#i wouldn't get shit done

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 153

warnings: nsfw hmh masterlist

Today is the second Sunday in May, which means it’s your first official mother’s day! You celebrated last year even though Ronan wasn’t here yet, but this is your first mother’s day with your baby! You’re beyond excited for today too. John has kept you completely in the dark about today. All you know is that he’s planned something for you and he told you to get as much rest as you wanted last night.

You slept until about 9:45, which is a lot later than you usually sleep nowadays since having Ronan, and it was nice to get some extra rest. You got up and showered too, and you’ve spent a little extra time getting ready this morning. You opt for some high waisted jeans--John’s favorite--and a simple white t-shirt that has a little peach on the breast pocket.

Giving yourself another once over in the mirror, you fix your hair a little, then you head downstairs and smile when you hear John whispering to Ronan as she squeals and babbles. John has Ronan sitting in front of him on the counter as they put together a plate of food for you, but Ronan is eating the eggs that John is trying to put on your plate.

You can’t even begin to express the amount of happiness and joy this brings you. Seeing the love of your life holding your sweet girl in his arms as they prepare a little plate of food for you. Just seeing John like this is the sweetest part of it all. The amount of love that you have for him is endless.

“Put that there, bug, yup, good job.” John whispers, and you clear your throat as you stand in the doorway and smile at them. He perks up and smiles, “Happy mother’s day!”

“Thank you!” you smile as you walk over to him, kissing him a few times before you lean down to kiss Ronan.

John holds Ronan up to stand on the counter, then he hides behind her and tries to put on a kid voice, “Happy mother’s day, momma.”

You laugh as you squeeze her little hand, “Thank you very much, bug!”

“We made you some breakfast,” John says as he wraps his left arm around Ronan’s middle and holds her close to his chest, picking up your plate in his right hand, “Sit down, miss. Today is your day.”

“Ooh,” you put your hand over your chest and smile, then you walk to the table.

John sets down the plate that has heart shaped pancakes, scrambled eggs, a bowl of fruit, and some toast. He pours some syrup onto your pancakes, then he stands back and waits impatiently for you to take a bite.

“John…” you laugh a little, “You do realize that I want to spend the day with you, right?”

“I just didn’t want us to be in your way.”

You frown as you move the chair out next to you so John can sit down, “I want to spend the whole day with you two. It’s mother’s day!”

“I have something planned for later, but I didn’t know if you wanted to be left alone until then.” he says, and you reach over to cup his cheek, “I read that someone said their wife just wanted to be alone for her day.”

“Maybe her family sucks.” you say, and John laughs. “Maybe they’re super annoying, maybe her husband always leaves the toilet seat up, maybe her kids are real brats.”

John kisses your palm, “I never leave the toilet seat up.”

“Because Bleu drinks from the toilet otherwise.”

“Yeah, but still. It counts.”

You laugh, “Sure.”

“Well, can I leave her here with you for a moment?”

“What kind of question is that? Who else am I going to share these eggs with?” you reach out and take Ronan, then you set her in your lap and put some eggs on the table for her to eat. “Don’t be too long, baby. I wanna spend today with you too!”

John smiles softly before leaning down to kiss your forehead, “Of course.”

__

You’re a mom. You still can’t believe it sometimes. It was always something you knew you wanted out of life and something you were determined to get, and you’re so glad that you got it. Being a mom is everything you imagined and more. Ronan is just the perfect little baby. Okay, she does have some days where she’s a little crabby and fussy, but that’s to be expected. She’s going to grow up to be such a smart and confident little girl. You can’t wait.

The icing on the cake is absolutely being able to do this with John. He’s made this all the more special. Having someone by your side as you navigated motherhood was something you wanted, of course, but having someone actually be by your side and be so selfless and helpful to you has blown your mind. John is the ultimate husband, no doubt about that, but he’s the ultimate partner. He’s someone who will go above and beyond for someone he loves. He’s so good at being a husband and a dad, and above all else, a best friend. You don’t know how the hell you lucked out and why the hell he chose you, but you’re so fucking glad he did.

After putting Ronan down for her first nap, you and John both found your way to your room and flopped down on the bed. Just laying there and whispering to one another, about nothing really, but those are always the best kinds of days.

John smiles softly as you look at one another, “What do you want to do today?”

“I’m going to lunch Tess and mom, but that’s it.”

John nods as he reaches over to move your hair behind your ear, “Okay. Is Ro gonna stay with me?”

“Yeah, if that’s--”

“Don’t ask me if it’s okay. She’s my daughter too,” he whispers, and you nod. “I love hanging out with her. It’s even better when we’re all together.”

You laugh as you place your hand on his cheek, “I won’t be gone long. I think you’ll survive a few hours without you.”

“Hmm,” John hums as he moves closer to you, “I don’t know, peach.”

“You will.”

John’s eyes study you as you smile at him, then he leans closer to kiss you, “I’m gonna miss you while you’re gone though.”

“I’ll miss you too,” you whisper back, then you begin to laugh when he crawls on top of you. “I was thinking…maybe tonight.”

“Not now? You don’t want me now?”

You scoff, “I always want you--it’s ridiculous, really. I was just thinking that maybe tonight because…I might have something to wear.”

John’s smile grows, “Really?”

“Yeah, maybe.” you smirk, and he leans down to kiss you a few times before burying his face in the crook of your neck. “Plus, I need to get ready to leave, and you, my handsome and sexy husband, are very distracting.”

“Oh, I’m distracting?”

You laugh as you reach up and squeeze his cheeks between your hand, “You’re very distracting. I already know that as soon as I get back, you’ll have made a nice bath for me--because you’re fucking ridiculously sweet--and you’ll try to sneak your way in and distract me.”

“Well, what can I say? You’re kind of hot.”

“Kind of?” you say, faking your hurt.

John laughs as he leans over and gently kisses you, “Very. Very hot. I’ll let you go get ready now.”

“Okay,” you stay underneath him and smile when he starts to laugh. You look over to check the time on your phone, then you check the baby monitor to make sure Ronan is still asleep. When you see that she is, you look at John and smile, “Wanna make out for a bit?”

“Hell yeah!” he laughs, then he leans down and kisses you as you close your eyes.

