#holly would babble on

[onlybuilt4expensivetaste]

Sydney Sweeney via IG story (2023)

[roseverdict]

when you're scrambling to get something done at the cost of your sleep, don't listen to the little voice pointing out how warm and toasty a blanket around your shoulders would be. that's the devil talking

[wildfangz]

Working again on the Base Game Revamp, and I mentioned creating the Altos a while back to own any rental properties in Willow Creek. I'll include some unedited previews below but their family biography so far just to give you a taste of what I'm going for here:

Vita and Nick have had it out for the Goths ever since the two families ended up neighbors, a reaction to the family's peculiarities, "Obnoxious behavior" as Nick puts it, and the Alto's own jealousy. Thus began a mostly one-sided rivalry, aside from the occasional mischievous play-along from Bella. But with their daughter Holly being best friends with Cassandra Goth, will they set aside their differences? Or will they double down?

[bonefall]

Unrelated to the new book blurb:

do you have any tips on processing the absolute mess that is the family tree? Like, how does one put it into smaller bites for re-doing/adjusting? How does one even begin to rework it when it's such a confusing tangle?? I'm just so overwhelmed by the tree(s), and I've read the whole series (because I would love to re-work it, but FUCK).

I will be 100% earnest with you; reworking the tree from scratch as a single person is both difficult and time consuming. I have a penchant for it, and even I'm not completely done. I make my reduxed trees totally free to use so that others at least have a jumping-off point for your own "cleaner" Clans.

So my most helpful tip would probably be Don't. PLEASE take my trees and cut them, prune them, bonsai them, clean them up even more than I did, anything you'd like. I do not wish this fate on my worst enemy.

That said-- let's say you love pain as much as I do, or you just want to see how much work I put into these trees. I'll babble about my process.

This is my WIP file for the ShadowClan Family Tree. Consider this image a content warning for self-inflicted pain and suffering 💕

Uhhh and also; an ACTUAL, serious content warning. Because of the nature of them asking how to fix trees on their own, I have to talk a little about incest. It comes with the territory.

A few things to know before you start;

You will need a FUCK OFF MASSIVE monitor for this. Mine is an ASUS a little under 2 feet long-- I've tried doing this on my smaller, secondary monitor, and these trees just get too big to work on.

FamilyEcho will not cut it. You NEED an art program. You will have to do this by hand, because there is no lineage-drawing tool that can handle families this large and tangled.

You will need to decide your "rules" beforehand. How closely related are you allowing valid couples to be? Are you allowing Queen's Rights? Can you add OCs, and if so, how often? On this point-- I have my Three Strict Rules, and do not use OCs. Because of this, I do a LOT of research beforehand and usually have the wiki open as I work on these. I'm always scouring for forgotten warriors to use for this.

There are going to be multiple drafts. You will not do this in one go. That does not mean you "failed" or you're "stuck," that's a good thing.

With all of that out of the way.

Usually, the first thing I do is pick a Clan to work on. There's over 1,000 cats in this series, so I break that up by picking one group at a time. Once I do that, I draw out the canon chart.

In this case, I've already drawn out all of the canon charts. River, Thunder, Shadow, Sky, Wind.

I call this a Diagnosis because I'm taking a look at what the problem is, so that I know what I'm fixing. In Shadow's case, it's a solid brick of inbreeding with a "missing generation" line. In ThunderClan's case, it's mostly a Robinwing x Fuzzypelt problem. Each Clan has its own unique issues.

Once you know the issue, step two, start drawing out what you want to do and keep. For example, let's say that you want to use the Ivy/Dove as Holly/Cinder kittens idea.

I generally try to start with the "modern" cats and work backwards, but it can also be helpful to just doodle out floating "branches" that you want to work in backwards.

You can see examples of those in my ShadowClan draft, up there, but I've zoomed in and circled them.

Don't be afraid to draw "notes" like this. You can just grab them and drag them around when something clicks!

Getting back to our "example" tree with Holly/Cinder Ivy/Dove, you might notice now that Lionblaze has no mate. Another thing I do when I see an immediate problem but don't have a solution in mind yet is use a little ? mark. You don't want to get hung up on deciding everything RIGHT away.

Now, this is where my 3 Strict Rules would come into play, in two ways! I'm sure you'll be able to spot them. For one, Lionblaze has waaaaay too many kids here who would go on to have kittens of their own, so I'd start breaking them up. For two, this tree makes Ivypool and Fernsong a first cousin pairing, something I don't allow.

You can fix this in any number of ways, and I'm sure there's someone out there shouting their preferred Lionblaze ships and Alt Fernsong Parents like they're the crowd on a game show, but for this demonstration I'm going to do this;

Here, I decided I didn't want to undo FernIvy, but I still want Fernsong to be Clanborn with two parents, so I have removed him from Lionblaze and given him unknown family. I've also taken Sorrelstripe and Spotfur, and moved them to a little spot on the side. I can now use them to patch up the little ? placeholders.

You'll also notice this is already becoming a mess. This is why you will need to redraw this a few times, for readability. The best tip I can give you for that is that families who only have one kit to carry on the lineage should go in a long line in the center, but otherwise, offspring who do not have kits should go between their siblings who do.

It's easier to visualize it imo, so here's what I mean;

The vast majority of the time I spend doing these is just "puzzlework." Trying to figure out a way to make line connections look good, making sure cats are far enough apart, trying to make "wishlist" stuff work.

Here's some insight to that with the big ShadowClan mess I showed at the beginning of this post;

And, mind you, this is Draft 3 of this tree. Those grayed-out parts of the first image were my first two. I wasn't satisfied enough with them, so I started from scratch several times!

I wish I could share some kind of good, simple process for this, but unfortunately I don't have one. It's just a lot of work, familiarity, creativity, and problem solving. I spend days, sometimes even weeks on these. My intention is that they can be a fandom resource that's easier to read than the website tree, less carelessly inbred with more thought given to immediate family units, AND more comprehensive.

In any case, I hope this was insightful, or these tips I share helped in some way!

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 72 (BIG News!)

Weeks after their adventurous night at the lighthouse, Heather started to suspect she might be pregnant again. A bundle of nerves at the prospect less than a year after her miscarriage, an appointment with Dr. Serra confirmed she was, indeed, expecting.

When Conrad came home from work, she was modding one of her computer games, trying to keep her mind off how he might react. He walked in the door having picked up Ash from daycare on his way home, and she turned off her game before he came out of the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm pregnant," she blurted nonchalantly. Conrad stopped in his tracks.

"Are you really?"

After the work they'd done together to help him through his grief, fear was the furthest thing from his mind. As he processed the news, he smiled. Conrad trusted he was ready to be a father, and the thought of expanding his family with Heather filled him with excitement. "I'm so happy," he said, pulling her in for an embrace.

Once Ash was in his pajamas and they cleaned up after dinner, they sat him down. It was still early in Heather's pregnancy, but this time they were more than ready to share their news. "Ash, sweetie, mommy and Conrad are going to have a baby. That means you're going to be a big brother!"

Four-year-old Ash smiled up at them cluelessly. "Will baby have fur like the baby kitties?"

They laughed. "I hope not, buddy. We're not that hairy!" said Conrad.

The next time they were in San Myshuno to deliver Ash to the Landgraabs, they all stopped in at Uncle Karl and Mortimer's penthouse before returning home.

Holly brought out her calm, dark-haired daughter Tetra to greet her Aunt Heather. Ash babbled away to his new cousin, who watched him curiously from her mother's arms.

"She's the sweetest, and she's getting so big," Heather cooed. "I'm glad I only need to wait about seven more months before I'll be able to have baby cuddles at home again."

Holly grinned. "Are you pregnant?" Heather nodded. "Oh my Watcher! I'm pregnant again, too! About eight weeks."

The sisters were due just weeks apart, and they celebrated their shared big news with Mortimer and Uncle Karl until Heather was due to drop off Ash across town. When they arrived at Spire Tower, they were greeted by Malcolm.

"Hey, so...some news. Miko's pregnant," he said.

Heather laughed. "Who isn't pregnant, Malcolm? Conrad and I are expecting, too."

As fate would have it, Ash was due to welcome two new siblings - and a new cousin - in the span of a few weeks, but for now he still wasn't sure why everyone around him was so excited. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: I didn't plan this, I swear! Just Heather!

[zerokrox-blog]

Steve has a handshake with each kid. Even Mike Wheeler has a specific handshake, they all are elaborate but each one ends with a specific move to each kid, Dustin with the lightsaber move, Lucas's ends with a fake basketball shot, Max's ends with them both pretending to leap on to a skateboard, El pretends to drop an eggo with Steve falling to 'catch it', Will throws a flourishing signature into the air with Steve pretending to catch it with his hands held out like paper, and Mike to everyone's surprise ends with he and Steve pretending to be shot in the chest. It's DRAMATIC™️. Both boys lay on the floor for one full minute before getting up and pretending it didn't happen.

The first few times it happened in front of the party Nancy rolled her eyes so hard until they pretended to be shot, each of them 'shooting' the other. Holly thought it was HILARIOUS and copied them.

