#he would've gotten along so well with Jack

[tsams-and-co-memes]

Someone send help. Drop is so stupid and I love him, and I can't stop laughing

[ssahotchnerr]

Everyone on the team receives an anonymous hand made Valentine’s card, except for Hotch. He tries not to show his disappointment and quickly walks away into his office while the team try to guess who has made then. Later in the day, when the others have gone home, reader knocks at Hotch’s office door, saying something like that they wanted to give him his card personally because it’s even more special than the ones for the team. And it’s an invitation to dinner.

something good

happy valentine's day pt 2! 🥰 cw; a touch of angst, alcohol mention, fluff!!!!

aaron should've known.

he was viewed as the boss, and that was that. merely a position of authority; not necessarily a colleague, and not necessarily a friend.

and it's always been that way. groups quieted upon his approach, eye contact was scarce amidst conversations- as if meeting his gaze would give him reason to absolutely rip them to shreds. by now, enduring so for years, he'd gotten used to it. he had to. so why should he expect to be treated any differently?

however, he refused to lie to himself, he'd give himself that. he didn't try to fight the stinging sensation in his chest, which had been present all day. it hurt, hearing and seeing the team gushing over valentines that had been placed anonymously on their desks that morning. trying to use their profiling skills to determine who had done such; penelope nearly stirred up a frenzy, morgan's laugh had rang loudly through the bullpen, everyone had compared the kind messages left for them.

meanwhile, aaron's desk had been empty. and he simply observed the joyful scene from the safety of his office.

whoever was responsible- the thought would've been nice, at least.

valentine's day was just like any normal day, if it weren't for the cards strategically placed amongst the desks, aaron probably wouldn't have even recalled the holiday to begin with.

that, however, was the lie. he knew what day it was. february fourteenth had been special, years ago. but now, it instead brought an impending sense of dread, one that was impossible to ignore; the reminder of yet another day spent alone. his night, when he finally made it home, would more likely than not consist of a glass of whisky and maybe a few episodes of law and order before crashing.

"hotch? you have a second?"

your voice caused him to lift his head, pulling him from his sea of thoughts. "yes?"

"i- um. wanted to give you this."

aaron's eyes perked up instantly, and a touch of embarrassment quickly swept through him. he felt childish almost, at his eagerness; the want to be included.

"i'm sure you noticed, the valentines." with the pink slip in your hand, you used to to reference the bullpen. "penelope wasn't very subtle about it."

"i did." aaron commented, hoping the blush present in his cheeks wasn't too visible. one of his eyebrows quirked up in question. "and they were from you?"

you bit down on your bottom lip, but the action didn't quite stop your smile. "guilty."

"well, that was very thoughtful of you. it lifted everyone's spirits, that's for sure."

"yeah i thought... i don't know. every day we come in to heaps of files on our desk, and aren't exactly doing jumping jacks at the sight of them. so i thought it'd be nice to have something different, for once. something good."

aaron's lips almost pulled into a smile, recalling the earlier antics and his next inquiry caused your cheeks to flush. "and you sent yourself one?"

"hey, self love." you were quick to quip back, laughing softly but with a shake of your head. "i was trying to be discrete. if i were the only one to not receive a card, that'd be awfully suspicious and defeat the whole purpose, don't you think?"

'if i were the only one', aaron's chest warmed. you hadn't forgotten him, there had been one with his name on it all along.

"but..." you adjusted your weight from one foot to the other, suddenly exhibiting nervousness. aaron recognized your small movement, knowing it as one of your tells. that, and your habit of chewing the inside of your cheek. "yours, i wanted to hand deliver."

aaron couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. "you did?"

"it's special. like you." you rushed out in a breath, and if aaron's blush hadn't been present before- it definitely was now. you handed the valentine to him rather quickly, before you could chicken out. "and i wanted you to know it was from me."

silence fell over aaron, feeling absolutely touched. he didn't know what to say.

"happy valentine's day." you gave him another smile, still leaving him speechless, and heading out of his office.

before you had fully exited the room, aaron opened the valentine. his eyes skimmed over your loopy handwriting- and the feeling in his chest intensified. the contents included you thanking him, for looking out for you and the team as a whole. you had emphasized how safe he made you feel, and how you felt extremely lucky to have someone like him protecting you in midst of the horrors you saw daily. he gave you a comfort you never thought possible, and you couldn't picture receiving so from anyone else. the ending however, made his heart skip a beat.

and whenever you're free- dinner? you and me?

he's always been drawn to you, in more ways than another, but he had never acted upon them. he couldn't quite figure out how to approach you like that, and he regretted every chance he didn't take. but now, you've given him the perfect opportunity.

aaron, paperwork completely forgotten and disregarded, didn't hesitate to go after you. "wait!"

you met his gaze as he exited his office- you had just begun collecting your things to head home. everyone else had already gone.

"yes?" a smile tugged at your lips, heart fluttering.

"i'm free right now. if... you are?"

[goldfades]

✮ 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲, luke hughes

betty, i'm here on your doorstep and i planned it out for weeks now but it's finally sinkin' in betty, right now is the last time ── yeah, i showed up at your party will you have me? will you love me? will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends? if you kiss me, will it be just like i dreamed it? will it patch your broken wings? ── the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you so i showed up at your party

──

♡ ─ word count | 1.5k

♡ ─ summary | a small incident at luke's draft party causes a whole lot of drama you never expected to happen.

♡ ─ warnings | unedited lol, angst!!!!!!!!!!!! so much angst, slightly asshole!luke, let me know if i missed anything.

♡ ─ taglist | tbd

♡ ─ ev's notes | yayaya, my first piece of writing published on tumblr!!! please let me know your thoughts, i'm very open to (respectful) criticism.

ALSO desperately want some hockey (or literally any lol) moots so please send in an ask to become moots!

You had no idea know why you were here, sitting outside his house.

Well that was a lie ─ you knew why you were here. You didn't know what you would say, not in the slightest. You knew you had to make some kind of plan in your mind before you went in, led completely by adrenaline and impulse.

There were a few familiar cars outside the house. You knew the red Kia was his parents' and the Quinn's gray Ram. Your stomach was filled with slight dread as you thought about how this entire thing happened.

You shook your head to snap out of your thoughts ─ it didn't matter now. You were gonna fix it and get your best friend back, no matter what you had to do.

You knew tonight was Jack's birthday party. Before this whole thing happened, you were invited to the party ─ it wouldn't have been right to not have you all here with them. Well, until the fight.

You took a deep exhale before turning off your car, looking up at the familiar house. You got out of the car and shut the door, walking up to the house. Before you even had gotten on his front porch, the door swung open and you immediately paused, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

You were met with him and suddenly all the memories of the past month came flooding back.

──

THREE WEEKS AGO

──

The loud cheers from everyone around you would've been distressing if not for how happy you felt. You were screaming along with them, cheering.

You knew that Luke would've been drafted to the Devils for a fact but it didn't dissipate the happiness that filled the room. Luke turned to you and you couldn't help but hug him tightly, as the whole room shook with excitement.

For a moment, it just felt like time stopped and it was just you two in the whole world ─ despite the 20 people who were surrounding all of you, it didn't matter. As you let him go, it seemed like you weren't the only one who felt that way as you locked eyes with Luke. He had a true, authentic smile on this face.

Every time he smiled, your heart leapt out of your chest. This time was no different; the same smile you sported on your own lips, playing off each other's emotions, and the heat you could feel rising on your cheeks. Everyone patted and tugged him around in excitement but his eyes were locked on you, your arm perched on his shoulder.

Once the celebrations died down, you set off for a quick drink break in the kitchen. As you turned around from the fridge, drink in hand, you were met with Luke's gaze. Your cheeks glowed, the familiar rush of excitement tingling through your veins. His smile was just as contagious as yours you begun talking.

"You excited?" You spoke. You hadn't talked to Luke the whole night because he was the man of the night. You were happy for him, of course ─ you missed him, though.

"For what?" He was joking of course. He usually hated being the center of the attention but this time it felt different ─ he felt deserving of it.

You rolled your eyes playfully, laughing. "Moving to Jersey, being close to Jack again."

Luke nods, a smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, I missed him. But I don't know, it would feel weird not playing with everyone else. And you not being at every home game." He whispered the last part out, almost sounding ashamed of it.

You felt the smile on your face get brighter and bigger. "Well I'm gonna miss watching you play live, Lukey."

He winced at the silly nickname, but couldn't help but smile as he looked down at you leaning against the kitchen island, comfortably close to him. "You could always come out to Jersey."

"Yeah, maybe."

A still silence hung in the air between the two of you, but it was not uncomfortable. There was a subtle switch in the air as Luke's eyes remained fixed on you. Neither of you spoke, content to soak in each other's company in the warmth of the moment, aware that there was something more to be said but not ready to be said quite yet.

You could almost see his thoughts racing, the wheels turning, trying to decide what to do next. "Y/N?" He asked softly, the smile slowly slipping from his face. He wanted to speak up, to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat. He could only let out a whisper, his expression growing more uncertain with each passing moment.

A sense of anxiety crept in but even so, you knew exactly what was about to happen. He leaned in and let his lips brush softly against yours in a quick peck. It didn't feel wrong, not even a little bit — it actually felt perfect. You could tell he had been thinking about this for a while and you'd also contemplated it in the past. However, despite the fact that it felt right, it was wrong — not just wrong, but completely off limits.

"Y/N?" You heard another voice echo in the kitchen and you both whipped your heads.

──

PRESENT

──

Luke folded his arms and averted his gaze from you. You felt your heart crack a bit from his bitter expression. The sound of laughter coming from inside filled you with a sudden sense of clarity and the realization that you could be ruining his night crept in. It was sobering and the thought of how his family would be disappointed, upset with your presence there. It made the guilt and shame that you felt sting all the more.

But you had to. You had to get him back, no matter what.

You opened your mouth to speak but before the words could come out, he started speaking first.

"Why are you here, Y/N?" Your name felt like a curse when he said it, like knives piercing your heart. He always spoke to you with such kindness and care, but now it felt almost spiteful. He looked at you through narrowed eyes, and there was no warmth left in his voice, only cold accusation.

"I wanted to talk to you, Luke." You answered, your eyes moving to look down, shamefully. "Can we talk?"

Luke scoffed; typically a playful sound, but this time it cut like a knife. "Y/N, I just… not now, please." There was hurt in his voice, a sharp contrast from his usual sweet nature. The atmosphere was tense, heavy with unspoken words.

"Luke, I can't stand this! I miss you!" You finally snapped and he looked taken aback. "What did you expect me to do? You just kissed me and─and I had no time to process it when Morgan had walked in!"

"You're blaming me, now? You never told me that Morgan liked you─"

"Luke! You're not listening to me." You sighed loudly, moving closer. "It doesn't matter, I just want to talk to me again. It's not my fault. And─and it doesn't yours, either." You explained anxiously, playing subconsciously with your rings.

Luke licked his lips, his gaze flicking up to the the ceiling in thought before looking back at you.

“I know you don’t want to talk about this, Luke, but I really need to.” You paused, feeling your heart rate speed up.

"There's nothing to talk about, Y/N." He said, plainly. "I like─" He paused, his thoughts dying on his tongue. "─liked you."