__

Lunch with your mom and Tess was really nice, but now you’re trying to get in the door with your arms full of gifts that you got from them. Tess got you some nice home spa stuff, and your mom got you some candles and a nice necklace with Ronan’s birthstone and yours. It’s the same one that your mom has with your birthstone and Tess’, and Tess has one with Finn’s birthstone. It’s nice too since you can add more birthstones as you have more kids.

“I’m home.” you say as you set down your gifts by the door, “Hello?”

You take two steps and see John coming around the corner from the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. You furrow your brow a little since Ronan isn’t with him, but he gestures over his shoulder, so you assume she’s in the kitchen eating.

“How was lunch?”

“It was good,” you smile at him and lean down to take your shoes off. You look up at him as he stares at you, “What?”

John shakes his head, “Nothing. Did they like their gifts?”

“They did,” you exhale as you walk over to him and wrap your arms around his waist. You close your eyes and smile when you feel him hug you back, “Where’s Ro?”

“She’s waiting for you.” he says, and you tilt your head back to look at him. “In the backyard.”

You widen your eyes, “She’s back there alone?”

“Yes, I just left her out by the pool with a six pack of beer and some tacos.” he jokes, then he nudges your chin, “She’s sleeping in her pack ‘n play, but she should be up soon. Come with me.”

You take John’s hand and head through the kitchen with him to the back patio door, but you stop and gasp when you see the backyard is decorated in balloons and a homemade banner that reads ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’, complete with Ronan’s footprints and handprints on it.

“What? This is what you’ve been doing all day?”

John smiles as he shrugs, “It’s your first mother’s day with our bug. I wanted it to be special.”

You lean up to kiss him, then you walk over to the table where a box of Mother’s day themed cookies sit, along with some fruit and presents. You wipe away the tear on your cheek as you turn around to see Ronan sleeping, but you start to laugh when you see she’s wearing a light pink swimsuit with a floral pattern on it.

“Babe! She looks so cute,” you turn around to look at John, then you laugh when you see him holding up a swimsuit, “For me?”

“Matching swimsuits.” he smiles proudly.

You walk over to him and take it, “Have I really become that mom?”

John chuckles, “I think you two will look great. Go put it on!”

You squeal a little as you rush past him and head inside to change. The swimsuit is the same as Ronan’s and the pattern is super cute, so you’ll definitely wear it again--John did a good job. For some reason, him knowing your size makes you smile. It’s oddly adorable.

After putting the swimsuit on and checking yourself out, you pull your hair up into a pony tail and head back outside to see John sitting with Ronan in his lap. You smile at him and pose a little as he laughs, then you wave at Ronan when she kicks her legs and grunts, reaching out for you.

“Hi, bug! Look at us gorgeous girls!” you hold her up and smile as she smiles back at you, “We have matching swim suits!”

“You two look so beautiful,” John says, snapping pictures of the two of you. “Oh, hold on, I got something inside. I’ll be back.”

You sit down and grab the little bowl of fruit John had brought out for her, then you smile when she reaches in for a strawberry and haphazardly stuffs it into her mouth. Pink juice runs down her chin and lands on her swimsuit, so you grab a bib and put it on her.

“I can’t believe I’m your momma!” you smile when she looks at you and offers a strawberry, and you eat it out of her hand. She reaches for another one and eats it, then offers a piece of banana to you, “I’m so lucky to be your momma. Thank you for being such a good kiddo. Daddy and I are so, so lucky.”

“Alright,” John says as you look up, and you start to laugh loudly when you see he’s wearing swimtrunks with the same floral pattern. “How do I look?”

You smile so wide that your cheeks hurt, “You look great, babe! Look at your handsome dad, Ro.”

John laughs as he walks over and sits down next to you, “Never in a million years did I think I’d be wearing swim trunks that match my wife and daughter.”

“Yeah,” you look at him and nod, “I didn’t think that either--for me. Or you, I’ll be honest. When we met, I mean, you know I thought about having kids and stuff, and I thought about spending forever with you, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. I thought we’d date and get serious, but I thought you’d think I’d want too much from you--marriage and kids. I knew you weren’t looking for a fling, I knew you wanted a wife, but I guess there was a part of me that thought I wouldn’t have been good enough for that, like maybe you’d want someone who had a career or, shit, owned their own house. I had roommates and I didn’t think you’d be into that.”

John reaches out to touch your cheek, “I loved you from the moment I met you, I truly mean that. And I loved everything about you. I loved that you worked at the bookshop; it meant we had something in common. I loved that you lived with some roommates, mostly because you lived across the street from me but I loved that you had roommates because it meant you didn’t live alone and you wouldn’t be lonely.”

You jut your bottom lip out as you look at him, “Stop, you’re so cute.”

“The fact that you thought that you wouldn’t be good enough for me at one point is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard.” he rests his hand on your thigh and holds your gaze, “If anything, I wasn’t good enough for you.”

“Oh, shush!” you say, and Ronan grunts as she looks at John, “Yeah, you tell him!”

John laughs when you stand Ronan up on your leg, “Tell me what?”

“That you’re the love of my life and you will always be my absolute favorite person.” you smile at him when he looks at you, “You made me a mom, and that’s one of the best things you’ve ever done for me.”

“Best thing we ever did.” he smiles as he leans over to kiss you, then he kisses Ronan’s cheek.

You stand up with Ronan in your arms, then you walk over to get her floatie. With John’s help, you get her into it and carefully place her in the water so you can hop in since it’s warm. You smile at her when she kicks her legs and giggles, and she looks up at John when he hops in the pool and walks over to put a bucket hat on her.

“Look how cute you are!” John smiles, and Ronan splashes in the pool. “And look how gorgeous and happy momma looks today.”

Looking up at John, you laugh a little, then you walk over to him and wrap your arms around his neck and hop up so he’ll hold you, “Thank you for today. It’s the best Mother’s day I’ve ever had.”

“The only one…”

“No, we went to the lake house last year when I was pregnant.” you press a kiss to his lips and smile, “But this is the best one because I get to share it with my two favorite people.”

John pulls Ronan over to you two and smiles, “My girls.”

__

After Ronan went down for a nap, John headed downstairs to work on an order he had gotten a few days ago. You had a few things that you wanted to get done, and now that you are, you’re gonna join John downstairs.

