#i made the No Shoe decision when i thought i was Only designing a kid's cartoon animal band

[plan-bliz]

Ik i designed the silly au characters to not have any shoes but honestly at this point they really need them

[soulless-bex]

the evolution of the Robin costume according to me myself and i:

the first version of the costume was Dick. everything about it was an homage to his parents. the colours, the design, the name of what would become a familial mantel, all of it came from John and Mary Grayson. Dick poured his grief and love into that costume and became stronger through it.

Jason’s costume was the same as Dick’s, only tailored to his size. it was smaller probably than it had ever been for Dick, but beyond very little alterations (probably a longer short and more secure boots, because at the end of the day, Jason is a survivor, and he wouldn't allow himself to go out there wearing something too revealing and shoes he didn't feel comfortable running in. Jason knew Gotham's streets and knew that was where the worst of humanity indulged in their darkest urges), the costume remained the. exact. same. maybe he didn't see the need to change it. more probably, it came from a place of insecurity and uncertainty about his place in the family. he looked up to Dick so much and wanted to make him proud so badly that he spent the rest of his short life doing his best to try and emulate Dick even if that meant erasing himself.

when Tim inherited (read; blackmailed Batman into giving it to him) the mantel, keeping the same costume was no longer possible. of course, Bruce could have had one made that was identical to the one Dick and Jason wore before him, but no one involved at this point would have allowed it. after losing Jason, both Dick and Bruce went all in with the protective measures that were added to the suit. there would not be another dead bird under their watch. Tim wouldn't have allowed it either: he couldn't have lived with himself if he did: wearing the same costume Jason had died in would have felt like an insult to his memory. using the same mantel was already bad enough, but he would have to live with it: Batman needed a Robin after all. the costume gained pants, reinforced armour, and the cape became black on the outside. they said it was for stealth, but really, to Tim, it was a way to honour Jason's memory: from now on, Robin would wear the grief for those who fell into battle. Robin, for the better or the worst, lost a little of its magic after that.

Stephanie knew her time as Robin would be short. she was only doing Tim a favour after all. so she didn’t bother personalizing the suit beyond adding a few accessories to it. she got one of Tim’s back up suits, only one of them, tailored to her. she found it lucky that Tim was so short: they were practically the same size, and the alterations needed were minimal.

when Stephabie followed into Jason’s footsteps and died on the job, Tim retired that design of the suit. he designed another one. the Robin costume once again became darker, losing the green and gaining a lot more black elements. a lot of red, too. maybe it wasn’t a conscious decision, but the mantle who saw two kids die became dyed with blood.

when Damian came around, he wasn’t all that aware of the history of the mantle. he knew the facts, obviously, he had learned everything he could about the previous Robins so he would be prepared to take over once he joined his father, but he wasn’t aware of the emotional weight the suit and being Robin carried. he wasn’t aware of the shackle Tim had put on himself through the mantle. his only thought when he designed his own version of the Robin suit was that he wouldn’t wear the same thing Tim wore. he was too busy trying to paint himself in the most flattering light that he forgot to learn from his predecessors: Damian’s suit stayed dark, like Tim’s had been, but it became more muted also, like he was wearing a grief that wasn’t his, because actually that’s exactly what it was. the Robin costume became greyer and lost a lot of his colours.

when Tim created his own mantle, he brought his pains and that of his predecessors with him. he started something new, but still draped himself with the history of the Robin mantle. the Red Robin suit was red and black, just like his last iteration of the Robin costume

:D

[lumieumie]

A little drabble that I might fix up eventually!

This is my take on what happened when Keefe decided to run off and join the Neverseen! This is directly after the part where Keefe leaped away from Havenfield once Calla made her decision. This is just a short little drabble on what I thought might’ve been going through Keefe’s mind when he got his memory back.

This has not been edited or revised, and I kind of just typed whatever until it became this, so please don’t be too harsh! I’ll fix it up and make it nice later maybe. Also, Keefe pricks his finger so there’s an eensy teensy weensy bit of blood!

When Keefe arrived at the daunting towers of Candleshade, his father wasn’t there.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise—Keefe had long been aware of his father’s secret havens. But Keefe had pictured his father alone in his cold, lonely tower that he took so much pride in. It would certainly be fitting for Lord Cassius Sencen.

Either way, it made things much easier.

He wasted no time, climbing onto the Vortinator with his goal clear in his head; trash his mother’s room. Er, search it, too.

He tried—he really, really did try to convince himself that’s all he was there to do. But he knew there was more to it—knew that despite all she had done to him and his friends, he just… couldn’t seem to let go. He had to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind he could trace, or maybe there were clues of her intentions, or… something.

Who was he kidding. His mother was too careful to leave anything behind. But even so, he needed a way to get all his pent up emotions out. There they were, bubbling just below the surface, and if Keefe didn’t find a way to let the pot boil over in private, he was certain he’d explode at the most inopportune moment.

He kicked the door to his mother’s room open, relishing in the way in squealed on its hinges before slamming into the wall. Keefe hoped it left a dent.

His mother’s room was… well. There were clearly marks that said it had been searched in the not so distant past. Footprints disturbed the thin film of dust on the floor, and he could see signs of disturbances on most of the fancy furniture. But other than that, it was just how his mom had always kept it from what he remembered. Not that he’d been in here more than three times. His mother definitely wasn’t the type to invite him in and cuddle his nightmares away.

He marched straight to the closet, throwing it open and getting to work—tossing clothes, shoes, capes, anything he could grab onto the floor. He searched the pockets of a few of them, but mostly, he was just throwing things. He wanted to rip up his mother’s stupid dresses, lay waste to her obnoxiously high heels, and his anger only grew as he caught glimmers of himself throughout the closet.

A small picture of him on his first day at foxfire. Crumpled drawings he’d thrown away. Bits of jewelry he’d made for her when he was young, that she’d never worn but kept anyways. His search turned into a mission to tear through each and every piece of art, break every beaded string. The floor was a mess of glass beads and shreds of paper, and clothes covered every corner of the room, but he still wasn’t done.

He grit his teeth and yanked on one of her fancy capes folded at the top of the back shelf, sending a diamond-encrusted jewelry box crashing to the floor.

Keefe recognized it, vaguely. It was his mother’s plainest jewelry box, despite its elaborate design. She used it for all the trinkets she never wore. Made sense that it would be tucked in the back of her closet.

Or… she could’ve pushed it to the back of her closet because she was hiding something in it.

Dropping to his knees, he slid the latch and opened the small chest, fumbling through the contents of the box, searching for… something. Anything—

Keefe hissed as something pricked his finger, yanking his hand back. Blood welled on the pad of his thumb, and… oh.

“It’s a rare starstone.”

“Don’t you feel powerful?”

“This is your future.”

“The washers will be here soon, Keefe.”

He clutched his head as if it could save him from the oncoming headache, scrambling away from the jewelry box like it was full of boiling acid. His ears were wringing, and his heart was pounding, and his lungs were begging for air, but he couldn’t seem to get any in.

Legacy. His legacy. On top of some mountain, in the middle of nowhere, was a plan that the Neverseen had made—a big plan. And it involved him.

The starstone.

He crawled to the chest, dumping out the jewelry box and shuffling through the assortment of hairpins. When that yielded no results, he leapt to his feet. He overturned furniture, emptied out drawers, pulled back blankets—looked anywhere and everywhere in the room, but… of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

Either it was hidden somewhere in the tower, or his mother had brought it with her. Or…

The Neverseen had it.

Pieces started coming together in his head, forming a plan. Well… sort of.

He was vital to the Neverseen’s plan—him. His mother had something planned for him, locked behind the door of that desolate building in the middle of a frigid mountain, and the Neverseen knew where it was—knew how to take him there.

And a smaller, childlike voice that he tried time and time again to squash whispered that the answers regarding the state his mother was in lay with the Neverseen as well.

He could end this. He would end this. This was what he had to do.

His friends… and Sophie… they would hate him. By some miracle, they’d kept the son of a traitor around, but this?

Knowing he was a part of the Neverseen’s plan, that he’d gone along with it, was just… too much.

His friends would never forgive him.

Sophie would hate him—everyone would.

He had no other choice. He had to try. He had to make this right.

Something wet slides off his face and drips onto the floor, and it takes Keefe a moment to realize they’re tears. He lifts a hand, letting his fingers graze his wet cheek, before staring at the small splatter on the floor.

It had landed next to a painfully familiar necklace. Each bead with a different bloom, capturing every little detail.

He knelt down, picking up the necklace. For some reason, the flowers made him think of Sophie; but these days, there wasn’t much that didn’t make him think of her.

She’d be angry. She’d probably never speak to him again, but…

He had to do this. He would fix this, even if it killed him. It was the least he could do, and… it was the best plan he had.

With his decision set in stone, Keefe tried his best not to let his heavy heart weigh him down as he closed the door to his mother’s room, necklace in hand.

[milkhoney531]

Just some personal musings, contains abuse, suicidal ideation, and transphobia mention

You know, when I first came out as trans/nonbinary, the name I chose started with M. Then G and then J. Now I'm back to M. Different name, same letter. For some reason, M sticks around longer than any other name I've gone by.

I've gone by tons of usernames too, but one split second decision cemented part of my username. I was signing up for freecycle for some reason and I was going to use my chosen name, I got three letters in and decided I didn't want questions so I chose to change the last letter and make a pale joke.

So boom, Milk became a part of my online identity, besides the 531 at the end. And while the word after it varies from place to place, the M stays.

I've changed a lot over the years, but some parts of me are the same. I still feel weird about my gender expression. I still hate being perceived as a girl. I can't stand pink or too many bright colors, mainly due to preference or sensory issues. I still don't correct family who calls me by the wrong name, but I want to work on that.

I still love to write, paint, draw, or do most creative mediums. However I don't write songs anymore, despite still wanting to learn music. I also don't hate fashion, I've designed clothes and bags and such, even making my own coat.

I'm no longer terrified of ruining things and shutting down my ideas due to that fear. I have altered clothes, made new clothes, put both fabric and acrylic paint where they definitely shouldn't go, frankensteined jackets and cosplays. I have let myself make the things I bought my own. Were there some projects I ended up regretting? Yes but it felt amazing to actually do them while I did!

It's been a rocky road, but I like where I'm at right now. I'd like some changes, yeah, but the changes I want, I'll get. I just need to keep going and preparing. I don't know for sure where I'm heading, but I have a plan for what I want in my life that can be achieved no matter what happens.

I still don't really know who or what I am, but I'm learning and I'm growing into a person I think I like being. Sure, there have been some bumps in the road, definitely didn't think I'd discover a chronic pain condition making me use a cane, or think I'd like flowers, the ocean, or space nearly as much as I do now, but it's a nice surprise.

I'm surprised and glad I'm here to learn more about myself. I never thought I'd live so long. Frankly, I was amazed I made it to high school. Growing up, home was a violent place. My mom was with a violent, obsessive, jealous drunk for most of my life. He almost killed me, my mom, and my brother with a gun before I was 6 years old. I learned the smell of alcohol and how to find empty beer bottles and places to hide before I learned how to write my name. I learned how to find good hiding spots and to make sure my siblings were hidden before I learned to tie my own shoes.

I grew up thinking I was going to be killed. When we finally were free of danger, and even before then, I often acted out at school due to meltdowns because of my autism. Once we were safe, I was no longer the trusted babysitter who could be woken up in the middle of the night before even attending kindergarten or the kid who could make sure their siblings were safe, instead I was a violent problem child. No longer was I praised for ridding of my bullies, my brother's, or my friends, but condemned because I used violent means to do so.

So I started to think of myself as a monster. As someone so unworthy of any human interaction that I legitimately thought I should be imprisoned and bound in a building with no possible exits or entrances far from civilization to just starve to death. I thought my only options in life were to be killed, kill myself, or imprisoned.

So I stopped doing anything. I stopped defending myself from bullies. I stopped caring what happened to me. I made it my goal to become invisible, to fly under the radar. And it worked. Everyone was happier that I had shut down. That I stopped being a problem.

Then I got a job. I started buying things for my family. Started treating them to special dinners, movies, etc. I started giving away what I had. I stopped eating except when with family. I was going to end it all.

But somehow I made it to high school. I remember how shocked I was. How I never thought I'd get that far. I had passed my self given expiration date somehow. And as I walked up to the school, I remember thinking that if I can make it this far, then if I were to go out, it wouldn't be by my own hand.

And yet in my sophomore year, I almost killed myself and to this day I still don't know why. I had just gotten home from a club dance with a bunch of free goodies for my family. I was happy as could be. My parents left to chaperone a dance. And I was alone, my siblings asleep. I didnt think. I found myself in some sort of daze as I walked into the kitchen and I was going to grab a bottle of pills. I was going to eat them all.

But I snapped out of it. I went online and I googled a suicide online chat help line. I never spoke to anyone, but waiting gave me time to come back to my senses. I don't know what snapped me out of it. But I was lucky I snapped out of it.

Sure, life hasn't been amazing, but I think I would have regretted not living it. I've gotten to learn so much, to do so much, to meet so many people, to help people. I wouldn't have gotten to do any of it if I had gone through with it, with my plan that night. As hard as it's been, I've been slowly learning to live. To be a person. As scary as it's been at times, to step out of my bubble, to be myself without fear, it's been getting easier the more I do it.

It started with me deciding to live. Then making a plan for my future. To adding color to my closet. To discovering who I am. To coming out. To defying my mom and staying out. To altering my clothes. To advocating for myself. To being who I am today.

[frosted-night]

Jack Frost Designs Review

Yes it’s finally his time. This is going to include his book designs including previous incarnations in said books. There are more movie concept designs than book so, let’s dig in shall we?

This was in fact the first ever Jack Joyce designed while he came up with The Guardians Of Childhood. He even comes with his own backstory! (Which was cut. Sorry Joyce posts walls of text so it’s a girthy read.)

So instead of a young mischievous trickster, we got a much more depressing story of Jack. (Jack by default is sad obviously) but this one... It kind of hits differently and almost reminds me of the story he crafted for Pitch. A dad who tried to defend his family but through tragic events was ripped from them and changed completely. Design wise, he’s a lot more tree than snow. There doesn’t exist a colored version of this so we’ll never know if he sported winter and dull dead leaf colors rather than grassy greens.This Jack has a weird presence to him, I can’t put my finger on it. Rating: 6/10 He’s really neat! Just a little too Autumn feeling rather than a blend of both Autumn and Winter.

Nightlight feels like the baby evolution if Jack was a pokemon and that's what I’m gonna stick with. Below is a more recent version of him colored.

In all honesty that one is easier on the eyes proportion wise because sometimes Joyce has ‘interesting’ anatomy choices but we aint going into that today. It’s interesting how his hair somehow looks shorter and longer than Jack’s at the same time. Could be because the longer strands float seamlessly but star boy hair physics what can ya do. It’s a little hard to tell what is his skin and what is his armor, so that is a casuality in making a character only have one or two colors in their color scheme. I love other artist’s depictions of Nightlight but the canon one feels a little weak color wise. Rating: 5/10 Sorry, get some better LEDs and then come back.

Here we have a book Jack but I can’t entirely recall if this was used in the books or not. I digress. This design looks like him still wearing very Nightlight-esque armor/clothing and slowly growing into his new persona as Jack Frost. The intricacies are hard to make out but we’ll work with it. This one is very interesting to me because he very much looks like an older teen close to young adult. His hair looks very fluffy too. Not many complaints about this one but not much praise either.

Rating: 6/10 Not great but doesn’t stand out that much.

Remember when I said Joyce had ‘interesting’ anatomy decisions? Jack looks like he has half a head here and it bothers me GREATLY. This is the adult Jack design he went with. Supposedly he likes the opera and he sure looks it. This! Exists!! Kind of wish it didn’t. The outfit is nice but it just doesn’t fit Jack as a whole. This just screams to me that it’s someone else with a similar-ish hairstyle.

Rating: 3/10 Guess he’d be the...Phantom Of The Opera. (I’ll go home and so should he.)

And finally the final Jack. This is the one that almost exactly resembles the Jack we got in the movies(Probably because it was made after the movie but w/e) but just add a cape on him. I can’t really tell if hes got a hoodie and a cape, or just a cloak+hood on top of a sweatshirt. It isn’t too important because my thoughts on this one are obvious. Rating: 10/10 Edna Mode would have a field day with you boy.

MOVIE DESIGN TIME

Joyce claims this is a design he drafted when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered to voice Jack and I can kind of see that with how his face is drawn here. This Jack looks a lot more like a warrior and less of that trickster look. I can’t say I’m a fan of the weird antenna his hood has but his sword is really cool looking.

Rating: 4/10 Nice bow and sword but it can’t save your fashion choices.

This looks like a lanky 11-13 year old who would put rocks or slugs in my shoes and relish in my disgust. He has the exact look of a snot nose kid and I’m unsure how to feel about it.

His various hairstyles drafted here sort of make him softer looking or just more of a snot nose, no in between. Maybe even an Anime Protagonist.

The top right one almost looks like Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon if you squint. It’ll be a little hard to rate them all as one individual but why not.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate them but they aren’t my cup of tea.

AH- IS THAT A FUCKIN GREMLIN?

Oh wait no it isn’t he looks like a 10 year old. Whatever don’t feed him after midnight. The staff’s design of not being shaped like a G is an interesting tidbit but the whole design looks like he’s really young or like a troll etc. This Jack looks like he thinks girls have cooties uses outdated slang.

Rating: 4/10 This is me being generous.

It honestly looks like he hiked his pants up all the way to his chest. A late teen with horrid fashion choices once again. Not many other thoughts here.

Rating: 2/10 Get a sweater on or something.

This is one is very interesting looking to me. His clothes looked a lot more leather based and very human-like. The tatters, tears and frays all make him look like he was a victim of an accident that never changed his clothes. It makes me wonder if this Jack had the same death as the final movie Jack or something else entirely. Either way, this one looks like hes a mid to late teen which really adds to my intrigue.

This was another image that greatly resembled the design so I included it here. It almost looks like his skin is blue here which is pretty neat to me at least. He’s also got leaf motifs here, which from the first Jack design Joyce made, we can see a pattern here.

Rating: 8 /10 I was originally weirded out by his head but now its not so bad.

This Jack is definitely dressed more like a nature boy rather than him having human influenced fashion and it’s an appealing touch. The tiny leaf sprouting from his staff is also kind of cute since the designers seemed to want to put leafs somewhere on his designs. His hairstyle is also very cute but it reminds me of Sasuke Uchiha in a sense. (Not a setback for me at least)

Rating: 7/10 13 year old Jack is going thru a phase.

I thought this Jack didn’t show up again in story boards but I was wrong!

They look a little different from each other but just similar enough to pair together, so bare with me. The first one obviously has looser pants, slightly longer sleeves and got his leaf motif going. This second Jack is a VERY green. It gives the impression that this Jack made his clothes out of plants and natural materials. Again I’m not wholly sure if greens fit his color scheme but they sure went for it for a while. I can’t say I’m a fan of it because it heavily reminds me of Peter Pan.

However a very similar looking Jack could be found in this storyboard. It doesn’t look as green as the other storyboards made it out to be and looks more like dead grass. Which is a pretty nice touch.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate it but it just doesn’t vibe yknow.

Speaking of a vibe...hoo this certainly has one.  This Jack isn’t old but certainly doesn’t look very young, maybe in the 20-30 range, thats just me. He has facial features that remind me of Pitch but resembles the Jack Frost of Santa Clause 3

That being said, I wondered if him looking similar to Pitch was in the storyline of them being brothers.(Which was a scrapped thing, who knew.) He’s a bit more menacing in this design but certainly seems like he relishes in his work.

Rating: 4/10 I’d make it a lower score but I gotta give it props

NOW THIS JACK IS KINDA INTERESTING. This one looks like he’s 16 and going through a grunge phase. He’s gonna play Nirvana loudly and not turn it down even if you tell him too. His staff itself has mini icicles hanging off of it and leafs look stuck to his shirt. Did you glue or staple those on Jack? His hair also looks much longer than his other designs and I kind of dig it( Shut up I’m bias.) I’m not wholly sure why else this design has stuck with me but it just has something about it that I just love. I wish there was a full body drawing of it.

(He also kinda has the same hair as the Jack Frost in Runescape but I wont go on about that hoo hoo)

Rating: 9/10 *Bad Boy by Cascada plays in the distance*

This one definitely feels like middleschooler trying to be in a band. His sticks just resemble drumsticks to me what can I say. I’m a big fan of his shoes and his color scheme screams a hibernating tree in winter. His hair also looks like it’s covered in frost rather than it being wholly white, which is very neat!! He looks like he wants to fight but has slight hesitance. Overall a very balanced Jack.

Rating: 8/10 He’s ready for band practice

Not many thoughts here, I just found these tiny Jack designs cute. His hoodie being a jacket instead just adds to the charm of this one.

No talk to him he angy.

Rating: 6/10 fun sized boi

Now this Jack resembles the one earlier that dressed entirely in leather brown colors, however he clearly is different than that one. I’m gonna say it, he looks like a zombie or undead in this design and its pretty fucking gnarly. I don’t know whats going on with his hair but I’m gonna assume it’s just the wind making it look like that. He just has the vibe that he was once human but was turned into something else entirely. It isnt in uncanny territory but borders that. This version of Jack meeting Pitch and the others would have been *very* interesting. Rating: 7/10 Eat a twinkie Jack you’ll feel better.

The final design! I can’t complain much about this one. The way his staff subtly has a G shape and a hexagon(his signature shape) is a wonderful touch. Additionally, the way the frost is gathered mostly where his hand is such an intricate detail. His signature hoodie is iconic at this point so I can’t bad mouth that either.(I can’t anyway because there's no complaints from me here.) Although, I never understood the leather straps that his pants had or their functions. I couldn’t find any colonial outfits that resembled Jack’s pants so its a total mystery to me at least.

And I can’t go on about this design until I mention the snowflake pattern in his eyes

Pure beauty. It’s at a hue of blue that almost looks impossible to have, combined with the electric blue color of the snowflake in his eyes. The amount of detail in this movie amazes me to this day. Rating: One Great Blizzard <3/10

[spine-buster]

Patience is a Virtue ft. Matthew Tkachuk | 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓎

CONTENT WARNING: this story deals with cults, polygamous cults, escaping cults, strict adherence to religion, gender roles, abuse, miscarriage, and a character with a traumatic past.  Please be warned.

Word Count: 20,294

A/N: This is the longest chapter of the series thus far.  A lot happens.  A LOT.  So take a moment to take it all in lol.  We also learn a lot of Geneviève in this chapter, which kind of alludes to the Jacob & Geneviève series that is going to follow ‘Patience is a Virtue’ once it is finished.  As always, enjoy, and let me know what you think!

                                                           *     *     *     *     *

Effie had no idea what she was doing.  No idea.  

It all started on Christmas Eve, when she was baking in her apartment.  She’d promised Levi and Jenna she’d make dessert – naturally – and was going to make a banoffee pie for everyone, complete with some homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  While shopping for all the ingredients to make the one banoffee pie, she thought of Matthew.  Matthew and the Tkachuks spending Christmas together in his condo.  

So she bought two of every ingredient.

‘This is stupid’ she thought to herself as she stared at all the ingredients on her counter.  ‘Why did you buy double?  The pie will barely last until Boxing Day, and God knows when the next time you’ll see Matthew is.’

She made two pies anyway.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were lovely.  Levi, Jenna, and Effie opened presents that morning.   They got her some new clothes she’d been eyeing at the mall during her last shopping trip, and a really fashionable scarf.  Effie loved it.  She’d even gotten a gift from Annica and Elias, who gave her a massive box full of makeup that they’d eyed together in Sephora.  Jacob and Geneviève gifted her a designer bag – well, she had to be told it was designer.  It was a Chanel 2:55 bag, black leather with gold hardware.  Jenna had to explain to her how nice this bag was, and how it was French – it was only natural that Geneviève got her a French designer handbag, being French herself – and how it was a big deal to own this bag.  Effie thought it was fashionable, but she didn’t understand how or why it was a “big deal”.  Regardless, she made sure to text the girls thank yous.  Jenna’s brother Sean, his partner Ivan, and their kids Amy and Dean were an amazing addition to the day.  They had a huge meal and lots of wine and her banoffee pie was a hit.  When Levi noticed Effie’s fatigue at around 6:30, he drove her back to her apartment.

But she wasn’t at her apartment anymore.  Instead, she found herself walking to Matthew’s apartment with a banoffee pie in her hands.

It couldn’t go to waste, right?

She wondered if his family had gone back to their hotel, or if they were staying at his place, or if they had even finished dinner – God, what if they hadn’t even finished dinner?! – or if they even ate sweet stuff, because with his dad as a former hockey player, were they even allowed it growing up?  Her mind was running a mile a minute.  Despite how fast it was going, she made the wise decision to slip through the open door as someone was leaving, meaning she didn’t have to ring the buzzer to be let in.  She nodded courteously to the concierge before walked towards the elevators.

Before she knew it, she was knocking at his door.  

She didn’t have to wait too long before it opened.  When it did, she was greeted with another girl, around her age, with brown hair and striking eyes.  They matched Matthew’s, so Effie could only guess that this was Taryn.  “Hello?” Taryn asked.

“Hi, I – you don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Matthew’s,” she said, voice small but trying to make it as assertive as possible.  

“Come in,” Taryn moved to make way in the doorway, and Effie stepped in, boots and all.  There were much more shoes at the front than she was used to.  “You’re one of Matthew’s friends?  What did you say your name was?”

“Effie Schaffer.”

Taryn’s eyes lit up.  “You’re Effie?  You’re even prettier than what Matthew told us,” she said, smiling.

“Taryn!  Who is it?” Effie could hear Matthew scream from somewhere inside the condo.  

“It’s Effie!” she called back.

Effie heard the sound of something being dropped loudly, then footsteps rushing through the condo.  Taryn was giggling.  Soon enough, she saw Matthew round the corner, almost slipping on his socks.  “Effie,” he said, slightly breathless.

“Hi,” she said meekly.  “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to bother you—”

“—you’re not bothering us at all—” both Matthew and Taryn said at the same time.

“—I just –I—I baked a banoffee pie,” she said, holding the pie up like it was the prize pig at a rodeo.

“A banoffee pie?!” Taryn repeated excitedly.  “Oh, yes!”

“Who is it?” another female voice was heard, and when Effie looked past Matthew, she saw a woman, who she could only assume was his mom, pop her head around the corner.  “Hello!”

“Did I hear the word pie?!” Keith called out loudly from somewhere in the condo.

“Oh my God this is a disaster,” Matthew mumbled underneath his breath.

“Come in, darling!” Chantal said as she approached Effie, Matthew, and Taryn.

“Mom, this is Effie,” Taryn said.

Chantel’s eyes went wide even though she tried not to let it show.  “Effie!  Effie Effie!” she exclaimed.  “It’s so very nice to finally meet you!”

“You as well,” she smiled slightly.  She hadn’t moved from her spot.  “I didn’t mean to intrude on Christmas—”

“Pie?!” Keith’s head popped out from the corner.  Once he saw the pie in Effie’s hands and all was confirmed, he smiled.  “Get in here with that pie!”

Taryn and Chantal laughed, but Effie and Matthew let out little nervous giggles.  He was obviously happy to see her – ecstatic, really – but he wished he has…prepared for her arrival.  He knew his family could be a lot; he could have talked to them and warned them to be on their best behaviour.  “Here, let me hold the pie so you can take off your shoes,” he offered.

“I’ll get your jacket,” Taryn smiled.

After taking off her outerwear, Effie walked into the familiar condo holding pie.  As she rounded the corner, she saw Keith standing beside the kitchen sink drying plates and glasses.  An extremely tall body, who she could only imagine was Brady, was washing the dishes.  “Guys,” Matthew said loudly so the men could hear over the running water.  Both looked behind them, and Brady shut off the tap.  “This is Effie,” he introduced her, his hand on her upper back.  “Effie, this is my little brother Brady and my dad Keith.”

Effie noticed Brady’s eyebrows raise a little, but Keith smiled at her and looked directly down at the pie in her hands.  “What kind of pie is that, Effie?”

“Oh!  Um, it’s a homemade banoffee pie,” she said.

“Homemade?”

“Mhm,” she nodded quickly.  She placed it down on the island and began taking apart the Tupperware keeping it safe.  “I uh – I don’t know if Matthew has—” she stuttered, looking up at him.  Surely he didn’t tell his family about her job.  “I work at a café, and I make all the baked treats and breads and desserts and stuff, and I baked a pie for Christmas for my brother, and I decided to make an extra one, and, well, here we are,” she said, taking off the top to reveal the pie to everyone.  “It’s a homemade graham cracker pie crust, then homemade toffee, then bananas, then some homemade whipped cream and 70% dark chocolate shavings.”

Keith turned his head slowly towards Brady.  “Get the plates,” he deadpanned.