Your heart broke. Liked? "Luke..."

"We're gonna be leaving for Jersey the day after tomorrow, Y/N." He sighed. "I'll be out of your hair then. You won't have to worry about me."

"Luke, you're my best friend!"

"No, you're not my damn best friend, Y/N!" Luke shouted, his voice trembling with rage. "You're more than just my best friend and I don't know how you could be so clueless! I never wanted you like a best friend, I liked you, and it's been right in front of your face this whole time but you've too oblivious to notice it." Luke yelled, his frustration and anger boiling over.

You taken aback and felt paralyzed, your mind scrambling to form a coherent response. Your mouth was dry, your heart racing a hundred miles per hour. You desperately wanted to say something, anything, but your words were stuck in your throat. The moment dragged on, as if time had paused just for this.

Luke had never blown up on anyone, especially you. His voice echoed and you could feel everyone from inside was now listening in. This suddenly felt a like a mistake, you shouldn't have come and ruined his night.

Finally, she managed a strangled out reply. "Luke-" she breathed, her voice shaking as she spoke. "I knew that, I-"

"No you didn't." His anger had dissipated, now he just seemed tired. "It doesn't matter now, okay? I'm done with this." He pointed between them.

Again, you opened your mouth to speak only to be met with the slam of the door. You stood there, in the cool March air as you finally let the tears fall.

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

[hmshermitcraft]

Now, while not the standard "celeberties" in the stereotypical sense, both Mumbo and Pearl are essentially Idols in their fields of work, receiving the same level of attention and treatment as actors and singers.

Pearl, an astrophysicist, known for her groundbreaking discoveries regarding the moon and other celestial bodies, found herself in an odd predicament as she seemed to grow fonder and fonder of this celebrated engineer she had met during a New Year's Eve party held by her brother, Grian. There was just something about those eyes and his suit, the way that he let his intelligence shine through his jokes and comments, and the hints to the chaotic weirdness she just knew laid beneath that thin layer he held up for those who didn't know him well.

Mumbo, a roboticist and engineer, known for his groundbreaking robots that had been used to reach the moon and now some of the furthest solar system bodies, found himself in an odd predicament as he seemed to have fallen hard for the astrophysicist who had used his machines to make such astronomical discoveries. He'd known about her for years now, mostly through Grian, getting stories of the siblings' chaotic hijinks and sometimes, he'd get some news about her work, but now- Now she stood right in front of him, and she was drop dead killer, even in the formal academic attire she was stunning, but in casual clothing- were it not for the soft buzz of the jack he had earlier, he'd be a stuttering mess from how cool she looked.

The introduction went well, and when Grian brought up what they did for work, things began to hit it off fast. The two would spend almost all of the party just talking about their fields and stories from their past, sitting beneath the cosmic painting that is the midnight sky above them.

This was bad. That was the first thought that came to Mumbo's mind when the flash of the camera hit them- both him and Pearl had met up together at her place of work to discuss somethings, and it was just- how could he not lean in and kiss that smart face? How was he supposed to know that a reporter had came in right behind them to get a statement. Already, they saw how colleagues and fans of their work were beginning to talk about how amazing it would be if they were to work together, and a tiny few who started to connect a few dots-

This was great! Er, well, it gave them an answer on how to break the news on how they were dating. At least it wasn't from someone digging where they shouldn't have. Pearl was far more positive on this, using it as a way to safely and more appropriately reveal the "new" relationship. Of course, it came with some downsides, the letters and "critics" regarding a relationship between coworkers or who their partner was were always annoying, and at times, aggravating, but it was manageable, they had even gotten a "couple name" by a fan which was Celestial Nonsene- she had no idea where it came from, but she liked it. The best thing to come out of this all was her brother showing up to her place the day after it broke news, only to find a messy haired mumbo still in his boxers (that had moons on them, a gift from her) and a groggy Pearl who was wearing Mumbo's tie. Now that was a fuuun day, and nothing was better than messing with Grian by just leaning over and giving her boyfriend a solid kiss that left him seeing stars a bit.

-👁🎭

Grian is outnumbered and he regrets ever introducing the pair. They probably would've crossed paths eventually - Pearl works with a lot of high tech equipment! But Grian accelerated the process, and with it, his misery.

Seriously, he's glad they're getting along so well, but not so well they're teaming up to tease him!

[ya-zz]

Could I get some of the older Overwatch members (Ana, Reinhardt, Soldier) just comforting reader because they need to know they aren’t a terrible person. Please. <3

She watches as you rest your head on her shoulder, a heavy sigh escaping your throat.

"Take it easy." She reassures, hand grasping yours, thumb gently circling your knuckles.

"Am I a bad person?"

Her movements freeze, her mind reeling with thoughts on how to answer. "A bad person?" She repeats. "Of course not, sweetie. One mistake doesn't make you a bad person."

"But after-"

"Shush. You are not a bad person. I do not want to keep telling you that." She brings her hand to wrap around your shoulder. "Mistakes are a part of life and one small one doesn't mean jack. You may feel deep down that you are, but I, along with many others, can tell you that you're not."

"Ana..."

"My dear, you are one of the bravest people out there. Despite all the odds against you, you are still pushing. You're still going forward. You are still strong." She presses a kiss to your head, hand rubbing up and down your arm. "Don't let one thing change how you feel about yourself. You are worthy of being loved."

Large arms encase you, your tears already soaking through his shirt. No matter what you would say, he wouldn't let go, he wouldn't let you free yourself. Effectively, you were trapped in a tight embrace.

His heart thumps heavy, calmly soothing you from the onslaught of tears.

"There, there." He coos, hands rubbing up and down your back. The warmth was almost suffocating.

"I just want to believe I'm not a terrible person."

Reinhardt chuckles, chest rumbling against your cheeks. "You are far from it, my dear. Why, you are just the greatest."

You can tell he's trying, though consoling isn't exactly his strong suit.

"Just the other day you were so bubbly, so full of life! Just because one insignificant issue occurs does mean you should hate yourself." He loosens his grip, hand coming to your chin to lift your head up to face him. "You have never been a terrible person, at least, not to me!"

He watches the smile creep onto your face as he brushes away a tear.

Reinhardt hums softly. "You must love yourself against all odds otherwise I will just have to love you twice as hard."

He sits across from you, the meeting not yet begun. It was just the two of you in the room, a tension swirling in the air.

"What's up, kid?" Jack finally breaks the awkward silence, watching as you look up and then to the side. "The mission went as well as it could've done."

"I hurt them..."

"No, you were doing your job." He straightens in his chair. "If it weren't for you, things would've gotten ugly."

"That doesn't change how terrible I feel-"

"Kid. Listen to me." He leans forward, hand reaching for yours. You pull back, not wanting the physical contact. His heart aches at the sight. "Do not let this get to you otherwise you will bury yourself under it and you do not want that." He takes a breath, watching you. "It will hurt for a while but know that it's over now."

You muster a nod, looking down at your hands clasped together on the table.

"It's over. You're still here. That says a lot. Trust me, kid, we need you."

[jaydenix]

20 years on, Sokka is still one of the best male role models in all of media

We need more young men written like him

What's there not to love about Sokka? As ATLA's resident comic relief guy, crazy shit that happens to him is always a good laugh. He's full of himself and overconfident which combined with a stellar voice acting performance by Jack DeSena makes for a very fun character. But one of the most intriguing things about him is his relationship with manhood.

Sokka begins the show very close-minded on the subject of gender, he believes he's just innately better than woman (especially Katara) because he is a man. At this point he thinks he's on top of the world and he knows everything. After all, he has been put in a great position of power in protecting his tribe after the men left to fight. For what his world currently is his quite on top of things, but his world is about to expand 100 times over.

Once Aang arrives he's tasked with coming along with him and and his sister to head to the North Pole, but early on they arrive on Kyoshi Island and meet the Kyoshi Warriors, this is what begins to break down his superiority complex where he challenges his later girlfriend Suki to a fight and she fucks up his shit. This causes him to unravel what he believes about gender, that he is better than women because he is a man. But his adventure with becoming a man has only just begun.

Throughout the rest of the show, we uncover more about Sokka having to be left behind by his father, he was just barely not old enough to go away to fight and that hurt him real bad, he feels his ability to fight made him a man, but this robbed right out from under him due to his age. Though having spent 2 years stuck without seeing his father and having spent several months out flying around on a bison taking on the Fire Nation, of course he becomes way stronger and way smarter perhaps not dissimilar to how he would've done if he was able to go off and fight 2 years prior. Eitherway, when he finally sees his father and the men of the Southern Water Tribe again at the end of book 2, he's understandably incredibly nervous because he's unsure of how they'll respond. He's left wondering whether they will see him as a man? And of course, they all do, they shake his hand and one of them is comparing heights as he's gotten a lot bigger, he's now an equal to them. They left him a boy, but they reunited with a man. And the classic moment where Hakoda says to him "aren't you listening? I said the rest of you men get ready for battle" like FUCK yeah man Hakoda doesn't even give a second thought here to his son's manhood he just knows his boy is all grown up I love him.

Now, you all know this, so why am I talking about it? Well, Sokka is such an incredibly positive representation of masculinity: his journey to manhood doesn't involve being better or putting down women or anyone for that matter. It even challenges him on this when he thinks thats what it involves. Being a man to him is knowing where you're needed the most, and he fulfils that by trying to bring about peace in the world and helping his friends and others. This is what masculinity should be.

It seems right now a lot of young men are being radicalised into far-right red-pill ideologies which promote masculinity as mistreatment of others. How on earth do we solve this issue to prevent men diving head first into the brazen misogyny of people like Andrew Tate? I don't know, but a lot of people are increasingly frustrated with hardships in this modern world and look for some kind of scapegoat. Now, don't get me wrong, it's really easy to not be a flaming misogynist, and the grievances that the MRA/manosphere lobby enjoy highlighting like idk men being more lonely supposedly? Or not being able to find "ideal" partners because of the woke anti-men feminism mob or whatever? Whereas feminists point to you know things like rape? And abortion restriction? And domestic violence? Real actual issues that affect millions of women all over the world every single day? Undoubtedly I think a lot of men need to do a bit more critical thinking. But perhaps a small part of solving this problem might just be more shows and movies and media portraying young men like Sokka who learn to embrace a non-toxic and healthy form of masculinity. Maybe this will help even just a few young boys not be pulled into these dangerous ideas as they have their own independent idea of how to be a man that was guided through well written and interesting characters. Though of course there's a lot more to it as well, this is just one thing I've thought of.

"One is not born, but becomes a woman" is a common quote thrown around in feminism, and to me Sokka is the perfect example of someone who wasn't born, but became a man through his own good actions.