The moment you step into the basement, you gasp loudly and slap your hand over your mouth, which causes John to look up at you. You point at him and widen your eyes, and he looks behind himself and laughs as he looks at you.

“What?”

“You’re wearing glasses…” you walk over to him and touch the lenses in them, leaving behind a fingerprint, “Since when?”

John starts to laugh as he takes them off, but you shake your head furiously and push them back up his nose. You move to stand between his legs, still staring at him.

“I got them a while back,” he says as you look at him, “Just for working on something small, which is why I’m wearing them. This spine is super intricate, so I needed them. They’re not meant for every day wear or anything. Just a now and then thing.”

“Do I look weird?” you pull them off and put them on, “Oh, Jesus.”

John starts to laugh, “It’s so I can see up close.”

Your eyes go a little cross before you pull them off, “Yeah, I see that. Too bad…”

“Why?”

You slide them back on him and smirk, “Well, between you and me, you look ridiculously sexy. I always think that you are, but the way you feel about me in lingerie, that’s how I feel right now. Jonathan Wick in glasses, fuck yeah.”

John pulls you closer to him, running his hands up your bare thighs, “Well, I can always keep them on.”

“Hmm,” you lean closer to him and brush your lips against his, and he lifts you up and sets you in his lap as you kiss. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

You nod, “Yeah.”

John lets out a short laugh, then he cups your face and kisses you as he wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you closer as you grind against him. He’s already growing hard in his pants and you’re desperate for him. You move off his lap and bite your lip as you unbutton his jeans and unzip them. John grins when you look back at him, then he uses his pointer finger to push the glasses up a little.

“Fuck!” you nearly moan when he smirks, and you quickly help him get his pants off before kneeling in front of him.

“You’re desperate for it tonight, aren’t you?”

You slide him into your mouth and close your eyes, and he grips your hair and groans when you deep throat him. You hum as you wrap your lips around him and bob a few times. The feeling of him in your throat becomes a little too much, so you gag and slide him out and open your eyes to look at him, but he’s got his head tilted back in pure bliss. You start to laugh as you stand up and kiss his neck, and he looks at you and smiles.

“You’re so damn amazing.”

“Isn’t today my day?” you joke, and he kisses your nose before he wraps his arms around you.

John licks his lips and leans closer to you, “Today is your day, so…tell me, what do you want?”

“I want you to fuck me until I can’t walk.” you whisper to him, and he starts to laugh before he nods his head.

“Consider it done,” he whispers as he stands up, then he looks down at you, “Where at?”

You look around the basement as you think. Upstairs is off limits since Ro is asleep, so the basement will have to do. You look back at John and smirk, and he moves his work aside before lifting you up and setting you on his workbench.

Since it’s warmer today, you decided to put on a summer dress and it lays over your thighs as John stands in front of you. You cup his face and bring his lips to yours for a sloppy kiss that leaves you breathless.

John watches you closely as his hand slides up your thigh, hiking up your dress, “Why don’t you just lay back and enjoy me? It’s your day.”

You place your hand on John’s cheek as the two of you smile at one another, “Okay.”

John hums in delight as he sits down on the stool in front of you, then he kisses your thighs and pulls your dress over his head as you laugh.

“Having fun down there?”

“We both will be in a minute.” he says, pulling your underwear to the side.

John immediately buries his face between your legs and spreads them further to get a better angle, and you close your eyes and smile as the sound of John eating you out fills the room.

“Mmm,” you suck on your bottom lip and smile, “You’re always so loud.”

“You’re always so wet.” he says, pressing a kiss to your thigh, “Tastes so good.”

Flicking his tongue over your clit, John moans and grips your thighs a little tighter to keep you from completely squirming away from him.

“Fuck,” you moan as you arch your back, “Feels so good, baby.”

John hums as he sits up and wipes off his mouth, “You deserve this, baby. My wife deserves all of this…”

You let out a small laugh as you look down at him, “Yes, I do.”

John’s tongue is warm and wet as it slides over every inch of your pussy, and you whimper when he rolls his tongue and begins diving deeper between your legs. He’s an absolute God with his mouth. You place your right hand on top of his head and grip his hair as you let out a ridiculously loud moan.

“You like that, huh?” John asks as he looks up at you whimpering and writhing on the workbench for him. He kisses your thighs and stomach, and he pulls your dress up more so he can see your breasts, “Well, we can’t have this. They’re hidden.”

“Watch this.” you laugh as you look down at your bra. Unhooking your bra from the front snap, you look up at John as he watches in awe. You wiggle your fingers, “Magic.”

John buries his face between your breasts as he kisses and sucks on your skin, and you hear him unbuckling his belt. He leans up to kiss you as you help him pull his pants down and reveal his cock, hard and ready for you. He scoots you down a little and wraps his hand around your ankle as he looks into your eyes with a lust filled gaze. You hold his gaze as you slowly dip the tip of his cock between your legs, and he drops his head and shakes it as he squeezes his eyes shut before you finally allow him to slip between your legs.

The workbench is too high for him to be able to really move his hips, so he tucks his hands under your armpits and lifts you up, carrying you over to the couch effortlessly, which only turns you on even more. He lays you down on the couch and kisses you once, then he slides back between your legs.

“Oh, shit,” John lays down on you, resting on his elbows as he begins pounding his hips against yours, “Fuck, yes, fuck…”

Raking your fingers across John’s back, you whine loudly as he continues jerking his hips and causing your breasts to bounce from the force of his thrusts. You wrap one arm around John’s neck and reach down with your other hand to pull up your leg and allow John to move in deeper.

“Oh, my god,” you cling to John and throw your head back as he rotates his hips, “Yes!”

John lets out a satisfied chuckle, “Let me hear you scream for me again, peach.”

You whimper loudly and nod your head, all too eager to comply with him. He jerks his hips hard and knocks the breath out of you, and you tilt your head back and moan his name. You squeeze your eyes shut and gasp when you feel his fingers on your clit, rubbing circles.

“One more, baby,” he brushes his lips against your jawline.

“John,” you moan against his skin, digging your nails into his back. “Shit, you feel…so fucking…good.”

“I know, baby,” he nods, holding your gaze, “I was made for you.”

You cup his face and kiss him, taking his tongue into your mouth and sucking on it as he slowly rolls his hips to make you feel every inch of him. You let out a small moan as you look into his dark eyes, then you shiver when he rubs his beard against your collarbone.