Brady acted quick.  Chantal began to scream about tea and coffee being served with the pie so she began to make some quickly.  Taryn set the table.  Keith got the forks.  They worked like a well-oiled machine so they could eat and enjoy this pie.  Effie, for her part, felt cemented against the island, Matthew right beside her.  “You okay?” he whispered so his family wouldn’t hear.  

She nodded her head.  “I’m sorry for intruding—”

“Don’t apologize,” he shook his head.  “You somehow managed to know that the way to a Tkachuk’s heart is through their stomach.”

As the Tkachuks and Effie sat down at Matthew’s dining table, Keith handed Effie the cake knife (“Brought from St. Louis, because it’s not like Matthew has this shit”).  She cut the pie into six equal pieces and scooped them up into everyone’s plates.  Once everyone had a piece, she sat in her seat beside Matthew.  

Brady took the first bite.  Effie watched cautiously, but soon, she saw his eyes roll to the back of his head.  “Are you kidding me?!” he said with a mouth full of pie.

Keith soon followed with a grunt.  “Do you ship to St. Louis?”

“This is phenomenal, Effie,” Chantal nodded, eating her second bite.

Effie smiled bashfully.  Underneath the table, she could feel Matthew grab her hand.

***

Everybody ate their slices of pie for as long as possible, savouring each bite they put into their mouths.  They asked Effie some questions – how she’d spent Christmas, where she lived in Calgary, how she happened to meet Matthew – and seemed interested in her answers.  She could tell right off the bat that there was a sort of banter between the family members that was unique to them.  She certainly had never experienced anything quite like it, with the cult’s rigid rules and all-around lack of love, but it was so, so clear that the Tkachuks loved each other to bits, and that they did it because they loved each other, and that it was all in good fun.  She thought Matthew was so lucky to grow up with a family like this.

As they cleared the plates, Brady assumed rinsing duty as Keith loaded the plates and mugs into the dishwasher.  Effie found herself next to Taryn.  “If Matthew gains ten pounds by the next time he comes home, I’ll know why,” she chuckled.

Effie laughed too, knowing that Matthew purposely paced himself with her baked treats or only forced himself to have one (after his taste test, obviously) or else he’d fail the physical next season.  “I should get going and leave you guys be,” she said.

“Oh no no no, you can’t leave now,” Taryn said.  “We’re about to play Monopoly and need a neutral person around to be the banker and so Matthew doesn’t try to kill Brady.”

At that, the family chuckled.  “Yeah, you definitely need to stick around, Effie,” Brady chipped in.  “That way mom doesn’t feel sorry for Matthew and sneak him fifties like last Christmas.”

Effie smiled slightly.  She liked that they wanted her to become an active participant, but she had no clue what Taryn or Brady meant.  “What’s Monopoly?”

Everybody’s head whipped around to look at her.  It was quiet for a moment before Matthew spoke up.  “It’s a board game, Effie,” he said casually, like a lot of people didn’t know what Monopoly was.  “You buy property and build houses and hotels and collect rent and stuff.”

“And stuff?  God, Matthew—” Brady began.

“Oh shut up, Brady—”

Effie got slightly nervous as Matthew and Brady went back and forth about Monopoly.  She wished Matthew would look at her to calm her down, but he wasn’t because he was rolling his eyes at his brother.  “I—um, can I ask a question?” she asked Taryn.

“Of course.”

“When you say banker, do I have to do, like, interest payments and compound—”

“Nononono,” Taryn shook her head automatically.  “It’s basic math.  Addition and subtraction.”

Effie calmed down considerably, but she was still nervous.  Just as she was about to open her mouth and ask another question, Chantal piped up instead.  “Would you like a pen and a piece of paper, Effie?” she asked gently.

Effie nodded.  “I—I—yes please, it’ll…it’ll help me.”

“Matthew,” Chantal said sternly, grabbing his attention, just as he was probably about to put Brady in a headlock.  “Go get Effie a pen and a piece of paper.”

“Why would she need that to be—” Keith began.

“It helps Effie to write it down, like me,” Taryn said sternly, not letting her dad finish the question.  “Go get it from your printer,” she directed her brother.

The last thing Taryn did before leading Effie back to the dining table was smile at her.

***

There was a lot of screaming.

Monopoly was intense, to say the least.  The Tkachuks got really into it.  It took a while for her to get used to, but once she was in the swing of it, everything just sort of clicked.  This was a family tradition, apparently, and Matthew was looking for retribution from last year after he had to mortgage off all his properties to Brady.  Taryn was determined not to come in last place again.  Chantal was constantly telling the kids to apologize to one another for calling each other names or taunting or swearing.  Keith was doing the same.  More screaming.  More taunting.  More “Pay up, buddy!” and “Gimme the cash, dweeb!” and “Don’t buy it don’t buy it don’t buy it!!!” and “Sell me the property, asshole!” and money coming in and out of the bank or in and out of the ‘Free Parking’ space.  Effie was enthralled by it all.  

What she was enthralled about the most was how much they loved each other.  Yes, they called each other names.  Yes, they raised their voices.  Yes, there was a certain kind of dynamic that only they had that may have seemed weird to outsiders or to people who were not used to it.  But above everything, there was love.  Love was so apparent.  It was apparent when Keith asked Chantal if she wanted more tea and refilled her mug.  It was apparent when the boys couldn’t do basic math and Effie would have to correct them with their calculations and everybody would be laughing and teasing them.  It was apparent when Brady and Taryn teamed up at one point against Matthew, only for Taryn to betray Brady and team up with Matthew later.  

It was apparent when they included her in absolutely everything without hesitation.

At just past midnight, Keith was declared the winner.  Matthew came in close second, and kept going on and on about how if he hadn’t landed on one of Keith’s hotels three times he would have won.  Taryn came third, but declared herself the winner since she had Park Place and Boardwalk.  Brady came fourth – a measly showing.  Chantal didn’t mind coming fifth.  

Effie had gone to the washroom while the family packed everything up, and when she emerged, Matthew was waiting for her right outside the door.  It startled her a little, but she smiled.  “Everything okay?”

“You look exhausted,” he said, knowing that, despite having fun, the whole night was probably mentally and emotionally taxing on her, just like their first date had been.  He could only imagine what had been going on in her head during the length of the Monopoly game.  “D’you want to stay over?”

Almost immediately, Effie shook her head.  “I couldn’t—”

“We’re not doing much tomorrow, just having a lazy morning in before maybe doing some shopping—”

“—Matthew, it’s okay, I’ll go home—"

“—But I don’t want you walking home this late at night—”

“—So I’ll call a—”

“Effie?” Chantal’s sweet voice rang through the apartment.  She and Matthew turned their heads to see her standing at the end of the hallway.  “You’re staying over, right?  Do you prefer one or two pillows dear?  I’ll steal them from Brady,” she didn’t even wait for the answer before walking away.

Effie could feel the hairs on her neck stand.  She knew she’d have to do it in a week, but this would be the first time she’d spend the night with people other than her family or Matthew.  She thought she would have a week to mentally prepare for something like this, but even at the chalet in Banff, she and Matthew would be sharing a room – she wasn’t intruding on a space where people were already set to sleep.  Matthew saw almost immediately that her body stiffened and she because anxious, and he responded immediately.  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

She gulped.  “It’s only ever been you and—well, in People’s Dominion, it was when I was sent to live with Abraham as his wife—”

“Okay, stay here,” he cut her off.  “I’ll go talk to them.  Just stay here,” he repeated, dipping down to kiss her quickly before rushing down the hall and towards his family where they were no doubt getting ready for bed.

She felt so embarrassed.  She knew they were lovely people – she could see that, and she experienced it for the last few hours – but her nerves got the best of her.  Houses full of people were a different beast.  She didn’t really have fond memories of being surrounded by people she barely knew, especially since they would usually judge her on how good of a wife she was, how polite her manners were, how well she listened to her husband, how well she cooked and cleaned, how often she prayed, how often she got pregnant, how she couldn’t maintain her pregnancies—

“Oh thank God,” she suddenly heard Taryn’s voice.  “At least now I won’t freeze to death from you hogging the covers.”

“I do not hog the covers,” Matthew chastised his sister.

“The quicker you admit it the quicker we can move on,” Taryn shot back.  “Your couch is so much more comfortable anyways.  Brady and I will each take a part of the sectional.  We’ll be good.”

Effie’s hands were clammy.  Was Taryn just saying that to be nice?  Or did she really not mind?  From the sounds of it, she was supposed to be sharing with Matthew tonight, but now those plans were uprooted.  Effie decided she was no use standing in front of the bathroom door in the hallway, and that his family were already probably starting to resent her and wonder why they were being so nice and asked her to stay over in the first place.  She walked to the end of the hallway and saw most of his family standing around – Brady had two pillows in his arms, and Chantal had a set of sheets.  Keith was already in his pajamas. 

“I’m sorry,” she told everyone, standing at the foot of the hallway with her hands bunched together.  “If this messes everything up, I can just go—”

“Nonsense,” Keith said sternly, shaking his head.  “We have the space.  Taryn will appreciate not sharing a bed with her brother.  You might be the only person here who wants to.”

“Wow, thanks dad,” Matthew smirked.

“You have a big enough ego,” he quipped before looking back at Effie.  “It’s fine, Effie.  If you’re most comfortable there, then we’re all comfortable with it too.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, still nervous and anxious that they were all just saying that just to say it.  “I—I really do appreciate it.”

She could feel Matthew put his hand on the small of her back reassuringly before he saluted his family.  “Good night folks.  Sleep tight.”

“Effie, you’re allowed to kick him if he hogs the blankets,” Brady said as he laid the pillows down on the sofa.  

“Good night, Braeden,” Matthew said sternly as he and Effie turned around to walk to his room.

***

Effie woke up the next morning beside Matthew, and early – really early.  He was still soundly asleep when she looked over at him.  Her anxiousness about the entire situation last night meant that they’d basically stayed on opposite ends of his bed the entire night.  Matthew had tried to calm her down and talk to her, but it was of little use.  It was only sometime during the night that they ended up touching, with Matthew’s arm extended across the bed and on her midriff – literally just so he could touch her.  When Effie woke up and saw his face buried into his pillow facing her and his arm dead weight on her body, she couldn’t help but smile.  Any time they slept in the same bed – which was more and more these days – and she didn’t punch him and give him a black eye, it was a success.  

She pulled herself out of bed delicately, without waking him up, and walked into his ensuite to wash her face.  She’d slept in one of his old Calgary Flames training camp shirts and a pair of trackpants, and as she looked at herself in the mirror, using her fingers to brush through her short hair haphazardly, she heard the sound of plates being moved in the kitchen.  It was faint, so whoever in there was trying to be quiet, obviously assuming everyone was still asleep.  

Instead of getting back into bed with Matthew, she decided to investigate.

Opening and closing his bedroom door slowly and quietly, she walked down the hallway to the kitchen where she saw Keith with oven mitts on, putting a tray of hashbrowns into the oven.  He was still in his pajamas, but he had an apron on – it was quite the sight.  Two pans were on the stove – she could only assume they were for bacon and eggs – and stacks of containers of fresh fruit were on the counter.

“Good morning Mr. Tkachuk,” she greeted him.  Her voice was low enough so she wouldn’t make too much noise, but it still startled him slightly.

When he turned around and saw her, his face broke out into a smile.  “Good morning, Effie.  And don’t you dare call me Mr. Tkachuk,” he said.  “It’s Keith.  Now where are those damn eggs…” he turned back towards the stove.  

It was a sight to behold – a man in a kitchen with an apron on cooking up a storm.  This would have never happened two years ago.  Effie didn’t think Abraham even knew how to boil an egg.  But God forbid his meat was a little pink on the inside – he would get so angry about it.  One of the first things Effie learned growing up, after being able to read the Bible, was cook.  As a woman, she needed to learn how to nourish the men’s body physically because only the Bible could nourish someone spiritually, emotionally, socially…pretty much everything else, really.  It was also one of the first things she had to ‘perfect’ when she married Abraham and became his fake wife.  She hated cooking for him.  He always found something wrong with it.  “You can go back to bed, if you’d like,” Effie offered as she watched him open the carton of eggs.  “I can make everyone breakfast.  It’s no big deal.  I mean you’re technically on vacation.”

“No offence, but it is a big deal,” Keith smiled as he turned to look at her.  “It’s a Tkachuk family tradition that I make the Boxing Day Brunch after Chantal slaved away preparing our Christmas meal,” he said.  “I’d be breaking a 23-year tradition.”

Effie couldn’t help but smile.  Well, this was new.  “Want me to at least cut the fruit?”

Keith paused, looking between the stack of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwis, grapes, and bananas, and Effie.  “Alright, get over here,” he digressed.  

Effie started by washing everything.  Keith was busy cracking the dozen eggs in a big bowl.  They were quiet as they worked together, but then Keith looked over at her.  “You’re the one who was a member of a cult, right?” he asked.

At that moment, something weird happened.  Effie’s body didn’t stiffen.  It didn’t seize up.  She didn’t feel a sudden rush of anxiety.  Instead, all she did was nod her head.  “Yes.  That was me.  It was called the People’s Dominion of Christ,” she informed him.  “Matthew told you?”

“He mentioned it over the summer when he was back home,” Keith said.  “And you escaped?”

Effie nodded again.  “In January it’ll be two years since I left and joined…you know, the real world.”

“What was it like?”

“Well, it was a religious cult.  We were heavily focused on our leader – Abraham.  He was our prophet.  He constantly had these visions from God and told us he spoke directly with God about things pertaining to, like, the cult.  How we lived, how we dressed, what we were supposed to do, about praying and reading the Bible and all that stuff.  It was all very strict, as you can imagine.  Especially for women.”

“What was everyday life like?”

Effie shrugged.  “Every stereotype you can basically think of, really.  In the cult, we weren’t allowed TV or cell phones or anything like that.  Everything was very strict and regimented.  Women were seen as childbearers and that’s basically it.  I had ten siblings—and I mean, most women had more than four or five kids.  A lot of us got married young, too.  I got married to the prophet when I was fourteen.  He said he had a revelation from God that I would bear him the next son of God.”

Keith visibly grimaced at the thought.  He was smart enough to know what that entailed, and he wasn’t going to go there.  And, remembering Chantal’s question in the summer of “Was she abused?” and Matthew’s reply with a nod, he knew what he needed to know at this stage.  “It was courageous of you to leave everything you knew,” he said diplomatically, and he watched as Effie nodded her head.  “What was the real world like for you?”

“It was really scary at first,” Effie admitted.  “My brother’s wife is a teacher, so when I came to live with them in Calgary, she taught me how to read and write, math, science, geography…all that stuff.  Then um, Jacob Markstrom’s wife, Geneviève…she taught me a lot too.  More, like, advanced concepts.  The learning was great.  I was eating it all up.  It was everything else that was scary.”

“Everything else?”

“Like, the social world.  I actually barely left the house the entire first year of me being out because I was so scared.  I thought because I sinned by escaping the cult God was going to, like, punish me somehow.  I didn’t wear pants or jeans or whatever for a full year.  There was just a whole bunch of stuff I didn’t do until I started actually interacting with people.  But ever since I have, like with Matthew…it’s been amazing.  I’ve been learning so much.  I’ve been experiencing so many new things and it’s been so…beautiful,” she said.  “I can’t think of a better word.  It’s been beautiful.”

Keith was smiling at this point.  “So my son’s been helping you then.”

“Loads,” she nodded.  “Because of what happened to me in the cult and what I went through, I have a pretty big need to appear perfect to other people.  In the cult we always had to be virtuous, right?  Representative of the church – the cult – and God and Jesus.  I also constantly had the pressure of being the perfect woman, the perfect wife and all that.  And that led to me having difficulties with anxiety, and having the need to appease everyone.  But even on a more day-to-day level, it means I’ve never done lots of normal, fun things.  The first time I went to a bar was because of Matthew.  And, like, I’m sure he’s told you we’re going to Banff with a bunch of guys from the team next week for New Year’s.  I’ve never been west of Calgary, so it will be great for me to experience.”

“Banff is beautiful.  You’ll love it,” Keith agreed.  “I’m glad to hear my son’s been helping you figuring everything out.  Matthew can be a pest sometimes but it’s nice to know he isn’t in this situation.”

“I’ve never known him to be a pest,” Effie admitted.  “Only on the ice, really, when I watch the games.  But off the ice he’s been nothing but patient and kind with me.  You know he introduced me to candy?”

Keith chuckled.  “Candy?  Really?”

“We weren’t allowed candy in the cult.  He brought me to a grocery store and bought every brand of candy available so I could try them all,” she explained.  “Said that were better than my original choice, which were raisins.”

“Well, he’s right,” Keith mused.  “What else?”

“Tomahawk steaks,” she said, which garnered another chuckle from him.  “Netflix.  Swearing—”

“—Damn that boy—"

“—Corn dogs—”

“Corn dogs?!  You’d never had a corn dog before?”

Effie shook her head.  “It’s been a steep learning curve.  But he’s been really patient with me.  He didn’t even laugh at me when I asked him if he had ever heard of Starbucks."

"I have to admit, Effie, when he told us about you in the summer, I was very…apprehensive,” he began, pouring the eggs into the pan.  “It had nothing to do with you.  I just wasn’t sure Matthew was, well, mature enough to handle something like this.  You can appreciate that these types of situations don’t happen all that often.”

“Of course.”

“But as a father it’s nice to know how great he’s being.  I’m actually shocked that he hasn’t done anything dumb yet.”

Effie snorted.  “Nah, he’s been great.  I can say only good things.”

“You’ve been to games?”

“Oh, loads,” she smiled.  “One of my first big outings was to a Flames game.  Matthew was offended that I was wearing a Markstrom jersey.  It was really fun.  I didn’t really know what hockey was until I came to live in Calgary.”

Keith’s eyes widened.  “Not even hockey?!”

She shook her head.  “Not even hockey.”

“Jesus.”

“I know.  But I like it.  I mean – I’m no expert.  I have no idea what’s going on half the time.  But I love the sounds and the atmosphere.  And it’s a big part of everybody’s life – Levi, Geneviève and Jacob, Matthew…I think it’s only natural that I find a place in it too, you know?”

Keith nodded his head.  He seemed appreciative of the fact that, despite how much she was learning, she was making room for hockey because it was so important to Matthew and other people around her.  To Keith, it showed character.  Not everybody was that eager to learn something new – something as trivial as hockey, when there were other more important things in the world to learn and understand.  “Is there anything else I should know about you, Effie?”

Effie considered the question.  It was a loaded question, sure, and there were so many different things she could say, but through all the thoughts swirling around in her head, only one came out: “Just that I’m trying really hard.”

“Hey,” a sleepy, groggy voice interrupted their conversation.  Both Keith and Effie looked over their shoulder to see Matthew standing at the foot of the hallway, his hair sticking out in every direction, still wearing his pajamas.  For his part, Matthew had woken up to a cold bed, and he didn’t like that; Effie brought so much warmth to it.  “Dad, aren’t you supposed to be making breakfast yourself?” he asked.

Keith smiled mischievously as he looked at Effie.  “See?” he raised his eyebrows and nodded towards his son, obviously referring to the tradition of him cooking brunch for the family.  “Why don’t you take Effie and go and wash up?  By the time you’re done the bacon will be sizzling.”

“But Mr. Tkachuk—”

“Go,” he directed her, and she had no choice but to accept.  

She left the sink and walked towards Matthew, and only once they were down the hall enough that Keith couldn’t see did Matthew wrap his arms around her.  “I missed you,” he mumbled into her ear as they entered his bedroom again.

Effie laughed.  “I was gone for like, fifteen minutes.”

“Too long,” he said, spinning her around in his arms so they were chest-to-chest.  He leaned his head down to kiss her, and couldn’t stop.  

“MMMMMatthew,” she cooed in between kisses.  “Matthew we should get ready.”

“Nuh uh.  He was lying.”

She smiled and Matthew kissed her teeth.  “No he wasn’t.”

“Yes he was.”

“Matthew.”

He pouted.  “One more kiss,” he whispered.

“One.”

“Just one.”

He attached his lips to hers again, except this time, it was smouldering, not just the quick little kisses of earlier, and this time, it was Effie he couldn’t keep her lips off of his, and it was Effie who cradled his head in her hands to keep him there, and it was Effie who pressed her body up against Matthew’s.  It wasn’t until minutes later, when both of them had to catch their breath, that Matthew smiled.  “Just one, huh?”

She scowled at him.  “Shut up.”

***

Breakfast was delicious.  The boys apparently liked bacon, because there was more bacon than anything else on the table, and they chowed it down like it was the last bacon on earth.  Taryn begged Effie to come with them to the mall, and Effie couldn’t say no to her.  She made a quick pitstop back to her apartment to take a shower and change, then met them at CORE, which was just down the street from her, anyway.  They split up in threes at first – Keith, Chantal, and Brady going one way while Matthew and Effie followed Taryn to Aritzia (since she couldn’t get it in St. Louis).  Effie spent the afternoon trying her hardest to give fashion advice to Taryn, though all the things she knew about fashion she learned from Geneviève anyway.  Matthew would pitch in every now and then but Taryn always rolled her eyes at his advice.  Taryn ended up getting a heap of new clothes, and Effie was suckered into getting an oversized knit turtleneck she knew would be of use in a few days in Banff.  Matthew slapped his credit card down for both purchases, despite Effie having the cash.

They met back up with Keith, Chantal, and Brady for a food court lunch.  Brady and Keith carried bags from Hugo Boss, and Chantal even had a bag from Holt Renfrew.  They had lunch in one of the restaurants in the mall before going back to Matthew’s apartment to relax and pack the last of their things into their suitcases.  Before long, Effie was helping Taryn carry her suitcases to the elevator so they could meet the taxis downstairs.  

“He really likes you, you know,” she said as they were alone in the elevator together.

“Matthew?”

Taryn nodded her head.  “When he mentioned you the first time this summer, we were all a bit skeptical, but after seeing you guys together last night and today, I can see that he really likes you.  I don’t think he’d be doing all the helping-you-figure-out-life-post-cult stuff for anyone else.”

Effie bit her bottom lip.  “Why me, then?”

“Because despite what you’ve been through, you’re authentically yourself and Matthew likes authentic people,” Taryn said.  “You have this really interesting balance of not letting your past define you, but you also acknowledge your past and use it as a means to push forward and learn and grow.  You’re not stuck to it.  And I think that’s the most authentic thing somebody can do and be.”

So Taryn knew too.  And understood.  Effie thought it would have probably been obvious last night when she asked what Monopoly was, but maybe something was said in the summer that said everything before they even met her.  “For what it’s worth,” Effie began, “I really like your brother too.  I hope you—you and your family can see that.”

“Oh trust me, we do,” Taryn said with a little giggle and a mischievous grin.  “Like, it’s glaringly obvious.”

“Is it really?”

“You’re a bit quieter about it, but Matthew’s obsessed with you.  He’s never been like this with someone.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Effie asked as she felt the elevator come to a stop.

“The best thing,” Taryn said as the doors opened.  

Matthew was waiting on the other side, designated to help Keith load the suitcases into the SUV taxi they’d ordered to the airport once it got there.  When he saw his sister and Effie smiling in the elevator, he got skeptical.  “What’s got you two smiling?” he asked, taking their suitcases.

“Nothing,” Taryn mused, making Matthew even more confused.  She and Effie gave each other one last look before stepping out of the elevator to walk through to the lobby of his apartment building.

“Hey!  Come on!” he trailed behind them, demanding answers.

Taryn looked over her shoulder to stare at her brother, but didn’t miss a pace as she walked.  “Effie just confirmed you talk in your sleep sometimes.”

Matthew’s face contorted into something Effie had never seen before, and she burst out laughing.  “I do not!!!!!” he exclaimed, causing Taryn to laugh out loud.  “I do not talk in my sleep!!!!!”

Effie had never said such a thing, obviously – Matthew slept like a rock – but Taryn seized the opportunity to tease her older brother.  “Get me off the horsey mommy!” she mimicked his voice tauntingly – obviously referring to something he’d said in his sleep however many years ago they still made fun of him for.  

“Taryn!!!”

The SUV was just pulling up to the front door of the condo building as Effie and Taryn rounded the corner.  Keith was standing with his jacket on, and when he finally saw his daughter, he shook his head.  “What’s he screaming about now?”

“Not talking in his sleep.”

“Oh for Christ’s sake…” Keith rolled his eyes, causing Effie to giggle.  It was hilarious to see Matthew’s family torture him all in good fun.  “Effie, is he this whiny with you?”

“No.”

“Thank God.”

“I do not talk in my sleep.  You’re being mean,” he chastised Taryn as he came around the corner too, still dragging the suitcases behind him.  “And you!” he nodded his head towards Effie.  “You just staying silent!  Being complacent!  You two are as thick as thieves already, aren’t you?”

“You bet,” Taryn answered for them, sticking her tongue out at her brother playfully, who did it right back at her before helping Keith load them into the trunk.  

Once the entire family was downstairs, Effie watched as Brady loaded the last of the suitcases in the back while Keith and Chantal spoke to the driver about getting to the airport.  Once he shut the trunk door, he turned towards her.  “It was amazing to finally meet you, Effie.  Take it easy and make sure to kick Matthew if he gets out of line, okay?”

And then it happened again.

He went in for a hug, like any normal person would do, and his hand grazed her shoulder to pull her in.  Except when it did, she flinched again.  Dramatically.  Like, jumped almost a foot away from him dramatically.  He even let out a shocked “Whoa!” at her action and backed up to give her space.  “Oh God, Effie—”

“—I’m s-s-sorry Brady—”

“—It’s alright, I should have remembered, Matthew told me and I forgot—”

“Everything okay?” Matthew’s voice suddenly asked as he appeared around the car behind Brady.  He eyed his brother and noticed he and Effie were standing a foot away from each other.  

“We’re all good,” Effie smiled, immediately calming him down.  If she was smiling, then it was all good.  “We were just saying goodbye.”

“I told her to kick you if you get out of line, too,” Brady covered quickly.  

“She won’t need to.  I’m a good boy,” Matthew grumbled.  

“Effie!” Keith’s voice could be heard screaming out of the car window.  Matthew and Effie walked over to see him and Chantal already seated in the backseat of the car.  Chantal was leaning over, looking over his shoulder.  “You can kick him if he gets out of line,” he echoed Brady sentiments.

Effie snorted.  “I don’t think I’ll need to, but thank you for the permission,” she said as she felt Matthew’s hand go to the small of her back.  

“I second that,” Taryn commented from the backseat.

“You third it,” Brady said as he slipped into the passenger’s seat.  “I said it first.”

“It was so lovely to meet you Effie,” Chantal piped in.  “Have fun and stay safe in Banff.  You’re going to love it.”

“Thank you, Chantal—”

“Yes, it was nice to finally meet you,” Keith said too.  “I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon, Effie.”

“Hopefully.”

Effie backed up so Matthew could say his goodbyes to his family, hugging his dad through the window and giving a kiss to his mom and sister in the backseat.  He saluted Brady and said something that made him howl in laughter before saying goodbye to his dad one more time.  Matthew backed up, and Keith waved at he and Effie one last time as he rolled up the window and the driver began slowing driving through the semi-circle.  Matthew and Effie waved after them.  Matthew didn’t stop until the car wasn’t in sight anymore.

For someone who ran away from her family, the fact that he stayed outside in the cold, brutal Calgary winter just to wave goodbye to his family made Effie think about how much he probably missed them.  Though she didn’t miss her family, she knew Matthew missed his every day.  “Is the first day always the hardest?” she asked.

Matthew nodded silently, wrapping an arm around her.  “Come on.  Let’s go inside.”

When they were back in the solitude of his apartment, Effie could see Matthew pacing awkwardly.  She knew he was probably overcome with emotion at his family leaving, but this wasn’t the usual way he showed it.  Matthew wore his heart on his sleeve – Effie knew when he was angry, when he was happy, sad, anxious, whatever – but, this she couldn’t read.  “Is everything okay?” she asked, putting her hand on his forearm.  

Matthew looked down at her.  She watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.  “I got you a Christmas present,” he said nervously.

Effie furrowed her brows.  “That’s what you’re nervous about?”

“No—Yes—I—I just didn’t know how you’d react because I—well, I know you didn’t get me anything.”

“There’s no reason for to be nervous, Matthew,” she said, cupping his face in her hands.  “That’s very thoughtful of you.  Thank you.”

“It won’t be as nice as the Chanel bag Geneviève got you,” he tried to crack a joke.

Effie smiled.  “She told you about that?”

“I had to make sure we didn’t get you the same thing,” he said.  “Let me go get it.”  He paced over to his Christmas tree and pulled the lone tiny box with a gold bow that was still sitting underneath it.  Effie hadn’t even noticed it there.  When he brought it back to her, he handed it to her gently and she took it.  “If you don’t like it or whatever, I can exchange it or take it back—"

“I’m going to love it because you got it for me, Matthew,” she interrupted him.  “Why’re you so nervous about this?”