👏 More 👏 Young 👏 Men 👏 Like 👏 Sokka 👏 Please 👏

[jellybeanium124]

new atticus fic got me thinking ab how jack's just been playing with ed's heart on and off for almost 30 years, and ed doesn't quite know how much of that is jack being an asshole for the sake of it, being an asshole because he feels like he has to perform masculinity, and being clueless. every time ed thinks he's finally gotten thru to himself that jack is never ever changing and he's gonna be a jerkass teenage boy in the body of a grown man forever, jack exhibits 1 (one) emotion for a fraction of a second and ed immediately falls back into thinking that maybe this time jack will finally grow up and change. and he never does. at some point ed almost dies and jack saves his life and ed wakes up to see jack crying over him and it's the first time he's seen jack cry since they were literally still teenagers, and ed hopes that maybe this is it, maybe this is the moment where jack can finally admit he loves ed, and he doesn't want to be an asshole anymore, he loves ed and he wants ed.

but he doesn't. he doesn't say any of that. he leaves to go on the bender to end all benders and tells ed not to contact him. and what's ed supposed to do but remind himself that this is always how jack responds to emotions, by drinking enough to drown them out. he feels like an idiot for thinking jack could change, and he feels like an idiot for caring about a man who's probably never seen him as more than a hole to fuck and a partner in petty crime/drinking. ed can't take the way jack plays with his emotions anymore.

he's different from izzy, in that way. ed's seen jack's mask crack to reveal a tiny scrap of a heart still inside him. a fleeting glimpse of kindness or good humor. izzy's just a weird sick little freak, and when ed's seen his mask crack, what's revealed is that izzy's a socially awkward power-hungry dumbass who doesn't know who ed is at all, and desperately wants to control him into being something he's not. jack wants ed to be something he's not as well, but like, jack knows ed's not like that. jack knows he's asking ed to be someone he's not, in the same way that he plays up his mean, aggressive, macho side. izzy genuinely thinks ed's like that and when he's being soft then he's acting out of character. jack wants ed to be someone he's not with him. izzy wants ed to be someone he's not for him. and because of that, because of the one ounce of emotional intelligence jack has on izzy, jack can pull his heart in ways izzy never could.

and that makes the pain different! and in some ways, it's almost a bit deeper. there's something impersonal about every time izzy betrays ed's hope he might become a little better, and finally see ed, and finally want what's best for ed instead of some crap he thinks is best for ed. meanwhile jack's betrayal hits so much harder, because their love for each other was real, once upon a time, and jack actually really knows ed.

but in some ways, that makes jack more insidious. because the pull he has is stronger, ed's belief that jack could be good is stronger, because ed knew him when he was young and hadn't fully covered up all his squishy bits yet. jack's far more addictive that way. the day he finally changes will feel so much bigger for ed. he would've had a life with jack, at one point. still might.

but jack can never change. he's let something rot inside him that might've been alive at some point. and as long as he keeps coming back like a bad penny he'll keep stringing ed along and torturing him whether he means to or not.

[pransesdp]

*sips tea* -Soooo, dunno if the ship-circle-meme thing is still popular or not/has been done lately in the DP fandom... buuut couldn't resist giving it a try after I went back and updated a ship template I made awhile back lol Here's the blank template below for anyone who wishes to fill it out too (just be sure to give credit when you're done! ^^):

My current ship opinions shouuuuld be self-explanatory for the most part, but for anyone curious of my specific thoughts & such, feel free to read below! 👍

~DP OTPs~

-Danny x Sam

Yeah yeah, call me cliche/basic all you want with this being in the OTP rank… but dangit, I just can’t help it after all the fond nostalgia for them I’ve had over the years~💜. A dorky ghostly hero w/ a spunky goth girl, encouraging eachother’s strengths & working through whichever hardships come their way, and by staying so supportive through thick & thin… it allowed for feelings to steadily blossom by the end~ 💚. Was it "perfectly" handled, development-wise? Well, maybe not. Do I wish they could've gotten together sooner so we'd actually see how they'd work as a couple? Absolutely. But all-in-all… writing flaws aside, I can't help but enjoy them anyway~ x3

-Dash x Jazz

Most def one of my more… "controversial" picks for an OTP these days, but hear me out lol. As much of an obnoxious jerk Dash was for most of the show… it always intrigued me alot for how he had that brief crush on Jazz early-on 🤔. Like, the girl wasn't even a popular kid herself from what we've seen in the show (often preferring books to people, half the time)… yet Dash of all people caught a bit of feels for her enough-to invite her to his party? Interesting 👀 Do I think they would've worked as an actual canon ship? …Weeell, most likely no lol. BUT, can't say I'm not a sucker for a good ol' "confident nerd x smug jock" dynamic, esp for the potential of Jazz helping to humble Dash in his place + Dash encouraging Jazz to loosen up more & have fun (away from just being the "responsible" smart one all the time). Hehee~ ;p

-Ghostwriter x Ember

One of my "newer" OTPs as of late, I just love the potential of two artsy-inclined ghosts (Ember w/ her music + Ghostwriter w/ his writing) forging a special bond together~ 💜Whether it's Ember nudging GW out of his comfort zone like the kickass babe she is, GW encouraging more "downtime" moments for Ember at home (whenever the rockstar fame gets too much), and then occasionally annoying everyone with their poetic displays of lovin' when they're out & about together~ -w-

-Jack x Maddie

I mean, this one's a no-brainer to put here lol =P Two happily-married, proud ghost-researchers who work perfectly as a "brains & brawn" duo. Even if there's occasional moments of marital spats (-often from Jack's excitable mishaps 😅 lol), the way they're ultimately always able to find their way back to eachother (even in an AU-timeline where Maddie married Vlad) is just… d'awwww~ ❤️

-Johnny 13 x Kitty

The OG ghost sweethearts whom I'm so sad never seems to feel fully-appreciated by the fandom… even though there's SO much to love about them imho~ The way Johnny was so devoted to bring Kitty into the human world with him (even if it had to involve using Jazz along the way), Kitty's protective rage upon seeing Danny hurt Johnny (despite being mad at him earlier), and the behind-the-scenes element of their VAs being a married couple irl just adds another layer of sweetness to them ngl~ 💚

-Nocturn x Desiree

Two ancient, powerful ghostly spirits keen for chaos and grandeur for themselves… they'd be quite a power couple match the more I've thought of them (+working with their son, Reve). Reminding me alot of Xibalba & La Muerte from "The Book of Life", in a way~ lol ;p

-Walker x Spectra

The stern, crooked ghost warden w/ the cunning shadow lady, if thats not already a recipe for some "steamy" chemistry there~ 👀💚

-Fright Knight x Dorathea

The fiercest ghostly knight with the growing-badass dragon princess spells SO much for beautiful ship chemistry~ :love: With the Fright Knight clearly being a man who values strength & confidence, to have Dorathea around for him to admire and protect (& vice-versa with her own dragon-shifting skills)… just hhhhhhh I NEED it in my life ToT ❤️

-Danielle x Valerie

These two definitely caught my heart ALOT more than I expected these last couple years; from the way Danielle was the key to helping Valerie realize not all ghosts are bad, their moment of teamwork once Danny & Val helped to save her from Vlad, and even that bit of them sneakily scaring Danny at the end was pretty amusing to see~ lol Whether as a strong duo of friends, or something "more" down the line, either way these girls def deserve all the love in the world~ ❤️

-Paulina x Star I will never not be a sucker for a classic "girlboss gfs" ship, and even if Paulina & Star didn't get too much development/focus (outside of being mean girls)… well, they just give me all the feels with how well they click together~ ❤️With Star being one of the few characters Paulina was shown to genuinely care about (to the point of legit crying when Star went missing in "Claw of the Wild"), and the way they're always so doting & sweet when hanging out on the sidelines, how could you not see them potentially getting together~? :3

~DP Loved Ships~

-Desiree x Dorathea

The sneaky chaotic genie with the dutifully kind princess, a pair I think could have loads of potential after all both ladies have been through~ :aww: If it weren't for my attachment to other ships (+Arthur & Reve's characters in my NG), I'd def be down to give 'em more love ngl~ ❤️

-Freakshow x Lydia

While we never really got to know more of the context behind their relationship (if they're just a pair of allies, friends, or something "more"), I enjoyed seeing their chemistry of working together stealthily even after Freakshow lost everything/got further lost-in power. If there ever was a chance to see more of them together, I'd be down for that! ^^

-Kwan x Sam

My overall second-fave Sam ship from the series and one I seem to grow more & more fond of as of late 💜While only really interacting a handful of times, I just love how Sam was able to reach out to Kwan in offering him a chance to hangout (seeming to know that deep down he truly means well, despite all his clumsiness/loyalty to Dash). And Kwan being so dorky and keen to get into Sam's interests was pretty adorb too, so I can just imagine all their fun potential as a "golden retriever x black cat" duo :3 . Sam encouraging him to stand his ground, Kwan helping Sam tone down her temper/stubborn habits, all that jazz~ ;P

-Tucker x Valerie

Ngl, I'm still bummed the show abruptly ended this one before it could fully-flourish… 'cause man they seemed to have such a sweet setup going by "Shades of Gray" 💛. Tucker reaching out to Valerie to cheer her up (even after she lost her popularity/wealth), Valerie (albeit at first using him to get more info on the Fentons) seeming to lowkey enjoy his company the more she hung out with him, and seeing Tuck even going that extra mile to take the fall for Valerie's dad during that ghost accident at the end (which could've really gotten him in trouble)… just, c'mon how could you not find see the ship-potential in that~? :3 While I'm ultimately fine with these two just staying as friends from then-on, I can't help thinking of the "What Ifs?" with them now & then~ ^^

-Valerie x Sam

Again, yet another pair that I feel the fandom's sadly sleeping on… 'cause c'moooon, these girls would be SO fitting as a gf duo together!~ :D Their whole conflict regarding Danny aside, they've got quite a bit in-common in terms of their strong-willed spirits, loyalty to their loved ones, and even while stubborn at times, they've got the drives to try & do the right thing when it all comes down to it~ 👍 As well as having their own lil differences that could help give each girl a better perspective on things (not all popular/preppy kids are bad, not every outcast kid is a “loser", etc.). Ups & downs they may have at times, Val x Sam could def use some more love all-in-all! 💜🧡

~DP Liked Ships~

-Danny x Valerie

Probably the most popualr Valerie ship in terms of the general fandom, and rewatching the show its not hard to see why! Both having gone from two bickering kids unable to stand eachother, to a ghost & hunter duo having to learn how to work together, and even their brief dating phase/further-truce down the line allowed for some solid development to form imo :3 I may not be too invested in this one compared to other ships I have for them both, but kudos to the fans who try to give them that proper attention the showed failed on (even if just closure-wise) anyway! ^^

-Danielle x Sam

While their interactions all-in-all were a lil brief, I couldn't help getting the cute image out of my head of Dani lowkey getting a puppy crush on Sam at some point~ ;p Nothing too serious or anything, just a nice lil bit of amusing fluff imo.

