#great grandpas camp

[vvorldinmyeyes]

toledo bend, la/tx

[valzhangism]

hate it when people conflate "rich kid" and "nepo baby". someone called frank a nepo baby. sorry, what?? everyone at camp jupiter hated him and thought he was a loser. his ancestor was literally exiled from there that's how much they hated his ass. if anything that's the opposite of nepotism

[novelistparty]

music I listened to in 2024

maybe my fav new track from 2024 (I heard it first on thelakeradio.com)

more below

new-to-me shoegaze that I learned is closely related in time and place to Jimmy Eat World

just sounds cool

a cool sound from 4 parts overlapping in interesting ways and the first song I learned to play on my guitar

was surprised how much it speaks to me

yes

can listen to this on repeat

feels like a myth being sung to me (a fav from 2023 too)

---- I think I reached an embed limit. will continue in a rb

[albonium]

french people like to say their grand parents were resistants during ww2 when we know most were not, praise them for their resistant act (which included exploding bridges and train tracks and sometimes killing people) but when it happens nowadays when we're in a state that supports genocide along with being on the brink of dictature, in a social political and economical climate that's so tense a spark would light the whole country aflame, it's bad ? fuck off

they didn't hurt anyone they just made travel more difficult during olympics who cost a fortune aren't accessible to average citizen (the cheapest ticket for the opening ceremony is 900€ ?????) when schools and hospitals are crumbling

[directactionforhope]

Don't let people tell you that voting doesn't matter

My grandparents came to this country from an authoritarian dictatorship that literally threw out all the votes. And literally falsified the election results. A country where literally no one's vote mattered - and that was during the years you could vote. (You know, all the things people say about the US to try to convince you that your vote doesn't matter.)

It was a country that literally assassinated their political opponents. And literally sent people who spoke out against them to prison for years of hard labor. (You know, the things Trump has openly talked about doing in the US dozens of times.)

My great-grandmother and great-grandfather were both arrested for refusing to join the governing party. They were both imprisoned for years. Their daughter, my grandma, had to live in a boarding house.

My grandpa, her future husband, was imprisoned for two years because of his country of origin.

My great-grandmother forced them to let her out of prison after two years, but only by virtue of being extremely lucky, tough as nails, and willing to potentially die in the process. My great-grandfather was imprisoned at a work camp for seven years, until his legs stopped working from digging holes in the ground in subfreezing water, at which point they threw him in the snow outside the front gates. The only reason he survived was because of the kindness of strangers who drove by.

My great-grandparents lived the rest of their time in that country with surveillance equipment in their home. Hidden microphones and tapped phones, and my great-grandfather's deep-seated fear that his wife's unwillingness to stop talking shit about the ruling party would land them back in prison.

They tried to assassinate my grand-grandfather. They shot at him while he was walking home from the neighbors', and barely missed. They successfully assassinated his cousin, and almost assassinated eight or so other members of his family in the attack.

Voting matters. The right to vote matters. Imperfect elections still matter.

Trump wants to take us to a country like the one my grandparents moved here from. Don't fucking let him.

And don't let anyone persuade you that it's worth the risk to not vote or vote third party.

The country my family is from is now a democracy. Let's keep the US as one too, please.

[somewhereincairparavel]

just thinking about how Jason grace had his entire life molded from the day he was born, nothing in his life was authentic, even his own name was an offering to appease a goddess.

he also died being so distant from everyone he knew (don't get me wrong, I know he was friends with the 7, but If I'm being realistic here and go by canon, only Leo and Nico were actually "close" with Jason, and maybe Percy a bit) I mean, Annabeth took a long time to warm up to Jason and didn't trust him, Hazel never quite forgave jason for mistrusting nico (I'm still a lil bitter about this one lol bc she easily forgave Leo simply bc he's Sammy's great grandkid, and Leo's kinda the one who initiated the suspicion in the first place yet she got so mad at Jason for simply laying out the arguments and exerting caution?? Yeah I know she was upset that her brother was in danger but she never even gave Jason a chance even after nicos rescue, I'm not tryna blame Leo or anything but I think they BOTH should've been forgiven equally, esp since Jason's encouragement in house of hades fuelled nico to break out of his shell), Frank saw of Jason as more of a hero and looked up to him (still avenged his death tho so big W), Piper dumped him and canonically was outwardly bitchy/a little hostile to him after the breakup.

EVEN coach hedge and mellie were such jerks to him bc they assumed HE dumped Piper. Still wished Piper made it clear to them that the break up wasn't Jason's fault but ofc she didnt. TOA Piper is such an L

He never saw Leo again and never got to spend the summer with Nico in camp half blood like he planned to. His dad is a jackass and didn't shed a single tear at his death, his sister had her own life and he felt like she didn't need him anymore.

Reyna, Jason's childhood friend grew distant from him bc of her romantic feelings + the whole Venus mess (which is no fault of her's tho, mind you)

He never felt "at home" in camp Jupiter even after he got his memory back because all he did over there was military duties.

I don't think he got his full memory back properly either because, Percy had the gorgons blood but he didn't. I'm speculating this because he still felt very disconnected to Camp Jupiter and Rome.

He never got to do what he wanted, and even if he succeeded in defeating Caligula, jason STILL never would've gotten freedom, since he promised the minor gods that he'd build temples on their behalfs, and was Prontifex Maximus. He made a diorama and everything.

His Greek friends never made it to his funeral. They never got to say goodbye.

and as Apollo noted, he died with his fingers pointing, like he was still telling them all to escape without him. His chest was spewing out blood and jason still plucked up the energy to tell tempest to get Apollo and Piper to safety.

Jason Grace was born a Roman soldier, and died a Roman soldier, full circle. He never became a grandpa to his and piper's grandchildren like he wanted to.

[jd07201990]

So… Does anyone know how many bouquets of roses, or how many boxes of chocolates it’ll take to survive my new Wife’s wrath, when she see’s her adorable, creative, intelligent boy… after I accidentally shipped him off to the equivalent of Football Boot-camp, so we could have our honeymoon alone in Cancun. Honestly! We were all going over the options, the two last resorts being we don’t go on our honeymoon, or Jason would have to stay at his grandpa’s house in the middle of nowhere a few states away. Clearly, we were desperate, so when I found the pamphlets for what looked like a regular old summer camp out in the woods, with a lake, and a whole slew of other activities, I jumped on it, especially since the price for the entire summer was $2100 bucks! Where I really screwed up, was not reading the pamphlet I was filling out, which was absolutely not the super happy fun time in the woods experience… It was ROTC for Football Jocks. I learned this only when I drove out to pick him up, 3 months later, and well… you can see what trudged up to me from across the parking lot, huge battered old sneakers pounding the pavement as he absentmindedly gnawed on a protein bar in his meaty, calloused fist, while his other hand absentmindedly adjusted his shorts. Just like all the other bulked up brutes marching off to their dads and coaches, his chest was bare, and bouncing with every step. When he’d crossed the distance, he grinned this dim, dopey grin, and grunted, “Thanks for pickin’ me up Dude. Can we stop by Wendy’s? I’m fuckin’ starving!” He punctuated this by stuffing the last of the protein bar in his mouth and yanking the door to my car open, the fiberglass handle cracked in his hand. He looked at the two halves, chuckled with that deep, rumbling Jock tone, and got in, dumping the pieces on the seat next to him. It didn’t take long for the car to fill the distinct funk of athletic prowess, especially when he kicked off his size 14’s and put his feet up on the dash. I nearly gagged, and despite the heat outside, rolled down the windows to air out. As we pulled into the driveway, my wife was on the lawn, waiting with a little bag, excited to see her boy again. When the sweaty ape of a jock got out lumbered up to her, wrapping his beefy arms around her, she looked terrified… for a second… then her eyes narrowed on me. When Jason finally let go of her, he gave her that same, blank, dopey grin, all the intelligence gone from his big wide eyes, and held his fist out… she looked at it incredulously, and he chuckled, “You’re supposed to bump it, Ma… with your fist” Well, the last 6 months have been tough, but Jason, or, “Jay” as he reminds us often, has absolutely blossomed at school. Although his grades could be better. The shock of his summer “glo-up” or as his oafish, grunting new friends like to tease, “blow-up” hit a few of the teachers harder than others. Although the Coach of the football team had nearly offered me his ’69 Camero to have Jason on the team after seeing him plow through reps in the football team’s gym.  I said it was tough, because our house is essentially a second Locker Room for Jay and his small army of sweating, smelly behemoths. There is a never-ending pile of laundry from countless practices, the gym, and just hanging out with his friends. My wife has somewhat gotten used to her little boy calling her, “Bro” accidentally… every other day… and despite the change, he’s still her boy, there’s just, a good bit more of him to love. I will say, he’s a great kid, kind of dumb, a bit crass, and stinks like a gym bag more often than not, but when you dig a bit deeper into those dim, wide eyes, there’s still that adorable boy, underneath a pile of muscle.