The Hellfire club however was in shock when King Steve came in to pick up the younger kids and Dustin immediately went over, hugged him and started their handshake, Will came over next for his hug and handshake, then Lucas. All of them talking over each other and excitedly told Steve about the day's newest adventure in their campaign. Mike looked awkwardly at the older boys, at Eddie's dumbfounded expression, Gareth, Jeff and Grant looked surprised, Rachel, Clair and Alex and Corey looked strangely at the group of freshmen babbling away to Steve Fucking Harrington. And Mike popped out of his seat as Steve looked up at him, and Mike saw the soft smile on his face kinda drop a bit at the look on his own face. He felt embarrassed to be honest but he also wanted his handshake, he'd never tell a soul but it was nice having something that was solely his and Steve's. So he went over and held out his hand. Steve looked directly at him, his eyes held the question he would never ask out loud, 'is this ok? Are you comfortable doing this?' But Mike kept his hand out and Steve's face lit up.

Grinning, the two of them did their elaborate handshake ending with them 'shooting' each other. Steve very super dramatically grabbed his chest and slowly sank to the floor and flopped down 'dead'. Mike laughed out loud before dropping down beside him.

A full minute passed until both of them stood up and without even making eye contact, Steve's voice was remarkably calm when he asked, "so Mike, did you kill anyone this session?"

Mike shook his head and rambled a bit about their session as they gathered their stuff. All of them heading out with a wave and a bright "bye guys! See you all tomorrow!"

The drama room door slammed shut behind them and it was oddly silent until Eddie turned to Gareth, "did you all see that, or did I just hallucinate Steve Harrington doing elaborate nerdy handshakes with my sheepies?"

The room exploded into laughter, "nah man that actually happened!" Jeff said snorting with laughter.

[midnightfire830]

Holy cussing stars the time this took so I could learn how to render wood, chipped wood, ceramic, and cloth textures. 😫

Because every soldier needs his lovely princess to protect, here’s Holly as a ceramic princess doll! Kudos to @sirensea14 for the design idea. I made a few edits to her original sketch, but largely the design belongs to her!

I don’t think there’s enough time for me to babble about everything my friends and I have talked about for these two, but the idea is Cuphead and Mugman protect their lovers as a soldier and knight would. It felt only fitting for Holly to be a personification of a “Tree Princess” for him to protect. Her being made of china would make her all the more delicate and she’d have to worry about not cracking. So of course Cuphead would take that upon himself to fiercely protect her and make sure she stays safe! Even at the extend of his own safety

AKA why I made him look so banged up is 1. from roughing it out in the woods (more later on the world building) and 2. a lot of accidents in his efforts to protect her and AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHTHEY’RESOCUTEEEEE!!!!

Im gabbing so much about this AU you have no idea!!!!

Oh. I should probably mention this is for Lost Toys AU. That might be a good idea to mention that lol.

[billlydear]

For your requests , would I please be able to request something where Reader is a fellow lifeguard with Billy? + They have a more hidden relationship going on, and all the kids and the other women are a little suspicious? ♡

Only if your requests are open, of course!

LUNCH BREAK - BILLY HARGROVE X READER

W.C 442 - REQUEST - MASTERLIST - CREDIT TO GIF OWNER

Hauling toddlers out of the deep end seems to be your life's work. There are signs posted every three meters, WARNING: Deeper than 3 feet past this point. Must know how to swim.

And yet, every ten minutes, another gaggle of floaty-clad babies paddle over into the deep water and their parents do nothing.

You've got one now, hooked under your arm. The little girl babbles happily up at you despite the glare on your face directed towards her mother, and you stalk over to her chair with wet feet that slap against the pavement roughly.

"Your daughter is going to drown," You drawl, dropping Holly off with her dazed mother, "I know you hate your husband but that's no excuse to kill his offspring."

You don't give her or her friends time to process what you'd said, rushing off to the tower on the opposite side of the pool. You scale the ladder with ease, but when your foot slips one one of the rungs, Billy's hand shoots out to tighten over your hand.

"Jesus, are you oka-"

"Stop being so alluring," You huff, and it doesn't help that you're face-level with his exposed, sweat-beaded, muscled thighs, "You're gonna cause an accident. These mothers are too busy staring at you to pay attention to their kids, and if I have to fish another sticky-fingered brat out of the 8-foot section, I'll quit."

He chuckles deep in his chest, the sound warm as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

"Easy," He soothes, shifting in his seat, "I can't help it, this is just me."

"You could put on a shirt," You grumble, "But if you're not going to, I think I deserve a kiss for every kid I save today because of your- your boobs."

"Deal," He snickers, his eyes flicking to your own chest, "We rotate in twenty. let's take our lunch break in the locker room."

"Boys' this time," You nod, already starting your descent down the ladder, "I don't want my friends' moms to see me naked again!"

Said mothers watch you enviously as you stomp back over to the deep end, glaring at a three-year-old until they rush back to shallow waters. You swear Karen Wheeler tries tripping you as you walk past her chair, but you dodge it skillfully. You know that she'll hear you and Billy taking your 'lunch break' later when she strips out of the bathing suit she'd bought for your boyfriend to ogle. And she'll definitely think about it as she leaves with her daughter in her day clothes, a reminder of the miserable man who'd given her both.

[helpimhyperfixating]

baby Merlyne learning how to crawl.

All Mer learn how to crawl on the beaches. Because sun bathing is such an important aspect of Mer pods, young Mer learn to crawl rather quick.

Not per se by a push from their parents, but while the parents enjoy a good bake, the little rascals start squirming and rolling around, flopping their little tails. Soon enough, they’ll copy what they’ve seen from their parents and start to develop those arm muscles ;3

Little blurb 👇

Sighing softly, Jotaro lay on his back, the sand warm on his skin and the sun calmly shining down, slowly evaporating the water sticking to his form, allowing his skin to properly absorb the salt.

His peace and quiet was short lived however, as grabby hands started to poke and prod at his side.

“Jolyne…” Sighing softly, Jotaro opened an eye, looking at his daughter which was to his right, only to flinch as she suddenly pinched him. “Ow, don’t do that.” He huffed, lifting her little hand away, to which the pup blinked up at her father, surprised to be grabbed before she frowned.

Seeing the angry little face, Jotaro let go of her wrist, grunting as he rolled onto his side, his tail lifting up to curl around his daughter, sand sticking to the underside.

“What is it?” He hummed, resting his head on his hand as he raised an eyebrow, watching the little girl almost seem to try and telepathically tell him what it was - which didn’t help of course as he just saw an angry pout and nothing more.

Seeing her dad’s lack of reaction, Jolyne babbled in frustration, her tail angrily flopping.

She’d gotten to that stage where she just learned how to swim on her own for short distances, talking not really ingrained yet as she instead babbled and clicked nonsense.

Tightening his tail around her a bit, Jotaro almost created a sort of play pen, watching lazily as the small Mer grabbed onto his scales, little claws grazing the strong scales, harmless.

It took a little bit, but the black-tailed Mer then decided to reach out, intending to lift his daughter onto his chest so that she’d stay still and be able to absorb the salt too - much needed if she wanted her skin to thicken and harden.

Yet before he could, he watched as she rolled onto her stomach, little chubby arms reaching out and grabbing onto his tail, his head lifting from his hand in surprise as he watched Jolyne grunt, pulling herself towards his tail, where she then proceeded to bite down, starting to drool onto his tail as she used the scales as a pacifier.

Yet for Jotaro, he quickly looked around, catching his mother’s gaze.

No words were necessary for Holly to understand what just happened. Instantly, a smile beamed onto her face and Jotaro couldn’t help the flutter in his chest, the corners of his mouth lifting up as he looked back to his daughter, purposefully moving his tail out from under her, shifting it just a small distance away.

Letting out an angry little noise, Jolyne began swinging her hands, flopping her tail as she tried to get herself back towards his tail.

It was awkward and her arms lacked the strength, but Jotaro didn’t care. She was trying.

Shifting to sit up, he reached out and lifted her tail, taking the weight over from her, to which the small girl instantly started mowing her arms, trying to wheel herself forward now that it was no longer as heavy.

Obliging, Jotaro watched his daughter ‘crawl’ on her hands towards the end of his tail, a proper smile forming on his face as pride took over.

Pups weren’t usually this quick. Yet here she was, practically crawling already.

A little cheer from his right caught his attention as he saw his mother happily clapping, the both of them watching Jolyne grab hold of his scales once more, content to just nibble and teeth as if it was the most normal of moments.

Yet for Jotaro, it would forever be a memory ingrained in his brain.

After all, this was his little girl.

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

Picnic Dates, plus two - Dr James Wilson x peds!reader

Description: You've got a lunch date, but it's not with James.

word count: 1.8k

Masterlist

REQUESTS OPEN FOR PEDS!READER - request here

Y/n skipped down the halls of peds, smiling to herself. Each room she passed she waved to the patients inside. Holly, Trevor, Milton, Magnus, Bea, Molly, Jo, Josh. She knew all their names and knew how they should look, so that if anything was even slightly off she could spring into action.