-Jazz x Sam

They may have had their differences when Jazz first joined the team, but I did find it sweet how well the girls learned to work together by the end of "Girls Night Out" (gave me a bit of Starfire & Raven vibes ngl lol) :3 I may lowkey be a bit more invested in them friendship-wise, but they're still a fun pair either way ^^

-Pandora x Dorathea

Hehe, the Double-Dora ship lmao =P Silly pun-theming aside, I think it'd be cute seeing Doratea be so in awe of Pandora's wisdom, strength & protective heart for her realm. Even if nothing serious forms from there, I think it'd still be sweet~ ^^

-Kwan x Paulina

Set as I am with the Paulina x Star ship, if I had to envision what kind of guy I'd potentially put with her instead… hmmmm, I think her & Kwan could be cute? .3. With his laidback sweetheart nature balancing well against her sassier tendencies, it'd be fun to see how they'd click imo :3

-Kwan x Tucker

Hehe, ngl… it will never not crack me up how Tuck's first instinct of "YOU'LL NEVER REPLACE DANNY, NEVER!" is almost-immediately followed up to these two frolicking through a meadow lol Guess even Tucker couldn't resist the big sweetheart after awhile, d'aww~ ;P

~DP Ok Ships~

-Jazz x Tucker

A semi-common ship I’ve seen floating around in DP fanfics (mainly as a side ship to DxS), and I’ll admit I can see why it’d appeal. Both are generally smart kids, having helped eachother out here & there on Team Phantom (like the “Frightmare” ep), and the idea of Danny’s bff becoming his future brother-in-law has some cute & funny potential to it lol. On the other hand, though… ehh, part of me feels like it may be a bit too convenient to ship off Tuck w/ Jazz as the only other singles in Team Phantom (lowkey almost akin to Sokka x Toph being commonly shipped alongside Kataang in ATLA-). Not to say its a “bad” ship idea in the grand scheme of things… buuuut idk, I feel like it’d kinda depend on how its written imo .3.

-Wes x Jazz As generally “in-the-middle” I’ve always been to Wes Weston on his own (since he basically just kinda exists to be the “Derpy Hooves” in the DP fandom lol), I’ll admit the fan-content between him & Jazz looked rather cute ^^. Can’t quiiiite put them much higher given Wes’ overall background character-status (so his personality could basically be anything you want… for better or worse lol), but yee .3.

-Technus x Desiree

I seem to semi-regularly spot this around here & there whenever I look up ghost-focused DP ships… which seems like they’d have an interesting “Opposites Attract” angle together, the more I think about it 🤔 Can’t say I’ve ever been that big of a Technus fan tho, hence why this one’s a bit lower-ranked ngl.

-Kwan x Star

One of the other “mainstream” human ships I’ve seen in the DP fandom, mainly shipped through some side ship/NG-related roles. And… I mean, I guess it is a fairly harmless pair for the most part, given they both seemed to genuinely connect well after getting ditched in “Lucky in Love”. But I just… idk, something about them never really intrigued me much to ship them in the longterm :P Not really sure why tbh…

-Sam x Star Saw a couple pieces of them floating around that I'll admit looked cute (esp with their contrasting aesthetics & what-not). Though again, with Star, well… not having a whole lot to her when not with Paulina/the other A-Listers, its kiiinda hard to rank it much higher imo

-Paulina x Tucker

A concept I've only ever seen pop up rarely in the fandom… though, I could potentially see something work here if written right? .3. With Tuck being alot more confident than most "geeks" around him, I'm sure he'd be able to handle Paulina's attitude (which I'm sure in her position, I'm sure she'd probably find a lil refreshing lol), if they ever got the chance to one-on-one bond. Idk, there's still some other ships I tend to prefer more for the both of 'em… but hey, more power to those who wish to explore them anyway! ^^

-Gregor (aka: “Elliot”) x Sam

While I’ll admit seeing Sam’s initial crush on the guy was kinda cute… the fact that he diiiiid turn out to be lying about his goth Hungarian identity by the end (+his sudden jerkiness to Tucker) sadly killed the ship’s chances from there, I’m afraid ^^;. Kudos to some of the rare bits of fan-content I’ve seen exploring their (+Gregor’s) potential a bit more tho… it looks interesting .3.

~DP Neutral Ships~

-Skulker x Ember

One of the more "common" ghost ships ever since the early fandom days… and, not really one that's caught my eye in recent memory 🤷‍♀️ Like, yeah I know they're both fiery punks & became an actual canon thing by the "Girls Night Out" ep… buuuut eh, it just felt a bit too randomly-placed for me to get that many "feels" from them imo. Not to say I'd mind seeing them as a side ship in other DP fanfics or however… just kinda depends on how they're written imo.

-Danny x Star

As much as I'll admit there's some rare bits of fanart that looked a lil cute with them both… ehhhh, again Star's just never seemed to click enough with Danny for me to get more into it (with the most being when she did all his homework to win a beauty pageant… and thats it lol). But thats just me .3.

-Danny x Wes

With how popular Wes is on his own, its not too surprising this one would lowkey become a crackship after awhile. Though… idk, for me it almost feels like a copypaste of Danny x Val's dynamic for most fan-portrayals I've seen of 'em, so I didn't quiiiite stay that interested, I'm afraid .w.;

-Dash x Paulina

Similar case to Kwan x Star in essentially being one of the more “common” human side cast ships (mainly for both of 'em being jerkish popular kids lol). Not a bad idea per-say for a ship concept… buuuut at the same time, just a tad too predictable for me to fully-pair 'em imo.

-Tucker x Danielle Only once or twice I've seen this one shipped, and… I guess I can see some ship potential, kinda? Idk, for some reason its been hard for me to fully-see Danielle with guys lately… dunno why lol

-Tucker x Star

Star may not have been the nicest to him when they briefly hooked up in "Lucky in Love" (on account of Tuck mainly going after her as the "satellite" popular girl lol). I guess I could maaaybe give this one a pass if Star got some more development… tho again, it just depends .3.

-Vlad x Spectra

A fairly common Vlad-focused ship from what I've seen (generally based on their similar aesthetics, in a way?). Seems… alright as a potential pair, but for some reason I just… can't seem to get into it one way or another. Eh… .w.;

~DP Disliked Ships~

-Danny x Dash

“He bullies you ‘cause he liiiiikes you~” has long since grown stale as a shipping trope imo, so I really don’t get why this ship’s semi-popularity lasted as long as it did :/. Like, sure I don't mind the potential of Dash getting redeemed/developed more beyond just a bully… but outside of him hero-worshipping Danny's Phantom half, what else really "is" there to count much for a ship? For me… I just don't see it :/

-Danny x Ember

A pretty popular ship whenever I try to look up Ember content… aaaaand again, not one I've ever been down for much :P. Seems to really mostly appeal to those who think Ember's hot & thus feel like Danny has to have her (+other ghost girls) by-default… which idk, just kept giving me squicky vibes after awhile tbh >>. Not to mention some of the more… "vocal" fans seemingly to also be particularly strong Sam-haters for most of the D/E circles I've stumbled across, aaaaand then it just became even less appealing from there tbh -x-

-Danny x Paulina

A surprising ship I've seen getting steadily popular in recent memory, and… ehhhh as much as I've tried, I just can't bring myself to get into it myself ^^; Again, I'm not at all opposed to Paulina changing her ways & developing better beyond a popular girl role… buuuut with Danny basically doing nothing but awkwardly ogling her looks (+her using him whenever she wants something) for most of the show, like… again, is there anything else to truly "tie" them together, longterm-wise? ^^; Idk, personally if I wanted to pair Danny with a "mean girl-turned-ally" character, I'd rather just stick with Valerie imo.

-Dash x Sam

With how little tolerance Sam has for obnoxious dumbassery, and Dash… well, basically being that in a nutshell lol, I can't say there'd be much of a chance for this one to work imo. Even in a potential one-sided crush situation on Dash's end (and/or Sam's parents maybe pushing for it as an "image"-boost in their rich circles), it just ain't meant to be :P.

-Vlad x Desiree

This dude's basically the embodiment of everything Desiree hates in guys (self-absorbed, greedy, and a creep)… need I say more? lmao

-Paulina x Sam

Again, I've gone over this a few times in the past… buuut as much as I've always yearned to end the "Not like OTHER girls" mantra from way back when, it doesn't automatically make me keen to ship EVERY combo of a girly-girl & alt. tomboy together :/. Not helped by Sam's hurt from Paulina toying with Danny (aka: her best friend) due to one of their petty arguments, aaaaand I can't say I'd ever see this one working outside of maybe a (distant) friendship, once they've grown up a bit better. Otherwise, ehhhh… 🤷‍♀️

~DP NOTPs~

-Danny x Kitty If it weren't bad enough that Kitty was ONLY ever dating Danny to make Johnny jealous… the fact that there's the added ick of Paulina being used as a "host body" by Kitty this whole time (-when the poor girl can't even consent/never wanted to date Danny to begin with) just adds a whoooole new layer of "nope" to this pair, if you ask me >>;;

-Danny x Vlad

…well, do I need to go into detail why this ship's here? 🤢Hella-huge age gap, Vlad being a pervy creep to Danny's mom, constantly going out of his way to breakup the Fenton family/cause other villainous mayhem overtime… just eughhhhh, keep this shit far away from me, thanks =_=;;

-Johnny x Jazz

Similar reasons to Danny x Kitty, this one was basically dead-on-arrival if Johnny's only real "interest" in Jazz was to use her body to bring Kitty into the world with him :no:

-Vlad x Maddie

How many times do we have to say it, Vlad? MADDIE. DOESN'T. LOVE. YOU. 😑

-Tucker x Sam

Ughhh… while I know there's arguably worse ships out there in the grand scheme of things, this ship just always rubbed me the wrong way with how cheaply they've been shipped about in this fandom..😒Mostly ever done as a way to keep Sam away from Danny (and… I guess to just give Tucker something to do when he's not really focused on fanon-wise, either 🤷‍♀️), it fails to take into account just how much Tucker & Sam's differences/attitudes are too fundamentally different to work. From their whole "meats vs. veggies" conflict in the first ep having been the cause of a ghostly mess at their school, to them having to practically always need Danny around to balance their friendship… it just ultimately proves to me that not ALL opposites are meant to attract, I'm afraid >>

~DP BrOTPs~

-Danny/Tucker/Sam

The OG Phantom trio from the very beginning, what more can I say about 'em that the show haven't showed enough of? ^^ Even if Tucker x Sam still rubs me the wrong way ship-wise, I still enjoy their overall friendship & teamwork when it comes to supporting Danny & vice-versa. And heck, even if there's a scenario that Danny & Sam don't end up together, I like to think they'd always be the best of friends no matter what~ :3

-Danny/Clockwork

I enjoyed seeing their mentor & student-like dynamic the more they interacted in "The Ultimate Enemy" & "Masters of All Time". While rather trollish to Danny at first, its clear Clockwork means well in wanting to teach Danny a lesson that actions have consequences (no matter how big or small) ^^

-Danny/Danielle/Jazz

A bundle of Fenton siblings that I can't help but find wholesome the more I've rewatched the series~ :) From Danny & Jazz's growing support for one another upon Jazz realizing her lil bro's secret, to Danny learning to lookout for Danielle beyond her being his clone (akin to how a big brother would, in a way ^^), and even though we sadly didn't get the chance for Danielle to meet Jazz (or the other Fentons) before the show ended, I like to think the two girls would get along great either way as (technical) sisters~ :3

-Dark Danny/Danielle/Jazz Even though you could argue Dark Danny (or "Dan" if you prefer) should prob be more considered his "own" character at this point, I just can't help enjoy certain fan-depictions of him maintaining a strong sibling bond with both Jazz and/or Danielle ^^ Guess that brotherly instinct inside Danny would never "fully" go away even while evil… awww ^^

-Danielle/Youngblood

With them both being the youngest ghosts in the series, I love the idea of them having a grand ol' time messing with the older ghosts & pulling pranks around the place lol

-Desiree/Spectra

Two matured, devious ladies with alot of experience on their plate, they'd be quite a fun villain duo if you ask me ;P

-Ember/Kitty

The rebellious bad babes of the Ghost Zone who'd be down to wreck up the place & go vibe on the town, what more can you ask for in a pair of villain besties? lol ;p

-Jazz/Sam/Valerie

I'm always a sucker for a good trio of heroic besties, and what more can you ask for with a kickass mix of brains, brawn & heart from these three? ^w^ Whether they're kicking ghost butt, hanging out at the mall, or training up for future adventures, I'd SO be down to see it! :>

-Dash/Kwan

While Dash may not always be the nicest/most considerate to Kwan at times, I like to imagine at the core they're still generally a tight pair of "bros", when it all comes down to it :3

-Skulker/Technus

As much as I may not be the biggest Technus fan around, I did lowkey enjoy seeing his teamup with Skulker here & there (like in TUE's timeline where they're fused in-one). It was cool ^^

-Dorathea/Sam

While they had their differences with Sam being caught up in Dorathea's plan to give her brother a "bride" (via-the beauty pageant), I found it quite touching of how much Sam inspired the princess to stand up for herself by the end 🥺👏Would've loved to have seen more of that potential friendship throughout the show ngl.

