#he got one for christmas and actually uses it to help him make decisions

[ickypuppi3]

steve picking up a magic 8 ball from his desk and shaking it: magic 8 ball does billy like guys?

magic 8 ball: Signs point to yes

steve: …

steve: magic 8 ball. do i have a shot-

billy coming back into the room: you talking to yourself, harrington?

steve: shit. no

steve *whispering*: magic 8 ball … should i kiss him

[realtalkswithfinn]

Christmas at the Compound

Avengers x reader

Summary: Avengers x reader Christmas head cannons because I am a sucker for the found family trope.

a/n: I tried to get this up before christmas but totally spaced it, so… tale it as a christmas morning gift! I tried to make it as age neutral as possible, so it could totally be teen!reader or not.

The holidays are a tough time for the Avengers.

Most of them have lost family members or friends, and the idea of celebrating anything is extremely difficult.

Tony especially - he always gets gloomy around the Holidays.

He always says something along the lines of, "I don't actually care about this, but its social convention."

But secretly he cares a lot.

He overcompensates for his lack of affection throughout the year by buying everyone the expensive gifts he knows they want but could never justify spending on themselves.

At surface level, it just seems like “oh rich guy is spending rich guy money”

But they’re actually really thoughtful gifts

Like last year, he got Peter a new laptop for school.

He bought Bucky new and thick clothes since all of his were old and worn.

He upgraded Clints cellular data so he could talk to his family anywhere.

Things like that.

Sam and Rhodey take one for the team and string the christmas lights on the tower

“It’s too cold for this.” Sam would complain, the sharp wind nipping at his cheeks as he flew from one end of the building to the other, lights in tow.

“Come one man, where’s your christmas spirit?” Rhodey would laugh

“I’m just doing this so stark’s power bill goes up.”

it really was worth it seeing the tower lit up top to bottom though

Wanda LIVES for commercialized American Christmas

"We have to make gingerbread houses and go to Rockefeller to see the Christmas tree and we have to go out to the snow and go sledding-"

She demands family Christmas photos be taken, even though you don't really have anyone to send them to.

This years theme was christmas pjs

Which lead to a few very interesting viral videos of the avengers in an Old Navy

“Tony come on the reindeer ones are cute!”

“Bruce. A man can not hold onto his masculinity while wearing pjs with dancing reindeer.”

Natasha gets tired of the bellyaching and bickering and makes the final decision

She grabs everyone’s size in the Reindeer pjs and marches to the front of the store

After snagging Tony’s credit card, of course.

Actually taking the picture is a whole other ball game, but that’s a story for another day

Thor has a hard time with the idea of Santa

You try to explain it to him, but it doesn’t seem to help

“So a fat man breaks into the safety of your home late into the night… and you let it happen because he comes baring gifts?”

“Well… yeah.”

“But only to nice children. That he stalks throughout the year.”

“He doesn’t stalk the children he just…”

“Hm.” He squints. “what about the naughty children?”

“They don’t get any presents.”

“OR,” Wanda interjects, “Krampus comes to get them.”

“Is that another fat man in a red disguise?”

“No. He’s a demon sent from hell to eat them.”

Thor nods in approval. “Ah. That’s much more asgardian. A fair reward system for the youth!”

You stare at him. “So… you’re okay with Krampus but not Santa?”

“Well I think they work together well, like a team. Like us!”

“I… I guess…”

Decorating the tree was an all night event

You would help happy bring up what felt like hundreds of boxes of christmas decorations

The tree itself was about 15 feet tall, because it wouldn’t be a holiday at the compound if you guys weren’t extra

It was placed in the living space, right next to a huge wall of windows so all of New York could see your festivity

it had to be decorated to the nines to pass Wanda’s inspection

Not a bare branch

Theres tinsel, ribbons, colorful lights, and hundreds of ornaments

But of course, ladders were a no go

You guys liked a challenge

To reach the higher branches, you and Natasha would stand on Steve and Buckys shoulders

And I mean stand

Not sit

It was a thrilling balancing game

You trusted them to catch you if you fell, but you still had to try to avoid it at all costs to save the tree from certain destruction

Peter would dangle from the ceiling, crawling around to hang ornaments toward the very top

Both of these acts nearly gave Bruce and Vision a heart attack

“CAP, you’re moving to fast shes gunna lose balance-“

“Bruce, please take a breath.”

Meanwhile Thor is getting distracted by all the ornaments and forgetting to actually hang them up

“This one’s a little man of snow! How silly!”

Speaking of ornaments

You all have an ornament of yourself on the tree

Or, your super hero alias at least

There’s a tiny black widow, a little iron man, a bity baby hulk, so on and so forth

Tony always demands his be the highest up on the tree to fuel his god complex

Drawing names out of a hat to see who got to put the star on top of the tree

(except you guys would always rig it behind Wanda’s back, only putting her name in the hat)

She would always protest, insisting to let someone else do it this year, but you guys never relented

So with a big cheesy grin on her face, she would use her magic to delicately place the star on the tippy top

You would think Natasha wouldn’t want to see the Nutcracker Ballet after her time in the red room

But it makes her so happy to see dancing as an art form instead of a way to brainwash young girls

She drags you, Clint, Wanda, and whoever else wants to tag along every year

She even splurges on front row seats

You look over and see her eyes glittering while she watches every turn, leap, and stunt intently

Leaving the theater, she’ll walk on her toes and do a few turns, encouraging you to try as well.

She ends up cackling watching you trip and stumble

“We’ll work on it.”

Can you IMAGINE the ginger bread making contest???

You’re all huddled around the long dining room table with christmas music playing

Theres Clint and Natasha, who just make the classic gingerbread house, no fancy bells or whistles.

Then there’s Bruce,Tony, and Peter who are going absolutely wild building gingerbread sky scrapers and gingerbread hotels.

���Mr. Stark look, I made a working elevator!”

Bruce puts an electric system (fairy lights) through his

Steve and Bucky rebuild their childhood homes

Wanda is going all out, delicately hand placing every candy and covering the whole thing in edible glitter

Visions is pretty similar, but more sleek and modern than Wanda’s

And then there’s Thor, who’s totally missing the point and just DUMPING everything on top

“Hey Peter, I think yours is missing something.”

You string a long thread of white rope candy from his structure to yours.

“Webs!”

“You know… we can probably make a web-like consistency with some starch and frosting…”

That becomes a whole sticky project, but you eventually get it to work, connecting everyone’s gingerbread houses with icing webs

Steve and Bucky are TOTALLY participating in the classic christmas traditions they grew up on.

They sit quietly together in the living room, making paper chains and stringing popcorn

“Do you mind if I join you guys?”

they smile gently. “Of course not.”

You sit crisscross in front of the couch while they teach you

They tell you stories of christmases long, long ago, which feels kinda silly considering they’re talking like grandpas while not appearing much older than you

On Christmas eve, you’re all there except for Clint, who went home to his family

Youre all dressed in your pajamas from the christmas card

You make hot coco and cider

Wanda pops in some old vhs tapes and you watch the classics late into the night

“Alright you nutcrackers,” tony would say around midnight. “I know you want to stay up and catch Santa, but he’s not coming if you all stay awake.”

he really just wanted to go to bed

He sauntered off, calling for lights out.

Most of the boys wandered away to their rooms, leaving you, Wanda, Nat and Thor not quite ready for sleep.

“So,” you ask, taking a sip of coco, “Do you guys think we’re on the naughty list?”

Natasha Chuckled. “I’m not sure. Does beating people up count as naughty if you’re taking down the bad guys?”

Thor set his mug down on the coffee table, the bells on his sweater jingling. “Do not fear ladies, I will catch that nasty Krampus if he comes in to devour your soul. I believe you were doing the right thing.”

You all laughed, thinking he was joking. But he just stared at you.

“Thor… you realize Krampus and Santa aren’t… real?” Wanda asked.

He had a hard time swallowing that.

He ended up sleeping on the couch “just in case”

you woke up at 3 am to a loud clattering coming from the living room

You decided to check it out against your better judgement

There was Thor. Hammer in one hand, cookie in another.

Down the hall toward the elevator was a completely destroyed life-size nutcracker.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I thought I heard something by the elevator.”

“Congratulations. You murdered the Nutcracker.”

“I feared he was an accomplice of the holiday demon.”

“He’s been there for weeks!”

“He could have been a spy. Or possessed.”

“Goodnight Thor.”

Christmas Morning finally arrived

Everyone was sleeping soundly in their beds

Until Sam decided to be a little shit and wake everyone up at 7 am

He pounded on every. single. bedroom door.

“Y/NNNN. SANTA CAME TO TOWNNNNN.” he sing-songed

“No he didn’t.” You grumbled. “Thor killed him.”

“… I don’t know what that means.”

You all stumble out into the living room

Natasha took the time to actually run a brush through her hair and do her morning skincare

You and wanda were far too excited and skipped over that completely, barely remembering to brush your teeth

Tony looked the roughest - he had a silk robe draped over his pjs and looked like he was just awakened from a coma

Essentially, everyone was a little disheveled

Vision made everyone coffee before you started the gift exchange

You all sat around the coffee table in a circle so everyone could see each other

Bruce and Steve passed out the gifts from under the tree

it took a solid few minutes, there was a MOUNTAIN of presents

You went one at a time opening gifts

Some people think this is awkward, but you felt it was more genuine

this way, everyone can see the gift and the joy on the receivers face

as well as a million “thank you”s

It also gave time for the giver to explain why they chose the gift they did, whether it be something they remembered you said you wanted, something they knew you needed, or even just a simple “this made me think of you��

In the end, you loved all your gifts

And everyone loved what you got for them

But mostly, you were just happy to spend the holiday with your family

[eupheme]

JOEL MILLER - 2023 FIC RECS

this year has been filled with so many beautiful fics, I wanted to make a rec list to share & support everything I read. please check these out and support these creators, they are all incredible! 💖✨

— A Lover's Pinch by @hier--soir

a one-night stand with a charming texan turns into something much more thrilling when you discover he is your new college professor. joel miller is entirely off limits. but now that you’ve had a taste, will you be able to keep your hands to yourselves?

— A Matter of Timing by @lavenderursa

Before the world went to shit you and your neighbor, Joel, were involved. It was complicated then and now at the end of the world, it's much the same.

— A Minute From Home by @agentmarcuspike

— A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing by @jupiter-soups

joel miller is not quite as scary as the people of jackson believe him to be. at least, not around you.

— A Very Furby Christmas by @/proxima-writes

it’s christmas eve 1998 and joel miller thinks everything is perfect. / well, until his brother admits he didn’t get sarah the one present she wanted - the furby. now, joel has to go out on christmas eve to find the year’s hottest toy that’s been sold out for months / turns out, you’re on the same mission. and you’ve both found the last furby in town.

— Asking Nicely by @grippingbeskar

— Autumn Air by @swiftispunk

it’s been a month since you returned home from costa rica and you and joel have fallen into a blissful routine. when a rude awakening threatens to disrupt that peace, together you must make a decision…or two.

— Barbie Girl by @tightjeansjavi

Joel, Sarah and Tommy go to the Barbie movie opening weekend

— Be Good, Be Quiet by @/undercoverpena

bill tells you both you're sleeping in separate rooms when a thunderstorm doesn't allow you to leave. but joel isn't planning on getting any sleep.

— Blue Jeans N'Texas Dreams by @/tightjeansjavi

Joel Miller, single father; total soft dad has an astronomically enormous crush on you, his daughters horseback riding instructor.

— Boston Holiday. by @/amywritesthings

You’re decorating for the holidays in your Boston Quarantine Zone apartment. A begrudging Joel Miller gets involved.

— Bunny Tails by @sweetercalypso

When hunter!Joel finds reader picking flowers outside his cabin, he convinces her to come inside

— But He Does Have You by @undercoverpena

because he hasn’t got a lot of anything, but he does have you.

—Butterfly by @stargirlfics

Sometimes the path to healing starts with a reminder of what’s been lost

— Can’t Help Myself by @fettuccin-e

— Catching by @softlyspector

None of your partners had ever been able to make you come before. Joel changed that.

— Comfortably Close by @omgreally

You and Joel share a couch.

— Come Clean by @cupofjoel

joel comes home after a messy day on patrol, but you’re already in the shower

— Comfort Came Against My Will by @/undercoverpena

it’ll begin with a little beg, a whispered plea—fingers wrapping around his chin, mouth ghosting over his: Let me ride you, Miller.

— Creature Comforts by @galactic-basic

A gift. Joel didn’t call it that. Didn’t say as much. Didn’t say anything—actually. / But it’s yours. Your mattress. Your bed. There are so few things you can call yours these days.

— Crystal by @ezrasbirdie

Joel's live-in girlfriend is a little witchy. It takes some getting used to.

— Dinner & Diatribes by @tightjeansjavi

you’re the kind of love that Joel Miller has been dreaming of all his life

— Dinner Date by @juletheghoul

 neighbour!Joel au

— Distracted by @/psychedelic-ink

there are many advantages to enrolling in a woodshop class: drawing you away from not-so-happy thoughts, relearning something that you enjoyed doing when you were a kid, and, well, the sight of watching mr. miller do something he’s undeniably good at.

— Does Your Mother Know? by @/cupofjoel

— Flesh and Metal by @/swiftispunk

you meet joel at a bar. he really likes your nipple piercings. that’s about it.

— From Eden, Love Grows by @moonlight-prose

Days spent in flower fields and cooking in a sunbathed kitchen with him.

— Grays by @/softlyspector

Joel likes to be read to and held and have his hair stroked. He would never dare admit it, though.

— Go Slow by @/frannyzooey

In the quiet of your bedroom, Joel guides you through it. 

— Honeyed by @/softlyspector

You hate being touched, but you might be willing to put aside your discomfort for a tattoo from Joel.

— Honeymoon by @bits-and-babs

— Hurt by @/moonlight-prose

alone and trying to survive, you find your path crossing with a man who’s headed to boston of all places. he claims he’s looking for a new start, not realizing you might be it.

— I Crawl Home To Her by @/agentmarcuspike

after being stabbed, joel floats in and out of consciousness, between then and now, before and after, and his two daughters, both saving him in their own ways.

— I Know My Faults, But I Can't Hide Them… by @tarrenterror25

It’s all about surviving now. Joel knows it and so do you.

— I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by @/thetriumphantpanda

Your daughter catches you kissing santa… or does she?

— Juniper by @/softlyspector

You're sleepy. Joel knows a good way to put you to sleep.

— Ktober 2023 Day 24- Lingerie by @flightlessangelwings

— Keep It On The Low by @/cupofjoel

just because you and joel broke up doesn’t mean you can’t still (secretly) enjoy each other’s company

— Let Me Take Care Of You by @spaceydragons

Joel had a rough day, you take care of him

— Living in a State of Dreaming by @/cupofjoel

it’s been a year since you, joel, and ellie returned to jackson, and you’re finally starting to feel a sense of security. but when the sun goes down and joel closes his eyes, the horrors beyond the walls still hunt him, out to take back the family he’s worked so hard to protect.

— Made By Hand by @tinycozycomfort

He has nothing to offer, after all; no love letter, no borrowed jacket, no wedding ring. This is all he has to show his devotion, to seal his promise—a fist full of glossy blue and the willingness to unfurl his body and scoop out his insides just to allow you a place to lay. All he can give you is himself.

— Met The Devil Last Night by @pedgito

made a joke about wanting to screw dirt-covered Joel even if he was deep in the trenches of hell and…well, yeah.

— Middle of the Night by @/frannyzooey

He comes to you for comfort.

— Midnights by @/omgreally

Joel pulls back, and the blown-pupil intensity in his eyes makes you clench. “That a challenge?” he wonders, fingering the waistband of your jeans. / “You got any better ideas on how to ring in the new year, Joel Miller?”

— Mine by @the-scandalorian

He wants it—has wanted it.  / He wants the claim. The utter possession.

— Misbehavior by @/stargirlfics

 It’s the first and last time you ever talk back to his face

— Moments by @charnelhouse

Joel and you in a hotel phone booth.

— More and More by @/moonlight-prose

“he wanted to know every part of you, everything you kept hidden for fear of it being rejected. and you let him.”

— Moss & Mushrooms by @/softlyspector

You are alone, always. Then, one day, a beast emerges from the forest you've never dared to go into.

— My Girl Now by @/psychedelic-ink

joel is used to asshole clients, and when one of them calls him an old man and basically demands him to finish his girlfriend’s kitchen in time, he expects you to be the same. But you’re the opposite. when he learns how you’ve been treated, he comes up with a plan to get back at your boyfriend.

— Old Partners, New Plans by @grippingbeskar

— One Bed by @frannyzooey

“there is only one bed” + joel miller

— Only Need Ten by @pascalpvnk

“Joel,” your whine muffled by your pillow. “I have to leave in fifteen minutes, I can’t be late for patrol again. We have to be back in time for Sunday brunch.” / “Only need ten, baby,” he drawled in a hushed tone, hooking his thick fingers beneath the waistband of your panties. “Please?”

— Picture by @/softlyspector

You really want to take Joel's picture. He can't really figure out why.

— Pieces of You by @pedros-mustache

Maybe it’s wrong. Maybe it’s possessive and a tad bit jealous. Maybe after years working alongside Tess, you’ve simply learned to lay your claim on what is yours. 

— Press the Gas and Ride by @charnelhouse

comfort in a car

— Roadside Delight by @/inklore

joel should have known you’d be trouble when he found you on the side of the highway. he should have known you’d taste so fucking sweet too.

— See You by @hopeamarsu

— Seeing You, Seeing Me by @amywritesthings

After handling a life-or-death favor for Tess, you're in deep shit. Until she can make things right, she suggests you lay low at her place for the week. The issue? It's also Joel Miller's place, and you're pretty sure he hates you.

