and nephews.

The six old friends agreed that the time was not yet right to move on and once again partook of that magical elixir that would grant them a few more days to enjoy theirs and their children’s next adventures for just a little while longer.

---------------------------------------------

Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[fangirlstorycreator]

May we please have some wedding head cannons for Silver/Reader? I like to imagine our song would be "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. Maybe a little cheesy but it's a cute song.

Of course 😁💚

It was finaly hear! Your wedding day! Today you would officially be known as Mrs Silver. Your hair and make up had been done beautifully, and you felt like a princess. The wedding was taking place on a beautiful spring day, in the large garden area of an old Victorian manor house. The isle was laid out on a white silk carpet on the grass, with peoples chairs all at the sides, and the whole area was adorned with white and light blue flowers. Just the colour scheme you and Terry wanted. You hear a nock at your door "were ready for you now miss L/N" your friend says as she enters the room to collect you. You both start making your way down the stairs of the manor house, making sure to carry the end of your dress. As you didnt have much family, your friend was going to walk you down the isle instead. You make your way out side and see the white carpet, feeling nervous, you turn to your friend. "Bestie, dont worry. Your getting married to the love of your life! Everything is going to be amazing" you exhale a sigh of relief at her kind words. Once your at the end of the isle, the music starts to play, and everyone stands up as you walk down the isle. You see Terry is wearing a white shirt with a blue tie as he turns around to see you, he starts to cry when he finaly sees you. You hadn't seen him cry like this before. Once your at the end of the isle, you and Terry cant help but smile at eachother "you look impossibly beautiful Y/N" "thank you Terry, and you look incredible too" you take his hand and the ceremony begins. The man marrying you both says "the couple have written their own vows" that's when Terry takes my hands in his and begins to speak. "Y/N, I love you more than life itself. You have brought so much excitement, love, and understanding into my life that I never thought I would be lucky enough to experience. I loved you from the moment I met you, and you look more and more beautiful every day" he takes your ring and places it on your finger. "Having you as my soul mate, has made my life complete" now it was your turn. "Terry, ever since I met you, I knew that you were the most sweet kind hearted people who I would ever have the fortune to meet. I knew from the start that you would make someone feel like the most important and beautiful person in the world. I just didnt know at the time that the lucky woman was me. I love you more and more each day" you take his ring out and put it on his finger "I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life as your wife" tbe audience all let out a cute awwww. "Then but the power vested in me, i now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride" you both have a beaming smile as the audience cheer! You take Terry's face in your hands and kiss him like you've never kissed him before. You can feel his smile as you do, and he hold you close to him.

A few hours later after the ceremony, if was time for yours and Terry's first dance. There was a large wooden dance floor with everyone's tables outside in the gardens, and there was a large dance space in the inside of this floor. Terry takes you by the hand and leads you to the dance floor, holding you close as your about to start "I have a little surprise for you mrs Silver..." he says giving me a cheeky smile. Its then that everyone gasps as the music starts playing... as ED SHEERAN walks onto the dance floor with his guitar, playing yours and Terry's song (perfect) "oh my God Terry! You really got ed Sheeran for our wedding?!" You say as he start to dance with you "of course I did baby, anything for my beautiful wife" you look at him with such love and admiration "I love you Terry silver" and I love you Y/N silver" you have a sweet kiss, and lie your head on his chest, as you dance around the dance floor, to Ed Sheeran, playing his guitar 💚

[stacinadia]

I posted 106 times in 2022

25 posts created (24%)

81 posts reblogged (76%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@justsmilestuffhappens

@retrogamingblog2

@clotpolesonly

@valaid

@bigtiddydevilbf

I tagged 106 of my posts in 2022

#cute - 39 posts

#lol - 31 posts

#pokemon - 27 posts

#super adorable - 25 posts

#teen wolf - 19 posts

#stiles stilinski - 15 posts

#sterek - 15 posts

#9-1-1 - 13 posts

#derek hale - 13 posts

#why you so cute - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 40 characters

#i hate when dragons are always the enemy

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

For @sterekdrabbles!  January 5th’s prompt was keen, rabbit, cake, and with a prompt like that, I had to make Stiles a werebunny!  XD

Also on AO3.

**********

It was the time of year when all unmated of-age omegas presented alphas or betas they were interested in with presents to show that the omegas could take care of them.  As an alpha, Derek had received many presents from interested omegas and one obnoxiously persistent alpha.  But the present he was most keen on was the beautifully decorated cake from the 18-year-old wererabbit with the adorable nose, moles all over his visible skin, and the most tantalizing scent.

Most people wouldn’t picture a rabbit and a wolf together, but Derek thought that he and Stiles were a perfect match.

13 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

#4

For @sterekdrabbles!  I definitely needed a break after being both an artist and a writer for the Sterek Artist Seduction Screw, but I’m finally back to doing Sterek Drabbles!  January 12′s prompt was thread, wine, car!

Also on AO3.

**********

The last time Stiles had spoken to Derek a few days ago, Derek had told him that Stiles couldn’t possibly want a relationship with him, that Derek would ruin Stiles’ life just like with his family and Paige.

Well, Stiles might not be old enough to drink wine, but he was nineteen and old enough to make his own decisions.  And Stiles wanted an idiot werewolf who was far too self-sacrificing for his own good.

He stormed past Derek’s fancy car and over to the elevator.  He had a massive thread of thoughts to unleash on Derek.

(They totally worked!)

17 notes - Posted April 25, 2022

#3

Here is my late gift for @reallysmartladymariecurie for the @911giftexchange!  Marie liked Buddie, Christopher, and telenovelas, so I had the three of them watching telenovelas together!  With a bonus ficlet, also on AO3.

**********

Buck sat on the couch at the Diaz apartment with his two favorite boys watching another telenovela.  Thanks to that bartending stint years ago, Buck did know some Spanish and was able to follow somewhat, but his Spanish had greatly improved, especially thanks to Eddie.

Christopher sat in between Buck and Eddie, holding a bowl of popcorn with a big grin on his face, greatly amused by the action on screen.  Eddie was amused as well.  Every so often, he’d look over at Buck with a smirk.