“Just open it.”

She ripped off the wrapping paper delicately, revealing a robin-egg blue box with the words “Tiffany & Co” on the lid.  She looked up at Matthew.  “I guess this is a nice jewelry company,” she said.

Matthew snorted.  “Every woman in the Western world knows that jewelry company…except you.”

Effie would have to search it up when she got home…whenever that was.  She opened the box and saw a velvet pouch, the opened that and emptied its contents onto her hand.  What dropped out was something beautiful – a delicate and dainty gold chain with a gold pendant.  Upon closer inspection, Effie realized it was a cursive, lower-case ‘e’.  “Matthew…” she whispered, a smile growing on her face.  

“I know how important your name is to you—cause it’s yours now,” he said, as if he needed to justify such an amazing gift.  “And I just thought you should carry it with you everywhere you go as a reminder that you get to make your own decisions now.”

Her smile grew even wider, knowing the thought Matthew put into it.  The necklace was perfect.  It was absolutely perfect and she couldn’t have asked for anything better.  “Can you help me put it on?”

Matthew smiled.  “I don’t know if my fat fingers will be able to do the clasp, but sure.”

She unclasped it for him and held it against her decolletage as he moved behind her.  It took a few tries and a frustrated grunt, but eventually, he got it.  He let the chain fall on the back of her neck, and she let go of it too, now securely around her neck and presenting for the world to see.  She took out her phone and switched it to selfie move so she could see what it looked like on.  It was stunning.  So simple but so classic.  Effie never wanted to take it off.  As she admired it, Matthew wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on top of her head dramatically, causing her to giggle.  Since her phone was already on selfie mode, she snapped a quick photo.  Matthew took it one step further and placed a kiss on her temple, and she snapped another quick photo before locking her phone and spinning around in his arms.  “I love it,” she said, bringing her hands up to cup his face once more like she was doing before.  “Thank you so much.”

Matthew couldn’t hold back anymore.  He leaned down and began to kiss her, slow and passionate and with everything in him, because he had everything to give her.  As they kissed in his kitchen, he reached underneath her ass and picked her up so he could place her on the island.  Instinctively, her legs wrapped around him – exactly what he wanted – and his hands wandered everywhere, from over her thighs and squeezing the flesh there, up towards her breasts where she pushed herself further against his body.  When his hands wandered underneath her shirt and he felt her body shiver slightly, he pulled away.  “Couch or bed?” he asked her.

Effie was hesitant – it was almost like she needed to regroup after all the kissing.  “Bed,” she finally decided.  “B—but…”

“But what?”

“You’ve just gotta go slow, okay?”

Matthew nodded.  “I promise.”

He picked her up and began carrying her through his condo and towards his bedroom with her legs wrapped securely around him.  He lay her down on the foot of the bed gently and when she noticed she was there she immediately moved back so that her head was on the pillows.  He followed her, crawling up to her and over her body.  “You okay?” he asked.

Effie nodded.  “Kiss me, Matthew.”

“Gladly.”

They made out for a long time.  A long time.  So long that Matthew got tired of holding himself up above her, so he lowered himself, then lower, then lower, then he was practically on top of her, and he quickly thought about how uncomfortable that must have been for her, so he rolled off her and onto his side, except he brought Effie’s body with him, and with an arm tucked under her neck and his other arm holding her close, she draped her leg over his and his thigh could feel how warm her core was through her pants, and it made his body feel like it was on fire, and…and…oh God he was in fucking heaven.  Being with Effie was like being in heaven.  Her soft lips, her soft skin, the warmth of her body…it was all divine.  

Then she tugged on his shirt to get it off, so he did the same.

Then he kissed down her neck and collarbone, and she let out hot breaths and moans.  

Then he rolled her back on her back.

Then she – she – worked to unclasp her bra, and threw it off to the side, and Matthew continued to what was quickly becoming his favourite activity – tongue dragging along Effie’s skin, over her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth, and hearing her moan in pleasure.  “Fuck, Matthew…” she let out a shaky breath.

“You like that, huh?” he asked quickly before moving to her other breast, looking up at her for her answer.

She nodded her head quickly.  “You make me feel so good.”

He began massaging her other breast with his hand and she arched her back slightly.  He never knew a girl who was this sensitive to it all, but it wasn’t like he was complaining.  Plus, he knew she’d never experienced it before, and had only experienced it with him, so he had to admit he took some pride in knowing he was able to make her feel this way.  

He worked on her breasts for a while, until he was practically drunk on them, before her little mewls and little moans let out a “Kiss me, Matty” that almost drove him insane with lust.  He popped her nipple out of his mouth and moved up, laying on his side again and pulling her body against him before giving her sloppy, wet, tongues-everywhere kisses.

His free hand wandered to massage her breast again, which caused her top stop kissing him so she could moan.

His free hand then wandered to her ass, squeezing and kneading the flesh there, which caused her to drape her leg over his thigh again and allowed him to feel how wet she’d become.

His free hand then took a chance, wandering around her ass and in between her legs, feeling for a second exactly how wet she’d become, which caused her to bring her hands up against his chest and push him away, telling him a strong and sobering, “Stop.”

He stopped.

They were farther apart now, but still close.  Effie’s eyes had practically popped open, bringing her back down to reality.  She hadn’t seen Abraham – a plus.  She didn’t feel guilty about feeling pleasure – another plus.  She just didn’t know what he was doing.  “Why was your hand there?” she asked.

Matthew couldn’t believe that he was going to lie there with blue balls and explain to her the concept of fingering.  “I—I was—I was going to make you feel good using my hand---my fingers,” he said shakily.  

“How?”

Okay, so this was going to become an anatomy lesson.  By him.  This was a fucking disaster.  “I was—you know how you’re wet down there right now?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, I was going to take my fingers,” he held his hand up in position to show her, “and I was going to—I was gonna rub your clit—your clitoris.”

Effie furrowed her brows.  “And that would have made me feel good?” she asked.

Matthew nodded his head.  “Could you feel my erection on your other leg?” he asked.  Effie nodded her head shyly.  “Well, if you would have put your hand down my pants and started, um, like stroking it, you would have made me feel good too.”

“Would your fingers have made me orgasm?” she asked again.

“It might have, depending on how good I made you feel.”

“And if I stroked your erection, would that have made you orgasm?”

“Probably,” he was honest.

“So then it’s like masturbation, except I do it on you and you do it on me.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

He could see the gears turning in Effie’s head as she came to the realization.  Once she came to terms with it, and she understood what he was trying to make happen, she looked him in the eye again.  “When I orgasm for the first time, I want it to be because we’re having sex.  I don’t want it to be from masturbation or from mutual masturbation.  Is that weird?”

“No, it’s not weird at all,” Matthew said, a shiver running up his spine knowing she wanted it to happen that specific way.  She was putting her faith in him that he would make her feel good.  “This is just another way to achieve it.  It doesn’t have to be your first time, but once…I mean, once you get used to having orgasms, it can be one way you achieve them.”

Effie nodded her head.  “Masturbation was illegal in the cult.  The prophet once caught a boy doing it and whipped him with his belt.”

“That won’t happen here,” Matthew was stern.

“I know,” Effie said.  She paused before asking the next part.  “Do you—do you want me to stroke your erection?”

“No no, it’s okay,” he shook his head, leaning in to kiss her.  

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” he mumbled between kisses.

“Is it because you think I won’t…get you there?” she asked timidly.

Matthew stopped kissing her.  “Don’t think that ever again,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.  “I know you’ll get me there.  I have no doubt in my mind.  I don’t want you to do it right now because it wouldn’t feel right to me – you giving me a handjob but me giving you nothing,” he said.

Effie’s lips curled into a smile.  “A handjob?  Is that what it’s called?” she giggled, lifting all the tension and dissipating it into the air.

“It is,” Matthew giggled along with her.  “Let me take care of this.  Why don’t you find something in the kitchen to make for dinner in the meantime?”

She gave him one last kiss.  “Deal.”

***

“Did you pack the ski jacket I lent you?” Geneviève asked.

“Yes.”

“Slippers for the chalet?”

“Yes.”

“What about a bathing suit?”

“Bathing suit?” Effie asked skeptically.  “For what?”

“There’s a hot tub at the chalet,” Geneviève said, looking through her own racks of clothing for things she should pack for Banff.  “It would be a good idea to bring a bathing suit.”

“But it’s freezing outside!”

Geneviève laughed.  “Trust me, there’s nothing better than getting into a hot tub when it’s cold outside.  I bet you Sean will even do a Canadian polar if someone dares him.”  Effie continued to look at her, confused.  “You’ll see.”

“I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“Look in here,” Geneviève opened a drawer beside her.  When Effie approached it, she could see loads of bathing suits almost spilling out of it.  She picked up the first one she saw and it was only a top – a string bikini.  Geneviève saw the horrified look on her face.  “Okay, maybe not the string bikini I wore on my honeymoon when I had a banging body,” she said, taking it from Effie.  “But what about a one piece?”

“I’ve never worn a bathing suit before.”

“Understandable.  You don’t want to show a lot of skin?”

“I guess not.”

Geneviève dug through the drawer and pulled out two options for her.  One was a solid colour – plum – and had ruffles along the v-neck and down to her chest.  The other was striped, with ruffles too, and didn’t look like it would ride up her butt.  “Try these on,” Geneviève handed Effie the suits.  “And hell, if they look good, have them.  It’s not like I need them.”

Both of them fit Effie like a glove.  When she came out of the bathroom and modelled them for Geneviève, Geneviève was so happy, urging her to bring both just in case she needed to put both of them to good use.  Effie made sure to fold them up nicely in her lap as she sat on Geneviève’s bed and watched her pack the last of her things.  “So Matthew told you about how we’re all getting there, right?”

Effie nodded.  “Johnny and Meredith are buying all the food, and then you and Jacob and Annica and Elias are carpooling, and then Sean and Britt and Noah are carpooling, and then it’s me and Matthew.”

“And we are leaving at?”

“Ten in the morning.”

Geneviève nodded.  “I’m only checking because Matthew is notoriously late for shit.  Which is hilariously because he wears a $40,000 Rolex.”

***

“Okay, we’ll see you guys when you get there,” Jacob said as he leaned down to be at eye level with Effie in the passenger’s seat, just as Matthew slipped into the driver’s seat of his Audi.  “We’re probably gonna get there first so we’ll take care of check in, but we’ll call to make sure you guys are alright.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Effie smiled.  “Drive safe, Jacob.”

“You too,” he eyed Matthew before standing up again.  

Effie could see Geneviève and Annica waving from the SUV and she waved back.  Rolling up her window, Effie looked over at Matthew.  “How long a drive is it again?” she asked.

“About an hour and a half.  Why?”

“Can we listen to some music on the way there?”

“Of course!” he said, grabbing the wire so she could plug in her iPhone.  “What are we listening to?”

She stayed silent, scrolling through her phone for long enough, keeping Matthew guessing.  It wasn’t until he turned and turned and turned and was on the main road leading to the highway that he finally heard the opening sounds of music.

It was Taylor Swift.

“Nooooooooo!!!!!” he groaned loudly as Effie began cackling at his displeasure with the choice in music.  “Taylor Swift?  You’re really going to do this to me the whole way to Banff?!”

“Don’t be silly,” she said, pausing for dramatic effect.  “The whole way back too, Matthew.”

“Uuuuuuuuuugh!” he let out an even louder groan, causing her to laugh again.  “You’re joking me!”

“Nope,” she giggled.  “Geneviève recommended I torture you during the ride.”

“Of course she did,” Matthew shook his head, signalling to take the ramp onto the highway.  “Geneviève’s favourite activity is to torture me.  But I mean, she’s had a rough time in the past, so it’s nice to see her so happy, even if it’s at my expense,” he commented.

Effie furrowed her brows.  “What do you mean?”

Fuck.  Matthew figured Geneviève had told her.  Most of the team knew, and Effie was so close with her that he thought it would have been mentioned or brought up in conversation at some point during their time together.  Apparently not.  And truth be told, he didn’t want to be the one to spill the beans.  Knowing Geneviève, if she hadn’t told Effie, there was a reason why.  Matthew wasn’t going to guess as to what that was – all he knew was that he wasn’t going to explain to Effie why seeing Geneviève happy made him happy.  “I think she should tell you,” he said diplomatically.  “It’s stuff that’s about her life, and I’d feel wrong sharing it.  Plus she can explain it better.”

Effie had no idea what he meant by that.  So many thoughts started to swirl around in her head.  “She wasn’t a member of a cult too, was she?” she asked.

“No,” Matthew shook his head.  He reached over the centre console and grabbed her hand, bringing it over to his lap while he held it in his own, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand gently.  “I’ll just say that…well, she’s had a bit of a rough go at things, and so I am genuinely happy to see her happy.”

***

“Oh…my…goodness,” Effie gasped as she walked through the rented chalet, admiring the cozy architecture and log walls that adorned it.  It wasn’t until she got to the back, though – where the massive floor-to-ceiling windows were – that her breath caught in her throat.  The chalet looked out onto Cascade Mountain, in all its snow-capped glory, and with the beautiful blue skies that day, the entire scene looked more like a painting than it did reality.  “Wow,” she said, speechless, unable to think of anything else as she stared at the dream before her.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Meredith asked rhetorically as she was unpacking the groceries she and Johnny bought in the kitchen.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Which bedroom’s ours?” she vaguely heard Matthew’s voice, but she was too preoccupied staring out the window to even bother turning around.

“The attic room above the garage,” Meredith informed him, watching Matthew as he looked at Effie before smiling to himself and hauling both of their suitcases up the stairs.  When he was out of sight, Meredith continued watching Effie as she admired the view.  “This is your first time in Banff, right?” she asked.  Effie only nodded her head.  “Well, we’re going into the village for dinner tonight, so you’ll be able to see it all lit up.”

At that point, Meredith could see Geneviève emerge from hers and Jacob’s room at the end of the hallway of the main floor.  Meredith gave her a wiggle of the eyebrows and nodded her head towards Effie, all silently, so Geneviève would see Effie’s fascination with the view.  Geneviève could only smile at Meredith when she realized what was going on.  “You okay, Effie?” she asked in a happy voice.

“Just admiring,” she said, still transfixed.  “I read the Rockies were formed something like 80 million years ago.”

“That’s right.  80 to 55 million years ago,” Geneviève said.

Effie finally turned slightly to look at both women.  “Two years ago I believed the Earth was only 6000 years old,” she said, her voice soft.  “We learned about how God made the Earth in six days.  The more I think about what we were told and what we learned, the more I come to realize how fucking stupid it all was.”

Meredith couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face, even letting out a laugh at Effie’s tone.  “How could you guys have not believed in dinosaurs?  I mean, there’s fossils of them.  What did you learn?”

“It’s not that we didn’t believe in dinosaurs…” Effie started.  “It’s…well, God made the Earth in six days according to the Bible.  And on the sixth day, he created the first man and woman – Adam and Eve.  And the Bible gives this entire genealogy of their children and children’s children and all that.  They’re all throughout the Old Testament, up until the time of Christ.  So if you add up all the dates, it’s only about 6000 years,” she explained.  “And so if you believe like we did that Jesus came to Earth about 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of Earth and animals – including dinosaurs – only occurred thousands of years ago, not millions.  Because the Bible is right.  It’s infallible.”

“But then what about them dying?  Like why wouldn’t we still live with T-Rex’s like in Jurassic Park?” Meredith asked.

Effie smiled, only because the explanation was so ridiculous.  “The Flood.”

“The what?”

“The Flood.  The Great Flood.  You know, like Noah’s Arc?”

“Are you for real?” Meredith deadpanned.

“I’m dead serious,” Effie smiled.  “We learned that the animals that were saved on the Arc lived in a new world after the Flood, and those land animals, including dinosaurs, found the new world to be very different.  So because of things like competition for food that was no longer there, and some other stuff, the dinosaurs died out.”

Meredith and Geneviève were silent, but Geneviève could tell Meredith was screaming on the inside.  She was a nurse, after all, and so science was a big part of her life.  Finally, she broke.  “That’s literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she deadpanned again.

Effie burst out in laughter.  “It is, isn’t?”

“That’s literally so fucking dumb,” Meredith went on.  “God, Effie.  Are you just fucking with me?”

“I’m not,” she shook her head.  “It’s really that dumb.”

“I’ll say.  Thank God you’re out of that bullshit, huh?”

“Yeah.  Thank God.”

“Ladies…” Matthew’s voice interrupted them.  They all looked to where he was standing, but he was staring only at Effie.  “You wanna come see our room?” he asked her.

She nodded her head, and although she was sad to leave the view she knew she’d already fallen in love with, she followed him up the stairs and down the hall, up another set of short stairs into the attic space above the garage.  She walked into a cozy room, log walls like most of the rest of the chalet, and a big window overlooking some trees.  Some of the mountain could be seen in between the trees, and just like she’d down downstairs, Effie stood in front of the window, admiring the view.  She didn’t even hear Matthew sneak up behind her until she could feel his arms wrap around her body from behind.  He pressed his body into hers, and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.  She felt so calm and serene.  “Thank you for bringing me here,” she said softly, resting her hands overs his and intertwining their fingers.

“You like it?” he asked, and she nodded her head.  “What were you and the girls talking about?”

“Dinosaurs,” Effie smiled.  “How two years ago I believed the Earth was only 6000 years old even though that mountain out there is probably sixty million years old.”

Matthew let out a chuckled, moving to quickly kiss right below her ear.  “Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked.

“It is.  It really is,” she said.

“Wait until we go to Lake Louise tomorrow.  You’re gonna love it.”

“What’s Lake Louise?”

“You’ll see,” he said.  “Just promise me you won’t Google it and spoil it for yourself.  I wanna see your first-ever reaction to seeing it.  Deal?”

Effie smiled.  “Deal.”

Matthew could tell Effie didn’t want to talk.  She wouldn’t want to unpack, or take a nap, or get ready for their night out in the village in a few hours.  All she wanted to do was stare out the window and venerate the view.  So that’s what they did: with his arms still wrapped around her tightly, and his head fitting perfectly into the crook of her neck, they stood at the window, silently, admiring the nature and the mountain before them.  

***

“Oh wwwwwoooooooooowwwww,” Effie’s eyes were as wide as the sea as she stood on the street corner of Banff Avenue with Geneviève, Matthew, and Jacob, staring up at the breathtaking view of Cascade Mountain just as the sun was setting and dusk was coming in.  Matthew was forever thankful that it was a clear night – no snow, fog, or clouds obstructed the view – so Effie got the real deal.  “That…is…amazing!” her jaw was practically on the floor.  “I can’t believe this is only an hour and a half away from Calgary!”

Matthew had an idea.  “At the next crossing, you should pose in the middle of the street and I’ll take a picture of you with it in the background.”

Effie looked at him.  “Really?”

“Duh!”

“Can you—but I—I want one with you too,” she said.  

“I’ll take it,” Jacob offered.  “I can be your Instagram husband, Chucky.”

After a minute, the crosswalk turned green and they rushed to the centre of the street.  Effie posed alone at first, and Matthew took bursts so she had lots of options to choose from.  Then Jacob took his phone and pushed him towards her.  They posed like a couple with his arm wrapped around her shoulders and her hand just grazing his torso.  Jacob made sure to take bursts as well before noticing that the countdown was getting close to finishing.  They scurried across the street just in time, ensuring no car would honk at them for blocking the road.

“D’you think I should upload that to Instagram?” Effie asked Matthew as they continued to walk along the sidewalk.

“Of course you should,” he said.

She’d have to make sure to tag him.

***

Inside of the restaurant, at a long table having just been seated about ten minutes before, Matthew was grumpy.  It had nothing to do with the restaurant.  It had nothing to do with the company, or the fact that Noah wouldn’t shut up beside him.  It had nothing to do with the overpriced beer he ordered, because he could afford it, and it had nothing to do with how they had to wait twenty minutes for their table, even though they’d made reservations.

It had everything to do with the guy at the bar who hadn’t stopped staring at Effie since they walked through the door.

Matthew liked to think of himself as diplomatic, especially these days when Effie had changed his life so much, but right now he was downright protective.  Pest Matthew, which was the persona he was known on the ice.  Effie didn’t notice, because Effie didn’t notice these things – men staring at her, men flirting with her – but he could, and that’s all that mattered.  He was already holding her hand under the table; his thumb was already grazing the back of her hand, like it had been in most of the car ride to Banff; and he was already sitting beside her, obviously.  But that wasn’t enough to him.  Not when he was being a moody little baby (at least he acknowledged it).  Not when he was being protective because he didn’t like the way the guy was looking at her, and the fact that he hadn’t stopped looking at her since.  Matthew knew what was on his mind.  How could he not?

“Is everything okay?” Effie asked quietly just as everyone was finished being served their drinks.  

Matthew shifted uncomfortable in his seat.  Just like he was able to tell when she was a bit off, she was now able to tell when he was off too.  It was a damn miracle, he thought.  But he didn’t want to be a pissbaby about it all.  “Listen, I know you don’t like to be hands-on in public, even if it’s just our friends around, but that guy in the green vest at the bar has been staring at you since we got in here, and I really don’t like it,” he whispered into her ear.

Effie looked towards the bar – she hoped inconspicuously – and saw the man in question.  He couldn’t have been much older than her, with ashy blonde hair and broad shoulders, definitely doing his après ski activities Geneviève told her were big in Banff, especially at this time of year.  She knew exactly what Matthew was talking about now when she caught his eyes fixated on her.  She could do one of two things: be timid about it, like the old Rachel who was scared of every man, let alone any man who stared at her who wasn’t her husband; or she could be the new Effie, growing in her confidence, the Effie that knew a man touching a woman or a woman touching a man in public was okay and allowed and normal and didn’t even give reason to people to bat an eye.  She chose the latter, knowing it was the only choice she should make.  “You can touch me,” she said.

“Even in front of our friends?  You don’t mind?”

Effie shook her head.  “You can touch me.  I like it when you touch me, Matthew.”

A shiver ran up his spine at the implications of how she worded her sentence.  In response, he tucked in his chair even closer to hers, letting go of her hand underneath the table only to bring his arm up and around the back of her chair.  He reached across with his other hand to continue to hold hers under the table, and placed a quick kiss to her temple.  “You’re becoming bold, missy,” he whispered again into her ear.

Effie smiled.  “I can be bold now.  Plus I don’t think anyone here is gonna tell on us.”

“Who would they tell?”

“Exactly.  They’re probably encouraging it behind our backs.”

“Will you two keep it in your pants at the dinner table?  We need to eat and I don’t want to barf,” Elias said, sitting across from them beside Annica, who slapped his arm for the comment.

Both Matthew and Effie giggled, and when Matthew looked up again, green-vest-guy was still staring, only this time with a scowl.  

***

Matthew was sitting up in bed and scrolling through his phone as he listened to Effie patter around their ensuite bathroom getting ready for bed.  Dinner had been delicious, as were the drinks afterwards, and by the time everyone had gotten back to the chalet, between the drive and unpacking and dinner, they were tired.  Everyone resolved to go to bed so that the next day’s trip to Lake Louise would be lively.

When she finally opened the door (she still changed in the washroom instead of in front of him, despite him having seen her half naked many times now), he looked over to see her standing in the doorway with her pajamas on.  Her clothes from the day were folded neatly, and she bent down to her suitcase to put them back in.  “Ready for bed?” he asked, locking his phone.

She stayed silent.  When she stood back up, she looked at him quietly.  “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

She didn’t get into bed with him.  Instead, she stood awkwardly in the space between the ensuite and bed, her hands in front of her, picking at her nails.  She couldn’t even look at him.  “Tonight…at the restaurant…you helped me finally see the difference between possessive and protective,” she said.  

Matthew’s breath hitched in his throat.  “How so?”

She paused, trying to come up with the right words.  “Not that we went out in public much, but even if we were just in a social gathering in the cult, if Abraham saw another man looking at me, he automatically thought it was lust, and he distrusted me so much that he would manipulate me into thinking it was my fault the man was looking at me.  I don’t even know why he married me if he distrusted me so much.  I mean I know I was supposed to give birth to the next Son of God and I couldn’t do that but…” she trailed off, her voice becoming shaky at the end.  “How could someone he distrusted so much give birth and then raise the Son of God?  I mean what logic was there in that?  He wanted to control every single little thing about me and my life and how I felt and…and my actions and the actions of others, even though they had nothing to do with me.  I was always blamed.”

“Effie—”

“—But tonight at dinner, you did not of that.  You never, ever do any of that.  You don’t blame me for anything.  You…you, like, trust me.  You trust that even though I’m new at all this, that I can take care of myself.  You’re always there in case I need help but at the end of the day you trust me.  You don’t, like, undermine my confidence to flatter your own ego and make me dependent on you like Abraham did.  You want me to do better.”

“Of course I do.”

“You want to like…teach me.  Or maybe not teach me, but at least help me learn.”

Matthew could only nod his head.  A part of him wondered where all of this was coming from, but he knew better than to ask.  Effie had an entire ocean of secrets within her, and he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life engrossed in them all.  

She finally moved to get into bed with him.  As she crawled in, he pulled the covers over them and brought their bodies close together, intertwining their limbs together so that almost their entire bodies were touching one another’s.  Matthew kissed her a few times before she pulled away slightly.  “Can you teach me something else?” she asked.

“What’s that?”

“Good sex.”

A shiver ran up his spine, and he swore his dick got hard in a fraction of a second.  He could have taken her right then and there, but it took every ounce of strength and willpower in him not to do so.  “When we start having sex, sure,” he said, trying to calm his emotions.  If she grinded up on him even just the slightest bit he was sure he’d go crazy.  

“Good sex so I can orgasm,” she said innocently, like it was something clinical.

Matthew smiled.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll make you orgasm.”

“You’re sure?” she asked.

“Positive,” he asserted before dipping down to kiss her again.

***

“Your eyes are closed, right?”

“Yes, Matthew.”

“You can’t see anything?”

“Not with your giant hands and mittens over them.”

“We’re almost there.  I just want to find a perfect spot with a perfect view.”

“I’m sure it’ll be breathtaking either way.”

“No.  It’s gotta be perfect.”

Meredith and Johnny giggled as they watched Matthew lead Effie step by step to a central point to look out onto the lake, mountains, and glacier.  “He’s leading you off the edge, Effie!” Johnny shouted out.

“You’re about to fall into the lake!” Meredith followed up.

“Shut up!” Matthew screamed at them, even though Effie was giggling.  He looked between the lake and Effie and knew they were at the centre, so he positioned her to face it as he still kept his hands over her eyes.  “You ready?” he asked.

Effie nodded enthusiastically.

When he removed his hands, he didn’t look out onto the beautiful, picturesque lake like she did, to see what she would see; instead, he looked at her, because he’d seen Lake Louise before, but he’d never seen Effie looking at Lake Louise before.  He watched as her jaw almost immediately dropped, taking in the massive mountains and the glacier, the mountainside trees, the intense blue colour of the frozen lake.  “Oooooooooh,” she barely managed to get out.  The view quite literally left her speechless.  

“It’s beautiful, huh?” Matthew asked after a while, finally staring out onto the lake himself.  

“I don’t think there’s a word for this,” Effie mumbled, trying to take it all in.  “Like I would say majestic but I don’t even think that gives it justice.  I can’t…I can’t believe something like this is here only four hours from Sheerness and I never knew about it.  It seems criminal not to know about it.”

Matthew thought about all the trips he took as a kid with his family, whether they were abroad or just within the United States and Canada.  They were all so amazing, and he was able to see so much of the world already.  He knew Effie had never experienced that, but to put it the way she did – that this beautiful sight was only four hours from where the cult was situated, but they never visited or even knew about – did make it seem criminal, as she put it.  He was at least happy that he was the one responsible for showing it to her.  “I’ll have to bring you back during the summer, too.  The lake becomes this incredible shade of turquoise.  No picture can compare.”

Effie stayed silent.  Matthew thought she was still just taking everything in, but after a few moments, he thought he heard some sniffling.  The moment he looked over at her, she let out a full sob and he could see tears had already fallen down her cheeks.  “Hey hey hey,” he said, worried, getting closer to her and wrapping an arm around her.  “What’s wrong?  Why’re you crying?”

Effie shook her head, bringing her hand up to wipe her tears away with her mittens.  “There’s so much I don’t know,” she whispered.  “There’s…there’s so much I don’t know.”

Matthew’s heart broke, as it did often with Effie.  He let her cry it out as he held her, and didn’t say another word until he saw that most of the tears had stopped.  “Don’t be sad—”

“I’m not sad,” she interrupted him.  “I’m not.  I’m…these are happy tears.  I swear.  There’s so much I don’t know but that means there’s so much I get to learn.”