— Silence by @/frannyzooey

 Joel makes a silent promise.

— So, My Darlin' by @/psychedelic-ink

you convince joel to have a bubble bath with you.

— Sober by @/sweetercalypso

When Joel needs a break from reality, he finds the perfect distraction in a QZ dive bar

— Something Bad by @/fettuccin-e

— Something Wild and Unruly by @/ezrasbrdie

At Madame Aurelie's Secret Garden, men pay for beautiful courtesans trained in pleasure to give them whatever they want. And all Joel Miller, infamous outlaw and gunslinger, ever seems to want from you is a warm bath and quiet conversation.

— Standing in the Eye of the Storm by @/stargirlfics

You find each other at the end of the world

— Stay In Bed by @/psychedelic-ink

After your grandfather’s passing, you find yourself moving into his home in Texas. You meet the Millers; Tommy, his older brother Joel and his daughter Sarah. With time, you and Tommy become close friends and Sarah visits you often. But Joel…Joel keeps his distance. The reason for this is due to one crucial fact you don’t know but he does; Tommy has a crush on you. Which means you’re off limits no matter what. But as your own feelings for Joel grow, things start to get more and more complicated.

— Sweet Thing by @mandoisapunk

 the most unlikely pair in jackson just can’t get enough of each other.

— Sweet Words of Sin by @/moonlight-prose

“there was a certain high that came from this. having a man like joel miller relenting to your every word, all to hear those sweet words fall from your lips. as delicious as a glass of wine and just as sinful.”

— Sweetned Breath and Tongue So Mean by @/moonlight-prose

“joel couldn’t fathom what you saw in him. a man bloodied with the ravages of life. he’d taken life, killed to survive, and there were times he even fucking enjoyed it. but you were soft. you were the good that remained. the light he shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish.”

— Take Care of You by @theidiotwhowritesthings

You spent your entire adult life supporting yourself and barely getting by. It’s why a life of ease offered to you by a mysterious stranger sounded so foreign and unbelievable. Joel Miller, dressed in flannels that had seen better days, didn’t look like the kind who could promise you the world on a plate, but he seemed desperate to help out. All he asks is that you let him take care of you. That wouldn’t be so hard. Would it?

— Take Your Medicine by @/hier--soir

your medication makes it difficult to orgasm so joel (and your vibrator) help make it happen.

— Tarnished But So Grand by @morning-star-joy

tommy and maria lead a jovial existence in the countryside, but the appearance of tommy’s brother causes a stir in society with the dark rumors swirling around his reputation, some due to his standoffish demeanor and some due to the mysterious parentage of his rambunctious young ward miss williams

— The Checklist by @thetriumphantpanda

Your new boyfriend Joel finds your hidden stash of porn, full of pages with their corners folded over, marking the things you like the most. Expecting him to feel bad about finding things you’re into, things you haven’t asked for from him, you’re surprised when he offers to help you tick them off.

— The Dog of War by @/bits-and-babs

When Ellie is taken by David, Joel breaks open the part of him locked away since his hunter days. As the guilt eats him alive, you try to help him subdue the black dogs of mental warfare.

— The Revenant Wife by @pettyprocrastination

Ellie knows very little of Joel and even less of the wife he had before the outbreak. When she finally meets you, its just as much as shock to her as it is to your husband. 

— The Way We Fight by @/cupofjoel

you and joel love taking your frustrations out on each other—in more ways than one

— Toyin’ With Them Older Guys by @proxima-writes

Joel Miller is the grumpy bartender and owner of your favorite bar near campus, where you attend trivia every Tuesday night. Thinking there’s no way Joel could return your feelings, your friend suggests trying out Tinder. / But when you bring them to the bar for a date, they keep leaving mid date with no explanation. / Maybe there’s something Joel isn’t telling you after all.

— Trust Fall by @/tinycozycomforts

This, that was a shy thing at first, set into motion by some passing remark you’d made all those months ago—that he would do anything for you if you just asked nice enough.

— Two by @/the-scandalorian

— Watch Party by @/sweetercalypso

renting a Halloween movie turns into a nightmare when poltergeist!Joel Miller crawls out of your TV

— Way Too Damn Needy by @/cupofjoel

— What I Want by @/proxima-writes

joel comes home from a rough day of patrol and you know just what he needs.

— When You're Reading Me by @/psychedelic-ink

If you had to make a list of things Joel Miller might buy you as a gift— nipple clamps, would not be a part of it. 

— Wicked Games by @inklore

relationships are built on trust. favors, kindness, and hands meant to help, not maim. there’s no room for dishonesty, games, or ploys. that’s not the storybook way of things or how life should be. but maybe those rules only mattered when you weren’t living in a world that’s gone to shit |  joel miller x smuggler!reader

— Wish You Were Here by @macfrog

you and joel skip jackson’s annual holiday party in favor of some alone time. (not that kind you filthy animals it’s the HOLIDAYS)

— Woods by @/frannyzooey

— You Know I Don’t Mean It by @joelscruff

you and joel get off together. that’s pretty much it. you also have some unresolved feelings for him and he’s being closed off.

— You Take My Self Control by @/cupofjoel

your first act of brutality leaves you reeling, but you’d do it all over again if it meant saving joel’s life. in the aftermath, you realize you’ve started to crave that violence and it terrifies you. joel steps in to satisfy your craving.

— Your Summer Dream by @/swiftispunk

fresh on the heels of the worst breakup of your life, you find an unexpected kindred spirit in joel miller, who's agreed to tag along for seven days to a tropical resort with you and your parents.

if you haven’t read these, you need to! and please support these amazing fics & writers by reading, reblogging & commenting! 💕

[modelbus]

can i request a reader (with sbi and also separate) who’s rich rich like she was born with a gold spoon and whenever she gives them gifts or treats them food they feel bad BAHAHAHA but it's just readers love language

can this be a drabble or whatever you can do :DD

I got your other message saying you wanted headcannons, so here you go! No wilbur for obvious reasons.

Included: Cc!Tommy, Cc!Phil, Cc!Techno, + all of them (platonic)

Rich Reader Headcannons

Tommy

Unapologetic about using your money.

He cares at first, and even when you say you’re paying he’ll order cheap things from restaurants, but after you give him the go ahead he will be a menace

Expect to lose all your money to Legos, his one true addiction.

“I could stream building this one, but this one would look so good in my room…” Tommy mumbles, squinting at two Lego boxes. You’re starting to regret letting him talk you into stopping by the store for what he said would be a quick visit.

It’s been two hours.

“Just get them both, Tom.” You finally sigh.

He lights up, no better than a kid on Christmas Day. “Fuck yeah!”

He’s money conscious, and will still note the price of things, but after he gets used to it he’s fine with you paying.

Doesnt blink twice at gifts.

You get this man anything and he will GOBBLE it up. Give him an Apple Watch? Great, his forever, he’s already wearing it. Give him a toothpick? He’s using it, perfect.

Won’t ask you to pay, and is very willing if you don’t want to, but let’s be real you always do pay.

He’ll say “thank you” at least. Five days later, maybe, when he finally remembers, but he says it!!

Talks you into buying things that you don’t need.

”I mean, you have the money. Y’know. Just saying.”

Phil

This man hates it, change my mind.

It’s a competition to see who can pay first with this man, and he does it out of pure spite.

Actually, he does it because he wants you to feel normal and not like you have to pay because you’re rich.

“I have the money, Phil!” You insist, holding your card.

“And I don’t care. I already gave them my card, I’m paying.”

When you make a stupid financial decision and buy a $1,000 lightsaber (blame Tommy), he just kinda sighs at you.

If you approach him for financial advice, he will genuinely tell you helpful things as if you weren’t incredibly rich.

He accepts your gifts, but always makes sure to somehow give you one in return.

maybe not of equal value… he isn’t as rich as you… but of equal love <3

Techno

Have you SEEN this man’s setup? He is in NO POSITION to decline gifts.

Will secretly be desperately in need of literally anything and just. Wont get it. So you end up buying it for him…

You order him food online to have it delivered to him and man just won’t say thank you. He’s rather awkwardly send you a photo of the food on his desk, entirely eaten.

Or he’ll just drop a photo of his new setup in discord for you.

He will “anonymously” acknowledge you when he streams/records a video on his new gear though.

“And if you’ve noticed this video came much faster than normal, it’s because of a new PC which runs at light speed.” He zooms into the face of his Minecraft character. “It’s not a toaster guys! Praise the rich gods!”

He literally can’t afford to buy you gifts in return.

Well he COULD but that man sees the shipping and is horrified.

His gifts in return are those photos of whatever you give him.

Techno genuinely is VERY appreciative though!! Like you are practically saving this man’s life by buying him shit.

He won’t ask for anything, you’ve just got to use your gut instinct to figure out what to give him.

All

Having all three to spend money on is a DREAM for you.

Phil forces Tommy to say “thank you” every single time. Repeatedly.

Techno sends his photos in the group discord, and Tommy will jokingly rage that he didn’t get a new PC or something that Techno did.

Paying when you all go to eat is a competition of speed between you and Phil. He started getting sneaky and approaching the waiter/waitress before they even brought the bill.

So you had to compromise and agree to give your cards to the waiter and let them pick a card at random.

(you win most times because you’ve got a fancy ass card)

For your birthday they tend to kidnap you from your bed and take you to do a surprise so you can’t find a way to pay or something 😭

They’re all in awe of your house, meaning you love having them over!!

Best vlogs occur at your house, let’s be honest

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Unexpected 50

Warnings: non/dubcon, pregnancy, pegging, Lloyd being the worst, post partum, csection, suicidial ideation, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

Your promise to Lloyd is empty. You have no great urge to see Andy again. You’re embarrassed at the thought. Even a bit guilty as you accept that any sliver of excitement he brought to you has flown away. The return of your husband drags you back down to earth in the most desolating way.

You swipe away another notification. You don’t know how to reply to Andy. It doesn’t seem right to tell him over a text. Still, you can’t bring yourself to face him. Your last two conversations haven’t been exactly productive. How many times can you tell him this was never meant to be anything more than sex?

That’s when you feel rotten. You used him the same way you’ve been used. Just a release, a thing to make you feel better about yourself. Worse, he’s a widower. He’s lost so much already and now you’re toying with him. That’s hardly fair.

You sit with Luna on the floor. Getting down there was hard enough and you don’t want to ponder how you’ll get back up. She lays on her mat, raising her head to look around. She’s still needy but you see her changing. Maybe she sees the same in you with how she stares at you.

There’s a knock at the door. You brace yourself. You already know it isn’t Lloyd, he would just barge in. You know he hasn’t changed at all. Luna’s head bobbles as she tries to look around and you call for whoever it is to enter.

“Hey, we goin’ on that walk?” Harlen asks as he enters, already half-dressed for the dipping temperature. You notice the metallic red thermos in his hand, “I was hopin’ to get out.” He present the capped container, “got us some hot chocolate even.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” you make yourself smile, “yeah, that might be a good idea.”

“Here, let me help,” he sets the thermos down and crosses the room, offering his hand to haul you up.

“Go on, get ready,” he bids as he grunts, bending to pick up Luna from the floor, “oh, she gettin’ heavy.” He stands straight, “I need the workout anyhow.”

“I have a suit for her. Thermal,” you explain as you search the dresser against the nursery wall. The last few nights you’ve spent sleeping in the glider chair, your own fortress in a castle not your own.

“You let me worry about that,” he nears, rocking Luna in one arm as he takes the insulated outfit from you, “go get something warm on. You gotta take care of you too.”

You look at him. You nod. He’s the only man you can’t bring yourself to argue with, maybe because he’s the only one who’s ever really cared. You love that about him but it makes you think of your own dad and how he would rather his flask than to spend a single birthday with you.

“Right,” you surrender, “I won’t be long.”

You leave the nursery and head down to the guest room. The door is already unclasped but you don’t think much of it until you enter. You find Lloyd sat on the foot of the bed with the little crescent moon toy Luna likes so much. His eyes flick up as you sigh.

You ignore him and go to the closet. You take out an old sweatshirt and dig out some jeans from a drawer. You feel him watching you. You hear him get up and come closer as you take out a pair of wool socks.

“Gonna be Christmas soon enough…” he says.

“Oh shut up,” you snarl.

It’s his turn to sigh. He angles around to stand beside you, facing you, and puts the toy on the dresser. You walk away from him and he follows you towards the bathroom door. The very idea of him seeing how he ravaged your body, the stretchmarks and the loose skin, repulses you. You won’t give him that victory.

As you try to close the door in his face, he forces his foot between it and the frame, “you have to talk to me eventually. She’s my daughter. I have a legal right–”

“Why did you come back? I know it’s not because of her,” you lean on the door. He’s just as strong as ever. If he really wanted to, he could overpower you.

“You,” he says. “I was always going to come back–”

“No, no, no. Lloyd, enough lies. It’s over. You know that. Whatever made you want me, I’m not it anymore. So whoever you were out fucking, go back to them. You won’t get anything from me.”

“I didn’t–”

“Fuck. Off.”

You stomp his toe and he recoils. You take the opportunity to slam the door and flip the lock into place. You keep your hand on the door and catch your breath. You hear him on the other side, lingering, the friction of his touch dragging down the other side.

“Peaches…” he says.

You scoff and push away. You go to the counter and put down the armful of clothes. You look at yourself in the mirror. You don’t even feel bad for yourself, you feel worse that Luna has to call someone like him a father.

🍑

You meet Harlan downstairs. He has Luna bundled up and helps you get her strapped into the baby carrier that hooks over your shoulders. It’s much easier than the stroller, if not a bit of a strain on your back.

He tucks the thermos into the large pocket of his coat and opens the door for you. He trails you outside into the brisk air of late autumn. The chill nips at your cheeks and nose as you adjust Luna’s hood to make sure she’s cozy.

“Thanksgiving soon. Dot was talkin’ bout it,” he says as you walk down the long driveway, “she talkin’ a lot lately. Driving me a bit crazy.”

“Oh,” you raise your brows dully. You haven’t said much to her. You resent her for all those weeks of sticking up for her son and her tune hasn’t changed, “yeah, maybe… get a turkey.”

“Ha, come on, what are we gon’ do? Sit down for a family dinner? She just wants peace but she won’t acknowledge the battle,” he puffs as he takes out the thermos and untwists the cap. “Here?”

He offers you a drink first. You stop awkwardly to sip from the brim and thank him. He takes a gulp of his own and hums.

“Not too bad,” he comments, “was of a mind to add some whiskey but we’ll save that for later.”

You chuckle and shake your head. You set off down the sidewalk, keeping a hand on the bottom of the carrier as you make slow progress. It’s the sort of cold that wakes you up. It reminds you of the day you met Lloyd and you scowl. A year. More than.

As you come to the end of the street, someone turns the corner. You don’t pretend to be surprised as Andy approaches. He wears a navy cap, his hair poking out from the hem, and his cheeks are rosy above his thick beard. He smiles as he nears, even as his eye twitches.

“Morning,” he greets brightly, “how’s little Luna?”

You slow as he glances at the baby in her harness. You sway with her as she babbles.

“She’s good,” you answer as Harlan clears his throat. You sniff as you try to roll the tension out of your shoulders, “oh, Andy, this is my… dad, Harlan. Harlan, Andy. The neighbour.”

“Sir,” Andy smiles and offers his hand, “nice to meet you. You must be so proud of your daughter. And granddaughter. A beautiful pair, huh?”

“Beaming,” Harlan shakes his hand gruffly, “couldn’t ask for anything better.”

“Well, uh, I was actually gonna pop in. I found some more baby stuff and thought maybe you could use it,” Andy rescinds his hand, tucking it in his jacket pocket. “I could watch Luna if you want. Give you some time off.”

“Oh, Andy, that’s sweet but… I got all the help I need,” you peek over at Harlan. “I appreciate everything but I hate to take advantage of your kindness.”

“It’s no problem. Really. I don’t mind,” Andy insists, only girding himself as his eyes flit to Harlan and he squares his shoulder, “just putting it out there.”

“I’ll… I’ll keep you in mind,” you utter awkwardly.

Harlan’s silent. You don’t have the courage to look at him. You can feel the tension radiating off of him. He’s shielded in that cool stoicism that once made you feel so small.

“Well, you know my number,” Andy shrugs, “I’m sure you can figure out how to reply to my texts,” he steps forward, gazing at Luna as he coos, surprising you as he bends to kiss the top of her head, “buh bye, Luna.” He grins, his eyes meeting yours as he stands at his full height, “pretty, just like mommy.” He nods and looks past you to Harlan, “try to stay warm out here.”

Andy struts past as you step aside. You hesitate before you continue on, quiet as Harlan lets a hum roll up his throat. He clucks and cranes to peer over his shoulder.

“That’s him?” He asks. You can only nod, staring down in shame. “Ah, well… you keep space from him… for yourself. Man’s got something ‘bout him…. Something off.”

“I… I’ve been ignoring him so…”

“No, no,” Harlan intones, “no, ain’t nothing ‘bout you.”

You stroll on, the uneasiness in his timbre crawling over you in goosebumps. You look down at Luna and run your hand up the back of the carrier, embracing her a little closer. Andy could be a little overbearing but he’s harmless, right?

[mystic-writings]

remember the nights | chapter thirteen — welcome distractions

WORD COUNT — 1,435

WARNINGS — none

NOTES — i honestly can't believe that i didn't manage to get this chapter up on time, but i swear the next one will be on schedule !! for now enjoy this lovely fluffy filler

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter

It’s been three weeks since you last saw Newt; since Christmas. New Years came and went, and school started back up, and nothing changed. Things were the same as they were two months ago, and that small flicker of hope died out halfway into the first week of school. 

New Years was fun, though. At midnight, when your father kissed Maggie and Thomas kissed Teresa, you gave Chuck an embarrassing kiss to the cheek, laughing as his already rosy cheeks darkened as he smiled and pushed you away. 