Buck had been a little confused the first time he’d gone over to the Diaz’s and saw them watching a telenovela.  Eddie had explained that it was a good way for Christopher to learn more Spanish.  But after several years with Eddie and Christopher in his life, finally getting together with Eddie in the last year, Buck had a feeling that Eddie had been picking up some things from the telenovelas as well.

As they watched the heroine argue with her boyfriend and then faint dramatically, Buck was reminded of Eddie’s behavior when they had done that treasure hunt, or how Eddie had behaved when Buck had been together with Taylor, or how Eddie had said he didn’t like drama, yet he was amused by the bride and bridesmaid.  

Yeah, Eddie might not think so, but that man did love drama and he had plenty of his own dramatic moments.  Buck had to laugh.

Eddie looked over at Buck again.  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Nothing, Eds.”

Buck wondered if one day, Eddie would dramatically faint, too, for some ridiculous reason.  He couldn’t help but laugh even harder.  But then he could sweep Eddie off his feet…

“Buck,” Christopher tugged on his sleeve, “you’re gonna miss all the drama!”

No, Buck thought, there was plenty of drama, both on and off the screen, and he was going to enjoy every moment.

17 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

#2

For @sterekdrabbles!  January 7th’s prompt was next, dislike, need, and I wanted Derek to yell out “Next!” after being flirted with by Stiles!  =3

Also on AO3.

**********

Derek didn’t dislike the guy with all the moles who came into his coffee shop every weekday morning, ordering a caramel frappe with extra caramel and extra whip, but he certainly tested Derek with his not necessarily unwelcome flirting.

As Derek handed the mysterious “Stiles” his cold, caramel-laden beverage, the man took it and, while maintaining eye contact with Derek, swirled his tongue around the whipped cream and drew the large dollop into his mouth.  “Sweet, but what I really need is a date with someone ever sweeter!” he drawled with a wink.

“Next!” Derek shouted in a strangled voice.

18 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For @sterekdrabbles!  Another year, another attempt at finishing drabbles, though I do plan to try to do the rest of 2021′s drabbles, too...  ^^;;  January 3rd’s prompt was vein, cruel, squeak, and my first thought was getting a shot, but I’d written a similar drabble already.  Finally, I settled on wolf Derek!

Also on AO3.

**********

Stiles had been walking through the preserve toward the Hale house.  But the preserve was silent, without the usual sounds from the animals living there.  That was definitely a suspicious sign for nearby danger, and Stiles wanted his blood to stay in his veins, thank you very much.

Suddenly, he was knocked over and a pair of red eyes appeared in his vision.  Stiles let out a startled squeak.  The fact that his throat wasn’t being torn out meant that it was only Derek, greeting him in his favorite way.

“You’re cruel,” Stiles grumbled.

The wolf licked him in response.

59 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[mohifashion]

Outfit Ideas for Sangeet and Mehandi

Let’s be honest, Indian weddings are overwhelming for everyone involved -- the bride, groom, and all their guests. There are so many events and traditions to keep track of what we’ve forgotten why we do them or what they mean in the first place. Here’s your guide to the events you’ll most often experience at an Indian wedding and the symbolic, philosophical, and spiritual meaning behind them.

The Sangeet

Sangeet, which literally translates to “music”, is an event held a few days before the wedding and is filled with dance, music, and vibrant colors. In the olden days, women of all ages gathered around and took turns singing songs and dancing. This represented well wishes to the bride for the life she was about to start. Today, Sangeets are typically co-ed and usually marks the first time both families are meeting one another.

If either family is Gujarati, you might see dandiya-raas and Garba, a traditional folk dance from the region of Gujarat performed with sticks and rotating partners. Sometimes, if both sides of the family are Gujarati, it’s possible the Garba will replace the Sangeet entirely.

What to wear to a Sangeet

Stick to bright or Pastel colors and outfits that are easy to move in. You’ll most likely be dancing and will want to be wearing something comfortable! While black is okay to wear to a Sangeet, you won’t find many people wearing it since the Sangeet is meant to be a colorful night. Here are a few suggestions:

Pink is the colour that speaks of love, so it will never go out of style. Soft pink shades perfectly complement feminie vibes. This Dreamy Hand Embroidered Pastel Pink Silk Lehenga Set is a perfect outfit for Sangeet

This stunning designer lehenga by Mohi Fashion will make you stand out during this wedding season! A beautiful lehenga and glamorous blouse/choli make this an outfit to die for! As you can see, the color will give you an edge over the usual go-to choices! So, don’t wait! Get this and look phenomenal!

The Mehandi (Henna)

Occasionally combined with the Sangeet, the Mehandi party is where the bride’s guests have mehandi, or henna, applied to their hands. Mehandi is an herbal paste associated with positive spirits and good luck. The bride typically gets her elaborate and intricate mehndi drawn on her hands, arms, and feet, prior to the Sangeet. Aunties say, the deeper the color of the bride's mehandi, the stronger the love between the couple. The groom's name is sometimes painted somewhere within the intricate patterns. Long ago, the groom would find his name on his wife's hands as an ice breaker on their wedding night.

What to wear to a Mehandi

If you’re planning on getting your mehandi done, try and wear something sleeveless or with short sleeves. This will ensure you won’t get your outfit dirty or mess up your beautiful art! Here are a few suggestions below. 

 Green lehengas for mehendi are the most authentic and regal ones. The richness that the colour provides is undeniable. Wearing a green lehenga on your mehendi ceremony will make you feel like royalty.

 While this is a glimpse into the events and rituals you’ll most often find at an Indian wedding, every region of India has its own traditions so don’t be surprised if you take part in something else not explained here! Even though they can be long and sometimes complicated to follow, Indian weddings go back centuries and are rooted in love. 