She reached the last of the rooms on the hallway and pulled out a pink glitter file from her stack. Truthfully, she wasn’t allowed to decorate her patients files, but it turns out if you are not swamped with malpractice lawsuits and actually have a good bedside manner with your patients, Cuddy can be quite lenient.

“Hello y/n!” the little girl jumped up from her bed showing off her finding nemo pyjamas. Her blonde curls fell in front of her face, being batted away by her tiny hands.

“Good morning, Lisa! And how are you doing this fine day?”

“I good!”

“Can you give me anything more specific?” Y/n teased, raising her eyebrow.

“I feel really, really, really, really well!”

“I am so pleased to hear that Lisa. I am just going to do a quick examination, not that I don’t fully trust your own medical degree.” Lisa laughed and her parents lovingly looked at how happy their daughter seemed despite her condition. That was all down to y/n.

Lisa had become a regular of the hospital, brought in many times with asthma attacks so severe each trip to the hospital seemed to be a death sentence. Every time, y/n was there so Lisa could wake up to a familiar face. Stroking her hair and talking to her so she didn’t have to come to terms with her scary surroundings.

As y/n went to leave the room she was stopped by Lisa’s mum.

“Hi Dr y/l/n, I just wanted to say thank you.”

“It’s nothing, it’s my job.”

“No, it’s not. Examining her, diagnosing her, that’s your job. No one’s making you sing her songs or play her games. So…thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Y/n left the room, her heart feeling just that bit warmer seeing that little girl babble to her parents about everything that was in her tiny head. She felt a presence next to her and her heart practically set on fire when her eyes met his.

“Hi.” It was soft, like she was sharing a secret.

“Hi. How’s Lisa doing?”

“She’s doing well, she’ll be home this afternoon. Just in time for SpongeBob.” Wilson raised an eyebrow. “Her favourite.”

“Now, remember last week when we went to that deli in the town over and you loved that sandwich. Well, I went to the shops and got all the ingredients and made us two of your sandwich with chips, coleslaw, and everything. My office, 12?”

A sorrowful look crossed her face, and she seemed to retreat into her mind.

“You have other plans—it’s fine, enjoy.”

“Believe me, that sounds amazing and usually I would love to but—I can’t.” Wilson nods but his gaze is on the floor. He shoved his hands in his pockets. She grasped his arms in a silent question that he is okay with this. He covered her hand with his own.

“I’m okay.” Despite feeling unsatisfied with his answer, she picked up her files and made her way down the corridor. Every few moments she turned back around to look at the oncologist who now was weakly kicking at the floor.

---

The door to House’s office slams open.

“At what point in each marriage did my wives start retreating from me.”

“Catherine of Aragon, 3 years, and 4 months. Boleyn, 2 years, and 11 months.”

Wilson falls down onto the chair in his friends office.

“Please don’t call my ex-wives that.”

“I’m a history buff, what can I say, Henry.” House smirks.

Ignoring the ill-placed humour, Wilson continues.

“My point remains that they were all after a lengthy period of time—”

“And/or directly after you cheated.” He looks towards House’s smug face, disapprovingly.

“But neither of them were after 2 months.”

“Trouble in peds, oh I’m sorry paradise.”

“I don’t really know. It just feels like she doesn’t want to spend time with me.”

“Well, she is a paediatrician, so every day she meets people more emotionally mature than you.”

“Ha ha. Just today she blew me off for lunch, and, thinking about it we haven’t had lunch together at the office in a week. What if she’s pulling away? What if she doesn’t love me anymore?”

“What if she’s busy?” House still refused to look up from his Gameboy.

“She’s not, I checked. She just has 10 patients she’s monitoring, none of which are severe.”

House paused his game. “You checked her files? I’m rubbing off on you. Boy wonder oncologist, we may have found your bad bone yet. Maybe we should get a noun to replace your last name as well.”

“I’m going to confront her.” Wilson abruptly stood up and opened the door.

“The word you’re looking for is communicate.” Wilson went to leave. “WAIT! Wilson-“ House picked up the phone “It’s for you. It’s God. He say’s you’re bad at relationships.”

Wilson angrily left the room and slammed the door which echoed with the cackles of his best friend.

---

Y/n opened the door to leave her office, armed with a pasta salad and an iced coffee.

“Do you want to break up?”

Y/n was startled by her flustered boyfriend who had jumped out in front of her.

“What? No! Why would you think that? I love you of course I don’t want to leave you.” She reached up to cup his cheek and used her thumb to stroke under his eyes.

“I can’t believe you were thinking that! I can’t believe I made you think that! Oh, baby I’m so sorry.” After her rambling she threw her arms around his neck, ladening his neck with so many kisses as way of apology. Wilson chuckled before completing the hug and squeezing her waist.

She pulled back from the hug.

“Why did you think I wanted to leave you?”

“Well, lunch. You didn’t want to, again, and we haven’t had lunch together in about a week. And in all my past relationships, there comes a time when they start to retreat,” He scratched the back of his neck “I just thought it had come sooner than usual.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I couldn’t.”

She bit her lip and tried to find the right words before blurting out. “I’m seeing a 12-year-old.”

Wilson simply couldn’t find the words.

“Please—”

“Oh, not like that. Come with me.” She took his arm and began to lead him to the elevator.

---

They stood in front of the window that showed a boy, small for his age, curled up on the hospital bed playing with two power rangers. His room was devoid of balloons, toys, cards: the decorations that covered every other peds room.

“That’s Lucas. He came in last week with pneumonia. He’s on antibiotics and he’s improving. His dad died when he was 2 and his mum works constantly to make enough money. She can’t visit him a lot, she only managed 2 visits last week. He’s never even left his house. And now he only knows two things: he’s sick and he’s alone. This hospital can look like a big scary place when you’re a kid so –”

“So, you eat lunch with him every day so he has at least one visitor.” Her boyfriend finishes her sentence flawlessly.

“I’ll bet you even tell him that you choose to be with him, probably say that all the other doctors are boring.” She laughs at how well he knows her. She steps back from the window and pushes open the door.

“Lucas, there is someone very special I want you to meet. This is Dr Wilson.”

Lucas perks up at seeing, not only his favourite doctor, but also another boy enter the room.

“Is he your friend, Dr y/l/n?”

“Yes, he is, he’s my special friend.”

“Mummy always said Daddy was her best friend. Do you love him like my mummy loved my daddy.”

“Observant kid.” Wilson quietly remarks.

“What do you have for lunch today, Dr y/l/n?”

Y/n sits down on Lucas’ bed. “Actually, Lucas, today Dr Wilson and I have—"

“Have to tell you that I took over Dr y/l/n’s clinic hours so she can have 3 more hours to spend with you. She’s been nagging me to have more time with you for weeks!” He rolls his eyes jokingly. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

She turns away from Lucas to mouth ‘Thank you’ towards him. In return he waves as if to say see you later.

---

the next day

“I have the tickets, Thursday night!” House limped down the hallway flanked by his exasperated friend.

“Can’t.”

“Liar. Your girlfriend’s ignoring you so unless you’ve already found the next next potential Mrs Wilson, you’re free!”

“Actually, we –”

“Boys!”

Y/n slid into the two’s line of vision. Her pink scrubs not as cheery as her smile. Wilson quickly checked his watch.

“y/n/n, baby, isn’t Lucas waiting.”

“Who’s Lucas? You guys open now?”

“Actually, he gave me a message to give to you two. He told me to invite to lunch, and I quote, ‘your boyfriend and the mean cane guy he’s always with’”.

Wilson beams at how chipper his girlfriend seems at this news.

“Wait, both of us? You two into foursomes now? I mean I respect it.”

Rolling her eyes at House’s comment. She grabs the two by their arms and drags them to the ‘lunch’ room. They stop in the doorway, seeing Lucas who was looking into a gigantic bag of food but who quickly retreated sheepishly when he was caught.

“I retract my previous joke.” House looks down, embarrassed. He goes to approach the boy but is halted by a pressure on his ear as it was held by the smiling paediatrician. She yanks him back to her and harshly whispers “Be. Nice!”.

“Yes ma’am.” Happy with this response, she releases him. She then turns towards her boyfriend. “I even managed to get an order in from that deli. Do you like it?” she fiddles with her fingers nervously.

“Yes. Very much so.”

She skips towards Lucas but is brought back by Wilson’s hands on her waist. They turn so they are nose to nose.

“I love you.” “I love you too.”

Before their lips could touch they are interrupted.

“Ew gross!” they glare towards the bed to see that the juvenile remarks are not coming from the 12-year-old but rather the overgrown 8 year old.

---

The four ate lunch and talked and each managed to bring back a little joy for the bed ridden child. Even House slowly warmed and began to care for the boy. Every so often y/n would get up to check his stats but also to fluff his pillows, bring him his toys and juice. She cared so deeply and wanted every child who passed through her care to feel special and heard.

Wilson sat back and watched the scene unfold, happy to be an observer. And as he watched the woman, he loved be a mother for a child who wasn’t even her own, he couldn’t help but imagine her with their own.