[lukecastellanshandholder]

We as a fandom do not talk enough about Luke in the Sea of Monsters. Like, what do you mean that one of the first things he did after running away from camp was go and buy a whole new wardrobe with his great- grandpa’s money? And it was probably some of the sluttiest clothes that a male antagonist could wear? "He looked like he had walked right off of the runway"??

You can tell that he was trying to cope with the trauma through retail therapy ( I do the same)! He was fighting every single one of his demons but still made sure to look good. If he was going to "⚔️Slay⚔️" that didn’t mean that he couldn’t "✨Slay 😌💅✨". Purely iconic behavior 😌

[alipeeps]

Hah!! I knew it!! (I'm onto your storytelling tricks now GJM!!)

Yeeeah you coulda acted a little quicker though Zhuo Yichen... like before Pei Sijing got thrown into a pillar... (although on second thoughts, no, fuck her traitorous ass, as you were Zhuo Yichen, you're good....)

Oh god, the angst of it all...

If he were to die, the burden would just be passed to someone else. He would be condemning someone else to the pain and self-loathing that he feels.

Oh dang, the bottle he drinks from all the time is a liquid that helps suppress malicious energy!! He's literally dosing himself all day every day to try and stay in control!!

Shit, he is visibly shaking with effort, struggle to keep even a smidgen of control, and begging Ying Zhao to kill him before it's too late

Wait, what's grandpa gonna do? Why's he telling Ying Lei goodbye?!!

Did he... did he just fucking sacrifice himself to help suppress Zhu Yan?! Did he put his... spirit?... into Zhu Yan to help suppress the malicious qi?

That might save everyone's lives but jfc that is NOT going to help Zhu Yan's guilt/self-loathing problem!!

Oh GOD the usually carefree and silly Ying Lei outright SOBBING over his grandpa is fucking killing me!

Good god, his FACE. He looks happy at first... I guess that the blood moon is over and he is in control? But then he looks up and sees... sees the aftermath... of what HE has done...

My poor fucking boy. He is so tormented. 😭

He is indeed grandpa

So they've got a month where the malicious qi won't affect him...

I'm still not sure I understand what it is he's done to himself to get those scars? Was he being literal about lightning strikes? And secluding himself *after* the blood moon... why? To let the malicious qi levels lessen?

God the visuals of this show!!

Sure ya do buddy.

Why are you no match for Li Lun? I thought you were badass demon? Oooh wait up though... the subs on iQiyi said "I'm no match for Li Lun"... but the subs on the my downloaded file say "I can't kill Li Lun". Which is it? Because one is can't as in not able to... and the other might mean can't as in can't bring myself to...

Oh wait what? It can?

Oh god Ying Lei's grief has me genuinely crying.

No she hasn't, they're having to take turns at the scenic moping spot and Zhu Yan had it most of the night...

Yeah you DESERVE to be hated girl cos Zhu Yan didn't have a choice... you did. He was literally being controlled by malicious energy. Regardless of what Chongwu camp used to get you to spy for them, you made the choice to.

WHO? Who should have almost completed his great mission by now? Cos that did not sound like you were talking about Zhao Yunzhou there...

I STG if you fuckers pull the rug out from under me by making Xiao Bai be a fucking spy too I will cut a bitch...

Aaaaand the next scene jumps straight to Xiao Bai. Don't you do it. Don't you fucking dare!!

Oooh they've somehow all magically got furry winter clothes now...

Oh dang, my boy's had a mountain god makeover.

Awww he's leaving the gang to stay there?

Oh god damn don't give the magic travel device to the fucking spy. She'll land you all straight into the middle of Chongwu camp instead of where you want to go...

Yeeeeeaaaah that ain't all it means mate... 😂

They're all having protracted heartfelt goodbyes... and where is my poor Zhu Yan?

Group hug!! For everybody except the Great Demon Zhu Yan... 😭

Ugh that was an emotional rollercoaster and I am exhausted.

[livlaughloveluke]

𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫- 𝐣.𝐜

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you meet jack’s family for the first time at thanksgiving dinner

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: i COMPLETELY made up the members of his family, mentions of thanksgiving although if you don’t celebrate its only briefly mentioned so you can just imagine its a regular dinner ☺️

𝐚/𝐧: happy thanksgiving to those who celebrate! j will most likely not be posting until this sunday, although it might vary

you finished your light makeup by applying a swipe of lipgloss. your auburn dress was the perfect length, being both cute and appropriate for the occasion. you were going to have thanksgiving dinner with all of jacks family. 

there was one issue. in your six months of dating, you had never met anyone related to him. you would have liked to meet his mom earlier, but got as a rising actress, you got caught up in work and were constantly traveling to different states for events. however, from what jack described, she seemed precious. 

but what if she didn’t like you? what if something goes wrong and you embarrass yourself in front of everyone? oh god, this dinner was really messing with your head. 

“you almost ready, babe?” jack exclaims from the other room. you slip on your shoes and exit your bedroom, entering the living room where jack was. he was wearing a sweater that matched the color of your dress, and a pair of jeans.

jack stands up, and kisses your forehead. “you look good, y/n. my family will love you.” jack said, making you blush. his charm never failed to make you smile. 

you hop in jacks car, leaving your hotel room. you bounce your leg up and down, nerves taking over you. jack places his hand on your thigh, the coldness of it sending shivers down your spine.

“seriously y/n, don’t stress. if it makes you feel better, you are a lot better than my last girlfriend.” he said to you.

he was right, his last relationship had been a little rocky, and the girl he was dating wasn’t exactly the nicest person out there. it pained you to know that someone could be so mean, especially to jack.

jack was the sweetest boy, who treated you with the respect that you lacked from other guys. he stood with you at your lowest points in life, and helped you grow as a person. you flourished during your relationship with him, becoming the best version of yourself.

and you helped jack, too. when he was alone and heartbroken, you swooped in and provided the love he so desperately deserved. when he fell down, you were always there to help him get back up. he was happier and better person with you around.

the car came to halt, as you pulled into the driveway of a small cozy home. a few other cars were already there, and you presumed that it was his family. 

from what you heard, his aunt and uncle would be there, along with his older brother and his brothers wife. his grandma and grandpa would unfortunately not be attending, for they had caught a mild cold the day before. his sister-in-law had two daughters, one newborn and one six year old. you were great with kids, so they wouldn’t be an issue. you had spent your teenage years as a summer camp counselor.

you took a deep breath, and stepped outside of the car. jack interlocked your hands, and you both walk up to the door. he didn’t have to knock, and just walked in. everyone looked to see who it was, and when they did, a roar of greeting came from the crowd. jack hadn’t visited his hometown in a while, so there enthusiastic reactions weren’t unexpected.

the family then turned their attention to you, and you greeted them with a smile on your face. they smiled back, and started welcoming you.

“this is my girlfriend, y/n!” jack introduces you, and you start shaking everyones hands. you then got everyones, except the kids, names. jacks sister-in-law was named jessica, his aunt was shannon, his uncle brian, and his older brother was named joey. 

then, jacks mom, anna, invites you, jessica, and shannon come help set up. jack heads off to the living room with the boys, and the rest follow anna to the kitchen.

“so, how long have you and jack been dating?” his mom asks, and you immediately reply with a joyful tone. 

“around six months. i wish i could have met you sooner, but i’ve been nonstop traveling for work. also might i add, you did an excellent job raising him. he’s the sweetest and most caring boy i know.” 

“you’re to kind! now tell me about yourself!” anna replies, and you start informing the group of your origin. you share silly stories about jack, and laugh uncontrollably together while finishing dinner.

you hear the shy voice of a young girl coming from the doorway, and look over to see jessica’s oldest daughter walking in. she walks over to her mommy, and tugs on her dress. the bashful kid whispers something into her mothers ear, and they both look at you. you start to feel slightly embarrassed, worried as to what they were talking about.

“oh, thats uncle jacks girlfriend, y/n! why don’t you go say hi. i’m sure she doesn’t bite.” jessica says out loud, and your cloud of worries clear up.

she walks up to you, and you squat down to her height. you can tell she’s a little nervous, and you try your best to seem welcoming.

“hi! i like your dress. its very pretty.” the young girl whispers out.

“thank you! i love your hair! it looks super cute.” you respond back, and she giggles and thanks you.

“do you wanna play barbies with me in the play room?” she asks, and you look back, making sure it’s okay that you stop helping with the food. everyone nods and encourages you to go with the small child, so you follow her to where her toys where.

you sit down, and she gives you a doll. you start playing with her, and the girl, evelyn, seems to be having a blast. you giggle and joke with her, glad you can get along with her.

“shhh you can’t tell uncle jack i said this, but he told dad that he really, really likes you. and he also said you’re the prettiest and funniest girl he’s ever met.” evelyn informs you, and you can’t help but blush. you continue chatting with her, now seeming to be a little more at ease.

anna calls the guys to the dining room, for dinner was almost ready. however, before she sends jessica to grab you and evelyn, she begins to say something to jack and the rest of the family.