-Star/Valerie Even if Valerie's not part of the popular squad anymore, its kinda sweet ngl to see Star still hanging out with her here & there. Guess the lil sassy blonde's got more of a heart deep down after all, aww~ ^^

~Paired with an OC/Non-Listed Character~

-Dark Danny x AU!Sam

With all the colorful AUs & fanfics out there with Dark Danny, its always intrigued me of how much people play around of how DxS could still work in a "corrupted" TUE timeline .3. Whether its with Sam being an equally-evil Plant Queen, or Sam actually surviving the Nasty Burger explosion somehow (+potentially working alongside Valerie as a huntress), just imagine the tension to form with her & Dark Danny~ 👀

-Vlad x Harriet

I may not be suuuuper huge on Vlad on his own accord, but ngl… seeing the rare bits of art/fics with him & Harriet Chin (Maddie's old college friend) got me lowkey intrigued o3o. Reminding me a bit of a "darker" version of Superman/Clark x Lois' dynamic, I can imagine Harriet getting more intrigued to find out more about the "mystery" of Vlad's Plasmius half (perhaps as a way to restore her own reputation post-"Bitter Reunions")… coming across eachother enough for some potential "sparks" to form. Idk, I'd have to look into it more if I could see it working endgame-wise… buuuuut either way, I be curious~ .3.

~Stay Single~

-Clockwork With his duties of looking after time itself, I feel like Clockwork would consider romance too "distracting" to his work.

-Pandora

Similar reasons to Clockwork, I feel like she's too stuck by her role of keeping the "box of evil" closed to venture much into a dating life.

-Poindexter

…weeeeell, I just never cared for this dude to think of anything ship-wise for him, romantic or platonic tbh lol 🤷‍♀️

-Youngblood

Seems pretty content atm to be a carefree kid to wanna give much focus to "grownup" things like romance… less it gross him out like w/ most kids his age lmao.

~Crossover Ships~

-Tucker x Wendy Corduroy ("Gravity Falls") Was a reaaaally random old crossover I had that I didn't get to work with much, but I couldn't help finding it cute back when I was more into "Gravity Falls" :> The idea formed of it being Tucker essentially getting sent down to Gravity Falls via-family vacation (as a lowkey break from him being so "tech-obsessed" lol), coming across Wendy & getting mixed into her own misadventures at the Mystery Shack. Can't quite remember if I thought more to their ship setup further, but its still a cute concept imo~ ^^

-Sam x Tom Lucitor ("Star VS. The Forces of Evil")

Ok, now this one I'll admit I just always had this in the back of my mind but never got the chance to talk more about it… buuuuut this is what happens when you have two comfort faves & want all the best for 'em lol ^^. Essentially I see this happening on account of Tom (having already gone through enough bs by the end of "Star VS."), somehow coming across Sam and forming a connection along the way. Both coming from affluent families but struggling to get involved socially in such roles (Sam being the "perfect" prim daughter + Tom being a prince), having an affinity for alternative/rebellious interests, and both having a stubborn but strong loyalty for those they deeply care about. With the potential of Sam even further helping Tom ease up on his temper/encourage him to be himself more often, who knows what other antics they can get up to together!~ :3

[reaper-bloodmoon]

(TSAMS Continuity AU) Too Much Risk, Not Enough Reward

Parts and Services: April 2nd, 2024

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Earth has been stuck and locked in one of the side rooms after Lunar found her eating one of the STAFF bots while it was still functioning, dried oil staining her mouth as she had sucked that STAFF bot dry. Her expression is a tired one, having not gotten any sleep for the past week she had been stuck down there. Soon though footfalls can be heard coming towards the room she's stuck in, which got her to look up. It was Solar, having brought down Earth's knitting supplies along with his own.]

Solar: Hey...I thought you would've gotten bored, being stuck and all that...

[Solar goes to open the door to the room, but Jack, being as quick as he is, stops him.]

Jack: I am sorry! But Moon has told me it is too risky for anyone to go near Earth!

Solar: Jack, she's my sister, she wouldn't hurt me.

Jack: I am sorry, I am only following my current prerogative!

Solar: Jack, let me through-

Jack: I cannot...I do not want to lose you, and Sol would not want to lose you either. Too risky, Solar!

[Solar's rays lower in defeat as he returns to the glass window, looking in at Earth.]

Solar: I'm....I'm sorry, Earth. I thought I'd be able to give you your knitting stuff.

Earth: ......

[Earth can't say anything, what could she say? That she wouldn't harm him if he shut Jack down and came in? No...the hunger was too much, she wanted oil, she needed it, to have the warmth of it splattered on her face. Blood would've worked too, but Solar doesn't have blood.]

Earth: ....Don't worry about it, it's okay.

Solar: Well...I still brought my stuff, so...maybe you could watch? I'm actually trying to do a blanket this time, I was thinking maybe orange and black with a small splash of purple for Sol. You think she'd like it?

Earth: I...think she'd love it, Solar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parts and Services: April 6th, 2024

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Moon taps at the glass of the room Earth is in, Earth having her back turned to him, her stance similar to a zombie's.]

Moon: Earth?

[Earth's neck creaks, groans, and snaps as she slowly turns to look at Moon, her mouth seeping with a dark, pulsing liquid. Moon flinches and stops tapping at the glass.]

Moon: Um....so...how are you feeling?

Earth: ...Hungry...

Moon: I know...but I can't feed you what you actually want.

Earth: ...Moon!!

[Earth bangs against the glass, causing Moon to fall onto his back.]

Earth: I need it! I need your oil!! Let me have it!!

[Earth's eyes flash a more crimson red color, their pupil shape changing to one of a skull.]

Moon: Earth, Earth, hey hey calm down! I...I can't let you have my oil, I can't let you have anyone's oil, not even Bloody and Harvest as much as I dislike those two.

[Earth makes a low growling plus a heavy breathing noise, her eyes going back, somewhat, to normal. Or at least, back to their previous state of being blue with only one pupil being a skull shape.]

Moon: Earth....I promise, I'll find a cure for this, just hold on a little longer.

[Earth says nothing, going back to her previous state of being in a zombie-like stance, here eyes staring off into the void.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parts and Services: April 13th, 2024

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Foxy: I....holy shit dude...

Monty: Earth...?

[Earth's eyes are completely hollow, her face twisted into an eerie, unwavering grin....everything below her head had been twisted and transformed into some sort of metal centipede monster, it taking up the entire room, leaving only enough room for Earth's head to peek out the glass that stood between her and the two outside of the room. Her face was also stained with that black, pulsating substance. Her only response was a raspy croaking, breathing noise.]

Foxy: What...what the hell happened to your girlfriend?

Monty: Do I look like I know what happened, man?? No one's told me anything outside of her getting infected with...something!

Foxy: Gonna be honest here bud, I don't think that's even Earth in there anymore. Whatever it is, it's just using Earth as a skin suit.

Monty: No no she still has to be in there! Earth!

[Monty runs up to the glass and touches it with their own hand.]

Monty: Earth, honey, it's me....please, say something...!

[Earth's head snaps to the side, one of the metal centipede limbs gently pressing itself against the glass where Monty's hand was. Earth's hollow eyes make a grinning gesture before a raspy giggling is heard.]

Monty: ...Hey....you're in there, aren't you?

[Earth, or whatever's wearing her head as a mask, laughs harder, it sounding raspy and almost...pained.]

Earth(?): I need it...let me have it! I want it to end!

[The voice sounds like a pre-recorded version of Earth's voice, or even the last words she had said before she had transformed into this monstrous form.]

Foxy: ...Oh god...bud, I'm sorry, that isn't her anymore.

Monty: No! No!

[Monty impulsively tries to get into the room through the door, but Jack stops them like he had to stop Solar several times before.]

Jack: I am sorry, I cannot allow you access either!

Monty: Jack, get outta my way-!

Jack: I will paralyze you to stop you if I must!

Monty: Jack...!

Foxy: Monty, listen to Jack, clearly Earth had to have already been getting to be too dangerous if he's trying to stop you.

Monty: But that's my girlfriend man, I can't leave her like that!

Foxy: Monty I'm gonna be real honest with you, I don't think there would be anything that could cure that, even if it was developed. You...might just have to put her down.

Monty: Heheh...nah, I bet Moon has to have developed something that actually could work on curing her.

Moon: ....I wish I could say you were right, Monty.

[Foxy and Monty nearly collapse backwards, not having really expected Moon to pull a Jack.]

Monty: What do you mean by that?

Moon: As it turns out whatever she was infected with is actually some kind of mutant killcode that can't be killed off itself.

Foxy: So...if KC had mutated, that could've happened to you?

Moon: Yeah but I don't want to think about in all honesty...anyway turns out KC's the one who made the person who infected Earth.

Monty: Well how'd you find that one out, hm?

[Monty leans against one of the work tables.]

Moon: So before Eclipse completely tore him to shreds, I interviewed that stupid Crescent Moon kid.

Monty: ....God damnit I wanted to get another shot at him!

Moon: Oh great so we're in agreement that kid is just flat out awful. Anyway Crescent Moon was also made by KC, his twin sister is the one that infected Earth by the way, and turns out both him and his sister's killcodes were made with the intent to help protect and defend instead of, you know, kill for no reason. But I guess Luna's mutated to the point it gave her a monster form. The difference between them and Earth though...

[Moon looks at Earth(?) with a pained expression, Earth(?) seemingly going back into that sort of dissociative state.]

Moon: Is that Luna can control that form, meanwhile Earth can't, given that we couldn't let her have any access to blood or oil or even other animatronics for that matter.

Foxy: ...So I'm...oh...I'm right, you're gonna have to put your own sister down, kami kai that's uh....listen, I'll leave you two to figure it out, I'm gonna go get my kid.