[izzyspussy]

okay it's mostly a joke post. it's mostly just me picturing the fan cam with him all stoic and romantic in the rain saving everybody right in the nick of time with the chorus on. and it's gotta be the adam lambert cover because adam lambert is a card holding leather queer with a whip on his hip more than half the time. he may be a pop/rock star with a fully beat face, but he would sell his soul to suck on rob halford's thumb and it shows. who else who's done holding out for a hero matches izzy's freak better than that i'll wait.

but also. i really like the song for him kind of in the context of the whole situationship, but with a spin to it in the same vein as the songs i mentioned the band au him would release right after the breakup before he gets the new band together that are love songs he wrote when things were good but wasn't able to produce and he doesn't change the lyrics at all but sings them in such a way that they are now some of the most heartrending breakup songs ever made. right, you guys remember that? i would die for you by miley cyrus? yeah?

but like in this case. okay so like without that, just being a fancam and kind of a joke, the song is from the crew and/or audience's pov. he's here to play that exact role for them and for us (this season, specifically of course). i could go into some meta here and make this also not as much of a joke but i won't because this ain't about that.

because like. re: the situationship + spin the classic interpretation of the lyrics into something closer to their complication level. the song would be from ed's pov this way, and it's about stede obviously because izzy isn't a HeroTM. but! it's actually not about stede, and it's only like 49% about izzy at most too because. absolutely everything in it except the lyrics about him being absent, awaited, and dreamed of, and the exact traditional definition of the word "hero" is all stuff that izzy is, or has done for ed. but ed doesn't want all those noble qualities and grand gestures from izzy, because izzy doesn't fit the fairytale ideal of the Romantic Savior that ed has idealized and convinced himself will slay all his problems and his past like a firebreathing dragon and carry him off into the sunset and Happily Ever After.

and then ed finally does get his HeroTM... but while stede fits the aesthetics of a perfect romantic lead, he doesn't (yet) have any of the qualities of the character that ed is holding out for. and then he leaves, and izzy is still there, and he still meets all of ed's requirements except for being a Prince Charming whose conflict-free love, handsome face, and class status will transform ed into a matching princess bride. but instead of recognizing the impossible standard of his fantasy and seeing both stede and izzy (and himself) as mundane three dimensional human beings, he concludes that since Prince Charming did not fall in love with him and only Henchman #1 has ever hung around, clearly he must simply himself be the dragon and/or evil witch after all. and well! if Prince Charming and Henchman #1 and all their little talking mice and backup henchmen want a Villain so be it!! serves them right, and also that way when the story runs its course ed gets to be defeated and then he'll stop yearning to be the princess and have Someone Anyone (except izzy) cherish him until he becomes something cherished (which is of course a state of being that consists of specific rigid qualities; he does not have those qualities so the only conclusion is that no one loves him - a catch-22 that means he can't be loved without first being loveable, and he can't be loveable without first being loved).

and in the end the only thing that finally makes ed recognize izzy as a hero is when he sees him from the outside perspective. the villain cannot deny that the hero is heroic, because the hero is the guy who defeats the villain. the hero survives against all odds. the hero has the grand dramatic entrance. the hero succeeds at the last moment.

so, the song. ed dreams about a man who is everything to him that izzy is, but Good and Pure as demonstrated by his Divine Right of Kings Inherited Wealth. he pleads with the universe to send him a Hero, and izzy is there every time. then stede is there, then stede is gone. ed embraces his assumed role as the Villain, but he still pleads with the universe to send him a Hero.

and izzy is there, all stoic and romantic in the rain saving everybody right in the nick of time. having survived against all odds, making a grand dramatic entrance, succeeding at the last moment. defeating the villain. exactly what ed asked for. like always.

anyway. i've said it before. thrice. but mary i will fucking say it again! s2 izzy fancam to adam lambert's cover of holding out for a hero.

i've said it before. twice. but mary i'm going to say it again. izzy season 2 fancam to adam lambert's cover of holding out for a hero.

[farfromharry]

Beth [ 13 ] | Dad!Eddie Munson series

Thirteen, The Munson family

Word count - 8051

Warnings - language? throwing up but i think thats it

a/n we’re gonna pretend kiss got their star before 94 cause i said so !!

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

October 1994

You and Eddie hadn’t ever considered how stressful wedding preparations were. It took months. Months to try and get everything right and under budget. You didn’t have tons of money to spend it, and even if you had you weren’t sure you would want to, but something small and simple would be great enough for you. 

The Harringtons had been kind enough to host, their backyard big enough to hold the small group of guests you had invited, all of whom they knew anyway. Neither of you wanted a big wedding, and even if you did it’s not like you had many people you could invite. Owning a diner meant you had some perks when it came to catering. Eddie’s band– sans Eddie– offered their services for the music, and the decor courtesy of Tulip. 

Your final, and possibly biggest, concern, was you had no one to walk you down the aisle. There was no chance of you hunting your father down for this occasion, the pair were long since dead in your mind, just as Eddie’s parents were to him. But that left you in a conundrum. “What do I do, Ed? I don’t really have a lot of options.”

He frowned, reaching to take your hand in his. He traced his finger over the back of your hand, offering you a sweet smile. “You know, If you ask Wayne I’m sure he’d be honored to.” You hadn’t thought that far when considering who you had to ask. In the last four or so years, you and the older man had developed a great bond as he accepted you as the mother of his grandchild and the perfect partner for his son.

“Really?” you asked. He was quick to confirm. 

The very next day you proposed the idea to your soon-to-be husband’s uncle, and with a few tears and words of joy, he was accepting the honor. He never thought he would have the opportunity to walk someone down the aisle, not someone he considered a child to him anyway. It was a huge thing, one that he was emotional even thinking about– but with your dad out of the picture and no other father figure in your life, he was the obvious choice. 

Now that all the decisions were made, the two of you just had to anticipate the arrival of the day and hope everything would go as smoothly as you wished it would. However, the morning of the wedding there was an uncomfortable pit of nausea in your stomach. You suspected it was just nerves, what bride wouldn’t be anxious on their big day? But in the back of your mind you sort of knew it was something else— it was probably the same thing that had been bothering you for the last week or so.

Before Eddie had even woken up that morning, before you were supposed to head to the Harrington residence to start the day, you took a quick trip to the closest pharmacy. The tests were easy to find, the harder part would be hiding them from your loved ones until you had the opportunity to take them.

That moment arose when you arrived at the home your wedding would be taking place in. The door had barely opened to a sleepy Tulip’s face when you were barging in claiming you had to pee. She didn't question it, nor did Eddie as you pretty much jogged to the closest bathroom. The tests were safe in your bag, making you even more antsy than you already were. Such big news should not be something a bride has to deal with on her wedding day. You were probably going to go insane by the time today was over.

Once inside one of the many bathrooms– really you didn’t know why they needed so many– you let out a deep exhale. When you thought about the ways in which you would find out you were pregnant, ways you’d thought about since you first decided you wanted kids, you never expected it to go down like this. 