***

The boys couldn’t get too out of their routines.  That meant that after a nice lunch at the Lakeview Lounge, the group headed back to their chalet so the boys could take pre-game naps, even though they weren’t playing a game.  Matthew had wanted to cuddle before falling asleep (as most of the guys did with their significant others), but there was no way Effie could take a nap, so she cuddled with him and waited until he was sound asleep before slipping out of bed.  Before leaving their room, she looked back at him and took in how peaceful he looked.

Making her way towards the kitchen, she was surprised to see Geneviève in front of the sink, filling the kettle with some water.  Geneviève saw her out of the corner of her eye and smiled.  “Want some tea?” she asked politely, to which Effie nodded.  “Peppermint good?”

“I’ll take whatever you’re having,” Effie said as she sat down at the round dining table.  She watched as Geneviève moved around the kitchen, preparing the mugs and cleaning some stuff up before the water began to boil.  She took the kettle off the stove before it could whistle and filled the cups generously, bringing them over to the table where Effie was sitting and taking a seat beside her.  

“Did you enjoy Lake Louise?” she asked as she settled into her seat.  

Effie nodded.  “I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes.”

“If it wasn’t winter, we could have gone to Moraine Lake too, but the road is closed because of avalanche warnings.  You should get Matthew to take you there in the summer.  If you can believe it, Moraine Lake is even more beautiful.  Everything about it just really clears the mind and reminds you that you’re just a speck of dust on this earth.”

Really clears the mind.  Effie thought back to the brief but mysterious conversation she’d had with Matthew on their way to Banff.  It had been in the back of her mind since, and her inquisitive nature meant she had to get to the bottom of it.  “Can I ask you a question?” Effie asked timidly.

“Of course.”

Effie hesitated.  She always did.  Geneviève always took so much time in explaining things to her like she was a five-year-old and Effie didn’t know if her question would offend her.  She just wanted to frame it in a way where, maybe, it wouldn’t be offensive.  “Were…did…” she had to stop.  She had to think.  “You and I both suffer,” she chose to say.

Geneviève immediately knew where Effie was going with this line of questioning.  She smirked slightly, knowing that Effie was trying to be extremely cordial about it.  She wondered who told her.  It was probably Matthew.  It’s not like anyone else would, really.  “We do,” she nodded her head.  “We both suffer.”

Effie nodded slightly.  “H—How do you suffer?” she asked.

“Like you.  My mind betrays me sometimes,” she said matter-of-factly.  “It makes me think things that aren’t right – about myself, about my life.”

“Why?”

Geneviève took a deep breath.  “I come from a family of very high achievers.  I don’t know if Matthew went into specifics with you, but my dad was a very famous and respected French diplomat and my mom comes from a very old money French Canadian family from Montreal.  My siblings and I lived with our parents growing up, but we didn’t really have a close relationship with them because we were raised by nannies. Then, when I was eleven, I was shipped off to an all-girls school in Paris.  My brothers went to Eton College in the UK.  And my brothers – well, they’re the same as my parents.  They both work in politics.”

“What’s not right about that?” Effie asked.

Geneviève couldn’t help but smile slightly.  “Nothing is wrong with it.  It just puts a lot of pressure on a person to be just as successful and rich.  After high school, I went to Wellesley College, which is one of the best private liberal arts colleges in the world.  I studied English literature.  And while I was there, I became a Rhodes Scholar, so I went to Oxford University for a bit, then came back and graduated from Wellesley – I was valedictorian – only to go back to Oxford so I could get my PhD.  When I was at Oxford, I became editor in chief of their literary magazine, and I was gaining fame as a writer and humourist, public speaker, debater, social commentator…all these things.  People wanted to know my insight into things because I was sharp and witty, even though I was young.  Everyone ate it up.  I did too.”

Effie was confused.  She knew Geneviève could be referred to as doctor, even though she wasn’t a medical doctor.  She knew Geneviève was intensely smart – she was basically her tutor, after all – but Effie couldn’t piece everything together.  “I’m not understanding,” she said.  “All those things that you mentioned – the family, your education, your success – I thought that’s what people want.”

“They do want those things,” Geneviève clarified.  “But remember when you told me the reason you cut your hair was because you finally wanted something that belonged to you?  And that you did it for you and no-one else?” she asked.  Effie nodded her head.  “My entire life – everything I just told you about – I was always subconsciously doing it for other people because I had an intense, crippling fear of not making people happy and not being good enough.”

Effie suddenly had an a-ha moment.  In all made sense.  The puzzle pieces were perfectly laid out in front of her, and she could see it all – every miniscule piece together to create the broader picture.  “Oh,” she let out dramatically.  “I get it now.”

“Exactly,” Geneviève nodded.

“And Jacob makes you happy,” Effie said as more of a statement than a question.

Geneviève smiled again.  “Yes.  Jacob makes me very happy.  Did anyone ever tell you about the first night we met?” she asked.  Effie shook her head.  Geneviève loved telling the story.  “It was the night of my graduation of my PhD in 2016.  My friends and I were partying in a pub in Oxford, still wearing our Tudor bonnets and hoods.  Jacob and his friends were there.  They were doing some sort of Eurotrip and we just happened to be in the same bar, and he noticed my group with our bonnets and hoods on.  He came up to me and we started talking.  And we couldn’t shut up.”

“That sounds like Jacob,” Effie blurted out.  She would have immediately regretted it if Geneviève hadn’t snorted at her words.  

“We talked and we danced together the entire night while we all went barhopping.  He’d help me adjust my hat all the time, or he’d step on my feet five times during a song and he’d apologize each time.  And every second that passed, I fell more and more in love with him,” Geneviève continued, pausing for a moment.  “The thing was, Effie…I had a fiancé. Daniel.  We were together for four years at that point.  My parents loved him.  My friends loved him.  He came from a good family like mine – a titled family, even – and everything was sort of just…you know, set.  But then I met Jacob.  And that same night, I broke up with my fiancé.”

Effie’s eyes widened.  “I’m guessing people don’t usually break up with boys they’ve been with for four years for boys they’ve just met.”

“Absolutely not,” Geneviève shook her head.  “Everybody I knew was very disappointed in me, my family especially.  All my friends…they thought I was crazy.  Most of them turned on me in a heartbeat.  They kept asking me how I could do such a thing – how could I break Daniel’s heart, how could I throw away our future together for some random Swedish guy I met at a pub—”

“But you knew,” Effie interrupted her.  “You knew it was Jacob.  That is was supposed to be Jacob.”

At this point, Geneviève’s eyes were watering, but she nodded her head.  “It was always supposed to be Jacob.”

“That was very brave of you, to do something out of love even though you knew people wouldn’t respect you for it.”

“It’s not as brave as what you did,” Geneviève said, meaning it.  There was a moment of silence between the two women before Geneviève considered the question she was going to ask before her mind just forced her to ask it.  “You know it’s supposed to be Matthew, don’t you?”

Effie found herself nodding her head too.  “Yes,” her voice was soft as she looked down at her hands clasped around the warm mug.  “He makes me feel things I never thought I’d be able to feel.  He makes me feel…I don’t know, happy.  Like all that stuff didn’t happen to me.  Or like – that it did, but that I’m capable of moving past it and becoming someone new.”

“That’s a good thing, Effie.  If Matthew makes you happy that’s all that matters.”

“But if Jacob makes you happy, why do you suffer?  Why does your mind suffer?”

Geneviève felt like she was in a therapy session.  In a way, she kind of was.  She took another deep breath.  “Well, my mind suffers because of the weight of expectation.  I…I’ve had two mental breakdowns, Effie.  And both times, I’ve hurt Jacob so much.  But he still loved me through it.  He helped me.  He helps me, still.  I made him suffer while I was suffering and that’s my biggest regret in life, the one thing I want to take back.  But he stuck with me and loved me through all of it.”

“Wh—What caused your mental breakdowns?” Effie asked.

“Um, well my first one was when most of my old friends abandoned me, after I left Daniel to be with Jacob.”

“And the other?”

Geneviève averted her eyes down at her cup of tea before staring at Effie again.  “I couldn’t get pregnant.”

Effie felt her entire body stiffen as the words came out of Geneviève’s mouth.  Not only did they have similar minds, but their pain was similar too.  In Effie’s case, however, her seven miscarriages prevented her from having children and becoming a mother – something she never wanted anyway, since it was imposed on her and she’d never made the decision for herself until now.  Geneviève, on the other hand, wanted to become a mother.  Effie knew that she wanted to have children with Jacob.  Geneviève had once explained to her how she only wanted Jacob’s kids, not anybody else’s.  To not be able to do that – to get pregnant with a child you so dearly want with your husband – must have hurt Geneviève immensely.  “I’m so sorry,” Effie whispered, not knowing what else to say.

“That’s alright.  It’s much better now, and I’m in a better place,” Geneviève nodded slightly.  “But it was a vicious cycle for a long time.  Sometimes my mind would make me think I’m not good enough for Jacob, that I shouldn’t be putting him through all of this suffering.  But other times – healthy times – my mind reminds me Jacob and I are soulmates, and all I have to remember is the first night we met and fell in love, and that proves it to me.”

Effie understood completely again.  “Sometimes when I’m sleeping in bed with Matthew – or, well, when he’s sleeping and I can’t sleep, and I just watch him sleep – I convince myself that he should move on.  I’ve written letters to him about it that I’ve never shown him.  If your mind tells you that you’re not good enough for Jacob when it’s bad – well, my mind tells me that I’m not good enough for Matthew because I’m making him work so much and wait so long.”

“Your mind is lying to you.”

Effie nodded.  “Dr. Barlow says the same thing.  She says I’m conditioned to think that I’m not worthy or good enough for love because of what happened in the People’s Dominion.”

“She’s right.”

“She says I should accept love whenever it’s presented to me so that I can give love back to those who truly love me.  So, like, my brother.  And Jenna.  And when my mind is good, like yours, it tells me that…that Matthew can be – no, is a person that I can show true love to.”

“You know, by opening up to him the way that you have, I think you’re already showing true love to him,” Geneviève commented.  “You’re both changing for the better.  I hope that’s not lost on you.”

Before either woman could say anything else, Effie saw Jacob’s sleepy head pop up.  He saw his wife with tea at the table with Effie and smiled.  Effie nodded her head so Geneviève would look over her shoulder and see him.  “Hey you,” she said softly, smiling.

“I can’t nap.  Come cuddle,” he pleaded.

Both women giggled at his tone, but Geneviève stood up from her seat and grabbed her mug of team.  “You gonna be okay?” she asked.

Effie nodded.  “I’ll probably just stare out the window admiring the view until everyone wakes up,” she joked.  

Jacob wrapped his arm around her wife as she approached him, though Geneviève took one final look back at Effie still sitting in her seat.  “You deserve the love,” she said firmly, giving her a knowing look.

Effie nodded her head.  “You do, too.”

***

“You almost ready, Effie?” Matthew said just as he heard the lock on the ensuite unlatch.  Effie emerged from the washroom wrapped in a robe, and he knew a bathing suit was lying underneath.  “You can borrow a pair of my slides for when we go outside,” he said, digging into his suitcase.

“Can I be honest with you?” she said.

“Always.”

“I’ve never been in a hot tub before.”

Matthew chuckled.  “I kind of figured, Effie.”

“It’s not weird that I’m going to be in a bathing suit in front…in front of other men and their girlfriends and wives, right?” she asked, her voice much more apprehensive now.  

Matthew stopped.  “No,” he shook his head, his voice stern.  “That’s not…no.  It’s not like that,” he attempted to explain, but the words weren’t coming out right.  “They won’t think it’s weird, and they won’t think anything about you, if that’s what you’re asking.  This stuff happens all the time.”

“Okay,” she said, though she didn’t exactly sound entirely convinced.

“You’re not scared of them, like, looking at you, are you?” he pressed.

“No…not really,” she shook her head.  “I know all the guys.  They’re nice guys and they’re not like that.  It’s just one of those new experiences where I’m going to be doing something new for the first time.  That something new being presenting myself in a bathing suit in front of other men for the first time.”

Matthew moved closer to her.  “Effie, if you’re nervous you don’t have to go in—”

“No, I want to,” she asserted.  “You said it’s romantic.”

Matthew snorted.  “I don’t know how romantic it’ll be when we’re surrounded by ten other people,” he mumbled.  “But I can think of lots of romantic things we can get up to in here while everyone else is out in the hot tub,” he brought his arm up, wrapping it around her.

“You wish,” she giggled.  “Let’s go.”

They made their way downstairs, all the way to the basement where there was a walkout to the lower deck where the huge ten-person hot tub was.  Mostly everyone was there already – Johnny and Meredith, Elias and Annica, and Britt was taking off her robe to join Sean and Noah who were already in the hot tub.  Britt wore a bikini – naturally, as women did – and Effie could feel her grip tighten along the lapels of her bath robe.  From behind Effie, Jacob and Geneviève approached the scene.  Jacob was wearing swim trunks and no robe; Geneviève was still in her day clothes.  

“Hey!” Britt was mildly offended when she saw Geneviève.  “Where’s your bathing suit, missy?”

“I’m not coming in,” she said as Jacob practically jumped right in.  Effie was convinced he would have if it wasn’t so shallow.  She’d seen that video of him backflipping off a boat house in Muskoka.  

“Forget your bathing suit?” Noah asked.

“Nah,” Geneviève shook her head.  “I uh…I actually can’t get in.”

“Why not?”

Everyone was silent, waiting for an answer, looking at Geneviève.  They waited.  And waited.  Effie even flicked her eyes towards Jacob, seeing if he had any answers, but he only had a slick smile on his face.  It was only when Meredith’s face dropped that Effie braced herself.  “Wait,” Meredith interjected.  Everyone’s heads whipped towards her.  “Can you not come in the hot tub because you’re pregnant?”

Everyone whipped their heads back to Geneviève.  A Cheshire cat-like grin crept on her face as she cupped her hand over the flowy material of her oversized sweater, showing a small but noticeable bump.  The girls shrieked at the top of their lungs.  Well, most of the girls – Effie was shocked into silence, but her jaw did drop dramatically.  The boys started yelling too, in their stereotypical guy way, patting Jacob on the back as he smiled one of his broad, signature smiles from ear to ear.

“I can’t believe you’re pregnant!  You guys are having a baby!” Britt screamed.

“Oh no no no,” Jacob intervened, shaking his head at Britt’s comment.  Everyone was confused again.  “It’s not a baby.”

“Excuse me?” Britt furrowed her brows, looking to Geneviève.

Geneviève couldn’t keep the smile off her face.  “It’s babies.”

“TWINS?!” Annica shrieked.  “You’re having twins?!”

Geneviève nodded.

The girls began shrieking again, Britt even going so far as to get out of the hot tub to hug Geneviève, even though she was soaking wet.  The guys were dumbfounded.  Sean had a look on his face like he was a medieval peasant and someone just told him the Earth revolved around the sun.  “Twins, buddy?” he asked Jacob, who nodded his head.  “Dude, you’re gonna be busy.”

“Believe me buddy, I know.”

Effie hugged Geneviève in congratulations.  She was much happier about the news than she thought she would be – so happy, in fact, that she was speechless.  But she was happy.  Every time she’d gotten pregnant by Abraham, she cried because she knew what it meant and because she never wanted to be pregnant and was forced to be.  It wasn’t what she wanted.  But Geneviève wanted this.  She’d wanted this for such a long time – so long, judging by their conversation earlier – that it had made her depressed at one point because it wasn’t happening for her and Jacob.  To finally be pregnant – and pregnant with twins – was a blessing Effie knew Geneviève and Jacob had been waiting a really long time for.  

“Come on Effie, take off that robe and hop in with me,” Britt smiled.  

Effie began untying the knot in her robe, taking her time, mentally preparing herself for the moment she shed it.  After unlooping the last loop, she looked behind her to see Matthew ready to take it from her, giving her a small nod.  She took a deep breath and slipped it off her shoulders, expecting a reaction.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Nobody even batted an eyelash.

“Come, sweetie,” Britt urged.  “Sit in one of the corner spots.  They’re the ones with the most jets.”

Effie climbed the stairs to get in.  Sean offered his hand for her to grab on to politely, but Effie didn’t take it.  She probably looked awkward, but she just wanted to make sure she didn’t slip and fall in.  The second her toe hit the water, she could feel how hot the water was.  “That feels nice,” she commented, smiling nervously.

“Wait till your whole body’s in,” Sean said.

Once her entire body was submerged into the bubbling water, Effie immediately felt at ease and relaxed – and she hadn’t even gone to sit in a seat where jets were.  Matthew disrobed quickly and climbed in right after her.  He watched as she moved and sat in a corner, against jets, and saw her eyes roll back.  “Oh, you were right Britt.  This feels amazing.”

Matthew settled in next to Effie against the back of the hot tub.  Everyone else followed him getting in and settling into their spots, and they all began a lively conversation.  The jets hit her lower back and shoulders in all the right places; she contributed almost nothing to the conversation for however long it was because she was so relaxed, she felt like falling asleep.  When she was called out for it by a playful Jacob, she laughed it off and chastised him for interrupting her beauty sleep.  That’s when Matthew moved even closer to her, so that their legs were touching underwater, and she looked over at him.  “These jets are incredible,” she said.

“You’re such a hog,” he grinned at her.

She knew she was being a hog, but she couldn’t help it.  “Wanna switch?”

“C’mere,” he urged, and their bodies moved until Matthew was seated with the jets across his back, and Effie was sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around her.  They were sitting exactly like Annica and Elias were, so Annica sent her a quick wink.  “This okay?” Matthew whispered once they finally relaxed into each other.

“More than okay,” Effie nodded.

She could feel his lips kiss the exposed skin on her shoulder.

***

Effie looked through the series of ten photos she chose to upload to her Instagram:

The picture of her and Matthew in the middle of Banff Avenue with the mountain in the background.

A group picture of the entire table out at dinner.

A picture of her and Matthew together, posing in front of Lake Louise.

A group picture of the girls in the kitchen cooking breakfast together.

A picture of she and Matthew cuddled together on the couch, where his arm was around her and gripping her thigh as she had her knees up against his thighs and her arm around his shoulders.

A picture of her and Geneviève passed out while reading on the couch.

A picture of her and Sean, where he looked like he was deep into explaining something and she had no clue what he was talking about.

A picture of everyone playing Monopoly, where Matthew had pulled up a chair and made Effie sit in between his spread out legs with her back against his chest for the duration of the game.

A photo of everyone in the hot tub, with Effie in Matthew’s lap.

A selfie-style photo of everyone dressed up for New Year’s, taken just minutes before.

Friends.  

She had friends.

***

“Okay okay okay okay okay,” Noah slurred as he lined up the champagne glasses only five minutes to go from midnight.  Everybody had been partying and drinking (save for Geneviève, of course) for most of the night, and now it was time to pour the champagne.  Effie didn’t feel drunk or tipsy at all, despite Annica making her a mojito, so she thought it best to follow Noah to all the champagne flutes.  “You carry the tray, I’ll carry the glasses,” he said.

Effie looked down.  He had just put the glasses on the tray.  She giggled at how drunk he was.  “What’s your plan B, Noah?”

“Plan B?” he looked flabbergasted.  “Well how many bottles we got?”

“Six.”

He counted out six on his fingers like a toddler.  “That’s one for everyone!” he said as he reached over and began grabbing the champagne bottles.  Gripping a bottle in each hand, he walked back to the main family room and handed a bottle to Jacob and a bottle to Sean.  “Now for Chucky and Johnny,” he mumbled, grabbing the next two bottles and going back to the boys to hand it to them.  Effie could only stand there and giggle.  He looked like a toddler waddling around.  “Now Elias and me!  All done!”

“What about the women?” she asked.

“Young padawan,” he said, bending down so he could be at eye level with her.  It was sometimes so embarrassing how much taller all the guys were (and Jacob was in a league of his own).  What was probably more embarrassing was that she had no clue what a padawan was.  “You have yet to learn that you hold aaaaallllllllll the power.  All the power.  Especially with Chucky.”

Her smile was more nervous than knowing as her eyes flickered to where Matthew was already peeling the foil off the top of the champagne bottle.  “You think so?”

“I know so.  Matthew’s so fucking whipped for you he should win the Calgary Stampede.”

With that, Noah turned on his heels and returned back to the family room.  Effie considered his words as she stood in place for just a moment longer, eventually following him and finding Matthew, who was putting the crumpled foil from the champagne bottle on the counter.  When he saw her, a smile immediately appeared on his face.  “You want to pop the bottle?”

“I’ve never done it before.”

“It’s easy,” he said.  “I’ll prep it for you.”

She watched as he wiggled the cork just enough that it was still in, but out enough so that it would be easier for her to pop once the clock struck midnight.  “Thank you for this year, Matthew,” she blurted out, suddenly unable to look him in the eye.  “I—you—you’ve really made it the best year of my life.”

Matthew smiled.  “We’ve just gotta make next year even better.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“Oh it’s possible,” he smiled.  In the background, Effie could hear Annica yell “Thirty seconds!”.  He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.  “Come on.  Let’s start it off right,” he said, bringing her in front of the TV to watch the countdown, wrapping an arm securely around her as they counted down with everyone else.

10!  9!  8!  7!  6!  5!  4!  3!  2!  1!  

“Haaappyyyyy Neeewww Yeeeeeaaaaarrr!!!!!” everybody screamed simultaneously.  Sean popped his bottle of champagne first, and everyone else followed consecutively, Effie last because she was scared of wiggling the cork and scared it would pop in her face.  Matthew helped her direct it towards Noah before it eventually did pop, the champagne bubbling up and almost spilling over.  Effie brought it to her mouth to cover it and stop it from getting all over the floor, taking a quick swig.  She watched as Jacob and Geneviève kissed, Jacob placing his hand over her small bump.  Elias and Annica were kissing too.  She looked up at Matthew and felt him wrap his arm around her again.

“Happy New Year,” he whispered, leaning down and planting his lips on hers.

“Happy New Year,” she whispered back, only for Matthew to kiss her again.  

***

After hugging the girls, and drinking the champagne, and singing in the living room to music, and having some more hugs with the girls and laughs with the guys and singing some more, Effie found herself on a high.  Everybody was going to bed, but she wasn’t tired.  And when she found herself alone with Matthew in their room, all she wanted to do was kiss.

Kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss.  

They were both in heaven.  Matthew had never felt anything as soft as Effie’s lips or as electric as her skin; Effie, too, had never felt anything as strong as Matthew’s body or as soft as his soul.  She knew a lot of people in hockey would disagree with her, but they didn’t know Matthew like she knew Matthew.  They didn’t know the Matthew she knew.  

With his kisses along her jawline and neck heating up her body, she moved on her own to take off her top.   Matthew followed with his own, throwing it half way across the room before continuing his kisses, bringing a hand up to caress her breasts, knowing how much she liked it.  Matthew groaned feeling her hands grip at his sides, her fingernails digging in ever so slightly into the muscles of his obliques.  He moved to take off her bra and suck at her breasts.  The mewls and sounds she was letting out were, as always, music to his ears.  He wanted them permanently etched in his mind.

“Matthew…” Effie let out breathlessly as his tongue glided along the space between her breasts.

“Yeah baby?” he asked.

There was a pause before she spoke again.  “I br—I brought condoms.”

Matthew stopped all movements.  Even his tongue left her skin for the first time in what seemed like hours since they’d been kissing so long, causing Effie to look down at him.  “You brought condoms?” he asked—clarified—whatever, his chest heaving up and down.

She nodded her head.  “Can I go get them?”

“Yeah,” he said, still in so much shock he moved only slightly to let her out from underneath him.  She slivered away quickly, going into her suitcase to grab the small box she’d apparently hidden underneath all her clothes.  He watched her as she opened it, taking a condom out and setting it on the bedside table before placing the box down beside it.  When she got back onto the bed, balancing herself on her knees, Matthew rose to the same position.  He grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her gently.  “Is this what you want?” he asked.

She nodded her head before he could even finish the sentence.  “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.  I want to have sex with you.”

The words sent a shiver up his spine, but he knew he needed to remain calm.  He began kissing her again, gently at first, but as time went on, they got more passionate, their hands exploring each other’s exposed skin.  Matthew could feel the weight of her breasts press up against his chest as his hands teased down to the waist of her pants.  “Can I take these off?” he asked.  She only nodded.  “I need to hear you say it, Effie.”

“Yes.”

His hands unbuttoned and unzipped the front of the pants before snaking themselves underneath the fabric and over the mounds of her ass, bring them down to the tops of her thighs.  “Lie down,” he whispered, and she did so, gently, until she could feel the pillows on the back of her head.  She lifted up her hips so Matthew could take off her pants, leaving her only in her underwear.  It was the most exposed she’d ever been with him, but she wasn’t nervous – far from it.  Actually, she felt comfortable, the most comfortable she’d ever been.

“Can I take off your pants?” she asked, wanting to do it herself since she never had the opportunity or choice to before.  Matthew nodded his head, and she followed the steps he’d done – unbuttoning and unzipping the front – except this time, she had to do it without looking, because Matthew had continued to kiss her like he would have died if he didn’t.  She pushed his jeans down as far as she could and he took care of the rest, disposing them off the edge of the bed.  

She caught a quick glimpse of the bulge in his trunks.  She could feel her body getting hotter and she knew it was because of her arousal.  “I bought large.”

“Large what?”

“Condoms.”

Matthew snorted slightly, a giant smile appearing on his face as he peppered her lips with quick kisses.  “You really know how to stroke my ego, don’t you?”

She was bashful, giggling and covering her face as he tried to pepper it with more kisses.  “I just figured…”

“Well, you figured correctly, baby.”

She cradled his face, her smile fading slowly until she bit her bottom lip slightly.  “Kiss me.  Touch me, Matty.”

When their lips met again, their kisses were passionate and loving and full, giving every piece of themselves to the other.  Matthew lied on his side and brought Effie with him, hiking her leg up and over his hip so his hand could…explore.  Effie’s breath hitched in her throat when she felt where his hand was.  She looked him directly in the eye, but unlike last time, she didn’t tell him to stop.  “Is that okay?” he asked.  She nodded.  “I need to hea—”

“Yes, Matty,” she said quickly, even nodding.  “Touch me.  Touch me.”

He cupped his hand over her underwear, taking it slow, because even that sent a jolt throughout her body.  Her core was wet – which was obviously good – and he moved his fingers up and down over the fabric as he continued to kiss her until finally, finally, he pushed the material to the side and felt her lips between his fingers.  Her hips bucked at the touch.  “You okay?” he asked.  

“Yeah,” she nodded quickly.  He could see her gulp.  “It—it feels really good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.  Keep going.”

His fingers continued moving, teasing; her hips continuing bucking, trying to drive more friction.  When he introduced his thumb into the equation, she let out a louder moan, and brought her arm over and squeezed his forearm.  “Take them off,” she whispered.

He acted quickly, looping his fingers through her underwear to take them off before shimmying out of his own too before putting his hand back where it was.  This time, Effie could feel the length of his hard cock on her thigh, and it made her body even hotter.  Between what he was doing with his hands and the fact that their naked bodies were pressed against each other’s at almost every inch, she knew she was ready.  There was no hesitation.  No fear.  No trepidation or anxiety or unease.  “Put on the condom,” she mumbled incoherently against his lips.

“Huh?”

“Put on the condom.”

Matthew ripped the packet open with his teeth, rolling the condom on as Effie watched.  When it was on securely, he began kissing her, and she rolled over onto her back so his body hovered on top of hers.  She felt his hand snake down her side until it got to her knee, hiking it up so she could wrap it around his torso.  He did the same for her other leg too, not once letting his lips leave hers.  

“Effie…”

“Yeah?”

“If you want to stop or anything, we can obviously stop.”

She nodded her head, bringing her hands up to cup his face again.  She knew he had to say it, but she didn’t want to stop.  Her body felt like it was on fire – in a good way.  “Okay.”

“If it hurts or anything—”

“—You won’t hurt me—”

“Effie, please,” he interjected softly.  “If it hurts, or if…if—if you see him, you have to tell me, okay?  We can stop and it won’t be awkward for me.  You just say.”

She nodded her head.  “Okay.”

“You promise?”

“I promise,” she said, gliding her thumb over his lips.  

Matthew began kissing her again, because he wanted to take it slow, but eventually he put his hand between them and guided himself into her.  Their breaths were heavy.  Effie stopped kissing him at that moment, her mouth hanging open at the sensation.  I felt good.

It felt good.

She moaned as he pushed further into her, gripping at his shoulder blades.  Eventually, he filled her completely, and he let out a groan of his own.  “Look at me, baby,” he whispered, and Effie focused her eyes on him.  “You okay?”

She nodded.  “It feels good.  It’s never felt good before,” she said.

Matthew let out a breath.  He placed a delicate kiss on her lips before beginning to move, which garnered more moans out of her (and him, too – he was enjoying the situation just as much as she was).  Eventually, he built up a steady rhythm.  Effie’s moans were the sign he needed that everything was okay, so he kept doing what he was doing – the kisses, the thrusts.  

“Matty?” she asked, her voice breathless but sweet as he kissed her neck.