—-

Props to anyone who spots the joke about one of Robert Sean Leonard’s other films ;)

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Rainbow Sprinkles

A short, and hopefully cute and fluffy little fic for the very lovely, and beautiful @penguinsandpotterheads Happy Birthday Holly, I hope you have an amazing day, bestie!!!! <3

Word Count:923

Masterlist Eddie Munson Masterlist

You make your way into your home after a busy day at work just ready to sink into the arms of your boyfriend, perhaps order some take-out and watch a shitty movie that would ultimately end up getting ignored in favour of making out with said boyfriend, but as you tread into the home you shared with Eddie you come to realise those plans had been thrown out of the window.

Because there he is. In the kitchen, his hair bundled up on top of his head, with a few loose curls framing his, and a white apron tied around his body smeared with many different stains. 

You step quietly into the kitchen, trying not to draw attention to yourself.

“What’re you up to there?” you say, making your way over to him.

You watch as he jumps at the sound of your voice.

“You’re home early!” he babbles, looking over your shoulder at the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, they let me go early since it’s my birthday, which was nice of them.” you explain.

“Yeah I suppose that is nice of them, I just hadn’t expected you to be home so soon.” 

“You never answered my question.” you pry curiously. 

“Hm?”

“What are you up to?” you ask again as your eyes come to scan over the mess that litters the kitchen counter. There’s cracked eggs shells, an open bag of flour that is somehow dusting more of the counter than there is in the bowl which you gather that he intended it for. The large mixing bowl is filled with what looks like a deep, rich chocolate mixture.

“Oh that.” he chuckles. “I was kind of hoping to bake you a cake as a surprise but I quickly realised that I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

"No no, I think it looks alright." you say, as you mix the wooden spoon around in the mixture.

"Wayne gave me the recipe, so if it sucks it's totally his fault and not mine" he laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. 

"Well let's get it in the oven, and see what happens! Then we can decorate it together!" You smile, placing a kiss on your boyfriend's face.

You reach on to the counter to set the timer, whilst Eddie pours the cake mixture in a round baking tin and places it in the oven.

"I'm just going to set a timer for thirty minutes" You tell him.

"There's a lot you can do in thirty minutes." Eddie says suggestively, raising his eyebrows up.

You playfully slap him on his arm as you tug him away from the mess in the kitchen.

"Keep it in your pants until later, Loverboy." you flirtatiously chastise him.

“But it’s your birthday!”

Sure enough the timer in the kitchen dings, and you pull yourself away from Eddie’s hold as he places sweet kisses to your neck. 

As it turns out, snuggling on the couch, which turned into an inevitable makeout session you always knew it would, was an excellent way to spend your birthday.  

“Come on Teddy! The cake’s ready to come out of the oven!” you cheer as you tug him up from the seat with you, and practically skip to the kitchen.

“Here, let me get it out, I am the one with the apron after all.” he smirks, reaching for a dish towel.

 He opens up the oven door, the smell of delicious, warm chocolate wafts out as he brings the cake out and places it on the countertop.

“Not to be too cocky, but I reckon I’ve got this baking thing down to a fine art, Sweetheart.” he smiles, marvelling down at the perfectly risen sponge in the tin.

“Okay, Julia Child, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” You tease him lightly, which earns you an adorable giggle from your boyfriend.

“Now we just have to wait for it to cool down and then we can start decorating it!” Eddie cheers.

Eddie smears a thick layer of gooey, fudgy, chocolate frosting over the now cooled cake whilst you stand by with a tub of brightly coloured sprinkles in hand ready to scatter on top.

“She’s all yours, have at it, Picasso.” Eddie smiles as he stands back to allow you to recklessly sprinkle your cake with the decoration.

You finish decorating the cake, taking a step back to marvel at your creation.

“I think we make a good team, between your baking and my flair for abstract decorations.” 

“Yeah, we do. We make an excellent team.” Eddie agrees, pulling you into him with a one-armed side hug and a kiss pressed into the crown of your head.

“Y’know, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my birthday.” You say as you snuggle against him, a slice of your cake on your plate and a fork in hand.

“Hm?” Eddie mumbles around a mouthful of cake, his own slice sitting on his plate, almost gone from him demolishing it as quickly as it had been served up.

“Yeah, just being here and spending time with you, has made me the happiest birthday girl in the world!” you beam, as you snuggle deeper into his warmth.

Eddie smiles, he’s so warmed by your admission, and his smile only grows when he thinks about the surprise party he’s organised for you this weekend. All your closest friends and loved ones, there just to celebrate you, and have a good time. 

“I love you so much, Sweetheart.”

“I love you too, Teddy.”

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Little Earthquakes - Chapter One.

Besties! I was thrilled with the response to the prologue, thank you all so much! :) So, now the story starts properly. Sit back and get comfy!

Previous chapters - Prologue

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed.

Words - 3,972

Warnings - 18+ throughout. Minors DNI!

Immediately, her mouth dropped open. “Oh my flippin’ god! Hello!” There he was, the cute lad she’d been in the same class as at school. Except now he was even bloody cuter than he’d been at fifteen. God, those cheekbones were virtually criminal. And his eyes, wow! Had they always been that beautiful a shade of green, and she’d simply never noticed? “I thought I recognised your name when I was looking at your work, but I couldn’t place how, and where from, and I’m babbling, and oh my god, you’re Kelsey Chapman! I remember you, too!” 

She then turned to take in Chris, her mouth falling open yet again. “Chris Lawrence! Stop it, it’s a bloody Fulham Green Academy reunion!”  

“How are you, Holly? All good, ay?” he spoke, side eyeing Nathan and beaming, watching how he stood scratching the back of his neck. He always did it when he felt uncomfortable, usually when he couldn’t hide in his hair, being that his cascade of waist-length brown locks were all tied back. So, Holly still had the same effect, it seemed.  

“Yes, yes I’m good, thanks! It’s so nice to see you all,” she replied brightly as Nathan arrived with her.  

“Ready?” he asked, gesturing towards his station. 

She scrunched her nose a little. “Crapping myself to be honest! Right, where am I kotching?”  

“On the table. Lie back and get comfy, unless you’d rather sit up. Either way, I just need you to place your foot flat and bend your knee so I can press the line drawing on, check it flows okay and make sure you’re happy with it.”  

She’d emailed a few ideas to him, speaking the magic words that any tattoo artist liked to hear, that she trusted his judgement over what he came up with. Her only guide was that she wanted all the flowers to look like they were climbing up from her foot to her mid-calf.  

Since he specialised at realism, each flower would look just as she’d requested, like it had been painted on. The line drawing was a guide for him to work to only, so he could then freehand them into the allotted space. Once pressed into place, Holly took a look and confirmed she was happy, beginning to swallow hard. 

“Just take a few deep breaths, you’ll be fine,” he assured her. “It hurts, but not half as badly as some people make out.”  

“Says the man who nearly cried when I tattooed his ribs,” Kelsey called from her station, poking her tongue between her teeth. 

“Shit off,” he mumbled, looking back at Holly a little sheepishly. “Made my eyes water a bit, but any chance her over there has to make me look like a twat and she takes it.”  

“Love you!” her over there chirped, loading the needle with more ink. All Kelsey based disturbances aside and he began, doing a small section to the side of her foot and pausing. “All good?” 

Oh, no. It felt like somebody was dragging a hot knife through her flesh, but she nodded and smiled all the same. “Fine, yeah. I’m good.” He knew she wasn’t, but he was too nice to call her out on it.  

“So, you’re Holly Jenkins now?” he asked casually, remembering her name in the emails they’d exchanged. Of course, she’d be married. Women as beautiful as her didn’t remain single. “How long have you been married for?” 

���I was married for ten years, but we divorced last year. I haven’t gotten around to changing my name back as yet,” she spoke, resting her arm beneath her head.  

“Oh, sorry,” he replied, looking away briefly, watching her mouth twitch slightly. 

“Don’t be, I’m happy about it. I don’t think we were as well-suited as I once thought, so it was for the best, really.” 

“Hm, yeah,” he breathed, circling the top of the first petal, noticing her foot tense a little. To be expected. Foot tattoos weren’t the best. “I understand that. My wife and I separated three months ago after I reached the same conclusion. Proper shit, but that’s life, ain’t it?” 

“It is, and I’m sorry too, that you’re going through the same thing,” she offered, wincing slightly. “I can give you the number of a good divorce lawyer?” 

He laughed, a small burst of air through his nose. He could certainly do with one of those, to be fair. “Appreciated.” Continuing, he noticed she remained tense, pausing, patting her ankle softly with his black gloved hand. “Relax, ‘kay? Hurts more when you’re tense.”  

“I’ll try. Sorry, I probably look like a right knob to someone as heavily tattooed as you, y’know,” she confessed, Nathan beginning again. 

“Don’t mean I’m immune to pain, and it does hurt, like I said. Trust me, though, you don’t look like a knob. Had a girl in here two weeks ago who literally screamed like she was being murdered. Proper put me off, I'm telling you.”  

It reassured her a little, that her wincing and tensing was definitely at a lower level where reactions were concerned. He remained silent for a little time longer, Holly looking all around the studio, taking it in. It was a relaxed vibe, very dark academia in style with its black walls, dark wooden floors and counters, an abundance of artwork, plants dotted around everywhere and Edison lightbulbs suspended above each of the three stations.  