“you know, i really like her. i think she’s the one.” everyone agrees with anna, and praises  you for your generosity and amazing personality. jack loves hearing the groups words of approval, and he smiles, knowing you were definitely liked by his family. 

the feast begins, and you chat with everyone in attempt to get to know them better. it was an excellent dinner. the food was amazing and the conversations were plentiful. time flew by, and before you knew it, you were saying your goodbyes.

as you drove back to the hotel, you and jack began talking. you couldn’t up but light up at his words.

“i think they really like you, y/n.” 

taglist- @nowitsmissing, @nikoschrissis, @lvndryyhoe, @ieattoesforbreakfqst, @sevenheavxns, @wonderstruck4llthew4yhome, @imkillmyselfxoxo, @lumaxstans-blog, @ilovejackchampionnn, @hyeyulove, @jackchampiongf13, @sebastiansallowsgf, @michaelangdonsslut, @1212valee, @teenagedramaqueenlisa

some names wouldn’t let me tag :(

[layraket]

Day 8 - Sleep Deprivation

Character(s): Four (LU)

Words: 1258

Summary: He doesn’t know what a normal sleep schedule is pls someone knock him out

Whump scale: 1 (see the full scale here)

Warning: Sleep disorders

This is kind of related with this post btw

Part 2 in Day 13

-

Not sleeping was a normal thing for him at this point. Since his first adventure staying up to keep going was almost daily, with only a small break when he couldn’t any more.

His grandpa has scolded him more than once for staying up too late at the forge, forcing him to stay at his room. At least the windows were never locked.

When his second adventure happened, sleeping become something optional.

His curiosity kept him awake during whole nights to continue an interesting book, his energy pleading him to practice with his sword, his heart aching for past memories, and his gut telling him to check if there weren’t any monster attacks around.

It was tiring after a certain point.

Since he joined the chain it was getting easier to sleep, the constant exercise being a big help for him to fall asleep during a full night. When it wasn’t enough, he would always ask to take a shift to keep guard and try to burn all the extra energy.

It worked, the first months.

After a while it suddenly became more and more difficult to sleep. It was after a fight with some weird wizzrobes that everything went down.

Four was hit by one of their spells, gladly it didn’t show any effects during the fight. They won and made camp as usual.

He took first shift, after all he didn’t feel like he could sleep easily tonight.

He called for Legend to take the second shift and went to his bedroll to try and fall asleep. He really tried, and failed.

When he realized it was already morning, the sun coming up in the horizon and light falling on the small clearing they were resting in.

Time was on last shift, and to not worry him he pretended to wake up from a really deep sleep. A whole night restless, it wasn’t new.

The next time he decided to not take any shifts, maybe that made his brain more alert than usual.

‘As usual’ do you mean us or your own mind? Both.

It wasn’t surprise that it didn’t work, another night without getting any sleep. He could keep the act up, it wasn’t hard to pretend being completely alert and no tired at all.

Yeah, the first three days.

When at first it didn’t matter a lot to him, now he was starting to feel the side effects of no resting. His body was feeling more and more heavy, his thoughts were less well-structured and an hour felt like a whole day.

He made a good job hiding it though, nobody has asked him about his tired face or the bags under his eyes yet.

“Hey Four, have a moment?”

Great.

“Yeah vet?” If he was lucky it was just to give some maintenance to his sword and shield, then he could go and try to take a nap without everyone looking.

It looks like that wasn’t the answer Legend wanted to hear, looking him up and down. “Just wanted to ask, how are you doing in your training?” This felt like a trick question, a very hard one.

“Ah, good, Sky is teaching me some movements and to react quick, very good teacher.” The last time he trained with the skyloftian he fell on his face, but Legend didn’t need to know that.

“Uh-huh” Maybe he squinted, maybe he blinked very slowly, he doesn’t know. “What about a friendly match of sparring then? Let’s see how much have you improved.” There was the characteristic smile from their vet, playful and challenging.

It was lacking something, huh. Weird.

“Sure, why not?” I’ll give five reasons why not, first of all– A friendly match could wake him up enough for the rest of the day.

They asked Wild for a borrowed sword for Legend and went to their places. They made camp in a big clearing, giving them enough space to not interfere with anyone doing their own thing.  

They both charged to each other, Four’s legs feeling heavier than they should be with each step he gave. With a clank their swords clashed, coming with fast swings trying to hit their opponent.

Slowly the smith’s movements started to get slower and clumsier, now with him just hitting anywhere he could and the vet blocking it without problem.

This game kept going a while, until Legend throwed his sword away and got a clean hit on Four’s neck.

He fell to the floor, his body collapsing and the impact being mitigated by the soft grass.

“That-That wasn’t fair!” How dare him call for a friendly match and suddenly use his bare hands?! But you had done it a lot of times before– The injustice!

Again, he felt like this answer didn’t make the vet content. Or better, him talking didn’t made him happy.

“You should be knocked out by now. How are you even awake.” The look in his eyes was of pure confusion, or Four thinks, its hard to tell when his vision was blurry.

“What do you mean he’s still awake?!” That was Wild, sweet chaotic Wild. What were they talking about. “It was a clean hit! We’ve tried everything!”

“Can someone explain?” The smith asked, slowly moving to get up, but his body didn’t have the strength to do so. Well, the grass wasn’t that uncomfortable at the end.

The two heroes looked at each other in a silent conversation, nobody can have any context in this group apparently.

Wild was the first one to talk “Legend noticed how you sometimes took longer shifts and haven’t been sleeping, so we’ve been trying to get you to have some more rest.”

“It didn’t work anymore, though” There was a hint of frustration in his voice, how long have been they doing this? “Since that battle with the wizzrobes nothing seemed to make effect anymore.” 

“We tried tea, making you work a little more with weapons so you get more tired to sleep, and knocking you out.” Wild scratched the back of his head, now thinking about why that last one wasn’t a very good idea. “Now I don’t even know what else to do.”

Huh, that was sweet from them. “Thanks guys, but I’m good, don’t worry.”

“We worry.” Legend dead-paned. “I’ve seen you, fully awake when the sun is still coming out. That was away from okay.”

“Is not that bad– “

“Four. It’s been a week like that. A whole week.”

“You’re gonna get killed for that” The champion was searching for something on his slate “Sleep deprivation isn’t a game, and you shouldn’t threat it like that.”

He couldn’t argue at that, but it was easier said than done. He also tried ways to sleep during this whole time; counting minish, reading a really boring book, making himself a cocoon with his blankets. Nothing worked!

Wild tapped his arm to gain his attention, had he zoned out? “When I don’t get to sleep, I hold this as a nightlight.”

He was passed a small crystal, it looked interesting, its light was soft and with a soft hint of yellow.

“It’s a Star Fragment, they fall from the sky in my Hyrule and are a little rare. You can have this one, maybe it helps you with getting some sleep…”

When touching the crystal, its light seemed to be brighter, making some weight fall from him that he wasn’t aware he had.

The last thing he saw before falling unconscious was his brothers calling for him, and some weird dark smoke.

[poge-life]

can you do a who's most likely to interview between drew and reader alone not being with the other where they are in a secret relationship but after the interview it’s so clear that’s they’re lover

I did change this a little bit to fit what I had in mind but I’m hoping this is what you had in mind!

Since Season 3 came out, you guys had been in back-to-back interviews. You will say, these ones had been a lot more interesting than the ones you guys had done before. You and Drew both had one today for Vanity Fair on ‘Who’s most likely’ and you would be doing them together. You two had decided to show up together, considering it would have been a waste of time driving separately when you were going to the same place.

You guys had been together for a while now and had done a pretty good job at hiding it. Obviously, your friends knew. There was no point in hiding it from the people you were with every day and they were your biggest supporters.

Giving Drew a peck on the lips, you both got out of the car and made your way into the building. After checking in, they showed you to where the interview would be. The setup was like usual; a couch in front of the table, with a both filled with, what you assumed where the questions.

The makeup team came by to do any touch ups you both would need before they started.

“I’m (y/n) (l/n)” You smiled at the camera once they signaled they started rolling and it took Drew a second to realize what was going on, as he was looking at you. You nudged his knee with yours and he seemed to realize what was going on, “And I’m Drew Starkey.”

“And we’re going to be doing ‘who’s most likely’ on the OBX cast with Vanity Fair.” You finished, reaching for the bowl. Pulling out the first question, you couldn’t help but laugh as your answer immediately popped into your head, “Who’s most likely to have their own reality show?”

“You know, I wanna see what Rudy does when we’re not together.” Drew answered, turning to look at you, “He’s just so laidback and care free about everything. And he’s from Alaska so I wanna see how he lives.”

You nodded in agreement before throwing the slip of paper onto the table, “I wanna see Maddy in a reality show. Not just about her. I wanna see her on Big Brother. I feel like she would be great on there.”