“I want you to come for me, my girl…”

Grinding your hips against one another, you lay back on the couch and close your eyes as your body begins to tense up and prepare for your orgasm. Gripping the cushion tight in your hand, you throw your head back as you scream out John’s name, and you feel shivers throughout your entire body as you come, your body shaking underneath him and your toes curling.

“Yes, baby,” John whispers in the crook of your neck, “Come for me, baby.”

John jerks his hips several more times as he pants against your neck, and you gasp when he pushes himself deep inside of you as he finishes and groans loudly. He stays on top of you for a moment, pressing his lips to every inch of your chest and face. He finally sits up and uses his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

“You were made for me?” you whisper quietly, and he smiles proudly as he leans down to kiss you. “That was hot, I won’t lie.”

You scoot over so John can lay with you, and he wraps his right arm over your waist and kisses your shoulder a few times before letting out a content sigh. Your eyes slowly drift shut as you listen to him breathing next to you, but they snap open when you feel his hand moving down between your legs. Slowly you open your legs to him and close your eyes again when he rubs circles on your clit.

“Again?”

John laughs as he looks up at you, “You wanna go again?”

You think it through for a few minutes, then you move to look at him, “Do you?”

“If you do…”

“Well, I do if you do…” you say, and he starts to laugh as he sits up to kiss you. You shift around on the couch a few times until you can see him again, but you groan in annoyance, “Rain check? Later tonight, maybe? Like, when I don’t have a stupid cushion in the way!”

John laughs as he nods his head, “Yeah. I mean, I can go down if you want…”

“You’re very eager…”

“When am I not?” he says, and you cock up your brow, “It’s your day.”

“I feel like you’re hiding something.”

John laughs, shaking his head, “I’m not.”

“You’re lying.” you say, and his cheeks turn red, “Tell me.”

“Fine,” he sits up and rests on his elbow to look at you, “I always try to see how many orgasms I can get out of you.”

You laugh, “What? Why?”

John smirks as he shrugs, “Why not?”

Your mouth drops open before you start to laugh. It’s hot. Fuck, it’s so hot that he openly admitted that.

“So,” you raise your brow, “How many have you gotten?”

“On record so far, five.”

You widen your eyes, “In one…session?”

“Yeah,” he smiles, “But I’m close to a sixth. I almost had you there one night, but the phone started ringing.”

“Wait, you mean with me?” you gesture to yourself.

John furrows his brow, “Of course you. Who else would I be talking about? What kind of question is that?”

“Well, I don’t know,” you shrug and look at him, and he shakes his head before leaning over to kiss you. You start to smile, “Wow. Five times, huh?”

“Pretty proud of myself,” he admits, and you start to laugh. He leans closer and brushes his lips against yours, “I am going to get my six in a row one of these days.”

You nod your head as a big smile spreads on your face, “Oh, I have no doubt about that.”

__

“I’m nervous,” John exhales, and you walk over to wrap your arms around his waist from behind.

“You’re going to do so well, babe. They’ll love you, and I’m here the whole time!” you walk around and look at him, fixing his tie a little. He decided to wear some nice slacks and a dark blue shirt with a tie that you bought for him for his big special day. He looks so handsome, and he looks like a teacher. It’s ridiculously sexy. “Mr. Wick, you’re going to do great!”

“We’ll see.” he laughs a little, then he leans down to kiss you before he continues setting up tables for his very first class at the shop.

John has been wanting to teach a bookbinding class for a while now, so the two of you went to the community college in Oyster Bay to talk to some teachers. One teacher sat down and talked with John for a bit, and they came up with a little agreement--students could sign up for John’s class from some extra credit. A few students signed up for it, so John is beyond nervous. He’ll do so well though!

You look over at John as he runs his hand over his beard and looks around the shop, and you smile when he looks at you. You give him a thumbs up and laugh when he exhales loudly.

He’s so nervous, but you know it’s all going to go well. And even though you’re not as good as bookbinding as John, you’re here for him if he needs support. You said you’d be more than okay with just spending the day out and about while he teaches his class, but he wanted you here. He said he felt much better with you here.

“Babe, it’ll be great!” you walk over to him and take his hands, “You know what you’re doing, you’re great with people--”

“I just feel nervous. I feel like I’m not going to know what to say. It’s easy here to talk to people and ask them about their day--it’s basic conversation--but I don’t know how to--”

You press your finger to his lips, “Jonathan, you’re gonna do great. You know how to do this stuff like the back of your hand. This is all second nature to you.”

John nods his head as he looks down and plays with your fingers, “And you’ll be here the whole time?”

“The whole time!” you lean up and kiss him, “I’ll be by your side the whole time, Wick. Ro is with Jimmy this afternoon, so I’m not going anywhere!”

The bell above the door chimes when a few people walk in, and you immediately recognize them as students by their awkward and timid body language. They look up at you and John, and you smile at John before you back away so he can introduce himself.

John walks over and shakes hands with them, exchanging names and making small talk, then he gestures for them to take whatever seat they want. You smile when John looks at you, then you give him a thumbs up and a wink before you back away and watch him with a huge smile on your face.

__

To say you’re proud of John is an understatement. He did so well with his class today, and they all seem to really like him and enjoy the class. He made sure to really simplify things for them until he realized they’re a lot smarter than he thought. They caught on to everything so fast too. John is proud of them and of himself. Obviously this is something so out of his comfort zone, but he did it and he was so good at it. All of his students already said they’ll see him next week for the next class, and you know how happy that made him.

You look across the shop at John as he cleans up the desk and puts the utensils away, and you see him smile.

“I know you’re looking at me,” he says, and you laugh.

“Fine, then I won’t look at you,” you joke as you turn away from him.

Not five seconds later do you feel John’s arms wrapping around your waist. He turns your face to the right so he can kiss you, then he takes your hand and turns you back around so you’re facing him.

“Today went well.” he whispers, and you nod your head. “Did I do okay?”

You smile softly as you look into his eyes, “You were amazing. They loved you. I’m so proud of you.”

“Really?” John’s chin wobbles for a moment before he looks into your eyes. His vulnerability makes you want to cry.