With the end of January approaching, you had new things to worry about. Finals, a new semester, and your dad’s wedding. You weren’t sure what you were more nervous about, the wedding, or having to take Algebra for the next five months. 

Things at home were getting better, and you were learning to live with the rift between you and Thomas — which, admittedly, got a bit smaller during Christmas and New Years. They were picking up, as well, considering the wedding was only a few weeks away. Your parents, ever the romantics, were getting married on Valentines Day, which meant that whatever final planning and preparation needed to be done as quickly as possible. 

Which, of course, led you to here, sitting in the car with Maggie on a disturbingly cold Saturday morning to help her with the rest of the errands she needed to do before the wedding. 

“Okay, I have the bridesmaid’s dresses in my trunk, we have to go drop them off, bring some of the decorations from the backseat to the hall, get some people to help us set up a few of the tables in the hall, and check on the cake at Jorge’s.” Maggie listed off the to-do list for the day as she drove onto the main road. “Your father’s taking care of all of the deliveries from the city, including his brother, who insisted on taking an Uber instead of just letting your dad go get him from the airport.” 

You laughed and nodded, “Uncle Mark hates when dad offers to do stuff for him. Some sort of older brother complex, I’m sure.” 

The car fell silent as you looked out the window. You wished the weather would cooperate with the season and make for a wonderful, winter landscape, but instead all you were left to look at was slush covered roads, and dirty snow piles on the sides of the roads from the plows that ran through yesterday, just before it rained the entire night. 

Dropping off the dresses was a simple enough task, and with a small town and only a few main roads, you were able to get it all done in just about an hour. The bridesmaids picked out their own style dresses, but all of them matched in color; a lovely sage green, which all of the groomsmen would have as their tie color. You were able to put faces to names this way, and being in a bridal party of older women was actually pretty fun. All of the dresses had sticky notes on them to determine what dress belonged to who, and by the end of that errand, the only one left was yours. Maggie had, a long while ago, decided that you were going to be her Maid of Honor, and got you a darker, emerald green dress to make sure that you stood out. 

You remembered when she told you her decision, and how she explained that it was because she saw you as her daughter from the moment you’d first met. She also explained that you wouldn’t be the only young person in the bridal party, as both Chuck and Thomas were serving as your dad’s best man, and would both walk down the aisle with you, as well as wear ties that matched your dress color. 

The decorations were next on the list, and you finally got to see the inside of the Hall, a great tall building on the other side of town, old brickwork and some pillars and balconies dotting the outside. There were some stairs leading up to a pillared front porch, all concrete and really old. It looked like an old-American style house, one that someone important would’ve lived in during the 1800s. 

Maggie’s backseat had been occupied by the boxes of decorations for weeks now, and she was finally able to give them over to the people who worked at the Hall, who would set everything up a day or two beforehand to take some trouble off of Maggie and your dad’s backs. 

The inside was fairly nice. It’d been gutted and remodeled long ago, and probably never updated since. White walls, a staircase leading up to who knows what, an industrial kitchen, built in bar, and public washrooms. The windows made sure that the sunlight lit up the room perfectly, but it looked odd to see it so empty. 

You could see down the hall where the bathroom was that there was a different door, probably one that led to the side of the house, and another one by the stairs that likely led into the backyard. Tables and chairs littered the outside of a double doorway on the very right side of the hall, so you assumed that’s where most of the storage was kept. 

The few people inside the hall helped bring all the boxes in and put them by the stairs, while another few went to work on packing away the tables and chairs into the storage room. Every sound echoed in the hall, the slight scrape of metal against the polished wood floor, the exertion of bringing in all those boxes, everything. 

From there, you went to Jorge’s cafe to check up on the cake and pastries, only to find him and Brenda taste testing the macarons and frosted cookies. They spent almost an hour talking about what was going to be served at the wedding, along with the final touches of the cake and frosting. 

It was heading into the late afternoon when you got home, and you found your father in the living room, hanging up the phone just as you stepped inside. “Everything go okay?”

“Yep,” Maggie nodded. “Everyone got their dresses, Malcolm and Jack came by the hall to help bring in the decorations, and Jorge is working very hard on those pastries.”

You held up your garment bag as proof, and your dad nodded at you with a smile. 

“Well, everything on my end went well. Everything should get here on time.” He walked up to Maggie, pressing a kiss to her cheek before side-hugging you. “I called and confirmed everything with the florists, the chair guy, the table guy, the dress lady, the suit tailor, and arranged an Uber for my brother. Tables and chairs are getting here the morning before, dress and suits that afternoon, and the flowers the morning of, which my brother said he would take care of.” 

Maggie smiled bright, pressing a kiss to your dad’s cheek and patting his arm. She grabbed your dress and took it upstairs, leaving you and your dad alone in the foyer. 

“Are you excited, dad?”

“You have no idea, kiddo.” He sighed, ruffling your hair. “I haven’t been this excited since you were born. But I should be asking how you’re feeling about all this. I haven’t exactly had the chance to talk to you—” 

“Dad, I’m fine. I’m 110% okay with this, you have nothing to worry about.” You assured him. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. She’s a great woman. You chose good.”

“I know.” He said. “Sometimes, though, I feel a bit… weird, but I don’t know why. Your mom’s been gone how long, now? I’m happy, but I still miss her.” 

“So do I, dad.” You told him. “I miss her a lot. But marrying Maggie doesn’t change that mom was a big part of your life, you know. You have enough room in your heart to love them both.” 

Your dad smiled, eyes wet with tears, before pulling you into a hug, kissing the crown of your head. “I love you so much, kiddo.” 

“I know, dad.” 

He let you go and made his way toward his office, and you watched him go. You couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of pride for your dad filling your chest, mixing with the love that was already there. No matter what your relationship with Thomas was by the time your parents got married, you were determined to not let it ruin anything. 

Not if you could help it.

series taglist: @heliads @ghostofscarley @badbatch-simp24 @virginia-peters @third-broparcelicito @lamolaine @yes-fangirl-things (open!)

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Thinking about those dudes who came to help Mustang on Promised Day. They were under his command during the genocide and were thankful to him bc his pillars of flame kept them safe. I initially thought they must've quit the army or smth after the genocide and were a contact Mustang had with a bond/gratitude that he could cash in on when he needed help, so I wondered what they were doing between that and Promised Day, maybe some underground spy thing, maybe some inconspicuous life in reserve to be called in when he needed, NOPE! THEY WERE IN THE MILITARY THIS WHOLE TIME. UNDER GRUMMAN. Truly my lofty expectations have let me down.

Seeing as not Mustang, not his men, not his former men, none of them seemingly having any outside ally contacts or dabbling in smth underground like I dunno hiding as some bumfuck civilian work, aside from Madame Christmas and her whole thing, made me so... I don't even know how to describe it. Did I overestimate Mustang? Like, not even trying to expand their sphere of influence or smth? I dunno what I'm even expecting out of them anymore.

Mustang wanted to rise in the ranks protecting the few under him with his limited power until he got on top, okay, but like. What will he do if/when he is asked to participate in another genocide? Are the lives he's taken, that he's going to take, an acceptable price for his dream? Trying to change nothing? Nothing at all? Not even “from the inside” like Miles ‘tried’?

If the Amestrian military gov were to tell Mustang to put down a group of people who also want to change Amestris albeit by overhauling it instead of conforming to it, a radical group who might have the power to sway people to think like them, do you think Mustang will do it?

I wonder what Miles would think of such a group as well. Of his daughter (OC) being part of it.

Oh yeah, those guys. I forgot they existed! But now that I'm not only reminded that they were A Thing, but also reminded (informed? I forget, was this confirmed in Brotherhood as well?) that they continued to have thriving careers in the military under Grumman I can confidently say: oh for fuck's sake.

The ethos of mangahood is that reform is necessary, and must come from within. Unfortunately this precludes it from entertaining the notion of solidarity with non-establishment groups and rebels. (Though typically working with cops and soldiers, former or active duty, doesn't bode well for more principled revolutionaries and for the common folk but hey.) Mustang's approach is meant to be taken seriously because we're not even supposed to think about what other alliances could be made outside of the few dissenting military personnel.

Nevermind the fact that none of these soldiers even so much as retire or defect. And nevermind that it would counter the staunch "reform from within" perspective if we had to actually show those who want to aid in toppling the government who have become angry, jaded, or irreverent towards the state. Why, that's for beating out of Scar so everyone can swallow the correct lesson: soldiers are the best among us, who are sometimes commanded to do sad things. Enlist to fix this!

It really makes Studio Bones' decision to create McDougal and have the first episode kicked off by quelling a nearly successful destruction of Central just. Such a fucking choice. The implications are massive, and they don't reflect well on any of our protags whatsoever.

See, I can usually enjoy the tragicomedy of our dickhead protags realizing to their petrified astonishment later that, "Oh no. Oh no oh no oh fuck we fought that one guy whom we could have allied with instead and would have had [in some respects] a far easier time taking down this regime together on a quicker timeline, rather than aligning our coup with the Promised Day." Obviously we don't get such self-awareness ever, so I don't even get to enjoy a wry chuckle at their expense.

McDougal's Brotherhood-exclusive existence is the most damning and ironic choice for this adaptation the writing team could have made. Fma broadly is not good at showing organized resistance. Outside of the military dissenters, it's lone actors all the way down. I'm not expecting some sort of high minded polemic on insurrectionist anarchism or Marxist organizing etc etc, but it is a notable blind spot. So McDougal, in canon, being a one-man army against Amestris, who rightfully didn't trust any of these other career genociders he once fought alongside to take up the cause with him, and is felled without a second thought and without internal crisis by Big """Revolutionary""" Mustang and friends cements right out the gate that this story will not handle any of its harder themes well.

Sadly, McDougal's fate answers your questions for you. Mustang would absolutely oppose any threat to the current government that isn't spearheaded by him and his lackeys. Given that he only calls on former squad mates and the Briggs squadron to back his coup, he never cared to consider anyone outside of their ranks for a multi-disciplinary attack. If we had gotten a chance to see Mustang curse the fact that someone had murdered McDougal, instead of apprehending him so that Mustang could perhaps orchestrate his freedom and collaborate with a growing cell of rebels, that could have been an interesting character moment that makes Mustang a 0.5% less putrid bootlicking dictator-wannabe than he actually is.

If they won't serve as part of his new government's military force and appropriated economic hub (the military arm in Ishval, using Scar for this purpose), then he won't organize with them. Again though, so long as he remains in the military, with a goal to gain a higher station in the state, any underground cells or anti-state groups would be better off rejecting someone like Mustang as the fed he is.

(We both know Scar alone pokes a hundred more holes into whatever miniscule revolutionary, liberation of the people potential Mustang ever had in mind.)

Canon Miles would agree with Mustang's approach, but the Miles of Sunburst Sandstorm is going to suffer a head-on collision with the hypocrisy of his position. Maybe it won't happen right away, but his daughter's involvement with these Ishvalan liberationists and her fury against him and the military would have to tear the blindfold off of his mind. It's either that, or the tragedy of her family continues to its logical end.

[lightlycareless]

happy new year y'all and belated xmas I guess due to the theme of this oneshot lmao. I never get inspiration for these things unless on the actual day; can you believe that?

anyways, I hope you will still be able to enjoy this little thing i wrote :> I call it "Naomi's first xmas" (a.k.a your daughter with Naoya).

Warnings: none. fluff. your dad being a goofball.

Enjoy!

“I don’t think many people are going to come.”

“Who did you invite?”

“You know, the usual, but I doubt he’s going to show up, as always.”

“Then I won’t make more.”

“… well, do a bit more, a tiny bit, just in case.” 

Coming from the kitchen, you heard your siblings, Hinata and Ren, discuss the last preparations for Christmas Eve dinner.

Every year, planning around these holidays would go down the same way: Ren was designated to be the leader of sorts, making the decisions that ranged from what kind of decoration would be used around the house to what they’d have for dinner. 

Back in the day it would be your parents, (and then just Eiichi, of course), the one in charge of all that; but as of recent years Ren decided to take on that responsibility simply for the sense of comfort this familiarity brought him; and because he genuinely enjoyed doing so—also, because he’d spent last Christmas’ with his wife, Kanon, and felt like he needed to something to make up for those holidays he spent apart from his family.

From there, Hinata. She… Well, she’d try her best to be around the holidays to begin with, since work was always hectic for an accomplished sorceress around this time. Now add to that that she’s also an heiress of a somewhat important clan! And that’s just all year round.

Yet, she’d always manage, either through overworking herself days prior, or because she has excellent time management skills—thus, when she does find herself back home, she’d be the one to send out invitations and general holiday greetings.

And lastly, you. Alongside your father, you’d be the one to set up the decorations and buy gifts. It was your favorite activity to do during the holiday season, after spending time with your family of course. Something about seeing what new seasonal merchandise stores had always filled you with excitement, as well as an urge to get everything before it sold out!

But this year, you’d impose a limit on yourself; and not because you came to the realization that this might’ve been getting a bit out of control, but rather, because your attention now dwelled on something more important.

It’s what made this year’s holidays all too special compared to the rest: it was your daughter’s first Christmas.

It was safe to say that everyone held the same excitement as you and Naoya had when it came to seeing her reaction to everything Christmas. 

She already had her first Halloween, which had been a total success as seen by her toothy grin while wearing that adorable costume you got her—something you’ll forever remember thanks to the endless pictures you took, the same  ones your father and siblings demanded you’d share, quickly becoming everyone’s phone wallpaper.

In other words, the anticipation to see what Naomi will be wearing/doing for the holidays was much greater than that of the actual presents—although for you and Naoya, getting to spend time together as a family was more than enough.

“Do you need help with anything?” you’d ask, looking over Hinata’s shoulder; Ren had been earnestly debating whether to prepare more food, or not, for those yet-to-confirm guests. He didn’t mind having to do more, he just didn’t like the notion that it might go to waste.

But even then, he knew that between Hinata, you, and him, that wouldn’t be an issue.

“Yes—bring Naomi-chan!” Hinata says, swiftly turning around while grinning.

“I meant, with dinner.” You chuckle.

“Aw, then why you’d ask?” your sister frowns.

“She’s asleep right now, Hinata. Why would you even ask something so selfish?” Ren teases.

“I just want to see my adorable niece.” Hinata whines. “It’s all I want for Christmas!”

“Get in line, then.” Ren smirks, moving from one side of the counter to the other before placing a tray into the oven. “Do you plan to dress her up this time?”

“Not in a costume per say, but yes! Got everything set up already; but I’ll change her after Naoya and dad are back.” You respond.

“Oh, can we at least get a sneak peek?!” Hinata begs, you shake your head.

“It’s a surprise.” You smile, Hinata groans.

“Aghhhhh, then they better hurry up!”

Normally, everyone would’ve remained at the house by that point, with the occasional exception of going to the store to buy some last-minute things, but even then, it was still very rare since Ren diligently accounted for everything the moment he set his mind to it.

However, this Christmas would continue to prove itself different by a landslide, starting with the absence of your father and Naoya.

Circling back to the fact that this was to be Naomi’s first Christmas, Naoya promised himself to do everything in his power to make it extra special. 

Such as by getting her all the presents in the world: toys, dolls, plushies, or anything that pertained to her favorite character—and even though some of them weren’t really suitable for her young age, Naoya brushed off any doubts by  saying:

“What if it’s a limited-edition item and by the time she’s older it’s no longer available? Yeah, no, I’m not risking my little princess being upset because of my insolence. I’m buying it.”

The same excuse he’d when also getting her things that simply caught her interest; just to be sure she had them whenever she eventually began to like them.

But as happy as you were to see Naoya happily indulging your baby, there were moments where the thought of him perhaps going a bit overboard with the presents crossed your mind… 

Yet, as always, he’d reassure you with the following:

“This is only the bare minimum for Naomi—and even then, it is not enough!” 

And with that, you’d only chuckle, understanding that even if you asked him to control himself a bit, he would just proceed to spoil her again.

Looks like there’s no definite way to beat a father’s determination when it comes to making his daughter happy…

And talking about fathers…

Because Naomi was Eiichi’s first grandchild + her first Christmas, it was only natural that just like Naoya, he’d want to make this celebration as special as it could be—just as he always did year round.

However, one thing would still manage to surprise you out of all this, and it wasn’t their unconditional adoration towards Naomi, (which you were eternally grateful for) but rather… the unspoken competition that sparked between your husband and father to show said affection.

For example, whatever Naoya bought for Naomi, your father would get two, even in different colors, in case one of them broke down or got lost, or something between the two

“Just in case” Eiichi would say when confronted if this was really necessary.

It definitely irked your husband much more than he would like to admit, a consequence of his highly competitive and overprotective nature…

Yet, Naoya knew very well that there was no true maliciousness behind his actions, for your father was only being affectionate and caring—if anything, he was glad that she had a loving family to endlessly dote on her; a contrasting difference to how the Zen’in normally behaved. 

But going back to the reason for their absence, in their excessive purchase of presents they had failed to realize that shipped items may face a delay due to the high amount of work the postal service is put under throughout this season. 

The shock on their faces when finding out that Naomi might not be able to open all her presents on Christmas day is one that you’ll never forget—although it amused you more than anything else.

This issue would just remind you how resourceful they were, because by some strange, unknown efforts, they were able to get her presents just in time—like, on the very day of Christmas eve, which is why they were out, scampering to the postal office to pick up her things, subsequently wrapping them and placing them underneath the Christmas tree; and all before Naomi could notice they weren’t even there to begin with.

“Realistically, I don’t think she’s going to notice.”  You say upon noticing their stress, an attempt to alleviate some of their burdens.