Your hands were trembling and your heart was racing the entire time you waited for the results. If you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t know what you wanted the result to be. Positive meant a big life change that was going to be hard, but negative meant that you weren’t going to get to extend your beloved family with the love of your life like you wanted to. In the end, you decided you would be happier to receive a plus, but either way you weren’t going to let it spoil your big day. 

When it came time to finally look at the test, you were more or less in shock. A plus meant positive, and positive meant you were having a baby. You were having Eddie’s baby. You didn’t have a lot of time to decide how you were feeling when there was a loud knock on the door. Or at least it was loud to you considering you had been sitting alone in silence for a good five minutes now. 

“Y/N?” It was Eddie. “You okay? Tulip says you need to start getting ready.”

With a few deep breaths, you made sure all traces of any negative or sad emotions were gone. “Yeah. Was just fixing my hair and stuff,” you lied, opening the door to see his smiling face. This was possibly the last time you would see him until the ceremony, so you had to make it count.

He was clearly on the same wavelength, grinning at you like an idiot. “We’re getting married today,” he gushed, hands falling into place on the sides of your face. Yours took to his wrists, rubbing your thumbs across his pulse points. “Hell yeah we are.” 

The kiss he pressed to your lips was short, but it said everything that needed to be said without any words. There were a few beats of silence where the two of you just stood there, noses touching as you really let it sink in the big step the two of you were achieving today. There were some muttered ‘I love you’s’ as you really relished in the fact these would be your last moments of peace for as little as twenty four hours. But then the illusion was up, and you really needed to get into motion. 

“I should go, before Tulip starts yelling,” you pointed out. He chuckled, nodding his head, but he didn’t make any move to let you go. You didn’t want him to let go, you would love to be in his arms for the rest of the day if you could. Unfortunately, although this day might have been about the two of you, there were other things that needed to be done. “‘M serious, honey.”

He nodded, a frown forming on his face as he watched you head in the direction of one of the guest rooms, the one that the woman of the house had claimed for the bridal party. 

Hours passed by without a blip, though it was no surprise to pretty much anyone that the first snag of the day had come about because of Steve. 

A used pregnancy test was not what he thought he would be finding in one of the bathrooms of his home while he was supposed to be getting ready. To his knowledge, his wife wasn’t pregnant, he hoped she would have told him if she was. He definitely would have liked her to be, but she wasn’t so currently sold on the idea considering the two little babies they already had together. They were a handful already. He’d have to do a little bit more convincing if he wanted to succeed in selling her on more kids. Or maybe she’d already been convinced and she was just waiting for the right time.

When he went back over the last couple weeks in his brain, looking for all the stuff she’d been doing that could possibly signal she was pregnant, he came up with a few ideas. She seemed to be absent from their home a lot, possibly to sneak off for scans or something along those lines. 

In his eyes this couldn’t wait. He needed to find out as soon as possible if it was true. Between the married couple there was never supposed to be any big secrets like that and he would be hurt if she was keeping it from him. The only problem was that his wife was getting ready alongside you, the bride, and the rest of your bridesmaids, Max, Nancy, Erica and Robin. If he wanted to confront the woman then he was going to have to do it in front of the entire group of you. 

He knew he definitely wasn’t supposed to barge into the room where the bride was getting ready, by now he should have been well on his way to getting ready with his own friends and checking the groom wasn’t freaking out. Though there was no superstition around one of the groomsmen seeing you in the dress, you were busy, and the last thing you needed was Steve being a distraction. But he did it anyway, desperate to get to the bottom of this. The lot of you were startled when the door swung open, heads whipping in his direction angrily. “When were you gonna tell me, Tulip?”

Multiple sets of eyes stared at him, people of various ages staring right at him like he was an utter weirdo. He got a little shy, his cheeks flushing red. “H-Hey ladies,” he greeted awkwardly. She wanted to physically facepalm at the sight of her idiotic husband, but your laughter kept her from doing it. He immediately regretted bringing up the conversation in front of so many people. 

You shared a look with Tulip, silently asking if she knew what was going on, but all you got back was a shrug. “What are you talking about, Steve?”

He rolled his eyes. He thought he would have seen some sort of falter in her eyes if she was guilty of what he suspected, but she didn’t act like she knew what he was talking about at all. It also didn’t seem like a conversation that needed to be discussed in front of others, and everyone could tell that when he tried to lower his voice and lean in so only she would hear him. You took the initiative to ask your friends to give the two a few minutes, though you were definitely going to stay and listen in. It was the least he could do after interrupting you while you were getting ready. “The pregnancy test I found.”

Her brows furrowed, but you froze. “That’s not mine, Steve.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?” It was a little bit of a dumb question considering she had already given him her answer, but he was nothing if not a skeptic when it came to these things. 

“What do you mean ‘am I sure?’ Obviously.”

Apparently he was still leaning towards that not being the whole truth. “But you– You’ve been so much clingier with the kids lately, and you’ve been disappearing a lot. How do you explain that?” he asked. 

“We just have toddlers, I don’t know. I’m not pregnant, Steve.” 

He was in disbelief. In his eyes there were only really three or four options. Whether they liked it or night, Max and Erica were still twelve in his eyes, they weren’t capable of such things. They were ruled out from the get go— he wasn’t even going to entertain the idea. But that didn’t mean the options he was left with made any more sense.

“So then who’s is it? It can’t be Robin’s cause y’know, and if it’s not yours Tulip, then…” His eyes widened right before they locked with yours. You were already tearing up, scared of the reaction you were going to receive. It wasn’t that you thought people would be angry or upset with you, but you were terrified of how Eddie would react, especially now that he wasn’t the first person to find out about his own child. “Oh, shit.”

Everything was clicking into place for Steve now and he couldn’t believe he didn’t realize it sooner. Lately there had been more than one occasion where Eddie had turned up to scheduled months in advance plans alone because you were sick. It had just come out of nowhere, this sudden wave of sickness that wouldn’t leave you. On the occasions you did show up, it went one of two ways. Either, you were snappy, growing angry with people when they made the most innocent mistakes, or, you found yourself spending the entire time glued to Beth or the Harrington kids. He knew from experience with Tulip that when someone was pregnant they tended to gravitate towards kids– they couldn’t help it. Everything you’d done in the past couple weeks suddenly made perfect sense. 