Drew snapped his fingers at you as a new thought popped into his head, “I wanna see you on Survivor. You have zero survival skills.”

You gave him an ‘are you serious’ look, “Do I need to bring up the camping trip we went on with Nick a couple years ago?”

Drew straightened up at the mention of the trip as he reached for a slip, turning to face the camera, “Moving on! Who is most likely to ditch their phone and go back to a flip phone?”

You brought your hand above the two of you and pointed down at Drew, “He barely knows where his phone is 90% of the time. Saves him a couple of bucks on a bill.”

Drew held no argument as he agreed with you, “I respond to messages in my head a lot and just kind of forget to actually reply. I’m more of a ‘in the moment’ kind of guy, so I don’t use my phone a lot.”

“Because you’re a grandpa and barely know how to use your phone.” You teased, patting his cheek. Drew rolled his eyes at you, bringing your hand down to his lap. Quickly remembering you were on camera, you brought your hand back to the bowl and pulled out the next slip, “who is most likely to get drunk at a bottomless mimosa brunch?”

You pointed to yourself as did Drew, causing you to crumple up the slip and throw it at him, “Not just me! Maddy too!”

Drew looked over at the camera with a grin on his face, “her and Maddy aren’t allowed to be alone whenever there’s a bar. Especially with any kind of wine.”

“Okay, mr ‘drunk of a glass of wine’” You teased, holding out to the bowl to him. Drew just mocked you as he read the next question, “Most likely to get married in Vegas?”

You both looked at each other in thought. Honestly, you could see any one of your friends doing this but you didn’t know just who to pick.

“This could go any way, really,” you said, tapping your chin, “we’re all impulsive but I don’t think we’re that impulsive.”

“If I had to pick any of them, I would say Chase,” Drew answered, “he definitely does a lot of spur of the moment decisions and I feel like if he was really up for it, he’d go get married in Vegas.”

You had a small smile on your face as you watched Drew run his hand through his hair. At this point, you didn’t care if anyone found out about you guys. You loved Drew and hated that you both had to hide it. You saw how the fans tore into Rudy and Elaine and how much shit Maddy and Chase got when they were together. You also saw what happened when the rumors about him and Odessa started. They just tore her to pieces.

You both were content with just your family and friends knowing about you two. But, sometimes, you just wanted to show him off for everyone to see how much you cared about him and how good he was to you. Drew noticed you weren’t paying attention and placed his hand on your thigh, rubbing his thumb just under the hem of your skirt, “You okay?”

You just nodded your head, giving him a smile as you reached for a new question.

Yeah, you were great.

OBXFAN20: Okay, no one can tell me they’re not dating after watching the vanity fair interview

Fan90: Did you see how he grabbed her thigh? I would have died 😭

(Y/c/n)lover: The way she just sat and smiled at him has me 100% convinced her and Drew are dating

[v3nusplanetofluv]

camp

i; fishbowls

｡･ﾟﾟ･atsumu x fem! reader

｡･ﾟﾟ･college and 90s au

description...

atsumu miya was the bane of your existence growing up. always making it his job to tease and taunt you daily. as time went on you detached yourself from the neighborhood kids, your frequent, unwanted presence merely becoming a thing of the past. however, the summer of '98 causes you and atsumu to face the past.

content!

2.1k words

"ma, when yer son comes home from college yer supposed to keep him in not kick him out!" atsumu groaned as his head fell onto the cold kitchen counter, "especially when i'm your favorite-"

"what-"

it was finally summer vacation, and all the miyas were back in their nest. the formerly eerily quiet kitchen was once again full of life; the sweet smell of vanilla filled the air as pancakes were flipped on the electric griddle; the bright sun warmed the table cloth that covered the glass dining table; and loud hearty accents were doubled in sound as the two boys were back.

"both of y'all are gettin' kicked out," the older woman places the now finished pancakes onto a plate. "it just so happens that samu listens to what I have ta say, and chooses where he wants ta go ahead of time."

the grey haired twin smiles up at his mom with a 'thanks' as she places a stack of pancakes in front of him. "i'm goin' to grandma and grandpa's farm ta help out at their cafe," he sticks his tongue out at atsumu making him roll his eyes.

"whatever," his arms crossed over his chest, "I don't like that stinky farm anyway." atsumu flinches as he feels his mom yank upon his ear in disapproval.

"good! ya won't have ta 'cause yer workin' at a summer camp!" mrs. miya smiles as atsumu's jaw practically reaches the depths of hell. "our neighbor suggested it--"

"which neighbor so i know whose lawn koda can piss on--OW!" mr.miya strikes the faux blond with his now rolled morning paper.

"language," the older man sits beside his son, coffee now in hand. "y/n's mother came up with that great idea--the girl's been working there since high school--ya remember her right?"

"yeah, i remember fishbowls--OW!" osamu was now on the receiving end of the sunday morning paper, the boy now reaching for his battered forehead. the action instantly stifled atsumu's laughs.

the faux blond covers his head, "ya want me to go work with that freak for the whole summer?" he asks through gritted teeth, actively guarding his head.

"y/n is a beautiful young lady who is doin' great things," mama miya points her spatula at the boys, "she's actually in school studyin' biology to become a doctor now!"

"oh, who would've thought that fishbowls was gonna be in a nerdy major?" atsumu comments, sarcasm dripping in his tone, making osamu snicker.

osamu sits up straight, "'do ya wanna come over and see my new experiment?" he mocks a nerdy accent as he pushes his fake glasses up the bridge of his nose making his brother burst at the seams in laughter.

"come on! y'all haven't seen the girl since she changed schools in middle school," the older miya says as he sips his coffee.

"yea cause she was always cooped up in her room readin' or some shit," atsumu mumbles as he messes with the pancakes in front of him.

"well, i guess this summer will be the perfect time ta give her a chance!" mama miya smiles as she brushes her hands off on her apron, ignoring his groans, "and ya better get packin' 'cause ya leave next week."

insane in the membrane by cyrprus hill blares through the stereo setup of the 1989 lexus is 400. osamu's sunglass rest upon his nose as he drives through rural hyogo, fingers tapping on the steering wheel to the beat. atsumu sits in the passenger seat mumbling along to the lyrics, hand resting outside of the window.

atsumu furrows his eyebrows as he looks over at his brother, "is it too late for me ta come ta the farm with ya?"

"...ya called it stinky--"

"but a whole summer--three months with fishbowls--sounds like i'll be slittin' ma wrist with a spoon," atsumu groans as he sinks further into his seat.

osamu chuckles as he glances over at the drama queen, "think positive! what if she's like hella fine now?"

the two look between each other before bursting out in laughs.

"i'll miss yer goofy ass this summer 'samu!" he says as he wipes a fake tear from his eye.

not even thirty minutes later the sight of tall trees completely consumed the car. the smell of marukawa bubble gum was replaced with fresh water and earthy cedar trees. the road got bumpy as atsumu poked his head out of the window, finally seeing the massive sign marking the entrance of the summer camp: ' firefly valley.'

as osamu slowed the car atsumu instantly started to scratch, "i think i'm allergic ta this place."

"they're called mosquitos--now get outta my car!"

"we won't see each other for almost three months and this is how you wanna say goodbye?" atsumu fakes a pout as he unbuckled his seatbelt making his twin roll his eyes. as osamu pulled his bag out of the car, atsumu looked up at the trees that never seemed to end; and down at the dirt that somehow already got onto his white sneakers.

the feeling of his duffle bag shoved into his chest grabbed atsumu's attention as he looked up to be met with the flash of osamu's digital camera. he sighs with a smile as he pulls the camera from his face, "man, grandma is gonna love this! might even hang it on the fridge." he snickers making atsumu glare but the frustrated feeling is instantly dropped as osamu pulls him into a hug.

"ya better not come back with headgear and a new love for readin'" he teases making atsumu laugh.

"no promises!" he says as he pulls away, "call me when ya get ta the farm."

"i will," osamu waves one final time as he gets into the car, driving off leaving atsumu at the camp. dirt kicks up from the wheels making the faux blond flinch back, unfortunately bumping into someone. he swiftly apologizes as he turns around but he's quickly dismissed as the man doesn't seem phased.

"ya must be atsumu miya," the man smiles, "welcome to camp! i'm kyo," he sticks his hand out and atsumu shakes it with a tight lipped smile. "follow me and i'll show ya the leader cabins and around camp along the way."

with wide eyes, atsumu looks around the camp in awe. even though he just moved to a bigger and busier city--tokyo--he hadn't realized how much he missed this. he was instantly transported back to his earlier summers spent at his grandparents' farm. the bright blue sky created a stunning gradient into the shimmering lake. the trees looked as if they could go on forever--as if they were reaching for the sun. the oh so familiar smell of sunblock attacked his nostrils as the smaller versions of his volleyball nets made a smile creep upon his face.

atsumu looked ahead at the sound of kyo's voice, directing him to his cabin that he would share with other leaders for the next three months. the faux blond thanked him as he rested his bags on the floor beside his bed. the brown-haired man was about to leave before he remembered something.