What caught her eye the most though, well, it was the man tattooing her. Back at school, it had always surprised her, just how lovely she thought he was, so cute with his shoulder length hair and big, green eyes. Even though it was all tied back in a half pulled through messy man bun at the nape of his neck, she wagered it was a lot longer now, but the bottle green eyes were still just as beautiful. Even more so going by her reaction at first seeing him, in fact, his eyelashes also impossibly long and inky. And bloody hell, the pout on the man. Those lips? One hundred percent kissable.  

“What are you doing for work these days, then?” he asked after a further few minutes of silence, loading the needle with dark red ink for the next flower.  

“I’m an illustrator,” she began, noticing that the pain was getting a little less. Well, either that or she was becoming more used to the hot scratches goring at her skin, one of the two. “I mainly do adult colouring and children’s books, but I also contribute for other literature and cover art as well. I just accepted a role doing the digital art for a woman’s E-Magazine, too, which has been great so far.”  

“Yeah? That’s proper sick,” he enthused, pausing to smile up at her. Oh, that smile. It lit up his entire face. “You were always really talented. Those little cartoon guys you used to do, I loved them. That unicorn dude, he was ace.” 

She could barely believe he remembered them after so long, those pictures she’d submitted on her GCSE display. “As if you remember him! Sparky the unicorn.” 

“Sparky, yeah, yeah. That was him.” In truth, he remembered exactly what the cartoon character of her creation had been called, but he didn’t want to look like a weirdo by remembering such an innocuous detail after so many years. Especially not after her surprise that he’d remembered it at all.  

“So, how long have you been tattooing for?” she then asked. 

“Right out of uni, more or less.” 

“Yeah? Wow, long time, then. Did you end up going to Loughborough like you wanted to?” 

Oh, so she’d remembered something innocuous herself too, then. “I did, yeah, yeah.”  

“I remember you telling me. Well, you wrote it down.” 

She began to chuckle, her soft giggle making his stomach tingle pleasantly, even more so when it loudened at watching him pause and close his eyes tightly for a few moments, laughing softly though his nose. “The legit shame of it.”  

“Oh, come on! You weren’t that bad!” she cried, laughing more the further his cheeks pinked. Damn, he was so cute. 

“Weren’t that bad? Holly, I couldn’t pissing speak!” He paused there, giving her a few seconds to compose her giggles. She couldn’t. Her beautiful laughter only spurred his further, both sitting there in soft fits at the memory of his fifteen-year-old self, so stoned he was rendered mute.  

“Or walk by the end of the night either,” Kelsey offered from across the shop. “Had to give him a fireman’s lift to the taxi!” 

Oh, the shame. “You needn’t bloody chip in over there, Chapman,” he snorted. “I can do a good enough job mortifying myself, by myself, thanks.”  

“Sharing is caring!” she beamed, Nathan muttering as he continued and moved onto the next flower.  

“How you holding up?” 

“Fine, getting used to it,” she confirmed, watching him smile. 

“Trust me, it won’t be your last. You get bitten by the tattoo bug. Seldom anybody who’s ever had them stops at just one.” 

“Which was your most recent? Can I see?” she inquired.  

“Hmm, only if I took my jeans off,” he confessed.  

“You little tease,” she joked, winking. “Where is it? Anywhere naughty?” 

Was she... no. No, no. She wasn’t flirting with him. Why the hell would she? He knew he was reasonably attractive. Hell, he’d gone from zero to sex in five minutes with someone just thirty minutes before, but seriously. Holly Madden, or Jenkins as she now was, flirting with him? No.  

“It’s on my lower hip,” he confirmed, “cover up of the ex’s name.” Thanks to Kelsey, where Lisa’s name had once lay was now covered by an old school style black panther crawling its way up to his hipbone, a definite improvement now his wife no longer had any prominence in his life.  

“Do you do any of your own tattoos?” she asked out of curiosity, Nathan loading more violet onto the needle. 

“Have done in the past. I did my feet, but I’m not that great at tattooing myself. I do most of my own piercings, though. Save a couple.” 

“How many do you have?” 

He thought for a moment, counting. “Twenty-one. Used to be twenty-three, but I took my eyebrow ones out.”  

“And where are they all?”  

“Eight in my left ear, six in my right, one nostril, lip, two in my tongue, both nipples and one in my dick.”  

Immediately, she gasped. “Crapping hell! I bet that bloody hurt!” 

It would be fair to say he’d nearly gone through the roof. “Yep, a solid eight out of ten on the pain scale.” 

“Why on earth would you do something like that? And have two in your tongue? I bet that was painful, too!” she cried, shaking her head in amazement. 

“Same answer for both,” he smirked. “It’s purely a sex thing.” 

“Can I see them?” she asked, suddenly kicking herself as her stomach plummeted, her cheeks colouring. “The tongue ones, I hasten to add!” Oh, the depth of her cringe. Shit.  

He laughed softly, poking his tongue out and giving it a very rapid wiggle, the two black studs tapping against his teeth.  

Her eyes rounded, making an impressed little hum in the back of her throat. “Bloody hell. A man who can move his tongue that rapidly doesn’t really need any further enhancements, if you ask me.” 

“I know, but I like to show off,” he smiled, winking. Oh, oh yes. He could trust it. They’d definitely fallen into a little playful flirting. “What about you?” 

She felt a bit vanilla, compared to him. “Just my ears, one in each lobe and one at the top of my right. I always said I was going to get something else, too, but I never know what.” 

“Well, when you make up your mind, you know where I am,” he smiled, returning his focus to her tattoo.  

She couldn’t help herself. “You do seem particularly apt at sticking needles in people, so yes, I think I’ll trust it to you.” 

And neither could he. “Not just needles.” Again, he winked, Holly smiling a little shyly, definitely enjoying the exchange. Oh, and why the heck not? She was thirty-four-year-old single woman eleven months out of a terrible marriage. Why not flirt with the hottie doing her tattoo for her?  

“You little devil!” she giggled, Kelsey and Chris exchanging knowing looks from their respective stations, watching their friend enjoying the hell out of himself in flirting up a storm with his teen crush. It was quite surprising for them to witness, since earlier that day aside, he wasn’t overly brash with it. He still wasn’t even then, but he definitely had something about him that exuded a bit more charm than usual.  

At close to the hour mark, he gave her a little break, covering the tattoo for her with a piece of taped on kitchen paper so she could pop outside and make a phone call, taking his gloves off and grabbing his large vaping mod, going out to stand on the other side of the front door, blowing out plumes of sweetly scented vapour.  

“What is that?” she inquired, moving to his side once her phone call to her friend Kate was done, confirming that she’d be on time for their dinner plans later that evening. “It smells delicious!” 

“Strawberry bubble gum,” he replied, taking another lungful he blew out in a huge cloud ahead. “Because I’m a massive fanny who needs his nicotine with a nice flavour.” 

“Ahh, are you using it as a quitting smoking aid?” 

He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve never smoked cigarettes. They smell vile and make you stink, but after all the shit with my ex, I needed something to de-stress a bit, so I took up vaping.” He paused. “I’m aware that makes me look like a proper massive twat, but it is what it is.”  

She giggled softly. “No, it doesn’t. When I’m drunk, I buy those disposable vapes sometimes. They’re awful, and I know they’re bad for the planet, too! Drunk Holly cannot be held accountable, though.”  

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, same as drunk Nathan. He’s a pissing liability,” he chuckled. He paused, looking at her, the way she smiled at him, a sudden uprising of courage kicking him sharply. “Speaking of drinking, you busy later? Me and them two inside are heading to that bar just over the other side of the park tonight, Wolfpack. You fancy meeting up?” 

“Erm...” She quickly worked out times in her head. She and Kate were meeting at six, dinner could likely be an hour and a half, and they had said they’d go on someplace else afterwards. With the borough of Brent, where they currently were only just under twenty minutes via car from her home borough of Hammersmith, it was entirely possible that she could. “Yes, alright then. That’d be great!” 

His stomach all but caved in on itself with excitement. “Cool. I’ll be in there from about seven, ‘kay?” 

“Alright,” she beamed, feeling little darts prickling her tummy. “I’ll be there later; I have dinner plans with my mate first. Mind if I bring her along, too?” 

Blowing out another cloud, he shook his head. “Nah, no worries.” He might’ve appeared cool on the outside, but within, he had fireworks going off in his chest. He felt fifteen again, and as soon as Holly had left the shop half an hour later, it showed.  

“Blud, why you bouncing?” Chris asked, just the three of them all between clients, Nathan tapping the pen in his hand begin the counter as he bounced on his heels. 

“Has she moved away from the shop yet?” 

Kelsey turned to peer through the windows. “She’s just got into a black cab.” As soon as he heard that statement he jumped up and down a few times, punching the air. 

“Fucking got a date with her! She’s meeting us later! A few more air punches followed before he composed himself, taking a deep breath through his nose. “And I’m back to being a calm adult.”  