“Y/N, are you pregnant?” Tulip asked. 

As your eyes flickered between the couple, your nerves built in your chest, as did a sense of desperation. “Please, don’t tell Eddie. He doesn’t know yet and—“ Your emotions got the better of you, a nervous sob bubbling in your throat at the thought of your soon-to-be husband having a terrible reaction. Both of your friends stared at you in shock. Though you weren’t as reserved in showing emotions as the likes of Tulip, that didn’t mean you had ever quite given them a reaction like this one. They had no idea where the tears came from, even a stranger would be able to tell Eddie wanted a baby with you. 

“Take a deep breath. It’s okay, we won’t say a thing. Right, Steve?”

She glanced at her husband, hoping he’d hurry up and answer soon to quell your nerves. But ever the child, he had to make the situation worse. “Yeah, totally. But, just for my own sake I’m the first to know, right?” 

Tulip scoffed, ignoring the teary laugh from you as she banished her husband from the room. She helped you push your worries aside and hide any remnants of tears on your skin. Your friends weren’t welcomed back into the room until she was sure everything was okay and your mini panic was over. She also threw in some words of advice about breaking the news of pregnancy to the man you loved, additionally some stuff about Eddie and how she thought he was likely to take the news. It calmed your erratic heart to know his best friend thought he would be overjoyed. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t brought up again while you were getting ready. The rest of the morning ran by smoothly, no other issues presenting themselves. It made it feel like the hours went by in seconds. One minute it wasn’t even seven am, the next it was almost three pm, right before the time the ceremony was supposed to begin. 

When your surrogate father for the day knocked on the door to tell you it was time, you didn’t know how to feel. The Harrington woman squeezed your hand, giving you some silent encouragement. “Are you ready to do this?” Wayne asked, holding out his hand for you to take. You did so happily, trying to bite back the feeling of warmth you felt when he spun you around. “You look breathtaking, sweetheart. He’s gonna be a complete mess up there.”

Out of nowhere you were hit with a wave of emotions, pursing your lips in the hopes the tears would keep at bay. Erica would certainly kill you if you ruined the makeup she worked so hard on. “Thank you,” you said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, apologizing under your breath for the faint lipstick mark it left in your absence. “And I don’t know about him, I think I might be worse.”

Wayne grinned, shaking his head as you linked arms, Tulip making the final adjustments to your hair and dress. He waited ever so patiently, just watching on with the fondest smile on his face. If you thought you were in disbelief that you were actually getting married, you should’ve seen the inside of Wayne’s head at the thought of his nephew growing up. He was an utter heap of emotions inside. “Okay,” you finally said. “Let’s do this.”

It wouldn’t take a genius to know you were freaking out as you began walking in the direction of your very near future husband. The older man walking you down the aisle could feel the way your hand trembled on his arm, and he said basically anything he could think of to hopefully soothe your nerves. “You know, Ed’s been smitten with you forever. Used to come home from work before you started dating, would gush about how he’d talked to you and how pretty you looked. Sometimes he’d even tell Beth– although she never knew what he was saying.”

You felt your cheeks warm at the confession right as you stepped out in between the rows of seats. All eyes were on you now as the stereotypical wedding song began to play, but yours were only on him. The first time he saw you, he wouldn’t deny that tears sprung to his eyes, he couldn’t hold back all the intense feelings he was suddenly hit with at the sight of you standing just a short distance away, looking so perfect on your way to becoming his wife. 

“I always, sort of, had a crush on him too. Thought he didn’t like me back in highschool though, he always avoided me,” you laughed. “Look where we are now.”

Wayne chuckled. “If you’d have heard how he talked about you back then, you probably would have avoided him.” 

Your conversation quickly came to an end as you realized you had walked the length of the aisle, the man beside you making for the most perfect distraction to your fears. He had done exactly as he planned and it had worked. Now, you were standing face to face with the man you were due to marry. Up close you were able to see all the many emotions swimming in his eyes. “Welcome to the family, Sunny.”

As his final requirement of this job, all he had to do was hand you over to his nephew. First though, he gave the man a tight hug, patting his back as the two embraced. If you hadn’t been so close by, you probably wouldn’t have heard Wayne whisper into Eddie’s ear. “Proud of you, kid.”

Those words alone almost made the same Munson boy start crying again. One of his biggest desires in life was to have his father figure be proud of him. It had happened the first time Wayne realized how good he was with Beth, and many other instances which the older man hadn’t told him about, but this was the second one he came to know about and it warmed his heart to hear. “Go get your girl.”

He stepped away from the altar, offering you a smile as you stepped up to meet your lover. “Hi,” you greeted quietly.

He beamed. “Hey. You look fucking gorgeous,” he whispered. 

The two of you were supposed to be listening to Tulip’s mother as she began the ceremony, but you were caught up in each other and the overwhelming amount of love that her words fell on deaf ears. “You don’t look too bad yourself. You clean up nice, Munson.”

Due to the light of the day you could very clearly see the way his cheeks tinted a soft pink shade. You’d made Eddie Munson blush without so much as trying. He couldn’t even blame it on the weather, there was no heat to make his cheeks flush like your words had. 

After your short exchange, a glare was sent both of your ways from Tulip’s mother, forcing you to silence so she could actually hear herself think while she uttered her speech. Your laughter was barely held back, especially the more you looked at each other, but somehow you managed. Once that had died down, you were left to bask in the strong feeling of love that settled over you. It was almost overwhelming, but that happened a lot when you really let yourself consider the way you felt about Eddie. 

Despite the fact it was chilly in Indiana in October, standing at the makeshift altar, decorated in beautiful flowers, everything was perfect. You wouldn’t have cared if every last thing went wrong if you were being honest, as you stood there gazing into your lover's eyes, with the knowledge that his child was beginning to grow in your stomach right now, nothing else mattered. He felt the same way, though he didn’t know about the baby part just yet. 

Your hands felt right in his, like they were made especially to fit together. It was like the two of you were adjoining puzzle pieces– cliché, but there truly was no better way to describe it. Maybe you would go as far as to claim you were soulmates. Everyone probably felt like this on their wedding day, but you hoped it was an exclusive feeling to you. No one loved like Eddie Munson did. 