"make sure to stop by the main office to get yer shirts and badge--someone should be in there to help ya out!" and before atsumu could ask him where exactly the main office was, he was gone.

he sighed as he hooked his sunglasses onto the collar of his t-shirt,. atsumu made his way out of the cabin, looking around intently for any resemblance, or sign that could possibly lead him to his destination.

after about ten minutes of wandering around, the dark green and white building came into his view. one could tell it was old with the way the paint was chipping--the intense weathering it endured was evident.

he opened the screened door to be met with a welcomed blast of air conditioning, a content sigh left his lips as he looked around. the sound of a voice caught his attention leading him to follow it around a corner and into what looked like a waiting area.

the back of a spinny chair was what atsumu first saw. the back of an occupied spinny chair! a finger peeked out as it twirled the cord of the phone, looping and unlooping as you talked on the phone.

"yes, ms.tanaka i will personally make sure that hiro has easy access to his inhaler..." you smiled into the phone, adjusting in your seat completely unaware of the nearly drooling simpleton behind you.

he couldn't see you but he could just tell that you were hot. maybe it was the way he could imagine your perfectly manicured nails combing through his hair as you whispered sweet nothings in his ear with your heavenly voice or maybe he was simply deluded.

"of course, you know i've never let anything happen to hiro--i figure you'd want him back in one piece at the end of the summer...yes yes of course! it is my job," you laugh softly making atsumu's heart skip a beat, "feel free to call back if you have any more questions...alright, I can't wait to see hiro!...have a nice day , bye bye."

as you hang up the phone atsumu can barely contain his excitement as dozens of scenarios run through his mind of what he would say to you--a grin kept sneaking up his lips which he quickly pushed away to keep up his cool facade.

he quickly gets into position as he rests upon the desk, instantly grabbing your attention as he knocks down a pen holder. you whip your head around only to feel the wind get stuck within your throat.

it suddenly becomes hard to breathe as you're unable to say anything let alone move, and you think that you could use hiro's inhaler right about now. your horrified expression makes atsumu's heart drop as he quickly scrambles to pick up the mess he had made.

"h-hey it's alright, i can get it cleaned up real quick!" he awkwardly laughs in nervousness and embarrassment as he realizes he had just made a fool of himself in front of one of the prettiest girls he's ever seen. he tries to fight off the blush on his cheeks, and runs through excuses in his mind--the heat!

you finally manage to catch your breath and look up at him. the boy who made your adolescence a living hell. the man who is now invading one of your safe spaces.

"what do you want?" your tone is harsh, but not harsh enough in your opinion. however, the blond doesn't take much notice as he stares down at you with a goofy look on his face.

"atsumu miya," he sighs dreamily, "name please," he grins, completely oblivious to your look of disgust and the incoherency of his sentence. your eyebrow raises and confusion coats your face. you think he must not recognize you and it's a fair assumption considering you made it a mission to avoid the miyas and the other neighborhood kids once you hit puberty to preserve your sanity...and dignity--what was left of it.

on the other hand, it was as if you had no chance to erase his face from your memory. hell, the universe never gave you a chance to.

"look at the twins! they're committing to that powerhouse school!"

"did you see that atsumu's the best high school setter in japan?"

"can you believe that atsumu's ready been offered to join msby?"

"atsumu looks amazing in his media pictures for msby don't ya think?"

you allowed your expression to soften, "so...you don't know who I am?" you cross your arms over your chest, leaning onto the desk making the blond's hands grow sweaty.

"the girl of ma dreams," he bites down on his lip to hide his smile.

you deadpan before rolling your eyes making atsumu straighten up, "o-or i'd like ta get ta know...if ya let me." he suddenly feels bashful? something the faux blond is greatly unfamiliar with...maybe you were a witch.

you look him up and down, making his cheeks heat up all over again, "i think you'll freak when i tell you." you narrow your gaze at him, unknowingly feeding his supicsions.

in one of his boldest moves of the day, he leans down towards you, "try me," he smirks.

you look up at him through your lashes, quickly thinking of all of his possible reactions. your lips begin to twitch up into an almost wicked smile, "do ya really wanna know?" he you lean up closer towards him, making his heart rate increase.

"more than anythin'," he breathes out, tuning out the sound of his beating heart.

your gaze darkens, "does fishbowls ring a bell?" your sickening smile doesn't dare to falter as you watch atsumu flinch back in confusion, his face twisting into multiple emotions as he tries to process the sound of the cruel nickname leaving your lips.

he leans forward a bit to look at your face, looking for any features that may have resembled his insanely nerdy neighbor.

"...y/n?"

"in the flesh."

notes !

☆ mr. and mrs. miya adore y/n. they have always admired her manners and academic ambition. that led to them always urging the twins to hang out with her and also partially ignited their disdain toward the girl.

☆ y/n never picked up the hyogo accent even though she lived there her whole life. immersion wasn't enough as her parents didn't speak the dialect either. this further isolated y/n from the neighborhood kids.

☆ when y/n said her name atsumu didn't buy it at first until he looked at her closer and noticed the scar that she had on her eyebrow. the same scar that he gave her after throwing a ball at her too hard while trying to be funny. the ball broke her glasses and they cut into her face.

☆ y/n honestly thought she was gonna pass out from lack of airflow to her brain when she saw atsumu again in person after all of those years.

i hope you enjoyed! this is a draft from my wattpad that i'm reworking :) if you'd like to be tagged just let me know!

dividers by @plutism

[malk1ns]

january 14 vs kraken, 4-2 loss

i'm tired of this grandpa!!!!

some notes on this one: werewolves, branding, ownership, and a power imbalance that i think everyone is ultimately quite happy with.

It took a great deal of cajoling for Sid to sign off on Zhenya’s return to play for their last game in the homestand. He’d been buzzy and overprotective the entire week Zhenya was out, and add in that the full moon was the night before, the Wolf Moon at that…Zhenya did as much groveling and begging and incentivizing as he could, but he’d honestly expected to sit this one out too. Sid signing the papers allowing Zhenya to play had been a surprise the morning of the game, waiting for him next to the coffee machine when he stumbled downstairs before morning skate.

Zhenya stares at it for a minute, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Written English always takes a while to register when he first wakes up, but he’s just figured out what it is when Sid’s palm closes around the back of his neck.

“If you’re good,” Sid says, shaking him lightly. Zhenya lets his head loll forward, dropping his shoulders down. Sid’s hand on his neck feels amazing, better now than it ever has before. He wants to roll over and show his belly.

“But,” Sid continues, digging his nails warningly into Zhenya’s skin, “if I find out you’re lying about being ready, if you hurt yourself again, I won’t be happy. Alright?”

Zhenya’s right hand moves instinctively to his right wrist, touching the bandaging still wrapped tightly. “Yes,” he says breathlessly, fighting off the lassitude that always comes when Sid scruffs him like this. “It’s good, I’m play.”

“Good boy,” Sid says, shaking him once more before letting go.

It takes Zhenya a while to collect himself before he can start making his coffee for the day.

—

The training staff whisks Zhenya away as soon as they arrive at PPG. Sid doesn’t like it, Zhenya can tell—it’s still so strange, being able to feel what Sid feels—but when it comes to medical stuff he can’t override anyone about Zhenya, so he just frowns after them as Zhenya shoots an apologetic grimace over his shoulder.

He’s marched directly to Vyas’s exam room, sitting quietly on the table as Kevin tugs at his sleeve and unwinds the bandage.

The brand is still shocking to look at. It’s starting to scab over, enough so that Zhenya isn’t worried it will rip off every time he makes a fist, but it’s livid and red over his veins, dark and ugly on his winter-pale skin.

Zhenya loves it.

He’s been begging Sid to brand him for years, ever since Sid took over his contract halfway through the one he signed in 2013 and moved Zhenya in. Sid had been hesitant about the responsibility, but over the summer when he was working out the details of his own new contract something shifted, and when training camp started he told Zhenya he’d do the brand in January.

Zhenya didn’t know why he picked January, and it wasn’t his place to ask. He was just happy Sid decided it was time.

Kevin’s touch as he probes the wound feels wrong, but Zhenya holds still, grimacing when Kevin pats ointment into the scar.

“Looks good, G,” Kevin says, touching Zhenya’s shoulder. “Congrats. I’ll go grab Doc—do you have your form?”

Zhenya nods, fumbling for his wallet as Kevin exits the room, shouting for Dr. Vyas as he half-closes the door behind him.

A few staff members peer in curiously as Zhenya waits, clutching the signed return-to-play form in one hand. Normally he’d wave or make small talk, but he looks down whenever someone pops their head in, turning his arm so the brand isn’t visible.

It’s private. He doesn’t want any random person getting a look at it.

When Vyas enters the room, he at least thinks to shut the door before making his way to Zhenya’s side.