“Yeah, Effie?” he raised his head so he was looking right at her.

“You feel amazing,” she told him.  “I can’t believe it can feel this good.”

“That’s a good thing, baby,” Matthew smiled.  He decided to take things one step further, knowing he needed to do more to make sure she got off.  He thrusted harder into her, and he garnered the exact reaction he wanted from her – she arched her back and mewled out, her grip on his shoulder blades digging deeper.  Their bodies were so close that he knew he was pressing against her clit with every thrust he made.  “That feel good?” he asked.

“God yes,” she nodded quickly.  “Keep…keep…oh Jesus,” she was at a loss for words as he continued without being asked.  “Oooooh, Matty…fuck…Matty,” she kept moaning.  The more he did it, the better it felt.  And the better it felt, the more she wished for it to never end.

Matthew could feel himself getting close – he couldn’t help it – but when he saw Effie’s eyes roll back, he knew she was close too.  “Effie, baby, come for me.  Come for me.”

It was like her body knew what to do without her actually knowing what to do.  After those words left Matthew’s lips, she arched her back, and after a few more thrusts, Effie felt a strong, powerful wave of pleasure rush through her body, unlike anything she’d ever felt before.  Matthew could feel it too, and he knew from the way her nails dug into his back and how her legs tightened around him.  He buried his face in the crook of her neck, and after a few more thrusts, his own orgasm followed, a series of moans and high-pitched sighs that matched hers escaping from him as he felt her walls tightening around him.  Her grip on him was so tight, like she was clinging on to him for dear life, as they both rode through their orgasms, doing everything in their power to have them last as long as possible.  Eventually, Matthew’s thrusts steadied, then slowed, then stopped, and he pulled out of her and collapsed beside her onto his back.

They were both catching their breaths – Effie more so.  After his high subsided, Matthew turned his head to look at her.  “You okay, Effie?” he asked.

She nodded almost instantaneously.  “That was an orgasm, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Matthew nodded.  “Did it feel good?”

“It felt incredible,” she said, finally turning her head dramatically to look at him.  “That was fucking awesome.”

They both giggled, Matthew leaning forward to kiss her quickly.  “Told you I could make you orgasm.”

“You were right.”

He gave her one last kiss before pulling away slightly.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to throw out the condom.”

“Oh.  Right,” she said, watching him get up and walk to the washroom.  When he came back, he crawled into bed, the both of them still naked, and he pulled her body against his so they were cuddling face-to-face.  He gave her a few kisses on her neck and shoulder, and rubbed her back soothingly.  That’s when Effie spoke again.  “Matty?”

“Yeah, baby?”

She wondered if she should even say anything, because the night had been perfect – New Year’s, champagne, friends, singing, dancing, kissing, sex – but he had a right to know.  She knew he’d want to know how far she’d come.  “I um…this is the first time that I want to keep my body.”

Matthew furrowed his brows.  “What do you mean?”

“Every time this has happened before, I didn’t want my body anymore.  It…it felt like it was contaminated.  I wanted to take my body off like a jacket.  I was terrified of it and what happened to it.  But I don’t feel like that after this.  And this is the first time where I…I want to keep my body.  I want to keep all the good things I felt.”

Matthew’s heart stopped.  If it was possible, he tightened his hold on her.  “I never want you to feel that way again,” he said.  “You can keep everything, Effie.  All the good things.”

“The best part is, I know there will be more.”

He nodded, giving her one last kiss.  “Much more.”

As he continued rubbing her back, Matthew felt Effie fall asleep on his chest, her breath steadying until she was completely out.  Matthew, for his part, couldn’t stop staring up at the ceiling, ruminating not only on the events that had just transpired, but on the words that were just said.  The trauma she’d been through was inconceivable.  He hated thinking about it, though he knew he had to so he could really understand.  The anger that he felt towards the people who hurt her pure, innocent soul made his blood boil – so much so he was convinced that if he ever saw them, he’d tear them to pieces.  But he meant what he said: he never wanted her to feel that way again.  He wanted her to keep all the good things.  And he was adamant in making sure she had many more good things to remember.  

So many that hopefully, one day, they would outweigh the bad things.

[mayyourshipsbewithyou]

Things I loved about In the Heights

-The sounds of the city are part of the music of the opening song

-The frame story is the only way this story should be told; the story only works if it shows the results of Usnavi's decision to stay

-Anthony and Lin shaking hands

-Yay to random mixed race couple asking for directions

-“I hope you’re writing this down I’m gonna test you later” only makes sense with kids

-Showing different residents of Washington Heights provides scale

-I’m not sure about the decision to cut Camila, but if it means less Nina drama, then I love it

-I love how Usnavi has his friends’ orders all ready to go

-LOVE how Usnavi announces Benny’s entrance

-Everything about Vanessa in this movie is perfect=> she’s given so much more depth, her beauty is downplayed, she’s kind of a nerd, but has a beautiful smile

-Nina’s heels=> metaphor for her reaching for the stars

-I love the actress that plays Nina; she’s the right age and her singing voice is so sweet

-Nina’s hair is straight when she’s at school; as soon as she comes home, it’s curly=>she can be herself at home

-When Nina turns around and sees the crowd of people counting on her=> I felt that

-I love seeing Nina get her acceptance letter; I remember what that was like for my brother

-Camila must have died while Nina was at college in this version; Nina lost her mother recently which helps explain her different reason for dropping out; she feels lost

-I don’t know why Sonny is using this deep voice, but I love it!

-Whoever decided to have 96,000 take place at the pool is a genius

-The graphics at the beginning of 96,000 are good for helping regular people understand the rap

-Pete just put his arm around Sonny=> are they dating?

-Sonny yelling 96,000 as he enters the pool=> the sound design

-Pete nodding along to Usnavi=> sucking up to the family

-Usnavi is such a proud cousin-uncle during Sonny’s part in 96,000

-Vanessa making her “I'll be downtown” walk down a ramp

-The dancer doing flips is now a diver doing spins into the pool

-On stage, the lighting was dark; in the movie, it’s underwater

-The circles of people in the pool reflect the zeros in 96,000

-Lin and Chris being rivals is perfect; their bromance is everything

-Nina and Benny being together before the events of the movie means they are the beta couple and have less drama than Usnavi/Vanessa which is how it should be

-Benny joins in during “on that fire escape”=> like West Side Story

-Benny’s “Let me in” against the fence is hilarious

-Nina and Benny are FUN, not angsty like in the original

-Nina following the little girl=> following herself, following her dreams which eventually lead her to the sea; all of this is done while she’s talking about her past

-Nina and Benny instrumental™ part 1 in the middle of “When You’re Home”, Benny interrupts=> their story isn't complete yet

-Benny says he believes in her without discounting her feelings

-Everyone loving Nina=> I finally get it

-Nina is home geographically and with people who love her

-Benny is Nina’s home

-In the Heights is about how dreams are great, but the life you have now can be so beautiful

-Nina’s hair during the dinner/club scene is great

-Usnavi is wearing his dad’s hat for his date with Vanessa; he knows that she is to him what his mom was for his dad

-Family dinners are the same in every culture

-Awkwardness of long-time friends going on a date

-Vanessa offers Usnavi his first drink of the night; he thinks that’s what she wants; because why would she want him and only him?

-Usnavi whispering in Vanessa’s ear is so sexy

-Love that Benny is on Nina’s side instead of being mad at her

-I wonder if they thought 5 years of Benny working for Kevin was too much or too little since they changed that line to "all these years"

-Benny’s reactions to Vanessa dancing at the club are hilarious

-Vanessa laughing at Usnavi dancing with someone else

-Nina is always smiling and laughing at the things going on around her; not as self centered

-Nina and Benny dancing at the club=> all of the yeses

-Usnavi is too nervous about being alone with Vanessa that he un-dated himself; he wasn’t quite ready

-Love that they consciously cut all the “Usnavi, help me” parts=> Vanessa is not a victim

-Fireworks are a romantic setting for Sonny and Pete, just saying

-Usnavi/Benny/Nina talking about the fourth member of their square gives me feelings; I need more of these four in fanfic, my dreams

-“I got to wait for Vanessa”=> the stuff dreams are made of

-Benny is such a good person; he’s even better than the original which is what he deserves

-Usnavi is relieved to have Vanessa call his name

-“Don’t walk away from us tonight”=> great addition

-To give Usnavi and Vanessa some of Nina and Benny’s original lines is to see the face of God

-The first time I saw this, I’m ashamed to admit, I thought Benny was going to steal money from the dispatch; I was a fool

-Dancer with fireworks on his shoes

-Benny is smart and good; he isn’t doing this for Kevin or Nina but for the people of New York

-Abuela was able to see stars again on the last night of her life

-I’m sad Blackout isn’t exactly the same but the orchestral parts that cover up what is unsaid is so beautiful it makes up for it

-Abuela’s family is her “fireworks”; they are what light up the Heights

-Sonny came to Usnavi instead of being with his dad during the blackout; his real family

-Abuela’s smile as she looks at her family while reflecting on her childhood is the most beautiful thing there will ever be

-Paciencia y Fe as a dream sequence is how it was meant to be

-The transition on the subway from reality to memory

-Paciencia y Fe is a mixture of cultures; like Abuela’s memories

-“Wide awake”=> stepping off the subway

-The same actress played Abuela on Broadway and in the movie

-Abuela may be in a musical, but she’s still an old woman

-“As I feed these birds”=> back to the present

-Calor means heat in Spanish but in English it sounds like color

-Abuela dying during the night of the blackout is perfect

-Usnavi saying “she was just here” twice: when she was literally just there and many years, maybe a decade, after the fact

-Usnavi’s daughter is the life that goes on after Abuela is gone

-Usnavi and Nina crying together

-Those closest to Abuela are inside and everyone else is outside

-Iris was sitting on the outside and now she’s in the middle; needed comfort from her friends

-“Should we take a break?”=> we’re past the point of an intermission

-“No daddy, keep going”=> does this look like a stage production to you? It’s a fucking movie

-There isn’t a clear point for an intermission; the action stays strong over where the intermission should be; this is a movie, not a play, and movies don’t have intermissions

-Everyone’s holding candles; like the stars Abuela loved so much

-Iris called Usnavi Daddy for the first time because that was the point in the story where he needed to hear that the most

-“I thought about the people I care about the most, I thought about you”

-Anthony makes Usnavi sexy in a way Lin never could

-So many people love Vanessa, but no one better than Usnavi

-Abuela paid to have Camila's napkins cleaned after all

-Usnavi is the kind of parent that doesn’t sugarcoat life

-Vanessa listed no emergency contacts even though she had people

-“That’s senorita to you”=> yes girl, get it

-Love Daniela for getting everyone out of their asses

-“Tonteria” means foolishness=> the more you know

-How fast Carla says no to “ask me why” shows how quickly she wants to please her love

-Usnavi’s Nueva York t-shirt=> I need it

-Daniela’s first effect being on a woman whose hair is terrible

-Carla pushing that man away from her woman with a bullshit excuse

-My friend was laughing at the parts that were meant to be jokes

-Usnavi’s entrance being announced in Carnaval del Barrio; just like Benny in the opening song

-“There’s nothing holding me down”=> assuming he was rejected

-The different communities dancing with their flags

-Nina being part of Carnaval del Barrio is great

-Even Kevin, kind of an old man, can get down

-Since Nina and Benny sex scene wasn’t shown on screen (praise Jesus), I have to assume Nina told Daniela even though she knows she’s a huge gossip

-Everyone stops because Sonny, a kid, starts singing

-Vanessa and Sonny are so powerful together

-Vanessa’s hand on Sonny’s shoulder

-A kid providing Usnavi with the “flag I’ve got in my hand”

-Usnavi and Vanessa dancing together is muy romantico

-Everything about Nina’s appearance in “When the Sun Goes Down”

-“Let me just listen to my block”=> peak Nina

-Abuela wrote “for Usnavi” on her lotto ticket 😭

-They cut so many songs but kept Champagne=>I love their priorities

-The pause before “you outta stay”

-Everyone has such great chemistry; especially Usnavi and Vanessa

-The choreography in Champagne is what I’ve always imagined

-Usnavi didn’t have time to cash in because Vanessa came over

-Vanessa and Pete friendship for the win

-“Best days of my life” is said thrice=> good things come in threes

-Usnavi staring at the room where Vanessa kissed him

-Iris knows he stayed; she loves her dad so much

-Usnavi looking out his window in Washington Heights and seeing his friends on his dad’s beach

-When Usnavi talks about Kevin at the dispatch, the camera flashes to an abandoned building

-“Vanessa at the salon”=> Usnavi sheds a tear

-Vanessa being front and center during Usnavi’s decision to stay

-Hearing the sounds of the beach during the unveiling

-It’s all about Vanessa=> perfection

-Lin being at the ending is perfect no matter the context

-“Say it so it doesn’t disappear”=> the sad reality is your neighborhood probably will disappear

-Usnavi telling his daughter “you’re it” is everything

-Iris understanding all of the little details of her father’s store now that she knows his story

-Iris is the goddess of the rainbow like the light that appears when water appears on a sunlit day

-“Man, you talk forever”=> that’s so “How I Met Your Mother”

-Iris has a necklace of seashells, like the islands

-Vanessa would sooner get wet than let go of Usnavi’s hand

[youbloodymadgenius]

Ivarello (Modern!Ivar x reader) Chapter 3

Moodboard by @quantumlocked310

Ivarello's masterpost here

A/N: This is my entry for @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie 500 Followers Fairy Tale Challenge. It's a retelling of Cinderella. Congrats again, darling 💖

A huge thank you to @mrsalwayswrite , who's a great beta reader and an even greater cheerleader 😂

A massive thank you to @quantumlocked310 , @vikingstrash and @serasvictoria . Thank you for agreeing to collaborate and for sharing your talent with me. Your moodboards are beyond amazing 🤩

In this story, Sigurd is alive. Ragnar and Aslaug are dead, but Lagertha didn't kill her. I took a lot of liberties with the show, I hope you won't mind.

Unlike the tale, there will be no magic involved. Not everything will be realistic, however. It's a fayritale, after all!

Let me know if you want to be tagged 😊

Summary: Orphaned five years ago, Ivar and his brothers have been living with Lagertha ever since. Now 16 years old, he wants to attend Harald's traditional Midsummer party, but obstacles stand in his way.

Warnings: description of car crash; orphaned kids; Sigurd being Sigurd; OOC characters.

Words: 3497 (oops 🙈)

Additional note: what you’re going to read is not realistic.

Enjoy 🙂

🛡⚔️🛡

With his stomach in knots and a frown on his face, Ivar watches closely his godfather, who enters the living-room, wheeling a large trolley case behind him.

"Hello, Ivar." Floki looks around, an eyebrow raised questioningly, "Lagertha isn't here?", before flopping down on the corner sofa.

"No," Ivar shakes his head, wheeling up next to him, "She's out on a date with this English guy... Hammond, Halmund or whatever his name is."

Scratching his ear, Floki tilts his head, "but she knows you're going, right?" He pulls the trolley case closer and then snorts, mumbling under his breath, "don't think I can't see you rolling your eyes!"

"What do you think? Of course, she knows. She said, and I quote," Ivar raises his hands to make air quotes, his voice tinged with obvious annoyance, "'Of course you can go, sweetie, you know I don't want to be the one holding you back. Call me if anything goes wrong. And don't forget to take your meds.'"

"She cares, Ivar." Floki's tone is soft as he places a hand on his godson's shoulder.

Ivar lowers his gaze. "You should have taken me in." His words are barely audible and suddenly he feels like he's eleven again and he has to swallow against the sudden dryness in his throat.

"You do know that back then I wasn't in a good place." Floki's sad sigh almost gets Ivar in tears as memories of his parents and Helga flood his mind. The pain in his heart becomes nearly unbearable but he fights it off with all his might. He never wants to feel broken and lost again.

Ivar lifts his head up and Floki can see the stubbornness in his eyes. "I could live with you now."

"No, you could not, and you know it!" Floki smiles and taps Ivar on the cheek. "Ivar, I live between two flights, today in Norway, yesterday in Iceland and after-tomorrow in Canada. What kind of life would this be for you, huh? And besides, living with Lagertha is not that bad."

But living with Sigurd is! Ivar wants to shout. He keeps quiet, though, shrugging before eventually mumbling. "Guess not..."

"So," Floki starts, eager to change the subject, "where are your brothers, by the way?"

"Where do you think they are, huh, you knock-kneed fool? They're already there." Ivar glances at his watch, furrowing his brow. "Harald's party started twenty minutes ago."

"We better hurry up, then!" Crouching down, Floki slowly opens the suitcase under Ivar's scrutinizing gaze.

"Quick!" Ivar commands, barely able to contain his impatience, his nervous fingers tapping his push rims. "What do you have for me, old man, huh?" He even contemplates climbing out of his chair to open it himself, but the fear of breaking a bone at the worst possible time is stronger than his eagerness.

"You're going to calm down, young Padawan." Floki quips, slowly moving his hand in front of Ivar with eyes full of mischief. Ivar immediately slaps his godfather's hand away, mumbling under his breath, "I'd rather be a Sith Lord." That earns him a loud, hysterical laugh from his godfather.

Ivar grunts, ready to protest, but all thoughts leave his mind as soon as he's able to see what is in the trolley case. The scowl on his face obvious, he doesn't even try to hide his disappointment as he utters, "you made me braces?"

He hates braces with a passion. Along with underarm crutches, he had some, as a child. They were bulky, stiff, painful and walking with them was tedious, agonizingly slow, and exhausting. Ragnar had been adamant that he wanted his youngest to walk, no matter the struggles, no matter the nearly unbearable pain. Ivar had settled his ass in a wheelchair the day of his father's funeral, getting rid of his braces shortly after, a decision he had never regretted. So no, such torture devices were not at all what he was hoping for.

"Have a little faith in me," Floki rolls his eyes. "These," he looks lovingly at the strange contraptions in his hands, "are not braces, Ivar. Have you and your crippled ass ever heard of exoskeleton?"

Ivar's eyes widen. "It's that thing used in rehab that allows paraplegics to walk, right?" As Floki nods, Ivar gives him a puzzled glance. "But, erm, you do know I don't have a spinal cord injury, don't you? Or are you suffering from memory loss? Maybe it's your age?"

Dismissing the remark with an exasperated wave of his hand, Floki hisses, "I'm well aware that you don't, godson dearest," before narrowing his eyes, his voice now serious, "you may have full sensation in both legs, yet they can't exactly support your weight and your lack of motor function can't be denied. Not really different from some paraplegic dudes, what do you think?"

Feeling a heavy lump in his throat, Ivar frowns, not pleased with the idea of him being like a paraplegic. Almost without thinking, he contracts his quads as best he can, as if he wants to make sure he's still able to do it.

Floki doesn't miss the barely-there movements in his thighs, though, and his voice softens. "Look Ivar, you're not a paraplegic, okay? But I used the exoskeleton technology. And since you're not paralyzed, I was able to make a smaller device that you can wear underneath your clothes, and you're going to walk. I mean, really walk, not just like those guys in rehab, between parallels bars and with a PT right behind them."

Ivar, his eyes bright, stares at his godfather, slack-jawed with amazement. "I'm..." He begins to sputter, voice filled with emotion, "I'm really going to walk?" Feeling like his heart is pounding out of his chest, he fails to contain his excitement, drumming the fingers of his right hand on his lap. He'd tap his feet if only he could.

"You are." Floki nods before taking out of the trolley case a pair of dress shoes. "I put dozens of sensors in the insole of these shoes, which will enable the exoskeleton to correct your stance practically every second. Therefore, you won't need crutches, although I would say it's safer for you to use this." Reaching down, he grabs a black derby-style cane, simple and sleek in design. "You know," he shrugs, "just for extra support. Better safe than sorry, hmh?"

Ivar, who doesn't even flinch when he sees the walking stick, just reaches out, his hand grazing the carbon fiber exoskeleton. "Is it really for me?" His eyes filled with wonder, his voice trembling, his lips stretch across his face as his godfather nods. "And you made this in what?... four, five days?"

Letting out his signature giggle, Floki waggles his fingers in front of his face. "Even I couldn't make this in such a short time. No, the truth is, I've been working on it for a while. Let's say your phone call just sped things up. Though I must say, this marvel of technology is not flawless... It has a really low battery life, like four hours of autonomy at best. If I had more time, I certainly could have done better, but for now, it is what it is and you'll have to make do with what you've got." Pursing his lips, he glances at his watch, "So, just so you know, if you put this on now, you'll have to come back around midnight if you don't want to have to crawl around. And if you hear a beep, you'd better hurry, okay?"

As Ivar just nods, his beaming smile never fading, Floki adds, tilting his head, "and now, go get ready, young Padawan, you have a party to attend!"

***

Sitting on a bench at the seaside, Ivar watches the party from afar, a feeling of uneasiness tightening his chest. It was a mistake. Attending to this party was a mistake. Despite the exoskeleton, despite the fact that he walks almost normally, it was a mistake. He shouldn't have come. He shouldn't be here. Anxiety surges like the swell of a wave, and he struggles to breathe. Sigurd was right: he doesn't belong here, doesn't belong to this life.

A part of him wants to leave. It would be better to run away, to go hide in his room. But he won't. He can't. Because just a moment ago he saw you. Because he's not ready to give up on you now that he is here, eventually close to you.

He recognized you the moment his eyes fell on you. Looking radiant in a polka dot dress, you're as pretty as he remembers. Pretty? Who's he kidding? The girl you were six years ago was pretty. You're a woman now, and one of the most beautiful he's ever seen.

Glowing, smiling at everyone, you didn't even see him. In his head, of course, he makes plans to approach you, even if deep down, he knows all too well he'll never muster enough courage to talk to you. You probably wouldn't want him to anyway. After all, he may be standing tall today, yet he's still a freak, a fucking cripple. He's still cursed with his bony, twisted, useless legs. He's still a burden.

Yet, there's this little voice inside of him, barely audible, whispering that you're not like this, that you never were in the first place; and that's partly why the ten-year-old boy he was when he first met you felt drawn to you almost instantly.

Closing his eyes, he focuses on his breathing and decides to take a little trip down memory lane, bringing him back to that sunny, summer day of his first – and only – encounter with you. His memory so vivid it's like it happened only yesterday.

He can't hear the chirping of birds as his brothers are loudly playing and bickering in the pool. His beloved mother is nowhere to be seen and he's willing to bet she's taking a nap, but not without first making sure he has everything he could possibly need. Lying on a sunbed in the shade of an oak, a glass of lemonade within reach and a thick book on his lap, he hardly notices his father coming into the backyard, Harald Hårfager following close behind.

Since Ivar knows Harald is here to talk business with his father, he pays no attention to the two men, who take their seats at the patio dining table.

He nearly falls off the sunbed when a tiny voice startles him. "Hello!"

Stunned, he turns his head towards the voice and comes face to face with a smiling girl he doesn't know. You. He'd say you're about his age.

"I'm Y/N," you tell him, waving your hand shyly. "I'm at my uncle's for the weekend," you keep going, pointing your finger at Harald, "and I was wondering... May I join you?" You finally ask, dragging a second sunbed closer to his.

His first instinct is to look around, because you can't possibly be talking to him. Why would you? Surely you can't have failed to spot his leg braces, nor his hideous orthopedic shoes. You can't have missed that he's a cripple.

Frowning as he sees that no one is around, he snorts, his nostrils flaring. He can tell you're wearing a swimsuit under your pink dress. What do you want, then? Are you here to mock and ridicule him or what?

"You better get in the pool with my brothers." He knows he sounds rude, not answering nor greeting you, but he doesn't care. He doesn't want to be made fun of and doesn't intend to give you the chance to do it.

Seemingly undeterred, you speak with a soft voice. "No, I'd rather not." Your smile is so genuine he can't help but think you mean no harm. "Actually," you shrug, sitting next to him, "I'd rather stay here with you, if you don't mind. What are you reading?"

Gobsmacked, he just looks at you – and gods, how pretty you are! – for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Are you truly interested in what he's reading? Interested in him? He swallows hard, his heart racing. A small smile dancing on your lips, your kind eyes never leave his as you wait, full of hope, for him to finally talk to you.

And that's what he ends up doing, almost in spite of himself. For the next two hours, he shows you his astronomy book, a gift from his godfather for his tenth birthday, and tells you about the stars, the constellations and the nights he spends watching the sky, when his mother allows him to. And for two hours you listen to him, asking a question here or there and always smiling. He's pretty sure you're not faking being interested in what he's saying.

All too soon, your uncle tells you it's time to go and you stand up with a scowl, letting out a sigh of regret. The next moment, you flash Ivar a grin. "I had a really great time with you, thanks! I'm going back to my mom's tomorrow but I hope we can spend time together again sometime, maybe next summer. I'd love to stargaze with you, you know?" With that, you lean forward and as your lips touch his cheek, Ivar's breath catches in his throat, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.

Ivar inhales deeply. That kiss... That's when he fell madly and hopelessly in love with you. If he concentrates enough, he can still feel the softness of your lips against his skin, still smell your sweet, flowery scent.

That day, he had watched you leave with a smile on your face, already dreaming of the day he would see you again. You had said "next summer" and even though it was a long time away, he was willing to wait. In the meantime, he would have plenty of memories to recall - your joyful voice, your sparkling eyes, your lovely smile... Sure, he could wait.

And he had waited, hopeful and happier than he had been in a long time.

Not long after, however, his life had been turned upside down, his father being murdered and his mother dying in a car crash. Lost, angry, broken, and infinitely sad, he had gone through the following months as if anesthetized - barely living, hardly functioning, sometimes feeling as if the memory of you was the only thing keeping him from drowning.

Yet, and he doesn't know why – or perhaps simply because Ragnar being dead, Harald had no reason to visit anymore – he had never seen you again.

"Hello!"

His whole body freezes and he stops breathing. This voice... Your voice... He'd know it anywhere. Yet, it can't be, right? Did he fall asleep? Is he dreaming? Is one of his brothers tricking him? Why would you talk to the cripple?

"My name is Y/N." He can hear the smile in your voice. "I was wondering... May I join you?"

Summoning the courage he's not sure he has, Ivar looks tentatively toward you.

Gods! You're even more beautiful up close. Fuck. Now that you're here, right next to him, he doesn't know what to say, what to do. Panic seizes his hammering heart as a lump rises in his throat. He attempts to swallow around it to speak, to say something, anything, but the words won't come out and he finally just nods, his hand gesturing to the bench for you to sit on.

"Thanks," you give him a broad smile before taking your seat.

Ivar cannot believe his eyes. What are you doing? Did you recognize him? Why are you here, with him?

"Woul–", he sputters, struggling to find his voice, "Wouldn't you rather be there?" Pointing his index finger at the crowd gathered in front of the makeshift stage just a few meters away. He frowns, tilting his head, "the party is in full swing."

"No, I'd rather not." You shrug and as you turn your head toward him, he breathes in your sweet scent, suddenly feeling dizzy. "The guys are already drunk and really have one thing on their minds. And those who are not are boring." You lower your gaze, as if embarrassed, and it's so adorable Ivar feels like his heart is melting. "I'd rather stay here with you, if you don't mind."

Oh, he doesn't. He doesn't mind at all. The truth is, there's a fucking firework inside of him, and he barely contains the screams of happiness that threaten to escape his lips. "That's okay, you can stay," he says instead, his fidgeting fingers dancing on his lap.

Over the next hour or so, the conversation flows easily as you speak about Karasjok, the small town where you live, telling him about your mother's people, the Sami, their culture and customs.

Ivar shares with you bits and pieces of his life too, speaking about his passion for the Viking culture and about his belief in the ancient gods. The night, his night, is full of your laughs, full of your smiles, full of you. He wants it to never end.

He's still trying to figure out if you know who he is, if you remember meeting him once when you rise to your feet, almost bouncing with enthusiasm. "Walk with me, will you?"

He's about to break the truth about his inability to walk when he remembers that actually, thanks to Floki, he can. His eyes never leave yours as he grabs his cane with a little bit of self-consciousness, wincing as he stands up, but he can't see disgust, contempt, or disappointment on your face and your smile doesn't falter as you delicately slip your hand under his free arm, curling your fingers back over it. Shaken by your sudden proximity, Ivar feels goosebumps rising on his skin.

"It's such a lovely night and I'm so happy spending it with you."

Your words leave him speechless as you lead him close to the water. A bunch of guys can be seen in the distance and Ivar is pretty sure his brothers are among them. He can feel their heavy stares on him and doesn't need to hear them to know what they're saying. "Who's this dude? Do we know him?" Standing tall, with his braided hair and a blue suit, he knows he doesn't look like himself. Yet, as he locks eyes with Hvitserk for a second, he'd sworn he sees a hint of recognition crossing his brother's face. And as the latter gives him a thumbs up, he knows his mind is not playing tricks with him.

"Oh, I love this song!" You clap your hands twice before shrugging shyly. "Let's dance, please!"