He tried to be sneaky when snatching one of the flowers off of the wooden beams of the arch, slipping it behind your ear as a way to make you flush. He didn’t care that everyone was able to see it, even though it hadn’t been his intention. All your friends and family would find out from the gesture was that he was completely whipped for you, and they all definitely knew that anyway. “Smooth,” you muttered, fighting the heat that threatened to engulf your cheeks as you tried to stay cool. 

The two of you had opted to read your vows to one another in private, wanting to do it on your own time to avoid all the nerves. It wasn’t easy, for either of you, to spill your hearts out in front of a crowd. For now, the two of you were going to recite back to each other the words Petal instructed you to say. You barely even remembered doing so, sort of like you were on auto-pilot, with the way he was looking at you. If a person could actually hang the stars, Eddie was convinced it would be you.

The ‘I do’ part felt like it came rapidly, but you had never been more confident in an answer as you repeated the two words out loud. The metalhead’s smile was ever growing as moments passed, right until he heard you announced officially as husband and wife. 

Everything was a blur as the two of you walked your way back up the aisle amongst the cheers of your loved ones, aiming for one of the rooms in the Harrington house where you could be alone for long enough to exchange your vows. 

“Mine are gonna, like, blow you away, so prepare yourself,” he teased. You could tell his hands were trembling as he held the piece of paper between his fingertips. The lighting in the room allowed you to see the various scribbled and crossed out words amongst the lines. It made it a lot more intimate to know how much of his heart and soul he had poured into his words.

“I’m sure I can handle it. Bet I won’t even cry.” He knew that was far from the truth, you were so sensitive today that he could open his mouth and you would probably burst into tears. “Okay, here we go.”

“My Sunshine. My brightness on a dark day. You are the person I will always seek out in a crowded room. I’ve never known what it was like for a dream to come true, but you, you are just that. I could listen to you forever; your voice is my favorite tune. I don’t remember what my life was like before you, and I hope I don’t ever have to find out– losing you has become one of my biggest fears,” he punctuated those words with a look at your face. Your eyes locked for a brief moment and your soft smile was all he needed to keep going. 

“The world is a scary place, gorgeous, but I feel like I can do anything with you by my side. I feel like I could win any battle simply with you holding my hand. A love like ours comes once in a lifetime, I can never have another. It doesn’t feel real to me that I get to hold you in my arms forever, but even that doesn’t feel long enough. Wayne always told me growing up that one day I’d meet my person– you are that person– the one who makes everything worth it. We’ll have the time of our lives doing the mundane things because we’ll be together.”

The tears were already building in your eyes, and you mentally cursed yourself for letting it happen. “I want to make a million memories with you, bring every new year and holiday in with laughter. I want you to know that I love you beyond words; though I will try and tell you every chance I get. I will never understand just how I got you to love me like you do, but I’m forever grateful for it.” He folded the paper, slipping it into his pocket now that he no longer needed it. For his last few words he didn’t need to read them off. Instead he took your hands in his, making sure you were looking nowhere but his face. “There is no stranger fable than us, but it’s certainly the most beautiful one. The one in which the princess saves the damned.”

As he finished, you dabbed at your tears, ignoring the faint laughter coming from him. You definitely shouldn’t have been so cocky about not crying. At the idea of going second, after that heartfelt message, you whined like a child. “How am I supposed to follow that up? You didn’t even give me a chance.” 

He shrugged, rather proud of himself. You took a couple deep breaths, trying to compose yourself after he poured his feelings out to you. “Did you really write all that yourself?” 

“That’s for me to know. Now, stop putting it off, tell me how much you love me.” You chuckled, squeezing his hands before you untangled your fingers to reach for your own piece of paper that had your vows jotted down on. 

“Eddie, I grew up spectating the twisted love story that was my parents’ marriage. As a kid, I thought that was how love was, what I was destined to have because it was all I knew, but it turns out the universe was just waiting for the right time to show me all the greatness love can hold. I thought I was going to lose sight of the beauty in the world, but you made sure I never did. We created a world in which us and our little family can live without fear of tomorrow, and sometimes it feels like a fantasy. Never did I think I would get to be a part of a love that others write songs about.” As the next line approached, you hesitated. This one felt all the more surreal now that you were aware of the baby growing in your stomach. 

“I also never thought I’d be able to give the type of love I’d always been desperate to. Maternal love. You allowed me to be a mother and I can never repay you for that. As a girl, I had no concept of familial love, but you provided that for me. You filled a void in my heart that I was positive I would always live with. I’m terrified, but also ecstatic about going on this roller coaster called life with you. You are everything to me and I can never express to you just how much I adore you, but I will spend the rest of our lives and onwards trying to do so.”

After the beautiful words you’d said to him, of which he thought did measure up to his, all he wanted to do was hold you. He pulled you into his arms, resting his cheek against the side of your head. His arms held you close to his body, accepting the way your arms snaked around his torso also. The two of you were silent for a little while as you held each other. No words needed to be said, the love between you both was unspoken.

Neither of you knew how long you were there just in each other’s arms, but eventually Eddie realized you would probably have to leave the confines of the room you were in. Though he didn’t necessarily want to, he’d be happy to spend the rest of the day here avoiding your families, but he knew that was unfair considering they were there for you. “We should probably get back out there. We have a first dance we need to do.” He was well aware of your concerns around that, but he would more than happily hold your hand the entire time until he was certain you felt okay.

After being so open with each other to read your vows though, you were more than ready. 

Your first dance as husband and wife had been something you were frightened for. All those eyes on you, watching your every move as you danced around some makeshift dance floor with the man you loved. You didn’t realize that once the music started, the lovely sounds of Frankie Valli’s ‘Can’t take my eyes off you’ flooding through the speakers, you would be transported into a world that was just you and him. No one else mattered anymore, which made you think now was the perfect time to impart him with the news you’d learned earlier. 

“Honey,” you whispered. The two of you were so close that you didn’t need to speak any louder. Your foreheads were touching, noses occasionally brushing against one another's when you lightly shifted; if you leaned in a little bit more, your lips would be touching too. At the call of his beloved pet name, his eyes flickered over your face, letting you know he was listening. You flashed him a sweet smile, tears beginning to build in your waterline. “I’m pregnant.”