“Geno,” he says warmly, taking Zhenya’s left and and turning it palm-up so he can see Zhenya’s wrist. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you and Sid, I know how long you’ve been waiting for this. And he signed off on you playing tonight?”

“Yes,” Zhenya says, thrusting the form at Vyas. The paper is wrinkled, but the signature is unmistakable. “He gives to me this morning to bring.”

“Mmhm,” Vyas hums, looking the form over. “Okay, good. Gonna have to get used to that, big guy, you’re not gonna be able to so much as get your Toradol without his sign-off now.” He chuckles, setting the paper aside and pulling a stool up. “Alright, let’s take a look. At first glance it seems like you’re good to go, but I just need to confirm. Oh, and you’ll have to take it easy on faceoffs tonight. I’ll tell Mike, but probably only every other one as the scar gets used to the movement again.”

Zhenya nods, but his brain fogs over thinking about Sid having to sign off on his medication for the rest of his life. The haze lasts for his whole exam, and when Vyas slaps his back and sends him on his way, he barely makes it to the lounge without needing to sit down.

—

Zhenya wants to fool around when they get back from morning skate, but Sid insists on going down for their nap early, tucking them together and passing out almost immediately with his hand heavy on Zhenya’s neck. Zhenya takes longer to fall asleep, but eventually he slips under too, lulled to sleep by Sid’s whuffling snores.

Sid rushes them through their pre-game rituals, hustling Zhenya into the car a full 15 minutes earlier than normal and refusing to provide any explanation, even when Zhenya makes big eyes and pouts. They’re not even early, though—the entire team is already there when they arrive, milling around in their base layers and sucking down last-minute protein shakes.

Sid does the rounds while Zhenya sits quietly in his stall. It took a while to remember where he sits now—when Sid told the team he was going to be branding Zhenya sometime this season they moved him over to Sid’s left, and for the first month and a half Zhenya went on autopilot to his old spot. Sid was understanding, but OC, who’s sitting where Zhenya used to, made fun of him every single time.

A few of the guys stop by to say hi, but for the most part they leave him alone, and Zhenya zones out. He doesn’t even tune back in when Sully steps into the room and starts his pre-game pep talk; he’s heard it hundreds of times by now, it’s the same three variations every game.

He snaps back to attention when Sully ends with, “And we have a pretty big milestone tonight. Sid?”

Sid steps to the front of the room, grinning so big his eyes disappear when the whole team bursts out into whoops and catcalls. Karl puts his pinkies in his mouth and whistles piercingly, loud enough that the guys near him wince and slap at him until he stops.

“Thanks, guys,” Sid says, loud enough to be heard over the ruckus, and everyone calms down. “This has been a really big week for me, and I really appreciate everyone who stopped by to check in. It’s something that’s maybe a little overdue—” Kris interrupts him to shout “A little?!”. A bunch of guys break out into laughter, and Sid rolls his eyes. “—thanks, Kris—anyway, it’s been a long time coming, and your support means the world to me and G.” He pauses, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a thin box. Zhenya’s heart almost stops. “So, it’s G’s first game back, which means he gets to wear a collar now. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather share this with then all of you.”

When Sid crosses the room to stand in front of Zhenya, the team bursts into applause.

“Hey, baby,” Sid says quietly, reaching down to card his hand through Zhenya’s hair. “You good?”

Zhenya’s frozen, every muscle tense at the surprise and the focused attention of his entire team. He’d forgotten about the collar, but now that he’s been reminded, he can’t look away.

Sid skates his fingers over the side of Zhenya’s throat, pulling back so quickly that Zhenya leans forward involuntarily with a distraught little sound. Sid laughs, but it’s not mean, and he holds the collar up. “Let me get this on you, sweetheart, you’ll like it. Alright?”

Zhenya nods, but he doesn’t need to—Sid’s already slipping the collar around his neck, buckling it at the front.

Zhenya doesn’t even know what it looks like. It’s dark leather, he registered that much, but he doesn’t know if there’s writing on it, or a design. It doesn’t matter—Sid likes it on him, if the look in his eyes is any indication, and that’s all that Zhenya cares about.

“It’s good?” he asks just to be sure, craning his neck to one side and peering up at Sid through his eyelashes. 

“Looks so good, G,” Sid says huskily, running his finger along the top. “Maybe I should have done this at home after all.”

—

Zhenya feels the weight of the collar all throughout warmups. Turbo yells something at him from across the ice, but he focuses on settling back into his routine, on stretching and puck-handling and always, always watching Sid

He downs half his Gatorade in the room before they line up for puck drop, then stands next the door shifting from skate to skate as everyone falls into their places in line.

He and Sid are last, like always. They both slap Tanger on the shoulders as he makes his way between them out the door, then Sid steps close to Zhenya, grinning up at him as they go through their handshake.

Normally after the chest tap, Sid would turn to leave the room, Zhenya would smack his calf with his stick, and off they’d go. Today, though, Sid shakes his glove off, reaches up, and twists his fingers in Zhenya’s collar, tugging hard at him until Zhenya bends down.

Sid doesn’t even say anything. He doesn’t need to. Zhenya knows how he feels, can feel it rising as if they’re his own feelings.

One side of Sid’s mouth quirks up and he lets go, turning to head out.

Zhenya stumbles after him. He doesn’t slap Sid with his stick—he’s afraid any impact would send it clattering to the floor from his suddenly nerveless fingers.

—

Halfway through the first period, Zhenya realizes he forgot to tell Sid that Vyas told him he wasn’t allowed to take all his faceoffs tonight.

The trainers spend more time hovering over Zhenya’s shoulder than normal, and Zhenya tolerates it, pulling his sleeve up when asked so they can check the bandaging. He can feel Sid getting more and more wound up as the period drags on, but he chalks it up to the razzing he’s getting from the Kraken—Zhenya heard Oleksiak yell something about Sid finally getting his hound on a leash earlier.

Zhenya doesn’t care. He’s heard it all over the years. Officials look the other way on wolf-slurs. It used to piss Sid off something crazy, but even he’s able to blow it off more now. Zhenya’s surprised Big Rig is getting him so worked up.

He figures out just how wrong he is when they troop off the ice at first intermission and Sid yanks him so hard into a supply room that Zhenya’s shoulder nearly dislocates.

“Sid,” he complains, but Sid yanks Zhenya’s left glove off and shoves up his sleeve without a word.

He’s boiling mad, and Zhenya wants to cower, wants to pin his ears back and tuck his tail between his legs and whine for forgiveness—except he doesn’t know what exactly he did.

“You promised,” Sid grits out, stroking over the bandage. It’s clean and relatively dry, Zhenya’s pleased to note—he’s been twirling his wrist around when he’s on the bench like Vyas suggested, to help stretch the skin, and it looks like that hasn’t aggravated any bleeding. “You promised me you felt okay, that you were ready to play tonight. Did you lie?”

“No!” Zhenya yelps, yanking his arm from Sid’s grasp. “Sid, I’m say to you it’s fine, like, doctors say it’s fine, why you’re like this?” He’s seesawing between his own rising anger and an instinctive need to cower and make nice, and the extremes are making him queasy.

“You’re not taking your faceoffs,” Sid snaps, taking a step back. The sudden distance leaves Zhenya cold, but he forces himself to stand still. “I’ve been watching. You’re skipping half of them.”

And, oh. Zhenya might be many things; a liar isn’t one of them, but forgetful certainly is.

“It’s part of plan,” he says, slouching his shoulders and shuffling closer to Sid. “I promise, Sid, Vyas says to me this morning, it’s for be safe, take care since it’s first game back. It’s not because I’m hurt, like, try to do to much. I forget to say to you, I’m sorry, but you ask Vyas, he’s tell you it’s true.”

Sid’s quiet for a minute, but Zhenya can feel his anger start to ebb. “You swear?” he finally says, voice softer than before, and Zhenya takes the opening to sidle up to him, pressing their bodies together. “If I really go ask, he’ll tell me exactly what you said, you’re not just making this up to get out of trouble?”

“I swear,” Zhenya says fervently, and he feels it when Sid believes him, practically whimpering at the cool wash of relief.

“Okay,” Sid practically whispers to himself, no more than a breath of sound in the room that Zhenya latches on to regardless. “Okay, okay.”

He reaches up to tug at Zhenya’s collar. “I’m sorry, baby,” he says soothingly. “It’s just…I feel like I have to watch you every second. I didn’t realize how intense this would be.” Sid blows out a breath. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Zhenya’s already forgiven him. He’s embarrassingly, fawningly glad to be back in Sid’s good graces.

He wishes he could change, slink down into his wolf form and wind himself between Sid’s legs and pant at him until Sid laughs and bends down to scritch between his ears.

Unfortunately, they have two more periods of hockey to play.

[shakespeareanwannabe]

As You Wish, Chapter 4

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (though biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, arguing, cursing, reference to divorce, kids doing sneaky things, references to early child rearing, crying, Uncle Bob (because he deserves his own warning), Uncle Rooster and Uncle Javy (because they also deserve their own warnings)

Clifton, Texas, 10 ½ years ago

“Dude, what are you doing? Don’t stop!”