“Yes!” you wrap your arms around his neck and beam at him, “I’m beyond proud of you, John. You did something so out of your comfort zone and you were really fucking good at it! I’m so proud! I got to sit here and watch you do something that you love and that you’re good at, and it was an amazing afternoon because of it.”

“You’re proud?” he asks softly, and you nod your head. “No one has ever said they’re proud of me before. Embarrassing to admit.”

That hurts your feelings to hear. You start to wonder if you’ve ever told John that you’re proud of him. Surely you have. You don’t feel bad for yourself, you feel absolutely terrible for John.

“That hurts my feelings.” you whisper to him, and he furrows his brow, “It hurts my feelings to think that no one has ever told you that they’re proud of you--that maybe I’ve never told you that I’m proud of you.”

John starts to laugh, “Of course you have! Baby, I didn’t mean you. You’ve told me many times that you’re proud of me.”

“I am so proud of you, John. You have no idea.” you hug him tight in your arms, burying your face in the crook of his neck, “So fucking proud of everything you’ve done these past two and a half years.”

“Thank you,” he whispers, rubbing his hand down your back.

The two of you stand in each other’s arms for a few minutes until you hear the bell above the shop door. You let go of John and smile when you see your mom coming in with her hands full.

“Hi! How did your class go?” she asks, rushing over to hug John, “Look, I made you those cookies you love.”

“Wow,” John takes the box and smiles at her, “Thank you.”

Your mom squeezes his arm and smiles brightly at him, “How did it go, honey?”

She’s so proud of him too. Your mom absolutely adores John. Obviously she loves him because he’s good to you and Ronan, but she just really likes him as well. She still doesn’t know everything John has been through, but she knows enough to know that this life he has with you is one that is precious and important.

The fact that John is so openly accepted by your family is something that you know means a lot to him. At first he was always worried about what your mom and dad would think about him, but now he doesn’t worry as much because it’s obvious that they love him.

You stand back and watch as your mom beams at John and listens intently. The bell above the door rings again, and you look over to see your dad coming in, smiling wide and making a beeline towards John, no doubt he’s eager to hear about John’s first class too.

Tears fill your eyes as you watch John telling them all about today, and without even looking at you, John reaches over for your hand and pulls you closer to him. You wrap your arms around his waist and rest your head on his chest, and your mom smiles.

“Yeah, it was really fun. I’m already looking forward to my next class. They’re all so eager to learn too, so I feel like I did a pretty good job.” John says, and you squeeze him tight.

“Oh, Jonathan, I’m so glad it went well. I knew it would! I never doubted it.” your mom gushes, and John chuckles softly.

“Proud of you, son.” Dan says, and you bury your face as you start to cry harder, “I see I’ve made her cry.”

John laughs and hugs you tighter, “She’s a sweetheart.”

“We’re all so proud of you!” you cup his face and look at him, “And we love you!”

“Thank you,” John nods, rubbing your back, “I really appreciate all the support. I’m a very lucky man.”

After talking for a few more minutes, your mom and dad head out--they only stopped by since they have dinner reservations. You and John finish up closing the shop, then you wait by the door for him while he does all his last checks before locking up for the night.

John smiles when he looks at you, then he gets his keys out and locks the shop for the night. You both get in the car and yawn, which makes the two of you laugh.

“So tired,” you whisper, and he nods his head and looks over at you, “Should we get our baby and go home and snuggle her?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

__

John knocks on the door and slowly opens it, putting his hand out when Sadie immediately rushes towards him. He ruffles her ears and opens the door more, looking back at you to make sure Sadie doesn’t jump. She’s a good dog, but she’s certainly not as tame and calm as Bleu. She’s amazing with the kids, but it’s like she’s always hyped up on sugar or something.

You hear giggles coming from downstairs, so you and John head down there to see Jimmy with a cowboy hat on and some pool noodles laying on the ground. Finn is whacking away at Jimmy with a pool noodle while Tess holds Ronan in her lap and laughs, and Ronan is giggling too.

John laughs, “Look at him just beating the shit out of Jimmy.”

“Wow, so this is a Friday night at the Hendricks’ house.” you say as you sit on the couch.

Jimmy sits up on his knees and laughs, “Hey.”

Finn is still hitting Jimmy with the pool noodle on the back, then he spins around and goes back to hitting him. He’s hitting Jimmy on the back but everyone--except Jimmy--sees it coming: Finn starts to hit Jimmy on the stomach, then boom! He whacks him right in the balls. Tess screams with laughter and Finn giggles proudly and looks at his mom.

“Oh, fu--” Jimmy looks at Finn, who is still grinning proudly, and grits his teeth, “Fudge!”

“Fudge!” Finn repeats and walks over to Tess after throwing the pool noodle on the ground.

Tess pulls Finn onto her lap and kisses the top of his head, “Sweetheart, we don’t hit people right there, remember? That hurt daddy.”

Jimmy clears his throat and sits back on his knees, “Babe, it’s okay.”

“This is the fifth time this week,” she says, and you look at John and laugh. “He needs to know he can’t keep hitting you there.”

“Well, I mean, yeah, I’d prefer it if he didn’t.”

Tess laughs, “We plan on having more kids, so, yeah, me too. This is not a nice place to hit people, okay, bubba? No more hitting there. Can you go say sorry to daddy?”

Finn crawls off of the couch and walks over to Jimmy, wrapping his arms around Jimmy’s neck. Jimmy lifts him up and hugs him tight, then he starts to laugh.

“Thank you, buddy.”

“Well,” you sit down on the couch and laugh when Ronan kicks her legs and reaches for you, “Hello, bug!”

Tess hands her over, “When I heard Jimmy had her, I got my errands done faster so I could spend time with her. When are you going to let me watch her?”

“What? We always do!”

“I know, but I want to take her and get a pretty dress for her.” she frowns, and you start to laugh. “I want to have an Aunt Tess and Ronan day.”

John pinches Ronan’s cheek, “Why don’t you keep her tonight?”

Everyone looks up at John, and he smiles at you. You playfully hit his stomach and look back over at Tess.

“What? Oh my god, please!” she clasps her hands together and begs, “Please, please, please! I can buy her a dress and take her pictures! Please!”

“You already gave me those great pictures for Mother’s day.”

Tess rolls her eyes, “You need more! She’s the most gorgeous baby! Please!”