The man in front of you was truly the best at ruining a sweet moment. “What?” he asked, eyes squinting as he leaned in to hear you better. Somehow the music must have been too loud for him to hear. 

You rolled your eyes. “There is a baby inside of me. Your baby, Eds.”

His eyes went wide all of a sudden, the words finally sinking in. He didn’t say anything at first, but his entire face lit up with what you could guess was joy. Out of nowhere, his grip tightened around your waist and your feet were pulled off of the ground. The hug he had pulled you into had literally swept you off of your feet due to his pure elation. “That’s the best news ever.” When he let you back down he pressed a tender kiss to your lips, made difficult by the bright smile on his face. 

“Can I tell Wayne?” he asked, sounding like a small child. You grinned. “Of course you can, honey.”

Almost as soon as the song ended he was rushing off to find the man he called a father, at your insistence, to tell him the fantastic news. In the time it took him to do so, Steve Harrington had made his way to the dancefloor with one of his toddlers in tow as the song changed to something more upbeat. 

While he was gone, Beth took the opportunity to steal you away. You were happy to see the girl, welcoming the embrace she practically threw at you. “Hi, sweetheart.”

When she pulled back from you, the expression on her face told you she had something she was dying to tell you. A makeshift bracelet was thrust in your direction. “I made this for you,” she stated, proudly, holding the braided string up for you to see– with the same arm that donned a matching one. “Daddy said the bride needed something blue, and it was my job.”

Your heart fluttered, taking the craft from her with genuine appreciation. It didn’t matter that it didn’t match your dress or anything you were wearing, you would wear it with pride so you could match with your daughter. “I love it, B.” With minimal struggle, you managed to tie it around your wrist just as hers was. “Now we match.”

Your husband seemingly appeared out of thin air, scooping his daughter up into his arms as she squealed loudly. The eight year old was kicking her legs as her dad held her in such an awkward position in the air, but she didn’t really mind it that much. “Guess you got your something blue after all.” 

“So, you had something to do with this?” you asked. Of course you knew he did, but you would have preferred it if he admitted it himself. 

He pursed his lips like he was thinking about it. “No, I don’t think so,” he concluded, obviously lying through his teeth. 

“You sure?”

“Yes. Anyway, we’re going to go dance.” The pair disappeared to the dancefloor, Eddie more than ready to embarrass the hell out of his baby girl. While he was busy, you took the initiative to approach the band, three guys that you knew well by now. You had a simple request for them, of which they were happy to fulfill. 

When your love caught wind of it, if he wasn’t already preoccupied dancing with his daughter, he definitely would have crossed the floor to kiss you until you were both breathless. Obviously the backstory behind his daughter’s name was well known by now, but only you in all your thoughtfulness would think to have the band– his band– put the meaningful KISS song on while the pair were dancing. Beth had such a large smile on her face as the two swayed in the middle of the dancefloor, her cute flower girl dress swirling with her as she twirled. 

You were happy to stand on the sidelines and watch the two having their daddy-daughter moment, it was a precious sight and only made you feel more secure about the second child he would be fathering soon. Although you didn’t get to watch for long, stolen away by various of your guests who demanded to talk to the bride. You didn’t mind all that much, but you couldn’t say you didn’t want to ignore them all to stick around and watch the sweet family moment. 

It was a couple hours later when you found him again– or technically, he found you. “There’s my beautiful wife,” he said, interrupting Tulip mid sentence. Any other day and she probably would have yelled at him, but today was about the two of you and she wasn’t going to impose on your lovey-dovey moods. You happily accepted the kiss he placed on your cheek, even if it was wet and gross. “Feel like I’ve barely seen you all day.”

His best friend was basically forgotten by that point, the woman searching for her own husband amongst the crowd so she didn’t feel left out. But, all she saw was how he had found himself entertaining the hoard of children, two of his own and the one Munson. If only those little ones knew there would be another one to join the group in a short time. 

Neither of you expected it to start raining out of nowhere, and by the sounds of it neither did your guests. There was some chaos as people tried to rush inside the Harrington house to get out of the water. Eddie had tried to guide you in, becoming confused when you stood your ground. “Come on, s’only gonna get heavier.”

You grinned, squeezing his hand. “Dance with me?” you asked.

“Are you crazy?”

“Scared to get your hair wet or something, Munson?” you teased, bringing a hand up to the mane that sat atop his head. He rolled his hands, batting the annoying hand away. He didn’t say anything as he accepted the fact you weren’t going to budge until you got your dance in the rain like you wanted. He stopped caring that you might both get sick, and it didn’t bother him that there was no music playing, you were content– that was all that mattered to him. 

Just like the first time you danced together as husband and wife, your foreheads rested on one another's, the news of the baby already spilled between you both, and absolutely no space left between you. You’d be surprised if you could fit even a piece of paper between you. The most important thing in your mind at that moment was him– just him. 

Neither of you noticed the onlookers from inside the house, watching you with fond eyes and warm hearts. It wasn’t a secret to anyone the love you held between you, but it was different seeing it play out right before their faces. Overall, they were just glad you were happy. 

By the time the party had died down, and your clothes had finally dried out from the rain, it was well into the early morning the following day. Both of you were rightfully fatigued, your friends– the ones that had lasted that late– possibly even worse. Lucas was one of the last ones standing, but that was only because of the running bet that he, Dustin and Max had about who could last the latest. Though he had won their money, it did mean he was the designated one to take Beth with him while you and Eddie readied to leave for your honeymoon. 

Up until the time when you were leaving, she had been pretty much passed out in the arms of the twenty-three year old. However, the second the atmosphere switched from a happy wedding party to sulky goodbyes, she was wide awake and tearful.

Your honeymoon was a time for the two of you to relax. It was only a week, a single child-less week down in LA, where Eddie got to act like a happy tourist, while your friends and family cared for Beth. The goodbyes were hard for her. She had never spent such a long time away from her dad before and it terrified her to the core. She was worried that the two of you might not come back, or that she was the reason you were leaving in the first place. You tried to promise her neither of those things were true, that you would be home and back with her before she even knew it, but she still had her fears. It definitely didn’t stop her from sobbing in her dad’s arms as the two of you tried to leave. 