His friends shared a look, Kelsey thinking how adorable his excitement was. It was nice to see. He’d been bordering on morose at times since his split from Lisa. “Only taken you nineteen years, but you got there in the end, eh Gilly?” 

“Better late than never.” he replied, misting his station with antibacterial spray, his next client due to arrive at any moment. That client was a guy he’d originally met over in Dublin, who he’d reconnected with back in London a while ago. Alex was a gargantuan rugby player in the middle of having a full Japanese themed back piece done by Nathan, the appointment taking up the rest of his afternoon until they shut at 6:30pm.  

They worked long hours at the shop, Closed Sunday and Monday, but open from 10am – 7pm Tuesday to Thursday, and 10am – 9pm on Friday, 9am – 6:30pm on Saturday. With nowhere else to be since the dissolution of his marriage, Nathan had begun booking people in late on other weeknights too, giving himself something to take his mind off the fact that he was separated and truly didn’t really want to be. 

Well, that was only half true.  

He was very glad to be free of Lisa after how things had ended between them, but he’d liked being married. He really wasn’t the type of guy who was into playing the field, hence why his friends had been so alarmed at the speed he’d ended up shagging the girl earlier that day.  

In Nathan’s defence, he’d been horny. Very horny, and maybe just a tiny bit lit from the shot of vodka he’d had that morning upon waking, something to soothe his hungover brain. He made a point of never working under the influence, taking too much pride in his work for that, but one shot wasn’t the end of the world, and it had definitely helped him feel more human again.  

After finishing up the latest section of the huge dragon head upon his client’s back, he went and had a few more tots from the bottle of vodka in his fridge before taking a quick shower and changing, meeting his friends back in the shop before they locked up and headed across the park to Wolfpack. Cue Nathan to spend the next hour trying to play it cool, but failing miserably. Whenever anyone female entered the bar, his eyes snapped over, checking to see if it was Holly. Much tapping and neck scratching ensured. 

“Gilly, you’re going to give yourself carpal tunnel. Stop riffing!” Kelsey advised him, pulling his hand away from within his masses of hair. Immediately, he began drumming his fingers on the table. “Such a jittery boy!” 

He cringed slightly, looking perturbed as anxiety corded through his entire body. “Can’t help it, bruv. She’s too hot for me! I mean really, proper gorgeous, she is. And she’s meeting my scruffy rocker arse. Can’t cope, Kels.”  

He was so adorable. “Oh, no, no, no. There’ll be none of this. You, my friend, are bloody lovely. If I had to shag a guy, like if my life depended on letting a penis near me, I’d choose you. You’re a hottie, so stop sitting there looking like a deer caught in the headlights, and scratching like you’ve got the same amount of ticks as one!” 

“Still wanna hide,” he muttered, laughing at himself. 

Nathan was usually so chilled out, it was very odd for her to see him in any other way. Hell, the man had managed to score with a girl in less than five minutes just hours before, not that she really wanted to dwell on such an out of character occurrence too heavily, though.  

“Why though?” she cried gently, shaking his arm. “You were vibing so well with her earlier, and now look at you! Working yourself into a state.” 

“Yeah, but that was on my turf and now I just... ahh, pissing hell. Where’s Chris with those shots?” Turning his attention towards the bar, he could just about make out the sight of his bald head, thankfully appearing to be somewhat close to getting served. It was a very typically busy night. “It’s because it’s her. I’m telling you, she’s too hot for me.” 

“For the love of the virgin Mary’s bicycle!” she exclaimed, making him snort laugh. It was always ‘for the love of the virgin Mary’s’ something or other with her, and it never failed to crack him up. “Calm down, stop scratching your neck and just breathe! Where’s zen Nath? He needs to come back.” 

The back of his neck continued to receive a good scratching. “He’s otherwise engaged.” Looking towards the doors, he saw two women walk in, his heart hammering. Not her, thankfully. He needed the next round Chris was buying to arrive before Holly did.  

Thinning her lips, she contemplated her next statement for a moment. “This isn’t anything to do with Lisa, is it? She didn’t say anything rotten that’s dented you, did she? Because Jesus Harold Christ, I will knock her through the floor if she did.”  

Trust his favourite butch battleaxe on earth to be so protective. She always had been, and if you didn’t know how sweet and gentle Kelsey was, her sheer size alone cut her from a very intimidating cloth. He’d witnessed her knock out fully grown men in the past.  

He huffed slightly, raising his eyebrows before sinking the rest of his pint. “She said plenty of rotten things, but we don’t speak of her any longer.”  

Truly, Kelsey had hit the nail on the head. It was a little bit of his estranged wife’s nastiness making him nervous, but mostly it was a Holly specific. She was the girl he’d fancied from the ages of eleven to fifteen, and even though he was a grown thirty-four-year-old man, seeing her again had reminded him of being fifteen and way too shy and awkward to make a move on her.  

Luckily, Chris arrived back with a tray of drinks, buying them two pints and two shots each, save going up again with how packed the place was. Nathan’s two shots of Jägermeister had been sunk before he’d even sat down. 

“Blud, easy now!” he exclaimed, Nathan grimacing at the taste, but enjoying the warm feeling of the alcohol spreading through his chest. “You can’t be getting all wreck up before she even gets here, fam!” 

“I can and I will, bruv,” he joked, taking a big gulp of his fresh pint, his eyes once again flitting to the entrance. This time, it wasn’t a false alarm. “Oh, hell upon hell. She’s here.” 

His heart thundered in his chest at seeing her, her eyes scanning the crowd, smiling and waving when she saw him. God, she looked great. She was dressed casually in a figure-hugging black bodysuit with a high neck, her toned arms on show, and a pair of wide legged green trousers with very high heels that boosted her height up more than the flipflops she’d been wearing that afternoon.  

“I’m legit having palpitations.” he muttered, Kelsey wrapping her arms around him and kissing his forehead. By the time she arrived with him, he’d calmed down a little bit, Holly introducing her friend Kate to them all, the women taking a seat. Immediately, Holly began sniffing the air.  

“Oooh, what’s that lovely smell?” Sniffing around some more, she leaned closer to Nathan, identifying him as the source. “You smell delish!” 

“Thanks.” He would say that was the moment he calmed down, but no, because the way she viewed him so appreciatively, Nathan felt anything but. In a good way, though.  

[theothermaidoftarth]

Exposure

T | pre-Cregan Stark/Nettles

Takes place between chapters 1 and 2 of World on Fire. A small ficlet in Cregan’s pov.

Word count: 1,444

Cw: ableism, angst, complicated relationships, family dynamics

When would he stop for breath?, Cregan thought, looking at his son in mild amusement. An amusement which waned as he heard Rickon speak of ‘Missus Nettles’ for the third time in as many minutes. It would have been of little note had he not also done as much the day before while visiting his grandmother. Cregan could feel Lady Gilliane glancing at him with increasing amusement. 

She laughed at the last thing his son had said, hands flapping in his excitement, a gesture she never thought twice of from him. Had it been Cregan... “The undercrofts. Fine place for snares. But would our guest think so? Do you mean to send her running south so soon, my lad?”

Cregan only just held back a snort, though he knew his mother to be japing. Of course a young woman who claimed a dragon the size of a small keep was not faint of heart. Mistress Nettles’ diminutive stature belied her mettle. On the first night of her arrival he saw as much firsthand, many times over. Much of that in his study as she sat before his desk in that ridiculous dress which hung from her like a set of drapes, or a shroud. And he, cold-hearted scoundrel that he was, chose to proceed as if she were not the spirited girl from Jacaerys’ last letter, giving free reign to his ire when their circumstances were no more to her liking than his. He looked at her in the way which had made grown men quail since he was four-and-ten and she looked back with not so much as a startled blink.

It was his undoing. He only acknowledged as much to himself after she came across him in the hot springs. And by then it was too late. He had fallen, hard; his every other thought of her, her wants, her needs, her comfort. Her hopes and dreams and future plans…

Cregan forbeared to cease his son’s babbling; it would only look the worse for him, fermenting his mother’s suspicions. If he had nothing to fear, why put a stop to the boy’s chatter? It was not as if it reminded him that Rickon still had no mother; that Arra was dead and gone, never again to grace the world with her cutting wit; that the young woman whose kindness had so warmed his son could not stay; that Nettles could not remain a part of Rickon’s life. Not as his mother, not as Cregan’s wife. Why would she want him, Cregan was not Osric; he was not as Brandon had been or even Elric.

It seemed no time at all when the lunch hour approached and Bessa bustled Rickon away, leaving Cregan quite alone with his mother. Terrance Snow would be here soon with her medics and mayhap Hollys to tidy the room but for now it was just them.

“I hear you still seat her to your right.”

And who had told her that? There were too many fucking answers. “Should I not? Last I knew she was still a envoy.”

Gilliane knew every one of his silences, every one of his stony looks. Just as he knew her hums and tuts, mysteries it had taken half his life to solve.

“If you were not you, shall I tell you what I would suggest?” she began and he grit his teeth around his ire. Not the first time she had said so. At least twice in his memory, mayhap not as much as other mothers in her place would have but each time it was a blade in his gut. If you were not you; if you were different. 