You look over at John and shrug a little, “What are we going to do?”

John holds your gaze and starts to laugh when Jimmy and Tess do, “I think we can…figure something out.”

“Oh,” you smile at him, then you look back at Tess, “Yeah, you can keep her overnight, but I’ll be back in the morning to get her.”

Tess snatches Ronan from your arms and hugs her tight, “Did you hear that? You get to stay here with Aunt Tess and Uncle Jimmy, and we’re going to snuggle you all night!”

Jimmy crawls over and playfully chomps on Ronan’s foot. You look over at John as he watches with a smile on his face, then he looks at you and winks. Jimmy takes Ronan’s hand and kisses it, and you feel your heart squeeze in your chest. They both love Ronan so much, so you know she’s in good hands here. She’s obviously stayed over plenty of times before and she loves it, so she’ll be fine.

“Well,” you look over at John, “I’ll have to pack her a bag.”

“No, you don’t. I have stuff here for her.” Tess says, and you laugh as you look over at her, “She’s fine. Go spend the rest of the night together.”

John puts his hand on your shoulder and squeezes as he moves around the couch so he can hold Ronan and say goodbye to her. He kisses her cheek and hugs her tight, then he hands her over to you. You say goodbye to her and give her a big kiss before you hand her back to Tess.

“Okay,” Tess smirks as she looks at you, “Go have fun, you two.”

You and John both look at one another and practically trip as you run up the stairs with your bedroom in mind. You hold tight to John’s hand as you both hurry across the street to your house. He opens the door and pulls you back to him, kissing you hard on the lips before he lifts you up.

You cup his face and smirk at him, “You still got those glasses?”

__

taglist:  @sakurachan-9 @beingnerdyissupercool @aragornswife @angie-20000 @ruby-octo

i definitely know i’m tagging people who don’t want to be so please let me know if you want to be tagged.

[hesgomorrah]

we need to make suggesting someone skip the first three seasons of mash as taboo as suggesting someone skip the ninth doctor

[cannibalcreeps]

Jeremy Rollin' up to his first victim!

[stealingyourbones]

recently watched a handful of episodes of Supernatural and im kinda impressed with Dean's steadfast belief that all monsters are monsters and can't be redeemed.

With that in mind... there could be some VERY angsty Danny Phantom crossovers with that as the main premise

[kimbapisnotsushi]

okay no see the thing that made me really, really sad about hinata and the thing that made me really, really root for him and love him and want to see him win it all was how, like, people kept DENYING him. and i'm not talking about spectators in the stands going "omg he's so short haha, can he really do anything?" i'm talking about how his own team and how everyone who knew them in some way - as much as i love them - could never really separate him from kageyama. they were the freak quick duo, karasuno's number nine and number ten. they were amazing! so brilliant, the two of them. and hinata thought it was a way out, at first. he thought it was a way over the summit. he thought it was the key to being someone better.

but a key goes both ways, you know. it can lock you up just as much as it can set you free.

and hinata had to be so, so frustrated. everyone was finding ways to move forward except him. everyone expected him to stay stuck. and you could argue that that's not entirely true, sure, that he was always training, always trying to catch up, and they encouraged that. but nobody ever expected him to be more. nobody ever expected him to go beyond what he had with kageyama - they all thought that was enough for hinata. they thought he was fine like that because it worked for the rest of them. they underestimated how much he wanted to be capable. they didn't get how much he wanted to stand on his own two feet.

and that wasn't fair to hinata! it wasn't fair that hinata, who loved to play and loved the game and loved volleyball so so much, was the only one being left behind! he wanted to change that but nobody was trying with him!!! so of course he got impatient!! of course he was reckless!!! of course he was carving his own opportunities!!! there was no way forward otherwise!!! because if we take a minute to think about how training would have gone while kageyama was at tokyo, let's be honest — it probably wouldn't have gone well. nobody else can do with hinata what kageyama could do with him. hinata would have been held back. he would have felt useless. practicing serves and receives was stuff he was already doing constantly before that, and it wasn't teaching him anything. yeah hinata was a little bit selfish and a little bit shameless but being so finally got him somewhere!!

all hinata ever wanted to do was fly, even if it meant straying from the flock to do so

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

As we discuss Scarlust dynamic we need to factor in Gluttony. Because where does this weird cannibal factor into this. He’s like Lust’s little brother and tbf, Scar has always been impartial to little brothers (on account of having been one) and gave up his own life to save one with little hesitation.

I’m just thinking of that meme; Me, my GF, and her weird little homunculus cannibal of a little brother. All of them in bed together.

Remember how the last thing Gluttony says to Scar after he paralyzes Lust with the locket was "I hate you! I hate you for hurting my Lust!"

Because I do, and I don't think Gluttony would soon forget either.

[chittychittyyangyang]

Between waiting for V10 news, my own personal stuff, and the US now being on fire (partially) literally, I know I've been pretty quiet here. Even before all of this I was pretty shut down emotionally, and I am just very absent as a person right now. I feel like many are struggling, and I wanted to share something that has helped me some:

What I find myself thinking about the most is like that she was out there and brave and looking for love at a time when her existence was criminalized. It's hard to remember that there was all of this light in the dark ages, but there was still these brazen romances. And I don't know that love was still stronger than fear, at least at times.

You're Wrong About - Kitty Genovese and “Bystander Apathy”

Stories about existing and loving in a world that wants you gone. It's not that horrible things didn't happen or won't happen, but that we will make do. Loving who you love, and being you matters. All of us matter. Our stories and lives, big and small matter.

Take care of those close to you. Find little moments of joy. Disconnect when you can. Read, create, and rest when you can. If you feel like nothing you do can change anything, volunteer. Sure, you can't fix a broken system right now by yourself, but you can help people have a hot meal they might not otherwise get.

As for the RW/BY stuff here, that's not going to change, other than maybe less in part because I just use this as an archive between volumes. I've been here for so long it would feel weird not to at this point. I know some people have found some level of comfort that I'm still here keeping up this blog, and I hope I continue to provide that for people (and, of course, bees).

[alongtidesoflight]

i swear my stepdad is so illogical AND stubborn it hurts

[ptanalo]

I think they are just like this

[raayllum]

I think sometimes the way I approach fic / meta writing / analysis stems from how I character build and write my OG stuff as well, because while the classical writing advice is about asking "what does your character want?" I've always found it most useful to ask "What does your character want, and what are they willing to justify to get it?"