Ivar's heart breaks. Scared out of his wits, he swallows hard, his breathing uneven. "I... I can't." It's a painful admission, and he wishes the ground would just swallow him up.

He realizes you pay no mind to his defeated tone, though, as you grab his cane, leaning it against a nearby tree. "We'll go slow, I promise."

Almost in spite of himself, he places his hands on your hips as you wrap your arms around his neck. Gently – cautiously – swaying to the music, Ivar leans in close and, inhaling deeply your delightful scent, he feels like he's going to spontaneously combust. Your head resting on his chest, he's sure you can hear his frantic, pounding heartbeat. But he can't bring himself to care, not when you're finally exactly where he wants you to be. In his arms.

That's why he doesn't hear the first beep, or if he does, he doesn't pay any attention, entranced by your beauty, your kindness and the mesmerizing color of your eyes.

But when you stop dancing, your eyebrows raised, "What's that beeping noise? It doesn't stop," he hears it too, cold sweats washing over him as panic courses through his body.

"I... I must... I must go," he stammers, and honestly he's about to throw up. He can't think, can't speak. All he knows is that he doesn't want you seeing him crawling around. He won't allow it. He can't.

Fuck.

That's why he leaves. He just strolls off. He doesn't see the appalled look you're giving him, doesn’t' realize he's leaving his black cane behind, doesn't hear the despair in your tone as you shout, "wait, please! I don't even know your name!"

He has only taken a few steps when crocodile tears run down his cheeks, blurring his sight. It hurts so much he could scream, and he can barely breathe as the realization starts to sink in. Who was he trying to fool? Sigurd had been right all along. No matter the exoskeleton, no matter the genius of his godfather, he's still a freak. A monster. An abnormality.

He doesn't belong. He's not worthy.

Fuck.

His heart shatters in a thousand pieces.

Fuck.

Y/N.

Fuck.

🛡⚔️🛡

Ivar's taglist: @waiting4inspiration @honestsycrets @lisinfleur @saldelys @gearhead66 @inforapound @readsalot73 @milkkygirls @xbellaxcarolinax @shannygoatgruff @zuxiezendler @hecohansen31 @lonewolf471 @fuckindiva @tgrrose @didiintheblog @peachyboneless @pieces-by-me @funmadnessandbadassvikings @ethereallysimple @destynelseclipsa @cocovikings23 @xceafh @mrsalwayswrite @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @pomegranates-and-blood @jadelynlace @grimeundglow @quantumlocked310 @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom @adrille88

Ivarello's taglist: @not-another-viking-fanfic-blog @hashimily @prepare4trouble @supernaturalvikingwhore @funmadnessandbadassvikings @heavenly1927 @dini73

[chaoticpuff17]

Suga We’re Going Down

part 12

masterlist

Hello, my darlings! I have an update for you!  Please enjoy the drama that will be unfolding in this chapter as well as the chapters to come.--- chaotic puff

Y/N was grateful for the extra money her new job brought in, but it didn’t make the new found separation with her son any easier.  At least once a weekend she was called away, and it was usually overnight. It was hard on both of them. Eun Jae didn’t understand why his mother was away so much, and she hated seeing him upset. It was why she was taking the time to take him to the park. 

She should have been working on some project or another, but she was much happier watching her son run around the playground with a wide smile on his face. He loved the park, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty that she didn’t get to take him there more often. Today was a perfect day for it though. It was unseasonably warm, and Eun Jae could run around in a lighter jacket instead of his heavier winter coat which gave the little boy more ease of movement as he dashed around the playground. 

Y/N was lost in her thoughts watching her favorite little guy when she noticed the other moms beginning to whisper amongst themselves. She didn’t pay it much mind though as she assumed it was just the latest neighborhood gossip. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t been whispered about before either. She was an unwed mother. It got her plenty of ridicule from the other moms. What was odd was how they had started to gather around, moving closer to where she was. She knew well enough that they weren’t going to suddenly welcome her into the fold, so why were they getting closer? 

“Y/N?” 

She froze knowing who she would see if she turned around and hoping against hope that he would just disappear. He didn’t. 

“What are you doing here?” she hissed running to face him. 

“I just want to see him. Is that so bad?” he asked pasting on the most contrite pair of puppy dog eyes he could manage. 

“Yes!” she cast a quick glance over her shoulder making sure that Eun Jae hadn’t noticed anything yet. He hadn’t. He was blissfully unaware and running around the playground with the other toddlers. “You can’t be here.” 

“I just want to see him. He’s my son.” 

“Kim Taehyung.” she snapped, shooting him a withering glare. “He is not your son, and you need to go.” 

“He’s my kid.” he pleaded, peering around her trying to catch sight of the little boy. “I just want to meet him.” 

“That’s not your decision to make.” she squared her shoulders and did her best to make the same stoic, terrifying face her grandmother made when she was displeased. “You should leave.” 

Taehyung scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared her down. Neither of them was willing to budge, but unlike Taehyung, she had paternal rights. “You can’t make me go.” 

“I can call the cops and say that there’s a strange man harassing me and my child.” her head tilted to the side sassily as she waited for him to back down. 

“Like the cops would believe that the heir to Singularity Enterprises was harassing you. I can promise you they won’t.” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt him.” 

“Take a look around, Taehyung. You really think you belong here?” she huffed, placing her hands on her hips casting her gaze around her neighborhood. It wasn’t a bad area per say, but it certainly wasn’t what Taehyung was used to, and he stood out like a sore thumb in his designer clothes. They were already attracting the gazes of the other moms. “Eun Jae certainly doesn’t need another parental figure to dip in and out of his life like the utter failure they are. So you want to meet him now? What’s going to happen in a month when you get bored of playing house?” Taehyung stared at her in shock. People didn’t talk to him like this. “Do us all a favor and go.” 

“I’m not going to abandon him.” he protested, recovering himself. “He’s my kid.” 

“Great! Where were you the past three years?” 

“I wasn’t allow…” 

“Don’t.” she scoffed. “You’re a grown man. You could have been here if you wanted to.” 

“I’m here now. I want to meet him.” 

“How is that fair to us?” 

“How is it fair that I don’t get to be a part of his life?” he countered. 

“You signed away your rights before he was even born. He doesn’t know you, and he doesn’t need you.” 

“Every kid needs a father.” 

She sighed pinching the bridge of her nose as she did her best not to yell at the man. “He’s a kid, Taehyung, a baby. He doesn’t need anymore disappointing parental figures. You want to be here now, but what happens when you get a family of your own? Eun Jae is always going to be your teenage indiscretion, but he’s my whole world.” 

“He’s not…” 

Before either of them could continue, a little body smashed into her legs wrapping little arms tightly around them. 

“Swings, eomma!” he demanded staring up at her with a bright smile. 

Both adults were frozen staring down at the little boy. Taehyung was the first to recover, kneeling down to the toddler's height with a bright, boxy grin. 

“Hey, buddy.” he greeted not even phased as Eun Jae retreated hiding behind his mother’s legs as he stared at the stranger with wide eyes. “It’s nice to meet you.” the little boy said nothing, choosing instead to cling to his mother’s legs even tighter than before. “I’m Taehyung.” 

Eun Jae ignored him, pulling on her tunic-like shirt instead. “Swings?” he asked again, staring up at his mother with big pleading eyes. 

“Okay, baby.” she hummed, running a gentle hand through his hair. “Let’s go to the swings.” 

The toddler nodded furiously reaching up to grab her hand, tugging her towards the playground. “Swings, eomma, swings!” 

She followed behind her child praying that Taehyung would get the hint and leave. Eun Jae had in typical fashion for the toddler, rejected the stranger preferring the company of his mother, but Taehyung didn’t seem to care as he followed behind them a soft smile playing on his lips.

“Eomma.” Eun Jae tugged on her hand again. “Who’s the weird man?” 

Y/N did her best to suppress the laugh that bubbled up, but she didn’t quite succeed. Instead a choked chuckle like snort erupted. “He’s just a weird man, baby.” 

“I’m a friend of your eomma’s.” Taehyung interrupted catching up to them and addressing the toddler with a smile that just didn’t seem to get any less bright no matter how many times they both rejected him. 

“No you’re not.” he frowned, glaring up at the adult. “Auntie Nina is eomma’s friend.” he explained, his brows scrunched up in confusion. 

“Eomma can have more than one friend.” The look on the kid’s face told them both that he didn’t think so. It was a blank expression that looked far too similar to Taehyung’s for her comfort, and it didn’t escape Taehyung’s notice either. “He kinda looks like me doesn’t he?” He smirked, staring down at the child proudly. 

“No.” Eun Jae frowned. “I look like Eomma. Halmeoni said so. You’re a weird man.” he pouted, once more clinging to his mother’s legs. 

“You can look like more than one person.” Taehyung explained even though Eun Jae only buried his face into her leg. 

“I don’t want swings.” He whined reaching his arms up in a silent plea to be held, and Y/N complied, swinging the toddler up onto her hip where he promptly buried his face in her neck. “I don’t like him. Wanna go home.” 

Y/N gently bounced him on her hip, hushing him as his little fingers clenched her shirt. “You wanna go home, Jae Jae?” She cooed, rubbing his back with her free hand as he nodded into her neck. “Okay, baby. Let’s go home.” 

“Y/N.” Taehyung called out, reaching for her as she began to walk away.

“I think you’ve done enough for one day.” She hissed, tightening her grip on her child. “Don’t you?” 

She strode away, hyper aware of the stares of both Taehyung and the other mothers as she did. This was going to be the talk of the playground for at least a week or two, and Y/N wasn’t looking forward to the invasive questions she would get asked the next time she and Eun Jae went there. 

Y/N didn’t want to admit it, but she moved more quickly than she would have normally as she took her son home. She was rattled. As much as she hated to admit it, she was rattled. She didn’t like Taehyung showing up in her neighborhood, at her park. She didn’t like the fact that he ignored her wishes and met Eun Jae. 

If she had wanted them to meet, she would have prepared. She would have explained things to the toddler. She would have arranged things so that they were in a safe and comfortable place for both her and Eun Jae. She certainly wouldn’t have suggested he ambush them at the park. 

The fact of the matter was that she  was Eun Jae’s mother, and she was the only one that had parental rights. Ha Jin didn’t, and Taehyung certainly didn’t. He didn’t get to decide what was best for Eun Jae. He didn’t get to show up on a whim. He didn’t get to uproot their lives because he suddenly decided he wanted to be part of the life of a child he couldn’t have given a shit about until he ran into her the week before. 

“Eomma?” Eun Jae asked as she unlocked the door to her apartment. 

“Yeah, baby?” 

“Pororo?” 

“Sure, buddy.” She agreed, kicking off her shoes and shutting the door behind them, before taking off Eu Jae’s shoes as well. 

The toddler was quick to run into the apartment and settle himself in front of her small television as she put on the cartoon for him. It was one of his favorites, and she couldn’t blame him. The penguin was pretty cute. 

“Eomma?” he called as she went to the kitchen to get a snack for him. 

“Yeah, buddy?” 

“Cuddles?” he pleaded, staring at her with big puppy dog eyes. 

She smiled, handing him a little bowl of dried mango slices. “Sure, buddy. Eomma just has to make a quick phone call first. Okay?” 

He nodded, flopping back down with his snack as he turned his attention to the cartoon penguin and his dinosaur friend. 

Y/N moved back to the kitchen pulling out her phone as she considered what she was going to tell Yoongi. She was meant to go to his concert, but she didn’t feel right leaving Eun Jae, not after what had happened at the park. Part of her was terrified that Taehyung was going to show up while she was gone and take him away. 

“Angel?” Yoongi’s raspy voice asked from the other end of the line.

“Hi.” She sighed out shakily. Yoongi was quick to pick up on it. Nothing ever seemed to slip past him.

“Is everything alright?” Concern colored his tone, and she could hear people moving around in the background. 

Part of her felt bad for calling when she knew he was busy preparing for his concert, but Eun Jae had to come first. He always had to come first. “I’m so sorry, but I’m not going to be able to make it to the concert.” 

There was a drawn out pause, and she could practically see the scowl on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, voice lowering into a growl. “Are you alright? I can send Jackson…” 

“No!” she was quick to stop him. “No. I’m just not feeling well. I just need to stay home and rest.” 

It was a lie, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

“Are you alright? Do you have a fever? Do you need to go to the doctor?” he demanded, and she was half convinced he was going to come to see her himself if she didn’t cut him off soon. “I’ll send Jackson over to take you to the doctor. I’ll set up an appointment…”

“That’s really not necessary. I just need to rest. I’ll be fine in a day or two.” she promised, knowing full well she was perfectly fine now. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure. I’m sorry for missing your concert.” 

“Just get better.” he sighed heavily. “You can come to the next one.” 

“Thank you.” 

“If you need anything, call.” 

“I’ll be fine.” 

She hung up shortly after not knowing the mayhem she had caused for Yoongi’s staff. The mixture of her cancellation and worry for her health had put the rapper into a horrible mood. A worried Yoongi wasn’t a pleasant Yoongi.

part 13

[melliflovs]

Chapter Three - Yuji x Reader

Word Count: 1,519

Warnings: Just kinda cute, kinda angsty

Summary: Breakfast with Itadori and potentially new feelings begin to blossom.

Series Masterlist is pinned!

Sitting across from your classmate you sipped your water. It was admittedly very awkward. While you understood the overall idea of today's 'training' it was going to take a bit for the two of you to warm up to each other. Befriending people wasn't exactly your strong suit even if it was over two large plates of eggs and bacon.

"How long have you known about curses?" He asked, taking a bite of the buttered toast in front of him.

"My whole life. I was adopted by the Zenin clan when I was four so Megumi and I grew up together. Maki was practically my big sister when I was younger."

"Maki?"

"Oh, right you haven't met her. She's a few years older than us. You'll probably meet her soon."

He nodded in response, "How many people go to our school?"

"Honestly, not many. The campus was designed for a full student body but there are only a handful of students. Each year the classes get smaller too." It's because people keep dying, but hell you didn't want to scare the kid. You guys needed all the help you could get in the war against curses. Even if the strongest of them all resided inside him.

"Why do you want to be a sorcerer?"

Suddenly the food on your plate no longer looked appetizing, your stomach doing a nervous flip as you looked over at him. "It's always been the plan." You said, pushing the scrambled eggs on your plate around.

Yuji's eyebrows drew together, "That's not what I asked."

"Why do you want to be a sorcerer, Itadori." You responded, a bit harsher than intended. Then again he'd struck somewhat of a nerve. Your sudden change of tone didn't go unnoticed by him, realizing that he might've crossed a line. "Because I made a promise."

"What?"

"I made a promise to my Grandfather to help people, so I'm going to do that. Sukuna and I are going to do that." The curse mocked him in his head, calling him a fool. Maybe he was a fool, and he'd definitely end up dead by the end of all of this but based off what he'd learned it would probably be for the best.

"I made a promise too," You mumbled, struggling to swallow a small bite of your toast. Your mouth felt so dry, the topic of conversation making you increasingly uncomfortable. But this was what Nanami wanted right? To get to know each other?

Yuji seemed to perk up at your words, finally finding a common ground. "Really?"

"Yeah," You nodded, clearing your throat and deciding to indulge him. "I made a promise to my parents before they died."

"What was it?"

"Well-" You began, the vibration of Yuji's phone on the table quickly cutting you off. All desire to spill your secrets fading with every buzz. Fuck getting to know each other.

"Sorry." He said, checking his notifications. "Gojo wants to know how I did yesterday. I must've watched five movies." He seemed so apologetic like he didn't want to leave you alone here.

"Well," You said, giving him a soft smile. "You don't want to keep him waiting."

"Are you sure?" He questioned. He wanted you to say no, to ask him to stay and tell him all your secrets. For some reason when Yuji looked at you he didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay by your side. Something about leaving you here alone didn't feel right, but when you looked at him from across the table with a small smile he felt his stomach flip.

"Go ahead." You said, reassuring him. "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

Nodding he slipped out of the booth and put enough money to cover the bill on the table. Part of you wanted to insist you could pay for yourself but decided to accept the nice gesture. It was friendly.

Friendly. You have plenty of friends so why did that make you frown?

He grinned at you before turning and walking out the doors, looking back at you one last time before leaving the cafe. Letting out a sigh you stared out the window next to you.

Of course, you didn't want to be a sorcerer. No one really wanted to be, at least not that you know of. Everyone around the school seemed so forced - full of fake emotion and light. You've seen the sparkle leave Gojo's eyes when he thought no one was looking.

Shit, he probably wore the blindfold so he didn't have to pretend all the time. You'd heard rumors he used to be happy, rumors that he had a friend and that something went wrong. Just like Nanami had a friend and something went wrong. Something always goes wrong eventually.

You didn't have a choice, even if you did try to quit and abandon the promise you'd made so many years ago. Sure, you could try and rationalize that you were just a child. So naive that you didn't know what you were getting into. But once you get into it you can't leave - at least that's what your mentor had told you.

You knew Nanami was right. It'll always call you back.

For now, you'd sit here for a while, overthinking every event and decision until you were exhausted and couldn't think any longer. Until your head hurt and your eyes began to tear up.

It wouldn't take long for Yuji to regret his promise, to regret swallowing that finger. When that day comes you hope to be far far away from him. Away from the destruction that you'll inevitably cause him.

The feeling of your phone buzzing in your pocket snapped you out of your thoughts. A single text read:

Gym, 8 am tomorrow.

Hopefully, you wouldn't see Yuji until then.

----

Thankfully you didn't.

When you arrived at the gym you were far more prepared after waking up in your own bed (as comfy as Megumi's was) and had even set a timer to wake you up in time. Something had compelled you to put on a bit more makeup that morning. Nothing major, just some mascara and a bit of blush. Ultimately it would probably be ruined during training today since you had to exorcise a curse but at least you felt beautiful as you took off your shoes and stepped on the mats.

Nanami quirked his eyebrow at you, clearly noticing the supposedly subtle difference. "Why are you wearing-" He was cut off by the door opening, the two of you turning to watch the pink-haired boy enter.

It was as if a lightbulb had gone off in his mind, the realization dawning over him as he watched Yuji move to stand next to you. This was bad. Gojo's words echoed in his head as he watched you shyly eye your classmate, he's going to be executed.

But you didn't seem to know that.

This was very bad indeed.

Clearing his throat he got back to the task at hand, "Like I said yesterday we're going to exorcise a grade two curse. It should be fairly easy for the two of you so just remember that this is supposed to work on your teamwork skills."

Maybe this was his fault for forcing the two of you to work together. He'd tried his best to keep you away from the pain that he'd experienced when in reality he might've only pushed you closer to it. Nanami found himself getting lost in thought, overthinking, and forgetting what he was saying. "Um."

You looked at him perplexed. It was so unlike your mentor to act like this. "Right!" You said, clapping your hands once, "We should get going then."

Nanami just nodded in response, his eyebrows furrowed as he wordlessly turned and walked out of the gym.

"Is he okay?" Yuji asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Even the student he'd only known for two days had caught onto your teacher's odd behavior.

"Yeah, he probably just didn't get enough sleep last night." You said trying to rationalize it. the two of you looked at each other with small smiles, shrugging at each other stimulatingly. With a giggle you started to follow after your sensei, grabbing your shoes by the door and disappearing through the exit.

Yuji watched as you walked away, smiling to himself. You had a cute laugh. "She looks nice today," The voice inside his head pointed out.

"That's the first nice thing you've ever said."

Sukuna scoffed, "Don't get used to it."

"She does look nice today, you're right." With that Yuji took off in a jog, the spirit muttering to itself as he swiftly grabbed his sneakers.

"Then tell her, or I will." He could practically hear the smirk in Sukuna's voice. Itadori was sure that if the curse got a chance to say it himself it wouldn't be as nice as the confession in private. "Then maybe I will."

With that Yuji left the gym, tuning Sukuna out for the time being and running towards your retreating figure.

Maybe he will

[3vieg3ni3]

Ok so if you’ve seen the post of where Mirabel and Camilo are hugging David then you know who he is

this is David! ⬆️

It took me awhile to find out how to write and draw this character because with his first one I didn’t really feel that it was him or right for him

this was his first design, originally he was supposed be 13, have the gift of Empathy and that he was deaf, also he had a sister named Elena, and I liked but only for a little while, so I dived into rewatching some Steven Universe episodes (even SUF) and then that got me thinking, the fact that he was hating on his Moms decisions and that it was placed down on him, all of her mistakes, and problems she caused just got passed down to him and he barely knew shit. The absolute resentment he felt when he heard that Pink hurt her first Pearl in episode 2 or 3 of SUF, he was so fed up with fixing his mothers problems and hearing about it again.

Rose didn’t mean for that to happen, even though made mistakes she had good intention, she went being a Child throwing temper tantrum left and right to being a matured being. The things she did can’t be easily forgiven but she tried to be a better person.

(Used to be a hater for Pink/Rose but after rewatching some episodes and analysis videos it changed to just being neutral about her)

from this it inspired me to draw a knew David

This one ☝️

I loved it, it fitted him more than the first one I changed his gift to Cyrokinesis (because of the let it go lyric at the end so I thought yeah this could work?)

It has a reflection on his emotions when he was both young and how he is now. When he was young you could he was like Jack Frost, He loved snow days cause you can have fun with friends and family, but as he got older his personality on the outside changed from snow to ice. He was treated the same way as Bruno, other than the fact that he always took the blame for his cousins problems and mistakes.

I wanted to give him siblings and I wasn’t feeling it for Elena so instead I changed it up. He now has young twin brothers named Hugo and Atifa.

I’m still learning how to texturize African American hair and how to draw digitally because doing line art on it is Torture.

Atifa is older than Hugo by 1min. If you look at Atifa’s shoes they are the colors of his brothers in order David, himself, and then Hugo.

As for their powers Hugo has the Telepathy power and he is deaf and can communicate by ASL or using his gift. I can see him and Dolores getting along pretty well not because she can hear every and he can hear and see images of peoples thoughts, but because he grew attached to her when he was young and saw her as an older sister and they can relate to each other!

For Atifa I transferred the Empathy gift onto him! He is an extrovert and social butterfly, willing to befriend anybody! He likes to hang around his Tias and Tios mostly with Pepa and Félix, he also helps her with her emotions only when she‘s alright with it. He can absorb other peoples emotions onto himself but it mentally drains him and he gets tired.

They were born 7 months after Bruno’s disappearance, and after they were born Valéria moved back to her old home, because she didn’t want Abuela to treat them like she did with Bruno or anybody else in the family (Mirabel mostly). As the years passed she grew very depressed, always thinking about why Bruno left and thought was because of her since she had anger issues that still need to be resolved, and abandonment issues. She had many emotions towards him, mostly she was sad and mad.

Atifa offered to use his gift to help her but she always refused, always covering it up with a smile and that “I’m fine“ with an excuse. She never lets her emotions get the better of her all the time, she didn’t have the time to cry about someone (who she thought) had walked out on her and her kids! So she always pushed her emotions away and focused on her kids and family more!

Always willing to beat someone’s ass to protect them, and shall always be there for them!

anyways I hope you like this! have a good day!

[nattikay]

So I saw this post while browsing toa tags the other day. While I don’t think being obsessed with the school mascot automatically makes Toby a furry (though it is funny to joke about lol) since “being a furry” actually just means “being a fan of anthropomorphic animals” and doesn’t necessarily require any form of costuming or interest in such, it did get me thinking, hmmm...if he was a furry, what would his fursona be? 🤔 And from there I started wondering what Jim’s and Claire’s would be as well because y not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

BUT WAIT, I hear you say--haven’t you already drawn the trio as werewolves and wolfwalkers etc.? Wouldn’t those be their fursonas??

Well yes....but actually no.

I guess it’s a little hard to explain, but there’s a nuance between “[person] but as an animal” and a proper “fursona”. While a fursona is an animal character used to represent its person, it doesn’t have to physically resemble them at all as you would expect [person]-but-as-[animal] to. For example, if you were to design me but as a cat, you’d probably give it light brown fur and green eyes like I have irl. But my fursona, unlike my human self, actually has blue fur and purple eyes. You can give your fursona matching physical traits to your own if you want to, and some people do, but most use only a pinch of their irl appearance, if any at all.

The choices people make when designing their fursonas vary wildly from “it looks like me irl” to “it looks like who I want to be”  to “I just really like this color scheme” to “this particular color/marking holds deep personal meaning to me” to “this particular pattern represents a particular defining moment in my life” to “idk it looks cool and i vibe with it” etc. etc. etc. Everyone has different reasons of varying depth for the decisions they make in designing their fursona.

Therefore, to design a fursona for Toby etc., it’s less a question of “what would this character look like as [insert species here]?” and more of “how would this character choose to present himself with his own [animal] character?”

And that’s a much trickier game than just transferring a character aesthetic to a new species. ^^; We have to kinda dive into the characters and makes some guesses about how they, if given infinite creative freedom to design an animal avatar with no rules or limits, would choose to present themselves.

So all that said, here’s what I came up with:

Starting with Toby because he’s the one who inspired the post. I think Toby might choose a wolfdog fursona. A lot of people who choose wolves as fursonas consider themselves to be overwhelmingly loyal to their friends, a trait that fits Toby very well. However, while Toby likes to be “cool”, I don’t think he really thinks of himself as much of an “alpha” type--he’s more of a sidekick, and he knows that, and he’s ok with that. He’s the wingman. So what better way to incorporate that than to add dog into the mix? Man’s best friend=Jim’s best friend. Sociable, humorous, and unwaveringly loyal. Wolfdog it is!

With the species decided, we can move on to the design itself.

I can’t imagine any form of Toby in anything other than warm colors. This is extra emphasized by the flamelike patterns on his legs and tail, which both speaks to his desire to be totally awesome-sauce as well as acts as an allusion to his flaming warhammer. It’s fairly common (not universal, but common) for people to give their fursonas a more “ideal” physique than the person actually has as a sort of way to live by proxy physical goals or fantasies they’ve been unable to attain irl for whatever reason. Given that we’ve seen Toby struggle with fitness from time to time, it wouldn’t shock me to see him take this route. His wolfdog self is still relatively short and stocky, but it’s all muscle, babey. 

This fursona is strong, fun, boisterous, and generally just kicks butt. Concentrated awesomesauce flows through his veins. Just don't mess with his friends, or you’ll feel the flames!

.

Moving on to Jim. Jim was the hardest to nail down, and most definitely the hardest to keep my personal biases out of oof. Which I may have failed to do anways because yes, ok, I made my favorite character a blue feline, sue me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  But hear me out first!

For Jim I ultimately settling on a cheetah/lion hybrid.

Cheetahs, in a way, are sort of the underdogs (er...cats?) of the feline world--at least, in their local ecosystems. They are built wholly for speed, not strength--and as such, just about every other large predator in their environment has them beat when it comes to raw strength. Remind you of a certain Trollhunter? plus the long lanky legs. don’t forget those lol

However, because of this disadvantage, cheetahs...usually surrender. They know it’s not worth it to defend their kill from larger, stronger opponents, so they’ll give it up and just catch something else. This aspect doesn’t quite fit our protective, selfless protagonist all too eager to risk everything to save his loved ones--so a pure cheetah may not be the right choice.

So what animal is brave and protective? That’s where the lion part comes in, of course!

Why not just make him a pure lion? Well, a little similar to making Toby a wolfdog instead of a pure wolf. A straight-up lion feels a little too “chad” for our sweet Jimbo. Too much of a jock. 

Jim has the humble underdog nature of a cheetah as well as the bravery and fierce protective drive of a lion. Cheelion? Leetah? idk, but let’s design it!

Like Toby and warm colors, I don’t think I can possibly associate Jim with any color but blue. While it’s never directly stated, given that we’ve never really seen him wear any other color (with the exception of the Eclipse armor), I think it’s pretty safe to assume that that’s his favorite. Blue sweater, blue jeans, blue shoes, even his backpack and bedsheets are blue. So naturally, his fursona would be predominantly blue as well! Plus some yellowish accents to (somewhat) match the natural colors of his chosen species(s).

I imagine he originally designed the character without horns, but then added them after becoming the Trollhunter, since it became such a major and impactful aspect of his life.

His lion’s mane also continues down his back in imitation of the “mantle” found on baby cheetahs. This youthful feature could subtly represent the fact that he’s been forced to grow up too fast and take on so much responsibility so young--so his fursona can still be young and carefree as long as he likes even while his real self struggles with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This fursona is relaxed, calm, and confident. He’s not just cool--he’s crispy!

.

Lastly but not leastly, we have Claire. Out of the three, I think Claire was actually the easiest to choose--or at least, I had the clearest idea of what I thought she might go for.