“But still—we can’t have her believe Santa likes others better!” Eiichi countered, and Naoya silently agreed. “Y/N, do you think—"

“Already ahead of you.”  You smile, willing to go along. “She’ll probably be taking a nap either way, so don’t worry. Naomi won’t see a thing!”

… But will they be back soon?

[Naoya: We’re almost there, just finished wrapping the presents.]

[Y/N: Oh, that’s good. I was beginning to worry that something happened! Anyways, the food is almost done, all that’s missing is you and dad. Please come back quickly, baby ☹ Naomi and I miss you.]

[Naoya: I’m almost there, my love. However… there’s something I need to tell you first.]

[Y/N: What is it? Is everything ok?]

[Naoya: Yes, but it's about your dad.]

[Y/N: … What about him?]

[Naoya: Your dad is coming back later.]

[Y/N: Huh? What do you mean he's coming back later? What happened to my dad?]

[Naoya: Nothing bad, I swear, I know how this sounds but don’t worry about it. Just… well, you'll know what I mean.]

And a few minutes later, Naoya finally arrives, bringing along a huge bag filled with what you imagined to be (largely) Naomi’s presents, colorfully wrapped boxes of all sizes which he scurried to organize underneath the tree before anything else—He didn’t mean to walk past you without even acknowledging you, of course not, but he had to make haste of the fact that Naomi was still asleep.

But once that was set, he was finally able to greet you as his heart desired, swiftly walking over to your side as he took you into his arms, leaning down to sweetly peck your lips.

“Welcome back, dear.” You smile, placing your hands on the sides of his face and pulling him closer to you before helping him out his coat. “How was the trip? Chaotic?”

“Yes, last minute-shoppers.” He sighs, resting his face against the crook of your neck once free of his coat before groaning. “Don’t know why people tend to leave everything to the end, it’s—annoying. And to think they almost cost my daughter her first Christmas!”

You chuckle, kissing the top of his head while rubbing his back.

“Well, you won’t have to deal with them anymore—Or anyone else but us for the next few days.” you say, reminding him of his small break from work. Truly, a Christmas miracle.

From that day forward, until he has to go back of course, it’s just him, Naomi, and you.

“That sounds like a dream.” He admits, leaning back to get a good look at you and smiling. “Naomi is still asleep, right?”

“Yes, she is—napping in the bedroom.” You grab his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. Then, you look over his shoulder, noticing a peculiar absence. “By the way… I’m assuming dad is not here because of the thing you told me?”

Naoya nods.

“What happened?”

He presses his lips together.

“… he told me he needed to do something else before returning.” Naoya begins, in such a suspicious way that obviously makes your anxiety rise even higher. 

Your husband is quick to catch your reaction, but he's even quicker to reassure you.

“I wish I could tell you more, mochi, but he told me to keep it a secret. It’s nothing bad, just… play along, ok?” Naoya says, kissing your cheek.

Well, you know it could never be anything bad if it came from either your father or husband.

But if so, why such secrecy? It really unnerved you, especially for the time this was taking place in…

“Will I get to know eventually?” is all that you ask, he nods.

“Very soon.”

But if it was of utmost importance they keep this a secret, then you’ll trust them. And soon, you leave it at that.

“Do you think they’ll like our little surprise?” Naoya asks, changing the subject.

“Of course.” You grin, excitement beaming through your words. “Kept it a secret until now so no one suspects a thing!”

“I still can’t believe.” Naoya smiles, kissing your lips once more. “It's really happening.”

“I just hope my dad will be here to see it…”

“Why is dad still not back home?” Hinata asks upon noticing the elephant in the room: Ren had just taken out the last tray from the oven, began to prepare the food to be served, yet Eiichi was nowhere to be found. 

Certainly uncommon from someone who treasures family above anything else. 

“I thought he was only going to pick up some things.” she adds.

“Right, Naoya?” Ren says, with an accusatory tone that immediately makes your husband nervous.

“Ye—yeah…” he murmurs, eyes darting around the room for your support, only to panic when realizing you also have yet to come back from Naomi, away readying her for the evening now that she woke up. “He said he’ll be back soon.”

“Heard anything from him yet?” Hinata asks for the nth time at that moment. He shakes his head.

“Just that he’s almost done.” Naoya responds, trying his best to not feel intimidated by them. Even after years of being married to you, and now father of your child, your siblings always found ways to tease him; all in a playful nature, of course. “Anyways, Naomi should be ready soon…”

“Oh, that’s true! Y/N’s getting baby Naomi ready, isn’t she?” Hinata gushes, completely discarding the dilemma with her father out the window and focusing on what she considers the highlight of the day, no, year! “I wonder what adorable outfit she’ll wear today! Can you give us a hint at least, Naoya??”

The ball is on his court this time, and Naoya plans to take advantage of that.

“No can do.” He says, a smile on his face. Revenge is served when Hinata groans. “Not even I know what she’s planning.”

“How… mysterious” Ren murmurs. “First dad, and now Y/N… if I didn’t know any better, it seems like they’re plotting something together.”

“No, that can’t be.” Naoya immediately says, and as if his behavior wasn’t suspicious already, Ren and Hinata are now completely convinced that your husband is hiding something. “I mean, Y/N doesn’t know what’s going on either so….”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough.” You suddenly say, having arrived just a few seconds ago as you stand by the entrance; with a big grin on your face and the perception of hiding something behind you. “Is the food ready?”

“Y/N.” Naoya breathes; hopeful at the sight of his salvation. At least he’ll be away from being further interrogated by your siblings and jeopardizing the mission. 

He wishes to walk over to you, but knowing the intention behind your approach, as well as noticing the eager look on your face, he stays still.

“It is… but only for those that bring Naomi-chan!” Hinata exclaims as she tries to look over your shoulder, you moving along her eyes. “Where is she? Still asleep?”

“Not quite.” You say, giving your husband one last glance, a tight smile that tells him just how excited you were, a sentiment he also shared, which he responds with a reassuring nod.

So, gathering all your courage, you clear your throat, take a deep breath, and then, address your siblings.

“Naoya and I wanted to keep this a surprise for today, since we thought it was quite fitting.” You begin. “I was hoping for everyone to be here, but if I don't do it now, I fear it might spoil itself.” 

“What surprise?” Ren asks, and with that, you move to the side, letting your small surprise step into the picture.

Dressed in a green and red linen romper over a long sleeved white collared shirt, with a bow of the same fabric decorating her dark hair, your daughter Naomi tightly held onto your leg as she walked beside you.

Her legs were a bit wobbly, with one of her arms occasionally stretching out as to keep balance, while the other tightly held onto your hand for safety—Yet her determination to continue forward remained unwavering, as well as the excitement of your family when seeing their beloved niece finally taking her first steps!

Kind of. 

“She can—she can walk already?!” Hinata is the first to exclaim, crying at the adorable way Naomi tried to follow your lead. “When—when did this happen???”

“She can.” You say, trying your best to not pick her up, hug her, and kiss her all over her soft cheeks! After all, Naomi was very determined to keep walking once she discovered she could, a fact that made her advancement impossible to hide from the rest of the world since she wanted to do nothing but explore her new skill! 

There's no doubt in your mind that if she keeps up like this, she'll be able to run in no time! And from there…

Oh, can't she stay a baby forever?

“Naomi only started walking a few weeks ago.” Naoya says as he walks over to the two, solely intending to accompany both and be there if Naomi were to fall, but he ends up leaning down to grab her hand instead, for as soon as he was near, she reached out for him.

A sight that almost made everyone's heart burst out of their chest at the sheer adorableness of it. 

“Ho—how?” Hinata asks, still not believing her eyes.

“She just… pulled herself up one day, kept trying until she was able to do it, and the rest is history!” You happily recount her efforts, as well as the adorable pout she’d make when trying. “Whenever we tried to help her though, she always rejected us, guess she wanted to do it herself— she takes after her papa in that matter.”

Naoya chuckles; he won’t deny his stubbornness.

“Owww, I can’t help it, I need to hug her!!” Hinata cries, swiftly running over to Naomi and unwittingly startling Naomi, who cowered behind her dad soon after. A sight that effectively snaps Hinata out of trance, kneeling to her level to softly hug her and utter endless endless apologies. “I’m so sorry, Naomi-chan, I didn’t mean to scare you, please forgive me!” 

She begs while kissing her cheeks, which at first confuses Naomi, enough to attempt to push Hinata away… until her gestures begin to tickle her, making her stop and giggle in turn, seemingly leaving all misunderstandings behind.

“I can’t believe she’s growing so fast…” Ren says, walking over to the rest and carefully pinching Naomi’s cheeks once Hinata frees her; this makes her giggle too. “It seems like only yesterday we were getting you ready to go to the hospital.”

“And now, she’s almost a year old.” Naoya concurrs, looking at you. 

He too can’t believe that almost a year has passed since she arrived in this world, since she made their life happier—better. Truly, it almost seemed like a dream, however, the truth would prove much, much better this time around.

This wasn’t a figment of his imagination: this was his life. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We need to prepare everything for her birthday!” Hinata declared. “I can already think of a few places we can do her party! How about it, Y/N? Picture this—”

“Let’s do a celebration at a time, Hinata.” Ren chuckles, you doing the same soon after, finding her enthusiasm amusing. “We’re still not even done with Christmas, let alone New year… Which makes me ask, where’s dad? Are we to eat without him? This is the first time he’s ever been this late…”

The look of concern you and your siblings direct at Naoya is what finally pushes him to disclose what he and Eiichi agreed to keep a secret.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell, but the reason why Eiichi-san is late is because he—”

“Ho, ho, ho!!”

A loud voice, followed by heavy footsteps making their way through the entrance are heard, followed by a soft thud and another cheer. 

“Merry Christmas!!”

Everyone’s head swirls into its direction, expectantly hoping to see the one behind these unanticipated actions.

Yet, it’s only you who manages to recognize who it was, as well as the nature of their actions.

And boy, was it a surprise when the truth finally settled in.

“Oh my god…” it’s all you could muster in reaction as the guest continues on with their rally.

“I heard that here lived an adorable baby girl that behaved very well this year!” Santa Claus would continue to say, grinning as he took some presents out of the large bag he carried along and placed them underneath the tree, before turning around towards the intrigued, if not slightly embarrassed, family staring at him, searching for said girl. “And because she was such a good girl, I wanted to personally come here and give her her pres—”

But when his eyes finally fall onto Naomi, Santa Claus immediately goes silent, intently staring at her for a few seconds before coming to the same conclusion that had everyone in shock, eyes widening as he shrieks.

“SHE CAN WALK!???”

Any suspicions that the man dressed up as Santa Claus was in fact, your father, are quickly verified by his reaction, further cemented when he rushes over to her, swiftly picking her up in a hug to coo at Naomi’s advancements.

“Oh, Naomi-chan!! When did you begin to walk?!” He’d ask, feeling a combination of happiness, nostalgia, and even heartache—for he was both glad and sad that his grandbaby was growing up. “Had I known, I would’ve gotten you more presents!!”

Everyone knew that the man behind this amusing spectacle was none other than your dad, per usual goofy Eiichi nature, by this point. However, there was still one person that remained in doubt, and that would be none other than Naomi herself.

Even if she was an impressionable young child, there were still a handful of things that didn’t necessarily catch her attention; unless it pertained to those of her favorite characters, of course.

But returning to her distaste, the most noticeable icon of this festive season fell into that list; she just… didn’t like him. Ignored him whenever possible; yet, there was still a catch: if her favorite mascot was dressed as Santa Claus, then Naomi couldn’t have enough of him!

Neither you nor Naoya knew why she did so, but it just happened, and the two grew to accept that fact, just as everything else.

Unfortunately, it seems that both had forgotten to tell your father about this small detail, and what Eiichi hoped to be a heartwarming experience for his beloved granddaughter, soon turned sour, specially when her big round golden eyes began to water after noticing that no matter how much she tugs, this stranger was not letting her go.

“Oh, little pumpkin, no!” Eiichi gasps, feeling like absolute garbage when Naomi continues attempting to push him away. “It’s me! It’s grandpa!”

“There’s no way for her to know that—take the beard off!” Ren exclaims, and in one swift movement, Eiichi strips the white beard off his face, discarding it to the side and revealing his face for Naomi to see.

“See, little pumpkin? It’s me!” he repeats whilst frantically hoping that he hadn’t irrevocably messed up. “It’s me! Granpa!”

And as if she understood what he meant, Naomi finally glances back at him, staring at him for a few moments in what many considered both curiosity and fear… which slowly shifted into adoration once finally recognizing her beloved grandpa, and subsequently hugging him.

“Yes! I knew you’d recognize me!” Eiichi softly cries as he leans down to kiss the top of her head, making her giggle in response. Your heart melts at the sight of Naomi warming up to your father, while Naoya sighs, relieved that this didn’t escalate any further.

“Without the beard, it would be almost impossible not to.” Hinata teases, and your dad frowns, trying to understand what your sister meant—she and Ren only laugh. 

“Ah, but my sweet adorable little pumpkin, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Eiichi would continue to say, feeling very, very regretful for his actions. However, it seemed that Naomi no longer paid mind to that, giving the understanding that she knew it wasn’t intentional, or cared more to be with her favorite grandpa.

And while that went down, you look over to Naoya, moving closer to his ear to whisper:

“Is this what you were referring to?”

Naoya hums, nodding. You chuckle.

“I should’ve told him.” He says, and you give him a soft smile, squeezing his hand.

There was no way he could’ve known, but after this happened, alongside Naoya’s growing guilt, he began to believe that maybe he should’ve…

But truth to be told, Naoya didn’t have the heart to ruin Eiichi’s enthusiasm, after all, no one from the Zen’in clan bothered to care about anything but the bare minimum when it came to Naomi, while your father consistently went above and beyond for his family. 

So because of that, when Eiichi told him of the little surprise he was preparing for his daughter, with such excitement that told your husband how much he wanted to do this … Naoya allowed him to go through with it.

Because at the end of the day, anyone that has your and Naomi’s happiness and safety in mind, he’ll always welcome—and he’s long come to see that your family wants nothing but that for the three.

“Does she not like Santa?” Ren asks now that the situation has calmed down.

“It seems so—it’s why we haven’t been able to get a picture of the two.” You explain, reminiscing how you’d have to cancel a photo appointment because Naomi didn’t want to be near Santa Claus, not even when you and Naoya were there.

“Ah, well, Santa is overrated anyways!” Eiichi says, more than ready to discard this silly costume if it meant baby Naomi would no longer be afraid of him.

“How… ironic of you to say that.” Ren adds with a chuckle.

“Unless you’re dressed as—“ you begin.

“Hello kitty.” You and Naoya speak in unison. 

“Naomi really likes Hello Kitty.” Naoya finishes.

At the revelation, Hinata grins.

“You like cats too?” Your sister asks, lightly tickling Naomi, she giggles in response. “When you’re old enough, I’ll give you a cat—how about that, hm?”

“Ehh, I’ll hold that thought for now.” You intervene before Hinata could continue on with her promises. While you would’ve loved for your sister to spoil your daughter, two particular reasons pushed you to stop: first, this was a decision that should be previously consulted with the parents, and secondly, Naoya already planned to gift Naomi a kitty himself—one that would resemble the character as closely as possible—when she was old enough to take care of it.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself again, Hinata. There’s still gifts to open.” Ren says, gesturing over to the boxes underneath the tree, and those still inside Eiichi’s bag. 

“Yes! I want my adorable granddaughter to open all of them first!” Eiichi would say, handing Naomi over to her father once she began to gesture her desire to be carried by him. The way she rests her head over his shoulder makes Naoya smile.

“But first, let’s eat dinner—I didn’t spend all this time preparing food for no one to take a bite!” Ren says, the group agrees, and soon, preparations for dinner begin.

Hinata would help you set up Naomi’s chair, placing it just between Naoya and you, while you went ahead to get your daughter’s food—the slow transition of feeding her with a cup instead of a bottle had just begun a few weeks ago, and with great feedback, you just hope it continued on steadily.

Eiichi, on the other hand, rushed to his bedroom to quickly change out of his costume and adequately help Ren serve dinner. 

Once everyone was seated and with their respective plates, dinner finally began.

The evening would go on wonderfully, with everyone relishing on the delicious delicacy Ren had prepared, as expected, while sharing anecdotes that made you both laugh or fluster, depending on who was the one telling them: how your dad always managed to make everyone embarrassed is something that you’ll never figure out—certainly, a talent of his own—before moving onto comparing the similarities between Naomi and her parents once she does a particular gesture that Eiichi had to point out.

“Well, I didn’t want to say anything, but I think Naomi is starting to take more after you in that aspect.” Naoya would tease.

“No, she does not!” you gasp, referring to the habit Naomi had of pouting when things didn’t go her way. Sure, you might’ve done it once or twice when you were younger, but…

No, surely not.

Unless…?

“Or does she…?”

“A bit. She has to take after you. I was never that cute when I was a kid.” He reiterated; you smile, trying to hide your blush.

“Really? I always thought she looked more like you.” You confess. Always hoped that she would… 

“She looks just like the two, actually.” Eiichi added. “But I do have to say, that out of the two, Naomi looks a bit more like—”

“Naoya” an unaccounted voice coming from the entrance was heard, making those at the table quickly turn around to see who it was, even little Naomi, as if she knew that no one was expecting anyone else to show up —especially the one that after years and years of being invited, never attended.

“Satoru!” Hinata gasps, perhaps the most perplexed one out of the group; at one point she even felt as if had hallucinated seeing him there. “I didn’t think you—what are you doing here?”

“I’m visiting my other family! I know we’re not together anymore, but I still hold everyone dear, you know?” He jests and Hinata sighs. Seems that not even during Christmas time would the god’s honor your sister’s request of making Satoru a bit less annoying. Not that much, just… a little.

Truly, she was better off asking for literally anything else but a miracle.