His father never said similar when he lived but the way he looked at Cregan told it true. Would that you were the younger son and Willam the elder. Or worse, would that you had died and he had lived. Centuries before the dragons came, Northmen used to leave unwanted children out in the snow to die, exposed upon the mountains. Cregan wondered sometimes if Lord Rickon would have done so, had the practice still thrived by the time of his birth, a too-quiet babe who squirmed away from all touch as if being branded, who hardly responded to his own name or smiled or laughed or babbled. He knew this because of his mother, some from servants’ whispers but mostly his mother who told him straight to his face. He wasn’t sure if he loved her more for such honesty or not.

“You will tell me all the same,” he said now.

“Take her to your bed. Or go to hers, whichever.”

He stood at once. “Good day to you, Mother.” He did not even stop to bow as he crossed to the door. A few paces from the door, he halted but only to turn and say, “Do not think that Mistress Nettles is only her dragon.”

His mother affected a look of mild affront. “Oh now you insult me. I thought nothing of the sort. But such a look in your eye, as if you’d fall on even your own sword in defence of her… Is this how it is then? Ah, fine, do not answer. But you know as well as I, he would turn in his crypt to see this.” Father. The man he’d tried to honour all his life. Had he been proud of him at all at the time of his death, even a little?

Cregan flexed his jaw. “Then let him do so. He does not dictate what I do, how I live my life.” He’d accept if Nettles didn’t want him and let it be, but to cease for the sake of a ghost? To never be touched by her, body and soul for the sake of a dead man who half despaired of him in life? No, Cregan would not live his life so. He might well be dead himself then.

Gilliane smiled then, small and sly. “No son of mine ought do any less.”

“Are you winning?”

He turned from the mannequin, startled, to see Nettles just at the edge of the training yard. She had seen him naked and he had not been as flustered. He was in his element here, steel in hand and muscles aching. He did not need to worry she’d be impressed; most who saw him were. But still he was flustered, like a boy at his first bout. She had not seen him here before; he had not expected to see her now. And they were alone, as they had been by the hot springs. It gave the moment an unexpected weight. There were no judging eyes to stare, or mouths to smirk behind hands if his wits proved too dull, his tongue too graceless.

He did so want to say something to make her laugh. He wanted to see those dimples of hers again. Laughter limned her voice more oft than not but rarely lit her eyes; she was more serious than she first appeared. Less so now than her first night here. He had been happy to see it, to bask in the rays of her joy. To be touched by her again.

“If you came afore midday, you would see me win against men of flesh and blood.” He rolled his shoulders backwards but she did not look at his muscles, did not giggle, bite her lip, glance up at him through her lashes with a smile. Was he doing this wrong? He had not done so with either Arra or Jacaerys. Things fell into place differently with them both. He had been different; with her, and with him and now.

“Tomorrow then,” her smile was small, sad. “Tomorrow is…” her last day. His stomach roiled. So little time. Nettles smiled brighter, counterfeit gold. “Tomorrow is a fine time for me to experience the north in full. Bring everything full circle. I shall see your finest sword,” she tipped her head to him and he felt hot blood sweep up his neck to his cheeks, “dance my last jig, mayhap find a shadowcat to tame.” As she walked backwards, she grinned at whatever look must have passed across his face. “Think I couldn’t?”

“I think you could. That’s what worries me.”

“And then when I triumph, you will feel awe instead.” 

She was too far away to hear when he said, “I already do.” Do you not know what you have already won? He would tell her, would overcome his clumsy tongue and find a way to tell her until she knew without doubt. In my eyes, you are crowned in glory.

Read on ao3

[bagdaddyb]

Ayo Little Apple was so good! Do you think you can do a prequel? Maybe of how Larissa and r got together or how they met?

How I Met the Real You

Warnings: College (yes that’s a warning), alcohol consumption, cursing

Author's note: I've decided to make Little Apple into an au since people loved it so much! Go ahead and send the Little Apple au ask and req my way

The walls shook with the force of the speakers in the small house. People's shoulders touched due to the overcrowded nature of the party and Larissa can't help but wonder why she even showed up to the stupid frat party. No one liked her that much she knew but Steven, oh people loved Steven and Larissa didn't mind having to pretend at least it allowed her human interaction every once and a while. So fighting back a grimace at how uncomfortable she was she tried to tune back into what her group... Steven's group of friends where talking about or trying to talk about over the music.

"Fuck this school."

"Fuck these teachers too but please don't get me started we came here to have fun not continue to wallow."

"If we could have fun we would. House full of people and still nobody here."

Larissa fought back a scowl towards the boy to her left. Normies always put themselves on a pedestal, make themselves out to be so much better than the rest when in reality they're all the same.

"I'm going to grab another drink."

Larissa said in a voice she didn't recognize before standing.

"I'll come with you."

A girl named Holly said quickly standing and attaching herself to Larissa's side. Rolling her eyes Larissa pushes through the crowd ignoring the girl as much as she can, Holly seemed to have a crush on Steven and that was simply something Larissa didn't have time for. Reaching the kitchen that held all the drinks Larissa grabbed a cheap beer before also handing one to Holly.

"Thanks Steven."

Holly said while tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Whatever lets get back."

"Wait."

Holly said grabbing Larissa's arm but before she could speak a loud noise coming from the main room caught their attention. Thanking whatever the distraction was Larissa was quick to leave the kitchen pretending to eagerly want to see what was causing the commotion. Making your way through the crowd people seem to step aside and let you by like there isn't hundreds of others here. Something about you wouldn't let Larissa's eyes leave your form. In a moment the whole party seemed to revolve around you, (Y/N) (L/N) the whole campus knew about you. Transferring to this school just last year you were already very popular among the student body but no one knew you like Larissa. She grew up an outcast surrounded by outcast she recognized the familiar shine of siren eyes, knew the telltale pendant for power suppression. Yet there was something different about you, Larissa couldn't breath when you looked her way, lost her train of thought when you spoke, started to sweat when you smiled. She didn't know how to deal with these feelings having always been perfectly composed she was completely unused to becoming a babbling mess in your presence. She couldn’t understand your affect on her and to make matters worse it wasn’t really even her you were talking to.... it was Steven.

“Steven.”

Holly said making Larissa jump, snapping her eyes away from your form.

“What?”

“Steven listen I... I actually really like you, I know you aren’t seeing anybody so I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go out sometime?”

Holly’s hand grabbed Larissa’s arm as she spoke rubbing up and down as she brought her body closer to Larissa’s.

“Steven!”

An alluring voice yelled snapping Larissa’s eyes away from Holly. Your razor sharp gaze cut into Larissa, despite being across the crowded room there seemed to be a straight path between your two bodies. You waved once motioning Larissa over and that was all it took for her body to move.

“Sorry Holly we’ll talk later.”

Walking away without looking back, Larissa gulped her beer hoping the liquid courage would allow her not to become a mess in your presence.

“Hey (Y/N.)”

Larissa said as she approached praising herself for sounding cool and collected.

“Hey sexy.”

You responding with a bright smile hand running up the arm Holly had previously touched once Larissa got close enough and just like that all the walls she had built on the walk over came crashing down and Larissa was putty in your hands.

“I missed you today, I hate when I have to miss class.”

Larissa hummed in response lost in the brightness that was your eyes. Looking in your purse you smack your lips before pouting.

“I forgot something in my car, will you walk out with me I don’t want to go out alone.”

Nodding Larissa stuffs her hands in her pockets.

“Of course.”

Your blinding smile is back as you stand from your seat at a table linking an arm with Larissa she doesn’t stop you as you both make your way through the seemingly parting crowd. Once outside the cold air washes over Larissa, the breeze a relief from the excessive amount of body heat within the frat house. The walk to your car is semi long you arrived rather late resulting in you having to park on the next street over but you were grateful for it now, enjoying your extended time with ‘Steven’ or at least that’s who the white haired girl in the back of your public speaking class wanted you to believe you were with. Larissa felt awkward in the silence as you walked but also found herself unsure of what to say, not being any good when it came to talking to you.

“Can I ask you something?”

You said as you finally approached your car turning to lean on it while you stared the shapeshifter in her same hypnotizing blue eyes.

“Sure.”

Larissa said tucking her hands deeper in her pockets.

“Does it get tiring pretending?”

The world seemed to stop around Larissa as she took in your words.

“What do you mean?”

She responded trying to hide the quickening of her heart beat.

“I mean...”

You said standing off the car moving into Larissa’s space.

“When am I going to stop having to talk to ‘Steven’ to get you to hold a conversation with me?”

Your hands wrapped around Larissa’s waist as you looked deep in her eyes. Larissa began to panic eyes searching for a quick out yet finding nothing as she found herself to far from the party to use that as any excuse.

“I don’t know what you’re...”

“I much prefer your white hair and long legs if you ask me.”

Larissa full body flushed the anxiety at being caught completely covered by your compliments about her true self.

“So I ask again, when can I stop talking to ‘Steven’?”

Larissa’s blush never faltered even as she changed forms right in your arms loose white locks falling over her shoulders blue eyes now refusing to meet yours.