Claire is a bit of an interesting duck, because while she’s shown to be fairly popular at school, she’s definitely far from the stereotype of The Popular Girl��. Yes she’s smart and pretty, but she’s also a little spunky or even a bit quirky--she’s a theatre kid, she’s a huge fan of hard rock band Papa Skull, and while I wouldn’t quite call her “rebellious” per se, she’s certainly willing to bend some rules if she feels the situation calls for it (not telling her parents that she was going to the concert with Steve, literally sneaking into Jim’s basement to try to find out what was up with him, etc).

That said, I think Claire might go for a hyena fursona--something a little out of the box, but not totally out of left field. (she also shows a slight Gurl Power™ streak here and there “the staff was not meant to be wielded by man--” “I am not a man!!!”) and if you know anything about hyenas...well, yeah lol)

I think Claire would lean into her punk-rock “rebellious” side with her fursona design. This character is completely free of the pressure of being the councilwoman’s daughter and having to maintain her mother’s public reputation, and thus allows Claire to express a less restrained side of herself. She has a bold semi-edgy color scheme with bright accents (and some earrings to match her person’s hair clips) while still remaining feminine and (her own brand of) fashionable. 

This fursona is spunky and sassy; she’s spicy and sweet all rolled up into one. She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to chase it down. She lives her own life and she’s dang proud of it.

.

....sooooo yeah there’s my take on what Toby’s, Jim’s, and Claire’s fursonas could hypothetically be. And I guess since this post was inspired by a joke about Toby’s infatuation with the school mascot, here’s just some quick thoughts on how they might approach fursuiting to end us off:

Jim I don’t see as much of a suiter. He might try it once or twice if given the opportunity, but at the end of the day it’s not really his cup of tea--he’d rather act as the “handler” for his friends, if anything.

Toby and Claire, on the other hand, I could definitely see as suiters. In fact, with her interest in acting, Claire would probably particularly enjoy it--she’d be one of those suiters who really gets into character, absolutely refuses to break the magic publicly (outside of any actual medical emergency), and popular at cons because she just performs so well. 

Toby, meanwhile, would be the more chill type--uses his normal voice in-suit, isn’t really too stressed about “breaking the magic”, just kinda hanging around like he would normally except “look I’m a talking dog, cool right?”. 

also while I was typing this it occurred to be that since Eli is canonically a cosplayer then he could be a fursuiter as well; in his case i imagine he actually made his own suit it’s a protogen and it’s full of little LEDs and other electric gadgets, it’s not the prettiest thing ever as sewing is not his forte but boy did he try!! good for him. good for him

[notchesandbullets]

Saving Her (Ojiro Mashirao x Wolf!Reader)

Art credits: @floatzxs​

Part 11: Internship with Hound Dog, Aizawa’s totally not jealous. You and Shinsou get along great, except when you don’t. Kayama and Yamada’s endless teasing of Aizawa who’s turned into a total dad to you both. Heavily inspired by the picture above.

Word Count: 4.7k

Aizawa didn't like it.

You were getting way too close to the Hound Dog. He watched as you threw your head back and laughed at something he said, running around in circles around the pro-hero you were doing your internship under.

Yup, definitely way too close.

He tried to convince himself it wasn't because he was jealous. After all, you were the only one he called 'dad', right?

That had to mean something

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a frustrated sigh. Seriously, he was being too irrational.

You were on a security patrol with Hound Dog on campus, the hybrid teaching you how to put your enhanced senses to good use, looking for discrepancies in the air on a whim.

Aizawa knew you weren't going to ask him for him to take care of you and train you. You already knew he was busy with Shinsou, that kid in your general studies with a brainwashing quirk.

Sure, the two of you hit it off, his endless sarcasm and attitude bringing you out of your shell and causing the two of you to banter back and forth every time you were in the same vicinity.

It drove him up a wall.

But it was because you saw how much time he was dedicating to Shinsou that he knew you weren't going to ask him to train you as well.

So when Hound Dog extended you an opportunity for an internship, Aizawa couldn't turn you down once you turned those shining eyes on him.

You were all too eager when you asked him for permission, bouncing up and down the entire time you told him about it. He was pretty sure you made a point about it being a good way to prepare for the Quirk Traffickers just in case and that's what made him finally agree.

He never regretted the decision more.

Look, it wasn't because he didn't want you to get strong. Quite the opposite, in fact. You both had already been through all that and he didn't wasn't keen on the same misunderstanding happening again.

But he didn't see why it had to be with Hound Dog of all heroes.

True, your quirks were somewhat similar. And you seemed to get along really well. Not as well as you and him but it was decent enough.

Oh.

He stopped and stared.

I'm jealous, aren't I?

Turning away with a sigh, he headed back to his office. He had papers to grade and rowdy students to round up.

Several yards away, You danced rings around Hound Dog, waving your hands around excitedly.

He had been the one to help you design your hero costume. Clothing that was sleek enough to give you a speed advantage and a pattern that could conform to your surroundings would help you blend in with your environment without any trouble.

The utility belt around your hips held several throwing knives to make up for your lack of long-distance combat ability and canisters of ointment so you could administer first-aid on sight. Credits of the idea went to Todoroki when he showed you his one evening when you asked just before sparring.

Your shoulders and legs were built to withstand severe impacts, making you able to run faster and for longer periods of time without wearing them down.

Hound Dog had recommended combat boots and braces to reduce the strain on your muscles for your arms and legs while you engaged in combat, making it easier to fight knowing that you didn't have to worry too much about the repercussions.

Hatsume was a little too eager when she gave them your requested upgrades but that girl was damn gifted so you didn't complain.

"Watch out for that wire." Hound Dog barked at you as you aimlessly almost crashed into a tree.

It wouldn't do anything except set off an alarm and put up UA's defense grid. Which is why he couldn't have you tip it off.

The pro-hero shook his head as you righted yourself sheepishly. You were like a pup, literally. Still, it was rather endearing. He didn't have any children but if he did, he reckoned that they'd be a lot like you.

"Eraser's kid, come on." He growled and you pouted, stomping your foot childishly.

"I have a name!!" You huffed, hands on your hips indignantly.

"Yeah, Eraser's kid. Now let's go." He ordered and you passed by him with a small frown, crossing your arms over your chest.

Rude.

You were happy though. After all this time, you had someone you could call dad. It was weird but in a homely sort of sense. You rather liked it.

The two of you patrolled UA's grounds without much trouble. He taught you the route to take as well as escape paths in place if you ever found yourself in a tough situation you couldn't get out of.

UA's sensors were top-grade, one of the best security systems in the country, but he had to prepare you for all scenarios. Just in case.

You padded behind him as you made your way through the thicket that surrounded the school, thanking him as he helped you pick your way through the forest.

There were a bunch of hidden traps and you were surprised when he told you the reason behind it.

"UA's been reforming security since the USJ incident." Hound Dog snarled in what you figured to be equal parts anger and irritation. "Remember, if you're going to go anywhere after hours for any reason, you must have a guardian with you, is that clear?"

You nodded firmly, unfazed by his aggression. It wasn't like you had thought about breaking the rules, even if there was a certain charm to it that enticed you, you were sure it would give Aizawa and Ojiro a heart attack.

Soon, it was time for a lunch break.

You were pretty surprised when he suggested a hunt but were extremely enthusiastic at the prospect of satisfying your instincts. The urge to maul and maim only came about if you were starving and even then, it was still possible to suppress it if you concentrated long enough.

Creeping around a tree, you utilized the foliage as a cover as you crept up on an unsuspecting prey.

You didn't make a sound as you crouched down, hiding between the blades of grass. Your lips drew back in a snarl as you locked on your target, springing on it and catching it by surprise. With one swipe, you killed it and took it in your jaws to carry back to where Hound Dog was.

He raised an eyebrow at you as you practically pranced over to him, beaming proudly at your first kill in a decade.

It had been far too long since you had a fresh kill.

You licked your lips as soon as you set it down in front of him as some sort of peace offering, wagging your tail as you waited for him to say something.

But you shrunk back and whimpered as he glared at you.

"Sloppy!!!" He bellowed, howling with spit spraying from his muzzled mouth. "Your control needs work!!!"

Your ears drooped and your eyes saddened but you nodded meekly.

Hound Dog sat back on his hunches. He had watched you closely while you hunted and seen what you could improve on.

"You need to work on your patience." He growled out gruffly and huffed when you fixated your large eyes on him. "You almost let it escape. Just because you were able to pin it down in time doesn't mean you did it right!! That was only the result!!"

You hung onto his advice, finding it sound beneath his brash way of wording it and trying to learn as much out of it as you can.

"You're fast but you're not as strong yet." Hound Dog stated, pointing to the shoes on your feet. "Hatsume made those specifically for your speed so your surprise attack should come from behind, not the front."

He scratched his head, grumbling out reluctantly, "But it wasn't bad for your first kill."

You sat up straighter at the begrudging praise, eyes shining and a huge smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Grrrr, but don't let it go to your head!!!" He snapped, pushing your fresh kill towards you so that you could eat it.

Your smile got impossibly wider and you nodded so fast your ears flopped back and forth.

"Eraser's kid, huh?" Hound Dog mused to himself as he collected firewood so that you could cook it.

Although the both of you could eat it raw, you both preferred it cooked unless you were in a particularly savage mood.

He huffed as he gathered a bunch of sticks for kindling.

"She's already strong."

After school let out, you walked home with your purple-haired friend from your general studies class. Annoying little brat.

You found out in a very short period of time that you could not stand him when he got like this. Ever since he found out about your little crush on Ojiro, he hadn't let up.

"Don't you dare." You seethed through clenched teeth as he dangled your notebook in front of your face. "Shinsou, I'm warning you."

The two of you were sitting in Aizawa's living room area. School had let out an hour ago and knowing that your teacher/parental guardian would be going home for the weekend, you two had decided to tag along and bug him.

Unable to get rid of the two of you annoying leeches, Aizawa had firmly instructed the two of you to at least get started on your homework if you were going to be here.

An array of textbooks spread out in front of you while the TV played in the background. You had studied and got through a decent amount of reading but that had only worked for all of ten minutes.

Shinsou smirked, keeping it high above his head. "If you want it, come and get it."

You snarled, pouncing on him before he could blink. The one good thing about the way his quirk worked was that you had to answer his question or jib. It was good because you only ever growled at him when he got like this.

He shoved your face and you whined as your fingertips brushed your notebook, licking his hand.

Shinsou recoiled in disgust. "Ew, Y/N!! That's so gross!!!"

"Serves you right!!" You quipped, grabbing at the spiral that was kept out of your reach. "Give it backkkkk."

"Oh no," He said with a smug smirk. "Not until I see just how many times you wrote Y/N x Mashirao with hearts drawn around it in here."

Before he could follow through with that threat, the notebook was snatched from his hand, the cry of outrage dying on the tip of your tongue. Your eyes flickered up to your dad who was now hovering above the both of you. You hadn't even heard him come in.

He was dressed casually, his hair pulled back away from his face, revealing his scar that he had gotten when the League attacked his students and instead of his hero costume, he was wearing sweatpants and a black, long-sleeved shirt.

Coffee, his tortoiseshell cat, purred at his feet as he fixated a glare on the two of you for not behaving.

"If you have time to play around then maybe you'd like more work to do." Aizawa threatened Shinsou before turning to you. "And you should know by now not to respond to him when he's like that, he's just provoking you."

You hung your head, pushing out your bottom lip as far as it would go.

He sighed, walking over and patting your head. "It's alright, kid. I know you're just playing."

You tail thumped happily in response at being let off the hook.

Shinsou's mouth twisted down into a frown. "Hey, why are you coddling her and not me?"

Aizawa promptly smacked him over the head and the teen winced at the brute force that his mentor delivered.

"Because she's been through a lot and you're being a cheeky brat." He deadpanned.

You flinched as Shinsou turned his sharp glare on you, but relaxed when you saw him soften slightly, letting you know that he was just teasing. Wiggling your eyebrows playfully, you snickered but hid it quickly as Aizawa's attention snapped to you next.

"Oi, you two better get along." Aizawa ordered, turning to leave the room to go back to where Kayama and Yamada were at. "If I hear one peep out of either of you, there will be consequences."

"Yes, sensei." You both chorused together, but not before sharing an evil look with each other that passed under his radar as he left to continue the conference.

The second he stepped out, all hell broke loose.

Your eyes shot to him when he stood up, taking up the practiced stance Aizawa had been teaching him, gesturing for you to do the same. You popped up to your feet but you didn't get a chance to swing as he rushed at you.

"Don't you even think about— SHINSOU, YOU IDIOT!!!!!"

Your shriek carried clearly to the other room and the three teachers sitting in Aizawa's office.

"Aw, isn't that precious." Kayama cooed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and drummed her fingers on the table she was sitting at.

Yamada was sprawled upside down on his couch, nearly falling off and crashing to the ground when the shared wall between you guys and them shook.

"Uh, Shouta." He called to his best friend as he sighed in exasperation, the underground hero pinching the bridge of his nose. "Aren't you going to take care of that?"

Aizawa groaned, his head lolling back to thump against the opposite wall. "I'm too tired for this."

Kayama's grin grew mischievous and her eyes sparkled. "Shouta, they're your children for goodness sake!!"

Yamada matched her crazy smile and he flailed a bit before getting the right equilibrium to sit up straight. "He's a dad!! It finally happened!!!"

The rugged underground hero threw a pillow at both of their faces to get them to stop laughing as his best friends chortled obnoxiously.

"Shut up." He grumbled, throwing an arm across his face.

He flinched as the racket kicked up from the living room suddenly stopped at the sound of a very loud crash.

Aizawa stalked towards the door and ripped it open, narrowing his eyes until they became slits. "If they broke anything..."

The other two shared a knowing glance with each other.

"He's going to chew them out for messing up his living room." Kayama gloated, bounding over to peek outside so she could see what was going on.

Yamada skipped over, tripping over his feet in his haste to not be left behind. "Then he's going to feel bad and then he's going to leave and let them do it again."

"Discipline, Shouta," Kayama tsked as she murmured. "You need to discipline them."

Raising an eyebrow at her, he commented, "That sounds a little weird coming from you, Nemuri."

"Oh hush!!" She snapped, smacking him on the arm so hard that he yelped. "Not like that!!"

Her energy and bubbly nature resurfaced as she heard Aizawa doing exactly what she and Yamada panned out.

"He's such a dad." She crooned, wanting to see how you were wrapping him around your finger this time around.

It always was the most entertaining thing, seeing her stoic best friend crumble underneath your adorable pouts and watery puppy eyes. It never failed to force Aizawa to throw up his hands and give into you.

Soft Dadzawa was the best.

You and Shinsou lowered your heads as Aizawa strictly admonished the two of you.

The once clean and tidy living room had been thrown out of order and you had feathers in your hair. You weren't exactly sure how Shinsou managed to rip the pillow as he was throwing at you, but you weren't keen on finding out now.

You yelped in pain as Aizawa smacked you upside the head, giving the same treatment to the sheepish-looking boy next to you.

"Honestly." Aizawa exhaled forcefully, gripping his head, frustration coming through clear. "What am I going to do with the two of you..."

You grinned but bit your lip when he shot you a glare, blinking up innocently at him.

Shinsou chuckled, petting Coffee nonchalantly as she climbed into his lap, smiling as the cat purred, loving the attention he gave her.

Aizawa sighed, done for now. He had things he had to finish so that the two loudmouths waiting in his office would leave. He wanted to sleep.

"Thirty minutes."

You and Shinsou straightened up at the tiredness in his voice, casting a slightly worried look between the two of you. You had heard him angry and frustrated but never tired like this. He must really be exhausted.

Aizawa took no notice of the silent dialogue between the two of you. "Can you two please behave for that long?"

He was surprised when there was no snark from Shinsou or witty answer from you as the two of you bowed at him but thought nothing of it as he left the room once more.

If either of you kicked up a racket like that again, he would send Yamada out to deal with you.

As soon as the door closed behind him, the two of you were up on your feet but now for another reason entirely.

"Where is it?" You asked, looking in every cabinet but coming up short.

"Here."

You caught what Shinsou tossed you, nodding in thanks. Opening the garbage bag, you got to work, picking up what you had broken while he grabbed a broom and swept up the feathers littering the floor.

In all of ten minutes, everything was cleaned and put back in its original position and the two of you returned to your studies.

Aizawa was shocked to find you in that same position another twenty minutes later when he was showing his nosy colleagues out the door but didn't comment on it, merely shoved Kayama out when she cooed at how cute you two were.

She tried to whine in protest. "But Shouta—"

"Get lost, Nemuri."

Shinsou frowned as Coffee jumped up from his lap as the door slammed closed, making her way over to Aizawa.

"Mean." He said under his breath, making you laugh.

You closed your notes and textbook, done for the day. Packing them away, you noticed Shinsou had finished, too.

"Want to walk back together?" You asked.

He snorted, smirking at you. "No."

You stuck out your tongue, puffing out your cheeks at him. "Rude."

He ruffled your hair and you scowled, swiping at him but he darted out of reach before you could grab him. You two squabbled all the way to the front door, just about to put on your shoes when there came a quiet murmur from the edge of the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?"

You froze and Shinsou cocked his head, turning around slowly. Aizawa's frame was braced against the corner of the wall somehow when you weren't paying attention, he had rolled up his sleeves, revealing countless scars and a lot more muscle than you originally thought.

His eyes narrowed at his students. "You two didn't eat yet."

"Ah..." Shinsou winced. "It's alright, sensei, I have some food back at the dorm."

Without changing your expression, you deadpanned. "He's lying."

"Y/N!!!"

Squealing as he charged at you, you launched yourself into your dad's chest, hoping he would protect you.

"Dad, Toshi's being mean again!!!" You cried as Shinsou chased you.

"Get back here!!" Shinsou mock snarled, snapping his teeth at you.

You clutched on tighter to Aizawa's shirt, sending him a pleading look.

He sighed but even you could tell he was holding back a smile as he put an arm around you while warding off his student with the other.

You slyly stuck your tongue out at the defeated brainwashing kid but your dad caught the action.

"Y/N..." He warned. "Don't instigate."

"Yes, Dad." You said seriously, snuggling into his side before peering back up at him. "Can Toshi stay for dinner?"

You already knew he wanted to cook for you. That much was evident when he asked if you had eaten yet. He had this uncanny habit of doing things indirectly and with how much you knew Shinsou was like him, you knew if you called him out on it, the two would flatly deny that that's what he meant.

Better to play along.

Not that you were complaining. Aizawa's home cooking was actually really good, when he had the time and energy for it. Usually, you did most of the cooking, having enough skills thanks to Sato to make things that were edible.

"Only if he wants to." Aizawa told you before glancing up at Shinsou shuffling his feet awkwardly. "You're more than welcome to, kid."

Shinsou didn't say anything at first but he moved closer to you guys, away from the front door.

"Are you sure, sensei?" He asked, a hint of worry swimming in the depths of his eyes, afraid he wasn't being genuine.

That he was only asking out of politeness and that he didn't really want him there. But looking at you, he only saw pure, radiating hope in your gaze.

You were being honest with him and though Aizawa's was vastly more subtle, he saw the truth in his teacher's eyes, too.

Shinsou nodded hesitantly, his own way of answering and you beamed.

"Great!! I'll get started!!"

You dashed into the kitchen, pulling out the vegetables and started the fire to get the water boiling for the noodles. Your dad had already pulled out and marinated the meat for tonight, all that was left was to cook it.

But in all your excitement, you were moving a little too fast.

Aizawa stiffened, then shook his head as another crash could be heard from the kitchen, followed by a sheepish 'oops'.

He crossed his arms over his chest, already making his way over to where Shinsou couldn't see. "Kid..."

"It wasn't me, I swear!!" You blurted out.

Pouting as you were banned from the kitchen anyways, you skipped over to where Shinsou was awkwardly sitting on a chair by the table. He looked so uncomfortable.

You frowned, then beamed as a light bulb went off in your head.

He leaned back warily as he saw the glint of mischief in your eyes as you came closer. "What are you doing?"

"Aw, you don't trust me?" You asked playfully.

"Never." He retorted and you pouted childishly.

"Meanie."

He waved you off but you could already tell he was much more relaxed than before. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, what did you want?"

You gestured for him to come closer so your dad wouldn't hear and whispered in his ear. "I know where he keeps his capture weapon and goggles."

Shinsou tried but even he couldn't wipe the excitement off his face fast enough. He never told you but he was a hardcore Eraserhead fan, even before coming to UA. Since he was an underground hero, there was no media coverage on him, no merchandise to be sold in stores but he knew.

Aizawa had saved him once, a long time ago.

His parents were rich and completely absent from his life. He didn't grow up with a family because they were never around and he didn't grow up with friends because of his quirk.

Independent from a young age, he had distanced himself from almost everybody, living a life of solitude no matter how many presents his parents tried to throw at him to buy his love.

He was glad that he moved out of their ridiculous mansion ages ago, moving in with a cousin until he was old enough to live on his own, but what he didn't plan on was being attacked by a villain one day as he was walking home from school.

Aizawa had saved him back then, acting quickly to rescue him and take down the other.

Shinsou once questioned that if this hero knew back then how villainous his quirk was, would he have saved him?

Of course he would have. And that's what spurred on his decision, his path that he wanted to take.

All because of Eraserhead.

It thrilled him when his hero, his idol himself, offered to train and teach him personally how to become a hero before his transfer into the hero course. When he approached him after the sports festival, he almost passed out right then and there.

That must have been what a lot of people experienced towards All Might.

He never talked about his admiration of him before though, so you must've been much more observant than he gave you credit for.

Shinsou attempted to look disinterested at your proposal. "Really?"

Your grin grew wider and you grabbed his hand, hauling him up out of the chair as you snuck into Aizawa's room. You knew how much he wanted to see them up close and try them out, even if he wouldn't admit to it.

"Come on!!" You giggled, ushering him inside quickly and digging into the nightstand by the futon.

Needless to say, when Aizawa found the two of you once dinner was ready, Shinsou was caught red-handed with his capture weapon on and his trademark goggles on his face.

Even with both the scarf and goggles covering his face, you could still see him turn bright red as he was caught by his mentor.

"Don't worry!!" You threw over your shoulder as you flounced away, leaving the two of them alone. "He's not mad!!"

Shinsou tensed as the door closed behind you, ripping off everything as fast as he could even though it would've prevented what had already been done. A hand on his shoulder halted him.

Aizawa's mouth twitched and his gaze held a glimmer of amusement. "Cool, right?"

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Shinsou nodded and apologized for trying them on without his permission, embarrassed beyond belief.

The older man tried to soothe his worries by casting him a purposeful look. "You know, it might come in handy later on."

Tucking away his capture weapon and goggles, Aizawa pretended not to notice how Shinsou's jaw dropped in shock at what he was suggesting for him.

"If you go to the Development Studio, I'm sure they could make something similar for you." He told him while suppressing a proud smile.

He had come so far since the Sports Festival. He had trained hard on his own and while he was already proud of him for all his efforts and his drive, to have him admire a gruff, anti-social man like him sent warmth blooming in his chest.

Shinsou couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Would...."

He swallowed thickly, pushing aside his pride and the remnants of his embarrassment.

"Would you teach me how to fight with it?"

Aizawa's mouth quirked up in a small smile. "Sure thing, kid."

Shinsou thought that was the last behind him when he followed his mentor out the door to go eat the dinner waiting for them. You were already at the table, portions served out, kicking your feet as you waited impatiently for them.

But Aizawa wasn't finished.

"The goggles suited you." He commented nonchalantly, causing the boy's face to flush in embarrassment once again.

"Aizawa-sensei!!" Shinsou protested.

You doubled over, clutching your stomach. "Good one, Dad!!!"

Looking on fondly as the two of you began to bicker, you teasing Shinsou and him furiously defending whatever dignity he had left, Aizawa's smile softened.

You two.

He guessed he didn't mind that it was the two of you.

Taglist: @katsukis-sad-angel​

[purple-goo-writes]

Young and Beautiful Part 2

Taglist: @clumsy-owl-4178 @myazael @woe-is-me0 @midnightmode @t1dwarrior-of-earth @stainedglassm

@catthhay @dorkus-minimus @maskedpainter @waffleyunsure @marinettepotterandplagg @demonicbusiness @mystery-5-5

@justafanwarrior

I've seen the world, lit it up As my stage now Channeling angels in a new age now Hot summer days, rock and roll The way you play for me at your show And all the ways, I got to know Your pretty face and electric soul

Will you still love me When I'm no longer young and beautiful? Will you still love me When I've got nothing but my aching soul? I know you will, I know you will I know that you will Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

He didn’t see her again until three years later after he took in his first ward, Richard Grayson. 

He didn’t know how she knew that he needed her support or how she was aware of his new ward, soon to be adopted son. All Bruce was aware of was of the fact that his shoulders finally released the tension he had not been aware that he was carrying when he came up from the Batcave after Dick’s first patrol and felt her familiar and welcoming calm aura. Even Richard noticed the distinct change in his guardian’s demeanor once they exited the Cave and entered the manor. And though the young Robin didn’t necessarily feel the new aura of calm permeating the Manor, he certainly does relax the moment he steps out of the Cave and feels the tension he had carried since his parent’s murder leave his own body.

It felt as if he was finally coming home and not just coming back to the house he inhabited with his guardian and the butler. 

Bruce could only watch in awe as Marinette breaks through all of Dick’s walls and within a week he walks in on Marinette holding a crying 12 year old boy as he finally griefs for his parents. Not long after that Marinette joins them on patrol as PopinJay using the fixed Peacock Miraculous.

Her suit looked like an odd mix of leather and spandex, a deep dark blue with black accents with some dark green detailing here and there; black gloves with blue fingers, black boots with blue heels and a dark blue domino mask with green detailing that mimicked feathers. Attached to her waist was a partial skirt that mimicked peafowl tail feathers with an ombre effect- starting black before fading to dark blue then green at the tips. Her hair was put up in an elegant bun pinned in place by two golden peafowl quils and held in a holster around her waist were two steel fans tipped in gold that when spread resembled two beautiful yet deadly fans of peacock feathers.

“Why the Peacock?” Batman enquired with a raised eyebrow while Robin squealed happily as the preteen danced around PopinJay taking in her suit.

The masked woman snickered softly, her lips tugging into a small smirk, “I figured it would match well with your theme.”

Bruce should not have been surprised about how flawlessly she joins into their routine and patrols. Marinette had always been able to adapt to any situation easily after all. It was something that the Guardian was still trying to teach him how to do.

She would pop in randomly over the years that followed, always seeming to know when Bruce and Dick needed her the most. She was a part of their small family after all and Bruce’s oldest friend. It was why he did not protest when Marinette whisked Dick away to the Temple to train after he and Bruce have a fight again when Robin talks about heading out on his own and becoming his own hero, outside of the Young Justice. After all he was turning 18 soon and was outgrowing the Robin mantle.

“Just because he is growing up, doesn’t mean he no longer needs his father, Bruce.” Were Marinette’s parting words before she left with Dick for Tibet.

When they returned a year later, it was to a relieved, if sheepish, Bruce who had just returned from patrol with a very angry preteen in tow dressed in a new Robin suit. Instead of feeling threatened, Dick grinned, causing Bruce to sigh in relief, “So does this mean I have a little brother now?”

“How did you end up adopting this one, ma nuit noire?”

“He stole the wheels off the BatMobile.”

“Only you, Bruce, only you.”

A month later, Dick became Nightwing after a conversation with Superman when the young man asked the super if his culture ever had vigilantes after Dick moved to Bludhaven. With the alien’s permission, he took up the mantle of Nightwing and officially passed on the Robin mantle down to his younger brother, Jason. Bludhaven gained a vigilante and Jason gained a new confidence with his older brother’s approval, not that the angry teen would admit it.

PopinJay made return to Gotham to help train the new Robin. Bruce was surprised, though he shouldn’t have been, at how fast Jason took to Marinette. The former street kid would even slip and call her Ma now and then, especially when the peacock heroine was being extra motherly. That Bruce wasn’t surprised about as Dick would, and still did, call Marinette Mama Bird. He tried not to dwell on how much his heart warmed at the thought of Marinette as the boys’ mother figure. Especially not when he was currently dancing around Catwoman and their odd relationship or his thing with Talia Al Ghul, who he knew disliked PopinJay greatly. Though his relationship with Talia ended when she drug him.

It was after a routine patrol when PopinJay came sauntering back into the Batcave carrying a confused, if exited, little nine-year-old boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes dressed only in his pajamas and holding a camera. The dark blue haired woman was smiling motherly down at the little scamp in her arms as Tim babbled excitedly about meeting one of his favorite heroes and how he couldn’t believe that MDC was PopinJay.

“PopinJay, what is the meaning of this?” Bruce growled in confusion as he turned from the BatComputer to address his partner, who simply giggled at his attempt to intimidate her. 

“Bruce, come meet your biggest fan.”

 “PopinJay!” 

“Oh, don’t be a stick in the mud. He already figured out our identities from Dick’s quadruple somersault.”