“We weren’t even married…” Hinata murmurs, not that it mattered at that point anyways, less when Satoru moved on to greet Eiichi and Ren (who were rather amicable to say the least, still speechless for seeing him show up after years of absence) before stopping by you, Naoya, and Naomi—lips parting onto a grin when seeing the new family.

“And who is this? Chibi Y/N?? Wow, look at how much she’s grown! I still remember her when she was nothing but a little baby! How old is she now?”

“You’d know if you’d respond to my messages.” You respond, a smirk on your face as Satoru pouts. “Or come to the party I threw for her 6th month birthday…”

“Hey, I got her a gift! That’s bound to mean something, right?” Satoru pinches Naomi’s left cheek, causing her to frown and whine. “Ah, you’re just as moody as Naoya; Thank God she looks more like you, Y/N. Imagine if we’ve gotten two Naoya instead of you? The Zen’in would go insane!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Naoya frowns.

“Didn’t you just say she looked more like him?” you raise an eyebrow, Satoru shrugs.

“Huh, did I?” He feigns ignorance, you roll your eyes. “Must’ve slipped my mind… anyways, I got everyone presents!”

You now notice the bag he was carrying; didn’t seem that big, but it did look like it was full. 

“Especially for chibi Y/N” Satoru hands you over the bag, which Naoya takes soon after standing up—your theories of the bag being full are proved right when your husband notices how heavy it was.

You sigh.

Even if Satoru is what many considered imprudent, he was still goodhearted. And so, you motion Naoya to take the presents to the tree.

“Thank you, Satoru. I’m sure Naomi will appreciate your gift.” You say, a smile on your face.

“If you didn’t get her anything weird, of course.” Ren adds. At the noise of his voice, Satoru can’t help but unintentionally tense up—your brother always had an effect on him that made him feel like a cornered kid. In that sense, everyone was relieved that there was one person that could ground Satoru to reality. “Unless…”

“No, of course not.” Satoru quickly says, laughing nervously. “Who do you think I am??”

Everyone remains quiet as they silently judge him—even little Naomi, who couldn’t possibly know what he was referring to, joined in on the bewildering scrutinizing crusade against him; there’s no doubt in his mind now that she is a L/N.

“Have you eaten anything?” You’d move on. “The food is still warm if you want some.”

“Sit down, I’ll serve you some.” Ren would say before Satoru could even answer, which prompted the Gojo heir to finally accept his offer and take the last available seat, the one besides your father.

Once getting his food, dinner would go as it went before, prompting more stories now that Satoru joined in, with the slight difference that Hinata was now the center of attention.

You undoubtedly knew that your sister was much more than she was letting on, but these anecdotes from when she was a student at jujutsu high were far better than you ever imagined; she sure had everyone fooled with the responsible and dedicated image she made for herself!

But even then, they’d have nothing on your father when he began to tell his own stories: who would’ve known that the goofy, lovable man that your father was had actually lived through his fair share of mischief? Seems that even after years of knowing him, there were still many things to discover about him!

It made you and Naoya wonder what kind of reaction Naomi would have once she learned of your own adventures; the thought that either of you (Or maybe even the two) could become the uncool parent makes you chuckle. 

Maybe your dad was right, maybe this was some kind of rite of passage one must go through when becoming a parent.

After sharing enough anecdotes, now began the most exciting part of the night—opening the presents.

Tensions were already high when it came to the silent competition going on between your father and your husband, but with the unexpected addition of Satoru, this just raised the stakes: they all wanted Naomi to open their presents first.

Luckily, they were still able to listen to reason when you suggested that the best way to solve this was to let Naomi choose by herself, nothing of persuading her to choose theirs or anything of the sorts—simply letting her walk towards the box she found most interesting and let everything else fall into place. 

It was endearing to see how happily she reacted to the fact that (mostly) all the presents underneath the tree were there for her, as well as the cheerful way she began to open them, alongside the help of her papa, of course, for she still wasn’t strong enough to do it herself.

You once considered your dad and mom to be a bit… well, exaggerated whenever they’d take endless pictures of you and your siblings when doing anything—but now that you and Naoya had Naomi in your life… their actions no longer seemed overstated as they once did. If anything, you grew to understand why they’d done so and if anything, it inspired you to  do the same!

To see her chubby face beam whenever seeing her new toys and plushies was one you’d never replace for anything, more so when she got to see all of the presents her daddy got her. 

No one knew Naomi better than her own father, thus every single thing Naoya got for her was to be Hello Kitty themed: from socks, to shirts, plushies and even accessories—anything that his baby wanted, he’d get. In all the possible variations of her favorite Sanrio character. 

Which made Ren, Hinata, and your dad a bit nervous, for it seemed that Naoya had the gift department well covered, making it almost impossible to compete…

But you’d reassure them that Naomi, alongside you and Naoya, were wholeheartedly grateful for their attention and gestures, and that she’d love them all the same.

But outside of that, the thing that perhaps intrigued everyone the most was Satoru’s present. As previously stated, he had a tendency of gifting… Well, odd things, and that was the easy way to put it. 

From objects that you have yet to find a use to, to things that you would rather die than to be seen in public with them, Satoru was unpredictable as unpredictable as he could be.

Thus, everyone understood why Naoya took it upon himself to open Satoru’s present, even if it made Naomi whine in response.

“I just gotta make sure there’s nothing wrong with it, little princess.” Naoya explains, hoping that this would ease Naomi’s rising irritation—it kind of did, but she’d only calm down when Satoru’s gift was eventually revealed:

A Digimon plushie, from the character known as koromon, to be precise.

“Huh, I guess you are capable of doing normal things.” Hinata would say, Satoru scoffs.

“Don’t you mean better things, Hinata?” He teases back, Hinata rolls her eyes.

“Thank you, Satoru.” You say, looking at him. “But you know that in this household we only like Pokémon.”

“Not if I influence her early on!” Satoru grins—but really, he was just happy to see Naomi wholeheartedly enjoying his gift, which she latched onto as soon as Naoya handed it to her.

“As if I’d let you do that.” Naoya says. “Maybe if you had good taste in anime…”

Ren laughs. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Ah, stop it all of you… it was a nice gift.” Eiichi would intervene, making Satoru pout and cry, before rushing over to hug him.

“Oh, thank you so much!” he’d dramatically gasp, tightly holding onto your father. “I knew someone would appreciate my efforts!”

Eiichi presses his lips together before sighing. He’s long come to understand that it was better to not fight it than to do so, because whenever your dad managed to push Satoru away, he’d always come back, and stronger too.

But even with this, Eiichi was happy to have his family back together, reunited and having a good time: the one thing he always wanted for Christmas.

Everyone would continue on opening the rest of the presents, that is, until Naomi began to feel tired as seen by the way her eyes slowly blinked, yawning every so often, before leaning her head onto Naoya’s chest, breathing softly until she finally fell asleep. 

At the sight everyone couldn’t help themselves from cooing, (albeit not too loud in fear of waking her up) as well as take it as a sign to call it a day; everyone had been up since early to get everything done, so it was only normal that they’d begin to feel a bit tired too, Naomi’s yawns were only there to make it more obvious.

“We can continue tomorrow.” Your father would say, referring to the left-over presents still underneath the tree. “It is kind of late.”

“And I still have to call Kanon.” Ren said, looking over to his clock—still a bit of time before she heads to sleep. “Think you can help me pick up, Hinata?”

“Yeah.” she nods, standing up.

“Let me help too.” You offer, standing up as well, he shakes his head.

“No, I’d rather not keep you away from Naomi.” He says. You frown, feeling as if you’ve barely done anything this year… “You can repay me tomorrow.”

“Alright, then.” you smile before sighing, looking over to Naoya carrying a deeply asleep Naomi. “Guess we’re off to bed.” 

“Goodnight Naomi-chan!” Hinata whispers with a grin.

“Goodnight, Y/N, Naoya.” Ren adds.

“Goodnight!” Satoru waves, you way back before making your way over to your dad.

“Goodnight, dad. See you tomorrow.” you say, hugging him. “Thank you for what you did for Naomi, even though she got a bit upset. I’m sure when she’s a bit older she’ll come to appreciate it better.”

“Thank you, pumpkin. And I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“I know, and she knows that too.”

Naoya and you would then head back to the living quarters and into Naomi’s room, the one your father had prepared as soon as your pregnancy was announced, just in case it was ever needed—it didn’t take long for you to decorate it either— to get her changed into her pajamas and into her crib, underneath the warm blankets alongside her favorite plushies, before leaning down to kiss her head and wishing her a goodnight.

Naomi doesn’t respond, outside of a deep sigh and those soft snores that always make your and Naoya’s heart squeeze with adoration whenever hearing them; evidence that she had a tiring, yet fun day.

And as both continue to admire her, a feeling comparable to nostalgia begins to settle in both your hearts, with you being the first one to acknowledge it. 

“Can you believe it?” you whisper, still looking at Naomi.

“What?” Naoya asks, leaning closer to you.

“That she's almost a year old.” You go on. “It’s been almost a year since she arrived in our lives… and now…”

“She can walk.” Naoya finishes. “... it almost feels… surreal, doesn’t it? I can still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.”

As if it was only yesterday he was that lonely, sorrowful man seemingly destined to live out the same way the rest of his life… and now, he has a family.

“When did time go by so fast?” you ask.

“I don’t know.” He admits, taking your hands and intertwining it with his fingers. “I stopped caring after I met you.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” you chuckle, looking at him.

“What reason do I have to count days, when I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you?”

“Naoya…” you murmur, blushing. “I… I guess to keep important dates…. Or something.”

Naoya was glad that the moonlight coming through the window wasn’t strong enough to show how flustered he truly was.

Taking a deep breath, he now looks at you.

“I still can’t believe I got to meet you, fall in love with you, marry you and now… have a family with you.” he starts. “I got to experience something I never thought I would; and in a way, I still can’t wrap my head around it. There are still moments where I want to pinch myself to see if this is all a dream, if you can believe that; But when I see you and our daughter and I know it’s not my imagination; because you and Naomi are far more beautiful than anything I could’ve ever imagined.

And today… just reminded me of how lucky and grateful I am to have both of you in my life and to have spent another holiday with you.”

It wasn’t your or Naoya’s first Christmas together—not the first one you’ve spent with your dad, or the Zen’in for that matter.

But it was certainly the first one both had spent as a family, enough reason to make it as special as possible.

However, that wasn’t the only reason why you allowed Naoya to do whatever he wanted this year, or why you asked him to spend Christmas with your family. 

More than making this celebration special for Naomi… you intended to do it for him.

Even now, you could still hear it in Naoya’s words—the slightest hesitation that reveals he didn’t believe he’s received all these blessings; and not because he thought them incapable of occurring, but rather because…

He didn’t think himself deserving of them.

Naoya always foresaw that his life would continue on rather… uneventfully, going through the same vicious cycle of people that couldn’t really care less for him, or anything pertaining to him, and him believing the same of himself.

Until you’d come along—to show him that he too was deserving of love, and not only that, but that he was also capable of loving.

And creating something out of love.

A daughter, a baby girl: the biggest blessing he never thought he’d receive. One that while it saddened him to realize she’s growing up, he still couldn’t wait to see the kind of person she’d become, guide her to the greatness he just knows she’s destined to be, as well as be there in the moment she ever finds herself falling and catching her.

One that slowly began to teach him just how much love he was capable of harboring for others, as well as the limits he’ll go beyond just to ensure their happiness.

All the things he’s done, and will do for her, are nothing but the bare minimum; nothing but his way of protecting her, giving her a life vastly different from his so that she’d never have to suffer the same way he did.

But he knows that she will never go through the same things, because she has you as her mother.

And that is something he’ll never, ever be able to thank you enough for.

“I love you, Y/N.” Naoya would say. “And… Thank you for loving me. Enough to have a family with me.”

“Naoya… you never, ever have to doubt yourself deserving of this.” You say, gently placing your hands on each side of his face and resting your forehead against his. “You deserve all this, and more. You are a loving husband and the greatest father any child could ask for, and today you proved it—Even if you went a bit overboard with the presents.”

Naoya chuckles.

“Do you think we’re spoiling our daughter too much?” he asks.

“Undoubtedly. What are we even going to get her on her birthday?” you wonder.

“I can start with the moon.”

“Then I’ll see if I can get the stars.”

The two laugh together for a few moments before quieting down.

And in the silence of the night, their hearts reveal their deep feelings for one another.

“I love you, Naoya.” You begin, gently kissing his lips. “All that I want is the opportunity to spend this Christmas, and those to come, with you and our baby.”

“I love you too, Y/N.” He pecks your lips once more. “You two are the best thing that has ever happened in my life, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“I know. Thank you for everything, Naoya…” you say, hugging him before gasping. “Oh! And merry Christmas! Can’t forget about that one, can I?”

Naoya chuckles as he pulls you into a tight hug, giving the top of your head a kiss before leaning down to rest the crook of your neck and melting against your warm embrace and scent.

It was his way to silently vow to never let you go; no matter what happens, no matter what is to come… He’ll never, ever let you, or his daughter, go.

Never.

A promise that would continue for the rest of his life underneath the wish of a prosperous holiday.

“Merry Christmas.” 

the two got emotional at the end 🥺 nnghhhhh Naoya just can't believe he's spending an actual christmas with his family, happily you know?? aaaaaaaaaaaa man, i really got it bad for him.

anyways, I originally intended to end this with Naoya gifting Y/N a house because he felt like Y/N and Naomi would be better away from the Zen'in clan... but then Y/N would just go on saying that it would be too much of a hassle because of his duties as the heir, and because she'll miss her friends there (we're going with the notion that the Zen'in aren't as big a*holes as they are, maybe because Naoya managed to scare control them)

Outside of that, for their fellow presents Y/N got Naoya an Asuka figure to fuel his anime tendencies; while he got her some things he saw her ponder about days prior, alongside some special edition gengar they both had to keep hidden from Naomi lol.

🥺 I hope you all enjoyed this little thing I wrote. I shall continue writing more things, request to be precise, before heading back to my main fic :>

Thank you so much for your support ❤️❤️❤️

[sebastianstansqueen]

Lost In The Shadows: Part Two

A/N: I literally suck at author notes, I felt like it was really soon to put this up but I probably wouldn't have had the time this week at any other point to post so here we go, also I'm working on another one-shot and that should be coming out soon and it's my birthday this Friday so yeah that's whats going on right now, hope you guys have a good rest of your weeks as well! If you want to be Tagged, either send an ask or comment on this or click on Taglist open.

Wordcount: 1,777

Warnings:  Angst, drinking, mentions of death but I think that is all actually

Masterlist // Series Masterlist // Taglist open// 

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Y/n and James had met days ago, to discuss what he wanted to get in order, first being he had room in the garage to work on his black 1973 Plymouth ’Cuda, she agreed, she wasn’t going to argue about garage space that she herself didn’t use, then again she would have agreed to just about anything James asked because if James had straight away said no, she wouldn’t have probably taken it as an answer. She sat in bed late one night as she slowly sipped on a dark red wine as she watched a movie that came out when she was a teenager, her phone began to ring, she looked at the time it was one in the morning, who would be calling her? She thought to herself, she looked at it seeing it was her cousin, Peggy, she smiled to herself before answering it. “Hello?” She asked after putting the device on speaker. 

“Y/n, did I wake you?” She asked with concern, lacing her voice. 

Y/n sighed with light tiredness. “No, I was watching something.”

“Huh, I heard that you plan to marry again, are you sure it's the right time, it feels kinda quick.” Peggy had a right to be concerned it was Y/n’s image to the other family’s on the line sure her name could provoke fear now, but just above a year ago she was seen as the meek Mrs.Field, after her husband's death they saw how she completely fixed the flaws with in her fathers business and they also saw she wasn’t scared to take on or even kill a man. 

“It’s fine, Peggy, James is nice.” She said not supper confidently, she moved off the bed her body hidden only with a dark red and black robe the thin silk belt had slowly undid and it gave her a glance at her body as she walked into the bathroom, she saw scars on her abdomen that were form when she was a child and others were even from last year, she winced she un-did the robe and started the shower. “I’m doing this mainly because it looks good if I have a husband, James, stepped down from being the head of his family so he clearly doesn't want anything to do with the mafia and I won’t make him, as long as he and I go to the parties, besides i’ve seen him at them before.”

“I know, but I just want you to be making the best decisions for you Y/n, you're my cousin I’ll be by your side no matter what.” She said softly, Y/n sighed and ended the call, she shook her head, Peggy and her got along fairly well, it’s just Peggy tended to ignore Y/n when she actually did need help, when they were kids and Y/n’s family went back over to England to celebrate Christmas, Peggy called her a liar when she tried opening up about her own father abusing her. Y/n shook her head, wanting to quickly finish up the shower and get to bed. She had asked Bucky what he wanted to do wedding wise, he told her that he wanted what she wanted, again she shook her head, the wedding she wanted was reserved for someone special not a business proposition that she made, but at last she wanted to make this her final marriage, so she’d give herself the dream wedding. 

Bucky sat in his presidential suite, trying to figure out how to get all his stuff from Indiana to New York, he also processing the thought of getting married, and Steve was there to help quell his anxieties over this decision. “I don’t even know her, Steve, I don’t know why I agreed.” He had been drinking and decently so. 

“Thomas did use it as his big IOU for marrying Jessica and then taking the family business over which unlike you he wasn’t trained for.” Steve saw both sides of the situation, he understood why Bucky didn’t want to but also had to do this. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and all of that was true. “I know, I know, I know, I have no place to actually be mad at him, but I can be grumpy, I don’t think Y/n will care either way, she’s not shown any emotion towards anything since meeting her. I think I'm gonna take a walk, I’ll call you if something comes up.” Bucky pulled on his leather jacket before leaving. 