[Foxy leaves Parts and Services, Monty and Moon now standing at the room Earth was stuck inside.]

Monty: ...What can we even do, Moon? We can't just pull an Old Yeller on her.

Moon: I don't know, I don't even wanna do this but I have to!

Monty: And I can't just let you do it, not...not on your own anyway.

[Earth(?) hears them and lets out another raspy laugh, sounding less like her own.]

Earth(?): Make it stop! Can't!!!

[Earth's words sound more like they were badly put together audio clips.]

Moon: ...We have to move her into the tube, let it disassemble her...

Monty: And how do you plan on doing that without getting bitten? You told Jack to not let anyone into the room.

Moon: I'm sure Jack's fast enough to move her in there without getting bit. Hey Jack-

Jack: Already done, Moon! No bite marks detected on my body!

Monty: God that's freaky-

Moon: Efficient though...

[Moon and Monty now move over to the old computer with only four buttons, which even I as the narrator admit is stupid and makes things harder than it has to be.]

Monty: ...Give me a moment before you start the process, please.

Moon: I don't plan to start until I get to say my peace too...

Monty: What about Sun, Solar, Lunar, Ruin, and Sol?

Moon: ....Hey Jack, go tell the others about what's happening, and take them down here if they want to get their peace in.

Jack: On it!

[Jack quickly leaves and comes back within five minutes with Sun, Solar, Lunar, Ruin, and Sol.]

Sun: Oh...oh my kami kai this is real...

[They all surround the tube, Earth(?)'s head slowly swiveling around to look at each of them. They all get to say their peace, even saying goodbye to Earth.]

Lunar: Moon...is it...going to hurt her?

Moon: Gonna be honest, it probably would hurt her more if she was still conscious under that.

[Moon lets out a heavy hearted sigh, putting in the command that would disassemble Earth inside the tube. Everyone mostly turns away, not wanting to watch the whole thing happen. It takes over an hour for Earth(?) to be disassembled, Moon having a heavy sense of guilt.]

Moon: Oh I am gonna need so much actual therapy after this.

Ruin: To be fair, I think we all do.

Sol: I don't blame you for that one, I actually have a therapist recommendation.

Moon: Huh?

Sol: His name's Nicolas Gator, I usually send Bloody and Harvest to see him.

[Literally everyone but Sol groan when they hear his name.]

Solar: God damnit not ANOTHER family member of Monty's we didn't know about.

Monty: Don't look at me, I didn't know either!

Sol: ...Is it a bad time to mention he's your older twin? He kinda mentioned that when I first met him and pointed out how similar you two looked.

Monty: Damnit I did not need my own twin brother!

Moon: Well if he's a therapist, he's probably smarter than you are.

Monty: Moon I swear-!

[Moon laughs as Monty starts to chase him out of parts and services, leading everyone else to follow after them to try and get Monty to stop.]

[a-library-of-old]

Okay so someone requested a hc of Jack giving the reader a drink that had aphrodisiac added and the brainrot it's given me-

First off gonna say, Jack had brought this topic up before. At the time he'd presented it as a sortve 'what if' and didn't even mention such magical artifacts existed. So this is some where consent had been given and stuff because yes Jack's an ass but he's not that big a dick

So, with that in mind, the fact Jack had gotten a new magical item but wasn't immediate showing it to you or even saying what it was? Sure was suspicious of him

By that night at dinner the thought had escaped your mind and plus Jack had started the dinner by giving you your food and waited before starting to talk about the artifact

The food itself wasn't anything new or spicy, yet you felt yourself growing hot. Leaving you to take your coat off to try and cool yourself some what, no longer able to focus on Jack's words even

Focus only coming back when he thanked you for testing the aphrodisiac out for him, eyes shimmering with mischief and face adorned with a smirk

Oh. Oh this all made sense then as you looked to him and he burst out laughing to teasing about how the food must've just been bad that night

Unfortunately however he didn't say what the aphrodisiac had been put in so to try and cool off you drank more of your drink and stood up to do something

Granted decision making wasn't easy with how much need you felt building inside yourself, mind clouding with lust for the man infront of you

Taking another swig of your drink to try and think Jack then finally admitted that's what he'd put the substance in, and that the more you had the worse the effect

Oh that smirk on his face as he said this so sure of himself, you probably would've killed him if it wasn't for the drinks effect and one clear idea forming

Quiet you began to remove your clothes and approach him, much to his confusion, before finally pulling him into a kiss

Somehow Jack was shocked by this outcome, not expecting you to act like this, and so he paused before pulling you closer and trying to tease how needy you where acting

His words where cut off as your hands explored his body and quickly worked to release his half hard dick, barley prepping yourself either before getting him inside you. His groaned response all you needed

Using him for a leverage of sorts you quickly began to ride him at a brutal pace, obscene noises of satisfaction leaving your lips before you pulled Jack into another kiss

Your hands once again at work to begin somewhat stripping him as well, beginning to kiss down his neck

He tried to take some control of the situation but he could do little besides jut his hips to meet your own low whines and pleas to slow down even a little leaving his mouth along with moans of pleasure. Your hands pulling his hair only worsening these sounds

It didn't feel like anytime passed either before his overestimated whines greeted your ears and exhaustion starting to set in for you both as the heated want you felt started to slowly subside

Finally feeling the artifacts effects starting to wear off you slowly moved yourself off Jack to look at the sight you'd left him in

Sweat, cum, and the occasional tear seeming to ruin the suit he'd worn that day, even if it was half off him by now. His body flush besides the love bites you'd left on him

With dinner forgotten and both of you more tired then you'd care to admit Jack learned his lesson.

The artifact was the real thing and great to save for later

[ssahotchnerr]

HEYY! Here’s my part 2 to the Foyet arc with earlyseasons!reader. These are my ideas for the altercation with Foyet!

As I stated in my last ask reader is pregnant with their second child and she’s not further than four months pregnant when the altercation with Foyet happens cause ✨spice✨. But anyways to change things up from the show instead of Foyet calling and tricking reader like he did in the show he gets to the house first just and Reader and Jack show up right after unknowing that he’s the unsub. He tricks reader with an excuse that he’s someone new helping protect them.

Same thing happens in the episode where the long phone call between Aaron and Jack but in my AU reader knows immediately that this is the unsub before Aaron answers the phone. So instead of standing where he can get behind her she’s placed herself against the wall or window so he can only stand in front of her. Jack goes to work the case and when Foyet stands up after making the comment about how cute Jack is reader immediately lets both Aaron and Foyet know shes having another.

Now Aaron is a lot closer to the house than he was in the actual series so the next events after reader tells Aaron she pregnant is that when Foyet gets close enough she continues talking and hangs up or does something to make it seem like the phone call dropped or Aaron accidentally hung up and when Foyet takes the phone to call him again (cause he’s not killing her unless Aaron is listening) when he’s distracted and he isn’t holding his weapon correctly she fights back or disarms him and from there they get into a physical altercation

Reader gets a couple hits to the face (i’m imagining Prentiss bruises in the church cult episode) and an injured leg or ankle but is ultimately able to get the gun back in her hands and k*lls Foyet. I added the injury on the leg/ankle so she can’t get back up the stairs to get Jack and Aaron finds her sitting against a wall only two minutes after k*lling Foyet. I added that cause the scene with Aaron and Jack reuniting and Jack saying “I worked the case daddy” is too dear to me to erase 😭 also Aaron absolutely breaks down in tears seeing reading alive!

And thats all my thoughts 🤭🫶 I hope this is easy to read cause I know its long lol i’d love to know what you think and your versions + expanded thoughts ❤️

part one cw; mentions of pregnancy, violence

okay i love the idea of foyet showing up to the house rather than calling first. to me, it seems more realistic, like of course the reader doesn't suspect he's bad at first, it's been a few months and she's gotten kinda 'comfortable'. like if foyet was going to find them, it would've happened by now, right? maybe? and someone showing up right at the house? - clearly they must have case intel, especially if it's during broad daylight. to go off of that, maybe during the initial conversation with aaron at the hospital, he mentioned how the whole shaunessy thing was long lasting, to give warning how this might be for a while, so reader began to believe that was the case as well? anyway foyet showing up there also just adds to how malicious he is and ugh poor aaron baby would be more frantic knowing foyet simply found them 🥺

OKAY and so for the phone call - hear me out, when foyet is speaking on the phone to aaron, he's the one who mentions reader is pregnant - like at this point, she's clearly showing so he realizes the second he sees her. foyet mentions how cute jack is, and then says something along the lines of, "oh, and it looks like you have another on the way" AHHHH can you just imagine the way aaron's heart would stop 😭 and it causes him to hightail the car there even faster. because he not only has two people to save, but three. and poor reader is upset over that too :( that she wasn't the one to announce the news to him :(

i love the idea of foyet abruptly hanging up as well. he says something to put aaron on edge, followed by a click and then silence. so again, aaron is flooring it there, all the worst case scenarios coming to mind, and now reader is realizing she has to do something or else things are definitely going to take a turn for the worst.

and there's so many scenarios to go about this. i still kinda love the idea of aaron taking foyet down <3 just that whole scene, the tension and silence, the fight, that's something i wouldn't change for the world. so maybe aaron gets there, he finds reader alone with a leg injury like you said, she silently indicates foyet is off somewhere in the house looking for jack. first aaron is so so relieved reader is alive, but then the panic of saving jack sets in and he's going through the house just like he did in 5x9. and luckily <3 foyet doesn't come close to finding jack, aaron takes him down, and then the nightmare is over <3

first order of business, he finds jack. once he's embraced in aaron's arms, the two of them go find reader, who tears up immediately at the sight of them, especially when aaron confirms it's over <3 and then aaron can't help but let out his emotions either :( he gets on the carpet right next to reader, with jack still clinging to him, and wraps an arm around reader to hold her close :(((( silently sobbing. reader is making sure aaron is alright, especially with the scraps and blood all over him :( <3 but he just shakes his head and says how he's so happy the two of them are okay, how much he missed them, and how he loves them both so so much <3 and then!!! tears and all he offers a smile, addressing how reader is pregnant and he can't believe it or how happy he is :,) his hand just drops to reader's belly and depending on how far along reader is, just imagine that's when the baby kicks for the very first time, like it just knew it's daddy was right there and was waiting <33333 which produces only more tears from aaron and reader <3 then something settles over your lil family - a calmness. all the stress, being on edge and pain is gone, because you're all finally together once again <3 plus one hehe <3 🥹

and omg thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!!!!!!! <3 this is such a fun concept to explore, i love hearing different perspectives and i could talk about it for ages <3

[stellarred]

A BEDTIME STORY

"You've had a long day, young Jack. You must rest," Q said, stoking the fire.

"You let me go through hell, Q. That creature could've torn me to ribbons because of your latest little test,"Jack muttered flopping his head down on a pillow.

"But, I saved you, didn't I? Your father never would've forgiven me had I let any harm come to you."

"My father? What about me? Doesn't it bother you that I don't trust you? You're always pushing me to my limits, Q."

"And I am watching you learn and grow beyond what you thought you were capable of. Jean-Luc came to understand me when I tested him."