(Asking how they justify their actions is also incredibly useful but more on that later.)

For example, when ('good') characters are under stressful situations and respond well regardless, we take that as being indicative of who they Truly Are—heroic, helpful, selfless, often even compassionate, etc, and when antagonists behave that way, we dismiss it as just glory hounding or being selfish, when it can Be multiple things at once.

When ('bad') characters respond poorly to stressful situations—threatening harm, using dark magic to saved loved ones, being angry and cold hearted—we take that as who they are, and when it's the protags, we say they're stressed or coerced or any number of things... that are true for the antags often, too! And still true even if you don't like them or have as much compassion towards them.

But unfortunately sometimes people are rarely inclined to do the opposite. They're rarely inclined to take antagonists' good moments as honest statements of their character because "well they're mean/evil" and often dismiss protagonists' complicated or less than stellar choices because "well they're good and they feel bad" (Viren saying he'll never forgive himself for the things he's done even when they saved his son, and Claudia crying over what she's done to save her father? yeah those scenes don't exist anymore sorry).

The fact of the matter is that, at least in TDP and in many other works (including my own), actual antagonists are not always evil and awful and morally bankrupt 100% of the time, and actual protagonists are not always perfect or good or making the right choice (because sometimes there isn't one, tbh).

Who your character is at their best and their worst, regardless of circumstance, is ALL of who they are. It all has to be taken into account. No cherry picking. Rayla can be selfish and dismissive and a liar who routinely fails at whatever she sets out to do and is awful at communicating, and Viren can love his kingdom and his family and genuinely believe that's what he's doing everything for, and neither encompasses their whole character. A perfect example is Claudia, who we cheer for when she chooses Soren over the world-saving mission of the egg in 2x07, and despair at when she chooses Viren over the world-saving mission of maybe not freeing the dangerous imprisoned Startouch elf in S4 and S5. Same principle, character, motivation, different circumstance, but we're happy about Soren (because he's not Viren) and bummed about Viren (because he's not Soren), and because character traits are consistent, and whether those traits are good or bad is inherently circumstantial. Claudia's loyalty can be great, and it can be a terrible, awful justification. Both of those things are true.

To be clear, this isn't to argue for false equivalency: Viren and Claudia and other antagonists are far more often Wrong than the protagonists are, and the protagonists are routinely more Right than our two favourite dark mages are. TDP likes its complications and circumstantial stuff, but there's still some things that are Bad No Matter What (like gaslighting your child, or routine dehumanization). And some of our associations are because antagonistic characters tend to be routinely cruel and mean, which are part of the horrible things they do, and protagonist characters are routinely kinder and more compassionate to the people around them, and protecting each other / innocent people is part of what makes them a good person, but... There's no inherent difference between a lot (not all, but some) of the actions the characters across the board take, particularly in arc 2, just their perspective and who we're personally more attached to and thereby more willing to justify their decisions surrounding.

Like idk my main WIP protag buries people alive en masse and tortures someone vindictively because they killed her friend and I'd still classify her as a Good Person (fictionally), and it's just always wild to me when people don't take All Parts and Choices and Relationships of a character into account especially because TDP spells it out for us over and over that we Should with quite literally every single character, whether those actions are good or bad:

Once again I am asking for encompassing wholes and character nuances where the only time a character should be like "well it's totally fine that you did a Thing actually" (Rayla towards Callum's dark magic use or Callum towards Rayla lying to/stealing from him) or "totally not okay that you did a thing" (Runaan about Rayla sparing Marcos, or Claudia doing dark magic) is taken as an aspect of Character Bias, not a definitive Narrative get off the hook slant or condemnation, because neither of those things Get us anywhere in a writing or analytical sense thank you

[tea-cat-arts]

"Madam Yu would be a Karen/ treat minimum wage employees like shit-" literally the only servant she's shown abusing is Wei Wuxian (and that's because he's the victim of a proxy war between her and Jiang Fengmian around the idea of him being adopted into the family, not because of his class). Madam Yu's two handmaid's love and respect her, and Madam Yu actually defends them when Wang Lingjiao tries being a Karen to them. She also tells Wang Lingjiao to fuck off when she demands the Jiang servants bring her tea.

Also, Karens are unpleasant women, but not all unpleasant women are Karens. That term is about entitlement and being unreasonable (and often times, racist). Madam Yu is mean and unpleasant to talk to, but she keeps most of her interactions brief and probably doesn't have the time or mental energy to be a Karen or hold a grudge that long. If you want an actual example of a Karen in mdzs, Wang Lingjiao is right there

[cementcornfield]

so at first i had a heart attack when i saw this viral tweet

because holy shit's that's 40 million per year ja'marr!!!

but then i saw joe goodberry (whom i have a love/hate relationship with 🥲) breaking it down on his twitter

and

so like, frankly, 32 per year over the next 6 years is incredibly reasonable for what ja'marr has brought and will continue to bring to this team! plus he can get the headlines that he's making more than justin (which i'm sure is important to him lmao) but he won't actually be (which i do think is fair. argue all you want about who the actual better receiver is, justin does have stats on his side at this point).

i'm sure the sticking point with the brown family is all that guaranteed money. but they DID give joe the most guaranteed money ever, and i think they also gave orlando more guaranteed money than they ever have for a tackle? i think they are getting there in terms of keeping up with how the market works these days, but they're gonna be kicking and screaming the whole time 🙃

[goldentigerfestival]

Made a clip compilation of Yuri being a silly little guy. I couldn't possibly have gotten everything because I'd be making clips forever and Tumblr has a ten minute/500mb video size limit, but I got a bunch and some favorites (and had to cut multiple scenes worth about four minutes out because the video was too long). His silly voice is near and dear to my heart, and I also love his pouty voice very much. I also just love his general demeanor and the way he talks. He's adorable and deserves the world. Typically, we call this brainrot.

(For some reason my subs got delayed/off track with the audio a little bit toward the very end, sorry about that. They were fine before I exported it and my project files are still timed correctly, so whatever the issue is, it happened during the exporting.)

Translated the lines so anyone watching could follow along!

Translation notes below.