As Bucky walked through the dark and still busy streets of late night New York, this was his home once again, and he still preferred Indiana to it. As he walked past bustling bars and clubs that were blasting music or had people cheering for a sports team could be heard from the sidewalk. Eventually as he was tempted into one he walked into a building with a large neon light of blue fire and the name ‘Inferno’ in large white, slim cursive writing. After waiting in a decent length line, he flashed his ID and was allowed in through the class doors, with silver door handles. He walked up to the large bar, it was very nice with large mirror shelves holding years of old along with new alcohols. 

A woman with fiery red hair walked up with a pretty smile. “How can I help you?” She asked, grabbing out a glass. 

“The best you got, price doesn't really matter.” He said as he sat at one of the nice clear plastic stools. 

Y/n stood in The VIP lounge of the club she began building a year ago. It opened just a month ago and she was proud. Inferno was her baby, and she truly enjoyed her time while there. Her eyes glanced towards the bar, it was made with thick and hard to break glass, along with shining blue lights around it that lit the room, along with the tall mirrored shelves that the higher up the shelf someone would look the older the drink was.

 Natasha was a friend of Y/n’s, her eye’s followed as Natasha walked out with what seemed to be some of the nicest stuff she had supplied at the club, Don Julio 1942 Anejo Tequila , who would have ordered it that piqued her interest. She felt a tap on her shoulder. “What are you staring at?” Wanda asked with a smirk. 

“You and I are the only people who order Don Julio 1942, so who else would let alone someone sitting at the bar.” Y/n pointed out, that was a thirty dollar cup Y/n noted as she watched Natasha pour it for a man, Natasha’s eyes met Y/n’s. In a few moments Natasha was walking to her.

“Why are you staring me down?” Natasha asked as she sat down the bottle of Tequila, for Y/n and Wanda. 

Y/n picked up the tall glass bottle. “Who was ordering this at the bar?” 

Natasha sat down next to her. “Some guy, I don’t know? I just put on a smile and sell people alcohol.” She said bluntly towards her friends. “You want to find out, go down there yourself.” Natasha got up from the spot she had taken on the nice gray velvet cushion next to Y/n, and went back to the bar. 

Y/n already had enough drinks that her mind wasn’t as straight and narrow as usual, so she grabbed the narrow neck of the elongated bottle and made her way over. She walked up to the bar putting the bottle down and here is when the drinks that made her more relaxed completely left her system in a second, James was the man, she began to turn and leave, but she’d already caught his attention without realizing it. 

Bucky stood when he saw Y/n clear as day next to the bar just a few places away from him he took her in and she wore a blue-green dress that had a slight under her breast, her dark hair complemented it along with her strappy heels, she quickly turned and began to walk away. Bucky began to follow her, when he was stopped by a security guard. Now Bucky usually wouldn’t use his last name to get into places, but Y/n would have been drinking a bit more than just casual this time, and he wanted to know something. “I don’t think you understand, I’m James Barnes.” He slid out his ID again and the bodyguard looked it over and quickly undid the velvet rope. Bucky walked up the silver stairs that reflected the ceiling, into the area that was draped with light blue, white and gray tool fabric keeping the part of the club fairly disclosed, he could see the area where a table was surrounded by multiple gray velvet seating benches. 

Y/n was huddled with a girl on one of the benches, as they whispered there were a few other people on the seating sprawled out and other people were scattered about the room talking. There was a tray of shot glasses and he grabbed two before walking up to Y/n, she cut off what she was saying to the woman sitting next to her when she saw him walking up, she began to stand to probably leave for the night this time. “Y/n, don’t.” He said, stepping closer towards her. 

“Mr. Barnes, what can I do for you?” She asked, regaining her cold demeanor and voice, she still held a small clutch readying her leave still. 

Bucky’s head hung for a moment but he regained his own composure. “Nothing, clearly, this is just business.”

Y/n was confused by the sadness in his voice, he knew this was business, was he wanting more than that? She thought to herself, her brows furrowed which was cracking her own composure. “You don’t want it to be?” She said in confusion, her voice that when usually talking to James was devoid of emotion. 

“Preferably not. But if that's what you want, whatever I guess.” He shrugged. 

Y/n wouldn’t be broken by James so easily, obviously she wanted it to be a sort of normal marriage; her last two were anything but. She wouldn’t let her guard down probably ever, she didn’t know what James was capable of doing just yet so until she knew she wasn’t going to, she sighed and let him leave, Wanda came up next to her. “Is that husband number three?” Y/n nodded in response and Wanda watched with wide eyes as the man left. 

[popculturebuffet]

TMNT Month: Turtle Tunes and We Wish You A Turtles Christmas: Not So Erotic Nightmares Beyond Any Measure and Christmas Fever Dreams to Treasure Forever (Comission for Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to turtles month. Thanks to a schedule change, we're looking at another piece of weird turtles media coming as the franchise was loosing steam and someone was huffing that steam to try and come up with new ideas.

As a result we got two direct to vhs specials, designed to try to eat into that sweet sweet DTV market that was starting to really take off at the time and would do so long into my childhood and long after. These specials go for a younger audience, I suspect trying to get some of that barney money. They did not and we only got two and the world was spared the third that would've triggered the end times.

As you can see just looking at the covers for these things they had the budget of a paper clip and a piece of string, and it shows. The turtles have horrifying barley moving heads that insure they'll be your sleep paralysis demon for years to come. But beyond the terrible costumes what do these specails have? Well not a lot and everything respectively so let's talk about them, and hopefully make my night terrors worth the money under the cut

Turtle Tunes has an objectively weird premise. It's not a horrible one for doing some goofy less actiony videos as these costumes would tear apart if the wind blew on them slightly, I can't imagine them doing full on fight scenes like the movies, but it's still weird for the nonexistant budget this thing has.

So the turtles got a hookup from april to host their own show on channel 6 and were this just a tmnt version of waynes world i'd have watched this years ago. Also something to keep in mind for the mutant mayhem verse. Just saying.

But no their instead just counting down their faviorite songs.. and rather than say use the ones from out of our shells which are actually pretty good, or make some up they decide to do covers of various public domain songs and still present it like it's TRL. Do kids still know what TRL was? I.. I feel old.

Anyways, the Turtles rather than have April, who agreed to this in the first place, Splinter or Casey help out, instead have a bunch of random kids serve as their crew and boss them around. Also Mikey runs off and apparently does this all the time. Just goes to skateboard around the park and do mushrooms, living his best life.

As for the rest of the plot

This vid is just an excuse to do terrible covers of public domain songs.. and a loose one of Rick Springfield's don't talk to strangers. I'm dead serious. I mean the song IS a mild banger and using it for an actual anti stranger message and not Rick Springfield desperatly trying to stop his girlfriend from leaving him, but it's left as atonal garbage.

I don't have much for this one. I mean it has Leo on a rowboat as he slowly dies inside, that's kinda funny and it's weird they chose to do that one to yankee doodle dandy instead of row row row your boat, but I stand by their dumbass decision. At least Leo struggling to breath as he rows a boat is funny. Everything else is just bland: the turtles talk over each other, announce videos and somehow get renewed, though I think the renewal is really an excuse to get them out into the open and into a woodchipper.

Turtle Tunes proves, in the words of our prophet huey lewis, sometimes bad is bad. Sometimes cheese can be really funny, this is just 20 some minutes of my life I won't get back.

Thankfully We Wish You A Turtles Christmas, which emma and I watched before is so bad it's good. It's gloriosuly stupid, cheap and while still using music videos to pad things, is far more creative with them. This feels more like a tmnt product.. one that was written by a sentient mound of cocaine, but still a thing people put actually efort into at least feeling like a tmnt vide0 Turtles tunes could have any obnoxious mascot jammed in it. It could've been Busby Tunes... imagine him announcing videos and doing stuff and

Okay maybe it's thanks to saftey regulations we got the turtles, but still you could've also just.. put an opossum on screen to music. There's a line and a few layers of hell between TMNT and Bubsy

We Wish You A Turtles Christmas is the good kind of crack to Turtle Tunes shard of glass they tell you is crack, taking a straightforward tale of "the turtles forget to get a gift and have to go get it" and making it baffling as it is hilaroius.

So our story begins with We're the Turtles, the theme song for both tapes where their turtles and their on the look out for a friend in need that's what their about... and never actually find one too busy as they laugh and sing and do their thing their the turtles. Their the turtles. It's this weird durge that gets glued to your brain.

So it's christmas eve and the turtles are joking, putting presents under the tree while Leonardo sings Reggage, you know what everyone does every christmas. Or else.

Leo is horribly out of character in both these specials, taking being a stern big brother type who leads the team and tries to keep them on task and making him a dick who insults his brothers and also the mutant equilvent of Ras Trent.

As for the reggae song itself it's deck the halls but TO A REGGAE BEAT MON. CULTURAL APROPRATION POWER! It's the clear seperation from this special and turtle tunes; Turtle Tunes is KINDA weird, We Wish You A Turtles Christmas is FUCKING weird. You have a scooby dooby doo doo laden song about decking the halls that both is happy Bebeop and Rocksteady aren't here yet wishes a merry christmas to the shredder, while also having a beat drop for some reason. It's beautiful and I never want to hear it again.

The turtles then have a horrifying relization: WE FORGOT TO GET A GIFT FOR SPLINTER. I do like HOW this comes about as it's the only part of this special that's not written by a guy who was told the basics about the turtles then told to write a christmas special or they'd release the bees. The boys all thought one of the others had the duty: it's a sitcom cliche sure but one that would happen to a family.

So they have to go shopping on christmas eve with a rousing rendention of over the river and through the woods "up through the sewer"... or sleep inducing. Let's go with coma-tastic, sounds snappier.

We get to the surface for what's the best song of the special. A subterranian bar but it's the upbeat and peppy gotta get a gift for splinter. It has dancing, random children out on christmas eve busking, ryming gotta gift for splinter with "I hate shopping in the winter", and suggesting they get him a go cart "a go cart in the sewer baby!" while aruging. This sibling bantering and bickering at least is a little fun.

We then get to the most inexplicable part of this special.. and yes

As Mikey decides to sing opera. And this alone would be amazing just for the sheer what the fuckery.. but the turtles annoyed reactions and implication he does this a lot just sell it. The bit's dumb, but like this special it's also fun. No one not even the characters know why the fuck this is happeing.

After that our turtles return home to wrap they also decide.. TO RAP. Yes it's time for the Rap every bit of 90's childrens media thought they could do. It's as painfully awkward as you could hope for. Not as awkard as the rasta bit because it has a little bit of a beat but it sure does exist, i'll give it that.

So with that we get the climax as the turtles all get vauge gifts and give Splinter a 12 days of christmas themeed barrage of gifts while awkwardly sings about them. I do love how he looses pace towards the end and looses his space and his delighted "nailed it" when he catches up. Splinters singing is stiff as it's clear his actor cannot sing int he character voice, but I'll give him points for enthussim

So the gifts they got are

Twelve April O'Neil autographs

Eleven pairs of sneakers

Ten yellow yo-yos

Nine narrow neckties

Eight chopsticks

Seven silk kimonos

Six frisbees

Five video games

Four man-hole covers

Three skateboards

Two comic books

And a pizza with pepperoni

It's a bizzare assortment something you notice while listening but really looking at the lyrics, thanks turtlepedia for having those so I didn't have to listen to this song in full again to find em all, you see just how slapdash it is. It's in character but it dosen't make it any less bizzare as this list is not played for laughs. So we have 12 autographs from someone they know and likely got in a rush, elven pairs of sneakers which.. is honestly quite nice they found them in his size as while it's not his style of footwear i'm sure splinter would love some shoes after walking in the sewer barefoot for nearly two decades, ten yellow yo yos clearly from the dollar store, nine narrow neckties which while the specitfication weird is a classic parent ot child they don't know too well gift, eight chopsticks which is just.. .did you guys go for chinese and realize you missed a gift for your schitck, seven silk kimonos which is kind thougthful and a good gift, six frisbees because they went back to the dollar store, five video games all copies of the first NES game no one wanted, four man hole covers because theft is okay if it's christmas, three skateboards because splinter can shred man, two comic books which is just aweirdly low number and a pizza with pepperoni which is the most self serving as we all know Splitner prefers sushi.

Finally we have the title song.. which is eh. I don't have much to say its there for a moment, it's gone and they all rock out ending the special.

We Wish You A Turtles Christmas is something you have to experince at least once: it's baffling, stupid and hilarious and i'm glad to share it all with you. I encourage you to watch it.. and leave turtle tunes in a dumpster where you likely found it. Thanks for reading and remember i'm pullin for you, we're all in this together.

[ryuichirou]

can we get an in depth analysis on why you see certain twst characters as top or bottom? i’m very curious to see what goes on in those minds of the both of you. always enjoy the content, that’s why im asking 💕💕💕 also merry christmas/happy holidays!!!

Anon! Happy New Year (very belated) and sorry for the wait <3

I’m so happy you enjoy our content, and I’m glad you’re interested! But to be honest, it’s a bit of a difficult question to answer. The “decision” isn’t usually a result of any deep thinking, it’s just the “vibes” and “feels” we get. Well, I’ve mentioned it in this post, and you’ve probably read it already: there are certain types of characters that are more likely for us to be seen as tops or bottoms, but even this isn’t necessarily a very thought-out thing. It’s an emotional thing, plus kinship with some characters, plus us liking certain ship dynamics… I guess we just have a radar based on our own preferences lol So for every character the main and the true reason behind our choice is simply “oh I really want them to top/to bottom”.

Keeping that in mind, I’ll try to analyze characters a bit more!

Oh and one more thing about kinship: let’s be honest we all associate ourselves with characters to a certain degree, so it actually also plays a huge role for us. Since Katsu and I have certain preferences ourselves, and we approach and dive into ships together, there is a lot of “he’s just like me for real” going on. I’m saying it now because otherwise this whole list is going to just me going “Ortho is a top because he is MEEEEEEEEE and I want to fuck Idia hence he is a bottom” and “this one is Katsu Katsu is this one this one is so similar to Katsu oh my lawd” and “Katsu finds the tweels super hot” over and over and over again lol Still, I apologize in advance.

(This post is going to be super long…)

Riddle – Oh he’s such a tsundere and I’m weak for tsunderes… I think I mentioned it in our replies yesterday: Riddle is our sheltered homeschooled kid at his first party. I love howtight and strict he tries to be, and that deep inside he’s just a crying little kid craving for fun things to happen to him. The whole “he is so aggressively against fun, but in actuality he would love it if he got fucked by someone” works very well with him. And he’s just so cute when he gets mad..!!

Ace – oh my god he is a douchebag. If a character is a douchebag, we are very likely to consider him being a top lol You’ll definitely notice this trend. He has these vibes of “that one classmate” and has just enough of a “just your average” energy to be read as just your average guy who lazes around, plays videogames and masturbates…  like just some anime protag? But he isn’t surrounded by a harem of girls, he doesn’t even like girls, he has to embrace the fact that he wants to fuck his best friend lol AND HE IS A MASSIVE DOUCHEBAG and that makes him insufferable, and in our book it means he’s a top.

Deuce – not every character who is a softie would automatically be a bottom, but this one is. In all honesty, Deuce is such a sweetheart bimbo that we just can’t help but want him to bottom. Especially with him having a delinquent era, and Ace (since he is the main boy we ship him with) just being a douche with no real criminal past (lol), it’s fun when Deuce just surrenders to Ace and gets vulnerable because being fucked by Ace feels too good.

Trey – the idea of him being super in love with Riddle and wanting to get intimate with him for the longest time, craving him almost in a feral way, but restraining himself because he doesn’t want to scare him away, is like… way too good of a trope. Plus, he looks like a firefighter/stripper who also bakes, and despite the fact that we don’t really like the trope of a man who’s going to take care of his lover, Trey has this unhingeness that makes him a lovely top to play with. He tries so hard to be gentle…

Cater – it’s a bit vaguer with him, we don’t pay enough attention to Cater and don’t have ships with him, but in theory, he seems to be someone who takes the initiative (i.e. flirts), even if this whole shtick is fake; and we usually get top vibes from characters with this attitude.

Leona – he’s just more fun when he bottoms. It’s his one redeeming quality… He is good-looking and sexy, and him being a pissy pillow princess who demands attention just works better for us than him being a cocky top – the latter would probably make him super unlikeable for us simply because of his attitude. It’s a bit difficult to explain.

Ruggie – mostly because we ship him with Leona and Jamil, and also because giving him some “power” just feels like a nice way to balance out some of the shit he goes through. Plus, a skinny and kind of weak hyena boy mounting other characters and being good at sex? That’s poetry.

Jack – he’s a big horny pup!! You might’ve noticed it by following us, but we really like earnest tops who can’t control their feelings and urges, and Jack works super well with that trope. Plus, he is a wolfboy, and we wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to use it, come on.

Octatrio – Katsu wants to fuck them more than I do  I don’t know, the more we think about it, the more it makes sense to us that all three of them are silly dysfunctional tops. All three of them are assertive, aggressive in their own ways, capricious and have this “I can touch you however I want, but don’t you dare touch me” that feels more relatable than I care to admit lol It’s a very top trait for us.

Azul – it’s so easy to just consider him a bottom (no shade towards those who do, obviously), but he is so interesting as a top?? With his mannerisms, insecurities, over-the-top-ness, flamboyant nature: this whole image just reeks of red flags, and Azul is extremely good in this role of a toxic boyfriend… who is also very sentimental and romantic but just can’t allow himself to express it because he wants to always either be a charming gent or an absolute alpha. All of these sides of Azul are true – he is a dominant young man who likes to be in charge, but he could also get cutely upset and embarrassed. What a top.