When you finally arrived at your destination, Eddie completely misjudged how tired a pregnant lady could be. Having never been around one before, except Tulip, he hadn’t realized just how much exhaustion comes along with carrying a child inside you. You’d barely stepped foot in the hotel before your husband was practically dragging you over the threshold as you fought to keep your eyes open. “Today really did a number on you, huh?”

You fell down onto the large bed with a happy sigh, barely cracking an eye open to look at your lover to let him know you’d acknowledged him. “It did. ‘M exhausted.” The smile on his face was filled with so much love that he didn’t even believe it was real. Eddie never thought he would be able to love a single person as much as he does you, sometimes it felt impossible or even like a fairytale. How was a single person so perfect? And how did you fall in love with him? Hawkin’s sunshine and Hawkin’s freak, happily married. 

“You going to sleep?” he questioned, watching as you curled up under the covers. It wasn’t that you had a plan for the evening in place, not after so long traveling and the hustle and bustle of the wedding all in twenty four hours, but if you fell asleep then he had no one to talk to until you woke again. 

You hummed, but noticed the way his features fell slightly. “Nap with me?” you asked, offering him a soft smile that you hoped would do the job. There was no way he could say no, even if he wasn’t necessarily tired. 

Little did the two of you know, that quick nap would turn into an entire night’s sleep, not one of you having noticed just how much the chaos of the wedding had drained you. There was some confusion present in you when you woke the next morning to see the sun streaming in through the window. Obviously neither of you had remembered to close the curtains before you fell asleep, meaning now you were squinting to try and block the light from your eyes. Eventually you gave up, rolling over onto your other side where you were facing Eddie instead. 

He looked so sweet and peaceful like this. His soft breathing made you happy that he could be so relaxed in your presence, the way the sun fell on his skin illuminated him like some kind of angel. You’d obviously realized before that the man you married was beautiful, but right now it was like you were seeing him on a whole other level. Though it was a modification rather than anything natural, you took to admiring the tattoos donning his skin next. You ever so lightly followed the patterns they formed, recalling the stories behind each individual one. 

At the first sign of his eyes flickering open, you stopped your movements of fingertips against his skin, worried you were the one that was pulling him from his sleep prematurely. Though it didn’t seem like he actually minded, he let out a quiet hum as his arms tugged you closer to him, muttering the first greeting of the day into your hair. “Morning, Mrs Munson.” He felt like a giddy child being able to say your name like that, a whole flutter of butterflies swarming his stomach as the words rolled off his tongue. 

You felt your face flush, heart beating a thousand times faster. He wasn’t the only one who grew excited at hearing that. When you didn’t respond, he finally opened his eyes, looking down to where your eyes were focused anywhere but him. “How’s my lovely wife this morning?” he asked, brushing away the stray hairs from your face that had slipped out of your hair tie during the night. 

It was such a tender gesture that you felt as though your heart was going to explode out of pure adoration for him. Not even a full day into your marriage and he was already obsessed with the idea that you were his wife. 

“‘M good. How could I not be, waking up in my husband’s arms and all?” You had to admit, it did feel good to call him that. You didn’t know how long that excitement would last for, when exactly it would wear off, but you were hoping never. If this was how you got to feel around your husband for the rest of your life, then you’d made an amazing choice in who you decided to marry. 

The two of you delved back into comfortable silence. Your eyes fell back to the ink on his chest, a smile curling on your lips at the familiar tattoos. In the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder about them a little bit. “Would you ever get a tattoo for me?” you asked, quietly, tracing some of the ink on his skin. There were the ones he’d gotten as a teen, random ones like the black widow or the puppet master. Then the one’s he’d gotten in honor of Beth, those were your favorites. When he looked at them all he could think was how soon he would have another child to honor with some more. 

He grinned. If you had brought this up even when you first started dating he would have gone right out to get one, but you being his wife solidified the fact that some ink in tribute to you would be a great idea. “I’d get one for you tomorrow if you asked.”

Your eyebrows raised out of curiosity, almost like you were challenging what he was saying. Tattoos were definitely more of his thing than yours, but that didn’t mean you were opposed to them, and you definitely weren’t opposed to get a matching one with your husband. “Let’s do it,” you said. It was clear your answer had shocked him. 

“Both of us?” he quizzed. You hummed. “You want to get matching tattoos?”

The more you thought about it, the better the idea sounded to you. Plus, Eddie didn’t sound like he hated the idea. “Yeah, I mean why not? I think it’d be a sweet way to commemorate us.” 

So that was exactly what you did. The first day of your honeymoon the two of you scoped the area for a tattoo parlor, ending up with matching ink of your wedding date. Eddie got his along his hip, whereas yours was situated on your lower arm. Even for something so simple, and so hidden amongst the rest of your husband’s tattoos, you both loved them. After that, the time following was dedicated to becoming the obnoxious tourists your lover wanted to be.

As the two of you strolled down the infamous walk of fame, your hands were tightly intertwined. Not only was it out of affection, you were also scared that if you weren’t holding on to him in some way then he’d make a run for it like a careless toddler. Everything he saw made him gasp and light up like a kid on Christmas morning. 

“Oh, look at that one!” he’d call, dragging you from star to star to show them off and provide you with useless facts about the celebrity in question. It happened multiple times, to the point you considered stepping in and asking him to calm down, he was like a child on a sugar rush. But, when the souvenirs came into view, there was no chance of you stopping Eddie from going crazy. He was absolutely going to buy one and there was nothing you could do to convince him otherwise. As soon as he caught sight of the KISS one, his mind was made up. “Oh, I’m definitely getting this for Beth,” he said, holding up the keyring for you to see. You rolled your eyes, though the gesture was sweet and honestly you would have done the same. 

That simple phrase would be something you heard a lot in the coming days. Apparently, vacation Eddie loved the idea of getting different souvenirs for all of your friends, from various places. It didn’t matter if he was spending a dumb amount of money, he claimed it was important.

Throughout the time you spent there, you visited every possible famous spot. The Santa Monica pier, Disneyland– which Beth could never know, Rodeo drive; the works. 

By the end of the week, the two of you were completely wiped out. You hadn’t realized how tiring being tourists was until you did it for the first time, but in the end it really was worth it. As you packed up your stuff to prepare to go home, you thought back to all the moments throughout the week in which you’d been warmed by Eddie’s excitement at something, all the way down to his joy now about heading home and seeing his daughter. You truly were enamored with the man you chose to marry.

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