“There we go.”

You say softly blinding smile still shining up at Larissa. Letting go of the woman you stretch out your hand.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I’m (Y/N).”

Taking your hand with an amused yet shy smile Larissa allowed her eyes to meet yours again.

“Larissa.”

[womaninwinter]

This one little moment has produced So Much fic and meta, there's hardly anything left to say about it (but don't worry that won't stop me from trying!!).

The first thing I'm interested in here is George's motivations – he's made it very clear that he thinks Lucy left because of Holly, so bringing her up is basically him merrily pulling the pin out of a conversational grenade. And the whole "old Luce doesn't mind dirt" thing is just mean tbh, Lucy straight out told him in THB that Holly's "perfect" appearance bothers her (with the implication that it makes her feel insecure), so he's essentially shoving the knife in right into what he knows is a sore spot. Of course, he's still very hurt by Lucy leaving (which I think is particularly understandable given that as far as he knows, Lucy's reasons for going were petty in the extreme), and he's just put that aside quite generously to bandage her up and listen to her story, and accepted her coming back to stay indefinitely on very vague terms. But I think that now that the fear for Lucy's safety has worn off, some of the bitterness has crept back in, and he's not-so-subtly reminding her that he hasn't forgotten everything just because she's in trouble.

The second thing is the famous orange juice moment. Until recently, I read it as Lockwood being slightly petty about remembering Lucy's tastes seeing as she pretended to forget how he took his tea, but I never fully liked that, because it doesn't really gel with how he behaves in the rest of the scene. From the second Lucy appears at his front door – in fact, right from the start of TCS – Lockwood is all about "how can I get her back." He's solicitous of her feelings, he's constantly checking up on her, he offers her a place to stay without hesitation – it just doesn't make sense to me that he would be trying to score points.

And then I read this fic by the ultra-talented @egrets with LW's POV on the whole scene, and in this one, he's just desperately babbling about the orange juice in an effort to distract Lucy from asking about Holly. In fact, I'm just going to quote it bcs it's so good and everyone should see it:

“You fret too much about Holly, George. She’s never complained about staying over,* has she?” He said that last bit quickly, hoping Lucy wouldn’t catch it. “You want some orange juice, Lucy? It’s your favourite: the kind with pulp.” Mind, he knew that she didn’t like pulp, but maybe it’d get them out of this conversation about Holly. Instead, George tsk ed. “Lucy doesn’t like orange juice with pulp. Remember?” Now George was just making him look bad. “Oh, yes, that’s right. It gets caught between your teeth, doesn’t it?” Her stare was heavy, penetrating Lockwood in a way that made him want to sit in the corner for timeout like a child. “I’ll take the juice,” she said finally, then tried to lighten her tone. She wasn’t particularly successful. “So, did Holly stay over last night?” “Personally, I always thought straining it through your teeth is part of the fun. You can pretend you're a blue whale.” His silliness was not an adequate enough distraction, because when he caught Lucy’s eye, she was scowling. “What?”

I love this interpretation because it tracks with how Lockwood behaves about Holly in the run-up to this moment, especially in the scene at Lucy's flat, where he straight up pretends not to hear her when she mentions Holly's name (so so funny to me incidentally). So, clearly, Lockwood thinks that Holly is some part of the reason Lucy left and is desperate to avoid the subject, so yeah, using the orange juice as a very weak attempt at distraction is far more on brand than petty jibes IMO. (Petty jabs are very much a George vibe though tbh).

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 48 (He Had Him At Hello, Bromance Edition)

Leaving her friends in Old New Henford after dark, Heather, Ash, and Conrad returned to her childhood home with her parents.

They found River and Cassandra still in their work clothes, the two having spent most of the evening trying to get their infant son to sleep. "Doctor Scott says its a phase, it'll pass, but when he doesn't sleep well, we don't sleep well," lamented River. "These days we're thrilled if he sleeps for more than two hours at a time."

Conrad already felt at ease around her siblings, and Heather left them chatting upstairs while her parents showed her the new plants in their always impressive garden. When Michael woke up fussy, she soothed him back to sleep to give his tired parents a break.

Upstairs, River studied Conrad with keen interest. His sister's taste in men had always been a little...off, and he wanted to be sure this one deserved her. "Driving between San Myshuno and Brindleton Bay must not be easy."

"We make it work," said Conrad. "We're waiting for me to get a transfer, but all that driving can be pretty tiring."

"Sometimes I dance just to keep myself awake," said Cass, grooving a little to the music. "Since I left the art studio to help my mother-in-law with her floral business, it's been a bit easier working from home. I never realized the artistry involved in floral arranging, but I can be just as creative with a bouquet of flowers as I can with a palette of acrylics!"

Conrad couldn't relate, but he empathized with their lack of sleep. "I don't know much about raising kids, but Ash likes a story I tell him that my mom used to read to me when I was a kid. The Giving Tree."

"I love that story," Cassandra mused. "I think I saw a copy at the bookstore in the square."

River nodded. "I'll try anything. I'll pick up a copy tomorrow." Despite his fatigue, River's wall crumbled as he got to know Conrad. "What made you think our sister was worth risking your career?"

The question was sincere. Conrad had asked himself the same thing a thousand times. "At first I thought it was because her son needed her more than the Landgraabs needed a win, but then they dropped the charges and I couldn't stop thinking about her. I booked a vet appointment four hours out of the way just to run into her again."

"Why didn't you ask her out, then?"

"River, stop interrogating him," Hazel pushed, but Conrad smiled.

"I wanted to, but I knew she'd been through a lot and I wanted her to be sure she was ready. I sort of knew it would be it for me if I knew she was interested."

"It's a good thing Holly intervened," said Hazel, smiling. "You might still be waiting for her, otherwise."

River grinned. "He definitely would be."

Hazel left to meet Nicola and some friends at the Gnome's Arms, and River and Cassandra finally changed and sat down to dinner. Because they could know no peace, Ash talked their ear off about dinosaurs. "Conerd say t-rex no swim, we safe," he babbled. "T-rex roar!"

"You know there were less scary dinosaurs," River said. "Smaller ones who ate plants. Also big ones. Like brontosaurus."

Ash listened with intense curiosity. "Bront-so-us?"

"Yeah, they were even bigger than your dad's apartment."

Cassandra stifled a laugh. "River, hush."

They were interrupted when Michael woke again from his nap, wailing from the bedroom. With her plate still full of food, Cass left to tend to her son as Heather walked into the kitchen. "We should probably head out. It'll still be an hour on the Simmerloop at this time of night, and we should get Ash to bed before midnight."

Cassandra brought Michael outside for their goodbyes, but the fussy infant didn't last long in the cool autumn air.

River, meanwhile, had found a new best friend in Conrad. "When I found out my sister was dating a cop I wasn't sure what to think, but now I'm pretty confident you've never played bad cop in your life."

Conrad shrugged. "I mean, I don't see the point. It doesn't get me to the truth any faster. But I admire what you and your father do. Building green infrastructure for your community is just as important as what I do."

River laughed. "Please, don't flatter me. You deal with hardened criminals like my sister."

Daisy turned to Heather as they watched River bond with Conrad. "Riv grew up with a house full of sisters, but I think he always secretly wanted a brother."

When Conrad left to get the car, River turned to Heather. "I recognize the way he looks at you, and he's not going anywhere unless you tell him to. I know you like to think you're better off single, protecting your independence, but he's the guy who's perfect for you. You and Conrad finding each other is one in a million, like the day I met Cassandra. He's your Cassandra."

(Can confirm, Jane Simsten's Soulmates mod kicked in for these two way back on the night they ran into each other with Holly and Kris in San Myshuno, but Heather's unflirty and she's been burned in the past, so it's had to be this way. I'm sorry!)

River's beautiful wife gazed at him with love while he spoke. They were so sweet together, and their love used to make Heather feel like she was missing out. Now she had Conrad, who was as close to perfect as anyone she'd ever met, and she couldn't shake her insecurities.

"I know raising Ash with his father isn't easy and you're afraid to get hurt again," River said. "But that is a guy who's waiting for you to say 'I love you' so he can say it, too."

Neal frowned. "Huck, you don't know that. Don't test your sister's emotions-"

"I do know that, and I'd die on Old Mill Hill defending that take!"

"He makes me so happy," Heather admitted. "But what if he moves in and I find out he's a criminal mastermind masquerading as a detective?"

"Then you're even more perfect for each other than I thought."

Heather couldn’t deny her feelings for Conrad, as afraid as she was to put them into words and make them real.

Despite her fears, she was grateful for her family's approval, and she embraced her brother warmly when Conrad brought his car around. ->

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NOTE: This got it's own post because Conrad and River literally said hello to each other and were basically best friends (they became official best friends later, when it mattered for Conrad's Friend of the World aspiration. tbh by then I thought they already were but either something glitched or broke with the Lovestruck patches or I never bothered and forgot). Their instant bromance felt so right - River looks up to his older sister and wants the best for her even though he can't help but tease her, and he and Conrad are both responsible guys focused on bettering their communities. It's a perfect match and I loved this development.