Jade and Floyd – these two have such an apologetic dominant energy, so many hot surprisingly cruel moments. Like I mentioned when talking about the trio, they are capricious (even more-so than Azul), they see the rest of the cast as their playground and they enjoy being an uncompromising force way too much. Well, we really love them being an uncompromising force. Not to mention how creepy and big they are. It’s too much of a treat… The only thing that’s better than a 2 meters tall (and about 3 meters long if merform) sexy fish is two of those.

Kalim – aggressive “just like me for real” yelling aside, he’s just too much of an innocent dork. Dorks are just like douchebags – we tend to see them a certain way lol I know I called Deuce a bimbo just a couple of minutes ago, but Kalim has a different vibe? He’s not a bimbo, he’s just… a bit of an oblivious block who doesn’t get hints lol But he is also quite stubborn, which makes it very interesting when he suddenly gets very specific urges and expresses them. He fits the trope of the top who is helpless when horny super nicely.

Jamil – my personal bias is super strong with this one oof 0 days since the last time I was horny for Jamil; the whole thing just suits him way too much. Be it Jamil in his basketball form or Jamil in silks and golden chains, he always has so much natural sex appeal that it’s both aesthetically pleasing and a fun thing to play with story-wise. Well it’s obvious, we honestly do it a lot in our Jamil-related content. Plus, the fact that he could be very seductive and “feminine”… while also not really being feminine and having an athletic build and a deep voice. It’s very good.

Vil – this one is also filled with my personal bias lol But even then, Vil just looks too good in this position?? The Queen must be pleased and pleasured?? But also chased down and abused because dark themes and all??  I’m also way too into the fact that Vil is very strong and gets into fights all the time: it’s this combination of him being stoic and passionate and easily angered, snarky and genuine and cute, but also? He gives off massive “oneesan” type and I’m powerless against those. Plus let’s be honest, if there is one person at NRC who actively bottoms and is very comfortable with this fact, it has to be Vil.

Rook – the reasoning for this one is a combination of my reasoning for the Tweels and for Kalim lol A psychotic assertive weirdo who is at the same time weirdly oblivious but also scarily all-knowing, plus he’s super horny all the time and flirts with everyone… we have this bingo card thing for Katsu’s type that we fill sometimes for fun, and, if I remember correctly, Rook almost checked all the boxes. His unhingeness, his knowledge and his power gives him a lot of top sex appeal for us. By the way, the fact that he is also a fucking chunk of meat? I can’t get over the fact that Rook is bulkier than Trey.

Epel – He’s small and stupid and cute… Just like Deuce, he’s also a bimbo but a more feisty one. Plus! His inner conflict makes it even better! With Epel being not wanting to be perceived as feminine, but also enjoying being a bottom, and finding some empowerment in being a bottom, and then attempting to be a power bottom but also failing because he has no experience whatsoever, but still having this bratty spunk and eagerness to try everything. He was built for this lol

Idia – I JUST LOVE HIM WAY TOO MUCH but also? Speaking of someone who checks off all the boxes: Idia is perfect. He is so easily freaked out, but also snarky and nasty and a smart-ass and at the same time super cute and isn’t really into romance and stuff but also deeply romantic and in general he’s just a giggling shaking crying mess, it really is perfection. He’s just… so much fun when he bottoms? This is why almost all the time I draw him he’s overwhelmed with emotions when other people just do things with him: Idia is kind of the sweetest victim to torment. His face, his scrawny body, his hair, his pathetic little face and his teeth – all of it just yells “bottom” to me. I think I stopped making sense at some point here lol

Ortho – his adoration towards Idia is the most relatable thing in the world lol We have a very deep connection with these two. But we also really like the fact that it’s kind of unexpected for Ortho to take the top position? But once you start noticing how strict he could be with Idia and how pushy he is sometimes, it ends up feeling way too natural. But also the idea of someone being so cute and short but also being one of the most powerful tops in the cast is an amusing concept that we love a lot. Plus, he is a robot, so once again, we wouldn’t miss an opportunity to play around with this idea.

Lilia – similarly to Ortho, we just love the idea of a small and cute top. It’s fun, unexpected and empowering lol Especially considering how much Lilia likes to be cute and to emphasize his own cuteness with long sleeves and tiny shorts. We really love how tiny top/tall bottom look visually, but also Lilia’s personality has such a strong dominant vibe that we absolutely love. As a bonus, sometimes Lilia feels like a “pervy ossan” type. Dirty grandpa… + I didn’t think we would push the “Lilia has a big dick” jokes so far that they would become a default for our content, but honestly? If the shoe fits…

Malleus – oh the great confusing one that confuses us no longer. Malleus is very flirty, but with the way he flirts, I always feel some kind of provocation. Like he tosses the ball to another person and expects them to make their move. He’s a prince after all, his job is to enjoy the suitor’s advances and get pleased and amused by them. Or to get pissed off and send them flying. I don’t know, Malleus has such strong demanding bottom vibes to us, and with how pretty he looks when he bottoms, it’s a shame that he doesn’t get drawn like that more often. His tail needs to be rubbed in all the good places…

Silver – he is so desperately selfless and loyal and a bit oblivious, you kind of get an urge to take advantage of him when you look at him. And by “you” I mean mostly me lol And him being sleepy only enhances this feeling. He seems so… helpless, as if you could be very mean to him, both as an artist and as his top (oh lucky ones). And he’s way too pretty… Come on, white eyelashes and pretty sleepy eyes and silky hair???

Sebek – SEBEK. He is so loud and obnoxious and stupid AND A DOUCHE who ALSO HAS NO CONTROL OVER HIS OWN URGES so based on everything you’ve read in his post so far, I think you can see why he’s perfect lol Sebek is also a great example of a character being a top but not necessarily being the one in charge… but still being dominant? Sebek has such strong beliefs in hierarchy that it’s honestly very amusing to think about scenarios in which he would act so unworthily towards his liege, but technically not breaking the chain of command because Malleus allowed this… it would fry his brain. And we love it a lot. Plus, half-fae anatomy is an amazing asset to play with.

I’m sorry, I think I started to sound very horny half way through lol

[staceymcgillicuddy]

120

Ooh this one was fun, and could 100% be the basis for a brand new fic, I swear.

Other prompts from this meme!

“Take my jacket. It’s cold.” 

“I don’t want your jacket. I’m fine.” 

Jason rolls his eyes, and Chrissy rubs her arms. She’s lying—they both know she’s lying—because it’s October in Indiana, and the leaves are turning, bringing with them a brisk breeze that no bonfire can overpower. Not even a bonfire so big it threatens to burn down half the state, should a branch catch overhead. 

It’s traditional, this bonfire. There’s the Homecoming football game, the court crowned at halftime, and the all-night party that follows. The cops turn a blind eye to it because it’s tradition, and most of them are from Hawkins and participated in their own version of the ritual. It’s been going on since the twenties, maybe. Thirties? Nobody really knows, but honestly, the history doesn’t matter. What matter is that they’re there, they won the game, Chrissy got voted onto the court as the junior representative, and Jason is drunk and pissing her off. 

He’s been pissing her off a lot lately if she’s being honest. They’ve been dating since Christmas of her sophomore year, and while things were pretty good through the summer, the semester has been… less than great. Weird. Annoying, actually. 

It’s not even Jason’s fault, really. He’s a good boyfriend—he respects her, her parents like him, he makes her laugh sometimes—and she even lost her virginity to him the night before they went back to school for junior year. But lately, it’s like he doesn’t trust her to make her own decisions or know what she wants. He even ordered for her when they went out to eat for her birthday, and tonight he made a joke in front of Steve Harrington about her getting him a beer, and, ugh, she’s just mad, and she’s even more mad that it feels like she’s not allowed to be mad. 

“Geez, Chris, what crawled up your butt?” Jason says, which doesn’t exactly help the situation. 

“I’m going for a walk,” she replies. “Don’t follow me.” 

She bounces to her feet as he raises a protest from below. The perks of being the sober girl at the party (well, mostly sober; she had a beer, but that hardly counts) means he can’t get himself together quickly enough to follow her down the path toward the clearing where they all parked their cars.

It’s dark out, though, and Chrissy finds herself a little discombobulated about which direction the parking lot lies in. There are branching paths because a lot of people use these woods, and the lot isn’t exactly close, so, yeah. Whatever. She’s just going to use the bonfire as a waypoint and start walking. 

Direction one seems promising, but she realizes she’s gone the wrong way when she stumbles over a rise and finds herself in a moonlit clearing dominated by a giant rock. 

When she turns back, though, she collides with a warm body and lets out a little shriek. 

Warm, tall, and… God, it’s Eddie Munson. Who definitely wasn’t invited to the party but smells so strongly of weed that she suspects she knows why he’s here. 

Chrissy stumbles back, and Eddie holds up his hands, one wrapped around a heavy black flashlight. 

“Hey, sorry,” he says. “Looking for me?” 

“Why would I be looking for you?” 

That comes out snippier than she intends it to. Eddie takes it in stride, reaching into his careworn leather jacket to pull out a bag of marijuana. 

“Ta-da,” he says. “You buying, or what?” 

“No. I was just taking a walk.” 

Eddie raises a brow, and the opposite side of his mouth curls into a smile. It’s kind of cute, actually. “And you just so happened to end up here?” He shakes the baggie and grins. “C’mon, man. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.” 

“I’m not!” She finds that she’s smiling despite herself. “Everyone was being stupid, and I just wanted to… I don’t know. Be alone?” 

“There are mountain lions out here, you know.” 

“No, there aren’t,” she says, ignoring the shiver that runs down her spine. “Besides, you’re out here by yourself.” 

“Catering to my loyal customer base. Speaking of, where’s your boyfriend?” 

That comes as a surprise to Chrissy for two reasons. Number one, she didn’t know that Jason smoked weed. Number two, she wasn’t aware that Eddie Munson was so invested in her social life. 

“He’s being annoying,” she says, aiming for nonchalance as she rubs her arms again. 

“King Carver? Surely not…” 

“I’m probably going to break up with him soon.” 

Chrissy startles herself with the sentence. It’s one she’s thought a lot since late August. A mantra she’s repeated to keep herself sane whenever Jason starts bugging her a bit too much. She’s never said it out loud to anyone, though, and now there she is, telling someone who’s practically a stranger. 

“Oh yeah?” Eddie says like it’s no big deal. “Why’s that?” 

“I don’t know. Because he’s annoying.” 

“Seems as good a reason as any.” Tucking the weed into the front pocket of his dark jeans, Eddie catches her eye and smiles. “Hey, question.”

“Hmm?” 

“You want my jacket? It’s kind of cold.” 

[fluentmoviequoter]

Christmas Tree Farm

Day 2 of 12 Days of Ficmas

Pairing: Victor Vale x fem!reader

Summary: Sydney wants a Christmas tree and you offer to take her to get one, but Victor refuses... to let you go alone.

Word Count: 1.8k+ words

Warnings: fluff, random Christmas tree facts, references to Vicious and Vengeful, Victor is sarcastic, Sydney and reader team up against Vic... more fluff.

Masterlist Directory | Victor Vale Masterlist | Request Info

“Victor,” Sydney groans, dragging out the last syllable as she collapses on the couch beside you. “It’s almost December, we need a Christmas tree.”

“Sydney,” Victor mocks. His care for her overrides his sarcasm as he says, “We can’t walk around freely yet. Just because Eli is gone and Merit PD is normal again…”

“As normal as they can be,” you add quietly.

“None of it means we can just walk down the middle of the sidewalk and get a Christmas tree like a normal family!” Victor finishes.

“But we are a family, right?” Sydney asks, looking up at Victor.

You glance at Sydney’s big, watery blue eyes, obviously trying to guilt-trip Victor into agreeing. Looking over to him, you see that he’s avoiding looking directly at her eyes.

“I’ll go with her,” you offer. “Although, I’d argue that looking like a family would be more inconspicuous than just one or two of us.”

“You’re not helping,” Victor snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I said no.”

“And we’re not accepting that,” Sydney says, lifting her chin defiantly. “Just admit you’re scared and then we’ll go get a tree.”

You press your lips together to hide your smile and look at Victor.

“You’re not going alone,” Victor says.

Sydney points to you and says, “I know. We’re going.”

“No, I mean, the two of you are not going alone.”

“You want us to take Mitch? He’s as big as a Christmas tree; not exactly what I thought when you said, ‘Be invisible.’”

You laugh at Sydney’s impression of Victor, waving a hand at him as you apologize.

“Just- let me think about it,” Victor decides before leaving the room.

“That was really good,” you whisper to Sydney.

“Oh, I can do one better!” She puts her hand on the couch behind you and leans forward to say, “No one is going to hurt you. Do you know why? Because I’ll hurt them first.”

“I can still hear you!” Victor yells, making you and Sydney laugh even harder.

✯✯✯✯✯

That night, after Sydney goes to bed, you knock on Victor’s open door. He looks up and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as he invites you in.

“If you’re here to ask me to get a tree, it’s not happening.”

“I actually just wanted to ask why.” You sit at the end of his bed, looking at him as you fiddle with his blanket. “You made the decision, and I’ll respect it, but I don’t get it.”

“If we go out and get noticed, there’s no way of knowing what will happen to any of us. Mitch scrubbed the prison records and filed a death certificate for Sydney, but people who have met us before are out there.”

“I know. But you can distract them, and Sydney has a point.”

“First time for everything,” Victor jokes.

“You know she’s right. No one would think twice about a family picking out a tree. You two already look alike. If someone happens to look at you, they won’t think twice.”

Victor looks at your hands as he thinks. 

“It’s okay to be scared, to be cautious. But there’s no need to live the rest of our lives in hiding just in case. That’s not living, Victor. It’s Christmas. What better time to start a new life?”

“What if there isn’t a new life here?”

“Then we go somewhere there is. You got us away from Merit, Vic, you’ve done everything right. We’re safe. We can stay cautious, and I agree that we should, but that doesn’t mean staying in this cabin until we die of old age, miserable and tired.”

“Being with me makes you miserable and tired?” Victor repeats, pale brows raised.

You smile as you respond, “When there’s no Christmas tree, yes.”

He shakes his head, the corners of his mouth twitching up. “Fine. We’ll take Sydney tomorrow to get a tree.”

You lean forward and hug him quickly before standing, pausing as you feel his awkward pat on your shoulder. “And hot chocolate,” you say over your shoulder.

“And hot chocolate,” Victor affirms, watching you walk away.

He lays down, thinking about you and Sydney picking out a tree and laughing together. Maybe this living thing isn’t such a bad idea.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Get dressed,” you tell Sydney when she enters the kitchen. “Something warm.”

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“There’s something we need to do,” Victor answers, dragging a Sharpie across a book page.

Sydney shrugs and returns to her room.

“What’s the point of the matching sweaters?” Victor asks, Sydney’s excited gasp audible as she finds it in her closet.

“It’s Christmas, Vic, matching sweaters are a necessity. Yours is on the couch to put on before we leave.”

“Not happening.”

“No one will see you anyway, right?” you ask, standing before him with your hands on your hips. “What are you afraid of?”

“You, at the moment,” Victor mumbles.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Sydney asks as she skips back into the living room. “Oh, we match!”

“We do! And Victor will too,” you add, looking pointedly at Victor.

“I thought prison guards were bossy,” Victor grumbles as he leaves his book and walks to the couch, pulling the sweater on instead of his usual black coat.

“You look so cute!” you squeal, scrunching your nose as you look at him.

“This. This is what I was scared of,” Victor admits. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

“There’s a contract. You can’t change your mind,” you point out.

“What contract?” Sydney and Victor inquire together.

“You hugged me last night, that’s legally binding with Vales.”

“You hugged?” Sydney asks excitedly.

Victor shakes his head, following you and Sydney outside as he sighs in exasperation.

✯✯✯✯✯

“First stop,” you announce as you open the door of the Christmas-themed cafe. 

Sydney picks a booth and slides in, wrapping her arms around you in a quick hug when you join her. Victor sits on the other side, looking around at the decorations before his eyes land on you.

“Thanks,” he says quickly.

“For what?”

“Convincing me to do this. You were right.”

Your eyes widen as Sydney's jaw drops.

“Write it down, we can’t forget this,” she whispers to you.

Victor rolls his eyes and distracts the waiter, nudging him to look at his menu pad rather than any of you. After you order three hot chocolates and a stack of Christmas tree pancakes, Sydney asks where else you’re going. You look at Victor and raise your eyebrows, silently asking, “Should we tell her?” He looks at Sydney and then nods.

“We’re going to get a Christmas tree!” you tell her.

She gasps again and looks at you. “How’d you convince him?”

“What makes you think I didn’t reach this conclusion on my own?” he counters.

Sydney looks at him and says, “I didn’t think of that. So, how’d she convince you?”

Victor prepares to answer sarcastically, but the cocoa and pancakes landing on the table interrupt him. He looks at you and smiles, not his lying smile, but a smile that makes you think he’s ready to start living again.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Okay, so I did a ton of research after Victor said no,” Sydney begins as you walk into the Christmas tree farm.

“Never living that down, am I?” Victor asks you, walking side-by-side behind Sydney.

“Give it a few Christmases,” you respond, smiling as he sighs.

“We’re looking for a Fraser fir; it’s considered to be the best tree for families with pets and it’s the prettiest, in my opinion. The house has ten foot ceilings, so we need a tree that’s at least eight feet tall, but preferably nine.”

“How do you intend on measuring them?” Victor asks.

“With you,” Sydney answers quickly, turning down a row of Fraser firs. “I know how tall you are, so I can figure out how much taller than you the tree needs to be.”

“That’s why she invited you,” you say sarcastically, pointing at Victor.

“Sydney,” Victor calls, looking at you. “What if I put her on my shoulders? Would that help?”

You roll your eyes as Sydney says maybe, but she’s more interested in finding a pretty tree than listening to Victor. A man walks by with two kids, too busy wrangling them to notice you, Victor, and Sydney. You take Victor’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze, watching Sydney as you miss him looking at your joined hands.