“He what? But, how?” This had Bruce intrigued as he stalked close to the woman, who was practically the mother of his sons, taking in the sight of little Tim, “He is the Drake heir...what is he doing out so late?” The fact that he was still in his pajamas without shoes on brought the father in Bruce to the forefront went without saying. 

Jason watched all this with a sigh and grumbled, “I’ll go tell Alfred to get a room ready for him.” Looks like he would be sharing his Ma with another brother...He best tell Dick about Tim, Jason just knew their parents (Marinette was their Mom no matter how oblivious Bruce was to his feelings) would be adopting the boy.

And wouldn’t you know he was right, somehow not even three months later Tim was now Tim Drake-Wayne due to his parents being found neglectful in a hush-hush trail. Dick was ecstatic about having another little brother to dote on and even Jason was happy to have a little brother, having grown fond of Tim during all the times the youngest Drake stayed at the Manor or BatCave when his parents went out of town on one of their frequent business trips. 

If Bruce wasn’t already thankful for Marinette’s presence in his life, he would have been after Jason ran off to track down his birth mother after finding out that Catherine was not his mom. He understood that Jason simply had questions he thought only his birth mom could answer, but it still broke Bruce’s heart that his middle son thought he would not help him find the woman. If it wasn’t for the multiple trackers he had placed on Jason, he would not have known that the young Robin was in Ethiopia of all places. Batman wouldn’t make it in time to save Robin, but he knew one person who could. 

It was the only time his composure had came so close to breaking as he called Marinette and begged her to save their son. Batman arrived just as the building went up in flames and would have broken down if not for PopinJay informing over the comm that she had Jason and that they were at the Cave. Unfortunately, Jason was in critical condition and had slipped into a coma by the time Bruce made it back to the Manor. After a long talk, it was decided that Marinette would take him to the Temple to heal and recover. Tim would be taking over as Robin in his absence, though the 12 year old wished it was under different circumstances.

Marinette kept Bruce updated on his status using the communicator he had given her. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he cried when she called him and informed him that Jason had woken up. Jason and Bruce had a long discussion when he was fully coherent, thankfully Jason understood why Bruce gave Tim the mantle and even asked him to inform Tim that he had his blessing to be Robin. This talk was also the first time one of his sons’ called him Dad.

“Dad, I don’t think I can be Robin anymore, anyway...I think it’s time I branched out.”

“Will you be using a Miraculous?”

“No, Ma asked, even said I would be a good fit for the Eagle, but I turned her down. I want to make my own way without fancy powers.”

“You know we will support any decision you make.”

It was two years after that that Jason fully recovered and returned to Gotham as the vigilante, Red Hood. Thankfully, Marinette talked him out of that outrageous helmet and helped him design his new costume, his suit he wore had a red hood attached to it and he wore a red metal face mask with a black domino mask. He still managed to keep the leather jacket though. Even if Bruce frowned at his use of guns, at least the rounds were mainly tranquilizers, the Bat was proud of his son.

Tim made an amazing Robin and detective. Though Bruce was suspicious when Marinette would disappear with Tim to train him in secret or take him to the Temple. But, it was Tim’s choice and if he choose to join the Order, Bruce would support him. Marinette loved their sons equally, but Bruce knew she was closer to Tim.

He was thankful for Marinette being there for him when Barbara joined the team as Batgirl. Even more thankful for when Stephanie joined and then Cassandra was adopted. He was not sure how to handle daughters and the girls having a positive female role model relieved him greatly. Even if he did get a few grey hairs now and then from some of their more interesting purchases.

Talia dropped Damian on Bruce when Tim was 16 and had just become co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, after both his older brothers refused the position. (Dick was now a Cop in Bludhaven and Jason had taken over Security for the WE.) Bruce was still reeling from the shock of finding out he had a blood son and Talia just dumping the ten year old on him without so much of a by-your-leave. Bruce had finally put his past with Talia and Selina behind him and finally moved on when this happened. He was unsure how to process this new situation. Though after stopping Damian from killing/attacking Tim once again, he knew what he had to do.

He called Marinette.

Bruce isn’t sure what she did or said to his youngest son. But after whisking Damian away for a few months at the Temple, the child that came back was changed. Still the same arrogant cold ex-assassin, but he had started to open up to his family and follow his father’s code of honor. Though, things were still shaky between him and Tim, the older boys were all amused when Damian bluntly asked them why Father hadn’t proposed to Marinette, or Mère as he called her in French, yet.

“Because Dad is really, really oblivious to his own feelings.”

“He’s a fucking idiot.” 

“Jaybird!” 

“What? You know it’s true!” 

“Little ears, Jay!”

Damian turned to his only intelligent sibling, and most dangerous outside of Cain, "Drake, I presume you have plans ready to set in motion?"

There was a reason he considered Drake his highest threat to his position as blood son. Ra's had stated time and time again that he wished to induct Tim into the fold, one way or another. Many times his grandfather had stated this when he found Damian's own performance lacking, making comments on how the young Detective would have done things. Drake had plans within plans, a mind like a steel trap mixed with a twisted maze and a tenacity most assassin's would envy. It was why Damian grudgingly respected the teen, even if he would rather bit his tongue off then admit it.

Tim gave his youngest sibling a rather maniacal grin, some of his Red Robin persona (A mantle he took up recently) shining through, "Oh do I."

Unfortunately, their plans to trick their parental figures into realizing their feelings would have to wait.

Because Darkseid came and Bruce was gone...

[liunaticfringe]

(via Lucy Liu's Independent Woman - Interview Magazine)

There have been many great sidekick pairings in the history of modern literature. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet…the list goes on. Yet, it seems there has never been a delightfully tumultuous relationship that comes close to echoing the one embodied by rogue detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend and assistant Dr. John Watson. Written in the form of short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the opium-den loving Holmes would terrorize London with his intellectual, astute, and stubborn prowess, with Dr. Watson providing medical expertise and chronicling their entertaining exploits along the way.

Doyle’s works have now long been entered into the public domain, with many film and television adaptions cropping up every few years. Still, when CBS announced in 2012 that it would be turning Doyle’s works into an hour-long crime-drama series titled Elementary, it elicited an unusually high response—this was mostly due to the news that a woman would, in fact, be portraying Watson. Her name would be Joan, not John. And she’s now a fallen from grace surgeon-turned-sober companion and private detective, forfeiting her “Dr.” title in the process. The woman chosen to take on this exciting, contemporary role of Joan Watson was none other than seasoned actress Lucy Liu.

Liu, who’s best known for her roles as a fierce and ill-mannered lawyer in Ally McBeal, an ass-kicking “angel” in the rebooted Charlie’s Angels, and an equally ass-kicking bad girl in the Kill Bill series, certainly provides the yin to the yang of Jonny Lee Miller’s gritty portrayal of Holmes. Elementary chronicles the duo’s relationship as they consult for the NYPD on various criminal cases while living in a shared brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. Initially starting off in Season One as a substance-free friend to the fresh-out-of-rehab Holmes with a keen interest in solving crimes, Watson quickly transformed into a sharp and observant right-hand woman who now clearly has the aptitude to work on her own. And it appears she’ll be doing just that—the end of Season Two left viewers witnessing Watson’s decision to move out of the brownstone and start a new career as a solo private detective, seemingly fed-up with Holmes’ erratic behavior.

The warm and delightful Liu recently called up Interview from her home in New York City to discuss Elementary’s upcoming third season.

DEVON IVIE: Were you on set today?

LUCY LIU: I was running around like a maniac, yeah. It’s beautiful today, it started getting a little bit cooler again. But of course I’ve been bitten by the two mosquitos that are still alive in New York City.

IVIE: I know you were recently at New York Comic Con. How was it?

LIU: It was amazing. It’s such a spectator place. Not only do you get super fans, but you also get people who are curious and inventive and imaginative. It’s fun.

IVIE: Did you run into any cosplayers dressed as Joan Watson?

LIU: Oh, no, I don’t know about that. That’s funny! We did a panel with a huge audience so I couldn’t really see if anyone was wearing anything specific, but it’s an excuse for kids and adults to get dressed up and just be crazy. You know you’ve made it when you have super-fans out there.

IVIE: When you first read the scripts for Elementary, what was it that attracted you to the role of Joan?

LIU: I liked the fact that it was going to be about [Joan and Sherlock’s] relationship and their friendship, and bringing that into modern times. And I thought it was wonderful to change up the gender.

IVIE: Did you immerse yourself in Arthur Conan Doyle’s work as preparation at all?

LIU: I did, I did! I started reading the short stories. I never read them before so it was a really great excuse to read them. I can’t believe it was written so long ago, because it’s so current. The characters are so colorful, which is why I think there are so many incarnations of Watson and Holmes.

IVIE: Do you have a favorite story? I love “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

LIU: There were some pretty amazing stories. The one that stood out to me, which was a Watson story that I got to know him a little more through, was “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” He really is on his own in that. Of course it turns out that Holmes has been there all along, but it’s interesting looking into his interior.

IVIE: Yeah, the entirety of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is narrated just by Watson. And his diary and letters, too.

LIU: Yeah, I think it’s really cool. We started incorporating that into the show, too, the letters and journals.

IVIE: Has this detective genre always appealed to you? Did you grow up watching or reading detective whodunits?

LIU: I remember more of the old school Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys sort of thing. I also grew up with the Scooby-Doo mysteries. Remember when the villain would go, “I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you rascal-y kids!” Those were the kind of the things I immersed myself in. I have to say that my mother has always been a huge fan of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, so this show was her dream come true. I don’t think she totally understood what was going on with Ally McBeal. [laughs]

IVIE: I’ve enjoyed witnessing Joan’s evolution throughout the course of the show, starting off as a sober companion and eventually ending up as a trusty sidekick and confidant to Sherlock. What can we expect from Joan in Season Three?

LIU: When you see them in the third season, you see some friction between the two characters. Joan is now on her own, she has her own detective agency, has a boyfriend, and has been without Sherlock for eight months. She’s got her own apartment, she’s settled, and he shows back up. I think she’s a little bit hurt by what happened and how their relationship and partnership ended, which was basically his decision and his choice, and he left it all in one little note for her. I think she felt that their relationship was much deeper than that, and that he was dismissive in the way that he handled that.

IVIE: How would you define the relationship between Joan and Sherlock?

LIU: I think that it’s a really positive and good relationship, overall. They really have a good chemistry together, work really hard together, and understand each other. They acknowledge each other and respect each other, which is a really important way to have a friendship. And they can learn from each other, you know? She’s very curious about him and I think he sees that she’s a very smart person—that’s vital for him in having respect for someone, having them be intelligent and thinking for themselves.

IVIE: Do you see any of Joan in yourself?

LIU: I do to a certain degree. She’s a lot more measured and patient, for sure. She’s a very curious person, which I think I am, and I think she isn’t afraid of change. She was a doctor, and then became a sober companion, and then jumped off and became a detective. I think sometimes it’s good to make big leaps.

IVIE: You’ve probably been asked this question many times, but do you think a romance between Joan and Sherlock could ever fittingly happen?

LIU: It’s a question that’s often asked and I think it’s really up to the executives. Rob Doherty, the creator [of Elementary] really feels incredibly strongly about keeping their relationship platonic. He has already taken great strides to keep the relationship as clean as possible according to the literature, but he has also changed so much of it by changing the gender of Watson. To have them have a romantic involvement would turn the whole thing upside-down in a way that might really jump the line. [Doherty] felt really strongly about it and I think that’s the one thing he really wants to stay true to.

IVIE: I totally agree. Even on the BBC’s Sherlock, there are campaigns to get Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson to become romantically involved. It’s like, enough already, no!

LIU: No way, that’s so weird! People do have that level of friendship oftentimes, but it doesn’t mean it’s physical. I think that everyone just assumes because there’s chemistry the next thing should be happening. I would vote “no” for a romance. I think for sure the creator would vote no on that, too.

IVIE: I’ve talked to both women and men who watch Elementary, and they all consistently mention how well dressed and fashionable Joan is. Do you collaborate with the wardrobe department on styling decisions at all?

LIU: That’s awesome. Yes, I collaborate with Rebecca [Hofherr], who’s the costume designer, who’s wonderful. She’s very easy to work with. One thing we try to maintain about Joan and her style is that she’s a bit wrinkled, you know what I mean? Sometimes it looks like things are really put together, but we always want to make sure things aren’t too tight and are comfortable, kind of like she throws things together. We don’t want it to seem so business-y, so we go away from suits. Chic, but not corporate. Also just to make her seem like her outfits aren’t so put-together all the time. But I’m glad that people really seem to like it, it’s a relief! We don’t splurge a lot on the show, we try to do cheaper things, like things Joan would wear a lot. She wears the same white jacket and shoes frequently.

IVIE: Will we be seeing more of the infamous Clyde the Turtle in the upcoming season?

LIU: Clyde will indeed be in it again. We have to share custody of Clyde.

IVIE: Is it true that Clyde is actually two tortoises? Pulling a Mary Kate and Ashley in Full House on us?

LIU: Yes. It’s just like having twins on a show. Just in case one is crying and screaming and passed out or something.

IVIE: You made your directorial debut for an episode of Elementary last season [“Paint It Black”]. Do you have plans to direct an episode again soon?

LIU: That was so exciting. I’ll be directing another episode again very shortly in December, so you’ll be seeing it in a month and a half.

IVIE: Where did your interest in directing come from?

LIU: I guess I was curious about it. Having been in this business for a while, you kind of see and get a glimpse of everything doing film and television. I think it seemed like a natural progression to go into directing, and I hope to explore more of it, because it’s very exciting and a really good way to collide all the things that you’ve known and experienced in the business and put them all into one.

IVIE: Is there an ideal guest star that you’d like to see on the show in the upcoming season?

LIU: I would love to see Mycroft come back. I really think there was a wonderful tension for Mycroft and Sherlock as well as the triangle that occurred when Joan became involved with him. There’s something very deep about that relationship, and I also think that Rhys Ifans is a fantastic actor. He commands the screen, but off-screen he’s incredibly lovely. A real treat to have on the show.

IVIE: I remember the first few episodes that I saw Rhys in, I was like, where have I seen this guy before? So I looked at his Wikipedia page and it became obvious: he was the crazy guy from Notting Hill!

LIU: Yes, the roommate! So good! Everything he does, he just kills it, no matter the role.

IVIE: And it’s always good to have some MI6 action on the show, which Mycroft provided. Some international flair.

LIU: [laughs] International flair, exactly, some added spice. Just throw some spy stuff in there to throw people off their game. You just don’t expect it, you know? It came out of nowhere.

IVIE: That whole three-episode arc at the end of the second season…

LIU: That was awesome. I was lucky enough to direct one of those episodes, which is more narrative in tone. It’s more fun in some ways, too.

IVIE: You’ve done a range of acting work for both television and film. Do you now find yourself preferring one to the other?

LIU: I love both of them equally. The lack of predictability with television is something that’s constantly changing what your perception of who you think your character is. Suddenly I have a father that’s schizophrenic, or I discovered something else, or I have a relationship with Mycroft. The things that pop up and change the game for you and always keep you on your toes. The wonderful thing about film is that you have something that has a beginning, middle, and end, and you have a concrete amount of time to shoot it. And the process of that can be longer, like editing and advertising and testing the movie, so it’s very different. Television you just continue going, no matter what’s happening outside of your world. You get lost in that vortex a little bit.

IVIE: It’s interesting that America is now embracing the “mini-series” format that has already been so heavily utilized overseas, where there are a set amount of short episodes, and that’s it. In a way, it’s kind of like a cinematic experience.

LIU: I like that, too. It allows you to have a freedom of creativity and at the same time you don’t feel like you have to be contracted to something for that long; you’re really working on a piece of art. And then you’re done and you move on, or it comes back, like Downton Abbey. You don’t know. Those things become little masterpieces. The thing about television is that you see a range of actors now that you may not have seen five years ago even, 10 years ago absolutely not, and I think now there’s no wrong about doing television. There’s no definitive category for what kind of department you fall into anymore.

IVIE: What’s a fun, secret fact about your costar Jonny Lee Miller?

LIU: A fun fact about Jonny Lee Miller is that he oftentimes does handstands on a wall before he does a take, sometimes with pushups, to get blood to his brain and get him geared up for a long monologue that he may have. He stays there, hangs a little bit, and then turns around and does the scene. Most of the time in the brownstone more than anywhere else. He’s in full costume and everything. That’s trivia!

IVIE: I wish I could do wall-handstands by myself.

LIU: Oh my god, I need someone to push my legs up and then hold me there. I’m a cheat!

ELEMENTARY PREMIERES THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30 ON CBS.

[songbirdsingingthings]

Lovely Night - Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS, THEY BELONG TO KOHEI HORIKOSHI

This oneshot was inspired by the song Lovely Night from the musical La La Land. It’s such a cute and funny song that I thought it would work perfectly for Bakugou and a reader who are not super fond of each other, but figure out they have feelings for each other. I put a lot of hard work into this oneshot and I’m super happy and proud with how it came out. I hope you all enjoy! And, if you would like, feel free to open up youtube and listen to the actual song while reading, or look up the lyrics to see where I used and or changed some of them to fit within the story! So, without further ado, ENJOY!!! 

WARNINGS: Realistic Fluff, Some Swearing

Word Count: 2608

It was no secret to the rest of Class 1-A. Y/N L/N and Katsuki Bakugou just could not stand each other. Y/N hated how loud and abrasive he was, and might she add that he was like that for absolutely no reason. She hated how much he would boast about his quirk - I mean seriously, it was like he was six years old and he was talking about the expensive action figure he got for his birthday! But, most of all, she hated how attractive he had to be. There was no denying that he was strikingly handsome and had a very well toned body, but something about the way that he actually took the time to make himself presentable struck a chord within Y/N. Of course, Bakugou’s parents were fashion designers, so maybe he was just conditioned from a young age to look presentable. 

Bakugou hated how structured and uptight Y/N was. He genuinely thought the girl had a stick up her ass for the entirety of her life. To him, she was like a drill sergeant, dictating who should go where in a team takedown. Granted, she was right almost all of the time, but that didn’t stop her from being annoying about it. Although, however much he hated her those previous reasons, he hated her the most for how undeniably gorgeous she was. She, unlike some of the other girls in class, wore little to no make up during the day - which he himself thought was a smart decision, who knew when a villain could attack and cause sweat to make your mascara run? Her Y/H/L Y/H/C hair was always in a style that he found incredibly flattering on her and her Y/E/C eyes were just striking. 

Their conflicted, no matter how strictly negative they tell themselves they are, feelings for each other caused quite a few ruptures in group activities. Whether it was going after each other in laser tag - even though they were on the same team -, not cooperating on group projects for school, or making a huge mess in the dorm kitchen trying to prove to the other that they are the superior chef, they were at each other's throats. The latter wasn’t so bad for the class, they actually made some really delicious food, but Aizawa was pretty mad about the flour on the carpet and the dried batter sticking to the walls and stovetops. 

Coincidentally, the entirety of class 1-A was at a group dinner this evening, celebrating their completion of their final written exams. Jokes and anecdotes were exchanged as waiters brought the class delicious food. Y/N’s eyes lit up as a woman brought over a platter of Y/F/F. Eagerly, she piled 2 or 3 servings onto her plate.

“Oi, L/N, stop loading up on the Y/F/F, you’re not the only person here! Besides, you’re gonna look like a stuffed turkey by the end of the night!” Y/N had to admit, the last part of his insult did sting a bit, but she couldn’t give him an inch.

“Oh, bite me Bakugou. Besides, isn’t it past your bedtime?” Y/N said, smirking at him with a sassy look in her eyes while pointing to an analog clock that read 9:30 p.m. . Scowling, Bakugou just turned his back towards her and started chatting with Kirishima instead. 

“Nice one, Y/N.” One of Y/N’s best friends, Jirou, said as she gave her a high five. Feeling very accomplished, she smiled. 

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t Y/N’s best idea to have that much food to eat. Y/N’s stomach cramped pretty badly - so badly that she had to thank whatever godly force was looking down on her that made her wear a pretty fit and flare dress to dinner. If she were wearing regular pants, that material would not feel great against her somewhat bloating stomach. Excusing herself to the bathroom, she relieved herself and thankfully felt much better afterwards. Y/N straightened out her pretty yellow dress and ran a hand through her hair, making sure to comb out any knots. As she made her way back to the table, only a couple people remained. Everyone must’ve gone back to the dorms already, Y/N thought. Of course, she thought as she found the one person who walked back into the restaurant. Everyone had left except for Bakugou.

“Where the hell did everyone else go?” He asked, clearly pissed. Rolling her eyes, Y/N crossed her arms. 

“If I had known everyone was leaving I would’ve gone with them Sherlock. I was in the bathroom so I didn’t see them. Where were you?” Y/N asked.

“I was outside taking a call. Dammit!” He cursed, grabbing the jacket on the back of his chair and pulled his arms through it. Sighing, Y/N took a look at the clock. It was 12:30 a.m. . You have got to be kidding me, she thought. “Well come on. Let’s get going before it gets any later.” He said bluntly, walking slowly out of the big glass doors.

“What do you mean “let’s”? Y/N asked, kind of shocked that he implied that the two of them would be walking back together. Now it was Bakugou’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I’m not going to let a girl walk alone at this time at night, no matter how much I might hate her guts. Who knows what creeps are out there. Now, let’s go.” He says a bit more sternly this time. Y/N quickly grabbed her little white purse from the back of her seat, swung it around her shoulder, and walked out after him.  The only unfortunate thing about going to the restaurant that the class decided to go to was that there wasn’t a cab in sight. The class decided to take the bus which by now had left hours ago. That meant that Y/N had to trek back to UA in heels that pinched her toes. Trying not to make a sound, she clenched her jaw and her fists and forced herself to keep walking on the hard concrete. However, about twenty minutes into their walk, Y/N accidentally let a little squeak of pain slip out of her mouth. Bakugou, who was a little bit in front of her, turned around to get a look at Y/N. 

“What the hell was that?” He said, stifling a laugh that wanted to make itself known. To him, this was kind of hilarious. Never had he heard Y/N willingly show any sign of weakness, and here she was literally squeaking in pain because of her damn shoes.

“Nothing, come on let’s keep walking.” Giving Y/N an unbelieving look, he led her over to a bench that overlooked much of the city. He had to admit, it was a pretty spectacular view. It would have almost been romantic - the stars were shining down on the sparkling city, lights that worked so well together. However, it was absolutely not romantic, because he was here with Y/N, and it wasn’t some other girl and guy. 

Y/N was sat down, slowly taking off her heels to reveal several nasty blisters. She hissed as the cool, almost chilly, night air met her marred skin.

“Why do you girls wear shoes like that if they only make your feet hurt like hell.” Bakugou said. Y/N sighed as she began to take off her other heel, this time on her right foot.

“Because,” she said as she gritted her teeth, “I think they make my legs look pretty freaking hot.” Finally, she pulled the second one off and set it next to its partner. “Also, I didn’t think that I would be walking a lot tonight.” Bakugou did have to admit - the shoes really did accentuate her legs in a very attractive manner. He also noticed, don’t ask him why, that she had taken the time to shave her legs. 

“Well it’s just the class, why did you feel the need to get all done up?” Bakugou’s question struck a nerve within Y/N. She felt her face heat up. Why did she feel the need to get all done up? She would have looked perfectly acceptable in a nice shirt and skirt, maybe even a cute little romper with sandals, but instead she went for a pretty dress and white heels. Then, it dawned on her. Oh my God, I did this all for Bakugou, she thought . Underneath all the layers of competition, disdain for his habits that weren’t as annoying now, and arrogance, Y/N liked him. She found herself noticing more of his other positive habits. He made sure to walk her back home, even if she wasn’t his favorite person, made sure to make her take a break when something was hurting her, and now, asking questions that weren’t aimed to make her look like a fool.

“I-I uh…” Y/N didn’t really know how to answer Bakugou’s question. What do you say to a boy that you’ve basically hated for an entire year that you now have a crush on?

Woah, Bakugou thought, did Y/N actually just stutter? And why was it kind of… cute? Bakugou thought to himself. Nah, I don’t feel like that. It’s just really late at night and I’m sitting next to a pretty girl on a bench that basically overlooks the stars. I do NOT think that way.

“Pretty view huh,” Y/N murmured, a small smile donning her face as she surveyed the city that lay beneath them.

“Yeah, I guess so. Kind of sucks that it’s you and I here instead of other people that could actually enjoy it together.” Bakugou says, looking away from the girl. Scoffing, Y/N gives him an incredulous look. How could I ever think I have feelings for this guy? She thought, I mean, that was just him being a straight up asshole! 

“You and I would never work,” Bakugou says, out of the blue, “I mean you’re not even my type.” Y/N could almost feel flames shooting out of her head.

“Oh yeah?” She scoffs, glaring at the boy.

“Yeah. What a waste of a freaking night.”

Grabbing her heels, Y/N forces them back on, stand sup, and walks right up in front of him.

“Let’s make something clear, Katsuki Bakugou,” Y/N says, giving Bakugou a look that he believes could only be rivaled by himself, “I make the calls around here. But, you are right, I would never fall for you.” Bakugou doesn’t know why, but a tiny part of his heart aches when she says that. “And even though you look pretty good in that... polyester suit of yours,” Y/N begins to say.

“It’s. Wool.” Bakugou snaps back, standing up so that he was now taller than her, “this in no way appeals to me. Maybe it would interest a girl who is not currently having her feet be cut up by her heels, or a girl who actually believes that this could’ve been a spark to romance.” Y/N says, her face now inches away from the blonde’s. “You were right. What a waste of a lovely freaking night.” 

With their noses almost touching, Bakugou just reacts on mere instinct. He almost couldn’t stand to be this close to Y/N without touching her.. The perfume that Y/N wore was intoxicating to him, invading his senses and telling him just do it! Kiss her! It’ll make everything better! And, with no one there stopping him, he gave in. He roughly grabbed her check with his right hand and the back of her neck with his left, and crashed his lips into hers. Y/N’s eyes widened so much, she thought that they were going to pop right out of her head. But, something about kissing Bakugou just felt so damn right. Y/N closed her eyes and kissed him back. Her arms somehow found themselves wrapped around his neck and made their way into his soft hair, pulling at the blonde locks as he worked his tongue into her mouth. It was like fireworks were going off at the same time as she was riding a rollercoaster. It was exciting, it was energizing, and it was warm. Bakugou’s arms now made their way and wrapped themselves around Y/N’s waist, pushing her as close as possible to his chest. Y/N’s knees wobbled at this action which made Bakugou smile into their kiss-turned-make out session. Y/N smiled as well. Finally, it got to the point where the two of them had to separate and take a deep breath. Their foreheads were leaning against each other and their arms were still firmly wrapped around each other.

“I think I like you.” Y/N whispered, making Bakugou smirk.

“You think?” He murmured back, rubbing his thumb against her waist.

“Okay, I’m pretty sure.” Y/N said, giggling. Finally, Bakugou pulled away just enough so that he could make full eye contact with the Y/H/C haired girl in his arms. 

“I’m pretty sure I like you too. But don’t think I’m letting up on anything. Your ass is going to be kicked in the next cooking competition.” He says arrogantly, however this time Y/N found his arrogance somewhat cute. She rolls her eyes and gave him a smile. 

“Yeah, okay. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Y/N stepped back from him, grabbed her little purse that she dropped due to all the activity, and began walking back in the direction of UA. Bakugou jogged up to Y/N and stopped her in her tracks. Giving him a smirk, she says, “What Bakugou, couldn’t get enough?”

“First off, it’s Katsuki to you now,” he says matter-of-factly, making her cheeks dance with red, “and you’re not walking back on those deathtraps of yours.” He leans down and gently slips her heels off and gives them to Y/N to hold. “Now c’mon, let’s go home.” He says, kind of sweetly this time. He motions for Y/N to let him give her a piggy-back ride which she gladly accepts. With her fingers hooked in her heels, Y/N lets her head lay against Bakugou’s, no, Katsuki’s, broad shoulder. She presses a gentle kiss to his neck which makes him stop in his tracks.

“L/N, if you keep on doing that sappy shit, we’re not gonna be able to make it home tonight.” He says bluntly. Y/N couldn’t see his face from the angle she was faced, but she could just tell that he was blushing.

“First off, it’s Y/N to you now,” she says, mimicking his previous statement which makes him chuckle a bit, “and I just couldn’t help it. But, carry on walking, I seem to remember a sparring match tomorrow that I need to be well rested for.” Katsuki rolls his eyes and continues walking. The two make small talk for the rest of the trip home about Y/N’s home life - not Katsuki’s, he’s not super ready for that yet, - and life in general.

“I was wrong before.” Katsuki says, making Y/N’s giddy face morph into a confused one.

“Wrong about what? There were several exchanges that we have had in the past hour.” She says, concerned that he was talking about when he revealed his feelings for her.

“It’s not a waste of a night.” He says sweetly, making Y/N grin from an ear to ear. “It’s the perfect way to spend a lovely night.”