“I’m telling you: my vocal cords are going to start to bleed any second! I need to stop!”

“I swear to God, if you stop, I’m going to find an actual rooster and sneak it into your bedroom at the ass crack of dawn!”

Jake rubbed at his forehead with one hand as he took another lap around his living room, bouncing a screaming Charlie in his arms as he went. The last nine months had been…rough, to say the least. Though his grandfather had graciously opened his home up to his grandson, great-granddaughter, and their two friends, it turned out that securing a home was the least of his worries.

Grandpa Wyatt had quickly hired Jake, Javy and Rooster on as farmhands, their physiques and familiarity with rising early making them ideal candidates for the jobs, but Jake wasn’t entirely comfortable with leaving his baby girl with a sitter all day just yet, so he did what chores he could with her strapped to his chest, and spent the rest of the day in the office, doing administrative work with his daughter asleep in her Moses basket behind the desk. Between the physical and mental labour, Jake was ready to hit the sack early almost every night.

However, clocking out for the day didn’t mean that his day was done. Charlie wasn’t a fussy baby, not by a long shot, but she still required an amount of work that Jake hadn’t been expecting. Her first pediatrician visit had revealed that Charlie was slightly behind on her goal weight, which meant Jake had to get up for an additional feeding during the night. But Charlie didn’t like the bottle, and Jake honestly couldn’t blame her. She’d gotten used to breastfeeding from her mother for her first four months of life, and Jake knew firsthand that Buttercup was infinitely better than some plastic bottle.

On top of trying to get her weight up, the Seresin family had also been battling sleep regression, teething, colic, Charlie’s first cold, and delayed milestones. If the doctor was saying that Charlie should be crawling by 8 months, she was doing it at 11 months. The whole thing had Jake lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, worrying about his baby girl, wondering how Buttercup had managed it all on her own, kicking himself for expecting her to manage it alone when he was deployed.

A loud, shrill shriek had him yanking his head away from his daughter as she sobbed unhappily, her tiny fist curling into his flannel shirt.

“C’mon, Charlie girl,” he murmured into her curling blond hair, pressing a small kiss to her head as he paced. “You just had your first birthday a few weeks ago. Can you be a big girl for your daddy and stop crying? Please?” Her green eyes glimmered with tears as she continued to sob in response.

“Rooster, please, man…” Javy groaned, half buried in a pile of Charlie’s toys that he had been shaking and tossing around in an attempt to get her to stop crying.

“My—”

“Rooster, I will buy you a new set of vocal cords,” Jake bargained as Charlie hiccupped before resuming her shrill shrieks. “Please, if not for me, then for Charlie. I need her to stop crying before she makes herself sick.”

Rooster whined before turning back to the piano against the wall. “You guys owe me so bad,” he grumbled before placing his hands on the keys and pressing out a familiar tune. “You shake my nerves, and you rattle my brain…”

Jake held his breath as the song came to an end, the air ringing with blessed quiet, punctuated by an angelic baby giggle. With a groan, he sank to his knees, his legs too tired to carry him the five feet needed to get to the couch.

“Thank god.” He hefted Charlie up to sit beside him on the floor, keeping his hand on her back as he sagged against the wall. “So, she clearly doesn’t like sweet potato,” he sighed, watching her crawl over to a sprawled-out Javy and snatch one of her toys from underneath his leg.

“You feed her sweet potato again, you’ll be the one getting the rooster in your bedroom,” Rooster grumbled, closing the piano with a light thud.

“You do that, and you’ll wake her up,” Javy pointed at the little blond baby currently chewing on her toy giraffe’s foot. “And then we’ll all be miserable.”

Jake fixed his oldest friend with a glare. “No shit talking my daughter, dude.”

Charlie’s head popped up at the shift in tone in her father’s voice, her green eyes searching the room until she found him, her face breaking out into a wide gummy smile. She pressed her tiny palm into Javy’s stomach and propelled herself to her feet, wavering unsteadily even as Javy’s hand automatically rose to cushion her back. Jake leaned forward, scrambling away from the wall to sit a few feet directly in front of her.

“Come here, Charlie,” he called, waggling his fingers at her, smiling back as she grinned. “Come on, baby girl, you can do it.”

Time seemed to slow down as Charlie looked towards him before taking a small, shaky step in his direction. Javy propped himself up on his elbows and Rooster turned on the piano bench to watch on bated breath as she took another step, then another.

“C’mon, sweetheart. You’ve got this!”

“Let’s go, Charlie!”

“Atta girl!”

Jake’s heart was in his throat, a feeling better than going Mach 10 racing through his body as his daughter took one last, final step before collapsing into his arms with a giggle. With a loud cheer, he scooped her up and paraded her around the room to the sound of Javy and Rooster’s applause before whisking her into the office and collapsing into his chair.

“I’m so proud of you, baby girl,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she cooed softly at him. He’d missed so much, and his heart panged when he thought about Abby and what he was missing from her life. His hand was halfway to his phone when he stopped himself, pulling it back to hold Charlie tighter against him. He’d tried before and he wouldn’t be putting himself through that again. He missed Abby, of course, but Mav had always told them that they couldn’t afford to be constantly looking backwards, that thinking would be the death of them, so he had to focus on the here and now, on the ranch, on the daughter he did have instead of on the one he missed.

“Da-da…” he looked down at the sound and smiled through the tears pooling in his eyes.

“Yeah, baby girl. Dada is here. And he’s not going anywhere. I promise.”

The Airport, Now

Charlie’s hands trembled around her passport as the camp bus pulled into the drop off lane of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. She looked up as Abby gripped her wrist with a determined grin.

“Last chance to change our minds,” she whispered as the campers around them started to disembark with loud promises of keeping in touch.

“No,” Charlie whispered, handing the passport out to Abby. “I want to do this. I want to meet mum.”

Abby nodded, taking the outstretched passport and handing Charlie her own. “And I’m desperate to meet dad.”

“Remember, he’s going to meet you at the gate in Waco, so you’re going to have to bring your A Game right away.”

“I’ve got a five-hour flight in order to prepare,” Abby assured. “I’m more worried about you. Uncle Bob is meeting you at the security desk. Are you ready?”

Charlie nodded, a look of steely determination overtaking her face. “I didn’t cut my hair and let you pierce my ears for nothing.”

Charlie thought that Amelia was going to have a heart attack when she walked into the Brig on their last day of their punishment to find them looking identical, their hair the same length and an extra pair of Abby’s earrings studding Charlie’s ears. She’d nearly collapsed onto one of the beds when she heard that they didn’t want to return to their cabin, that they wanted to stay in the Brig. To her credit, she didn’t ask any questions, just shook her head and walked away.

Abby nodded, fiddling with her duffle bag nervously. “Remember, Uncle Bob will be taking you from the airport to meet mum at home. She—”

“Abby, breathe,” Charlie placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders and shook her lightly. “Dad is going to love you. And mum is going to love me. And they’re not going to figure out that we swapped until we tell them a week from tomorrow.”

Abby bit her lip and nodded. “I know. I just…I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I know…” she smiled back. “I’m so excited to meet mum.”

Abby smiled suddenly and tugged her into a hug. “I’m so glad I met you,” she whispered, and Charlie wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tight.

“Me too.”

Abby pulled back, wiping at her eyes. “Okay. You need to get to the security desk. Remember, Uncle Bob will be waiting for you. Brown hair, tall, glasses.”

“And Dad will be waiting for you at the gate in Waco. He might have Uncle Rooster or Uncle Javy with him. You remember who is who?”

Abby nodded. “Rooster’s got the moustache. Javy has tattoos.”

“Exactly.”

The girls looked up as an announcement came over the loudspeaker, calling an Abigail Floyd to the security desk.

Charlie bit her lip anxiously. “I guess this is it.”

Abby grabbed her up in a hug again. “You’re going to be great. Call me whenever you need, and I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon!”

Charlie took a deep breath and headed off in the direction of the security desk. Coming around the corner, she saw him. A tall man in a pilot’s uniform, with brown hair and glasses, his blue eyes scanning over the crowd until he spotted her, his eyes studying her for a moment before breaking into a smile.

Charlie took a moment to compose herself, whispering under her breath in the British accent she had been practicing for weeks, “You can do this. You have to do this.”

“U-Uncle Bob!” she finally called out, her accent ringing true as she rushed towards him, tossing her duffle bag to the floor before launching herself into his arms.

“Whoa! Easy, kiddo!” Bob chuckled, gathering her into his arms. “I missed you too!”

“S-sorry,” she murmured into his neck, her arms tightening around his neck. “I just missed you so much.”

“Six weeks was a long time, huh?”

Charlie pulled back, sniffling slightly. “Yeah. It…it felt like a lifetime.”