“This is the one! Victor, come stand beside it?” Sydney requests.

Victor reluctantly pulls his hand from yours and stands by the tree. You move beside Sydney and agree that it’s the perfect height. As Victor begins cutting it, you show Sydney a picture of an ornament you had as a kid and offer to make ornaments with her. When Victor is finished, he drags the tree to the end of the row and lets you talk to an employee about getting it to the car, which Mitch is bringing now.

“It’s interesting that you let her do all the talking for you but can’t stand when she talks to other people,” Sydney hums, standing beside Victor.

“Meaning?” Victor asks.

“You’re jealous.”

You turn around and want to take a picture of Sydney and Victor in their matching sweaters with the snow-covered trees behind them. Pouting at Victor, you ask if you can, and he says it’s okay as long as you take one with them. Mitch soon arrives, and while Victor keeps the employee focused on tying the tree to the top of the car, he takes a picture of you, Victor, and Sydney.

“Putting that on the Christmas card, Vic?” Mitch asks, smiling as he returns your phone.

“I was thinking of putting your mugshot on it instead,” Victor replies, huffing as you smack his shoulder.

✯✯✯✯✯

You and Victor walk back while Sydney and Mitch take the tree home by car.

“Thank you for doing this,” you say, your knuckles brushing Victor’s as you walk side-by-side. “It meant a lot to Sydney, and to me.”

“I’d do anything for you,” Victor says quietly.

You catch his hand as he swings it, interlacing your fingers with his.

“You want to string up some mistletoe while we decorate the tree then?”

“Wait, decorate? I thought we were just getting a tree.”

“It’s Christmas, Vic. Without ornaments, it’s just an oversized house plant.”

“Like Sydney,” he teases. “Do I really have to help?”

“Yep. You said it, we’re family now.”

“I don’t remember saying that.”

“Fine, then, you said you would do anything for me. Do it for me, and Sydney, and Mitch, and Dol.”

“There better be cookies involved,” Victor sighs.

“Cookies and mistletoe. Sydney found some at the tree farm and you bought it for her.”

Victor shakes his head, but when you tug his hand and stand closer to him, he starts to think that maybe decorating a tree won’t be so bad. Not with you at his side.

[melonthesprigatito]

Word Girl Villains Christmas Headcanons

Rhyme's favourite Christmas movies are Olive the Other Reindeer because there is a con man penguin in it and Elf because she thinks it's amusing that the secretary that appears in a few scenes sounds almost exactly like her, almost as though they're both voiced by the same person * cough* Amy Sedaris *cough*

All the villains prefer not to watch Home Alone because it doesn't even well for the burglars in that movie. They dread the day Word Girl watches it in case it gives her any ideas.

Tobey uses his giant robots to hang mistletoe in every place he can think of in the hopes he can catch Word Girl under one. Maybe THIS time he'll finally get a kiss. Hopefully. Tobey also tries to introduce the bad guys to mince pies, aka the Classic British Christmas Food™ but they're all either confused or disappointed that there's no actual meat in them. Tobey ends up being exasperated by the constant "So why's it called a MINCE pie if there's no mince in it???" questions.

The villains are low key worried that Tobey, Victoria and Eileen will end up on the naughty list because of their evil activities, so Leslie makes sure they have a few presents for them just in case.

Granny May knits ugly Christmas sweaters for everyone. Unless they want to spend Christmas tied up in a giant ball of yarn, they have to wear them. No exceptions. Ms Question is totally cool with this because she already wears a sweater that she stitched a question mark into as her villain outfit so she appreciates the thought and effort that went into making them.

Lady Redundant Woman is ABSOLUTELY one of those retail workers that hates Christmas because of the customers and the Christmas music playing on repeat at the copying store. Doesn't help that Dave loves the holidays and is EXTRA cheerful this time of year.

The Villains Society decide to enforce a ban on committing any real crimes for the duration of the holiday season, because they realised that they'd rather not spend Christmas or New Year's in a jail cell. So instead...

Dr Two Brains starts turning things into cheese... so he can donate it to food banks. Word Girl wonders how the heck he managed to give away cheese to other people without pissing off Squeaky, and he's like "Well, I ordered a new cheese ray from Evil Monthly Magazine and they sent me a ray for GOAT'S CHEESE ray, can you believe it?! And they wouldn't give me a refund! Might as well get my money's worth!"

Chuck breaks into the mall at night.... Because he wants to be first in line to visit the mall Santa, might as well get there early.

Ms Question hits several people with her confusion ray... but it turns out that them being stuck in a state where they're questioning what gifts they should get got other people actually helped them to make a decision once it wore off.

Mr Big hypnotises a crowd... to organise a bunny themed Christmas parade. When the people are unhypnotised, they're just more disappointed that they missed the parade because they weren't conscious during hypnosis.

Rhyme and Reason head to the park and Rhyme freezes the entire lake... and people have a blast skating on the new ice rink. The civilians are actually annoyed when Word Girl tries to apprehend her and she gets called a Scrooge.

Word Girl is flabbergasted because they're doing things that are technically illegal, but not necessarily EVIL. And people are a lot more forgiving of the "crimes" than they normally are this time of year so Word Girl just let's them off with a warning. Amazing Rope Guy somehow gets arrested anyway but they let him go because "Hey, it's Christmas"

The villains throw a huge Christmas party (funded by Mr Big), and they even invite Word Girl. They also include her in their Secret Santa. She gets a Pretty Princess figure from Leslie. Amazing Rope Guy gets a fucking Key to the City from Word Girl because it was last minute so she panicked and grabbed the first thing she could see in her hideout.

D.A Sally Botsford is surprised to find a Christmas card signed by all the villains in the mail.

To make a long story short about Rhyme and Reason's childhood for this next headcanon, Rhyme was abandoned by her parents in space, she crashed landed on Earth, grew up in an orphanage, was ostracized by her entire town because of her powers and was singled out/bullied by her orphanage caretaker.

At Christmas, Rhyme would always end up on the Naughty List. Not because she was bad, but because her caretaker would intercept the letter and send her a return letter saying that she was a bad girl and she would NEVER get on the nice list. Rhyme was always the only kid in the orphanage who didn't get any presents. But she never lost hope because she just knew that if she tried hard enough, she could be on the nice list next year, so she never stopped believing in Santa.

Meanwhile Reason's parents... Weren't very involved in his life. They gave him the bare minimum of attention so he basically was forced to mature early and learn to take care of himself. So Santa wasn't really a thing in their household because they couldn't be bothered.

Reason never believed in Santa but he never told any of the other kids in the town because he didn't want to ruin the magic for them. Every year Reason saw Rhyme be heartbroken on Christmas Day and it killed him inside because he wished he could just tell her that her orphanage caretaker was deliberately ruining Christmas but he didn't want to destroy her hopes and dreams by breaking the news to her and destroy her belief in Santa Claus.

So, on the last year before Rhyme was too old for Santa to visit, Reason took drastic measures. He spent months saving up his allowance to buy presents for Rhyme and on Christmas Eve, he broke into the orphanage and found Rhyme's stocking. He got rid of the coal and filled it with the presents he bought. On Christmas morning Rhyme came down the stairs to find her stocking filled with presents, and a new letter from "Santa" saying that she was always on the nice list, but her caretaker stole her presents and made it look like he gave her coal.

Rhyme later excitedly showed her presents to Reason and ranted about how she KNEW there was something fishy going on with the naughty list and she was so relieved that Santa finally managed to put a stop to the sabotage. It wasn't until well into their supervillain careers that Reason told her what REALLY happened that night.

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 25: Yverdon-les-Bains

This is such a great finale! And I say that because, cliffhanger or no cliffhanger, it really is one.

It's one of those funny things- American shows largely just have seasons, but British shows will often have Christmas specials that tag on, so that the finale isn't necessarily the ACTUAL finale. I, for all the British shows I've watched, still think of the season finale as a finale regardless of whether there's going to be a special afterward to really wrap things up- and listening to this episode through that lens was really interesting.

In terms of being a finale, it really is the finale of Martin's S4 arc, which was in many ways the dominant arc of the season, setting up that he will end up leaving and succeeding. Sure, plenty of happens in Zurich, but by the end of Yverdon, he's got a paying job flying airplanes. He's gotten that job because of the very things that have been holding him back at MJN- that he's a perfectionist and that he's insistent on getting his say. I've seen people point out how perfect Martin's interview is because it's so clear that he succeeds BY being himself, rather than somehow succeeding despite it, as Carolyn and Douglas had told him to; and I think it's even more perfect that it's the very traits that Carolyn and Douglas find most annoying about him that get him this dream job. Martin's never been the kind of guy who should have been working at a seat-of-its-pants airline; he needs corporate structure, and he's finally found it. And only about an hour's drive from his girlfriend, too.

The thing that it isn't a finale of, naturally, is the MJN family. Martin's completed (or nearly completed- he does have a bit of a panic-induced turnaround and learns some valuable lessons in Zurich) his own personal arc, which is LEAVING the MJN family. If this was The Martin Show (and I know some people complained that post-Sherlock it seemed to become so...) then this would, probably, be the finale. But Yverdon makes clear that this is only The Martin Show insofar as how his decision is about to affect the other crew of MJN, the ones who have been supporting him this whole time.

Douglas, we see, is struggling with change- he's gotten used to a very cushy gig and, at the end of his career and practically unemployable anywhere but MJN, is freaking out that he's at the end of the line. It doesn't help to see Herc, his more straight-laced mirror image, walking onto his turf and seeing that HE'S secure enough about being a captain that he can afford to not openly care. Martin is on his way out, and even Douglas's current sanctum, for as long as he still has it, is being violated by a challenger. Douglas had told Martin, back in the day, that his secret to seeming like the captain when he wasn't was not to care that he wasn't the captain- but that only worked because they both knew that he should be. Douglas being confronted with Herc, who is just as good as him, just as senior as him, still a captain, and doesn't care that he is captain, is enough to kind of confront Douglas with the shakiness of his future. He realizes he's being unreasonable, but also recognizes WHY he's feeling this way- his limitations have never been more clearly on display, and he's dealing with the fact that he's going to be faced with those limitations as his circumstances change.

It's interesting, because Arthur's plotline is basically just for laughs, as usual- even JF points this out in Farewell Bear Facts- but I actually think that it says something interesting about this episode too. He's the one who said that he wasn't sure WHAT he wanted to happen, because he didn't want things to change, and there's a smidge of symbolism in the fact that a symptom of some recent changes- Herc's fruit bowl- causes him to have an allergic reaction, I think. It also shows that he is just not going to be someone who can make his way through the day as a "hotel guy"- Carolyn has to be around to clean up after him or he'll kind of implode. Just another reason for Martin to feel ambivalent about leaving...

Carolyn is pretty static here, but we've seen plenty from her in the previous episodes- and, as with everyone else, we'll see a LOT from her in... Zurich. Can't believe we're already nearly at the end...

[herehavesomeheadcanons]

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… Five Golden Bois!

Aaaaa sorry this one's late, I was busy yesterday and didn't have time/inspiration to write it! But it's here now!

Kenji Miyazawa

💛🐄Kenji adores the Christmas season, though it was celebrated differently in his little home town. He's excited to learn all the big city traditions!

💛🐄Kenji loves helping out with the decorating! He helps out with a lot of the heavy lifting, such as carrying big boxes of decorations up and down the stairs. He also asks Kunikida’s advice for where he should put everything. A wise decision, as Kunikida will lose his ever-loving mind if one single decoration is out of place. Dazai likes to mess with him by moving the decorations when he’s not looking, but Kenji snitches on the suicidal maniac like the good little boi he is.

💛🐄He adores Christmas music, and would love to go caroling. He doesn’t know a lot of the newer, pop song carols, but he likes them regardless!

💛🐄His village didn’t have electricity, so Kenji has never seen a Christmas movie before. He’s super excited to cuddle with you and watch them! He definitely enjoys some of the more childish classics. Don’t worry, he’s very gentle. He’ll probably fall asleep during the movie after eating all the snacks!

💛🐄Kenji does know about decorating gingerbread houses. He loves it dearly, but once he’s finished he eats the whole thing. That’s just how they did it in his village, nothing goes to waste. He’ll eat yours too, if you’re not going to! He would love to have a snowball fight with you, just make sure you tell him to be careful. Remember, his ability is super strength. He’s never heard of the mistletoe tradition, so don’t expect him to understand the significance of standing under a poisonous plant.

Finnian

💛💐Finni loves Christmas the most out of the Phantomhive servants. I'm not certain what else you expected from the sweetest cinnamon roll in the show!

💛💐As much as Finni would love to help with the decorating, Sebastian takes care of it. Every time poor Finni has tried to help out, it hasn’t ended well. If you let him help decorate with you he’ll be ecstatic!

💛💐Finni loves Christmas carols, and he’ll sing them as he works. There isn’t much gardening to do in the winter, but he helps carry things around.

💛💐Unfortunately, Christmas movies didn't exist back in Victorian times, so we have to use plays instead. Finnian has never been to one before, but if you take him to one he will thoroughly enjoy it! He’ll probably try to cuddle you during it! Just make sure you tell him to be gentle, remember he doesn’t know his own strength!

💛💐Gingerbread houses with the Phantomhive servants are really something. You’ve got to make them from scratch, for starters. Sebastian probably takes care of it, if we’re being completely honest. Last time he let the servants bake their own gingerbread… well… with Bard’s pyrotechnic obsession, you can probably guess how well that went. Even with Sebastian baking the gingerbread, the kitchen is still a mess by the time you’re finished! Finni gets a little too excited with the sprinkles… Snowball fights are a disaster as well. Actually, everything is a disaster.

Alphonse Elric

💛🐱Al is a lot more into the Christmas spirit than his brother. Being the sweet little bean he is, he loves spending time with people he cares about!

💛🐱Pre-Promised Day, Al was the decorating champion. Being a 7 foot tall suit of armor really makes reaching all those high places a lot easier. Ed probably stood on his shoulders for even more height! Post-Promised Day, he’s still the decorating champion because he’s still taller than Ed! Ed is still going to stand on his shoulders to reach the high places. You’re definitely going to have several heart attacks because of their antics!

💛🐱Al enjoys Christmas music, and can tolerate it a lot more than his brother can. He loves the sweet Christmas carols about love and family and peace on Earth!

💛🐱Again, We’re just assuming that Christmas movies exist in Amestris because it’s funny and I need more content. Al is perfectly happy to snuggle and watch any Christmas movie you choose! His favorite is probably Santa Clause is Coming to Town.

💛🐱Al isn’t nearly as competitive as Ed when it comes to snowball fights. He’s very concerned with not hurting you, or his brother! Ed takes full advantage of this and wins every snowball fight. Al thinks mistletoe is such a cute tradition, and he hangs it every year. He thinks it’s especially cute when Ed and Winry get trapped under it. Al also makes the cutest gingerbread houses ever! But then he gets sad when it’s time to throw them away…

Denki Kaminari

⚡👍WOOHOO!!! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! Denki is absolutely ecstatic about Christmas every year! He's also just enthusiastic about the 2 week break from class (shhh, he’s a little bit stupid but we still love him-)!

⚡👍Denki thoroughly enjoys decorating the dorms with the rest of class 1-A. He’s not the most artistically talented, so he tends to just follow Iida’s orders. A wise idea, since Iida is ridiculously uptight about the decorations. Seriously, it's a bit of an issue.

⚡👍Denki loves Christmas music, particularly pop songs. All I Want for Christmas is You is a classic for him. He’s also caught up on all the latest Christmas music.

⚡👍Christmas movies!! Hell yeah!! Denki is a cuddly little shit, so he loves movie nights with you! He doesn’t really care which movie you want to watch, he’s just happy to spend time with you!

⚡👍Snowball fights between classes 1-A and 1-B. Need I say more? Bakugo gets way too competitive and goes after Deku most of the time, even if they’re on the same team! Unless Monoma happens to open his big mouth and attract Kacchan’s attention. Then the angry pomeranian will target him. Iiida and Bakugo also keep arguing and trying to direct class A like it’s the middle of a war or something. Everyone is freezing and soaked to the skin by the time you’re ready to quit! Momo makes hot chocolate for everyone from both classes, like the queen she is. Denki loves mistletoe, and will attempt to trap you under it every 5 minutes. Just… go along with it. Just give him the attention he craves.

Naruto Uzumaki

💛🍜Does Christmas exist in Naruto??? We're gonna say that it does because why the heck not. Contrary to what you might think, Naruto Uzumaki doesn't actually like Christmas. Being an orphan who was bullied his whole life, seeing other people be happy with their families upset him greatly. This does get better as he gets older, and when he gets to spend Christmas with you!

💛🍜Naruto loves decorating, but his artistic style is lacking a little bit. He's got spirit, just not talent. You may have to help him out… or just tell him where to put things. Or move them when he's not looking!

💛🍜Naruto used to hate Christmas music, but he's growing to like it the more Christmases he spends with you!

💛🍜I’m honestly not certain if Christmas movies exist in Naruto but if they do, Naruto would love to watch them with you. He craves the cuddles.

💛🍜Gingerbread houses are a disaster (hands up… who’s surprised?). Like the excited child he is, he uses way too much frosting. And sprinkles. His house looks like an overly excited toddler got into the candy bin and frosting. He’s also somehow gotten himself coated in the frosting and sprinkles. Oh dear oh dear snowball fights. This little shit likes to cheat with his shadow clone jutsu, and Kiba gives him shit for it every single time. It’s gotten to the point where snowball fights end up as you and Naruto (and his 100 clones) versus everyone else. You were expecting me to mention mistletoe, weren’t you? Well you’re right. And you are correct in guessing that he is going to come up with ridiculously complex plots to trap you under it.