The reason I kept "thanks for the meal" even though it's entirely a JP culture phrase (which is literally used for meals) is because I figured most people would get the idea, and also because that line literally is what makes that scene for me, hence its inclusion (I did consider "thanks for the info" too, to keep the idea of it... but I made this for the fun of it and I felt that him using that phrase in that moment as a gotcha to Raven was amusing enough that I wanted to keep it).

The "what is it? Tell me" to Karol was partially just because I love his "talking to kids" voice and also because the vibe is just so cute of him kneeling to said kid's eye level and giving him the kid voice, but wanting him to know he could tell him.

In the scene with Karol saying they'd be helpless without him, I remember the English version used "lonely". Technically the term does work for both and can mean either, but I used "helpless" because of the context supporting it. Yuri proceeds to say Karol has been reliable, as if playing along with the "helpless" comment.

In the "don't talk to people like they're kids" scene, the reason I chose to phrase it that way is because he uses the term for "people" specifically (in JP, the subject of the topic isn't always specified. If he was saying "don't talk to me like a kid", the sentence would've been a bit different). Flynn is talking to him, but it reads to me like a sort of deflection joke, like "wow, don't talk about other people like that". He's not taking it seriously at all, as can be seen by his expression and heard in his tone, but I think him using "people" as the subject also adds to that.

When Flynn says "how about you knock?", I went specifically for this phrasing both because that's, well, what he says, but also because Yuri doesn't even actually do anything. He just. stands there. like. yes. hello. I am here. I know you know I am standing here outside your tent. It's basically like, "how about you knock before I acknowledge you?". anyway shoutout to the tent for having boop noises.

"Just die once" is basically Rita's way of saying she's angry in a sort of, "just die once for what you did, but then come back. You gotta die for this, but only once", sort of thing.

Before anyone wants to cry foul about my word choice for the Yuri and Flynn Hypionia battle, that is literally what is being said in JP and was changed in the English release. I'm very strict about my word choices in translations because it is not my content and I'm simply relaying text/lines that were not written by me. I'm saying this because I'm sure someone out there would otherwise try to say I'm just making things up to try to push a ship. Purposely incorrectly translating something, including to fit a certain bias, is insincere and disrespectful and I do not engage in that. I also had a second opinion involved who is ship-neutral to confirm the lines in the battle, what with battle sounds happening, to make sure we were both getting the same dialogue out of it.

On that note, I forgot to put "Hey now", for "hey now, now's not the time to get upset!" It's just a really quick part I missed when typing the translation, but I figured I'd make a note of it here.

"You truly are you" is a pretty specific line, and I wasn't sure I wanted to translate this any other way. I spoke with someone for a second opinion to decide if I should keep it, and they have a fondness for the line itself and like it in general, even outside of Vesperia context. It falls in the same general area as something like "you're nobody but you/yourself" or "you really are you". In this case it gives off vibes of "it's really you, you are you and this is really you" because Yuri had gone missing and was presumed dead. This is sort of like Flynn's reaction to Yuri really being here, being alive, and just being Yuri. Now that Flynn's had downtime and has been able to talk to him properly, he's hearing Yuri just being Yuri and is amused at his behavior, but imo there's also that touch of "geez it really is you, nobody else could pull that".

Adephagos in JP is Hoshihami (lit. Star Eater). I made this video to compile lots of fun Yuri scenes for myself and friends, but I subbed it for those who don't know JP and figured since I'm sharing it, it would be more recognizable for people to use Adephagos. I don't know what the specific choice came from in English though, like what led them to that choice of naming. Often in localization, there's a typical line of understanding with changes, where you can see where the train of thought likely was with naming changes, but in this case it seems to be more of a made up term used for the game. I otherwise don't have any background information on where Adephagos came from.

---

Dragon Swarm in JP is more roughly along the lines of Dragon Claw Linked Fang Slash. Imo it also actually makes more sense that it sounds weird to add kicks to an arte with "claw" and "fang" in it (versus "swarm" which could very well include kicks and that not sound odd in naming context). "Dragon Claw Kick" also sounds much odder.

I was honestly inclined to keep the Dragon Claw part and just make it Dragon Claw Swarm, Dragon Claw or Dragon Claw Fang Slash, because it very specifically uses "claw" in the arte name, and that's what Flynn uses when he says "Dragon Claw Kick". It's a sort of, when you say it like that, that does actually seem weird, while Dragon Kick doesn't give off that sort of weird vibe, and Dragon Swarm doesn't make "kick" being involved sound unusual.

People are more familiar with Dragon Swarm though and translating artes in Tales can be insane with some of the names they've got. I just felt like it's worth pointing out here, partially because I feel like the skit works better in its original context.

---

The part where Raven says "Wait, hey, what are you talking about?!", has a "te" that's not spoken and only written, but since it was written, I included it in the translation. In that particular context, it basically means wait/actually/hold on/back up/etc.

Little Wolf is literally Petite Wolf in JP.

[yippie-madness]

this song reminds me of this study i was in where this is literally what they did. idk the goal but they would flash associated words on the screen (shit like "death" and "funeral" and then like "life" and "thrive", it was a study about suicide so lots of themes of life/death and depression) and then you would have to match a word (eg. death) with a choice of two others, one was "correct" (eg. "thrive" and "funeral"). or you would match it to the not associated word. it was stupid. but hey i got like 250 dollars out of it!

there was not enough consideration to cultural variation on beliefs about death tho, death being associated with past tense language was a very common theme. stuff like that.

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Something I've seen a couple people saying is that they want to make sure that Laudna understands that she's not the only one who has been through trauma. But like. Laudna is not the only one who needs to learn that lesson. Actually, it's not even that Laudna needs to learn that she's not the only one that's been through trauma at all, because they're all very aware of what they've all been through. This became an inevitable confrontation when Laudna decided to let Delilah back in, though, and after rewatching the scene, I actually think the only people who managed this situation correctly were Imogen* and Ashton.

Orym and Laudna are both more focused on their own pasts with the sword and not thinking about each other. Orym should have talked to the group and come to a decision with them about using the sword and Laudna should have talked to him about it instead of trying to steal it.

*my feelings about this are still up in the air don't read into this too much

[book-lover85]

hypothetically an elf could explode another elf's head with outward channeling