Bob crouched in front of her, his brown eyes tracing over her features like an X-ray machine, and Charlie gulped. There was no way he could know she wasn’t Abby, right? They were identical, save for a few freckles here and there, and a scar that Charlie had on her knee. But nobody could remember the exact pattern of someone’s freckles, and her knees were covered, so there’s no way he knew.

Finally, he smiled. “It felt like a lifetime for me too, sweetheart.” He reeled her back in, hugging her tightly before releasing her and drawing himself up to his full height. “Now, come on. We’ve got to get you checked in and ready to go for our flight back home.”

Charlie woke with a start as she felt the plane touch down onto the runway, a smooth landing executed by a skilled pilot. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Even though Bob had been with Dagger Squad, like her dad and uncles, he was a WSO, not a pilot, so she was surprised to hear that he was flying passenger aircrafts after retiring, but Abby had told her all about how Bob had gone for his pilot’s license after retiring from the Navy and how Nat had helped him study and prepare.

Charlie gulped nervously. She had had the whole transatlantic flight to soothe her nerves over meeting her mother for the first time, to convince herself that her father wouldn’t be too disappointed in her for running away, to assure herself that her and Abby’s plan would work. She had a sister. And a mother. And an uncle and an aunt that she had never met before. The risk of her father’s disappointment was worth it in order to meet them.

As Abby had instructed her, she waited patiently in her seat until all the other passengers had cleared out before taking the duffle that was being pulled out of the overhead compartment by one of the flight attendants and heading towards the front of the plane, where her uncle was waiting.

“You ready to go see your mom?”

Charlie felt her cheeks flush. “Yes!”

Bob chuckled, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “Alright, sweetheart. Let’s go see your mom.” Bob shouldered the duffle and led her off the plane, through customs, and down to a town car that was waiting for them. “From the last text she sent, your mom is working in her office at home, and Nat is at work,” Bob informed her quietly.

Right. Auntie Nat worked as a kickboxing instructor now since she was given a medical discharge from the Navy. And mom’s office was at the top of the stairs, two doors down on the right. Both Abby and Charlie had drawn maps of their houses, ensuring to include even the slightest detail so that there would be no surprises. Charlie had studied the map multiple times a day, until she felt like she could walk it in her sleep, even though she’d never been there before. Abby had also printed her a map of the neighbourhood when they were given their computer privileges back, as well as a map of the London tube system, though she had assured her that she would never have to take the tube alone if she didn’t want to.

“Abby?”

She hummed as her eyes darted here and there, taking in the old buildings and the people. They looked the same as the people in Texas, just less plaid and cowboy hats, but they seemed so different to her. She’d only been to a big city a few times, preferring to stick to her small ranching town, so everyone seemed so busy, rushing down the street, their cellphones stuck to their ears.

“Abigail?”

Everything was so new, so shiny. She gaped as an actual, real life red double decker bus drove by their town car, and her stomach was knotted over the fact that they were driving on the wrong side of the road.

“Abigail Floyd, for someone who hugged me so hard you almost cracked my rib, you sure seem intent on ignoring me right now.”

Charlie blinked. Abigail Floyd. That was her. Well, not her, but who she was supposed to be, at least for right now.

“Oh. Sorry, Uncle Bob,” she yanked her British accent into place. “I was just…reminiscing. You know, about camp…and about how homesick I was.”

Bob smiled softly at her, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “I’m glad you had such a good time. I know it’s a struggle to be away from home for so long, but I knew you’d have fun and make friends.”

“I did,” she replied quickly. “I met some great friends, and I downloaded WhatsApp onto my phone so I could keep in contact with them. Is that alright?”

“I’m sure your mom will be fine with that. That’s why she got you the phone, after all. To keep in touch with family and friends who are in the States,” Bob’s voice twinged with…something. Perhaps a hint of regret or maybe even anger.

“Good. Because I really like this one girl,” she grinned. “We became best friends.”

“That’s great, sweetheart,” he smiled back. “You never know where you’ll find your best friend.”

“Like you and Auntie Nat, right? You met at Top Gun.”

“That’s right, sweetheart.”

Charlie grinned. “Now the two of you are basically brother and sister.”

Bob chuckled. “Yeah, we basically are. Maybe you and this girl will be like sisters too,” he replied, shooting her a playful look out of the corner of his eye.

She gave him a tight-lipped grin in return. Uncle Bob had always been strangely intuitive, she knew that much from Abby’s stories, but he was hitting a lot of nails on their heads right now and it was spooking her like crazy. So much so, that she hadn’t even registered that the car had stopped moving.

“We’re here!” she cried, scrambling to unbuckle her seatbelt and get out of the car, her uncle’s echoing behind her as she launched herself out of the open door and up the stairs towards the bright red front door.

“The door’s open, sweetheart, so you can go on in,” Bob called, grabbing her duffle and his suitcase from the trunk of the car.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she opened the door into the flat that Abby shared with their mother, uncle, and aunt.

The interior was exactly as Abby had described. Homey and cozy, but still posh. The living room to the left of the door held brown leather couches, lots of bookcases, and a few plants hanging from the curtain rod. The window seat was where Abby and their mother read, together and separately. Charlie knew that the kitchen was just on the other side of the living room, where her family ate dinner together whenever Uncle Bob wasn’t flying.

But Charlie wasn’t interested in any of that, no matter how comfy it looked after a long international flight. No, her sights were set on the staircase in front of her, which she climbed slowly, her legs trembling with each step. She could picture Abby’s map so clearly in her mind: the first door on the right was the bathroom, the second was mom’s office, and the third was Bob’s bedroom. On the left came mom’s bedroom, then Abby’s, then Auntie Nat’s.

Charlie stepped onto the landing of the staircase, her eyes locked on the door of the second room on the right, which was cracked open just a touch. Her heart pounding in her chest, she slowly approached and, with a ringing in her ears, she quietly pressed the door open and walked inside.

There she was.

Charlie dashed at the tears that were welling in her eyes at the sight of her mother. Her mother. She wasn’t some imaginary figure anymore. She was solid flesh and bone. For years to come, Charlie would be able to picture the way her eyes scanned over the screen in front of her, the way her hair was piled up on top of her head, the way her slim fingers danced across the laptop keys, the way her buttercup tattoo peeked out from the neckline of her shirt. They weren’t images conjured up by her lonely mind anymore. They were real. She was real.

“M-Mum?” she whispered.

Her mother almost jumped out of her chair. “Oh my…Abby?”

Charlie swallowed hard as she nodded. “I’m home.”

“Oh, honey, I missed you so much!” Buttercup scooted her wheely chair across the floor and pulled her into a hug, and Charlie felt herself melt as she hugged her mother back just as tightly.

“I missed you too, mum,” she whispered.

“Six weeks is just way too long, love. I don’t care how much Auntie Nat raved about this camp, six weeks of you being across the ocean is just way too much for me.”

“I agree,” Charlie nodded into her shoulder. “I don’t want to be away from you for that long ever again.” She sniffled as she felt her mother press a kiss into her hair before pulling away.

“You won’t be, love. I promise.” Buttercup’s thumbs gently stroked away the tears from her daughter’s cheeks before tugging her into a hug again. “I meant to be finished with this chapter before you got home so we could spend the rest of the day together.”

“That’s alright. Is it coming along?”

Abby had filled her in on how their mother was a relatively successful author, Charlie even recognizing a few of her book titles from her bookshelf at home. Their mother’s writing was part of why Abby felt that their parents would fall in love again when they had to meet to switch them back. Buttercup’s current, more adult story was about a military man meeting and falling in love with an artistic woman, falling apart, and coming back together to live a happily ever after, and it had Abby convinced that their mother still had feelings for their father.

“I’m struggling, baby,” Buttercup sighed. “These two clearly love each other, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get them back together.” Buttercup looked up and smiled at her. “But they don’t matter right now,” she shut her laptop with a click. “What do you say you and I go out for lunch? You can fill me in on everything that happened at camp. I want to know everything. Six weeks is just way too long and I just know that you have stories to share.”

Charlie’s smile was so wide, it hurt her cheeks. “I’d love that, mum.”

Buttercup pulled her into another hug and kissed her hair. “Go get changed and I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.” Buttercup smiled as she pulled away from her. “I missed you so much, baby. I love you.”

Charlie’s heart sang in her chest. She knew, of course, that her mom thought she was talking to Abby, but it didn’t matter to her. Her mom loved her, it didn’t matter who she was directing those words to. No one would be able to take them away from her. They would echo in her mind for an eternity. She’d heard those words from her father a million times, and they meant the world to her, but from her mother? They were sacred, special. They felt like a gift she hadn’t know she was going to receive.

“I love you too, mum,” she whispered, hugging her tight before racing towards the bedroom Abby had marked out for her on the map.

She finally had a mother, and she wasn’t going to miss a second.

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[biffybobs]

It's the last weekend of summer, and of Sunday's childhood. Time for the kids to head off to Scout Camp, with their troop Leader: Great Great Grandpa Reggie!