"You know, you talk about him a lot. What are you stuck on him or something?" Jack replied, irritated.

Q was silent, and gazed into the fire, his snow white hair glistening in the bright glow of the flames.

"Shall I tell you a story before you fall asleep, lad?"

Jack closed his eyes and sighed.

" I hope you're joking, Q. I'd rather you not. But, what the hell. I love a good laugh."

"Your enthusiasm is touching."

Q grew silent for a moment and then began.

"Once upon a time, there was a great and powerful wizard, who lived in a great kingdom of other beings, all-powerful just as he was.

"The kingdom was filled with stars throughout space and time, stretching endlessly throughout the universe. All seemed peaceful within the kingdom.

Until some grew cold and bitter and formed a dark alliance, which threatened to destroy those, who would fight to protect the realm."

Jack sniffed and rolled over on his side to watch the fire.

"Well, that's not good," Jack said nonchalantly.

"The violence grew worse, and the lonely wizard was frightened. But, unlike his brethren, he had found happiness and meaning in his existence, a reason to live. He had found it in a mortal. A taciturn mortal, who explored the stars and dreamed of exciting adventures.

Oh, how the wizard loved this mortal deeply and passionately! For the wizard, there was no greater and more precious jewel in all the Cosmos.

One day, the wizard discovered that his best friend in the kingdom, who'd often watched over him and advocated for him when he had gotten into trouble, had been brutally killed by the enemy.

Enraged at the loss of his friend, the wizard chose to fight with his friends to save the kingdom, along with his brothers and sisters. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the general his allies needed to even have a chance of winning the war. He fought bravely and destroyed many soldiers of the enemy. He fought to..." Q's voice trailed off.

"What, Q?" Jack asked propping himself up on an elbow.

"He fought... to keep the enemy from going after his beloved, who was blissfully unaware of the growing danger to himself and his friends."

"Q, why would the enemy go after this mortal?"

"Why does any enemy go after those who are close to you, Jack?"

Q then paused and observed the flames popping and snapping in the fire.

He continued.

"One day, the wizard was captured and placed in a prison cell of cold, purple bars of evil power. It had been fashioned just for him. It was a prison of Time and Space, and he was trapped, his magic stifled.

The enemy taunted him and threatened great harm upon his mortal. But, the wizard begged and pleaded for them to spare his love.

Eventually, they came to an accord, which was that in order to save the life of his beloved, he would have to accept imprisonment for all eternity.

So, he was trapped, cut off from the universe...and his love.

All he could do was sit and watch as the kingdom destroyed itself and crumbled into nothingness, leaving the wizard trapped, alone and powerless.

Space grew quiet as one-by-one, as the voices of the great and vast kingdom were now silent forever. Never to be heard from again. The few that weren't destroyed in the great civil war were badly wounded, their magic fading into oblivion, leaving their forms as burnt cinders.

"Then, what happened, Q?" Jack asked.

"The wizard languished in sheer loneliness in his prison, knowing that his mortal love was aging and moving on without him. The cruel and ceaseless march of Time tormented him mercilessly. He could not even see his love from afar, for the prison bars blocked his sight, leaving the wizard in anguish for thirty years.

Until...

he managed to break free at last.

The wizard was so excited to find his mortal. What did his beloved look like? Would he remember him?

The mortal had never forgotten him after all. This was a chance for them. A chance to make up for lost time!

But, the mortal was angry at him. The wizard had been gone for so long! The mortal thought that perhaps the wizard had forgotten about their relationship. How unfair time was!

Worse yet, the wizard had been trapped in the Time prison for too long. His magic had faded, and with untreated, old wounds he had sustained in his battles, he was slowly dying.

The wizard was greatly saddened that his beloved's heart had grown cold to love, and that the mortal, too was dying.

The wizard would fight to save his love. He taught the mortal how to love again, and at the very end, the mortal opened his heart to the dying wizard, and the wizard poured all of his love and devotion into the mortal he loved so deeply.

Sadly, the wizard died--"

"He died, Q? That's it? That's the end?" Jack asked.

Q smiled.

"Fools and young barons, Crusher. Just wait! He didn't die permanently, Jack. You see, the wizard knew that the mortal he loved would find love again in his child. A young explorer much like him. And because the wizard wasn't exactly dead, but becoming a part of the Universe Itself, he knew that he would one day return, and that with his magic restored, he could watch over both of them.

For they would eventually become his family.

"What ever became of the mortal and his relationship with the wizard? Did they? You know," Jack asked.

Q smiled softly.

"They married, and they lived happily ever after."

Jack laughed and shook his head.

"Who would've thought that you'd tell me a fairy tale as a bedtime story? I will never figure you out. Good night," chuckled Jack, then laying his head down and rolling over away from Q.

Q was silent.

"Good night, Jack."

[librarian-computer]

If Noah hadn't gotten in a car crash his dynamic with Jack and John would've been like this, you can probably guess who is who but if you don't I can elaborate

(Noah died when Jack was new to the force so they never got to know each other well but John knew Noah a long time and thinks that he and Jack would've gotten along swimmingly)

Lmao. I get it. Sadly things can’t always go good

[raitou-otcha]

a princess tea party

"would you like more tea mister?" asked Sophie to Pitch, it was rather interesting of a scenario where the guardians ended up being dragged (guilt tripped) into joining Sophies Bennett's tea party, they were definitely not expecting to need to wait for someone else but due to Sophie so adamantly telling them to wait for another guest, they kind of had to wait for this unknown guest.

"id love to have more tea princess, your tea is the best out there!" smiled Pitch as he responded to Sophies question. "okay! it will take a bit though! i hope you don't mind!" said Sophie "i need to get something first so please enjoy yourself!" giggling away Sophie went outside to get something that wasn't in her room, before any questions or fights could instigate Pitch spoke.

"what? have you never been to a kids tea party?" laughed Pitch at the guardians, earlier they really couldn't do much because of the confined space and the fact that the little girl would've gotten hurt tremendously.

"how are you so good with kids?" questioned Jack as he leaned in. "Jack Frost! were not supposed to ask these types of questions! but im pretty curious too." mumbled St North.

"its really not that surprising in all honesty. i mean, i have kids so it would make sense on why i have experience in dealing with them." Pitch waved dismissively as he replied.

"you have kids?!" exclaimed Toohiana with a surprised expression, she and the others definitely weren't expecting this kind of reply. "i mean yes, even if you were to claim that spirit children like your own don't count, id still have two daughters. also sorry for about what i did earlier, the entire point of taking your daughters was to simply get them out of the way and i wasn't trying to actually hurt them, you know?" Pitch sheepishly explained away, still non of the guardians knew about this.

It showed how much they really didn't know anything about Pitch, meaning that either he was simply playing along with their ideas or that he well aware of the fact that they didn't know and capitalized on that but why would he now give this information now?

"what in the bloody fuck is this. what we want is answers, non of this kiddy bullshit. if you tell us something that can allow us to use to aid us then maybe i wont crack onto you." angerly Bunnymund said as he got prepared to tackle Pitch down and fight him.

"ahhh simple,, hm. oh! i know, about dream sand. I've said before that it took me a while to perfect the technique on turning it to dark sand. I know not that creative of a name but then again i have given it a scientific name. but the, ah, reason why now sandman cant turn the dark sand back to dream sand is simple. Sandman doesn't study at all, I've studied dream sand and things like that, it took a while because there was no actual studies don't on those things so i needed to go completely blind in with these." explained Pitch much to the confusion to some others, he was just talking too quickly to actually fully understand the things they did pick up on in the conversation.

"in simplified terms, the answer is that i studied dream sand and sandman didn't. that why i can turn in to dark sand and why they cant turned it back." now that was baffling, studies? "what are you a scientist?" laughed Jack.

"more of a researcher, if i were a scientist i would be under constant limitations by expectations so that's why i just prefer to do my own thing, plus! normally being a scientist is just a sub thing of researching. technically they are the same thing but one is more specific." before any more questions or micro aggressions could happen, little Sophie came back into the room with items to continue the tea party that they were having earlier.

"here you go mister!" exclaimed Sophie as she handed Pitch a cup. "why thank you princess. quite amazing tea here that you have offered." smiled Pitch, acting as nothing of the events earlier happened. although Sophie did notice that others were acting a bit differently from before. thankfully Pitch was capable of explaining it away by simply saying that 'they didn't know that he was a researcher and were surprised!' which Sophie understood.

before any convorsations could be held and the tea party could continue there was a knock at the door of the room. everyone turned outside of Pitch and sandman who looked like they were in deep conversation about sand. "ill go get it!" said Jack before walking to the door and opening the door to see who was there.

"well, well, well. you drop off the face of the world and you come back for a tea party with my daughter." said Mrs Bennett as she entered the room partially fazing through Jack before leaning on the door frame and raising an eye brow at Pitch Black.

"oh what? can i not visit my god daughter? I'm sorry I've been busy but you know how i am my lady." smiled Pitch in response. "wait wait wait, you know each other?! man that's wild!" said Jack in surprise, thing seem to become more and more surprising.

"mhm? my lady? hah! haven't heard that one in a while, i feel like there are others here too. wonder who they could be." replied Mrs Bennett to Pitch. "ah well,, there's nose nipper, food bones, rabbit eggs, reverse insomnia and christian Odin but he isn't talking much at all, think he is still processing some things." gesturing to Nicholas St North, with all the things that were happening and how quickly things have been moving there was barely any time to process what was happening and it seems like he was still stuck on that.

"hmm im guessing jack frost, tooth fairy, easter bunny, sandman and santa with those nicknames? your creative names never have left you it seems." sighed Ms Bennett before turning to her daughter.

"how about we go into the living room so we have a bigger space to have a tea party? also so we can have more snacks!" exclaimed Ms Bennett. "that would be a great idea! i can help getting some stuff when moving to the living room" said Pitch as he stood up from the chair he was given earlier by Sophie

"okay! i can go move stuff too!" said Sophie before attempting to move some heavy things to the living room. "ah how about to take the rest of the guests to the living room?" gesturing to the guardians, Jack and North stood up to help move before asking some questions but those were pushed until they fully moved to the living room later on.

[hjellacott]

Slim-down Monarchy

For those who don't get it and are like ChArLeS dOeS hIs SiBlInGs DiRtY, a slim-down monarchy, as he wants, does NOT mean:

It means:

To illustrate even better, here's the line of succession at the moment (WITH THOSE WHO ALSO ARE WORKING ROYALS IN BOLD):

1. The Prince of Wales

2. Prince George of Wales

3. Princess Charlotte of Wales

4. Prince Louis of Wales

5. The Duke of Sussex

6. Prince Archie of Sussex

7. Princess Lilibet of Sussex

8. The Duke of York

9. Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

10. Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi

11. Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank

12. Master August Brooksbank

13. The Duke of Edinburgh

14. Earl of Wessex

15. The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

16. The Princess Royal

Now, what King Charles III wants is to keep things small, narrow and simple, as much as possible, because the more working royals, the more the tax-payer has to pay, but also the more work the Royal Family can do. But obviously those of us tax-payers in the UK really don't want to be giving them more money.

So King Charles wanted to have less working royals (he currently has those put in bold, plus spouses, plus himself and his wife, and some of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousins with royal titles). The normal thing is for a monarch to have siblings and children who, if they're adult, are all working royals. This is because the standard is for the monarch to name his children working royals, and once they die, that means those other children are the new monarch's siblings.

So some of Queen Elizabeth's cousins are working royals because back in the day they were probably made working royals by their grandparents when they were royals (much like Prince William was made working royal as the Queen's grandson). You don't lose the job unless you want to, or you leave the UK, or you do something disgraceful, so they still have the job. King Charles probably didn't see the point on taking the jobs away since he's only got one child (when normally a monarch would've had more) to work as well, and no grandchildren who are old enough to work as well, and since they've done a great job so far, even though they're older.

For the same reason, King Charles III wouldn't have taken the job from his sister (who's the hardest working royal of them all, and with the biggest load of commitments) nor his little brother the Duke of Edinburgh (who's also known, along with his wife, for being incredibly hard-working and loyal to the family).

That means that when he wanted to slim-down the monarchy, what he meant was that if Prince William and Prince Harry were both working royals (which isn't the case any more), and at any point both of them had adult children who could be working royals while Charles was still king, then perhaps only William's children (and perhaps only George or George and Charlotte, but not Louis) would be working royals. That would've meant that Harry's children would've gotten to have relatively normal lives (as do all of Harry and William's cousins, to an extent, and Princess Anne's husband and children, to whom they didn't give royal titles so they could have lives as normal as possible) and pursue their own careers and personal interests, with more freedoms, in the way Harry seemed to want. When choosing who to make working royals, it only makes sense to do it on the way down of adults in order of line of succession, because the whole idea of being a working royal is preparing for either being or devoting your life to supporting a monarch.

So obviously, it wouldn't make sense now to try and narrow the working royals. I mean, who do you remove? King Charles will likely just wait for his elderly family to die before naming Prince George or Princess Charlotte, once they're adults, working royals.

And obviously, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children at the moment have no chances of becoming working royals, unless they really do a massive reconcilliation with the royal family. It wouldn't just be about charming King Charles III; they'd have to charm the whole Privy Council.

[glamourjack]

The one with the dinner on the boat.

Who: Jack and Lili @missreinhxrt

Where: New York Marina. March 19th.

Opening the car door for Lili and following her in after, Jack greeted their driver and put on his seatbelt. Roy already knew where to go so he didn't have to tell him again. "You want to have a last minute guess at where we're going?" He asked Lili. The surprise would be short lived but Jack had planned out the first part of their anniversary evening which he was sure Lili would like. The drive to the harbour wasn't too long and he thanked Roy once they arrived and got out, waiting for Lili to join him before taking her hand as they walked under the Brooklyn bridge to the dock. "So, I thought for something different we'd have dinner on the harbour?" The sun hadn't set yet so he was sure that and the city lights would be a pretty sight to look at from the boat. "Which means.." Jack dug in his jacket pocket for a mini bottle of water and some pills "I thought you might need these" Lili getting seasick was the last thing Jack wanted, especially after she'd forgotten to take them once in Venice and he'd spent the entire boat ride watching her like a hawk as she turned greener and greener.

So far, their anniversary trip was one for the memory books. They had landed in New York only a day ago and had already seen most of the city. No matter how many times she went, this place always felt like you were discovering it for the first time. She had gotten her frozen hot chocolate (and strange looks from the cashier as she ordered it) and had tugged Jack along in Central Park to view all the statues. The only thing that would've made it better was if Milo was scampering at their heels. But all in all, it was incredibly romantic to be there with Jack and Lili was already dreading having to leave and go back to reality. She kept her fingers intertwined with her boyfriends as she scooted into their car for the evening and raised a curious brow at his remark. "With you, I never know," she laughed and settled comfortably in her seat. Her green eyes stayed trained on the scenery as they passed by and her curiosity only piqued as they pulled up to a marina. Were they…"A boat ride?" She asked, getting out and following him over to where the dock was. She laughed once more as he handed her seasick pills and she obediently downed them. Yep, he knew her all too well. "Babe, this is so sweet. I love this." Lili pulled Jack in for a kiss and with his help, climbed onto the boat.

"Yeah and dinner. I thought it'd be good to be outside while the weathers nice" They went to dinner pretty often in Los Angeles and wherever they were but it was nicer to be outside doing something than always just in a restaurant. It was definitely still chilly beside the bay but it wasn't nearly as cold as it had been. Jack smiled into the kiss and then helped Lili onto the boat. Once they'd greeted the staff on the boat, they went and sat down at the front part of the boat so it could start going. The New York city skyline was beautiful to watch as the boat went down the river.

Luckily, the sea sick pills always worked quick so Lili knew she wouldn't be queasy - she didn't want to spend the entire evening hunched over the side of the boat, vomiting. She sat down at the table with Jack and her neck craned over to try and see what food was coming. Hopefully there'd be wine too - she knew Jack wasn't a drinker but she always loved a good glass of rose with some good food. "I can't believe you put this all together," she smiled at him. She reached over to squeeze his hand. It was so nice to be with somebody so thoughtful, always trying to make her feel special and to make her happy. She had a few surprises up her sleeve for their actual anniversary on the 20th but this was such a nice beginning. "So what's on the menu tonight?"

It wasn't really something Jack had ever done before but he was loving being on the boat with Lili. It was nice that they were the only two there besides the deck hand and the chef, it was very intimate which Jack loved. "Well it wasn't too hard, made some calls and it came together," Actually Jack had just called his parents and they'd organised everything for him but that was nice too, they were always willing to help or use their connections for anything. "I'm actually not sure. The chef is an old friend of my Dad's so I just gave him our dietary requirements and then he said he'd surprise us. I guess maybe fish? or steak. I feel like those are the two main things you see at restaurants these days"

Fish seemed fitting since they were out at sea. Regardless of what was served to them, Lili knew it was going to be delicious. "Your dad?" She asked. God, Jack's family was so cute. She knew he came from a rich background but you'd never know it based on his attitude. He was one of the most humble and modest and down to earth men Lili had ever met and it was a refreshing change from her last boyfriend. Lili didn't feel like her words were constantly being judged or like she couldn't indulge in some of her more shallow interests - Jack accepted her, warts and all. A glass of wine was brought to her and Lili took a sip, nodding her head in approval. "Perfect." The sun was slowly beginning to set and it cast an orange glow over them. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here right now."

“Yeah he organised this for us. Or helped at least. The only requirement was that we have dinner with them sometime before we leave so we’ll have to slot that in” He knew Lili wouldn’t mind. She’d met his parents a few times and they’d gotten along well so he wasn’t too worried about it. Jack thanked the waitress who brought out mineral water for him and wine for Lili. The boat was going pretty slow but that was kind of nice. They could really enjoy the scenery. “Neither would I. This is perfect”

"I think that's a pretty reasonable price to pay," Lili smiled at Jack. She had only met his family once but she had talked to them plenty of times over the phone so she was excited to see them in person once more. Her favorite thing to do was gush about Jack and ask to see all the baby photos purely to watch those cheeks flush red. She took another sip of her wine and watched the waves gently rock them, relieved that the pill had taken affect. The only bad side effect of them was that they could make her really sleepy but maybe she'd be able to stave it off at least until they reached shore again. Plates were brought out to them and it wasn't fish but it was a nice, juicy steak just like Jack predicted. It was good enough for Lili - served with some mashed potatoes and some steaming broccoli, Lili's stomach growled at just the sight of it. "Wow," she spoke, staring down at the feast in front of her. "I feel like a princess over here, you really pulled out all the stops."

Jack didn’t think it was too bad either. He enjoyed seeing his parents when he could so being closer to them in New York was a nicer easier opportunity to hang out than always making the trip from LA. Jack was just glad that Lili and his parents got along so well and with his sister. They were pretty close so it was nice that they could all do things together. The steak smelled incredible when it was brought out and Jack wasn’t surprised, he’d never had bad food off of a recommendation from his dad. “Well you look like one so I had to keep the date going with that aesthetic” he half teased. Anytime spent with Lili was Jacks favourite so it didn’t really matter what they did but he’d still wanted to do something nice for her. It had been an eventful year and he felt like they deserved to celebrate that.

"Wooow," Lili laughed but she couldn't help the pink flush spreading over her cheeks. It wasn't as if Jack never complimented her but it always came when she least expected it. "That was super cheesy but super cute." She took another bite of her steak, another sip of her wine and then let out a content sigh as she just gazed at the beautiful scenery. She really couldn't imagine a more gorgeous location. She never liked to jump ahead - at least not after getting her heart ripped out of her chest years ago - but she could see Jack and her doing this for many, many more years to come.

Jack gave Lili a wry smile at her reaction. He always got a kick out of watching her whenever he complimented her. He tried to do it often but it was more fun when she didn't know it was coming and he got to see her genuine reaction. "What? You haven't been hit up by Disney yet to play the live action Rapunzel?" The steak dinner was delicious and by the time he was finished, Jack was sure he wouldn't need to eat again for a week. Except maybe ice-cream for desert, there was always room for that. Looking out over the water, Jack was feeling very content. This had been a great idea and he was happy it had all played out how he'd excpected it to.

Lili being a live action Rapunzel would be the dream but she wasn't confident it would ever come to fruition. "Shut up," she laughed and rolled her eyes. She knew Jack would support her if it ever happened but he'd probably also tease her mercilessly. She finished her meal and following Jack's example, pushed her plate away and patted her flat stomach that felt like it extended all the way out due to how full she was. "I don't think I can move," she groaned softly and yet took another drink of her wine. Alcohol always went to her head quickly but she didn't necessarily want Jack carrying her off the boat so she'd stick to one glass - maybe a glass and a half. Standing up, Lili walked over to the side of the boat and glanced down into the water. It was now night so she couldn't see anything but she liked to imagine there were a bunch of fishes just swimming underneath them. "Any other surprises I should be on the lookout for?" She asked her boyfriend, quirking a brow at him.

"Well that makes two of us" Jack replied, chuckling a little as he watched her go back for her wine, it was the one thing he could always count on with Lili. It was kind of nice though. He never thought she needed anything to bring her out of her shell but sometimes when they were out at events, he knew she liked it. "I don't know" He told her, standing up to join her at the side of the boat "I haven't decided yet" There was a million and one things Jack could think of that they could do to keep the night going and he was keeping them all in his back pocket and would use them depending on how they were feeling later.

Now that Jack was by her, Lili backed up until her back was flush against his chest and she wrapped his arms around her waist. One of the best things about Jack too was that they could be in comfortable silence together. "I think," she began to say and twisted her body so that she was now facing him and her arms were wrapped around his neck. "That we should head back and we can celebrate our anniversary…properly." She smirked at him, playing with the small tufts of hair at the back of his head.

Jack was pretty sure they looked like a scene out of the titanic. The boat wasn’t going nearly as fast but it was still nice to stand with Lili and overlook the water. “Oh yeah? Back to the hot wheels bedsheets?” He joked, leaning down to kiss her. Lili had gotten a real kick out of that when they'd first arrived, not that he'd expected anything less. Jack was only a little embarrassed by it. The family apartment was pretty old and his bedroom had been decorated when he was seven.